Search Results for: alzheimer

People always ask me why I tend to favor pictures of sexy women on my blogs. The answer is easy, I like sexy women. If you like pictures of sexy men I suggest you go visit my buddy David Onassis. His pages are festooned with them. He’s also a nice guy and it won’t kill you to meet a nice person once in a while. Anyway, sexiness aside, there’s been a lot happening in the wonderful world of science and I thought today might be a good day to fill in some gaps. NO! Not the sexy gaps! Sheesh, I leave you alone on the interweb for a lousy minute and you get all pervy on me. No, I mean the gaps in your knowledge. I’m tired of writing about mass shootings. Let’s just admit it. If people truly want change they need to get out and vote. If they don’t, just get used to the weekly “thoughts and prayers” bullshit. And then buy bullet proof everything. Or move. Either works. I’m also a little burned on the whole super hero thing right now. Don’t get me wrong, I will see every single film and show as they come out, but writing about them becomes redundant after a while. I’ve completely stopped writing about Florida and its ilk simply due to the fact there are only so many ways to make the phrase “Wal-Mart meth lab” funny. Worse still is Texas which has fallen into the realm of self parody. I wrote a blog once entitled Nude Texas Ugly Bacon Vibrators and it made sense.

So, instead, I’d like to take a moment to talk about useful stuff.

Let’s start with something simple. M. M. Sullivan wrote about a handy invention that allows people to turn polluted water into pure drinking water. Even better, it tells them all sorts of stuff about water safety and other hygienic issues.

Each year, 3.4 million people die from water-related diseases, and many of those deaths are the result of a lack of knowledge about what water is safe to drink.

Finally, there is an affordable and effective answer to solving the world’s drinking water crisis. The Drinkable Book is the first-ever education-water filter hybrid. Not only do the pages teach readers about water safety, but the pages themselves are filters that can reduce waterborne bacteria by over 99.99%!

That’s right, a simple book with synthetic pages could save over three million lives a year. He’s got videos and more so make sure to check it out. And, yes, it’s available now if you’re thinking about a cool holiday gift for the Red Cross or something like that.

Speaking of synthetics, Justine Alford writes that science is pretty darn close to creating synthetic shrimp.

Shove over those lab-grown burgers; we need to make room for the synthetic shrimp on the barbie. Yep, scientists are no longer just working on trading our beloved beef for a greener alternative, but seafood too. Rather than trying to grow a meaty feast from stem cells, though, startup New Wave Foods has opted for a slightly different approach: algae. And while the team hopes to eventually create a range of faux seafood, they are focusing on shrimp for now, and for good reason.

The world has developed a real hankering for these crustaceans. Over the past few decades, global production of shrimp has more than tripled, and it’s estimated we now eat more than 6 million tons of them each year. It’s popular worldwide, but it’s the favorite seafood in the U.S., with citizens peeling their way through about 2 kilograms (4.1 pounds) each per year.

Needless to say, our hunger for shrimp is a big problem. We could try and reduce our consumption to tackle these issues, but trying to take meat away from man is about as easy as taking a bone from a dog. Opting for a similar approach to the veggie burger that “bleeds,” New Wave Foods is going for natural sources and trying to mush them together into a meaty, flavorful formulation. Their ingredient of choice is algae, or more specifically those that shrimp typically dine on anyway. This means getting a similar nutritional value to real shrimp is fairly easy, the team reported to Motherboard, but as always texture is proving tricky. Apparently, they’ve also managed to nail the flavor, but they won’t spill the beans as to how they did this.

At the moment our two main sources of shrimp are farming and trawling, both of which have serious repercussions on the environment and ecosystems. You’re probably aware of the consequences of trawl fishing: catching unwanted species, or bycatch. Shrimp trawling is said to have the worst rates for this out of all fishing techniques, with up to 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds) of unintended species per half kilogram (one pound) of shrimp sometimes caught up in nets, which includes turtles, sharks, dolphins and small whales. Not only that, but dragging the nets along the seabed also destroys it.

But by no means is farming a sustainable alternative. Important habitats are sometimes cleared to make way for shrimp farms, including mangroves, the loss of which can have a huge impact on coastal areas given their role as wildlife havens and buffers from the effects of storms. In addition, huge amounts of pollution, including waste and antibiotics used for growth, can leach out and contaminate other water systems.

I have friends who have tried the vegan meat products listed above and claim they’re, finally, the real deal. Since one friend is a cattle rancher, I’ll take their word on it. Anyway, one side benefit of synthetic shrimp is that people with shellfish allergies will now be able to eat shrimp until they can’t eat shrimp no mo.

In other synthetic news, a few weeks ago I wrote about how science had found a way to send huge amounts of data via light, instead of radio, waves. Victoria Ho writes that some other scientists said, “Ah, hell, that’s easy” and went and developed Li-Fi.

The world might eventually have to shift its reliance on Wi-Fi to Li-Fi, an alternative technology that scientists say can reach speeds of 1 Gbps in real-world use — 100 times faster than average Wi-Fi speeds.

At those speeds, you could download a high-definition movie in just a few seconds.

A company called Velmenni told the IBTimes UK that it took the technology out of the labs and into real-world offices and industrial environments in Estonia, where it was able to achieve those speeds.

Li-Fi transmits data using LED lights, which flicker on and off within nanoseconds, imperceptible to the human eye. It was invented in 2011, and in the lab, has been able to reach a mindblowing 224 Gbps.

Unlike Wi-Fi signals which can penetrate walls, Li-Fi is based on light and can’t, so its range is theoretically more limited. However, because of that limit, Li-Fi is also potentially more secure from external sniffing.

Li-Fi also opens more possibilities for smart home appliances. In the future, LED lightbulbs for the home could serve two functions — lighting up a room and helping to create a network in the house for devices to talk to each other.

Traditional cable companies are bidding on the tech now. Believe it or not they can use existing technologies to make it all work. The expense would be minimal.

So what else has science done with light? Would you believe “invent time travel?” Mary-Ann Russon says you should.

The (University of Queensland) scientists simulated the behaviour of two photons interacting with each other in two different cases.

In the first case, one photon passed through a wormhole and then interacted with its older self.

In the second case, when a photon travels through normal space-time and interacts with another photon trapped inside a closed timeline curve forever.

“The properties of quantum particles are ‘fuzzy’ or uncertain to start with, so this gives them enough wiggle room to avoid inconsistent time travel situations,” said co-author Professor Timothy Ralph.

“Our study provides insights into where and how nature might behave differently from what our theories predict.”

Although it has been possible to simulate time travel with tiny quantum particles, the same might not be possible for larger particles or atoms, which are groups of particles.

As she notes elsewhere in the article, there are reasons time travel is problematic.

The grandfather paradox states that if a time traveller were to go back in time, he could accidentally prevent his grandparents from meeting, and thus prevent his own birth. However, if he had never been born, he could never have travelled back in time, in the first place.

The paradoxes are largely caused by Einstein’s theory of relativity, and the solution to it, theGödel metric.

They won’t know what the results of their experiments will cause until they replicate them in different labs. But the basic idea is that you can go back and not cause your own death. Which is a good start.

Okay, but what about sound? Can’t we do anything with sound? I saw a sonic screwdriver on Dr. Who and that seemed kind of cool. It was and it is and Science Alert says it might be the way we cure Alzheimer’s.

No, I’m not kidding.

Publishing in Science Translational Medicine, the (Queensland Brain Institute) team describes the technique as using a particular type of ultrasound called a focused therapeutic ultrasound, which non-invasively beams sound waves into the brain tissue. By oscillating super-fast, these sound waves are able to gently open up the blood-brain barrier, which is a layer that protects the brain against bacteria, and stimulate the brain’s microglial cells to activate. Microglila cells are basically waste-removal cells, so they’re able to clear out the toxic beta-amyloid clumps that are responsible for the worst symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

The team reports fully restoring the memory function of 75 percent of the mice they tested it on, with zero damage to the surrounding brain tissue. They found that the treated mice displayed improved performance in three memory tasks – a maze, a test to get them to recognise new objects, and one to get them to remember the places they should avoid.

“We’re extremely excited by this innovation of treating Alzheimer’s without using drug therapeutics,” one of the team, Jürgen Götz, said in a press release. “The word ‘breakthrough’ is often misused, but in this case I think this really does fundamentally change our understanding of how to treat this disease, and I foresee a great future for this approach.”

The team says they’re planning on starting trials with higher animal models, such as sheep, and hope to get their human trials underway in 2017.

I think that’s enough for one day. I don’t want to cause permanent brain freeze for anyone. Suffice it to say some people have done some very cool stuff that will benefit us all.

By the way, should you run into an idiot who claims we don’t need science, just send them here and ask them when’s the last time ignorance saved millions of people.

All that being said an email came in this week that I have to share, with the authors’ permission. Yes, authors, plural.

Hi Bill:

Jen and I have been fans of yours for a few years now. We first heard one of your Valentine’s shows and have been hooked ever since. You have a fun, yet unusual, look on life. Last year she and I came out to our, Tea Party loving, parents. Suffice it to say things have been stressful. That’s not your fault, you seem very LGBT friendly, but I am hoping you can help us a little.

You recently have posted several blogs about how the human race is going to die in short order. Unfortunately you write well so Jen and I had nightmares for days. It probably has to do with all the stress because we know you’ve tackled stuff like this before and it scared us but not like this. Can you mark your columns with a rating or somehow note that they won’t send us screaming from the room?

Thanks.

Your fans,
Cathy & Jen

Since they clearly read this blog, and I was nice enough to ask before I did anything, I’ll put the answer here.

Dear Ladies:

The short answer is no. Because this blog gets translated all over the world a ratings system would do more to confuse than clarify. That said, others have hinted that they wouldn’t mind a radio specific blog and that I can do. Just look for posts with the word “radio” in the title from now on and you should be good to go.

As to the rest, live, love, laugh. Those who wish to join you will make your life better by their presence and those that don’t will enrich your world with their absence. My best to you both.

Send vodka,

Bill

So, with that caveat in mind I figured I’d mix things up today so everyone could play along without fear of ending up in therapy. We’ll start with something that will tie this all together nicely.

I happened to be out with some friends when the Supergirl commercial came on CBS. Three of the ladies who were with us suddenly said “Oh, she’s so hot!”, “Damn, those boots!”, and, of course, “I’m straight and I’d do her.”

There’s one in every crowd.

That aside, the creators of Supergirl announced that they have some new super villains and fans and newbies alike are digging the fact that Red Tornado is coming to the screen.

Besides being a longtime member of the Justice League, Red Tornado served as a mentor to Young Justice when that team first assembled under the pen of longtime Supergirl writer Peter David.

In addition to Red Tornado and the previously-announced Livewire and Reactron, the Supergirl Twitter account confirmed that General Sam Lane will appear on the series, along with the Kryptonian villain Non.

The presence of both Non and General Lane will likely lead many fans to the conclusion that Lucy Lane, recently cast in the series, will indeed take up the mantle of Superwoman. In the comics, she was briefly given artificial “Kryptonian” powers by one of her father’s military projects.

It’s likely also worth noting that the Earth-2 version of Red Tornado, who has had a significant presence in The New 52: Futures End and Earth 2: Society, houses the personality of Lois Lane, Lucy’s sister and Sam’s daughter.

Non was a brilliant scientific mind and soldier on Krypton before he was lobotomized to make him a more perfect weapon. He first appeared in Richard Donner’s Superman II before being adapted by Donner and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns into the comics during their short-lived Action Comics run. That same run, collected as Superman: Last Son, featured the Kryptonian Phantom Zone prison which will be introduced in the series’ pilot.

There are more comic book references in that little post than you’ll find in most comic book stores. That said you’ll also note that the female super-villains listed above are all smart. Even the bad girls are good role models.

Speaking of female superheroes, Isis Wenger became the unwitting target for assholes when her company used her face as part of a recruitment drive to attract female engineering students. Most of the comments were along the lines of how she “didn’t look like an engineer.”

This pic was her response.

Not all heroes wear capes. I’m just saying.

Speaking of superheroes who don’t wear capes, Warner Bothers Films and DC Comics have announced that they will be making a new Booster Gold / Blue Beetle movie.

It appears that time travel is in the DCEU’s future. The Tracking Board has revealed that Warner Bros. is currently developing a live-action Booster Gold/Blue Beetle film. The project that will team-up Michael Jon Carter & Jamie Reyes is just another film joining the already massively diverse DCEU line-up which includes films such as Aquaman, Suicide Squad, Cyborg and Wonder Woman. The film will be helmed by Greg Berlanti and is being pitched as a “superhero buddy-cop movie” which is something quite different than we’ve seen before and offering up the opportunity for tons of fun.

Berlanti’s a big name when it comes to Warner Bros. DC properties, having both worked on both Arrow, The Flash and 2011’s Green Lantern, as well as being behind the upcoming Legends Of Tomorrow and Supergirl series. The director, producer, and writer is even such a big fan of the character that he even scripted the pilot for a Booster Gold series over at Syfy.

The site also added:

“The dynamic duo are also members of the Justice League and are being planted now to appear in a future JL film.”

DC has wanted to push both of the characters on-screen for quite some time with them both appearing in Smallville and plans for each to receive their own series at one point. Could Booster end up being Warner Bros. equivalent of Tony Stark? Will these characters be involved in the upcoming Justice League in any capacity? This news raises a lot of questions.

These two characters have a very unusual relationship. Many consider them to be the Laurel and Hardy of superheroes. Given the dark nature of most of the DC Universe (HI BATMAN!) this could be a nice respite.

Some superheroes don’t wear uniforms at all. Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m not talking about super porn. I’m talking about regular Joe’s and Jane’s who wear hard hats and coveralls and, in this case, deliver entire school systems in a pick up truck.

Disassembled, each Solar Classroom in a Box can fit in the bed of a pickup truck. According to Aleutia’s website, the cinder block, and steel structures take about a day to contstuct—no cranes necessary—and another day to fully wire. But it’s not simply the structure that makes the Solar Classrooms in a Box so impressive. Each comes complete with 11 desktop computers designed specifically to operate in the dusty heat of rural Africa, as well as a server, a projector and monitor, and 3G and Satellite connectivity, all powered by the classroom’s pre-installed rooftop solar panels. The only things missing are the students. Each Solar Classroom in a Box runs $20,000, with half of that accounting for the structural costs, and the other half for the included technology.

Aleutia, which focuses on bringing computers and health care technology to developing communities, announced recently that they would be shipping a Classroom in a Box to each of Kenya’s 47 counties, servicing an estimated 20,000 children, as a result. While it isn’t the company’s first batch of classrooms delivered to African nations, this latest initiative is being called Kenya’s largest solar classroom project to date. As FastCo points out, Aleutia’s classrooms have been optimized for this particular rollout, with company founder Mike Rosenberg explaining:

Usually when we install solar, there are issues with the panels pointing the wrong way or at the wrong angle. Here, because it’s all pre-installed and optimized, there’s no need for a site survey and other retrofitting costs.

As long as you’ve come this far, allow me to share a few more things you might be interested in;

The Space Tiara: It cures migraines and looks just like you think it would. That said, it works, so get on your fabulous glitter, bust out the crinoline and feel better.

Elvira is getting her own animated series. You either pushed up your boobs in anticipation or you probably shouldn’t be reading this stuff in the first place.

In, seemingly, related news, the Chinese have built an automatic sperm extractor. The instructions, literally, say “just plug it in and it works.”

Okay, back to capes and leather, Warner Television appears to have greenlighted a new version of Justice League Unlimited. Since that show was able to tackle some adult themes without losing its younger audience, and since the people who control it now are the ones who controlled it then, fans are understandably stoked.

Speaking of stoked, Lexus just made every single person who saw the Back to the Future movies start tingling in all their fun places; they have unveiled a functioning hoverboard.

Speaking of tingling, have you ever had a memory of a previous life? Many people have. Now, science may have figured out why. Aaron Kase has a great article showing how primal, and possibly subtle – yet related, memories can be handed down from generation to generation without anyone from any generation actually meeting.

Lastly, you know how your parents used to tell you “TURN THAT SHIT DOWN! YOUR SCARING THE COCKROACHES!” Well, now, you can simply tell them, “It’s okay mumsy and daddums, I’m just curing Alzheimer’s.”

Science Alert reports that scientists have used pulsed ultra-sound waves to break up the plaque that surrounds neurons in the brain when Alzheimer’s sets in. The result is a return of lost memories an functions. Human trials will start soon.

Still not in a good mood? Okay, you’ve left me no choice. Turn up your speakers really loud, strip down to your skivvies and try not to dance when you play the video below.