Hubble captures twisted shockwaves of exploded star

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Once a star, the Veil Nebula is now a twisted mass of shockwaves that appears to be six-times the size of our moon, but it sure is nice to look at – as demonstrated by a high-resolution image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and released by the ESA on Monday.

The image, which the agency explains was originally captured by Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 eight years ago, shows just a small portion of the nebula: an area known as the “south-eastern knot.” In its entirety, the Veil Nebula, which is located roughly 1,500 light years from Earth, has a radius of approximately 50 light years, Gizmodo said.

Flinging its outer layers into space

The nebula did not exist 10,000 years ago, the ESA explained. Back then, it was a star, far larger and brighter than our Sun. Ultimately, some 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, the nuclear reactions that took place in its center ran out of fuel, causing it to collapse and ultimately explode.

[STORY: Zodiacal light visible in Northern Hemisphere this month]

During this process, it would have become extremely bright for a period of one or two days, as it underwent the massively destructive event known as a supernova. Afterwards, over the course of about a week, the fireball would have faded away, and the nebula was ultimately forgotten about until it was re-discovered by astronomer William Herschel on September 5, 1784.

“During the star’s final detonation, it flung its outer layers into space at more than 600,000 km/h. What we see now is these layers colliding with the surrounding gases of interstellar space,” ESA officials said. The energy from the collision caused the gas to heat to millions of degrees, and led to the nebula to emit light in various wavelengths based on the atomic content of the gas.

Rope-like filaments of gas

In the image captured by Hubble, blue indicates the presence of oxygen, while green depicts that the gases contained sulfur and red indicates that hydrogen is present, the agency said. Supernova explosions seed the universe with chemicals that form all elements heavier than iron. They occur rarely in our galaxy, with just one or two exploding every century, the ESA added.

[STORY: Mars once had more water than Arctic Ocean]

The Veil Nebula (which is also known as NGC6960) is cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus, and according to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, it is one part of a supernova remnant known as the Cygnus Loop. In the New General Catalogue, the brightest segments of the nebula were designated NGC 6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, and 6995.

The image released by the ESA on Monday is far from the only one of the Veil Nebula captured by the Hubble telescope. In 2007, it photographed three sections of the supernova remnant which provided “beautiful views of the delicate, wispy structure resulting from this cosmic explosion.”

The nebula’s “intertwined rope-like filaments of gas… result from the enormous amounts of energy released as the fast-moving debris from the explosion ploughs into its surroundings and creates shock fronts,” scientists at the joint NASA/ESA telescope project said at the time. Those high-speed shocks caused gas to heat, and the subsequent cooling produced the nebula’s glow.

[STORY: NASA unveils submarine concept to explore Titan’s seas]

“The Veil Nebula is a frequent object of study for astronomers because it is large, located relatively close to Earth, and makes a good example of a middle-aged supernova remnant,” the Constellation Guide added. “For amateur astronomers, the nebula makes one of the most spectacular objects in the northern sky.”

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Something is eating 7,000-year-old mummies

Written By: Brett Smith

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – @ParkstBrett
An ancient people living along the coasts of modern-day Chile and Peru called the Chinchorro are the first-known population of human to practice mummification, around 5050 BC, and quite a number of the mummies have been uncovered over the years.
Recently, Chinchorro mummy specimens in Chilean museums have begun to degrade at an alarming rate, sparking scientists to scramble in search of a reason and a way to halt the degradation.
“In the last ten years, the process has accelerated,” said Marcela Sepulveda, professor of archaeology at the University of Tarapacá, which houses numerous Chinchorro mummies. “It is very important to get more information about what’s causing this and to get the university and national government to do what’s necessary to preserve the Chinchorro mummies for the future.”
[STORY: Mummified monk found hidden in Buddha statue]
With some of the mummies turning to black ooze, Chilean anthropologists turned to their colleagues at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
“We knew the mummies were degrading but nobody understood why,” said Ralph Mitchell, a professor of applied biology at SEAS. “This kind of degradation has never been studied before. We wanted to answer two questions: what was causing it and what could we do to prevent further degradation?”
The mummification process
Sepulveda explained that the 7,000-year-old process was painstaking and time-consuming. The Chinchorro would first draw out the brains and internal organs, then stuff the body with fiber, fill up the cranium cavity with straw or ash and use reeds to sew it together again, including hooking up the jaw to cranium. A stick maintained the backbone and tethered it to the skull. The embalmer then repaired the skin, at times patching the body using the skin of sea lions or other animals.
[STORY: Hunters discover 10,000-year-old baby wooly rhino carcass in Siberia]
Finally, the mummy was engrossed in a mixture, the color in which archeologists allocate to various eras in the over 3,000 years of Chinchorro mummy-making: black made from manganese was used in the most ancient ones, red made from ocher in later examples, and brown mud had been applied to the newest specimens.
Saving mummy dearest
The researchers began their work by taking both degrading skin and undamaged skin from mummies in the museum’s collection. The team quickly determined that microbes were behind the degradation.
“With many diseases we encounter, the microbe is in our body to begin with, but when the environment changes it becomes an opportunist,” Mitchell said. “Is the skin microbiome from these mummies different from normal human skin? Is there a different population of microbes? Does it behave differently? The whole microbiology of these things is unknown.”
[STORY: Weasel takes a ride on a woodpecker]
Next, the team isolated microbes from both the degrading and uncompromised skin. The researchers then cultured the organisms in the lab and used pig skin surrogates to see what happened when the samples were exposed to several humidity levels. The team saw that the pig skin samples began to break down after 21 days at high humidity, and the team was able to duplicate the results using mummy skin.
This result was consistent with the increasing humidity levels in the region where the archeological museum is located, the researchers said.
The international team said properly regulating the conditions in the museum should help to preserve the excavated mummies, but the team also expressed concern that mummies still in the field are vulnerable.
“What about all of the artifacts out in the field?” Mitchell asked. “You have these bodies out there and you’re asking the question: How do I stop them from decomposing? It’s almost a forensic problem.”
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Parents are responsible for future narcissists

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Treating your child like they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread and they’ll most likely believe you, becoming self-centered little narcissists in the process, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the study, Ohio State University professor Brad Bushman, University of Amsterdam postdoc Eddie Brummelman and their colleagues set out to find the origins of narcissism. They surveyed parents and children four times over a span of 18 months to see if they could pinpoint the factors that caused youngsters to have an overinflated concept of their own self worth.

They found that moms and dads who tended to “overvalue” their children at the start of the study wound up with sons and daughters who scored higher on tests of narcissism later on. Youngsters considered to be overvalued were described by their parents as being “more special” than other kids and deserving of “something extra in life,” the researchers explained in a statement.

[STORY: Men are more narcissistic than women]

“Children believe it when their parents tell them that they are more special than others. That may not be good for them or for society,” said Bushman, communication and psychology professor at OSU and co-author of the study. Even if parents have the best intentions, “overvaluing practices may inadvertently raise levels of narcissism” rather than self-esteem, he added.

The difference between self-eseteem and narcissism

The study, which the authors claim is the first of its kind to investigate how narcissism develops over time, involved 565 children from the Netherlands who were between the ages of seven and 11 when the study began, and their parents. Parents were instructed to fill out surveys asking how much they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements, including “my child is a great example for other children to follow” and “I let my child know I love him/her.”

Contrary to the common believe that narcissism is the result of high levels of self-esteem, the researchers said that the two are different. For instance, rather than seeing themselves as more special than other youngsters, kids with high self-esteem agreed with statements indicating that they were happy with themselves and liked the kind of person that they were.

[STORY: Does posting selfies make you a psychopath?]

Bushman and Brummelman also reported that self-esteem and narcissism develop in different ways. While parents who overvalued their kids were more likely to have narcissistic children in time, there was no link between overvaluation and self-esteem. Rather, parents who were more emotionally warm tended to have kids with more self-esteem, but who were not narcissitic.

“Overvaluation predicted narcissism, not self-esteem, whereas warmth predicted self-esteem, not narcissism,” Bushman said. The link remained even after he and his co-authors accounted for the narcissism levels of the parents, meaning that the trait is not necessarily passed down.

Nature versus nurture, Lodge

The new study reveals that the social learning theory of narcissism, the notion that kids become narcissistic when they are overvalued by their parents and treated as more deserving than others, is predominantly responsible for instilling such beliefs, Forbes explained. However, the website also pointed out that previous research has also found that genetics are partially responsible.

Brummelman admitted to Forbes that “research suggests that, indeed, the role of genes and the environment are evenly split,” which is both good and bad news. Parents can help a child with a genetic predisposition to narcissism by not artificially inflating his or her ego, making sure that they have a more low-key, reserved approach to doling out praise for various achievements.

Bushman, a father of three himself, told the website that the findings have “changed my parenting style… When I first started doing this research in the 1990s, I used to think my children should be treated like they were extra-special. I’m careful not to do that now.”

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9-year-old explains Net Neutrality better than we did

Written By: Christopher Pilny

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Christopher Pilny for redOrbit.com – @NotRealChainsaw
Over the past year or so, we’ve tried to explain Net Neutrality with any number of articles. You can read them here:

Wade Sims, Chuck Bednar, and the rest of our writers did a brilliant job of breaking it all down, but it wasn’t until reddit dad (dadditor) KVW260 posted his 9-year-old son’s explanation of Net Neutrality that we thought, “Ok, yeah. This makes complete sense.”
We turn to him for the full story:

My 9-year old son spends a lot of time online and recently came to me asking what Net Neutrality meant. I explained it the best I could. I’m just okay with current political events and he had a lot of questions. Had to actually look up some answers.
I recently overheard him explaining it to one of his friends, much better than I could, like this:
Pretend ice cream stores gave away free milkshakes. But you had to buy a straw to drink them. But that’s okay, because you still get free milkshakes. One day you’re drinking a free milkshake and you look down and the guy that sold you the straw is pinching it almost shut. You can still get your milkshake, but it’s really hard and takes a lot longer.
So you say, “Hey! Stop that!” And the straw guy says, “NO! Not until the ice cream store pays me money.” And you say, “But I already paid you money for the straw.” And the straw guy says, “I don’t care. I just want more money.”
I think he nailed it.

Somebody should get this kid in Congress.
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Zodiacal light visible in Northern Hemisphere skies this month

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Stargazers in the northern hemisphere this month will have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of an unusual phenomenon known as the zodiacal light or the Pyramid of Light.

Reflecting dust

According to National Geographic, the zodiacal light (also known as false dawn) is best viewed by looking toward the western horizon approximately one hour after sunset. When looking at them from a dark countryside, the lights (which get their name from the band of constellations that the sun, moon, and planets pass through) are similar in appearance those of a far off city, except that they are more ghostly or ethereal in nature.

So exactly what is zodiacal light? Nat Geo explains that it is caused by sunlight reflecting off billions of dustlike particles found in the inner solar system. These particles are said to be bits that were left over after the Earth and the other planets formed over 4 1/2 billion years ago.

[STORY: Dust in early universe proves galaxies were quickly enriched]

Similarly, the Internet Encyclopedia of Space refers to the zodiacal light as “a faint glow of light scattered off the zodiacal dust,” adding that the phenomenon “can sometimes be seen under very dark sky conditions, along the horizon, either just after dusk or before sunrise.”

But wait…there’s more!

Zodiacal dust, the website added, is a group of particles between one and 300 microns in diameter. In addition to being remnants of planet formation, the dust can also come from the tails of comets and from collisions between asteroids. Together, the particles have come together to form a flat disk know as the zodiacal cloud.

[STORY: Exozodiacal light detected around nine stars]

False dawn can be viewed both in the spring and the fall. When it is visible in the spring, it tends to be most visible shortly after sunset (as is the case this month). When it takes place in the autumn, such as the one reported on by the folks at Space.com last September, the faint, white, triangular glow is best seen just before sunrise.

How to view

In order to get your best look at the phenomenon, EarthSky recommends that you travel to an area where city lights are not obscuring the sky’s natural lights – the darker your surroundings, the better. An evening with no moon in the sky will be your best bet.

“The zodiacal light is easiest to see when true night falls in spring, because then the ecliptic is most perpendicular to the western horizon in the evening,” the website explained, adding that the Pyramid of Light “can be seen for up to an hour after all traces of evening twilight leave the sky. Unlike true dawn or dusk, though, there’s no rosy color to the zodiacal light.”

[STORY: NASA finds planet with four suns]

The reason for this, according to experts, is because the reddish hues visible at true dawn and dusk are caused by the Earth’s own atmosphere. While scientists did believe at one point that the lights of the false dawn somehow originated in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, they have since learned that they come from well beyond our planet’s atmosphere.

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‘Brain in a jar’ research helps unravel mysteries of jet lag

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

By studying the brains of fruit flies in the laboratory, researchers at the University of California-Irvine have discovered the biological mechanics responsible for jet lag, the sleep disorder which affects travelers as they cross time zones on their journeys.

Using a disembodied “brain in a jar” that sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, UC Irvine School of Medicine professor of physiology and biophysics Todd C. Holmes and his colleagues managed to capture the activity of individual circadian clocks at single-cell resolution in order to observe how said internal clock is effectively reset by light.

[STORY: Meditation may slow brain aging, study says]

They used imaging technology to capture video of fruit fly brains that had been kept alive for six days in a petri dish, and exposed them to an extremely sensitive low-light camera to study for the first time how specific neurons in circadian neural networks react to light cues.

By doing so, they were able to simulate the conditions of rapid travel across time zones, such as would be experienced by someone flying from New York to Los Angeles. Holmes and his fellow authors, who have published their findings online in the journal Current Biology, found that the desynchronization of circadian neurons plays a key role in light-induced jet lag.

It’s all about synergy, guys

Typically, most organisms make daily adjustments to the metabolism and their activity levels in order to synchronize with daylight and other environmental signals that govern their circadian rhythms. Jet lag disrupts this process, they explain, and treatments that accelerate the process of desynchronization before travel could be used to speed up post-travel recovery.

[STORY: Believing nicotine isn’t changes brain activity while smoking]

“Remarkably, our work indicates that the way you feel while jet-lagged exactly reflects what your nervous system is experiencing: a profound loss of synchrony,” Holmes said in a statement, adding that one single light pulse cued the biological clock of the fruit fly brain to move two full hours ahead of its original schedule through a process known as “phase retuning.”

Phase retuning, the authors explained, is marked by a circadian circuit-wide pattern of short-term desynchronization followed by the gradual emergence of an internal clock that is back in rhythm. They propose that temporarily weakening synchronization among neurons governed by circadian patterns would allow people to adapt up to two days faster to the cues of their new time zone.

Shifting with the pulse of a light

That would cut jet lag recovery in half, Holmes said, as circadian circuit light response typically takes place over the span of four days. A larger time shift, such as one experienced from flying to London from California, would most likely require a longer recovery period, he added.

[STORY: Smartphone thumbs are re-shaping our brains]

“That two-day difference is quite a bit if it means you feel great from the beginning of your arrival, say, in Italy,” Holmes noted. “You’re going to feel bad on the plane in any event, so it’s best to get the adjustment over with so you can enjoy your destination. I’m certain this will lead to treatments that’ll have a big impact on our travel practices.”

“This work illustrates in real time how the network of daily clocks in the brain adjusts to synchronize with the local light cycle,” added circadian biology expert Erik Herzog from Washington University in St. Louis, who was not involved in the research. “With extraordinary cellular resolution, the researchers show that some cells shift faster than others following a pulse of light. This might become a useful therapy in treating jet lag or the growing problem of ‘social jet lag,’ where people keep different schedules during the week than on the weekends.”

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Alexander the Great-era coins, jewelry discovered in Israel

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

A cache of coins and jewelry dating back to the days of Alexander the Great has been discovered by spelunkers exploring a cave in northern Israel, officials there announced on Monday.

The 2,300-year-old treasures were located by three members of the Israeli Caving Club, and among the items discovered were two silver coins depicting an image of Alexander on one side and Zeus on the other, as well as rings, bracelets, earrings and a small stone weight.

Silver coin of Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great). (Copyright: Shmuel Magal, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

One of the spelunkers, Hen Zakai, spotted the coins stashed within a niche of the cave, according to Discovery News. Archaeologists believe that the currency was originally minted at the start of the Hellenistic Period during Alexander’s reign, in the late fourth century BC. Also found was a clay oil lamp containing agate stones that were part of a string of beads, the website added.

Photo inside the cave: agate stones that were part of a string of beads and the Hellenistic oil lamp in which the stones were kept. (Copyright: Shmuel Magal, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

For better days

In a statement, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) explained that the valuables might have been stashed in the cave “by local residents who fled there during the period of governmental unrest stemming from the death of Alexander, a time when the Wars of the Diadochi broke out in Israel between Alexander’s heirs following his death.”

“Presumably the cache was hidden in the hope of better days, but today we know that whoever buried the treasure never returned to collect it,” the IAA added. The exact location of the stalactite-filled cave is being kept a secret due to the hazards it would pose to potential visitors, as well as the possibility that the archaeological strata and stalactites could be damaged.

[STORY: Crusader gold found in Castle of Arsur ruins]

During a weekend expedition to the cave, the IAA uncovered evidence of human habitation there which occurred over an extended period of time, from the Chalcolithic period 6,000 years ago to the Hellenistic period approximately 2,300 years ago, Discovery News explained. Archaeologists also uncovered several pottery vessels, including some that merged with limestone sediments.

More treasure in the area

The newly-discovered treasures, which could provide new insights on the lives of ordinary citizens living in Israel during the late fourth century BC, comes just weeks after amateur scuba divers found a cache of nearly 2,000 gold coins that had been in the waters off the Roman-era harbor of Caesarea for the past 1,000 years. That discovery was made last month.

“After the gold treasure from Caesarea, this is the second time in the past month that citizens have reported significant archeological finds and we welcome this important trend,” explained Amir Ganor, director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery in the IAA.

[STORY: Divers find largest treasure trove of gold coins off coast of Israel]

“Thanks to these citizens’ awareness, researchers at the Israel Antiquities Authority will be able to expand the existing archaeological knowledge about the development of society and culture in the Land of Israel in antiquity,” Ganor added, lauding the caving club members for their find.

According to Live Science, under Israeli law, people who violate the Law of Antiquities (which states that all antiquities belonging to the state must be reported to state authorities and cannot be removed from their location, sold or traded) could face up to five years in prison.

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Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia anti-inflammatory diet

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

admin

A Body on Fire

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that has caused untold sleepless nights for its sufferers and the medical practitioners trying to help them. As those with the condition struggle daily and nightly with a multitude of intense issues, their doctors and the researchers working to find a cure are just only now really beginning to crack the code as to what this disease might be.

Meanwhile it is estimated that over 5.5 million people in the United States alone suffer from fibromyalgia. They are plagued with fatigue, joint and muscle pain, sleep problems, depression, headaches, digestive problems, pelvic pain, TMJ and more. The range of symptoms varies by individual and by day and by night. One day one part of their body, perhaps the left leg and arm, are screaming in pain and the next night it is the right side. There seems to be no relief in sight.

Years ago sufferers were sometimes greeted with disbelief. The medical community was unable to detect any clear issues with modern medicine, and often wrote it off as a psychiatric issue or the flu or a similar, familiar condition.

Criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia has been established by the medical community. The basics are that a person must have had symptoms at a significant level (established on a scale as equal to or greater than 7) over a significant area of their body for at least three months.

Chronic Inflammation

For people with fibromyalgia, chronic inflammation causes widespread problems. To be clear, inflammation isn’t always a bad thing. When acute (periodic) inflammation occurs, it is the body’s way of healing itself after injury or infection. When we have an injury or illness, our body reacts by enlisting the services of its anti-injury-or-illness troops to increase blood flow to the area.

This increased positive flow of blood stimulates the nerve endings and other cells near the infection or injury and soon the white blood cells charge in to save the day. This is called acute inflammation. It’s necessary and normal for good health.

Chronic inflammation, however, is not a good thing. It plays a significant role in cardiovascular disease, according to many sources including the Mayo Clinic, and in fibromyalgia, which is basically inflammation system-wide. Chronic inflammation causes the pain, clogged arteries, strokes and more that fibromyalgia clients suffer.

Causes of Inflammation

A number of factors probably cause the inflammation, and it is difficult to specifically trace because of the wide-ranging symptoms. There is a cycle to the pain, fatigue, sleeplessness and all the other symptoms that fibromyalgia patients suffer that has no clear beginning or end. It is thought that certain factors exacerbate the condition and those include obesity, high stress, and eating the wrong foods.

Whether obesity is a cause of fibromyalgia or fibromyalgia is a cause of obesity is up for debate, but we are sure that obesity increases inflammation. Both obesity and inflammation are known to cause cardiac problems, and all three can lead to a sedentary life which in turn breeds systemic toxicity and the tendency towards more weight gain.

Anti-Inflammatory Diets

Anti-inflammatory diets, which are basically what the name says they are, have also gotten popular for the treatment of fibromyalgia, especially when cardiac symptoms are dramatically expressed as a major chronic symptom.

First there some things to avoid, beginning with tobacco and excessive alcohol drinking (although a little red wine is fine). Foods to avoid include all fast foods and foods that act to support inflammation like fatty meats, processed meats, partially hydrogenated oils, vegetable shortening, fried foods and regular cheese. It’s also important to avoid refined sugars and other snack foods and other beverages.

The anti-inflammatory diet advocated as a cure for inflammation is a diet based on healthy eating choices. There is no empirical evidence an “anti-inflammatory” diet will treat the severe conditions that many fibromyalgia patients suffer, but there is ample evidence that similar diets (the Mediterranean diet and the Asian-style diet) have a positive effect on cardiac functioning, which is at the root of much of the problems experienced by fibromyalgia patients.

The diet itself is very similar to the Mediterranean style of eating and includes using healthy fats, such as canola and olive oils, eating small portions of nuts and large portions of fruits and vegetables. The similarity extends to other diet programs such as the Zone diet and even has similarities to alternative healing recommendations in Aruvedic medicine.

Whether it is called an anti-inflammatory diet, the Zone or the Mediterranean diet, all three provide doses of Omega-3 fatty acids that research has proven helps relieve morning stiffness and joint pain among other things.

All of these anti-inflammatory diets, in one way or another, recommend the following:

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables;
Minimizing trans and saturated fats and using olive oil or canola oil in cooking;
Reducing the amount of refined carbohydrates such as white rice and pasta;
Reducing the intake of sugars;
Eating a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish or fish oil supplements and walnuts;
Eating plenty of whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat;
Eating lean protein sources such as chicken and fish and cut back on full dairy foods and red meats; and

There seems to be an agreement that certain spices as well, like cumin, ginger and curry, have anti-inflammatory properties. Foods to avoid for treating fibromyalgia with this diet are the processed and fast foods that we all know we should avoid.

NSAID Drugs

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are familiar to most of us as aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen. Research is currently being conducted on their potential to help the fibromyalgia sufferer fight the toxicity in their system (the inflammation) in a quicker way. But there are risks from NSAIDS, not the least of which is gastrointestinal bleeding, which could be a real problem in the already weakened systems.

Long Lasting Change

Assuming that a person is lucky enough not to experience the negative aspects of the NSAID, then the choice may be clear. But there is an argument against this quick fix. It might, in the short run, cure the symptoms. But unlike the lifestyle change that will result from adopting the anti-inflammatory diet, there is nothing stopping the cycle of buildup of toxins, again. This would put the person right back where they started.

There is an alternative. With millions of people suffering from this disease, the onslaught of fibromyalgia needs more than one finger to plug the damn. It needs an army, and it is thought that that a major change in lifestyle that embraces an anti-inflammatory diet may provide a few of those fingers.

Further reading:

Neuroscientists successfully implant memories into sleeping mice

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 10, 2015 Last Edited: March 10, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

A team of French neuroscientists has effectively hacked the brains of sleeping mice, implanting false memories using electrodes to directly stimulate and record nerve cell activities, according to new research published online Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Their technique created artificial associative memories that remained throughout the creatures’ sleep, and altered their behavior after they woke up, according to The Guardian. While this is far from the only time that scientists have altered brain cells in the laboratory, it demonstrates for the first time that fake memories can be implanted into the brains of sleeping animals.

[STORY: A dirty mind is a sharper mind]

Furthermore, the study provides new insight into how nerve cells encode spatial memories, as well as the role of sleep in making those memories stronger. It shows how the brain replays the day’s events during slumber, New Scientist explained, and the methods used in the study could one day be used to alter the memories of people who have experienced traumatic events.

I distinctly remember there being cheese here?

As part of their work, Karim Benchenane of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and his colleagues implanted electrodes into the brains of 40 mice. Specifically, they focused on the medial forebrain bundle (MFB), which is involved in the reward process, and the CA1 region of the hippocampus, which helps encode spatial navigation-related memories.

[STORY: Memory expert: Brian Williams most likely guilty of a social context memory problem]

The rodents were then left alone to explore their surroundings as the scientists monitored how their hippocampal neurons fired when each of them entered was in a specific location or “place field” within their environment. In one part of the experiment, they timed electrical stimulation of the MFB in five awake mice to coincide with the firing of a specific location’s cell.

Later, as the mice were sleeping, the researchers monitored the animals’ brain activity as they replayed the day’s experiences. A computer recognized when the specific place cell fired, and as it did, a second electrode would cause the reward area of the brain to become stimulated, creating a false associative memory in the creatures’ brains.

The mice came to associate that location with a reward, and when they woke up, immediately traveled to that area, spending between four to five more time there than two control mice that were administered MFB stimulation that did not coincide with location-related neural activity. The findings indicate that a new memory linking the location with a reward had formed.

[STORY: Lost memories may be recovered, study finds]

“The mouse is remembering enough abstract information to think ‘I want to go to a certain place’, and go there when it wakes up,” University College London neuroscientist Neil Burgess told New Scientist. “It’s a bigger breakthrough [than previous studies] because it really does show what the man in the street would call a memory – the ability to bring to mind abstract knowledge which can guide behavior in a directed way.”

“This is exciting because it provides excellent evidence for the importance of place cells in guiding navigation to goals,” Hugo Spiers, a spatial cognition researcher at UCL, added in an interview with The Guardian. “It is also remarkable that the authors have been able to incept a false memory into the brain during sleep using this method.”

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Robots could replace half of all US workers by 2035

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence could may wind up costing you your job within the next 20 years, researchers from the Oxford Martin Program on Technology and Employment have discovered using a new machine-learning algorithm.

According to Engadget, the algorithm analyzed data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that as many as 47 percent of all American jobs could be done by machines within the next two decades – if technology continues to progress at its current pace.

Among the professions that will be most affected, the report said, are taxi drivers, truck drivers, and forklift operators, all of whom could be displaced by self-driving vehicles. Retail jobs could also be at risk, as companies collect enough data about shopping habits that automated devices could more effectively predict what a person wants to buy than human clerks.

[STORY: AI Mario doesn’t need your help rescuing princesses]

“The remaining jobs will be increasingly creative and increasingly social,” Oxford’s Michael Osbourne explained to Fusion. “I actually think it will be better for society, because these are tasks that we tend to do in our spare time as hobbies, and as we are more displaced by machines it will leave these more fundamentally human tasks to perform.”

When asked if this shift would benefit the arts, Osbourne told Fusion that be believed that there “will be new kinds of art, and more people will be freed up to make art, but wages will probably get less competitive in the arts, especially because there’s going to be a lot more supply.”

If we’ve learned anything from AI movies, it’s that robots don’t seamlessly blend in

Of course, this is all hypothetical. As Engadget explains, the research assumes that robots and AI technology will make a relatively seamless transition from experimental to practical. Currently, there are still several legal and technical obstacles in the way, including the fact that self-driving cars currently aren’t even allowed on the motorway, let alone able to take a taxi-driver’s job.

[STORY: Hawking concerned advanced AI could spell the end of mankind]

“With that in mind, the research is a reminder that society isn’t really prepared for tech-related job disruption on a grand scale,” the website said, noting that while the authors believe people “will still have a place in creative and social work,” that many individuals “aren’t training that way” and that it remains unclear if those fields can handle the influx of new workers.

As CNBC reported on Friday, a similar report from the Boston Consulting Group features a somewhat more optimistic outlook for the future of the human worker. The study claims that 25 percent of all jobs that can be automated will be handled by robots by the year 2025, an increase from 10 percent currently.

“It means a very substantial increase in productivity and it means we will be able to produce more at lower prices,” Hal Sirkin, senior partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group, told the website. “We are thinking about a 16 percent drop in labor costs for manufacturing plants over this time period.”

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Millennium Camera set for 1,000-year exposure

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Using a specially designed pinhole camera, one conceptual artist and philosopher plans to track changes to the Arizona skyline over the next 1,000 years – a project that officially got underway on Friday with the unveiling of the so-called Millennium Camera.

Jonathon Keats, the man behind the Millennium Camera, installed the device on the third-level terrace at the Arizona State University Art Museum, and according to Discovery News, it will be capturing a millennium-long image of the evolving Tucson, Arizona skyline.

The project, the website explains, is “literally an exponential expansion” of the Century Camera, a previous initiative of Keats’ which involved the placement of cameras designed to record 100-year exposures in Berlin at various locations throughout the world. The goal of both projects is to create awareness of environmental issues and the impact our choices will have on the future.

[STORY: Time capsule to Mars campaign has begun]

The devices, which were designed by Keats himself, are said to be based on but more durable than the traditional pinhole camera. They feature a solid metal camera that uses oil paint rather than traditional film. Light enters through a pinhole in a 24-karat gold plate, and as time passes, the light fades the colored pigment and creates a positive image, according to Discovery News.

“For instance, old houses torn down after a couple centuries will show up only faintly, as if they were ghosts haunting the skyscrapers that replace them,” Keats told the website, adding that the Millennium Camera project has a slightly different focus than the Century Camera.

Photographic time capsule

“With a thousand years in view, the documentation will have less to do with urban development and will be more concerned with the changing environment. In other words, the photographs will show how our future climate transforms our terrestrial habitat,” he explained in a email.

The camera was installed during a March 6 event, and visitors to the ASU Art Museum will be able to see both the camera and the skyline it is set to record over the next 1,000 years, officials said in a statement.

[STORY: Say cheese: Galaxies caught smiling for the camera?]

The camera in its time capsule designed to last 1,000 years. (Credit: ASU)

“The ASU Art Museum is well-positioned to bear witness to the Tempe skyline as it evolves and changes,” said ASU Art Museum Curator Garth Johnson. “The span involved in Keats’ vision is at once humbling and empowering for a forward-thinking institution like ours.”

A month-long exhibit based on the project has been scheduled for Spring 3015.

“The first people to see this picture will be children who haven’t yet been conceived. They’re impacted by every choice we make, but they’re powerless. If they can’t influence our decisions, at least they can bear witness,” Keats told ASU News.

[STORY: Space camera will help detect skin cancer on Earth]

Following the unveiling, Keats led a hands-on workshop on building deep time cameras as part of ASU’s annual Emerge festival. During that event, he challenged the public to build a pinhole camera with a 100-year exposure to hide somewhere in the Phoenix area.

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Selfie sticks banned from Smithsonian museums

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Bad news for museum goers who want to squeeze as many historic artifacts into their selfies as possible: The Smithsonian has banned the use of selfie sticks in all of its facilities, joining a long and growing list of museums and other venues barring their use.
As reported last week by CNET and Business Insider, the use of the smartphone-extending poles that have made it easier to take quality self-portraits have been added to an existing policy which prohibits the use of monopods or tripods at the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and one zoo.
“For the safety of our visitors and collections, the Smithsonian prohibits the use of tripods or monopods in our museums and gardens,” the institution said in a statement Tuesday. “Effective today, March 3, monopod selfie sticks are included in this policy.”
[STORY: Does posting selfies make you a psychopath?]
Museum officials added that the move was “a preventive measure to protect visitors and objects, especially during crowded conditions,” and that they “encourage museum visitors to take selfies and share their experiences – and leave the selfie sticks in their bags.”
Visitors will still be permitted to take pictures and record video footage of their trips to the museums (for noncommercial use only) unless otherwise posted. Members of the media who require the use of a tripod or monopod must receive special permission from the Smithsonian’s Public Affairs Office and be escorted by a museum staff member while on the grounds.
Kind of late to jump on the bandwagon
In December, the Cleveland Museum of Art banned the use of selfie sticks without obtaining prior permission, adding it to a list that includes tripods, monopods, pens, markers, charcoal and other art materials. Museum officials told The Cleveland Plain Dealer that the move was made to protect artwork, to protect visitors and to provide an optimal visiting experience.
[STORY: Study confirms teens still sending naked selfies]
“We love people photographing the experience” of touring the museum, Aaron Petersal, the museum’s director of visitor experience, told the newspaper. However, when using a selife stick, you “may not be paying attention to other people around you, so there’s the potential of hitting someone else” – or one of the priceless works of art in the museum’s collection.
Selfie sticks are also banned in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. Likewise, they are prohibited in the Seattle Museum of Art, which also extended an existing ban on tripods to apply to the up to 10-foot-long poles for safety reasons and to protect the artwork.
“If someone had a selfie stick and they were getting a little overzealous, they could easily damage our pieces,” Wendy Malloy, Director of Public Relations for the Seattle Museum of Art, told KOMO News on Friday. “There’s also the obnoxious factor.”
Going international
On Sunday, The Telegraph reported that The Louvre and the Pompidou Centre in France are also considering bans, as the former has become especially concerned about the devices being used in close proximity to iconic works of art such as the Mona Lisa.
[STORY: Do fart-filtering underpants actually work?]
“Nowhere do the authorities view selfie sticks more unfavorably than in South Korea,” the UK news outlet added. In that country, the sale or use of unregistered selfie sticks is illegal and can be punished with a fine of up to $25,000 because the Bluetooth technology used in some of the handheld mounts could interfere with telecommunications signals.
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Fibromyalgia

Do Muscle Traumas/Injuries Cause Fibromyalgia?

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

If you’re suffering from fibromyalgia, you know that muscle weakness and pain is one of your primary symptoms. The aches, stiffness, and pain are very often contributing factors to the increased fatigue you feel as well as any disabilities you may have.

Many times, those suffering from fibromyalgia find that they can’t continue remaining active because the fibromyalgia has resulted in persistent pain and a decreased range of motion. Many researchers have theorized that injuries and muscle traumas could actually be a cause of fibromyalgia- a theory that many fibromyalgia patients will agree with.

Muscle Microtraumas

Something you may not realize is that muscle injuries can be caused by nearly anything- form aggressive exercise to car crashes. The truth is that everyone will experience a muscle injury of some sort at some point in their lives. Many of these traumas will stay dormant- you’ll never notice them. However, most of the time, you’ll know pretty soon after a trauma that you have an injury.

When it comes to individuals with fibromyalgia, there is really no “typical” history. The main complaint is that they are experiencing severe pain in their back, neck, and shoulders. In most cases, they have not had any prior issues with constant pain before they experienced the trauma.

The pain set in after the accident or trauma and just never went away. For a short time, x-rays, pain medications, evaluations, and other medical treatments seem to work, but the pain just keeps on just like it was when it started.

Most individuals don’t even really notice microtraumas. You may have a trauma due to a car accident or exercise in the nerves or tiny muscles in your body. The muscles can become torn, which eventually causes trigger points to form.

Trigger points, also known as tender points, are areas of the body in your soft tissues that are extremely painful and sensitive when pressed. Due to their location in the body, physicians use them as one of the in criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia.

When there are widespread tender points in specific locations in the body, a physician will diagnose an individual as having generalized fibromyalgia. On the other hand, if a physician gives a diagnosis of localized- or regional- fibromyalgia, that means this is local to a specific area- upper body, back, lower back, and other places. In most cases, individuals who have what is referred to as post-traumatic fibromyalgia have abnormal nodes or tightness with localized muscle spasms that can be felt when touched.

Weakness of Muscles

When you first injure a muscle, your very first impulse will likely be to give your muscles a break and lie down. Though it may seem to be helpful, it can actually cause more pain- even to the point of causing you to develop fibromyalgia. You must keep exercising your muscles to maintain their healthy tone and condition.

If you rest your muscles for an extended period of time, they will end up losing their tone and strength and become extremely weak. Then, when you do start exercising again, you’ll be likely to experience spasms, which occurs when your muscles become congested and tight. Things such as nutrients, waste materials and oxygen will then be able to become trapped in the muscles, therefore increasing the pain you experience. This is the reason that researchers believe muscle injuries could cause the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Injury to Central Nervous System

In addition to traumas and microtraumas, central nervous system injuries seem to be connected to fibromyalgia. Your central nervous system is comprised of your brain and spinal cord. Both of these can easily become injured through stress, infections, or accidents. When you injure your central nervous system, this can cause interference with the release and the flow of hormones, neurotransmitters, and blood, which can lead to extreme pain along with other symptoms.

One study looked at the occurrence of symptoms of fibromyalgia in individuals experiencing neck trauma. It was seen that individuals who have injuries to their neck are thirteen times more likely to have fibromyalgia than those who do not have a neck injury.

Additionally, injury to your central nervous system can cause interference with your brainwaves, which are patterns that are indicative of the activities of your brain. There are four forms of brainwaves and each one indicates a different process. Injuries can cause interference in these, which leads to fibro-fog, sleep problems, and other symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia Knows No Boundaries

Fibromyalgia can strike anyone at any time- men, women, children. However, it is known that it does tend to affect women more often than it does men- especially during their childbearing years. Over 80 percent of individuals suffering from fibromyalgia are women. The alarming fact is that more and more children are being diagnosed with Pediatric, or Juvenile, fibromyalgia.

It is much harder to diagnose a child with fibromyalgia than it is to diagnose an adult because the symptoms come on very gradually and children are typically inconsistent when describing their symptoms. However, their symptoms are not unlike symptoms of an adult.

Additionally, seniors struggle with the added challenges of fibromyalgia on top of their other health issues. Due to the fact that they are likely already dealing with conditions that have similar symptoms, diagnosing fibromyalgia in seniors can be much more difficult.

Treating Fibromyalgia

Currently, there is no cure for fibromyalgia. However, there are lots of treatment options available. You can utilize medical treatments and medications to help with the pain of fibromyalgia. Additionally, alternative treatments such as acupuncture or acupressure are becoming very popular.

The best way to treat your fibromyalgia is with a team of your physician, physical therapist, and even professionals in the pain management field. Of course, you should know that it will likely take you a few years to put together a team like this that is willing to work with you on a treatment plan. Still, once you finally get it done, they can make a very big difference in your overall quality of life.

Further reading:

Injury and Muscle Trauma: http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_trauma.html

Fibromyalgia Causes: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-causes

Can Trauma Cause Fibromyalgia? http://www.everydayhealth.com/fibromyalgia/can-trauma-cause-fibromyalgia.aspx

Beer pong is actually pretty gross, study says

Written By: Brett Smith

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – @ParkstBrett
Like learning to ride a bike or going to that first ball game with your father, playing beer pong is a rite of passage most Americans look back upon with warm, fond memories.
But surprisingly, according to a new study, beer pong may not exactly be the healthiest way to spend a Thursday afternoon when you’re actually supposed to be in sitting in that Physics 101 lecture. In fact, it could make you sick – in more ways than one.
The new study, published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, tried to answer the question that inevitably gets asked mid-way though a game of beer pong: Exactly how clean are these ping-pong balls right now?
Transferring E. coli
In case you didn’t party much in your twenties, beer pong is a simple party game that basically involves taking a ping-pong ball, throwing it across a table, into a cup of beer and having your opponent drink said cup of beer. The problem is – the ball often goes caroming off the cup, and onto the floor or pavement, where all manner of things may be lying in wait. Non-germophobes will simply chase after the ball, return to the table and resume tossing the ball, possibly covered in dust and fecal matter, directly into cups filled with warm beer.

In the study, researchers tested beer pong balls used at a number of different locations, from outdoors at a barbecue, to an indoor carpeted area. While the bacterial species found on the balls were not considered pathogenic, the team did find that balls used in outdoor games had a greater density of microbes.
In a second part of the study, researchers wanted to see how effective the balls were in transferring microbes to beer. They saw that balls inoculated with a non-pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) were 100 percent effective at transferring the bacteria.
The best partner of all time
In January, we learned about one beer pong player that will never have to worry about getting an E. coli infection – a robotic arm called Versaball. A YouTube video released by the robot’s maker Empire Robotics showed Versaball smoothly and efficiently playing a flawless round of beer pong.

Not just built to master beer pong, Versaball is designed to pick up sharp objects and other things that might be a risk for human hands. The robot owes its unique skills to a unique gripper system based on a malleable green ball.
“The green ball is filled with a sand-like material. When air is pumped into the ball, the ball softens,” Empire Robotics said in a press release. “The ball is then pushed against the target object. Pulling air out of the ball jams the sand like material together, causing the ball to harden. This transition from soft to hard creates the gripping forces.”
After debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Versaball also went on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – and surprisingly was not asked to play a parlor game or do an impression.

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Fibromyalgia

Fibro Treatment Scams

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Ugly as the truth is, there are a lot of fibro treatment scams out there today. Anytime you have a chronic condition, marketers know that you will buy on the promise of relief, rather than investigate their claims as you would with any other major purpose.

Here is an overview of what you should watch out for when you encounter some new “miracle” cure. There is no cure for fibromyalgia. There are great advances being made in its treatment, but these are advances – not magical treatments. Always talk with your doctor before you try any new treatment to make sure it won’t counteract the treatments you are on.

Look for – the “secret” and the “conspiracy”

The biggest gambit that marketers use to push fibro treatment scams is that they have a secret product that the healthcare industry doesn’t want you to know about. This reveals that the company not only thinks that the consumer is ignorant, but that they fail to understand how pharmaceutical companies make money.

Chronic diseases drain profits from everyone involved with medicine. If there was a cure they would rush to make it available. Not only would it be a long term cash resource for the healthcare industry, but it would let them avoid the long term care costs associated with chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia.

How to know if something is really FDA approved

The FDA approves many things. It also approves them for very specific uses only. Be wary of the phrase “FDA approved.” There are only three things that the FDA has approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia and they are all well-known prescription medications. Marketers can get away with listing something as FDA approved if one of the ingredients is on an approved list for anything.

It should also be noted that FDA approval is not required for any beauty aid or health supplement. They are prohibited from making claims about it treating a specific disease or condition. Make sure you read all of the fine print on an ad, as the FDA disclaimer that says the item has not been tested is required on supplements and natural therapies.

The magic of “clinically proven”

One of the catch phrases of marketing is “clinically proven,” or any variation that states that the product has been studied. In many cases, there may be a connection to a study, but the interpretation of the findings is not correct. In the worst case, there are many fabricated studies that exist on the Internet.

Be wary of any study that is referenced that you cannot find, or cannot find anywhere else but the product site. PubMed is an excellent and free resource where you can read the study findings yourself to see if the evidence shown matches the marketing hype.

How to weigh testimonials

Old school thinking would caution you to exclude any product that features customer testimonials on their site, and to look for customer reviews instead. The new school of thinking is that both testimonials and reviews should be taken with a very large grain of salt. Writing reviews of products is a cottage industry that is perfected by freelancers and marketing executives.

That doesn’t mean that they aren’t worth anything. It does mean that they shouldn’t be the deciding factor on whether or not you should try a product. The real deciding factor comes in knowing how realistic the product promises are, whether it is supported by solid clinical evidence, and if your doctor and pharmacist say that it won’t interfere with anything else you are taking.

The big, fat lie of the secret cure

Another solid clue that you are looking at one of the fibro treatment scams is when they promise a secret, or immediate cure. As soon as someone starts talking about how the healthcare industry doesn’t want you to know something, you are sure that they are lying. The cost of treatment for Fibromyalgia is hugely expensive to insurance companies, doctors, schools, places of work and society in general.

If there was a cure then it would be passed around for free because fibromyalgia costs big business, big pharma and society too much to let it just happen to people. The intensity of the criteria for fibromyalgia diagnosis shows you just how serious medicine and society is about making sure that those who have it get treatment as soon as possible. That is half about helping people feel better, and half about trying to cap its cost to society too.

The problem with Ancient Wisdom

Another common claim with products is that they are based on “ancient wisdom,” or come from traditional medicines. The problem with this claim is that much of the ancient and traditional cures didn’t do anything, but they are what people did when they encounter fibromyalgia centuries ago.

Many of the traditional medicines have been extensively studied, and some of them are effective – but most are not – especially for modern illnesses. You also have to keep in mind that the traditional medicines were taken into bodies that lived traditional lifestyles – which were more active, ate fresher food, and generally followed a much healthier lifestyle than the modern person can.

Be safe, be smart and stay educated

Keep yourself safe from fibro treatment scams by remembering the golden rule, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Before you invest in a cure-all, investigate it. Get your doctor involved too. You would be surprised at how willing they are to help you navigate new treatments. Everyone is going to fall for one of the fibro treatment scams at some point.

It is just human nature to want to take or do one thing and have all the hurt and pain go away. That doesn’t mean that you have to fall for every one, or not be open to trying alternative treatments. Educate yourself with solid evidence and clinical findings that can be traced and you will find more ways to improve your quality of life than you can dream.

Further reading:

Your Assessment Tools: http://www.fmnetnews.com/coping-resources/consumer-alerts/assessment

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia and Glutamate

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Fibromyalgia is a really mysterious disorder, and because of that, many people have tried to find links between it and other bodily functions and problems. That being said, neurotransmitters have long been considered one of the items that likely causes issues for fibromyalgia sufferers.

Glutamate is one of the many neurotransmitters that may be part of the issue. But what is glutamate, what does it do, and why may it have an effect on fibromyalgia and the symptoms that we suffer from the disorder? Read on to learn more.

What is Glutamate and What Is It Used For?

As you likely know, there are a lot of chemicals in your brain, and they all do something different for the mind and the body and how they work. They’re the little messengers in your brain that shoot messages back and forth between all of the different parts of the brain.

These are the things that tell your brain what to do, how to act, and so on and so forth. Glutamate is just one of these many neurotransmitters, and they actually play a very important role, and it usually coincides with another neurotransmitter known as GABA.

So, what do these do? Glutamate is actually incredibly important. They’re the little signals that get your brain ready to go so that it can do important tasks. Most of the activities related to glutamate have to do with memory and learning.

Basically, the glutamate turns on the brain cells and revs them up so that they are warmed up and ready to get the new information that is about to come into the mind. If your glutamate amount is correct, what is going to happen is that those memories are going to stay in your mind and you will learn whatever it is you are trying to learn. Sounds fairly simple, doesn’t it?

Sadly, glutamate can be a pretty scary thing if it goes out of control. If your brain is making too much of this neurotransmitter, that means that your brain cells are actually getting overstimulated. Think about the last time that you drank too much caffeine – you probably felt really hyper, and you may have felt like you were going to jump out of your own skin. That’s what glutamate does to each of your brain cells if it’s left to its own devices.

It overstimulates and excites the little brain cells until they basically pass away and die. They can’t handle the stimulation, so they sort of “pop” and stop existing at all. Sound familiar? This is exactly what happens during a number of diseases that occur later on in life, like Alzheimer’s and ALS – the brain cells degenerate, making it difficult to do much of anything. Research is still going on, but there are a lot of studies that suggest a strong tie between an excess of glutamate and the development of these degenerative diseases.

How Does Glutamate Tie In With Fibromyalgia?

Well, as you likely know, fibromyalgia is not a degenerative disease like ALS or Alzheimer’s – usually, the worst that happens is that you have to fight off a little bit of fibro fog now and again. So, how is glutamate connected with fibromyalgia? That’s actually debated at the time of the writing of this article – the jury is still out, and research is being done in order to determine the causes and effects that go on around this interesting little neurotransmitter.

That being said, it definitely shouldn’t be counted out, and the research being done should continue, because there’s a lot of evidence suggesting that there’s a connection somewhere.

When your brain is making too much of the stuff, the neurons die. But what also happens is that you feel more anxious, you feel more pain, you don’t rest or sleep or sit still as well, and you also may seem like you’re dealing with the symptoms of a hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, etc).

But, the interesting thing is – many people in the field feel that the opposite is actually happening to those who are fighting fibromyalgia. Inability to sleep, a lack of energy, mental fatigue, and an inability to concentrate and focus, are considered to be what happens when you aren’t getting enough of glutamate throughout your brain.

So, What Can Be Done?

If glutamate may be part of the problem, then what is the answer that you are looking for? Good question. At this point in time, the most common treatment has to do with diet. There are supplements that will give you the chemicals that you need in your brain so that you have just enough glutamate going throughout it.

There are also a small handful of medications that you can take as well – they basically make it so that your brain is still stimulated, and that it uses what is already going through your mind in order to keep you stimulated. You may also be able to do a variety of other things in order to keep your levels under control, including proper diet, regular exercise, relaxation techniques, and a variety of other well being treatments that will help to keep your body in balance.

As stated above, there is a lot of research that still needs to be done, and because of that, we want to be careful with what exactly we do as part of our treatment. Everything is a fine balance, so you want to ensure that you don’t throw anything off too much.

One of the most important things that you need to do when you’ve been diagnosed with something like fibromyalgia is to make sure that you are educated about all of the research that is out there about our disorder.

There is plenty of information here on our site, or you can talk to your specialist in order to get the newest information about fibromyalgia research and to determine what plans would be right for your particular symptoms and the other things that you are dealing with from your FM.

Further reading:

GABA & Glutamate in Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/symptoms/a/Gaba-And-Glutamate-In-Fibromyalgia-And-Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome.htm

Pain in fibromyalgia is linked to changes in brain molecule: http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2008/fibromyalgia.htm

VIDEO: These walls pee back on drunk Germans

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Residents of Hamburg, Germany, are pissed off about people pissing on buildings in the party quarter known as St. Pauli, so they’re doing something about it – coating some of the walls with a water-repelling coating that can repel and reflect attempts at urination.

According to Discovery News, citizens there sprayed some of the walls with Ultra Every Dry, a hydrophobic coating that can effectively “pee back” on somebody trying to relieve themselves in public. Warning signs were also posted in the hopes that it will cut down on the behavior.

However, as officials told the website, not all of the liquid-repelling walls are clearly marked, meaning that would-be offenders shouldn’t assume that they’re safe if there are no warning signs posted. Otherwise, they could wind up on the wrong end of a rather unpleasant surprise.

[STORY: It’s ok to pee in a pool, scientists say]

“This paint job sends a direct message back to perpetrators that their wild urinating on this wall is not welcome,” group organizer Julia Staron told Reuters. “The paint protects the buildings and the residents and most importantly it sends a signal this behavior is not on.”

Fighting fire with repellant

Staron and her colleagues explained that they’re tired of the smell caused by late-night party goers who relieve themselves on public buildings, and turned to the high-tech paint, which is primarily used to build cargo ships, to dissuade the people known as “Wildpinkler” or “Wild urinators” from relieving themselves in public, according to The Telegraph.

The signs, posted in both German and English, read “Hier nicht pinkeln! Wir pinkeln zurueck (Do not pee here! We pee back!),” added the news organization. A YouTube video posted by the organization, which shows Staron putting up the signs, drew over 180,000 views on its first day alone. As of Monday morning, it had been viewed more than 2.2 million times.

The paint is expensive, costing a reported 500 euros ($545) for enough of the coating to cover a 65 square foot (six square meter) area, but Staron said that it was worth the cost, and that it was used as a last resort after community leaders realized that using more conventional methods, such as increasing fines for the act, simply weren’t working.

“If you compare the work involved for daily cleaning of the mess and the awful smell, as well as all the collateral damage involved, it has definitely been well worth it,” she explained. “We tried to analyze the problem and come up with a solution. We were especially interested in coming up with an idea that would be suitable for this quarter.”

[STORY: Migrating animals’ pee affects ocean chemistry]

“It was a real annoyance that was growing and growing. We wanted to bring people to reason,” Uwe Christiansen, the owner of several local bars as well as a member of the St. Pauli Interest Community (IG St. Pauli), told The Local. “I’ve seen in Facebook and the local newspapers that the reactions were very positive. People were just tired of the peeing on walls, home entrances and playgrounds.”

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Fibromyalgia

Garlic as a Treatment for Fibromyalgia?

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Whether or not garlic tastes good is up to you to decide, but believe it or not, garlic may turn out to be a viable treatment for fibromyalgia. Garlic contains antibiotic properties, which is the reason it could be a good treatment plan.

There is so much that even the top scientists of the world don’t yet know about fibromyalgia. For one thing, we don’t even know what causes it! Theories for the cause of fibromyalgia range from an impediment in the relationship between nerves and the brain to a bacterial or virus infection. If the cause of fibromyalgia is a bacterial or virus infection, then garlic could potentially be a treatment or possible cure for the cause of fibromyalgia. Pretty cool, right?

If there’s an immediate downside to eating garlic, we might as well bring it up early on: it’s no secret that raw garlic can cause bad breath when consumed. But then again, there’s a downside to everything.

If you opt for garlic as one of your treatment plans for fibromyalgia, be sure to brush your teeth very thoroughly afterward! Yes, it’s a pain, but considering the very strong evidence we’ll look at that suggests garlic can block and kill inflammation, you’ll probably end up thinking that it’s well worth the trade off.

That being said, here is why garlic could be a viable treatment option for the symptoms of fibromyalgia:

Inflammation

One of the primary symptoms of fibromyalgia is suffering from fatigue, and a major reason why a person may feel fatigued is due to the pro-inflammatory cytokines present in the body. Cytokines, by definition, are proteins that are excreted by the immune system’s cells.

Further scientific research has yielded the information that fibromyalgia patients suffer very similar inflammation as other chronic fatigue patients. Therefore, the obvious treatment medication would be anti-inflammatory drugs, or any therapy procedure that could keep inflammation down for that matter.

Unfortunately, many of the known anti-inflammatory drugs will keep inflammation down as they intended for, but also be hard on the digestive system. This is simply not worth the risk of taking the drugs.

This is where garlic comes in. Garlic has much of the same anti-inflammatory properties as the medical drugs do, but in addition, it also prevents the infections and viruses that can be hard on the digestive system with the drugs. Beyond this, garlic has also been found to have a very good effect on the heart. For these reasons, garlic is something you, as a fibromyalgia patient, should pursue.

Therapy Procedures

You probably never would have guessed that there ever was such a thing as ‘garlic therapy,’ but there definitely is. It’s also a therapy that you can use on your own at home with common recipes. For the procedure of garlic therapy, select fresh garlic in its natural form.

Look for recipes that use a lot of garlic as the common ingredient. If doable, look for recipes where the garlic will be kept as fresh as possible after the recipe is completed. Eat up on your completed recipes and you should see the chronic pain from inflammation go down in time.

Have you ever given consideration to growing garlic on your own? Garlic is incredibly easy to grow, and homegrown garlic may end up being better to control your inflammation than store bought garlic.

If you’re really that opposed to garlic due to its taste and/or smell, no worries! There are garlic supplements available that come completely odorless and sometimes even tasteless. If you do buy a supplement that has the same taste and smell as real garlic, you really won’t have gained anything. The taste and smell will still be with you. Besides, poor taste or smell is a very small price to pay for something that can control your inflammation. Who could complain?

Overall Benefits of Garlic

Because garlic can reduce inflammation, it is therefore used as a treatment method for a variety of other illnesses and conditions as well. Asthma and arthritis are just two of the conditions that can also be helped with garlic. We’ve already explored chronic fatigue symptoms that can be greatly diminished with the aid of garlic.

As far as the science of everything is concerned, it was thought for years that inflammation had nothing to do with fibromyalgia. But new evidence reveals a different side of the story. Hence, garlic can help fibromyalgia.

Additional conditions that garlic can help control are the common cold, viruses in the stomach and digestive system, botulism, Candida, the flu, and even tuberculosis. The reasons why garlic is not only good to keep down inflammation but also to prevent the onset of bad effects on your digestive system, is because instead of fighting the viruses that would have dealt that damage, they instead make the body a good host for those viruses, therefore turning something bad into something good. It’s believed that for this same reason, garlic may also have good effects on preventing cancer.

Including plenty of garlic in your diet is essential to living a healthier and more productive life if inflammation is the problem. Remember to use fresh garlic whenever possible, and to avoid garlic powder. There is information all over the internet and in recipe cook books to explain how garlic can be used in cooking recipes so that it maintains its freshness.

Don’t be lazy and grab the garlic from the store that’s in powdered often.The fresh stuff is what works, so set a goal of making it a habit to only buy the fresh, natural form of garlic when you head to the grocery store. You can also always consider investing in putting together a vegetable garden indoors or outdoors, and including some onion bulbs in that garden.

Further reading:

Garlic For Fibromyalgia: http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/hold-your-breath.html

Eat Raw Garlic for Fibromyalgia: http://www.yourfibrosupport.com/fibro-relief-blog/eat-raw-garlic-for-fibromyalgia

Garlic for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2010/07/29/garlic-for-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm

Home Remedies for Fibromyalgia: https://www.organicfacts.net/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-fibromyalgia.html

Drug converts bad white fat to good brown fat

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Tests of an experimental new drug in mice has found that it can effectively convert “bad” white fat into “good” brown fat, leading the rodents to lose weight and fat, scientists from the Houston Methodist Research Institute have discovered in a new study.

Lead author Dr. Kevin Phillips, who presented his findings Friday at the 97th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego, said that the drug known as GC-1 speeds up metabolism, or the burning off of fat cells. His findings indicate that GC-1 could be used to treat obesity.

[STORY: Coffee drinkers have ‘cleaner’ arteries]

“GC-1 dramatically increases the metabolic rate,” Dr. Phillips said in a statement, “essentially converting white fat, which stores excess calories and is associated with obesity and metabolic disease, into a fat like calorie-burning brown fat.”

Defeating the metabolic villain

Until recently, scientists believed that only animals and human infants possessed brown adipose tissue, which helps burn energy. However, the new study indicates that adult humans have brown fat as well, but that its calorie-burning abilities lose their effectiveness over time.

[STORY: ‘Exercise hormone’ combats weight gain from fatty foods]

As Dr. Phillips explained, white adipose tissue, becomes a “metabolic villain” when there is too much of it in the body. Previous research has demonstrated that people who have more brown fat have a reduced risk of obesity and diabetes, leading scientists to search for ways to convert white adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue.

Enter GC-1, which Dr. Phillips and his colleagues report activates the receptors for thyroid hormones that play a role in regulating metabolism, or the process used by the body to convert food into energy. Thyroid hormone receptors also help with the process known as adaptive thermogenesis, through which a body changes extra energy (calories and fat) into heat.

Battling obesity and diabetes

The Houston Methodist Research Institute said that they tested the drug in hundreds of mice in research that was partially funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Mice that were naturally obese and those with diet-induced obesity were treated with the drug daily, and those who were genetically obese lost over 50 percent of their fat mass in about two weeks.

[STORY: Treadmill performance predicts when you’ll die]

Furthermore, mice treated with GC-1 also showed antidiabetic effects, including at least a sixfold improvement insulin sensitivity (how well the body clears glucose from the bloodstream). The drug induced adaptive thermogenesis in fat cells isolated from mice as well, and cell cultures and tissue samples from obese mice both showed signs of white fat being converted into brown.

While the drug has not yet been tested in humans for weight loss, clinical trials for it are currently underway in the form of the cholesterol-lowering drug sobetirome. However, the study authors note that the doses used in the cholesterol-lowering studies are much lower than what would be needed for weight loss.

Even so, Dr. Phillips noted his team’s findings demonstrate that GC-1 “is a novel fat-browning agent” which could be used to help treat obesity and metabolic syndrome, a disorder of energy storage and usage marked by high blood pressure, high plasma glucose levels, low high-density cholesterol (HDL) levels and other medical issues linked to cardiovascular disease.

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Fibromyalgia

Learning alternative therapies for fibromyalgia: Craniosacral therapy

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

admin

Rather than depend on medications to treat their chronic condition, some people prefer a more holistic approach for treating, pain, fatigue and other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

One such treatment is fairly new and has shown promise helping patients fight headaches, body aches and the feelings of fatigue. This new treatment is called craniosacral therapy, which comes from osteopathy. Osteopathy places an emphasis on how the musculoskeletal system can help improve people’s health.

An Explanation of Craniosacral Therapy

This treatment method is an alternative therapy that uses gentle palpations of the pressure points located in head, knees, torso and feet. The palpations are done with light pressure from the practitioner’s fingers. There are no bone manipulations or forceful movements like those often used by chiropractors, orthopedists or in osteopathy.

The main goal of craniosacral therapy is to improve the functioning of the central nervous system by eliminating restrictions in the craniosacral system. The craniosacral system consists of the membranes and fluid that surround the brain and spinal cord to help protect them. The membranes extend from the bones of the cranium at the face, mouth and skull, then down the spine to the sacrum, which is the tailbone area.

Craniosacral therapy was developed in the 1970s by Dr. John Upledger. He based this form of therapy on the theories developed by Dr. William Sutherland in the 1930s. This form of therapy is now widely used in the United States to help people with chronic pain, including those with fibromyalgia.

How does Craniosacral Therapy Work?

The theory that helped these doctors develop this therapy is based on the idea that the craniosacral system is tied into a person’s overall health. Craniosacral therapists belief that the cerebrospinal fluid emits a measurable pulse, called the cranial rhythmic pulse and, much like the heart or blood vessels, this pulse can rise or fall. They claim a healthy pulse should measure 10 to 14 cycles per minute and if there is interference in the pulse’s rhythm, then chronic pain diseases like fibromyalgia can develop.

For a condition like fibromyalgia, a craniosacral therapist will locate and measure the rate of the cranial rhythmic pulse. It is measured by placing their fingertips over certain areas of the body where the pulse can be detected. Once the pulse blockage has been located by the therapist, they can begin to clear the blockage.

Restoring the pulse to its normal rhythm is done with gentle palpations of the skull. The main focal points will be the connections of the skull’s bones and palpating will help to restore the cranial rhythmic pulse, which will help to reduce some fibromyalgia symptoms.

The Benefits of Craniosacral Therapy for Fibromyalgia Patients

Many fibromyalgia patients have benefited greatly from craniosacral therapy, even though there are naysayers in the medical community about the value of this therapy. It has been effective for many patients in reducing their symptoms because this therapy can help reduce the occurrence of tension headaches, help reduce widespread pain, increase range of motion, improve mood and decrease chronic fatigue.

Even though some in the medical community consider it quacky, there have been several studies showing the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy. These studies noted improvements in the patients’ conditions who participated in them. An article about a recent study was published in Massage Magazine that showed fibromyalgia patients did show a reduction in pain when craniosacral therapy was used on them.

The study was conducted at the Department of Nursing and Physical Therapy at the University of Almeria in Spain. It was conducted with 92 participants, all of whom suffered with fibromyalgia. Some of the participants were assigned to either an invention group or a placebo group. The intervention group received craniosacral therapy and the placebo group received a fake therapy using magnetotherapy equipment, although it was turned off. The therapies were given to the patients for 20 weeks.

At 20 weeks, the intervention group reported a significant reduction of pain at 13 out of 18 tender points on their bodies. After two months and at a year after the research treatments, the group that received the CST still reported a significant reduction in pain in several tender points. Due to these findings, the researchers concluded the therapy was able to improve medium-term pain symptoms for fibromyalgia patients.

How to Find a Craniosacral Therapist

If you want to try craniosacral therapy to see if it can help reduce fibromyalgia pain and to help you feel less fatigued, you will want to find a practitioner that is certified in its practice. Depending on where you live, it could be difficult to find someone who uses this therapy in their practice, but you can seek out those who are licensed in alternative medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy or osteopathy to help you find a therapist. Check with a fibromyalgia support group, do an online search for therapists in your area or contact a school that certifies craniosacral therapists.

What to Expect from Sessions

When you go to a craniosacral therapist for treatment, you can expect a session to last about 40 minutes to an hour. The sessions are conducted in a quiet area of a clinic or office and you don’t have to worry about disrobing because the sessions are done on patients when they are fully clothed.

After laying down and relaxing, the therapist will place his or her fingers on various areas of your body to find your cranial rhythmic pulse. Once that is found, the therapist will begin to gently palpation around your head, neck and spine. You could feel so relaxed you fall asleep, you may feel temperature changes in your body, instant pain relief and/or increased energy.

Before trying the therapy, advise your doctor that you wish to consider it, but do not change your medication regimen if it works for you. This therapy can work in conjunction with your medical treatment routine, but it shouldn’t replace that routine, especially if it is working well and helping to manage your fibromyalgia symptoms.

Further reading:

Craniosacral Therapy: http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/craniosacral-therapy

New Research Shows Craniosacral Therapy Reduces Fibromyalgia Patients’ Pain: http://www.massagemag.com/new-research-shows-craniosacral-therapy-reduces-fibromyalgia-patients-pain-7755/

Finally: A vaccine for herpes simplex

Written By: Brett Smith

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – @ParkstBrett

From polio to smallpox, vaccines have gone a long way in eradicating many of the world’s diseases, but some viruses remain stubbornly untreatable with vaccines.

The herpes simplex virus is one of those viruses currently without an effective vaccine, and researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in Chevy Chase, Maryland have recently announced the development of a promising new candidate that was developed through unconventional logic.

According to a report published in the journal eLife, the vaccine was developed by essentially overlooking the most obvious target – a protein on the virus’ surface called glycoprotein D (gD-2).

[STORY: Herpes infected humans before they were humans]

“We have a very promising new candidate for herpes,” said study author William Jacobs, an HHMI investigator at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, “but this might also be a good candidate as a vaccine vector for other mucosal diseases, particularly HIV and tuberculosis.”

A G-D vaccine

The new vaccine was found to work against the two most typical forms of herpes that cause cold sores (HSV-1) and genital ulcers (HSV-2). Both viruses infect the body’s nerve cells, where they can sit inactive for years until symptoms come back. The new vaccine is the first to counteract this kind of dormant infection.

“With herpes sores you continually get them,” Jacobs said. “If our vaccine works in humans as it does in mice, administering it early in life could completely eliminate herpes latency.”

[STORY: Copy of ’50 Shades of Grey’ found contaminated with cocaine and herpes]

Earlier attempts to develop a herpes vaccine have centered on gD, a protein that allows the pathogen to pass in and out of cells, as well as spread from cell-to-cell. The protein also solicits a strong antibody response a large number of experts in the field believe is needed to create immunity. However, previous work on a gD-based vaccine has not proven effective.

“It was necessary to shake the field up and go another route,” said study author Betsy Herold, a virologist and infectious disease physician at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

To work around gD, the study team engineered a version of the virus without that protein.

“Once we had this mutant in our hands,” Herold said, “it was a logical, scientifically driven hypothesis to say, ‘This strain would be 100 percent safe and might elicit a very different immune response than the gD subunit vaccines that have been tried.’”

Once the team was able to deliver an HSV-2 virus without gD into a cell line, it replicated abundantly in the cells, but was unable to infect new cells because it lacked that key protein. The team watched as the infected cells became “little factories for making viral proteins” that spurred the immune system to produce antibodies to HSV-2, Harold said.

[STORY: Massive study finds the average size of a penis]

The vaccine totally immunized two typical strains of lab mice against HSV-2 when tested with virus intra-vaginally or on the epidermis. The team also could not detect the virus in vaginal washes four days after the test and, more importantly, virus was not found in nerve tissue, where HSV often hides in a dormant form. Protection against HSV-1, which shares substantial homology with HSV-2, was also shown in both models. The vaccine created no adverse health effects in a group of mice with seriously jeopardized immune systems, showing the vaccine’s overall safety.

The team speculated that gD, which brings about a strong immune response, may actually overwhelm the immune system, causing it to “not see” other components of the virus that could be targeted.

“Herpes is a pretty smart little virus,” Herold said. “It has multiple immune evasion strategies and this is one of many.”

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Space camera will help detect skin cancer on Earth

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 9, 2015 Last Edited: March 9, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Space-based cameras originally designed to combat famine in Africa by monitoring vegetation are being adapted to help detect diseases such as skin cancer, the ESA announced on Friday.

The Proba-V vegetation-scanning satellite’s high-speed camera and digital infrared sensors can be used with a standard medical scanner, allowing doctors to look deeper into human skin tissue and detect skin diseases earlier than ever before.

It is one of several non-space applications for the technology currently under consideration, the agency explained. Other possible uses include improving solar cell production and spotting items that are defective while they’re still on the assembly line.

Telling the difference between two green trees

The Proba-V camera, which was developed for the ESA by a Belgian firm known as Xenics, is able to see light that we cannot by looking at in the shortwave infrared range. It also has a unique wide field of view that can create a new image of out planet’s flora every 48 hours.

[STORY: Cancer treatment from the vet]

“To humans, two green trees could look similar. But with this camera, we might detect that one is growing well and the other is unhealthy,” ESA’s Michael Francois explained.

Using its sensor, the Proba-V can monitor the Amazon rainforest or help African farmers predict crop yields.

“Based on the experience of preceding years, you can determine whether crop growth is on schedule or behind, and you can get early information on whether there will be sufficient food,” noted Koen van der Zanden from Xenics.

[STORY: Death from cancer is best, says doctor]

“The high-speed resolution of our ‘line-scan’ cameras makes them ideal for detecting hidden defects on fast-moving production lines, such as bottle manufacturing or sorting different types of plastics for recycling – all of which look similar to the human eye,” Koen added. “The items are moving fast, just like Earth spins below the satellite, so by scanning one complete line at a time we can quickly cover the whole area.”

Some specs

The Proba-V camera is capable of generating a 2250 kilometer wide picture of the land with each sweep of its 3072-pixel line sensor, the ESA said. Unlike conventional rectangular detectors such as those used in off-the-shelf digital cameras, however, the satellite’s sensor captures information one line at a time and does so with incredible speed.

As the target moves past, Proba-V creates a complete image, which increases the efficiency of imaging rapid objects on production lines. That ability, combined with its capability to “see the unseeable,” makes commercialization of the technology attractive and feasible.

Skin diseases and solar panels

Xenics is currently adapting their invention for use by doctors, with the idea that their technology will be able to improve a doctor’s ability to diagnose skin diseases. While scanners have been able to provide detailed cross-section images of living tissue for more than two decades, their space camera’s sensitivity at some wavelengths allow it to look deeper in search of diseases.

“It may still be a few years away but once our sensors start helping doctors to diagnose skin diseases and catch them at earlier stages, then we can all feel doubly proud of this spin-off from space,” Koen explained.

[STORY: This week in obvious science]

In addition, this capability allows the device to quickly spot defects on solar panels. When those panels are illuminated, the camera can gauge their efficiency quickly by spotting any dulling of the weak glow the cells emit when they absorb light, the ESA explained.

“The transfer of this specially developed camera technology for ESA’s Proba-V has positioned a European company in a leading position globally for linear shortwave infrared sensor technology,” added Sam Waes from the ESA’s Belgian technology broker, Verhaert. “It is an excellent demonstration of how investments in our space programs help European industry benefit from space technology spin-offs.”

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Mars rover discovers odd rocks

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 8, 2015 Last Edited: March 8, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

NASA has delayed the Opportunity rover’s voyage to the region of Mars known as Marathon Valley to send it to a nearby overlook that is home to unusual-looking rocks unlike anything that scientists had ever previously encountered on the Red Planet.

Marathon Valley, which Discovery News explained was named because Opportunity will have travelled the distance of a marathon (26 miles and 385 yards; 42.195 kilometers) once it reaches that location, was less than 130 meters away when the rocks caught NASA’s attention.

This map updates progress that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is making toward reaching a driving distance equivalent to a marathon footrace. It indicates the rover's position on March 5, 2015, relative to where it could surpass that distance. (Credit: NASA/JPL)

“We drove to the edge of a plateau to look down in the valley, and we found these big, dark-gray blocks along the ridgeline,” Opportunity Project Scientist Matt Golombek, from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. “We checked one and found its composition is different from any ever measured before on Mars.”

[VIDEO: 11 years and counting – Opportunity on Mars]

The first rock analyzed at the site was found to have relatively high concentrations of aluminum and silicon, as well an overall composition that had not previously been found by Opportunity or its twin rover, Spirit, the US space agency explained. The rock was examined by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument located on the end of the rover’s robotic arm.

Opportunity will now go examine a second target rock, and while the rocks are gray in color, the visible-light spectrum of the first contained more purple than most Mars rocks. Similarly, the spectrum of the second rock type was found to have more blue, and of the two, the rocks that are bluer in color tend to rest higher upon the ridge, NASA scientists explained.

No more amnesia for this rover

Upon completion of Opportunity’s analysis, the rover received new software uploaded to its computer by the mission team. That patch, Discovery News explains, includes instruction telling the rover to avoid writing data to a corrupt portion of its flash memory. Opportunity will now be writing data to six of its seven banks in the hopes that its “amnesia events” can be corrected.

The rover has been running in “no flash mode” since late last year, the website added, and has relied solely upon its volatile memory, which is erased every day. The lack of flash memory and the resulting rover resets have slowed Opportunity’s progress in recent months, but engineers are hopeful that the upgrade will allow the veteran rover to overcome these issues.

[STORY: Mars Opportunity rover sets new record]

“The rover is using the new software, but a memory reformatting will be needed before resuming use of flash memory,” JPL said, adding that they plan to “avoid use of the rover’s arm for several days” after reformatting in order to ensure that “the flash file system is fixed and no longer causes resets. A reset during the use of the rover’s arm would require a complex recovery effort.”

Opportunity, which landed on Mars’ Meridiani Planum in January 2004, had a primary mission of just three months. However, it remains operational and, despite its age-related computer woes, it has travelled a total of 26.139 miles (42.067 kilometers) during the past 11 years and continues analyzing the geology of the rim around Endeavor Creator, Discovery News added.

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Frequent drinking more common in older men

Written By: Emily Bills

Published Date: March 8, 2015 Last Edited: March 8, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Provided by Alanna Orpen, Biomed Central

In the UK, frequent drinking becomes more common in middle to old age, especially amongst men, according to research published in the open access journal, BMC Medicine. Doctors are seeing a growing number of cases of alcohol misuse among the elderly and this finding supports concerns that older people might be abusing alcohol.

Teenagers favor bouts of irregular heavy drinking episodes, only drinking once or twice a week, but as we grow older we shift into a regular drinking pattern. A substantial proportion of older men drink daily or most days of the week, while a majority of women tend to drink monthly or on special occasions.

In the UK, the majority of the adult population consume alcohol and the harm associated with alcohol affects all society. Lead author, Dr. Annie Britton, from University College London said “Understanding how drinking behavior fluctuates throughout life is important to identify high risk groups and trends over time. Research on the health consequences of alcohol needs to incorporate changes in drinking behavior over the life course. The current evidence base lacks this consideration. Failure to include such dynamics in alcohol is likely to lead to incorrect risk estimates.”

[STORY: Brain dopamine activity could be indicator for alcoholism]

This is the first attempt to harmonize data on drinking behavior from a wide range of population groups over their lifespan with repeated individual measures of consumption. The findings show how drinking behavior changes over our lifetimes, from adolescence through to old age, and could be used to design public health initiatives and sensible drinking advice.

The researchers looked at both the average amount of alcohol consumed per week and the frequency of drinking. The findings were based on over 174,000 alcohol observations collected over a 34 year period, spanning from 1979 to 2013, from participants born in different eras.

Drinking patterns change more for men

Drinking patterns change more for men than for women, but both follow a similar pattern; a rapid increase in alcohol intake during adolescence leading to a peak in early adulthood, followed by a plateau in mid-life, and then a decline into older ages.

For men, mean consumption of alcohol rose sharply during adolescence, peaked at around 25 years at 20 units (160g) per week, roughly the equivalent of drinking 10 pints of beer. This declined and plateaued during mid-life, before dropping to 5-10 units, approximately 3-5 pints of beer per week, from around 60 years. Women followed a similar pattern, but reached a lower peak of around 7-8 units per week, around 4 pints of beer.

[STORY: Older, wealthy men are worst at texting and driving]

Previous studies linking alcohol consumption with associated harm typically used just one measure of alcohol intake. “We have shown that people change the way they consume alcohol as they age, and as such, studies reliant on a single measure of alcohol intake are likely to be biased. It is essential that the dynamic nature of exposure to alcohol over the life span is incorporated into the estimates of harm.”

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100th anniversary of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

Written By: Emily Bills

Published Date: March 8, 2015 Last Edited: March 8, 2015

Emily Bills

Abbey Hull for redOrbit.com – @AbbeyHull4160

This year marks the 100^th year of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Since its publication in 1915, his theory has redefined how scientists view the universe as Einstein’s predictions—bending of starlight, time stretching in a gravitational field, and orbital decay of binary neutron stars due to gravitational waves—have all been confirmed and expanded upon for years, advancing both physics and astronomy studies.

At the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in San Jose, California, Rochester Institute of Technology professor Manuela Campanelli helped celebrate this scientific mile-marker.

“The theory of general relativity changes completely the way we view gravitation in the universe,” said Campanelli, also the director of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation at RIT and professor of mathematical sciences. “It changes the paradigm. Gravity is no longer a force concept that was first introduced by Newton. Einstein’s theory says matter follows the geometry of space and time. It’s a theory that governs all gravitational phenomena of the macroscopic objects in the universe.”

[STORY: Would Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and Bill Nye survive the Oregon Trail? The realities of our favorite MS-DOS game]

Looking back on breakthroughs

In 2005, Campanelli as lead author, along with Carlos Lousto and Yosef Ziochower, professors at RIT and members of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitiation, created breakthrough research by computationally solving Einstein’s field equations that detail how black holes collide and generate gravitational waves.

“In the larger scale, in the scale of the universe and the scale of the macroscopic objects, everything follows the laws of gravitation, so understanding gravity would allow us to understand some hidden astrophysical phenomena in the universe, such as black hole collisions,” stated Campanelli.

This understanding expanding from Einstein’s theory could also provide insight into the universe with gravitational wave astronomy, and eventually an insight into the Big Bang.

[STORY: Einstein’s genius likely a result of his well-connected brain]

“We do science because we want to answer some fundamental questions,” Campanelli stated. “In my case, it’s about gravitation and how it works in the universe. But there is a whole series of other potential applications that come up when you advance knowledge in one direction, and sometimes it’s unexpected.”

If Albert Einstein himself could see how far his theory has come, he would be proud of our society’s scientists and the passionate work they’ve put into understanding our universe. Let us all take a moment and say thank you as we watch what new discoveries unfold from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

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Archaeologists: Are these the oldest tools in North America?

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 8, 2015 Last Edited: March 8, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Stone tools discovered by archaeologists at the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Oregon suggest that the site could be the oldest known site of human occupation in western North America, the US Bureau of Land Management announced on Thursday.

The rockshelter, which is controlled by the Bureau, is located near the community of Riley in the high desert region of eastern Oregon, and the tool – a hand-held scraper chipped from a piece of orange agate not ordinarily found in the region – was discovered buried underneath an eight-inch layer of volcanic ash from an eruption of Mount St. Helens over 15,000 years ago.

BLM archaeologist Scott Thomas told the Associated Press that if the site’s age is confirmed, it would be the oldest ever discovered west of the Rocky Mountains, predating the Clovis culture previously believed to have been the first population to migrate to North America from Asia. The earliest artifacts from that civilization have been dated to roughly 13,000 years ago.

A tantalizing find

University of Oregon archaeologist Patrick O’Grady, who supervises the dig, said that the find was “tantalizing,” but cautioned that the site had not been fully excavated. He told the AP that he wanted to determine whether or not the volcanic ash covered the entire region.

[STORY: America’s short-lived Clovis people genetically mapped for first time]

The tool, which was found near the bottom of a 12-foot deposit, is believed to have been used for scraping animal hides, butchering, and possibly carving wood, the researchers said in a statement. They conducted a blood residue analysis of the scraper and discovered animal proteins consistent with bison, most likely an extinct ancestor of the buffalo known as the Bison antiquus.

The undisturbed volcanic ash under which the tool was buried was dated to 15,800 years ago, which would indicate that the scraper itself is at least that old, Thomas said. That would make it older than dried feces found in Oregon’s Paisley Cave in 2008, which contained DNA that was more than 14,000 years old, according to the BLM.

The oldest in North America

“When we had the volcanic ash identified, we were stunned because that would make this stone tool one of the oldest artifacts in North America,” O’Grady said. “Given those circumstances and the laws of stratigraphy, this object should be older than the ash.”

“While we need more evidence before we can make an irrefutable claim,” he continued, “we plan to expand our excavation this summer and hopefully provide further evidence of artifacts found consistently underneath that layer of volcanic ash. That’s the next step.”

[STORY: Oldest stone tool ever discovered in Turkey]

Donald Grayson, professor of archaeology at the University of Washington, told the AP that the discovery would be met with skepticism from the scientific community. He added that no one would believe it until the archaeologists can prove that there was no break in the ash layer it was buried under, and that there was no way that the tool worked its way down from above.

However, Stan McDonald, BLM Oregon/Washington lead archaeologist, insisted that the find had tremendous potential for the archaeological community. For several years, he said, many in the field insisted that the Clovis were the first people to reach the western hemisphere.

“While a handful of archaeological sites older than Clovis cultures have been discovered in the past few decades, there is still considerable scrutiny of any finding that appears older,” he added.

“With the recent findings at Rimrock Draw Shelter, we want to assemble indisputable evidence because these claims will be scrutinized by researchers.”

[STORY: Scan finds new tattoos on 5300-year-old Iceman ]

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Uncategorized

From cancer detection to dark matter, KU researchers on cusp of discovery

Written By: editor

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Researchers at the University of Kansas are making fundamental breakthroughs today that will change lives tomorrow.
Credit: University of Kansas

Are tasty blue crabs creeping North?

Written By: Emily Bills

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Emily Bills

Provided by Diana Kenney, Marine Biological Laboratory

WOODS HOLE, Mass.–David Johnson was standing in a salt marsh tidal creek north of Boston, Mass., when he scooped up a blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, 80 miles north of its native range. The northern migration of this commercially important species, Johnson says, could be yet another sign of climate change. Then a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Ecosystems Center, Johnson recently published his observations in the Journal of Crustacean Biology.

The historic northern limit of this species of crab (also called Atlantic blue or Chesapeake blue) is Cape Cod, Mass. They typically weren’t found in the Gulf of Maine due to its cold Canadian waters. From 2012 to 2014, however, scientists and resource managers observed blue crabs as far north as northern Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada. Johnson hypothesizes that warmer ocean temperatures in 2012 and 2013, which were 1.3°C higher than the previous decade’s average, allowed the crabs to move north.

Climate change presents a challenge

“Climate change is lowering the thermal barriers that kept species from moving toward the poles,” he says. “Climate change presents a challenge not only for ecologists, but for fisheries managers as commercially important species shift their ranges in response to warming oceans.”

Ephemeral populations of blue crabs have been documented previously in the Gulf of Maine. Johnson notes that in the 1950s blue crabs were observed in the gulf during a time of warmer waters. But once the waters returned to average temperatures, the crabs disappeared.

Permanent or ephemeral?

“It’s too early to determine if the current blue crab population in the Gulf of Maine is permanent or ephemeral,” Johnson says. “However, models predict an increasing warming of the world’s oceans and recent observations of blue crabs may be a crystal ball into the future ecology of the Gulf of Maine.”

Other researchers have documented the northern movement of other commercially important species in northeastern United States such as lobsters, hake and flounder. Johnson’s work, however, is the first to document the movement of a commercially important species into the Gulf of Maine.

This is the second crustacean Johnson has documented as expanding into the Gulf of Maine. In 2014 he published his findings on the rapid expansion of the fiddler crab, Uca pugnax, into the gulf. “As the world’s oceans continue to warm, we will continue to see climate-driven range expansions,” he predicts.

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After menopause, female whales serve as group leaders

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Emily Bills

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Once they undergo menopause and their reproductive cycles come to an end, older female killer whales help lead the rest of their pod and direct them to the best food sources, according to a new study published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

The research could solve the mystery as to why female whales (and people, for that matter) live so long after their childbearing days are done, explained National Geographic. It is because they have experience and information to pass on that can be essential for their group’s survival.

Female orcas stop having calves when they are around 40 years old, but can live up to the age of 90, the website said. In comparison, male killer whales typically only live to be about 50. Thus, it is up to the older females to show their pods things like where to go when food is hard to find.

Girl power – female whales more likely to be group leaders

As whale biologist Rob Williams, who was not involved in the study, explained, “Pioneers of killer whale ecology have long felt that matriarchs serve as repositories of traditional ecological knowledge that can help these whales survive through years of low prey abundance. This study tests that theory and offers a compelling hint that whales… follow the matriarch to find food.”

[STORY: Baleen whales hear through their bones]

Darren Croft, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Exeter, and his colleagues looked at southern resident killer whales that live in the Seattle, Washington area. These whales travel in groups of about 80 and live primarily on salmon, and Croft and his team examined data dating back to 1976 to see if menopausal whales took on leadership roles during pod movements in and out of their primary foraging areas.

They found that females were more likely to serve as group leaders than males were, and that females over the age of 35 tended to do so more often than younger females. This proved to be especially true in years when salmon were less available, Nat Geo said. When combined with the results of a similar 2012 study, the findings indicate that menopausal mothers played a key role in ensuring the survival of their offspring.

Croft told the website that the structure of the pods go a long way to explain why this happens. As females grow older, they become increasingly related to the other whales in their group, and have had more times to have babies than a younger female that arrived more recently. Thus, by sticking around and helping out, they keep more of their relatives alive, which proves to be “advantageous in an evolutionary sense,” according to Nat Geo.

Similar to humans

Lauren Brent, an associate research fellow in animal behavior at the University of Exeter and one of the scientists behind the new study, told NBC News that similar factors were most likely also in play in humans before culture evolved and writing provided a different way to pass knowledge down to future generations.

[STORY: Bothered by hot flashes? Acupuncture might be the answer.]

“The families of humans and resident killer whales are structured in a very kin-focused way,” she said. “As humans did not develop writing for almost the entirety of our evolution, information was necessarily stored in the minds of individuals. The oldest and most experienced people were those who were most likely to know where and when to find food, especially during dangerous conditions such as drought.”

However, Eric Ward of the US National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle is skeptical of the study’s conclusions. In an email, he told Nat Geo that he investigated a similar hypothesis some five or six years ago, and found that there was “really not much benefit of older post-reproductive females.”

Instead, he said that menopause in orcas is just one result of growing older, adding, “I think it’s very safe to say that the jury is still out as to why some females-in populations of killer whales, humans, and other species – live long past [when] their reproductive life spans end.”

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Around the world in a solar-powered plane

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

A pair of Swiss explorers are looking to become the first men to fly around the world in an aircraft propelled exclusively by solar power, a perilous journey that they anticipate will take five months and will pit them against unpredictable weather and other hazards.

Their names are Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, and their voyage, which is the subject of a National Geographic story published on Friday, will begin in India and take them to China, then to the US, on an odd-looking, sun-powered airplane known as the Solar Impulse 2.

At two points during the flight, Piccard and Borschberg will spend extended stretches flying over first the Pacific and then the Atlantic Oceans. These will be the most dangerous legs of the trip, leaving them too far away from landing areas and out of the reach of rescue teams should the duo encounter weather-related issues or mechanical problems with their craft.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! (It actually is a plane.)

The website describes Solar Impulse 2 as being similar in appearance to a condor or albatross if viewed from above, and explains that nearly every inch of every sun-facing surface of the plane is covered in black and blue photovoltaic cells. It also has stiff wings that jut out from a short and thin fuselage, as well as stabilizers similar to the pegs of a pogo stick, Nat Geo added.

[STORY: Solar-powered sensor reminds you to shut the windows]

Solar Impulse 2 is made almost completely from custom-designed, ultra-light carbon, and will use advanced batteries and electric motors, along with the photovoltaic cells. The goal, Piccard and Borschberg explained, is to prove that a light-powered craft can be flown over vast distances and remain airborne even at night. Such a craft, they claim, could theoretically fly forever.

“The airplane is special not because it is solar, but because it is efficient… at harnessing energy, at storing energy, and at using energy,” Piccard, who in 1999 was one of two men who travelled around the globe in a gas-powered balloon, told Nat Geo. It was that voyage, and the fears that he would run out of fuel before reaching the finish line, that helped inspire him to come up with the concept of an aircraft that would never have to be refueled.

“This isn’t about oil, and it isn’t a movement to deprive people of things. Climate change is always presented as a battle to protect nature against business and comfort. Ecologists have put nature before humankind, and that’s a big mistake, a false equation,” Piccard explained. “These technologies are available now. We can change the way the world works, not by making people’s lives smaller, but by making them bigger.”

He started recruiting people to help him on his project in 2002, and travelled to America to meet with engineer Paul MacCready and Burt Rutan, who designed the first airplane to fly around the world without refueling. The following year, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology agreed to take part in a feasibility study, and tapped Borschberg to head up that research.

[STORY: Solar Impulse sails above Golden Gate Bridge]

The study group declared that the concept was possible, but beyond the technology of that era. Since then, however, technology has caught up to Piccard’s original vision, and ultimately, the 5,000-plus pound Solar Impulse 2 was born. Last April, it underwent tests of its and its more than 17,000 solar cell-strong photovoltaic array and other systems, as it looks to become the first craft of its kind to be flown for multiple days and nights.

The dangerous journey

Its journey, Nat Geo explained, will be broken up into 12 legs, the pilots will frequently stop in order to rest and switch duties. A support crew will meet up with Solar Impulse 2 at each of its destinations, but even so, each part of the trip require up to 12 hours of flying, and three of them (China-to-Hawaii, Hawaii-to-Arizona and New York-to-Europe) will last up to five days.

“During those flights the solitary pilot won’t be able to stand up (there isn’t room), though he can recline the seat, which also doubles as a toilet,” the website explained. “Imagine a lounge chair stripped of its padding and crossed with a port-a-john. Now sit there for days, mostly belted in, often very cold, never getting up. Try to remember that the view will be inimitable.”

[STORY: Solar Impulse 2015: Around the world in a solar-powered airplane]

Needless to say, the voyage won’t be easy – or cheap, as Borschberg said the project has already cost $160 million (150 million Swiss francs), all of it privately funded. However, he and Piccard are hell bent on attempting to circumnavigate the globe. The takeoff was originally scheduled to take place on March 1 but was postponed. Given how much time, effort, and resources the duo and their team has already invested into the project, however, the delay was a mere bump in the road.

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Fibromyalgia

Are Interstitial Cystitis and Fibromyalgia Related?

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

If you have noticed that you’re having to go to the bathroom constantly to empty your bladder and you are experiencing tenderness and pain in the area around your bladder, you’re likely suffering from interstitial cystitis. This is a very common condition, affecting around 700,000 Americans.

It is also known as Irritable Bladder Syndrome. The bad news is, if you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you are much more likely to develop this condition. However, you shouldn’t worry too much because a variety of treatment options are available- from natural to medical.

What Exactly Is Interstitial Cystitis?

Interstitial Cystitis is a condition that involved inflammation of the bladder. This inflammation is characterized by pain in the pelvic region, frequent urination, and urinary incontinence. Individuals who have this condition are likely to experience very small hemorrhages on their bladder wall or even develop sores.

This inflammation can cause scarring on the bladder, which results in making it rigid. If your bladder becomes stiff, it can’t expand as it is filled. Both men and women are likely to develop this condition- though women are more likely to than men.

What Causes Interstitial Cystitis?

There is no specific cause of this condition. However, there is a specific protein, known as antiproliferative factor, or APF, that has been pinpointed. This protein keeps new bladder cells from growing in individuals with this condition. Therefore, urine begins to inflame the walls of the bladder. Also, individuals suffering with interstitial cystitis find that they have mixed urinary signals, which results in them feeling like they need to empty their bladder more often even though their bladder never contains much urine.

Symptoms of Interstitial Cystitis

The signs and symptoms of this condition are very similar to those of a UTI, or urinary tract infection. However, the urine cultures in those suffering from interstitial cystitis don’t have any bacteria present that would indicate a UTI. Some of the other symptoms associated with interstitial cystitis include the following:

A frequent and urgent feeling that you need to urinate
Pain in the area between the anus and vagina for women or the anus and scrotum for men
Pain in the pelvic region
Pain during sex for women and painful ejaculation for men

Diagnosing Interstitial Cystitis

The condition of interstitial cystitis can be quite difficult to diagnose due to the fact that the signs and symptoms are very similar to some other disorders. It can take as many as four long years before a diagnosis can be reached.

In order to diagnose you with interstitial cystitis, your physician will need to document your past medical history and will ask that you keep a diary on your bladder habits, keeping track of how much you’re drinking and how much urine you’re passing. Additionally, he or she may wish to perform tests to rule out other conditions. You will be tested to rule out UTIs, STDs, vaginal infections, and for men, chronic prostatitis. He or she may also wish to perform a cystoscopy.

A cystoscopy is a special diagnostic procedure that will let your physician look in your bladder and find out how much it can hold. For this procedure, you’ll be put under a local or general anesthetic and a small tube with a camera will be inserted into your urethra. During this procedure, your physician may take out a small section of your bladder in order to test for cancer or other conditions.

Medical Treatment for Interstitial Cystitis

Once you have been given a diagnosis of interstitial cystitis, you will probably be prescribed Elmiron, which is an oral medication that decreases the frequency of urination. Additionally, your physician is likely to prescribe an OTC pain reliever in order to ease pelvic tenderness and pain. Antihistamines and antidepressants can also be used to block pain.

Since your sacral nerves- which run from your lower spine to your lower bowel, bladder, and pelvic floor- are the ones that are responsible for controlling bowel and bladder movements, you may have a procedure known as modulation of the sacral nerve root to relieve your symptoms of interstitial cystitis.

This is a form of nerve stimulation by using an electrical device. If this treatment is effective for you, you will have a small, device that is powered with batteries put into your upper buttocks. It will regularly send out electrical impulses, thereby adjusting the way your nerves function and helping you gain some control over your bladder contractions.

Another option for treating your interstitial cystitis is bladder instillation. During this particular treatment, dimenthyl sulfoxide, known as DMSO along with other medications will be inserted directly into your bladder through a tube in your urethra. After about fifteen minutes, your bladder will expel this solution. It is believed that this treatment decreases bladder irritation as well as helping control muscle contractions that contribute to pain and urgency of interstitial cystitis.

Finally, there is the option of surgery to correct your interstitial cystitis. You can have bladder augmentation, resection, and fulgaration. However, since these do not really relieve the pain of the condition and can cause more problems, these are not typically recommended.

Naturally Treating Interstitial Cystitis

There are lots of things you can do on your own to relieve the symptoms of interstitial cystitis.

First of all, it is recommended that you avoid smoking, alcohol, and caffeine as they are known to cause irritation to the bladder. You should avoid foods that are high in Vitamin C, including citrus fruits.

You might want to schedule your bathroom breaks- starting at every thirty minutes and then working to lengthen the time between. There are specific exercises, such as kegels, that can work to strengthen your pelvic and bladder muscles, which will provide you more control over your bladder.

Consider wearing loose clothing that doesn’t put pressure on your abdomen. Practice techniques for relaxation in order to reduce your stress levels. Finally, some individuals have reported finding relief with TENS machines and biofeedback.

Further reading:

Interstitial Cystitis: http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_interstitial_cystitis.html

The relationship between fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9201654

Star explodes 4 times in this rare phenomenon

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Emily Bills

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Thanks to a rare cosmic phenomenon, astronomers were able to witness an ancient, distant star explode as a supernova not once or twice, but on four separate occasions, according to a research published online Friday in the journal Science.

According to Space Daily, the supernova occurred directly behind a cluster of large galaxies that had enough combined mass to warp space-time. This forms a cosmic magnifying glass similar to the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, but which creates multiple images of the star.

This effect is known as an Einstein Cross, and the Washington Post explained that it was first predicted by Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity roughly a century ago. Because the cluster was located between the supernova (which was nine billion light years away) and the instrument imaging it, the same explosion showed up around the galaxy four times.

A Michael Bay star

Astronomers have seen Einstein Crosses made by galaxies and black holes before, but marks the first time that they’ve witnessed the phenomenon with an exploding star, the newspaper noted. In this case, since the supernova occurred so far away, it would have been too faint to be seen from Earth unless it was being magnified by multiple galaxies.

[STORY: Exploded star blooms like a cosmic flower]

As it turns out, the explosions were actually subjected to gravitational lensing twice. The massive cluster of galaxies originally bent the light of the supernova, likely producing three images, and one of those was bent a second time to produce the fourth one. In all, the light from the explosion was magnified 20 times, and astronomers are calling it a dream discovery.

Dream discovery

“It’s perfectly set up, you couldn’t have designed a better experiment,” Dr. Brad Tucker of The Australian National University’s (ANU) Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and one of the study’s authors, told Space Daily. “You can test some of the biggest questions about Einstein’s theory of relativity all at once – it kills three birds with one stone.”

While astronomers have conducted searches for this type of phenomenon many times over the last two decades, this Einstein Cross was actually discovered during a search for distant galaxies by Dr. Patrick Kelly of the University of California, Berkeley. Not only did the find allow Kelly and his colleagues to test the Theory of Relativity, it also provided new insight into the amount of dark matter and dark energy in the universe, as well as the strength of gravity.

“It really threw me for a loop when I spotted the four images surrounding the galaxy,” Kelly said in a statement. “Basically, we get to see the supernova four times and measure the time delays between its arrival in the different images, hopefully learning something about the supernova and the kind of star it exploded from, as well as about the gravitational lenses.”

[STORY: Supernova explosions release building blocks of planet formation]

“It’s a wonderful discovery,” added Alex Filippenko, a professor of astronomy at UC Berkeley and a member of the research team. “We’ve been searching for a strongly lensed supernova for 50 years, and now we’ve found one. Besides being really cool, it should provide a lot of astrophysically important information.”

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Fibromyalgia

Do Opioids Help to Relieve Fibromyalgia Pain?

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

There are so many options out there when it comes to fibromyalgia pain, aren’t there? Whether you’re someone that ascribes to natural medicine or western medicine for your treatment, you’ve probably looked at more treatment options than you care to talk about.

One of the most controversial pain relief options that you may have considered while determining treatment are opioids. Not sure if they’ve come up at all? Let’s take a glance at what they are and how they can help fibro pain.

What Are Considered Opioids? What Are They Used For?

Opioids are an interesting category of medication, because they are rarely, if ever, used for any long term treatment plan. The main reason for this is because they are highly addictive, so if you end up taking them for too long or under the wrong conditions, you could end up having a lot of issues in the long run.

Tolerance can happen incredibly quickly, especially with medications like morphine, so you will have to eventually take more in order to get the same sort of relief. This is a huge problem, because the chances of overdose become a lot higher at that point.

Many times, we look at opioids as something that people use when they have acute, short term pain. We take morphine after we’ve been in an accident or when we’ve had major surgery. Oxycodone is another big one, which some people will also take in order to deal with severe pain over a shorter period of time. That being said, it’s only been in the past couple of years that people have started to do research for chronic pain, like what you see in fibromyalgia and other related disorders.

The different types of opioids include full agonists, which are drugs that will always be effective, no matter how much that you take. These sorts of drugs include the aforementioned morphine and oxycodone, but this category also includes Fentanyl, codeine, and methadone, among other medications. Partial agonists are a little less effective, specifically because they will eventually stop working once your body has a tolerance for it.

The most common partial s called buprenorphrine, but there are definitely a number of others that are out there as well. Dezocine and pentazocine are called mixed agonists, and those only focus on certain receptors in the brain, making them fairly effective, as long as that’s where the issue is.

Opioids and Fibromyalgia Pain (and Other Symptoms)

How does this all play into fibromyalgia? One of the main ways that fibromyalgia sufferers will get help from their pain using opioids is by going through a type of therapy known as Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy, or COAT. COAT is a type of therapy that works by allowing the patient to have a particular type of opioid over a period of time. This works to help the pain receptors to stop firing off like crazy (which is the big issue with fibromyalgia) and it also makes it so that the person can move more easily.

Some doctors may end up prescribing opioids as needed for fibromyalgia patients as well. Of course, the issue there (as opposed to Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy) is that it may end up not getting used, or addiction can be more likely because they aren’t being monitored as closely as they would be otherwise.

But, if a person can ensure that they aren’t going to end up with health issues and they are careful with what they’re taking, how much they’re taking, and how often they are taking it, this can end up helping a lot too.

Of course, studies are still going on about this. It hasn’t really been tested for the long term because, frankly, people are a little nervous about doing so. With the high chance for addiction and tolerance, it really is a difficult thing to be able to do these sorts of tests in a way that is safe for those who are being tested. They definitely have and can happen, but they’re over a long period of time (up to 16 weeks/4 months) and every last little change is closely recorded and watched by all the specialists that are involved.

Now, we’re back to the whole controversy thing. There are a lot of issues that come up for people who use opioids. For example, there are the basic side effects that you may see with many medications – vomiting, upset stomach, fatigue, no willingness to eat, vision issues, mood swings, and more. Then, there are the other issues as well.

We mentioned addiction and tolerance several places above, but we’re mentioning it again because it’s a huge part of this whole debate. It likely wouldn’t have been an issue if it wasn’t for that whole thing. Some people are also worried about the withdrawal part of the whole addiction problem as well – withdrawal has killed people who are addicted to certain drugs, so it’s something that needs to be watched.

All that being said, if you’re doing it with the help of your doctor and you’re being honest and watchful about how you’re using the items in question, then you may want to consider going through with a Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy or a similar type of opioid treatment plan. Your doctor has a lot of them available for you to think about, and they will guide you through all of the important steps of this process.

So, as you can see, there’s still quite a bit of controversy and discussion out there about whether or not opioids are effective for those fighting off fibromyalgia symptoms, or if they should be left alone because of the potential issues that can happen to those who are fighting off the symptoms of the disorder.

Has your doctor prescribed them for you before, and how did you react to using them? Were they a good decision for you and the needs that you have for your particular case of fibromyalgia.

Further reading:

Fibromyalgia Medication Options: http://www.fmnetnews.com/fibro-basics/treatment/medication-options

Are Opioids A Mistake in Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS? (take/the Opioid Effectiveness Survey): http://www.cortjohnson.org/blog/2013/06/06/are-opioids-a-mistake-in-fibromyalgia-and-me-cfs/

Controversy Around Opioids: http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_opioids_contro.html

Stretchable circuitry inspired by rose petals

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Drawing inspiration from the properties of rose petals, a team of researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University are developing a new type of stretchable electronic devices that could effectively keep circuitry from cracking under extreme duress.

As Gizmodo explained on Friday, the concept of flexible electronics is growing exponentially in terms of appeal due to how handy and downright cool it would be to have a tablet that could be rolled up or a phone that could bend. However, such devices face a number of challenges due to the inability of electronic circuitry built on rigid silicon substrates to bend without breaking.

E-petal technology

To solve those issues, Zijian Zheng of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Feng Zhou of the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics and their colleagues are have turned to the rose to create what they call “biomimicking topographic elastomeric petals,” or e-petals for short.

Using the surface topology of the rose petal, they have created a material that makes it possible for standard printed circuits to bend, stretch, and flex without snapping. They created elastomer layers which exhibit the same type of surface detail as the petal, creating a series of microscale craters with sharp ridges that can help stop cracks from forming, the website explained.

[STORY: Smell like a rose for hours with new perfume candy]

This method prevents rose petals from tearing, according to the researchers, and could act in a similar manner to allow electronic circuits to bend without breaking. When conducting materials such as metal, thin films are deposited on top and the ridges can essentially prevent tiny cracks from forming in the conducting layer, allowing it to show “remarkable stability,” they added.

Materials Views explains it in more technical terms: by using non-planar elastic substrates with topographical structures replicated from natural rose petals, Zheng and Zhou have come up with a material that can effectively stop crack propagation in the non-stretchable parts of flexible electronic device, regardless of the type of metals and conducting polymers used.

In fact, the properties of these printed circuits stayed consistent until the samples were stretched to 140 percent of their original size, and the components continued to function until they were stretched to 190 percent. This means that the e-petals could be used with traditional circuit printing, thus making the process of fabricating flexible circuitry easier and far less expensive.

“This work makes a very significant contribution in the field of omnidirectional stretchable and printable electronic devices,” the website added, “as it shows convincingly that the natural world can provide topographically structured materials of suitable length scales.” The potential uses for their e-petal technology include wearable devices, biomedical systems and robotics.

[STORY: Basis for electronics that stretch at the molecular level]

Last month, a team of South Korean researchers also tackled the issues of flexible technology, coming up with a way to make them less rigid by taking small pieces of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) and embedding them in flexible plastic polymers to create multiferroics materials with electronic properties that could be controlled by a magnetic field.

Their technique produced a thin, flexible film that, when tested, not only preserved the electric and magnetic properties of bismuth ferrite, but actually enhanced them. Furthermore, they found that the improved characteristics remained even when the film was curved into a cylinder, and also helped keep the devices from leaking current.

Gone are the days of breaking your phone when you sit on it, because stretchy phones and tablets are on the horizon.

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Tropical plant picks and chooses who can pollinate it

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Emily Bills

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Not all plants just sit around waiting for pollinators to come to them – some can recognize when a high-quality pollinator is nearby and send signals designed to attract those creatures, according to research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In fact, in the study, Oregon State University ecologist Matthew Betts and his colleagues reveal that one exotic tropical plant known as the Heliconia tortuosa can recognize different types of hummingbirds by the way that they sip the flower’s nectar. In response, the red and yellow hued plant allows pollen to germinate, increasing the chances of successful seed formation.

I like big bills and I cannot lie

According to Science News, the researchers found that longer-billed hummingbirds are better at reaching in and guzzling nectar than shorter-billed ones, and the plant has adapted to only accept pollen from birds with bills that match the shape of its flowers. The authors claim that their study is the first to provide evidence that plants possess the ability to recognize pollinators.

Betts and his associates were actually studying H. tortuosa to find out if it was able to reproduce in regions where the rainforests of its native Costa Rica had become fragmented. However, when they tried to hand-pollinate the flowers, they discovered that the plant reproduced less than when it was simply left alone outside. So they set out to discover why this was happening.

[STORY: ‘Bee-odiversity’ boosts blueberry crop yields]

In an aviary at the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica, they exposed H. tortuosa to six different species of hummingbirds and one type of butterfly, and found that both the violet sabrewing and green hermit hummingbirds achieved an 80 percent success rate in fertilizing the plants. Both types of hummingbirds have long, curved bills that match the shape of the flowers, which apparently triggered the reproductive process in the plant.

By altering their hand pollinating techniques to mimic the two successful hummingbirds, Betts and his colleagues were able to achieve similar fertilization success rates. They also discovered one other shared characteristic among the two most effective types of pollinators: they traveled more widely across the landscape than the five other species, leading the researchers to believe that far-ranging species have more genetically-diverse pollen that benefits the plant.

“If the pollen’s from 20 meters away, the likelihood is it’s… from the plant’s own flowers or its brother or sister,” Betts told Science News. “But pollen from a long way away is unlikely to be related,” which would cut down on inbreeding and help keep the plants’ gene pool diverse. As a result, the H. tortuosa would have increased competitive fitness, the lead author noted.

[STORY: Bee tongue size matters in relationship with flowers]

“The mechanism may have evolved to enable the plant to sort out pollinators that are likely to be carrying high-quality pollen from those carrying poor-quality pollen. It’s a big energy savings,” he added. “If you bother to make a seed and fruit every time you get pollen, that’s a lot of energy expenditure; you could be making a seed from your siblings’ genes. If you make a seed or fruit only from distant high-quality pollen, it could be an adaptive advantage.”

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‘Habitable’ planet GJ 581d might exist; astronomers at odds

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 7, 2015 Last Edited: March 7, 2015

Emily Bills

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Planet candidate GJ 581d, discovered in 2009 and dismissed by researchers last summer, does actually exist, a team of UK astronomers insist in a report published this week in Science.

GJ 581d, a super-Earth planet first discovered in the habitable zone of a distant star six years ago, was originally detected using a spectrometer which measured the wobble, or small changes in the wavelength of light emitted by a star as a planet orbits it.

In July 2014, researchers from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Texas at Austin published a paper disputing the discovery, claiming that what astronomers believed was a planet was actually nothing more than noise in the data caused by starspots.

“Correcting for activity greatly diminishes the signal of GJ 581d (to 1.5 standard deviations) while significantly boosting the signals of the other known super-Earth planets,” the authors wrote. “GJ 581d does not exist, but is an artifact of stellar activity which, when incompletely corrected, causes the false detection of planet g.”

[STORY: How many habitable exoplanets are there?]

Now, astronomers from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Hertfordshire are firing back, claiming that last year’s research challenging the planet’s existence was due to an insufficient analysis of the data. They argue that the statistical technique that was used to account for stellar activity is inadequate when it comes to identifying smaller planets.

The method used has previously worked when identifying larger planets because they impact they had on their stars was significant enough to negate errors in the findings, the authors added. However, it makes it nearly impossible to find the smallest planet signals within the noise caused by stellar variability, and they are confident that using a more accurate model based on existing data will prove that the signal attributed to GJ 581d is real, despite that noise.

So which one is it?

The team behind the 2014 study “claimed that activity-induced variability is responsible for the Doppler signal of the proposed planet candidate GJ 581d. We point out that their analysis using periodograms of residual data is inappropriate and promotes inadequate tools,” the authors of the new paper wrote. “Because the claim challenges the viability of the method to detect exo-Earths, we encourage reanalysis and a deliberation on what the field-standard methods should be.”

“The existence (or not) of GJ 581d is significant because it was the first Earth-like planet discovered in the ‘Goldilocks’-zone around another star and it is a benchmark case for the Doppler technique,” explained lead author Dr. Guillem Anglada-Escudé. “There are always discussions among scientists about the ways we interpret data but I’m confident that GJ 581d has been in orbit around Gliese 581 all along.”

[STORY: Astronomers prove that two potentially habitable planets don’t exist]

“In any case, the strength of their statement was way too strong,” Dr. Anglada-Escudé added. “If their way to treat the data had been right, then some planet search projects at several ground-based observatories would need to be significantly revised as they are all aiming to detect even smaller planets. One needs to be more careful with these kind of claims.”

The authors of the disputed study responded, stating that while they agreed that “improvements in multiparametric radial velocity (RV) modeling” were necessary for the detection of planets with a mass similar to that of Earth’s, “key physical points we raised were not challenged. We maintain that activity on Gliese 581 induces RV shifts that were interpreted as exoplanets.”

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Moth eyes could lead to more efficient solar cells

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Brian Galloway

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

The compound lenses found in the eyes of moths have inspired a team of researchers to develop a new antireflective coating that could make solar cells more efficient than ever before.

In a recent edition of the journal ACS Nano, researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore explain that compound lenses found in nocturnal moth eyes helped lead to a coating that can also sharpen the view of solar cell image sensors.

Important non-reflective pattern

The moths ocular faculties contain micro lenses (ommatidia) which are patterned with nanoscale dome-shaped bumps that help reduce the reflection of light at multiple wavelengths, according to Gizmodo. These ommatidia make it possible for the moths to navigate in the dark.

[STORY: The complex sex lives of gold swift moths]

“The ability to capture light and not let go is appealing in the world of solar cells because it can increase efficiency,” the website added. “So the team from Singapore has taken inspiration from the complex lens structure to create a process that stamps patterns over the surface of a material, replicating the antireflective effects of the moths’ eyes.”

The researchers used a process known as nanoimprint lithography, in which nickel molds are used to imprint microscopic patterns onto the surface of a polycarbonate. After they stamped a series of these 200-nanometer diameter domes onto the surface, they imprinted a second series of larger lens shapes (2 to 25 microns across) onto the same material.

[STORY: Solar thermal power plant vaporizes birds]

The result, Gizmodo said, was a surface covered in a pattern that closely resembled the moths’ eyes. During tests, the study authors found that their surface reflects just 4.8 percent of light between 400 to 1,000 nanometers in wavelength, and they hope that these treatments can be used on solar cells to ensure that they absorb as much light as possible.

Even when the researchers varied the angle of the light, the nanodome-decorated arrays continued to perform about twice as well as non-treated surfaces, said Chemical and Engineering News. The next step will be to demonstrate that these techniques can scale up to make coatings suitable for larger materials, and they might use a roller printer to accomplish that feat.

Help from nature

The Singapore researchers aren’t the first scientists to copy natural eyes in order to improve solar cells. Last month, scientists at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light looked at the fovea centralis (the tiny structure that makes out central vision sharp) to boost the efficiency of these power-generating panels.

[STORY: Sun has bad weather just like Earth]

According to Gizmag, the researchers analyzed the underlying mechanisms that guide the fovea and altered them to silicon as a surface for collecting light in solar cells. The fovea centralis is comprised of several closely-packed funnel-like inverted cones that are connected directly to the nerve cells of the eye, and thus provide visual detail when we read a book or watch TV.

After observing how the cones of this structure are capable of trapping large amount of light in well-lit environments, the study authors were able to develop photovoltaic technology that could increase light absorption in thin-film solar cells up nearly two-thirds. A paper reporting on their findings was printed in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

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Browser extensions reminds you not to be a jerk on Twitter

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Emily Bills

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

The developer of a new browser extension wants to remind you that being a jerk on social media could come back to haunt you in the real world – a lesson that some people had to learn the hard way after messing with the daughter of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling

For those unfamiliar with the story, Schilling recently sent out a Tweet congratulating his daughter Gabby for being accepted to Salve Regina University, where she would be play softball. His tweet was met with a series of crude, vulgar and offensive messages–Schilling decided he would do something about it.

Don’t be a troll

As the Huffington Post reported on Thursday, the ex-Major League Baseball star wrote a lengthy blog post regarding the incident, in which he revealed the identities of those behind the Twitter attacks. As a result, some of them lost their jobs and Schilling is also considering pursuing legal action against the online trolls.

“I knew every name and school, sport and position, of every one of them in less than an hour. The ones that didn’t play sports were just as easy to locate,” Schilling wrote.

“What these kids are failing to realize, what this generation fails to realize is this; Everything they’ve just said and done? That is out there now, forever. It can, and in some cases will, follow them for the rest of their lives,” the former MLB All-Star and World Series MVP added.

Keep those comments to yourself

Which brings us back to the browser extension—an attempt to digitize common sense, so you don’t have to have any.

According to Gizmodo, the extension is known as TweetFired and it is available on Google Chrome. It has one simple function – it changes the “What’s happening?” text that normally appears in Twitter’s input box to “Remember: you are always one tweet away from being fired.”

[STORY: #Thanks: Pay your friends through Twitter]

TweetFired’s “one simple function is to bestow you with the most important advice the internet can offer: Never, ever tweet,” the website said (only half-joking, one can only assume), adding that even though “some hide it well,” deep down there are a lot of “blithering, attention-starved idiots” that use social media and could use the advice – lest they mess with the wrong athlete.

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EA shuts down SimCity studio Maxis Emeryville

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Brian Galloway

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

It’s a sad day for gamers everywhere: Maxis Emeryville, the studio responsible for developing hit titles such as SimCity and The Sims, closed its doors for good.

The end of an era

According to Engadget, parent company Electronic Arts (EA) confirmed on Wednesday that it was shutting down the California-based studio and relocating staff members to various offices across the globe.

The company still plans to move forward with projects that were already in the works at Maxis Emeryville, the website added. Those projects include a new expansion pack for The Sims 4 and continued support for existing titles in both the SimCity and The Sims franchises.

In a statement released by EA on Wednesday and reprinted by Kotaku, the company said, “Today we are consolidating Maxis IP development to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne locations as we close our Emeryville location.”

[STORY: Video game playing boosts brain power]

“Maxis continues to support and develop new experiences for current Sims and SimCity players, while expanding our franchises to new platforms and developing new cross-platform IP,” EA added. “These changes do not impact our plans for The Sims. Players will continue to see rich new experiences in The Sims 4, with our first expansion pack coming soon along with a full slate of additional updates and content in the pipeline.”

The company went on to state that all employees affected by the closure would be offered other positions within Maxis studios and throughout EA. Those choosing to leave the company would be offered “separation packages and career assistance” to “ensure the best possible transition.”

Poor practices bred ill will

According to CBC News, Maxis was originally founded by Will Wright and Jeff Braun in 1987, and two years later, they released their first major software title – the original SimCity. The city-building simulator went on to launch a successful, critically-acclaimed franchise that included a series of spin-off titles, such as SimEarth, SimAnt, SimGolf and, of course, The Sims.

Maxis was acquired by EA in 1997, which the CBC said had “come under fire” for its handling of the studio and its software in recent years – including a 2013 SimCity reboot that required players to have a constant internet connection in order to play it. The title was so popular and attracted so many fans that its servers were overloaded, preventing many from playing.

[STORY: SimCity launch has problems]

“The closure is sure to make SimCity’s legion of long-time fans sad,” wrote Peter Bright of Ars Technica. “But a combination of both technical issues and design issues meant that the [SimCity] 2013 release squandered the goodwill that had been built over a generation. Many, including myself, believed that SimCity was as good as defunct anyway. Disbanding the team that built it feels like an inevitable response.”

The Guardian marked the occasion by remembering some of the greatest moments throughout Maxis-developed games, including the first monster attack in SimCity, raiding the red ant nest in SimAnt, and building a cathedral to earn the ultimate rating in SimTower.

Yes, it’s sad to see such a beloved developer bite the dust. Just remember—it’s probably for the best.

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Mars landing site selected for 2016 NASA mission

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

NASA has chosen the preferred general landing site for its next mission to Mars, a lander that will examine the deep interior of the Red Planet to investigate how rocky worlds such as Earth, Mercury, and Venus evolved.

The project is known as InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), and according to the US space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facility in Pasadena, California, it is currently scheduled to launch in March 2016.

InSight will lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, making it the first interplanetary mission to launch from California. The landing-site evaluation process that started in 2014 has picked four candidate locations in one site in the flat-lying “Elysium Planitia” region of Mars.

[STORY: Mars lander InSight has 4 potential targets]

All four locations in that site, which is located less than five degrees north of the equator, have been deemed safe for the spacecraft’s landing, and the exact region of this location where InSight will touch down will be announced later on this year. The preferred site is centered at roughly four degrees north latitude and 136 degrees east longitude, according to NASA.

“This is wondrous terrain, exactly what we want to land on because it is smooth, flat, with very few rocks in the highest-resolution images,” said InSight’s site-selection leader, Matt Golombek of JPL, which manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Detailed information about the candidate sites has been collected by the agency’s Mars orbiters, which have mapped them as landing ellipses about 81 miles (130 km) west-to-east by roughly 17 miles (27 km) north-to-south. An ellipse covers the area within which InSight has an estimated 99 percent chance of landing, if it aims for the center of the ellipse. Several types of terrain have been found in each, but the preferred location has the highest proportion of smooth ground.

[STORY: NASA hacks Mars Rover to cure system ‘amnesia’]

Once InSight reaches Mars, which should occur on or around September 28, 2016, the mission will begin assessing the properties of the planet’s crust, mantle, and core. The interior of Mars has not been churned as much as Earth’s because it lacks the tectonic activity that recycles the Earth’s crustal plates back into the mantle, NASA explained. For this reason, Mars provides a chance to find clues about the formation of rocky planets that no longer exist her on Earth.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of Mars?

The primary science mission of the new lander will be to analyze the planet’s interior, not its surface features. In addition to ensuring a safe landing, the main site-selection criterion is for the ground within reach of InSight’s robotic arm to be penetrable for a heat-flow probe. That probe is designed to hammer itself into the soil down to a depth of three to five yards.

The Mars Odyssey orbiter’s Thermal Imaging System will assess that the ground in search of evidence proving it will be suitable for the probe. The process will measure how quickly the ground cools at night or warms in sunlight, and will also evaluate images captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

“The heat-flow probe is a key part of InSight’s Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Electronics for that instrument were the first hardware from the science payload put onto the InSight spacecraft being assembled and tested at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver,” NASA said.

[STORY: Mars One narrows candidates to final 100]

“As flight components such as the HP3 electronics become available, our team continues to integrate them on the spacecraft and test their functionality,” added InSight spacecraft program manager Stu Spath of Lockheed Martin. “We’re steadily marching toward the start of spacecraft environmental testing this spring.”

A second science instrument, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, or SEIS, from the French Space Agency (CNES), will be placed on the ground by InSight’s robotic arm. A third will use the radio link between InSight and NASA’s Earth-based Deep Space Network antennas to precisely measure a wobble in the rotation of Mars that could determine if its core is molten or solid. Wind and temperature sensors from Spain and a pressure sensor, will monitor the planet’s weather, and magnetic disturbances will be tracked by a magnetometer.

The InSight mission passed its System Integration Review in February, and project manager Tom Hoffman of JPL said that an panel outside experts “reviewed the system-level integration and test program.” Multiple systems from several countries are being brought together for final testing and integration in Denver, he added. InSight was designed to provide data that will help NASA prepare for its planned manned mission to Mars in the 2030s.

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LSD could treat depression, claims researcher

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Could psychoactive drugs such as LSD be an effective treatment for alcoholism and depression? One UK professor believes so, and he’s asking for your help in funding his research.

As reported Wednesday by The Guardian, Professor David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist and psychiatrist, and colleagues from Imperial College London claim that these substances could be used to reverse longstanding patterns of addictive behavior or negative thinking.

Not a nutt

Nutt, who specializes in the research of drugs that affect the brain, and his fellow scientists have obtained the first brain scans of people under the influence of LSD. While their research is in the early stages, a trial involving 20 patients is being called “promising” and may add new evidence suggesting that psychoactive drugs could effectively treat depression or addiction.

[STORY: How long is the average penis?]

However, during a recent event in London, the professor and former chief drug advisor to the government, said that patients are missing out on these potential benefits due to federal laws that limit research into recreational drugs. Such restrictions, he said, are nothing short of “the worst censorship in the history of science,” the UK-based media outlet added.

Having failed to secure the money needed to continue his work through conventional means, Nutt has taken to the Web, launching a page at the crowdfunding website Walacea.com in the hopes that he and his colleagues can secure £25,000 (nearly $38,000) for their research.

“These drugs offer the greatest opportunity we have in mental health. There’s little else on the horizon,” he told The Guardian. “We’ve banned research on psychedelic drugs and other drugs like cannabis for 50 years. Truly, in terms of the amount of wasted opportunity, it’s way greater than the banning of the telescope. This is a truly appalling level of censorship.”

[STORY: Introverts prefer mountainous regions]

“There has been a resurgence of medical interest in LSD and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, after several recent trials produced encouraging results for conditions ranging from depression in cancer patients to post-traumatic stress disorder,” the website added, citing a recent US study that showed LSD could treat anxiety in patients with life-threatening conditions.

Not just people having a good time

Likewise, in 2012, research showed that the active ingredient in ecstasy (MDMA) could be combined with psychotherapy to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and an Arizona-based study from six years earlier found that psilocybin could relieve the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, Nutt claims that the UK government and other funding agencies remain unwilling to get involved in research into the clinical benefits of psychoactive drugs.

Ravi Das, a University College London neuroscientist who is currently studying the effects of ketamine, agreed. Das told The Guardian that the “potential benefits are definitely downplayed in face of these drugs being used recreationally. People view their use in a research setting as ‘people are just having a good time.’ ”

[STORY: Brain imaging as evidence: Is it legal?]

However, a the Medical Research Council spokesperson countered those claims, stating that funding is allocated based on the quality of research. He said that the Nutt “currently receives over three quarters of a million pounds directly from the MRC for his psilocybin research,” and that the agency “spent over £860,000 on studies related to cannabis” last year alone.

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Could the Higgs boson help scientists find dark matter?

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Two of the greatest scientific research projects of our time – the discovery of the Higgs boson and the search for dark matter – may be related, as researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden explained in a new Journal of High Energy Physics paper.

According to Discovery News, the discovery of the so-called “God particle” in 2012 came after a search that lasted several decades. The particle mediates the Higgs field, which endows all matter with mass, and serves as the missing link of the Standard Model of physics, the website said.

But what about dark matter?

However, while the Standard Model itself governs our understanding of the quantum world, the authors of the new study notes that it does have some limitations, including the fact that it fails to explain the source of the tremendous amount of dark matter contained in the universe.

However, Chalmers University research scientist Christoffer Petersson and his colleagues have come up with a new theory that could fill in some of the gaps. They suggest that the Higgs boson could decay in an alternative way than has been observed by researchers thus far, and propose a new particle model based on what is known as supersymmetry.

[STORY: Researchers looking to ‘break physics’ with LHC Run Two]

This new model, Petersson’s team explains, contains more elementary particles than the Standard Model, including dark matter. The model also gives the Higgs boson different properties than the Standard Model predicts, and proposes that the particle can disintegrate into a photon (a particle of light) and particles of dark matter. These properties are extremely difficult to find, though, and scientists would have to specifically look for them in order to find them.

Could completely change understanding

While there have been hints suggesting that supersymmetric particles exist, definitive proof has been elusive thus far, according to Discovery News. In the next round of experiments being conducted at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, however, particle collisions will be increased to record levels of energy. Those experiments may provide additional evidence of supersymmetry, as researchers look for properties of the Higgs boson suggested by the new model.

“It’s a dream for a theorist in particle physics. LHC is the only place where the model can be tested. It’s even nicer that two independent experiments are going to do it,” Petersson said. “If the model is found to fit, it would completely change our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of nature. If not, just the fact that they are willing to test my model at CERN is great.”

[STORY: God particle findings were inconclusive, new analysis suggests]

The amount of data collected during the initial round of experiments at the collider was unable to either prove or disprove the Chalmers University model, the researchers said. However, Zeynap Demiragli of CERN’s CMS experiment, one of the two teams conducting the new analysis, noted that they the model is already being tested “in other ways and with more data.”

The original experiments at the collider found that Higgs particles rapidly decayed into particles that could be measured by the detectors, including muons (the electron’s more massive cousin), Discovery News said. If supersymmetry is real, however, it could have another mode of decay – disintegrating into photons and dark matter particles. Demiragli’s CMS team and colleagues at the Atlas experiment plan to monitor the boson for this decay mechanism.

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Death Star-like laser destroys truck more than mile away

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

A powerful new laser developed by Lockheed Martin is capable of stopping a vehicle from over a mile away – without resorting to lethal force, the company announced earlier this week.

Known as the Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA), the ground-based, 30-kilowatt prototype fiber laser weapon system successfully disabled the engine of a small truck that was more than one mile way during a recent field test, Lockheed representatives said.

[VIDEO: Navy laser weapons system destroys boat]

The laser completely burned through the engine manifold of a truck mounted on a test platform in a matter of mere seconds, they added. Both the vehicle’s engine and drive train were running during the test in order to properly simulate an operationally-relevant test scenario.

Wasn’t a scene from Die Hard

According to Engadget, rather than causing a big, fancy, Hollywood-type explosion, the laser simply burned a hole that rendered the truck unable to move. The website added that Lockheed seems to think that the weapon will help protect against explosive-laden vehicles being driven in the direction of military bases, infrastructure points or other locations in need of protection.

“Fiber-optic lasers are revolutionizing directed energy systems,” said Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “We are investing in every component of the system – from the optics and beam control to the laser itself – to drive size, weight and power efficiencies. This test represents the next step to providing lightweight and rugged laser weapon systems for military aircraft, helicopters, ships and trucks.”

First there was ADAM

ATHENA is based on Lockheed’s earlier Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) laser weapon system, which was developed in Sunnyvale, California and designed to target enemy rockets and other small airborne and sea-based threats. The new hardware uses a technique called “spectral beam combining” to point multiple lasers in the same direction, combining them to form a single bean that is extremely powerful and high quality, according to Engadget.

[STORY: US Navy approves invisible laser weapon for USS Ponce]

Last May, Lockheed conducted tests of the ADAM system off the coast of California, using the prototype laser system to disable a pair of boats at a range of approximately one mile. The firm said that they were developing the transportable, ground-based laser to “demonstrate a practical, affordable defense against short-range threats” such as rockets, drones and small boats.

During that test, ADAM’s high-energy laser successfully burned through multiple compartments of the boats’ military-grade rubber hulls in less than 30 seconds. Prior to the May 2014 test, the company had demonstrated the laser’s capabilities against airborne targets in flight, including an unmanned aerial system and several small-caliber rockets, Lockheed said in a statement.

“Our laser weapon initiatives leverage commercial products and processes, focusing on affordability for the user,” Dr. Ray O. Johnson, the company’s senior vice president and chief technology officer, explained at the time. “Lockheed Martin continues to invest in advancing fiber laser and beam control technologies, as these successful ADAM tests demonstrate.”

“Our ADAM system tests have shown that high-energy lasers are ready to begin addressing critical defense needs,” added Tory Bruno, president of Strategic and Missile Defense Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. “Putting revolutionary technologies to work in practical applications is a hallmark of innovation at Lockheed Martin.”

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Dawn has arrived at Ceres

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

After a journey of more than 7 1/2 years, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft was expected to enter orbit around Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, this morning.

In a statement, the US space agency announced that Dawn was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers) from Ceres when it was captured by the dwarf planet’s gravity at about 4:39 am PST (7:39 am EST) Friday morning. NASA personnel received a signal from the spacecraft confirming that it was healthy and operational at 5:36 am PST (8:36 a.m. EST).

“We feel exhilarated,” said Chris Russell, principal investigator of the Dawn mission at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “We have much to do over the next year and a half, but we are now on station with ample reserves, and a robust plan to obtain our science objectives.”

Reconnaissance of an entirely new world

According to BBC News, Dawn was expected to enter orbit around the planetoid at about 7:20 am EST on Friday, barring any unexpected issues. For the next 14 months, the probe will study Ceres, dwarf planet in the inner solar system and the first to be visited by a spacecraft.

[STORY: Dawn spacecraft captures sharper images of Ceres]

Dawn’s study of Ceres should provide new insight into the origins of the solar system, and since it has been travelling at a relatively slow speed, it was anticipated to have a smooth entry into the gravitational field of the dwarf planet. At closest approach, Dawn will be approximately 40,000 kilometers (under 25,000 miles) from Ceres, the British news outlet added.

“This is a first reconnaissance of an entirely new world,” Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer and mission director, told USA Today. UCLA’s Christopher Russell, principal investigator of the mission, added that Ceres has been like a “secretive neighbor” and that everything that he and his colleagues have witnessed so far during the mission has been “unexpected.”

Figuring out the bright spots

Among the surprises revealed by the planetoid thus far was a pair of bright spots discovered by Dawn during its approach. The spots, which thus far have been too small for an in-depth analysis yet remain brighter than anything else on Ceres, could be ice, salt or volcanic activity.

“As the spacecraft spirals into closer and closer orbits around the dwarf planet, researchers will be looking for signs that these strange features are changing,” NASA said earlier this week in a statement. Such changes “would suggest current geological activity,” the agency noted.

[STORY: Uh, what are those bright spots on Ceres?]

“Studying Ceres allows us to do historical research in space, opening a window into the earliest chapter in the history of our solar system,” added Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at the NASA headquarters in Washington. “Data returned from Dawn could contribute significant breakthroughs in our understanding of how the solar system formed.”

The final countdown

Dawn began its final approach phase toward Ceres in December, and during its journey it has captured several optical navigation images and made two rotation characterizations, NASA said. This has made it possible for scientists to observe the object throughout the entire course of its nine-hour rotation, and it will continue to provide increasingly quality high-resolution photos of Ceres throughout the course of its mission, agency officials added.

[STORY: Mars once had more water than Arctic Ocean]

“Scientists know that Ceres once had an icy ocean at its core and probably still does. But it’s also possible that radioactivity inside the planet melted some of the ice, creating a lake or a sea. Dawn will look for a liquid ocean,” USA Today said. If they find it, science team member Mark Sykes said, it could indicate that Ceres is or once was capable of supporting subsurface life.

Interrupted by Jupiter

Ceres, which was discovered by Sicilian astronomer Father Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801, is the second destination for Dawn, which had previously visited the giant asteroid Vesta in 2011 and 2012. While in orbit around Vesta, the spacecraft captured more than 30,000 images and several measurements of the object, revealing new information about its composition and geology.

With an average diameter of 590 miles (950 kilometers), Ceres is much larger than Vesta, which has an average diameter of just 326 miles (525 kilometers). Ceres, which contains approximately one-third of the entire asteroid belt’s mass, was initially classified as a planet and later called an asteroid before being re-designated a dwarf planet along with Pluto and Eris in 2006.

[STORY: NASA finds planet with four suns]

Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, explained that both Ceres and Vesta “were on their way to becoming planets, but their development was interrupted by the gravity of Jupiter. These two bodies are like fossils from the dawn of the solar system, and they shed light on its origins.”

“By studying Vesta and Ceres, we will gain a better understanding of the formation of our solar system, especially the terrestrial planets and most importantly the Earth,” she added. “These bodies are samples of the building blocks that have formed Venus, Earth and Mars. Vesta-like bodies are believed to have contributed heavily to the core of our planet, and Ceres-like bodies may have provided our water.”

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Fibromyalgia

Using Cymbalta for fibromyalgia management

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: March 6, 2015 Last Edited: March 6, 2015

One of the primary approved drugs for managing the pain associated with fibromyalgia is Cymbalta. The FDA approved this anti-depressant as a pain relief method for the disorder, and in most studies it rates as highly effective for pain management. Cymbalta for fibromyalgia management may be an appropriate course of action for you in building a lifestyle that manages your pain and other symptoms better.

Understanding what fibromyalgia is

Fibromyalgia is not a “woman’s disease” although over 80% of those diagnosed with it are women between the ages of 18 and 65. More men are being diagnosed with it as there is increased recognition of how the cluster of symptoms appears in their gender.

It is a chronic, non-fatal, but potentially debilitating disorder. Common symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, pervasive pain, stiffness, IBS and headaches. Depression is also common with fibromyalgia and an increased level of whole body inflammation.

Who is at risk for it

Anyone can develop fibromyalgia at any age. It is most common in women between the ages of 18 and 64, and it is pervasive among all races and ethnic types. Recent advances in medicine have seen the development of two different tests to detect the presence of fibromyalgia – a blood test and brain scan. These tests may not be 100% accurate especially for those in the early onset of the disorder.

It is thought that there is an issue of heredity involved in the development of the disease, but it is also associated with traumatic brain injury, traumatic illness, and those with disorders of the immune system. While there is not specific known agent of action for the disorder, it is associated with a cluster of symptoms that focus on hormone and brain chemical imbalances that cause the immune system to become dysregulated.

What is Cymbalta

Cymbalta is a drug that is most commonly associated with the treatment of depression. While its exact mechanism of action is not known, it is classified as an SNRI (serotonin norepinephrine receptor inhibitor). It is thought that in inhibiting the receptors between these two important brain chemicals that it also can disrupt the pain receptor and message process. Cymbalta was approved as a pain treatment for fibromyalgia by the FDA in 2008.

It can be used in conjunction with other antidepressants if your depression does not respond to Cymbalta as it is considered more of a pain medication treatment for those with fibromyalgia. It is important to note that because of its designation as a treatment for pain with fibromyalgia that being prescribed Cymbalta does not also imply a diagnosis of depression too.

Who should take it?

Women who are pregnant or nursing should not take Cymbalta. It is also not recommended for the very young, but has proven to be safe with the elderly. If you are suffering from depression it may be a good idea to add this to your repertoire of medications to treat your fibromyalgia pain too. There are no concerns associated with cardiovascular risk with Cymbalta, but some people cannot tolerate the common associated side effects. If you have IBS, Cymbalta may aggravate that condition.

What are the risks?

There are some risks associated with taking Cymbalta and you should talk with your doctor and pharmacist to understand what yours are. It can interact with other medications and cause short term side effects such as dizziness, insomnia, dry mouth and constipation.

There are rare instances of more serious side effects so it should be approached with caution. You should not take Cymbalta if you are already on an anti-depressant, but should talk to your doctor about switching over to Cymbalta to see if it will be effective for treating your depression and pain symptoms.

How can you make symptom management more effective?

The key to making symptom management more effective is to understand that medications and lifestyle changes that are used to relieve pain or other symptoms aren’t meant to eliminate the symptom all together. When treating pain, the goal is not to get to a level of no pain – but to a level of more tolerable pain.

Once you have tolerable pain that is controlled with medication, you can then engage in lifestyle changes that can reduce the pain even further. Medication is not a total solution, but one of the tools used to improve your overall quality of life. If you view your symptom management as a larger puzzle in which you fit your pieces, you will see more effective success with the techniques and medications you try.

Other things to consider

One thing that you should know is that while studies have shown that taking Cymbalta for fibromyalgia pain is effective for almost all people, it is most effective in those who have a developed depression. Science isn’t sure why this antidepressant can be so effective in relieving fibromyalgia pain, but it is known as an effective antidepressant for those whose relationship between their serotonin and norepinephrine levels are out of balance. If you don’t have a problem with depression, Cymbalta will still provide pain relief for you, but not as much as for someone who also has a co-existing diagnosis of depression.

Making sure Cymbalta for fibromyalgia is effective

If you want to make sure that taking Cymbalta for fibromyalgia is effective in relieving your pain you need to also understand how the cluster of symptoms of the disorder is affected by other factors too. The more you understand how diet, lifestyle, and even the weather can affect fibromyalgia symptoms the better able you will be to create a lifestyle that allows you to improve the quality of your life.

No medication can relieve all of the symptoms, and there is no known cure – but there is much you can learn to do to make sure that your symptoms aren’t debilitating to your life. Be proactive, educate yourself and engage with your doctors in a true investigation of all the options known – and that will be discovered in the future to make sure that you can live your life to the fullest.

Further reading:

Cymbalta became the second FDA approved drug for fibromyalgia: http://www.arthritistoday.org/news/cymbalta-approved-fibromyalgia.php

Duloxetine for the treatment of fibromyalgia: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056054/

Cymbalta for Fibromyalgia Treatment: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/cymbalta-for-fibromyalgia-treatment

Hunters discover 10,000-year-old wooly rhino carcass in Siberia

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 5, 2015 Last Edited: March 5, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Usually, a group of hunters posing for photos next to the remains of a deceased animal is viewed in a negative light by conservationists, but when those individuals have just discovered a one-of-a-kind 10,000 year old baby wooly rhino, it’s a whole different story.

According to Wired, a pair hunters were boating down a stream in Siberia when they noticed a few tufts of wavy, auburn-colored fur sticking out of the permafrost. They stopped to investigate what they originally believed was a dead reindeer, only to discover something far different.

“We were sailing past a ravine and noticed hair hanging on the top of it,” Alexander Banderov, one of the two hunters that found the rhino remains, told The Siberian Times. “After it thawed… we saw a horn on its upper jaw and realized it must be a rhino. The part of the carcass that stuck out of the ice was eaten by wild animals, but the rest of it was… preserved well.”

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Banderov and his friend, Semen Ivanov, then contacted the Mammoth Fauna Department of the Yakutian Academy of Sciences and removed it from the ice. The duo stored the creature through the harshest part of the winter, and delivered it to the Sakha Republic Academy of Sciences last week. The rhino was named in honor of Banderov and shares his nickname, Sasha.

Incredibly lucky

While its backside was chewed off by predators, the rest of the specimen is largely intact and includes bones from the head, leg and torso, as well as an ear, an eye, teeth, two horns and a flap of wool-covered sin, according to reports. Since it was preserved in the ice, researchers hope that it may also still contain DNA that can be used to find its closest modern-day relative.

While the exact age of the cub when it died has not yet been determined, scientists estimate that Sasha was approximately 18 months old. Tests will be conducted to confirm its age, and those results will likely be available in six months. While some adult wooly rhinos have been found in the past, is marks the first time that the remains of a cub have been successfully recovered.

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“The find is absolutely unique. We can count a number of adult woolly rhinos found around the world on fingers of one hand. A baby rhino was never found before,” Albert Protopopov, head of the Mammoth Fauna Department at the Sakha Republic Academy of Sciences, told The Siberian Times. “Even to find a skull of a baby rhino is very lucky indeed.”

“We know nothing about baby rhinos… we didn’t have a chance to work even with a tooth of a baby rhino, and now we have the whole skull, the head, soft tissues, and well preserved teeth,” he added. “We are hoping Sasha the rhino will give us a lot of answers to questions of how they grew and developed, what conditions they lived in, and which of the modern day animals is the closest to them… We are hoping to report first results in a week or two.”

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Israel wants to enter commercial space market

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 5, 2015 Last Edited: March 5, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Israel is looking to build upon its military and defense industry expertise to gain a foothold in the burgeoning commercial space market, and the country hopes to move beyond its current focus on spy communications satellites and start production of civilian probes.

Issac Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency, told Reuters on Wednesday that he hopes to harness the expertise of experts responsible for technological advances such as the Iron Dome missile interceptor to crack into the $250 billion commercial space industry.

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“The idea was that we have a well-developed space infrastructure for our defense needs,” Ben-Israel explained, “and without a big financial investment, we can use it to grab a few percentage points of the commercial market as well.”

He said that he hopes the country will be able to secure a market share of at least three percent, but acknowledged that it faces still competition from global technology giants looking to expand into new markets and new industries, but he hopes to get bigger by going smaller.

Adelis-SAMSON

As the global space race begins to follow the lead of other technological areas, such as mobile devices and computers, by making things smaller, lighter and more efficient, officials at the Israel Space Agency see a golden opportunity. After all, the country’s researchers have honed their craft by creating small spy satellites designed to monitor “unfriendly neighbors.”

One of their projects, Adelis-SAMSON, is designing three nano-satellites for the first controlled formation flight in space. The navigation system being used in the mission is now being tested in a cluster of round, plate-sized robots capable of weaving in and out of formation autonomously.

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The launch of the Adelis-SAMSON satellites is currently set for next year, the news agency said, and while they are in orbit, digital receivers created by a developer of the Iron Dome system will detect distress signals on Earth, with the satellites using triangulation for enhanced accuracy.

“We call it maximizing performance per kilo,” project head Pini Gurfil told Reuters, reportedly showing off one of the shoebox-sized satellites while speaking to the media outlet. “The new propulsion system, the application for search and rescue on demand, the software and algorithms, they will be really significant for the commercial market.”

Ripe for the start-up

Since the 1980s, Israel’s space program focused on defense and surveillance out of necessity, and it is widely considered to be one of the 10 leading space-faring countries in the world. Yet its civilian program suffered until 2012, when the government approved $22.5 million in funding for the civilian space program and green-lighting projects such as Adelis-SAMSON.

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“Because it has a broad spectrum of proven expertise and knowledge, Israel is ripe to have a lot of start-ups and those start-ups will have a lot of amazing technologies for export,” said Amir Blachman, managing director of the US-based Space Angels Network, an investment firm that provides capital for private space, aerospace, and aviation startups.

Last March, a team of Israeli scientists announced plans to send a dishwasher-sized probe to the Moon by the end of 2015. Those scientists were part of the SpaceIL team, which was formed to compete for the $20 million Google’s LunarX Prize, and their goal was to create a spacecraft that could land on the lunar surface, jump 500 meters and transmit video and images back to Earth.

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Microsoft co-founder finds sunken WWII battleship

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 5, 2015 Last Edited: March 5, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

After searching for eight years, an expedition funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has found one of the largest and most technologically advanced battleships in naval history, a World War II-era Japanese vessel that had been sunk in the waters near the Philippines.

According to CNET, Allen announced on his website earlier this week that his team had located the Musashi, a battleship that was secretly built in Japan and was believed to be the largest, most sophisticated craft of its era when it was originally commissioned back in 1942.

The Musashi, the website noted, weighed 73,000 tons when it had a complete load. The ship was outfitted with 18-inch armor plating and nine 18-inch guns, the largest mounted onto a warship at the time. Those guns were placed on three-gun turrets and fired shells up to 46,000 yards.

Finding the Musashi

In a statement, Allen said that his team was able to discover the Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea by analyzing historical data from four different countries, as well as detailed undersea topographical data and advanced technology aboard his yacht, M/Y Octopus. The battleship was found in the Sibuyan Sea on March 1, he added, but its exact location has not been revealed.

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Eyewitness accounts and records were able to narrow down the search area, and Allen and his teams used a hypsometric bathymetric survey of the ocean floor to determine its terrain. Then in February, they used a BlueFin-12 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to start the final phase of the search. After just three dives, the AUV detected the wreckage or the Musashi. The find was later confirmed using a remote-operated vehicle outfitted with a high-definition camera.

“Since my youth, I have been fascinated with World War II history, inspired by my father’s service in the U.S. Army,” Allen explained. “The Musashi is truly an engineering marvel and, as an engineer at heart, I have a deep appreciation for the technology and effort that went into its construction. I am honored to play a part in finding this key vessel in naval history and honoring the memory of the incredible bravery of the men who served aboard her.”

Some more history

The Musashi was built in a Nagasaki shipyard during World War II, and great efforts were made to keep the size of the battleship hidden from Allied Forces, he said. The vessel participated in several battles, including the Battle of the Philippine Sea, but was ultimately sunk by a reported 19 torpedoes and 17 bombs on October 24, 1944, just before the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

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Nearly half of the more than 2,300 crew members on board were killed when the battleship went down, including Commander Vice Admiral Toshihira Inoguchi. Even today, the Musashi and her sister ship, the Yamato, are viewed as “unparalleled feats of naval design and construction,” said Allen. He added that he is working with Japanese authorities to treat the site, which is viewed as a war grave, “respectfully and in accordance with Japanese traditions.”

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Genghis Khan’s military base discovered in southwest Mongolia

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 5, 2015 Last Edited: March 5, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

The ruins of a 13th century military outpost believed to have belonged to Genghis Khan has reportedly been located by a team of Japanese and Mongolian archaeologists.

According to io9, the discovery of the base in southwestern Mongolia could provide new insight into the Mongol Empire’s westward expansion strategy, as well as shed new light on trade routes established by the civilization between the 13th and 14th centuries.

[STORY: Climate change helped Genghis Khan rule his empire]

“We hope the discovery will be useful in ascertaining the history of the Mongolian Plateau between the 13th and 14th centuries,” lead investigator Koichi Matsuda, professor emeritus of Mongol Empire history at Osaka International University, told The Asahi Shimbun.

Other discoveries

Matsuda’s team surveyed ruins approximately 880 kilometers west of Ulan Bator in 2001, and discovered that geographical features around them were similar to a landscape depicted in a book on travel that had been written by a medieval leader in Chinese Taoism.

They also uncovered fragments of Chinese ceramics dating back to the 1200s. An aerial image taken in 2001 shows the remains of a fortress surrounded by a soil wall measuring 200 meters by 200 meters. Carbon dating on wood chips found at the site found that they were from the 12th and 13th century, while animal bones were dates to the 14th century.

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Based on their findings, the archaeologists told reporters that the items were from a castle that served as a base of military operations during Genghis Khan’s invasion of central Asia. The fortress was reportedly commissioned by one of the conqueror’s aides in 1212, which confirms the actual location of the base for the first time, the Archaeology News Network added.

Haven’t found the body yet

At the time of the Khan’s death, the Mongol empire was the largest in the world, and remains the second-largest in history after the British Empire, according to 9 News in Australia. Khan and his descendants ruled an empire that covered 33 million square kilometers at its peak – an empire that encompasses one-fourth of the world’s population, the Australian news outlet added.

While archaeologists have managed to locate and identify Genghis Khan’s former military base, they still have been unable to find the final resting place of the former conqueror, according to the History Channel. Some stories say that Khan died from injuries sustained in a fall from a horse in 1227, other sources claim that he died from malaria or an arrow wound. In fact, there are even “questionable claims” that he was killed after trying to force himself on a Chinese princess.

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“Of all the enigmas surrounding the Khan’s life, perhaps the most famous concerns how it ended,” as well as where he is buried, the website added. “According to legend, his funeral procession slaughtered everyone they came in contact with during their journey and then repeatedly rode horses over his grave to help conceal it. The tomb is most likely on or around a Mongolian mountain called Burkhan Khaldun, but to this day its precise location is unknown.”

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Fossil jaw pushes human origins back 400,000 years

Written By: Chuck Bednar

Published Date: March 5, 2015 Last Edited: March 5, 2015

Christopher Pilny

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Researchers from the US, UK, and Africa have discovered a new lower jawbone in Ethiopia that pushes back the arrival of the genus Homo on that continent by nearly one-half million years, all but confirming that East Africa was the birthplace of our evolutionary lineage.

According to BBC News, the 2.8 million-year-old partial mandible is 400,000 years older than experts previously believed that our kind had emerged, and the discovery suggests that climate change was the catalyst that caused us to evolve from tree dweller to upright walkers.

University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor Brian Villmoare, lead author of a paper describing the research that was published Wednesday in the journal Science, said that the discovery offers new insight into “the most important transitions in human evolution”.

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He added that the find provides a clear link to “Lucy,” a 3.2 million-year-old human-like primate discovered in 1974.

Next-door neighbors

In fact, as National Geographic pointed out, the new specimen (dubbed LD 350-1) was found just a dozen miles from where Lucy has discovered. LD 350-1 was recovered from the Ledi-Geraru research area in the East African Rift Valley’s Afar Regional State in January 2013, and the authors note it is one of only a few Homo fossils from that period have been found.

“You could put them all into a small shoe box and still have room for a good pair of shoes,” Bill Kimbel, director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, told Nat Geo. LD 350-1 shares several features with later members of the genus, including slim molar teeth and the shape of the mandible’s bony body, but has a primitive-looking front and a receding chin line.

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“This narrows the time period in which we can now focus our search for the emergence of the human lineage,” added Kimbel, who co-led the analysis of the new specimen. “It’s very much a transitional form, as would be expected at that age. The chin looks backwards in time. But the shape of the teeth looks forward.”

Evolutionary insight

The find could help provide new insights into the extremely essential but poorly understood part of human evolution that occurred between two and three million years ago, when our ancestors began the critical transformation from ape-like mammals into more advanced forms capable of tool use, The Guardian said. It helps close the gap from Australopithethus to Homo.

“By finding this jaw bone we’ve figured out where that trajectory started. This is the first Homo. It marks in all likelihood a major adaptive transition,” Villamoare told the newspaper, adding that dramatic changes in the environment may have been what let to the transformation. “It could be that there was some sort of ecological shift and humans had to evolve or go extinct.”

Handy man

A related study, published this week in the journal Nature, describes a reconstruction of an earlier specimen – a Homo fossil one million years younger than LD 350-1, according to Nat Geo. The jaw belonged to the original specimen of Homo habilis or “Handy Man,” which was discovered by Louis and Mary Leakey Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge in 1964.

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Fred Spoor of University College, London and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and his colleagues used computed tomography (CT) and 3D imaging technology to digitally reconstruct what that specimen’s mandible would have looked like, and according to the website, it would have a narrow shape and parallel tooth rows similar to an australopithecine, the group of human ancestors that predates the Homo genus.

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