Definitions and Dangers Of Genetically Modified Organisms
September 2, 2008
Can genetically modified organisms be defined? Biologists classify every living thing into four basic categories (Plantae, Animalia, Protista and Fungi). Yet, Genetically Modified Organisms could fall under several of those categories and therefore are in a category all their own.
Since Genetically Modified Organisms often contain genes from different kingdoms, they do not fall into any of these categories and cannot technically be considered an animal, a plant, a protist or a fungi. Nor can they simply an animal, vegetable or mineral. They are not even natural (as nature has never combined the DNA of two different Kingdoms, in the history of the planet).
Even when GMOs consist of two species of the plant kingdom or animal kingdom, they are technically a new plant or animal. So, really, what are they?
The Jewel of the Sea
September 1, 2008
Diatoms, microscopic algae that encase themselves in ornate, exquisitely patterned glass shells, are found in prolific numbers in every ocean on earth. They have fascinated scientists for centuries—in fact, ever since the microscope was first invented and men could sketch their beauty. Justifiably, the diatom is called the jewel of the sea.
Electromagnetism for Brain Disorders
July 29, 2008
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has helped to improve a variety of different brain disorders including schizophrenia, migraines and major depression. The general idea behind this technology is using an electromagnetic pulse that passes through a person’s skull and this then generates an electric current inside their brain. By changing the frequency of the pulse, researchers can either increase or decrease activity selectively in many brain areas.
The main problem with current TMS is that it can penetrate only around 1-2 cm into the brain. So it is basically limited to activating and deactivating brain regions in close proximity to the skull (the neocortex). Researchers have created a new deep transcranial magnetic stimulation device that is able to reach further into the brain. This device can inhibit or excite more areas that were previously out of reach. It has the ability to reach almost any brain area. Many brain disorders often have areas that are either overactive or underactive when compared to a normal brain. So this technology may eventually allow scientists to normalize acitivty in disturbed brain regions by non-invasive stimulation. TMS can be performed on a person while they are wide awake and fully conscious. So the ease of use for this device is extremely good.
Researchers are testing the device to treat people who are overweight or obese. To do this they are stimulating the hypothalamus which is a deeper brain structure. The hypothalamus is involved in the body’s metabolic processes. So stimulating this area may allow a person to lose weight. This would be a non-invasive way of shedding the pounds without actually having to do any work.
Researchers are using deep tms to reduce the auditory hallucinations that accompany schizophrenia. About 50 to 70 percent of schizophrenic patients can hear voices that aren’t real. These voices can be very frightening and distressing as they can make disparaging comments to the person. Researchers have discovered that an area of the brain named the left temporoparietal cortex is activated when auditory hallucinations are occuring. Deep TMS will be able to decrease activity in this specific brain areas and this may lead to a reduction in auditory hallucinations.
Researchers are also using this device to treat many of the symptoms of depression. They are directly targeting brain areas that are involved in a person’s ability to experience pleasure. Electrical stimulation of the nucleus accumbens has been shown to be rewarding. However until recently, stimulating this area required patients to undergo brain surgery to get an implant. Now, scientists are able non-invasively stimulate this area of the brain without the need for surgery. Depressed patients often experience anhedonia (the inability to experience pleasure). This is due to altered functioning of the reward circuits of the brain. So stimulating specific brain areas associated with reward using deep tms may be able to alleviate chronic anhedonia and apathy in depressed patients.
The researchers have already done studies on upwards of 100 depressed patients and have found the deep tms can relieve anhedonia in over 50% of them. So this treatment may enable depressed patients to get more enjoyment from life than they would normally. In a study performed on bipolar depressed patients, researchers found that 80% of the patients responded to the treatment, while 50% of them experienced a significant improvement in their symptoms. The scientists have even tested the deep TMS on normal healthy volunteers and have claimed that it improved their mood. So this treatment may even allow a healthy person to get more enjoyment from life.
This new deep TMS technology shows a lot of promise for many different brain disorders. It may allow a person to shed the pounds, experience more pleasure in life and increase overall mood. If this technology even does half what the company says it can, it will definitely be a revolution in the treatment of brain disorders.
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About the Author:
Michael Webb blogs about transcranial direct current stimulation, Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation.
Cocktails, Neurons and Nanos: Super-cognition?
April 9, 2008
Improving overall cognitive capability is becoming as simple as consuming a pill…
An interesting paradox has been the axis of much attention in the fields of pharmacy, brain research and ethics in the last few years. The advent of new technologies, particularly in the field of brain research, has induced scientists to improve the treatment of several conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, sleep disorders and dementia. However, what was primarily intentioned to provide solutions for patients with cognitive deficits has also proven functional for healthy people – not only functional, but quite efficient.
Neuroscience: What is Brain Plasticity?
April 3, 2008
Neuroscience has changed considerably in the past 20 years. An example of change over period is the concept of brain plasticity. Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to rewire itself, relocating information processing functions to different brain areas and/or neural networks. Two decades ago, it was believed that brain networks were static after its initial formation period. Now that belief has changed. The study of brain plasticity has profound implications in human learning and behavior, and as such, for mental health.
To better understand this concept, let’s take a quick tour of the human brain, neural networks, and the plastic potential therein.
Harvard Biologist Admits: We Know Nothing About Brain Evolution
March 19, 2008
Science journals have featured countless stories about the evolution of the human brain. Scientists are puzzled since humans have much bigger brains than any other species. Their suggested explanations have often been mutually exclusive, for instance the old text book explanation relied on eating meat but a few years ago an article New Scientist, a popular science magazine, suggested that eating starch was the secret of brain growth. But both explanations fail to answer why other meat or starch eating species do not have big brains.
Do Believers in Evolution Have More Faith Than Believers in God?
March 19, 2008
It must be understood that the belief that Earth is billions of years old is crucial to the survival of evolution theory. The tactic is to teach that evolution always takes millions or even billions of years to happen so no one will ever be able to observe it. This sounds like a plan for the perfect lie.
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