History is complicated! That the current government of Poland is so strong in supporting the Ukraine in their defense against the Russian invasion is very commendable given this background! There was even some collaboration between Ukrainians and the Nazis.
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Friday, May 26, 2023
How Russia tracks, censors, and controls its citizens
Russia/Soviet Union remains a totalitarian dictatorship of unprecedented proportions! As a Russian, I would have left the country a long time ago!
Putin's Endgame? Russia Moves Nukes to Belarus Amid Ukraine War
Moving tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus seems to be a dangerous escalation of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war!
An Australian military analyst pointed out that this was part of a plan by Putin the Terrible to invade Belarus by stealth. E.g. more and more Russian soldiers are now stationed in Belarus. How much is the old dictator of Belarus a puppet of Putin the Terrible?
About the capabilities of GPT4
I am currently reading "Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4".
Here is a truly stunning example of the capabilities of GPT4. GPT4 was asked to write a letter in the style of Mahatma Gandhi to his wife about a U.S. presidential candidate, but the candidate is a subatomic particle. The example also compares the GPT4 output with the output of ChatGPT.
Comment: The letter is a bit cheesy, because it reduces Mahatma Gandhi to non violence and civil disobedience. Plus, there is nothing personal in this letter to his wife. However, compared to ChatGPT (which is based on GPT3) it is a major improvement.
Cancers in distant organs alter liver function
Amazing stuff! Cancer is history (soon)! The more we know about cancer, the better! Another example how nasty cancer can be!
"Cancers often release molecules into the bloodstream that pathologically alter the liver, shifting it to an inflammatory state, causing fat buildup and impairing its normal detoxifying functions ...
In the study ... the researchers found that a wide variety of tumor types growing outside the liver remotely reprogram the liver to a state resembling fatty liver disease via secretion of extracellular vesicles and particles (EVPs) containing fatty acids. ...
The team also observed that reprogrammed livers have high levels of inflammation, marked by elevated level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and low levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes called cytochrome P450, which break down potentially toxic molecules, including many drug molecules. The observed reduction in cytochrome P450 levels could explain why cancer patients often become less tolerant of chemotherapy and other drugs as their illness progresses. ..."
In the study ... the researchers found that a wide variety of tumor types growing outside the liver remotely reprogram the liver to a state resembling fatty liver disease via secretion of extracellular vesicles and particles (EVPs) containing fatty acids. ...
The team also observed that reprogrammed livers have high levels of inflammation, marked by elevated level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and low levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes called cytochrome P450, which break down potentially toxic molecules, including many drug molecules. The observed reduction in cytochrome P450 levels could explain why cancer patients often become less tolerant of chemotherapy and other drugs as their illness progresses. ..."
From the abstract:
"Cancer alters the function of multiple organs beyond those targeted by metastasis. Here we show that inflammation, fatty liver and dysregulated metabolism are hallmarks of systemically affected livers in mouse models and in patients with extrahepatic metastasis. We identified tumour-derived extracellular vesicles and particles (EVPs) as crucial mediators of cancer-induced hepatic reprogramming, which could be reversed by reducing tumour EVP secretion via depletion of Rab27a. All EVP subpopulations, exosomes and principally exomeres, could dysregulate hepatic function. The fatty acid cargo of tumour EVPs—particularly palmitic acid—induced secretion of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) by Kupffer cells, generating a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, suppressing fatty acid metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation, and promoting fatty liver formation. Notably, Kupffer cell ablation or TNF blockade markedly decreased tumour-induced fatty liver generation. Tumour implantation or pre-treatment with tumour EVPs diminished cytochrome P450 gene expression and attenuated drug metabolism in a TNF-dependent manner. We also observed fatty liver and decreased cytochrome P450 expression at diagnosis in tumour-free livers of patients with pancreatic cancer who later developed extrahepatic metastasis, highlighting the clinical relevance of our findings. Notably, tumour EVP education enhanced side effects of chemotherapy, including bone marrow suppression and cardiotoxicity, suggesting that metabolic reprogramming of the liver by tumour-derived EVPs may limit chemotherapy tolerance in patients with cancer. Our results reveal how tumour-derived EVPs dysregulate hepatic function and their targetable potential, alongside TNF inhibition, for preventing fatty liver formation and enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy."
China’s souped-up data privacy laws deter researchers
Is China trying to isolate itself again from the rest of the world? What do the communists have to fear?
"Recently introduced restrictions on the flow of academic and health data from China are concerning researchers globally, who say the new rules, as well as the uncertainty surrounding them, are discouraging international collaborations with scientists in the country. Others, fearing that access to information could be stymied, are opting not to work on projects about China or its people.
The suite of regulations, which have been introduced gradually since 2021, includes cybersecurity assessments of personal information and genetic data sent overseas, and restrictions on the export of biotechnology know-how in CRISPR–Cas9 gene-editing technology, synthetic biology and crop breeding. China is also considering limits on the amount of human genetic data that can be sent to other countries. ..."
Same-sex married couples represent 0.5% of all U.S. households in 2020
Same-sex unmarried partners made up 0.4%, according to the Census Bureau.
Just a reminder what a tiny minority LGTQ actually is! However, this tiny minority has an extremely disproportionate influence on society and culture. The daily publicity and celebrity is extreme as if these people were so special! Quite annoying!
The U.S. Census Bureau deceptively tried to make the tiny minority look bigger: "Same-sex couples made up 1.7% of coupled households."
Sicherheitspanne beim Bundeskanzler: Mann umarmt Olaf Scholz am Flughafen
Neues aus der Bananenrepublik Deutschland! Es scheint leider noch keine Bilder zu der Umarmung zu geben oder sind hinter paywall!
Werden diese unfähigen Sicherheitsbeamten sofort gefeuert? Ich würde nicht darauf wetten.
Chart of the day
This chart is about the 10 year UK gilt. The British long-term bond yield is now guilty of having reached the levels of inflation prone and economic unstable Italy!
One of the lessons from the Russian war of aggression against the Ukraine
Apparently, the Russian weapons are no match for Western weapons!
Russia was apparently unable to keep up with the arms race in conventional weapons over the last several decades! Russia could not keep up with Western technological progress.
Plus, Russia seems to have become very reliant on China! Has Russia even become a vassal of China as some speculate?
Will the Russian people finally get rid of their last czar and megalomaniac Putin the Terrible!
Origami Teaches Kids All They Need To Know About Geometry in Israel
That should be fun!
"Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, is helping thousands of pupils pass their geometry tests.
Six hundred schools in Israel are currently using Origametria – a series of fun, hands-on lessons that covers the entire curriculum. ..."
Children at a school in Israel hold up the origami they folded during a lesson.
How Paper Checks Can Expose You to Fraud and Theft | WSJ Your Money Briefing
Wall Street Journal wastes an episode on paper checks??? Seems outdated! I have not used a paper check anymore in several years. I use online banking!
Paralyzed for 12 years, man walks after bluetooth connects his brain and spine
Amazing stuff! Wonderful!
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Russia on the Edge: Prigozhin's Warning of Revolution Amid Ukraine War
Wow! Will the Russian people or even some of the elite start to foment unrest in Russia against the war in the Ukraine or even Putin the Terrible!
Breakthrough in computer chip energy efficiency could significantly cut data center and supercomputer electricity use
Good news! Sounds almost spectacular!
"... new, ultra-energy-efficient method to compensate for temperature variations that degrade photonic chips. Such chips “will form the high-speed communication backbone of future data centers and supercomputers,” ...
The issue with photonic chips is that up until now, significant energy has been required to keep their temperature stable and performance high. The team led by Wang, however, has shown that it’s possible to reduce the energy needed for temperature control by a factor of more than 1 million. ..."
From the abstract:
"Silicon microring resonators (Si-MRRs) play essential roles in on-chip wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems due to their ultra-compact size and low energy consumption. However, the resonant wavelength of Si-MRRs is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations and fabrication process variation. Typically, each Si-MRR in the WDM system requires precise wavelength control by free carrier injection using PIN diodes or thermal heaters that consume high power. This work experimentally demonstrates gate-tuning on-chip WDM filters for the first time with large wavelength coverage for the entire channel spacing using a Si-MRR array driven by high mobility titanium-doped indium oxide (ITiO) gates. The integrated Si-MRRs achieve unprecedented wavelength tunability up to 589 pm/V, or VπL of 0.050 V cm with a high-quality factor of 5200. The on-chip WDM filters, which consist of four cascaded ITiO-driven Si-MRRs, can be continuously tuned across the 1543–1548 nm wavelength range by gate biases with near-zero power consumption."
Breakthrough in computer chip energy efficiency could cut data center electricity use (primary source)
Fig. 5 (a) Optical microscope image of the fabricated on-chip WDM filters consisting of four cascaded tunable Si-MRRs and testing setup (b) Zoom-in view of the individual tunable Si-MRR of the on-chip WDM filters. The dashed line highlights the ITiO gate. (c) The simulated carrier concentration (Nc), refractive index (n), and extinction coefficient (k) distributions with different applied biases at the ITiO/HfO2 and the Si/HfO2 interfaces.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier wirbt für eine soziale Pflichtzeit. Wirklich!
Über eine lange Zeit wurde Dummheit in der Republik in Lübke gemessen! Nun haben wir Steinmeier Masseinheit für Dummheit! 😊 Wer hat diesen Vorgarten Gärtner zum Bock (Bundespräsidenten) gemacht!
Dieser Gastbeitrag kann nur gelesen werden von Abonnenten der FAZ! Ein Bärendienst zur Stärkung der Demokratie!
Dieser Beitrag ist auch noch nicht mal auf der entsprechenden webpage des Bundespraesidenten aufgefuehrt (25.5.2023, 20:45).
Quantifying the human cost of global warming. Really!
Absolutely stunning that the once prestigious Nature journal publishes such propaganda and demagoguery nonsense!
Everybody should know that climate models forecasting up to 2100 are junk at best! We can not even forecast weather accurately for more than 48 hours!
"... Calls for climate justice highlight the vital need to address the social injustices driven by climate change ..."
At least these nutty scientists admit that warming is normal and supporting civilization after coming out of an ice age:
"... The 1960–1990 interval was globally ~0.3 °C warmer than the 1850–1900 ‘pre-industrial’ level, but closer to mean Holocene temperatures that supported civilizations as we know them (because 1850–1900 was at the end of the Little Ice Age)."
From the abstract:
"The costs of climate change are often estimated in monetary terms, but this raises ethical issues. Here we express them in terms of numbers of people left outside the ‘human climate niche’—defined as the historically highly conserved distribution of relative human population density with respect to mean annual temperature. We show that climate change has already put ~9% of people (>600 million) outside this niche. By end-of-century (2080–2100), current policies leading to around 2.7 °C global warming could leave one-third (22–39%) of people outside the niche. Reducing global warming from 2.7 to 1.5 °C results in a ~5-fold decrease in the population exposed to unprecedented heat (mean annual temperature ≥29 °C). The lifetime emissions of ~3.5 global average citizens today (or ~1.2 average US citizens) expose one future person to unprecedented heat by end-of-century. That person comes from a place where emissions today are around half of the global average. These results highlight the need for more decisive policy action to limit the human costs and inequities of climate change."
Tina Turner died in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland
Update of 5/26/2023: Today, I finally got around to read up more on her Wikipedia biography. The more I read about her life the more it fascinates me! So she was romantically involved with the German music executive Erwin Bach (16 years younger than her) since 1986 whom she married in 2013 " in a civil ceremony on the banks of Lake Zurich in Küsnacht, Switzerland." In that same year she also acquired Swiss citizenship. She described her religious belief as a Buddhist–Baptist! Not a bad combination. Maybe it was Buddhism that also made her so extraordinary as a singer and as a person!
Her husband donated a kidney to Tina in 2017. I think, I had almost totally forgotten about her German husband.
What did Tina Turner like about living in Switzerland and in particular in the town of Küsnacht on Lake Zurich near Zurich? Was it the medical treatment for her longtime illness?
Was it just lower taxes? Maybe not.
January 6 defendant who propped his foot on Nancy Pelosi's desk sentenced to over 4 years in prison
This seems to be harsch, excessive, and unusual punishment!
Among other accusations, he stole an envelope from Pelosi! Seriously!
40.000 Bienen gestohlen: Imker findet Dieb selbst
Wer stiehlt schon Bienen?
Regelmässig werden im Frühjahr Bienenvölker entwendet, so gut wie nie werden die Diebstähle aufgeklärt.
U.S. Spent $13 Billion Sponsoring Unaccompanied Minor Children At The Border Since 2012
Wow! Such largess! No wonder there are so many unaccompanied children crossing the border!
In 2022, there were a total of about 129,000 unaccompanied minor children!
"... However, today, reports indicate that up to 85,000 “sponsored” children are missing – their locations and whereabouts are not known. ..."
Russian missile scientist arrested, charged with treason for spying for China
According to this video several Russian scientists were accused of providing secrets to China in recent years.
Fast jede zweite Klinik vor dem Aus
Sahra Wagenknecht beschreibt diesen Aspekt der Bananenrepublik D. sehr anschaulich! Wie ein Kasper und Narr wie Lauterbach Bundesminister werden kann ist grotesk!
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Chinese Hackers Target Kenya over Debt with Palki Sharma
It's euphemistically called backdoor diplomacy! Some debtor countries find out the hard way!
Is Ukraine's Zelensky Playing the Islam Card to Woo the Middle East? with Palki Sharma
Smart move by Zelensky! Fascinating story the Tartars and Muslims living on the in the Ukraine, primarily on the Crimea peninsula.
Pop icon Tina Turner dead at 83
R.I.P. Tina! Nice tribute to her long career by Fox! I will miss her singing! A sad day for popular music!
Windkraft im Faktencheck (5 Punkte, die kaum jemand kennt)
Sehr empfehlenswert! Wie wurde Deutschland zu einer Bananenrepublik? Der enorme Ausbau der unzuverlässigen, ineffiziente, und Natur verschandelnden Windenergie ist ein tolles Beispiel dafür. So viel Dummheit!
China's flying car developers get ready for commercial takeoff in 2025
Is the West ready for the challenge? Or is it mostly hype?
"n China, flying car makers are fast preparing to take their business into the mainstream in line with the government's agenda to support the emerging industry.
"The full-fledged commercialization of flying cars in China will begin in either 2025 or 2026," Guo Liang, CEO of Chinese flying car developer Aerofugia, said at a tech expo in Macao earlier this month. ..."
EHang's model EH216 is put on display at the Beyond Expo in Macao.
Rewired genetic 'clock' slows aging and increases cellular lifespan in yeast by 80%
Good news! Better than plastic surgery and Botox injections? 😊 This sounds very promising to halt or delay aging!
Journal Science found this paper so interesting that they provided a perspective and an editor's summary for it.
"Yeast cells have a transcriptional toggle switch that leads them to die by one of two fates: One causes death by nucleolar decline, the other by mitochondrial decay. By rewiring this transcriptional switch into a negative-feedback loop, Zhou et al. were able to cause yeast cells to oscillate between the two states and increase their life span by 82% ... These results represent a step forward toward the use of engineering principles to design synthetic gene circuits that control complex biological traits."
"... These advances resulted in a dramatically extended cellular lifespan, setting a new record for life extension through genetic and chemical interventions. ...
the researchers in this study first used computer simulations of how the core aging circuit operates. ...
Several years ago the multidisciplinary UC San Diego research team began studying the mechanisms behind cell aging, a complex biological process that underlies human longevity and many diseases. They discovered that cells follow a cascade of molecular changes through their entire lifespan until they eventually degenerate and die. But they noticed that cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment can travel along distinct aging routes. About half of the cells age through a gradual decline in the stability of DNA, where genetic information is stored. The other half ages along a path tied to the decline of mitochondria, the energy production units of cells. ..."
the researchers in this study first used computer simulations of how the core aging circuit operates. ...
Several years ago the multidisciplinary UC San Diego research team began studying the mechanisms behind cell aging, a complex biological process that underlies human longevity and many diseases. They discovered that cells follow a cascade of molecular changes through their entire lifespan until they eventually degenerate and die. But they noticed that cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment can travel along distinct aging routes. About half of the cells age through a gradual decline in the stability of DNA, where genetic information is stored. The other half ages along a path tied to the decline of mitochondria, the energy production units of cells. ..."
From the abstract of the perspective:
"Over the past decade, cellular aging research has been accelerated by the identification of pathways that control the onset of age-associated cell states (the so-called hallmarks of aging) alongside the development of candidate therapeutics that attempt to delay or reverse the onset of aging (1). But what if cells were preprogrammed to undergo cellular aging? Cellular aging in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was shown to be controlled by a genetic circuit that forces cells to either slow down heme biosynthesis, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, or lose their ability to engage in chromatin silencing, leading to ribosomal DNA (rDNA) instability and fragmented nucleoli (2). Simple interventions to this evolutionarily conserved genetic circuit (e.g., overexpressing the key regulators) increased the cell’s longevity by modest amounts. On page 376 of this issue, Zhou et al. (3) reveal that introducing designed genetic circuitry to rewire these dynamics increased cellular longevity by 80%."
From the abstract:
"Synthetic biology enables the design of gene networks to confer specific biological functions, yet it remains a challenge to rationally engineer a biological trait as complex as longevity. A naturally occurring toggle switch underlies fate decisions toward either nucleolar or mitochondrial decline during the aging of yeast cells. We rewired this endogenous toggle to engineer an autonomous genetic clock that generates sustained oscillations between the nucleolar and mitochondrial aging processes in individual cells. These oscillations increased cellular life span through the delay of the commitment to aging that resulted from either the loss of chromatin silencing or the depletion of heme. Our results establish a connection between gene network architecture and cellular longevity that could lead to rationally designed gene circuits that slow aging."
Scientists Slow Aging by Engineering Longevity in Cells Studying yeast cells, researchers build a biosynthetic genetic ‘clock’ to extend lifespan
Published Date
Genetic circuitry boosts cell longevity (no public access) Reprogramming cellular dynamics is used to study and delay the onset of aging in yeast
Turkey’s Election Data Suggests Illegitimacy of Erdogan Victory
Turkey is a long-time NATO member!
"... Erdogan was already setting the stage to steal the elections. Specifically, Erdogan handed out Turkish passports ... to up to three million Syrians. ... Rather, the sole beneficiaries of Erdogan’s passport largesse have been Sunni Syrian Islamists whose views of religious and politics mirror Erdogan’s own. ...
Official election results show Erdogan won 27,133,837 votes in the first round, while Kilicdaroglu received only 24,594,932 votes, a difference of 2,538,905, less than the number of new Syrian voters. ..."
Official election results show Erdogan won 27,133,837 votes in the first round, while Kilicdaroglu received only 24,594,932 votes, a difference of 2,538,905, less than the number of new Syrian voters. ..."
Yale University Study Documents Staggering Toll of Health Disparities for Black Americans. Really!
When an elite university like Yale commits blatant propaganda and demagoguery! It is disgusting and very tiresome since it is repeated so often!
Shame on the American Medical Association to publish this pseudoscience like that without any qualification!
Heinrich Goebbels could not have done it better!
Again apples are compared with bananas as is so often the case in these so called racial disparity studies! If you compare white individuals in similar circumstances with black individuals then these disparities probably almost disappear! And what about other minorities?
"A new study reveals a staggering disparity in life expectancy between Black Americans and their white counterparts between 1999 and 2020. In an analysis of U.S. data, a Yale-led team of researchers found 1.63 million excess deaths in the Black population compared with white Americans, representing more than 80 million excess years of potential life lost. The findings drive home the urgency of making health equity a reality and the need for policymakers and health care professionals to address structural racism and health disparities, the researchers say. ..."
From the key points and abstract:
"Key Points
Question
How many excess deaths and years of potential life lost for the Black population, compared with the White population, occurred in the United States from 1999 through 2020?
How many excess deaths and years of potential life lost for the Black population, compared with the White population, occurred in the United States from 1999 through 2020?
Findings
Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, excess deaths and years of potential life lost persisted throughout the period, with initial progress followed by stagnation of improvement and substantial worsening in 2020. The Black population had 1.63 million excess deaths, representing more than 80 million years of potential life lost over the study period.
Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, excess deaths and years of potential life lost persisted throughout the period, with initial progress followed by stagnation of improvement and substantial worsening in 2020. The Black population had 1.63 million excess deaths, representing more than 80 million years of potential life lost over the study period.
Meaning
After initial progress, excess mortality and years of potential life lost among the US Black population stagnated and then worsened, indicating a need for new approaches.
After initial progress, excess mortality and years of potential life lost among the US Black population stagnated and then worsened, indicating a need for new approaches.
Abstract
Importance Amid efforts in the US to promote health equity, there is a need to assess recent progress in reducing excess deaths and years of potential life lost among the Black population compared with the White population.
Objective
To evaluate trends in excess mortality and years of potential life lost among the Black population compared with the White population.
Design, setting, and participants
Serial cross-sectional study using US national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1999 through 2020. We included data from non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black populations across all age groups.
Exposures
Race as documented in the death certificates.
Main outcomes and measures
Excess age-adjusted all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, age-specific mortality, and years of potential life lost rates (per 100 000 individuals) among the Black population compared with the White population.
Excess age-adjusted all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, age-specific mortality, and years of potential life lost rates (per 100 000 individuals) among the Black population compared with the White population.
Results
From 1999 to 2011, the age-adjusted excess mortality rate declined from 404 to 211 excess deaths per 100 000 individuals among Black males (P for trend <.001). However, the rate plateaued from 2011 through 2019 (P for trend = .98) and increased in 2020 to 395—rates not seen since 2000. Among Black females, the rate declined from 224 excess deaths per 100 000 individuals in 1999 to 87 in 2015 (P for trend <.001). There was no significant change between 2016 and 2019 (P for trend = .71) and in 2020 rates increased to 192—levels not seen since 2005. The trends in rates of excess years of potential life lost followed a similar pattern. From 1999 to 2020, the disproportionately higher mortality rates in Black males and females resulted in 997 623 and 628 464 excess deaths, respectively, representing a loss of more than 80 million years of life. Heart disease had the highest excess mortality rates, and the excess years of potential life lost rates were largest among infants and middle-aged adults.
Conclusions and relevance
Over a recent 22-year period, the Black population in the US experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and more than 80 million excess years of life lost when compared with the White population. After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stalled, and differences between the Black population and the White population worsened in 2020."
Over a recent 22-year period, the Black population in the US experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and more than 80 million excess years of life lost when compared with the White population. After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stalled, and differences between the Black population and the White population worsened in 2020."
The oldest kiss according to ancient text
Currently, this could be one of the hottest scientific research articles!
Unfortunately, the proper research article is not cited by the two sources below! Thus, I suspect it is actually not recent research!
"... Recent studies have suggested that the first known record of romantic kissing is on a Bronze Age manuscript from India, tentatively dated to 1,500 BCE. ...
Cuneiform writing was first developed in Mesopotamia by the ancient Sumerians around 3,500 BCE. The researchers found references to kissing in texts dating from 2,500 BCE onwards. In the earliest Sumerian texts, kissing and sex often were described together. ..."
"... The sources from ancient Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex, family, and friendship was an ordinary part of everyday life in central parts of the ancient Middle East from the late 3rd millennium BCE onward. ..."
The ancient history of kissing Sources from Mesopotamia contextualize the emergence of kissing and its role in disease transmission
A clay model from Mesopotamia, dated ∼1800 BCE, shows a couple kissing (and copulating?).
Octopuses may have nightmares
Amazing stuff! If I had eight arms, I would have nightmares too (just kidding)! 😊
"Octopuses may have vivid, narrative dreams—some of which are terrifying—according to a study posted this month on the preprint server bioRxiv. Scientists describe what appeared to be four filmed instances of nightmares in a Brazilian reef octopus (Octopus insularis) named Costello, during which the sleeping animal exhibited bizarre behaviors including abrupt color changes, erratic movements, expelling water from its siphon, and even inking. ..."
From the abstract:
"This paper presents some unusual behaviors observed in one single specimen of O. insularis. While nothing can be concluded rigorously from such data, we share the data and our analysis with the community, in the hope that others will be on the lookout for such rare events. Sleep is a fundamental biological function that is present in all tested vertebrates and most invertebrates.
Cephalopods, such as octopuses, are cognitively complex animals that display active and inactive sleep states similar to those of vertebrates. In particular, octopuses have active sleep states during which they display sequences of camouflage patterns and modulation of basal rhythms, while remaining relatively unresponsive to outside stimuli. Some scientists have speculated that these states could be analogous to dreaming in mammals, involving episodic recall with a narrative structure. The convergent evolution of sleep in neurologically complex animals is a striking possibility, but its demonstration requires overcoming significant challenges. Towards this end, capturing abnormal sleep-associated episodes and other parasomnias in cephalopods can provide further insight into the biology of their sleep. This study reports abnormal behavioral episodes associated with transitions between activity states and sleep states observed in a male Octopus insularis. The study used continuous video monitoring to characterize the animal’s activity patterns and detect rare behavioral episodes. Over the course of a month, four brief episodes (duration range: 44-290 seconds) were identified during which the octopus abruptly emerged from quiescent or active sleep, detached itself from its sleep position, and engaged in antipredator and predatory behaviors (with no predator present). The longest of these episodes resembled the species-typical response to a predatory attack, suggesting that the animal may have been responding to a negative episodic memory or exhibiting a form of parasomnia. These findings, in conjunction with recent evidence for sleep in octopuses, highlight the complexity of possible sleep-associated behavioral episodes. Investigating sleep in invertebrates is crucial to understanding the evolution of sleep across distantly related species."
Abnormal behavioral episodes associated with sleep and quiescence in Octopus insularis: Possible nightmares in a cephalopod? (open access)
Figure 2. Graphic of behavioral sequences during abnormal behavioral events in a male Octopus insularis. Activity budgets of the octopus during each abnormal episode are displayed below each image sequence.
The incessant carping from the sidelines
Such carping from the sidelines is an unfortunate trend of our times with so much information available on a daily basis in open Western societies.
It can be very difficult for any human to distinguish really relevant and accurate information from the noise.
Probably at no time in human history were propagandists and demagogues given so many opportunities and means to misinform and mislead the public at large on such a scale!
Inadequate government run public school education significantly contributes to this situation!
Academia educates and retains many of the narrow minded and dim witted intellectuals a.k.a. propagandists and demagogues of our time. Academic honesty and excellence are no longer honored and desired at many elite higher education institutions for dubious ideological reasons!
Genuine human progress and common sense are suffering!
French short-haul domestic flight ban comes into force. Really!
There is never a scarcity of human folly!
"France on Tuesday formally banned domestic flights on short routes that can be covered by train in less than two-and-a-half hours—a move aimed at reducing airline emissions that has also irked the industry.
Although the measure was included in a 2021 climate law and already applied in practice, some airlines had asked the European Commission to investigate whether it was legal. ..."
Although the measure was included in a 2021 climate law and already applied in practice, some airlines had asked the European Commission to investigate whether it was legal. ..."
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Toothpaste: A History of Oral Hygiene
Recommendable! Dental health issues are still a major problem for billions of people!
India’s Prime Minister Modi Becomes a Sensation in Australia with Palki Sharma
Very impressive! This was almost a love fest! India, a rising superpower!
Chinese companies switched from Chinese to U.S. and Singapore auditors to avoid U.S. delisting risk
The allure of the U.S. capital markets! It is not easy for for control freak communists to create and maintain free wheeling stock exchanges, the bedrock of capitalism!
"More than a dozen U.S.-listed Chinese companies have switched from auditors in their home country to ones in the U.S. and Singapore since 2022 ...
Under a 2020 law called the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA), Chinese companies can be delisted if their auditors fail to comply with U.S. accounting standards. Those requirements include allowing inspections of auditors by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). ..."
Cocaine dealer, who had life sentence commuted by President Obama in 2016, hit with 3 counts of attempted murder
When you had an arrogant crackpot like Obama in the White House!
Caveat: I do not know anything about the perpetrator or his criminal background. I suspect his lifetime criminal background is worse than just a cocaine dealer. Possibly, his full criminal background is not known.
"... In 1994, Mills received a life sentence in prison for trafficking cocaine. The crime was his third felony conviction.
Previously, Democrats lauded Mills as an example of the benefits of criminal justice reform.
In December 2015, Obama commuted Mills' life sentence, and he was released from prison in early 2016.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) met with Mills in 2016. ..."
Als Alternative zu Silizium: Macht der Germanium-Zinn-Transistor dem Quantencomputer Beine?
Empfehlenswert! Diese Neuigkeiten sind schon etwas veraltet, aber dennoch imposant!
"Wissenschaftler des Forschungszentrums Jülich haben einen neuartigen Transistor aus einer Germanium-Zinn-Legierung gefertigt, der gegenüber herkömmlichen Schaltelementen einige Vorteile aufweist. Ladungsträger können sich in dem Material schneller bewegen als in Silizium oder Germanium, was niedrigere Spannungen im Betrieb möglich macht. Der Transistor ist damit ein vielversprechender Kandidat für künftige Low-Power- und High-Performance-Chips und könnte sich als nützlich für die Entwicklung von Quantencomputern erweisen. ..."
Jülicher Forschende entwickeln neuen Germanium-Zinn-Transistor als Alternative zu Silizium Wissenschaftler des Forschungszentrums Jülich haben einen neuartigen Transistor aus einer Germanium-Zinn-Legierung gefertigt, der gegenüber herkömmlichen Schaltelementen einige Vorteile aufweist. Ladungsträger können sich in dem Material schneller bewegen als in Silizium oder Germanium, was niedrigere Spannungen im Betrieb möglich macht. Der Transistor ist damit ein vielversprechender Kandidat für künftige Low-Power- und High-Performance-Chips und könnte sich als nützlich für die Entwicklung von Quantencomputern erweisen.
Elektronenmikroskopische Aufnahmen des Germanium-Zinn-Transistors: Der Aufbau folgt einer 3D-Nanodrahtgeometrie, ein Design, das auch für die neueste Generation von Computerprozessoren verwendet wird. (Redaktionelle Verwendung mit Quellenangabe "Forschungszentrum Jülich" erlaubt.)
Comb jellies, the ancestor of all animals (for now)
Amazing stuff! Should I feel jolly or jelly now? 😊
"Ctenophores, also called comb jellies, are the sister group of all living animals, scientists have discovered. The team compared the comb jelly Bolinopsis microptera to sponges — another contender for the most ancient creature on Earth — along with three unicellular relatives of animals. The pattern of genes on the jellies’ chromosomes revealed that they evolved first. That means that early animals were surprisingly complex: they had a well-developed nervous system, and could probably swim around freely. ..."
From the abstract:
"A central question in evolutionary biology is whether sponges or ctenophores (comb jellies) are the sister group to all other animals. These alternative phylogenetic hypotheses imply different scenarios for the evolution of complex neural systems and other animal-specific traits. Conventional phylogenetic approaches based on morphological characters and increasingly extensive gene sequence collections have not been able to definitively answer this question. Here we develop chromosome-scale gene linkage, also known as synteny, as a phylogenetic character for resolving this question. We report new chromosome-scale genomes for a ctenophore and two marine sponges, and for three unicellular relatives of animals (a choanoflagellate, a filasterean amoeba and an ichthyosporean) that serve as outgroups for phylogenetic analysis. We find ancient syntenies that are conserved between animals and their close unicellular relatives. Ctenophores and unicellular eukaryotes share ancestral metazoan patterns, whereas sponges, bilaterians, and cnidarians share derived chromosomal rearrangements. Conserved syntenic characters unite sponges with bilaterians, cnidarians, and placozoans in a monophyletic clade to the exclusion of ctenophores, placing ctenophores as the sister group to all other animals. The patterns of synteny shared by sponges, bilaterians, and cnidarians are the result of rare and irreversible chromosome fusion-and-mixing events that provide robust and unambiguous phylogenetic support for the ctenophore-sister hypothesis. These findings provide a new framework for resolving deep, recalcitrant phylogenetic problems and have implications for our understanding of animal evolution."
Fig. 1: Conserved synteny and the phylogenetic position of ctenophores and sponges. Look at part d like modern art!
How a single gene turns chicken feet scales into feathers
Amazing stuff! What comes next?
"Manipulating a single gene pathway turns chickens’ scaly feet into feathery ones. The gene encodes the sonic hedgehog protein, a signalling molecule that is involved in embryonic development. “Our results indicate that an evolutionary leap — from scales to feathers — does not require large changes in genome composition or expression,” ..."
From the abstract:
"Vertebrate skin appendage early development is mediated by conserved molecular signaling composing a dynamical reaction-diffusion–like system. Variations to such systems contribute to the remarkable diversity of skin appendage forms within and among species. Here, we demonstrate that stage-specific transient agonism of sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway signaling in chicken triggers a complete and permanent transition from reticulate scales to feathers on the ventral surfaces of the foot and digits. Resulting ectopic feathers are developmentally comparable to feathers adorning the body, with down-type feathers transitioning into regenerative, bilaterally symmetric contour feathers in adult chickens. Crucially, this spectacular transition of skin appendage fate (from nodular reticulate scales to bona fide adult feathers) does not require sustained treatment. Our RNA sequencing analyses confirm that smoothened agonist treatment specifically promotes the expression of key Shh pathway–associated genes. These results indicate that variations in Shh pathway signaling likely contribute to the natural diversity and regionalization of avian integumentary appendages."
Transient agonism of the sonic hedgehog pathway triggers a permanent transition of skin appendage fate in the chicken embryo (open access)
First-in-human measurement and prediction of chronic pain state using intracranial neural biomarkers
Good news! Amazing stuff! It used to be what is your pain today on a scale of 1-10? Perhaps, this subjective approach is finally coming to an end! Of course, brain implanted electrodes are not exactly suitable or advisable for every pain suffering patient!
From the abstract:
"Chronic pain syndromes are often refractory to treatment and cause substantial suffering and disability. Pain severity is often measured through subjective report, while objective biomarkers that may guide diagnosis and treatment are lacking. Also, which brain activity underlies chronic pain on clinically relevant timescales, or how this relates to acute pain, remains unclear. Here four individuals with refractory neuropathic pain were implanted with chronic intracranial electrodes in the anterior cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Participants reported pain metrics coincident with ambulatory, direct neural recordings obtained multiple times daily over months. We successfully predicted intraindividual chronic pain severity scores from neural activity with high sensitivity using machine learning methods. Chronic pain decoding relied on sustained power changes from the OFC, which tended to differ from transient patterns of activity associated with acute, evoked pain states during a task. Thus, intracranial OFC signals can be used to predict spontaneous, chronic pain state in patients."
Former U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman like 500 other Americans banned from entering Russia
The empire of Putin the Terrible strikes back! What a batch of honor! Put me on the list too! 😊
When will the Russian people finally oust their last czar and warmonger! What is taking these people so long!!!
"In response to a new round of U.S. sanctions, Russia announced Friday that it was banning 500 Americans from entering the country, including former President Barack Obama and comedian Stephen Colbert.
The list released by the Foreign Ministry did not specify complaints against each individual. But the ministry said the offenses included spreading Russophobia, supplying Ukraine with arms, and officials “who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called ‘storm of the Capitol.’”
The ban includes 45 members of the U.S. House, Sens. J.D. Vance, Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt, and former ambassadors to Russia John Tefft and Jon Huntsman. ..."
Obama, Colbert among 500 Americans banned from going to Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, left, as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, stands behind prior to their talks in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, southern Russia, Tuesday, May 14, 2019.
Membership advertisement of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
What a contradiction! I thought science was color blind! Quite embarrassing!
Die Klima-Kommunisten haben längst übernommen in der Schweiz
Auch die kleine Schweiz bleibt anscheinend nicht verschont! 😊
Juden in der AfD - Die Alternative für die Alternativlosen?
Heute aufgespießt! Nicht alle Juden sind links! 😊
Warum hat der Cicero Online jetzt darüber berichtet, wo doch die JAFD seit mehreren Jahren (mindestens seit Juli 2019) zu geben scheint? Dient das dazu das Sommerloch im Frühling zu füllen?
Eine eigene website haben die JAFD auch. Die Informationen auf der website sind allerdings veraltet!
Monday, May 22, 2023
China's Escalating Debt Crisis Sparks Concern Among Investors with Palki Sharma
Very recommendable! So the U.S. and China are competing in more than one way!
Writers Guild of America on strike for the past three weeks against e.g. AI
Does this not strongly remind of Luddites? Certainly so!
"... ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Regulate use of artificial intelligence on MBA-covered projects: AI can’t write or rewrite literary material; can’t be used as source material; and MBA-covered material can’t be used to train AI. ..."
40 Hz vibrations reduce Alzheimer's pathology, symptoms in mouse models
Good news! So simple! Shake it, don't break it! 😊
"Evidence that non-invasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer's disease pathology and symptoms, already shown with light and sound by multiple research groups in mice and humans, now extends to tactile stimulation. A new study by MIT scientists shows that Alzheimer's model mice exposed to 40 Hz vibration an hour a day for several weeks showed improved brain health and motor function compared to untreated controls. ..."
From the abstract:
"The risk for neurodegenerative diseases increases with aging, with various pathological conditions and functional deficits accompanying these diseases. We have previously demonstrated that non-invasive visual stimulation using 40 Hz light flicker ameliorated pathology and modified cognitive function in mouse models of neurodegeneration, but whether 40 Hz stimulation using another sensory modality can impact neurodegeneration and motor function has not been studied. Here, we show that whole-body vibrotactile stimulation at 40 Hz leads to increased neural activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (SSp) and primary motor cortex (MOp). In two different mouse models of neurodegeneration, Tau P301S and CK-p25 mice, daily exposure to 40 Hz vibrotactile stimulation across multiple weeks also led to decreased brain pathology in SSp and MOp. Furthermore, both Tau P301S and CK-p25 mice showed improved motor performance after multiple weeks of daily 40 Hz vibrotactile stimulation. Vibrotactile stimulation at 40 Hz may thus be considered as a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases with motor deficits."
40 Hz vibrations reduce Alzheimer’s pathology, symptoms in mouse models (primary source MIT) Tactile stimulation improved motor performance, reduced phosphorylated tau, preserved neurons and synapses and reduced DNA damage, a new study shows
An enlarged detail from a figure in the paper highlights reductions in phosphorylated tau (magenta) in primary somatosensory cortical neurons in Tau P301S model mice treated with 40 Hz tactile stimulation (right). An image from an untreated control is on the left.
Trends in Deaths From Falls Among Adults Aged 65 Years or Older in the US, 1999-2020. Deaths more than tripled!
Kind of alarming and useless information! This tripling of deaths from one year to the other is very dubious at best! Unfortunately, not much explanation was provided by JAMA! Quite a failure on part of the American Medical Association! This is disconcerting!
The racial disparity was not even pointed out! What an inexcusable omission! Is it because mostly white people are affected?
Generally speaking, the arbitrary cut off of aged 65 and older is also very suspect and not too useful. Presumably, as life expectancy increases, more older individuals (e.g. above age 80) suffer falls with more frequently deadly consequences.
"Between 1999 and 2020, ... deaths from falls occurred among adults aged 65 years or older, increasing from 10,097 in 1999 to 36,508 in 2020 (Table). ...
The MRR increased for adults aged 65 years or older (MRR, 2.63) and all population subgroups, with the magnitude of the increase in AAMRs being highest among women and White older adults. ...
Discussion
...
This study has several limitations. First, the study relied on the underlying cause of death as coded in the death certificate and deaths may be misclassified. Second, there were no significant changes in coding of deaths between 1999 and 2020, but improved reporting quality may partly explain the large increase in falls mortality. ... Third, it is not known whether those who died had fallen before and/or where such falls occurred. ..."
When will global warming actually hit the landmark 1.5 ºC limit? Really!
Oh again, another phony discussion about the infamous holy grail of 1.5 ºC limit! Global Warming is a hoax and Climate Change is a religion!
Inciting more alarmism and hysteria! By far, the worst propaganda and demagoguery of our time! This is no better than medieval superstition!!!
Nobody can measure global average temperatures (whatever that exactly is) with such accuracy! 1-2 degrees Celsius is well within measurement error or uncertainty! It is such a colossal pretense of knowledge (Friedrich Hayek)!
The standard reference "above pre-industrial temperatures" is so phony that it stinks! When did the last Ice Age end? About 1850!
"There’s a 66% chance that the annual global average temperature will hit 1.5 ºC above pre-industrial temperatures at some time in the next five years, according to a World Meteorological Organization report released on 17 May. Reaching 1.5 ºC of warming in a single year will be a landmark moment for the planet, which in 2022 was about 1.15 ºC warmer than in pre-industrial times. But it’s not quite the milestone most people mean when they talk about 1.5 ºC of warming — for that, we probably have about a decade to go. ..."
For the first time China overtakes United States on contribution to research in Nature Index
How relevant is this information? How much did the Communist Party of China "fine tune" the results?
What about if you add the U.S. plus Europe?
India has some catch up to do! Just compare e.g. Switzerland (no. 9) and India (no. 10)
Survey of brain cell synaptic junctions shows striking similarities between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Good news! Are finally getting closer to better treatments!
"Although bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are diagnosed as distinct psychiatric conditions, both are considerably heritable with molecular roots that are poorly understood. Some people diagnosed with one disorder have symptoms and clinical features in common with the other, supporting the notion that the conditions lie on a spectrum. And human genetics studies have suggested that the junctions between brain cells, known as synapses, play a key role in both conditions. ...
Their analysis revealed changes in synapse proteins that were remarkably similar in the two conditions. In mice with a mutated gene that’s been linked to both conditions, the scientists found that related biochemical pathways were similarly altered. ...
Their analysis revealed changes in synapse proteins that were remarkably similar in the two conditions. In mice with a mutated gene that’s been linked to both conditions, the scientists found that related biochemical pathways were similarly altered. ...
Synaptic surprises
Isolating and purifying synapses from brain tissue samples is no easy task, but that is what the team had to do to analyze the structure’s proteins — its working parts — at a large scale. ...
In the current study, the researchers purified synapses from postmortem tissue from an area of the brain known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, from 35 individuals who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, 35 people with bipolar disorder, and 35 unaffected individuals. Collaborators in the Proteomics Platform analyzed the purified synapses by mass spectrometry, measuring the abundance of thousands of proteins and protein fragments in an unbiased way. ...
In samples from people with each disorder, the team observed changes in the levels of hundreds of proteins compared to control individuals. Strikingly, more than 200 of these proteins were either enriched or depleted similarly in both conditions. The scientists were surprised by how comparable the patterns of protein changes were between the disorders. ..."From the highlights and abstract:
"Highlights
• Considerable and similar synapse proteome changes in SCZ and BP
• Core synaptic, mitochondrial, and ribosomal protein networks are reduced in SCZ/BP
• Increase in vesicle tethering-, trafficking- and autophagy-related protein networks
• Similar pathway changes in synapses from patients with SCZ/BP and Akap11-deficient mice
Summary
Synaptic dysfunction is implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BP). We use quantitative mass spectrometry to carry out deep, unbiased proteomic profiling of synapses purified from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of 35 cases of SCZ, 35 cases of BP, and 35 controls. Compared with controls, SCZ and BP synapses show substantial and similar proteomic alterations. Network analyses reveal upregulation of proteins associated with autophagy and certain vesicle transport pathways and downregulation of proteins related to synaptic, mitochondrial, and ribosomal function in the synapses of individuals with SCZ or BP. Some of the same pathways are similarly dysregulated in the synaptic proteome of mutant mice deficient in Akap11, a recently discovered shared risk gene for SCZ and BP. Our work provides biological insights into molecular dysfunction at the synapse in SCZ and BP and serves as a resource for understanding the pathophysiology of these disorders."
Graphical abstract
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