How Fear Is Hardwired Into The Brain?

Feeling fear is playing an important role in the survival of human beings and all other species. It is not very enjoyable feeling that for sure, but the feeling, saved and will save us from dangerous situations. So, scientists try to understand how it evolve during the evolution of all complex life forms, and how fear responses hardwired into the brain of different life forms.

For testing, what brain do, scientist try to scare innocent little mouses. And thankfully, mouses almost afraid of anything. Researchers used fox odor that knows as TMT. When a mice smell the odor it usually freezes, this response generated by an increase blood levels of stress hormones such as corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). These hormones control by corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons, which is located in a region called the hypothalamus.

How these neurons are getting to release these hormones?

They get their signals from multiple areas of the Olfactory Cortex – a part of the brain that processes the smell – so when this part detect anything risky, it warns the neurons right away. For seeing this process, researchers from Howard Hughes Medical Institute injected mice with a neural activity marker to see how neurons in the Olfactory Cortex response to the threat like fox odor.

In the research which published in nature.com, the authors explain how Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH) neurons in a tiny area that is known as Amygdalo-Piriform Transition Area (AmPir) — appeared to modulate the fear responses to the odors. To understand the role of the AmPir, the scientists used a process that called chemogenetics to stimulate this part of the mice’s OC with no predator smell and found that this test caused blood levels of ACTH to increase by 7.6 times. The second time, they tried the same technique to silence the AmPir, and they found that there were no rises in stress level. In conclusion, AmPir plays a significant role in hormonal fear response to predator smells. Also, this reaction appears to be inherited rather than learned. So, as even a mice that had never been exposed to any predator smell, the animal still experienced the same stress hormone levels increase when encountering the particular odors.

Carbon Farming Could Reverse Climate Change

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

It seems that agriculture can now help as well as hinder the climate crisis. Yale lecturer Eric Toensmeier has been following the issue and written “The Carbon Farming Solution” about it. He argues that combining green energy and reduction in fossil fuels usage, carbon dioxide can return to normal.

He does not believe that there have to be major changes made to farming methods or for eating habits to change. Farmers face challenges, and there is a problem as there will be a phase of cost but not profit. He added that if there were a tax placed on fossil fuels, the money could be paid to the farmers to lessen the blow.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is on board as they have set up a small form of carbon farming. Projects, however, are not yet being funded. It is shown that 2% of the $330 billion was used for agricultural practices.

Toensmeier has cited the Mexican cooperative of Las Canadas as a model practice. Annual crops are grown alongside perennials and livestock grazed in the trees. Records are well kept, and when land is overgrazed, native trees are planted. Countries with cold climates including Canada and China can work this system, and while there are examples of competence in the USA, they are farms run on a small scale rather than large scale.

There is one fear, and that is the idea that there may be a time limit on carbon farming. An overheated planet will not have rain, and global warming will continue.

Original Story Via; civileats.com

20 Million Additional Americans Will Have Broadband by 2020

Internet

Mehmet Hatipoglu

It is hoped that 20 million additional Americans will have broadband by 2020. ConnectALL is a scheme meant to help those seeking employment or hoping for training and are building up their skills. The President is the force behind the scheme and does not consider the internet to be a luxury only suitable for those with money. He believes that all students should be able to use it, and poorer children should not have to use free school Wi-Fi after the school day has ended just so that they can complete their homework.

The scheme is a follow on from the projects starting in the 1980s that allowed lower income families to have phones and continuing 20 years later with cell phones. The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Yom Wheeler stated that there were up to 30% pf residents of the United States who were not connected to the internet in their homes, and the figures showed that money was the problem, and the lower income families were the ones who did not have access. A household with less than $25,000 is much less likely to be connected than a family earning over $150,000 – 49% in the lower income bracket, 95% in the higher bracket.

Libraries and museums are also going to see their digital access improved and to ensure this reaches the right areas; community organizations will be involved. Private companies will work with them to deliver access that is affordable.

Mars Mission has been postponed until 2018

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

The next mission to Mars has been postponed until 2018 due to a leak in one of the key instrumental instruments it was reported by NASA. The INSIGHT will take off on May 5th, 2018 and is expected to land on the planet in November. The aim is to investigate the deep inside of the planet, with the aim of finding out how planets such as Mars and Earth – the rocky planets – were formed and had developed.

It is likely that there is actually flowing water on Mars according to the people involved in the research. Associate administrator for NASA John Grunsfeld feels that the challenges can be met and the fact that the desire to know what is deep inside Mars is a long running one and there is a great deal of excitement now that the date has been reset for the mission.

The reason for the delay is the fact that last December the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure failed and in order to make the next launch go ahead the scientists are going to redesign it. There is a cost implication for this and NASA are assessing the delay – with help from the French national space agency, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales.

Denver-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems both built and went on to test the InSight spacecraft including the cruise stage and the lander. It will stay in Lockheed’s Colorado facility until 2017 when spacecraft preparations begin again.

NASA Mars Missions Articles.

MIT Developed a Nontoxic Way of Generating Portable Power

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

Batteries are powering our everyday electronic devices, but they have a lot of toxic materials in them, and the like of lithium can be hard to get rid of. There is also the problem that there is not an unlimited supply around the globe. There is now an alternative way to produce electricity according to the researchers at MIT, and toxic materials are not involved.

Chemical Engineering Professor at MIT Michael Strano announced that carbon nanotubes will provide an electrical current if it is heated along the length. Coat it with the right material then light it like a fuse. Initial experiments were quite disappointing as not a lot of energy was produced, but with recent changes, the output is no different to that of a battery that has a high output. It could take a few years before these are commercially available. Energy and Environmental Science published the paper written by Strano and others. Strano says that he is surprised that this has not been tried before.

mit research — A carbon nanotube (shown in illustration) can produce a very rapid wave of power when it is coated with a layer of fuel and ignited so that heat travels along the tube.

Sugar is now used rather than an explosive material, and heat is the key so with improved sources, power will increase. LED light can already be lit, and there is no reason there should be a shelf life less than infinite given. These batteries are also suitable for wearable technology as well as items that remain dormant such as the space probe. Data can be sent back to earth and not lost as it would be if traditional power sources were used.

February Smashes Earth’s All-Time Global Heat Record

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

Data from NASA shows that February broke all records for heat, and this is around the world and not just in certain areas. Due to the figures produced, there are warnings that climate change is becoming serious and not just a scare tactic that some believe it to be. A blog recently appeared on Weather Underground, and the writers Bob Henson and Jeff Masters reminded everyone that a large part of the problem comes as a result of greenhouse gases produced by humans. This is something that has to be looked at and driven down.

The details now released backup reports from early March when there were concerns first announced. There was a 1.35C rise seen compared to the temperatures recorded for the same month from the baseline years of 1951-1980. This is more worrying as the month before had set the record, and it was hoped it would not be beaten for a while, but sadly this was not the case.

February Smashes Earth's All-Time Global Heat Record — Monthly global surface temperatures (land and ocean) from NASA for the period 1880 to February 2016, expressed in departures from the 1951-1980 average. The red line shows the 12-month running average. Image credit: Stephan Okhuijsen, datagraver.com, used with permission.

El Nino has added to the heat in February and is a primary reason for the record temperatures recorded this time. The last time such a rise was seen, was the last time there was El Nino back in 1998. Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research department of Germany believes that we are already in an emergency situation with regards to the climate and conveyed his views to Fairfax Media. He added that the findings were stunning and in his words, “completely unprecedented.”

California’s Wildfires Captured In a Time-Lapse Video

Internet

Mehmet Hatipoglu

With the rising temperature of the Earth, we start to see many wildfires, and they are almost unstoppable. Fires are ruining the wildlife, and the forest when we need them the most.

A filmmaker Jeff Forest has been documenting these fires, and he released a time-lapse video that shows the raw power of nature at it worst.

He said; “It felt like I was taking a drive through Dante’s Inferno, ” and he wanted to show what we are up against.

@calfire @wffoundation @waynecoyne5 #firefighter #wildfire #fire

A video posted by Jeff Frost (@frostjeff) on Feb 12, 2016 at 1:35pm PST

It May Be Possible to Use Mechanical Stimulation to Regenerate Muscle

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

Scientists at the Wyss Institute – part of Harvard University – have determined that it may be possible to use mechanical stimulation to regenerate muscle in the future. The recent findings show that the new systems could soon replace the ones currently in place. Bioengineer David Mooney pointed out that although chemistry is the dominant science but this should change and take into account what can be gained by involving mechanical and physical factors.

Mooney led the team that was also made up of Conor Walsh a founder of the Harvard Biodesign Lab and Georg Duda of Charite-Universitatsmedizin in Berlin. Skeletal muscles cannot self-mend harsh traumas or nerve damage without muscles no longer working correctly.

It was discovered that after cyclical mechanical stimulation, there was a 250% increase in the amount of muscle regenerated in just a couple of weeks. Lead author Christine Cezar explained that current procedures involved drugs but now stimulation is all that is needed. This knowledge allows the door to be opened to the prospect of repairing badly damaged skeletal muscles.

The result of this new study demonstrate how direct physical and mechanical intervention can impact biological processes and can potentially be exploited to improve clinical outcomes.

At a later date, the team hopes to explore how to get the ideas into the clinics. It is not yet known how this process can be transferred and used on actual patients according to Donald Ingber of the Wyss Institute.

This was not a study carried out by just a few medics but also included Ellen Roche a research fellow at the National University of Ireland, and Herman Vandenburgh, a professor at Brown University.

Original Story Via; wyss.harvard.edu

The Decoupling of Growth and CO2 Emissions is a Boost Against Climate Change

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

Thanks to a significant increase in the use of renewable energy, CO2 emissions have remained static despite the fact that the world economy has increased. The International Energy Agency are pleased that there is no longer a correlation between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions, especially as this has been the case for consecutive years.

Fatih Birol who is the IEA chief considers that the fact that this has happened is enormous. There have only ever been three other occasions in the past 40 years when there was a drop or levelling of emissions and these all occurred when there were periods of weaknesses in the global economy.

It is believed that the significant issue has been energy from renewables that has given the good results, and 9 of the ten new power plants were renewable – 5 of which were wind plants. There were efficiencies involved – this is the case in the USA, although other areas are equalling and even bettering their figures. In the USA, the fall was 2% and China 1.5%. In China it was mainly as a result of using less coal and only 70% of their electricity was produced this way. This is a 10% drop in 4 years. The Chinese have a war on coal, and the right figures are likely to continue in the future.

The Decoupling of Growth and CO2 Emissions is a Boost Against Climate Change

Birol states that the decoupling of growth and CO2 emissions is a boost against climate change. Combine China’s efforts along with the cleantech revolution and it’s clear that there is a plateau with regards to the emissions trend line.

Original Story Via; iea.org

Pushing The Boundaries Of Brain Science For See the Possibilities in Computer Science

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

The Federal Government of the USA has provided over $28 million to SEAS at Harvard University to allow them to develop machine learning algorithms that are advanced and thereby pushing forward the research in neuroscience.

Intelligence agencies have to deal with a great deal of data and dealing with it all in a sensible timescale is not possible. Even though humans are used to patterns, they cannot cope, and machines are even less capable. The hope is that a system can determine why the brain is so efficient and then build a computer that can reach the same level of interpretation.

The virtual cortex of the brain will be studied then carry out a detailed map then reverse engineer the information they get provide improved computer algorithms. The Leader of the project, David Cox believes that the scientific importance of recording many neurons and then mapping out their connections is a massive project, but this is just the beginning. After pushing the science of the brain, they hope to push the science of the computer.

“This project is not only pushing the boundaries of brain science, it is also pushing the boundaries of what is possible in computer science.” — Hanspeter Pfister

When completed, the systems would be capable of activities as diverse as driving a car or reading MRI images. Rats will be used to recognize items on a computer screen, and their visual neurons will be studied. Later a section of the brain will be scanned, and the hope is that it will be possible to study the cerebral cortex.

This research can lead to improvements in the vision of robots and allow them to navigate new places. Cox accepts this is a massive undertaking.

Story Via; news.harvard.edu

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