Latest Invention: Robot that Thinks and Acts Like Humans

A team of researchers and engineers from Hasegawa Group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology managed to come up with a robot that that can think, learn and act like humans

The machine, which uses a technology called SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network) along with self-replicating neural network, makes use of artificial intelligence along with past experience to think like us.

It is able to make guesses and choices based on the programmed knowledge it has been equipped with.

It would be interesting to note that previous robots failed to perform certain tasks when tested in an unknown environment but this advanced android is able to adjust itself in an unfamiliar environment.

In addition, it can take help of other robots. In case it is supposed to do things that are not preprogrammed in its memory, the machine connects with fellow robots around the world and transfers information to perform certain tasks.

The robot can also receive information from the Internet. The developers believe that this machine can revolutionize the industry, leading to the appearance of a lot of new androids on the market.



Via Diginfo

Medical Benefits Of Silver Discovered

A study was published on June 19th by a team of researchers at Boston University regarding the benefits of using silver in antibiotics. While it has long been known that silver contains strong antimicrobial properties, scientists have only recently discovered that it’s able to turn normal antibiotics into antibiotics on steroids.It is now known that silver uses many chemical processes to stop bacteria from forming bonds, slow their metabolic rates, and disrupt homeostasis. These processes cause the bacteria to become weak and more susceptible to the power of antibiotics. Through multiple studies, the mixture of silver and antibiotics has been up to 1,000 times more effective in killing bacteria than antibiotics alone. Some critics warn that using silver may have potentially toxic side effects on its users, but scientists disagree, saying small non-toxic amounts increase the effectiveness of the antibiotic. This is a very exciting discovery for the medical world, with the possible uses and applications for this precious metal continuing to grow.

Growing Human-Animal Hybrids for Organs to Become Legal in Japan

Japanese government is about to give green light to scientists who look forward to growing human organs in animal bodies.
A team of researchers led by Hiromitsu Nakauchi of the University of Tokyo, managed to come up with a process for creating a "chimeric embryo" by introducing a human stem cell inside the body of an animal embryo (which in such cases is usually a pig).
This process will allow scientists to grow human-animal hybrid that can be used to grow human organs.
Scientists want to introduce the embryo in a female pig's womb. This will induce pregnancy and lead to the creation of a pig "equipped" human organs (for example, a pancreas or liver).
Inside the body of the pig organs would mature as it develops. After it is slaughtered scientists will harvest the chimera's organs and then transplant them.
Currently the creation of a chimeric embryo is considered legal, but implanting the embryo in an animal's womb is not. At the moment a Japanese regulatory body is analyzing all pros and cons to decide whether to permit planting chimeric embryos in animals or not.
Scientists believe that very soon such procedure will be legal.
(Via Physorg) Powered by www.scifidiscovery.blogspot.com

Monkey Mind Control Could Lead to Treatment for Paralyzed Patients

It's an unusual path, but promising therapy for paralyzed patients may come from the work of monkeys.

Researchers at Duke University conducted a study in which monkeys learned to control the movement of virtual arms by using just their brains. These findings could prove particularly useful for people who have sensory and motor deficiencies caused by spinal cord injuries or for those who are severely paralyzed.

"Bimanual movements in our daily activities – from typing on a keyboard to opening a can – are critically important," said Miguel Nicolelis, a professor of neurobiology at the Duke University School of Medicine and senior author of the study, in a statement. "Future brain-machine interfaces aimed at restoring mobility in humans will have to incorporate multiple limbs to greatly benefit severely paralyzed patients."

Brain-machine interfaces are systems that connect different regions of the brain to assistive devices that help restore patients' motor and sensory functions, the study said. Previous studies have developed brain-machine interfaces that control single prosthetic arms, but have not successfully used two at the same time.

According to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation's Paralysis Resource Center, nearly 2 percent of the United States population, or about 5.6 million people, report currently living with some form of paralysis and 0.4 percent of the population, or about 1.3 million people, say they are paralyzed from a spinal cord injury.

People can become paralyzed from a number of different sources, including cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury or stroke, which is the leading cause of paralysis, according to the Reeve Foundation.

Nicholelis' research is significant because the monkeys in the study successfully controlled two virtual arms at once and their performance improved over time.

Via www.usnews.com

Bioengineered Body Parts: A move towards the creation of synthetic being...

It will be surprising that in the nearest future human could be a complete synthetic materials. On June 6th, a group of doctors at Duke University successfully implanted the first bioengineered blood vessel into a live patient. Though bioengineering has been advancing rapidly, this procedure was the first successful implant of any synthetically bioengineered body part.Implanted into a patient suffering from the end stages of kidney disease, the vein had been synthesized from donated human cells that were then developed on a scaffold. In order to prevent any antibodies in the patient from attacking the foreign vessel, the qualities that could trigger the attack were removed. The vein has proved more successful in tests than synthetic or animal-based implants because they are not prone to clotting and don’t pose risk of infection during the surgery.Incredibly, the veins are made of the same flexible materials that they’re connected to and even take on the properties of their cellular environment and other veins. With the success of this procedure, this emerging field has huge implications for further uses in the medical world. Soon, doctors hope to be bioengineering veins for heart disease and maybe even go on to bioengineer whole organs or body parts.

Low-voiced men love ’em and leave ’em, yet still attract more women: study

Low-voiced men have an edge in attracting women, even though women know they’re unlikely to stick around long, according to researchers.

The scientists found in a study that women were more attracted to men with masculine voices, at least for short-term relationships. Those men were also seen as more likely to cheat and unsuitable for a longer relat­ionship and marriage.

The study, published online in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, offers insight into the evolu­tion of the voice and how we choose our mates, there searchers said.

“The sound of some one’s voice can affect how we think of them,” explained lead author Jil lian O’ Connor, a post doctoral fellow at McMaster University in Canada. “Until now, it’s been unclear why women would like the voices of men who might cheat. But we found that the more women thought these men would cheat, the more they were attracted to them for a brief relationship when they are less worried about fidelity.”

For the study, 87 women listened to men’s voices that were manipulated electronically to sound high er or low­er, and then chose who they thought was more likely to cheat on their romantic partner.

Researchers also asked the participants to choose the voice they thought was more attractive for a long-term versus a short-term relationship.

“From an evolutionary perspective, these perceptions of future sexual infidelity may be adaptive,” that is, they may have been useful for human an cestors whose reproductive behavior shaped our species, said Mc Mas ter’s David Fein berg, who collaborated with O’ Con nor.

“The consequences of infidelity are very high whether it is emotional or financial and this research sug gests that humans have evolved as a protection mechanism to avoid long-term partners who may cheat,” he said.


Courtesy of McMaster University
and World Science staff

Your brain cells may be capable of outliving you

Some brain cells of mam mals can long out live the an i mal to which they orig i nally be longed, if trans planted in to a dif fer ent brain, new re search sug gests.
Some brain cells of mam mals can long out live the an i mal to which they orig i nally be longed, if trans planted in to a dif fer ent brain, new re search sug gests.

The find ings are raising scientists’ hopes that if they find a way to greatly in crease hu man life span, brain cells will co op erate by work ing long er accord ing ly.

In mam mals, neu rons, the main type of in forma t ion-processing brain cells, can last a whole life span in the ab­sence of brain dis ease. But it has been un clear wheth er neu rons have a max i mum life span, si m i lar to oth er types of cells in the body which, un like neu rons, nor mally can rep li cate.

To find out, Lo ren zo Ma grassi of the Uni vers ity of Pa via in Italy and col leagues trans planted pre cur sor neu rons from the de vel op ing mouse in to rat em bryos. They used a strain of rat that can live on av er age nearly twice as long as the do nor mouse strain. The cells came from, and were trans planted to, a part of the brain known as the cer e bel lum.

The trans planted cells de vel oped in to nor mal neu rons that made them selves at home in the rat brains, though they re tained a mouse-like size and shape, the re search ers said. More o ver, these cells sur vived for as long as their rat hosts, or up to 36 months, roughly twice as long as the av er age life span of the do nor mice.

The find ings sug gest that the life span of the trans planted neu rons is not ge net ic ally fixed and may have been de ter mined by the rat brain “mi croen vi ron ment,” Ma grassi and col leagues wrote. They re ported their find ings in this week’s early on line is sue of the jour nal Pro ceed ings of the Na tio n al Aca de my of Sci en ces.

The re sults, they added, al so sug gest that in creas ing longe vity—a hall mark of tech no log ic ally ad vanced so ci­eties—won’t nec es sarily sad dle longer-lived peo ple with a prob lem of many dy ing brain cells.

“Our re sults sug gest that neu ronal sur viv al and ag ing are co in ci den t but sep a ra ble pro cess es,” they wrote. This in creases “our hope that ex tend ing or gan is mal life span by di e tary, be hav ior al, and phar ma co logic in ter ven­tions will not nec es sarily re sult in a neu ronally de plet ed brain.”
The find ings are raising scientists’ hopes that if they find a way to greatly in crease hu man life span, brain cells will co op erate by work ing long er accord ing ly.
Some brain cells of mam mals can long out live the an i mal to which they orig i nally be longed, if trans planted in to a dif fer ent brain, new re search sug gests.

The find ings are raising scientists’ hopes that if they find a way to greatly in crease hu man life span, brain cells will co op erate by work ing long er accord ing ly.

In mam mals, neu rons, the main type of in forma t ion-processing brain cells, can last a whole life span in the ab­sence of brain dis ease. But it has been un clear wheth er neu rons have a max i mum life span, si m i lar to oth er types of cells in the body which, un like neu rons, nor mally can rep li cate.

To find out, Lo ren zo Ma grassi of the Uni vers ity of Pa via in Italy and col leagues trans planted pre cur sor neu rons from the de vel op ing mouse in to rat em bryos. They used a strain of rat that can live on av er age nearly twice as long as the do nor mouse strain. The cells came from, and were trans planted to, a part of the brain known as the cer e bel lum.

The trans planted cells de vel oped in to nor mal neu rons that made them selves at home in the rat brains, though they re tained a mouse-like size and shape, the re search ers said. More o ver, these cells sur vived for as long as their rat hosts, or up to 36 months, roughly twice as long as the av er age life span of the do nor mice.

The find ings sug gest that the life span of the trans planted neu rons is not ge net ic ally fixed and may have been de ter mined by the rat brain “mi croen vi ron ment,” Ma grassi and col leagues wrote. They re ported their find ings in this week’s early on line is sue of the jour nal Pro ceed ings of the Na tio n al Aca de my of Sci en ces.

The re sults, they added, al so sug gest that in creas ing longe vity—a hall mark of tech no log ic ally ad vanced so ci­eties—won’t nec es sarily sad dle longer-lived peo ple with a prob lem of many dy ing brain cells.

“Our re sults sug gest that neu ronal sur viv al and ag ing are co in ci den t but sep a ra ble pro cess es,” they wrote. This in creases “our hope that ex tend ing or gan is mal life span by di e tary, be hav ior al, and phar ma co logic in ter ven­tions will not nec es sarily re sult in a neu ronally de plet ed brain.”
In mam mals, neu rons, the main type of in forma t ion-processing brain cells, can last a whole life span in the ab­sence of brain dis ease. But it has been un clear wheth er neu rons have a max i mum life span, si m i lar to oth er types of cells in the body which, un like neu rons, nor mally can rep li cate.

To find out, Lo ren zo Ma grassi of the Uni vers ity of Pa via in Italy and col leagues trans planted pre cur sor neu rons from the de vel op ing mouse in to rat em bryos. They used a strain of rat that can live on av er age nearly twice as long as the do nor mouse strain. The cells came from, and were trans planted to, a part of the brain known as the cer e bel lum.

The trans planted cells de vel oped in to nor mal neu rons that made them selves at home in the rat brains, though they re tained a mouse-like size and shape, the re search ers said. More o ver, these cells sur vived for as long as their rat hosts, or up to 36 months, roughly twice as long as the av er age life span of the do nor mice.

The find ings sug gest that the life span of the trans planted neu rons is not ge net ic ally fixed and may have been de ter mined by the rat brain “mi croen vi ron ment,” Ma grassi and col leagues wrote. They re ported their find ings in this week’s early on line is sue of the jour nal Pro ceed ings of the Na tio n al Aca de my of Sci en ces.

The re sults, they added, al so sug gest that in creas ing longe vity—a hall mark of tech no log ic ally ad vanced so ci­eties—won’t nec es sarily sad dle longer-lived peo ple with a prob lem of many dy ing brain cells.

“Our re sults sug gest that neu ronal sur viv al and ag ing are co in ci den t but sep a ra ble pro cess es,” they wrote. This in creases “our hope that ex tend ing or gan is mal life span by di e tary, be hav ior al, and phar ma co logic in ter ven­tions will not nec es sarily re sult in a neu ronally de plet ed brain.”

Courtesy of PNAS and world of Science

Alternative Fuel Microbes

Imagine a world where high-efficiency, low-cost alternative fuels were as easy to obtain as the oxygen in the air around us. Well, thanks to the collaboration of the US Department of Energy and a team of researchers at Duke University, we might have a microorganism that can make this dream a reality. Recent years have seen great strides in the area of alternative fuels (like ethanol from corn and sugar cane). Unfortunately, these methods have proven inefficient and given rise to a lot of criticism like cutting into the food and land supply. Recently, scientists have been able to come up with electrofuels that are designed to harness solar energy without cutting into the food, water, or land supplies as most of the existing alternative fuels do.In addition to its low energy need, tiny microbes can efficiently and effectively synthesize these electrofuels in a lab. These electrofuel microbes have been isolated and found living in non-photosynthetic bacteria. Using the electrons in the soil as food, the microbes eat up the energy to produce butanol when exposed to electricity and carbon dioxide. Using this knowledge, scientists extract the genes to complete this photosynthesis substitute and inject them into lab-grown bacteria allowing them to produce butanol in large amounts. Butanol is now being seen as the better alternative to both ethanol and gasoline for a variety of reasons. As a much larger molecule, butanol has a larger energy-carrying capacity than ethanol and doesn’t absorb water, so it can be placed directly in the gas tanks of any car and transported through the existing gasoline pipelines. These butanol microbes are very promising for the future of alternative fuels.

TECHNOLOGY GONE ADVANCE AS LG Unveils World's First Curved OLED TV

This year at CES Samsung decided to unveil its curved OLED TV. The Company unveiled this advancement as the first to produce curved television set and name this television as the world's first curved television set, Despite the fact that the company claims this is the world's first curved television set, another tech giant LG doesn't think so.
Moreover, LG says that it is going to become the world's first firm to begin commercializing the technology and that the first to obtain the Curved OLED TV in May will be people of South Korea.
It is worth mentioning that the new TV from LG is called 55EA9800 and it boasts a 54.6-inch screen with curved forward edges that provide "IMAX-like" viewing experience.
According to the company its researchers needed 5 years to come up with the optimum curvature so that the whole surface of the screen is equidistant from the eyes of the viewer.
LG's 55EA9800 is equipped with in-house WRGB technology, which adjoins a white sub-pixel to the traditional red, green and blue sub pixels. In addition, the TV has an infinite contrast ratio that cannot be affected by ambient brightness or viewing angle.
Another interesting thing about the new curved TV is its thickness, which is just 4.3 mm, and weight - 17 kg (37.5 lb).
For customer's comfort, the company ahs also developed a wall mount for its TV.
The initial price of the TV is 15 million Korean Won (around US$13,500). In the coming months LG will announce the price of its curved TV for other markets.

Latest Invention: World's Fastest Cat Robot

A team of Swiss researchers managed to come up with a cute cat-like robot that can run very fast.
In fact the robotic cat is able to reach a speed of 5 feet (1.52 meters) per second, being able to cover 7 body lengths each second.
The upper mentioned figures make the robot the fastest small quadraped robot.
In order to dodge obstacles, the robot can lean. This also helps it cover a rough terrain without much trouble.
It would be interesting to note that the new robot does not have a head - take a look at the video at the end of the story.
Researchers call their latest invention the "cheetah-cub robot". This is because the machine resembles a smaller version of MIT's "Cheetah" robot.
The team hopes to use their robot in search and rescue missions. Recently researchers published information on their invention in the International Journal of Robotics Research.

SIGHT FOR THE BLIND

 

The first bionic eye prototype was introduced by a team of Australian designers in early June. The bionic eye works by having a chip implanted into the user’s skull and then connected to a digital camera in the glasses. While the glasses currently only allow the user to see outlines, the prototype has a lot of promise to be improved upon in the future. Once the camera captures an image, the signal is changed and sent wirelessly to the microchip. From there, the signal activates spots on the microchip implanted into the visual cortex of the brain. The team of researchers is hoping to further the capabilities of the glasses while keeping them lightweight, adjustable, and comfortable for the wearer. It should be usable by 85 percent of people who are legally blind.

Latest Invention: Flying Bike

The mystery happens in Prague where the world's first flying bike was out to test on june 12.

It has been said that this revolutionary invention was developed and built by engineers that work together with three Czech companies.

Probably for security reasons, the companies did not use a real pilot. Instead that put a dummy on the bike during the test flight.

According to sources, the bike weighs about 209 pounds (95 kilograms) and it is able to fly thanks to battery-powered propellers mounted to its front and

rear.

@encyclopedia2

LATEST INVENTION: AIR-CONDITIONED BULLETPROOF VESTS

Scientists from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) recently came up with the world's first air-conditioned bulletproof jacket based on a special technology called Coolpad that helps police stay cool in hot days.

This Coolpad technology elaborated by Empa was initially developed for cooling clothes for different medical applications.

From the information gathered from the researchers emphasize that the built-in Coolpads evaporate sweat through the material, thus helping the wearer to stay cool.

Besides, the bulletproof jacket has a tiny fan that easily fits into the garment and blows air inside the vest to offer more cooling. To be able to incorporate the fan, researchers at Empa teamed up with Eschler, a textile company from Switzerland, to develop a special fabric spacer that is both stable and flexible.

In order to quickly refill the cool pads with water, scientists created a portable filling station the wearer can easily attach to the jacket using a quick-release fastener.

Fully-charged batteries allow the vest to work in hot conditions for 3 to 4 hours. Empa mentioned that the first bulletproof vests will be manufactured by project partner Unico Swiss Tex GmbH.

Latest Invention: AIRE Mask - Use Your Breath to Charge Your Handset

If you are one of the lovers of jugging, then you are not far from benefitting doudle from your jugging activitites.

This is because a new device called AIRE mask will appear on the market. The mask will allow its wearer to 

produce green power from breathing and use that power to charge various portable gadgets. So, you can charge on the go... @encyclopedia2

Scientists Working on E.chromi Bacteria that Colors Hazardous Chemicals

A group of synthetic biology scientists and designers from Cambridge University has come up with a daring project called E.chromi.

It is possible that in the near future synthetic biology could greatly influence our way of life, our environment and health.

E.chromi is a genetically engineered bacterium that has the potential of generating colored pigments.

The invention could have a wide range of applications. For instance, it can help identify hazardous pollutants in water by producing a specific color related to each pollutant.

It would be interesting to note that the person who has come up with the idea to create AIRE is Joco Paulo Lammoglia, an inventor from Brazil.

Sleep boost brain self-cleaning system

In the brain there is a molecule that is responsible for waste disposal system, this molecule was discovered last year and its activity increases when having a deep sleep. This reason underscore the importance of sleep which has been recommended not to be less than 6 hours daily.
Asides from the waste disposal increase during slumbering, sleep could also inspire the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological diseases linked with protein build-up in the brain.
"If this waste-disposal system is under the body's intrinsic regulation, there could be a pharmacological way to turn the system up or down," says Jeffrey Iliff at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, one of the study authors. "Perhaps this is a biological pathway that could be co-opted to rescue us from or improve neurological degeneration."In the brain there is a molecule that is responsible for waste disposal system, this molecule was discovered last year and its activity increases when having a deep sleep. This reason underscore the importance of sleep which has been recommended not to be less than 6 hours daily.
Asides from the waste disposal increase during slumbering, sleep could also inspire the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological diseases linked with protein build-up in the brain.
"If this waste-disposal system is under the body's intrinsic regulation, there could be a pharmacological way to turn the system up or down," says Jeffrey Iliff at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, one of the study authors. "Perhaps this is a biological pathway that could be co-opted to rescue us from or improve neurological degeneration."

Risk of early death from smoking more severe than thought, Australian study reveals

The risk of premature death from smoking is much more severe than previously thought for both light and heavy smokers, a large Australian study has revealed.

The study found that two thirds of deaths in current smokers can be attributed to tobacco use.

Professor Emily Banks from the Australian National University led the study, which followed 200,000 people over four years.

"The international rule of thumb is that half of all smoker deaths are directly caused by tobacco," she said.

"We found that [over the four years] people who are current smokers were three times more likely to die than people who had never smoked, and their life expectancy within that four-year period was diminished by 10 years compared to the never-smokers."

Key points:

• Study followed 200,000 people over four years
• Two thirds of deaths in current smokers can be attributed to tobacco use
• Smoking reduces life expectancy by 10 years
• Light smokers also face double risk of early death

Professor Banks is also the scientific director of the Sax Institute's 45 and Up study, which collected the data on the health of 10 per cent of New South Wales residents.

International research has long confirmed the connection between tobacco smoking and premature death from heart problems and lung cancer.

Tobacco smoking is estimated to be responsible for 9.7 per cent of the total disease burden, but until now large-scale Australian data has not been available.

Professor Banks says the effect that smoking has on the population depends on the intensity of smoking and how long people have been smoking.

"So in a way we need our data for our epidemic, and this is the first time that we have had data from the Australian population," she said.

She says the death rate matches patterns in the Britain and the United States.

"When people have been smoking for decades having started smoking in their late teens, and actually smoking heavily ... it's the pattern you see with a mature epidemic," she said

News also bad for 'light' smokers

Similarly, the news is not good for people who think of themselves as light smokers.

"The risk associated with smoking 10 cigarettes a day are similar to the risks of death associated with being morbidly obese, so with having a body mass index of 35 or more," Professor Banks said

"Most light smokers wouldn't think of themselves as having a risk that is similar to someone who is morbidly obese." 

While the study did find it is better to be a light smoker than a heavy smoker, it did confirm that giving up improves health.

"On average smokers reduce their life expectancy by 10 years," Professor Banks said.

"Quitting at any age reduces the risks and the earlier, the younger you quit the better."

People who had cancer and heart disease were eliminated at the start and there were adjustments for alcohol, socio-economic factors, weight and age.

The preliminary data is to be presented to the 10th annual 45 and Up Collaborators meeting in Sydney on Friday

Professor Banks says the next step in the research is the basic building block to apply to the general Australian population to find more exactly how many deaths can be attributed to smoking.

By Nonee Walsh via www.abc.net.au

Iowa grants gun permits to the blind

Iowa is granting permits to acquire or carry guns in public to people who are legally or completely blind.

No one questions the legality of the permits. State law does not allow sheriffs to deny an Iowan the right to carry a weapon based on physical ability.

The quandary centers squarely on public safety. Advocates for the disabled and Iowa law enforcement officers disagree over whether it's a good idea for visually disabled Iowans to have weapons.

On one side: People such as Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington, who demonstrated for The Des Moines Register how blind people can be taught to shoot guns. And Jane Hudson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa, who says blocking visually impaired people from the right to obtain weapon permits would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. That federal law generally prohibits different treatment based on disabilities

On the other side: People such as Dubuque County Sheriff Don Vrotsos, who said he wouldn't issue a permit to someone who is blind. And Patrick Clancy, superintendent of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, who says guns may be a rare exception to his philosophy that blind people can participate fully in life.

Private gun ownership — even hunting — by visually impaired Iowans is nothing new. But the practice of visually impaired residents legally carrying firearms in public became widely possible thanks to gun permit changes that took effect in Iowa in 2011.

"It seems a little strange, but the way the law reads we can't deny them (a permit) just based on that one thing," said Sgt. Jana Abens, a spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff's Department, referring to a visual disability.

Polk County officials say they've issued weapons permits to at least three people who can't legally drive and were unable to read the application forms or had difficulty doing so because of visual impairments.

And sheriffs in three other counties — Jasper, Kossuth and Delaware — say they have granted permits to residents who they believe have severe visual impairments.

"I'm not an expert in vision," Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere said. "At what point do vision problems have a detrimental effect to fire a firearm? If you see nothing but a blurry mass in front of you, then I would say you probably shouldn't be shooting something."

Training the visually impaired

In one Iowa county, blind residents who want weapons would likely receive special training.

Wethington, the Cedar County sheriff, has a legally blind daughter who plans to obtain a permit to carry when she turns 21 in about two years. He demonstrated for the Register how he would train blind people who want to carry a gun.

"If sheriffs spent more time trying to keep guns out of criminals' hands and not people with disabilities, their time would be more productive," Wethington said as he and his daughter took turns practice shooting with a semi-automatic handgun on private property in rural Cedar County.

The number of visually impaired or blind Iowans who can legally carry weapons in public is unknown because that information is not collected by the state or county sheriffs who issue the permits.

Clancy, superintendent of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, said the range of sight among people who are classified as legally blind varies greatly. He believes there are situations where such applicants can safely handle a gun.

Quentin DeVore, a legally blind Army veteran from Newton, Iowa photographed in March 2013, is a gun enthusiast and collector. Despite his vision impairment, DeVore holds a permit to carry a firearm, and says he is well within his legal rights to do so.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave, The Des Moines Register)

However, he also expressed concerns.

"Although people who are blind can participate fully in nearly all life's experiences, there are some things like the operation of a weapon that may very well be an exception," Clancy said.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 and other federal laws do not prohibit blind people from owning guns. But unlike Iowa, some states have laws that spell out whether visually impaired people can obtain weapon permits.

Vision requirements are either directly or indirectly part of the weapon permit criteria in some surrounding states.

In Nebraska, for example, applicants for a permit to carry a concealed handgun must provide "proof of vision" by either presenting a valid state driver's license or a statement by an eye doctor that the person meets vision requirements set for a typical vehicle operator's license.

Other states have indirect requirements that could — but don't automatically — disqualify people who are blind. That includes Missouri and Minnesota, where applicants must complete a live fire test, which means they have to shoot and hit a target.

A 50-state database of gun permit requirements published by USACarry.com also shows that South Carolina has a law that requires proof of vision before a person is approved for a weapons permit.

Wisconsin, like Iowa, has no visual restrictions on gun permit applicants. Illinois lawmakers enacted a concealed weapons law in July but permits have not yet been issued. Illinois' qualifications don't specifically require a visual test, but applicants must complete firearms training that includes range instruction.

The National Federation of the Blind does not track states that require vision tests as part of weapon permit processes and has not taken an official stand on the issue. But its members are generally opposed to such laws, said Chris Danielsen, director of public relations for the group.

"There's no reason solely on the (basis) of blindness that a blind person shouldn't be allowed to carry a weapon," Danielsen said. "Presumably they're going to have enough sense not to use a weapon in a situation where they would endanger other people, just like we would expect other people to have that common sense."

Iowa requires training for anyone who is issued a permit to carry a weapon in public, but that requirement can be satisfied through an online course that does not include any hands-on instruction or a shooting test.

A provision in Iowa's law allows sheriffs to deny a permit if probable cause exists to believe that the person is likely to use the weapon in such a way that it would endanger themselves or others. Many sheriffs noted, however, that the provision relates to specific documented actions, and applicants who appealed their cases would likely win.

Hudson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa, believes changing the state law to deny blind people or others with physical disabilities the right to carry arms would violate federal disabilities law.

Part of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires a public entity to conduct an individualized analysis to make a reasonable judgment before denying a service. Hudson believes someone could successfully challenge Nebraska's proof of vision requirement as illegal.

"The fact that you can't drive a car doesn't mean you can't go to a shooting range and see a target," Hudson said.

Michael Barber and his wife Kim shop for a gun in August 2013. Kim is showing him how the gun lock fits on the gun. "I think it's perfectly within the realm of possibility and within our rights that a blind person can safely carry a weapon if he or she decide they want to do that," Barber said.(Photo: Andrea Melendez, The Des Moines Register)

By  DES MOINES, Iowa via www.usatoday.com

Aircraft noise linked to higher rate of cardiovascular disease, according to airport studies

Two international studies have found that aircraft noise may be leading to a rise in heart and lung disease.

Scientists say noise levels could be linked to more stress, sleep deprivation and high blood pressure in people - findings that could have implications for new airports slated for residential areas in Australia.

Professor Paul Elliott from Imperial College London worked on one study that investigated millions of people living near Heathrow.

He found that people living around the major international airport had a 3.5 per cent higher rate of hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease.

The results were vetted for other factors that could affect the data, including sex, ethnicity and smoking.

The boroughs experience noise levels at least 10 decibels higher than the average loud noise, which sits around 70 decibels.

"We know that acute exposure to loud noises can affect a startled reaction in the person with an increase in heart rate and a short-term increase in blood pressure," he said.

"And there is some evidence that this rise in blood pressure may be sustained if there's continual exposure to louder noises."

A vacuum cleaner is about 70 decibels, a lawnmower is about 90 decibels and a jet engine taking off is more than 100 decibels.

Another similar study, conducted by academics at the Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard School of Public Health, looked at six million people aged 65 or more, living around major airports in the United States.

Professor Jon Levy says his results are consistent with the UK findings, with a 2.3 per cent higher rate of hospital admissions.

"The health effects of noise should be thought about and taken into account when looking at airports and airport sitting or expansion," he said.

Strategies to reduce the impact of noise

In the United States, the noise study is being analysed by the US Federal Aviation Authority, which partly funded the research.

Professor Levy says there needs to be a focus on strategies that reduce aircraft noise exposure, including the soundproofing of homes, modified flight paths, and quieter aircraft.

But anti-aircraft noise groups say those measures are just band-aid solutions.

No Aircraft Noise Party spokesman Allan Rees wants a second Sydney airport to relieve the pressure on Kingsford Smith.

"Firstly on the double glazing: this is Sydney," he said.

"This is a mild, moderate climate. We want to have the windows open. We don't want to live in air-conditioned concrete boxes. It's not good living conditions and there's all the outdoor activity that gets interrupted as well.

"As far as the quieter aircraft, as I say, the newer aircraft are quieter, [but] not a great deal. They're still very noisy but that's outweighed by the increase in the number of aircraft and the fact that the average size of the aircraft operating at Mascot is going up steadily."

The Federal Government has not committed to building a second Sydney airport, and the New South Wales Government says capacity at the current site can be safely increased.

Both studies were published in the latest British Medical Journal.

The world Today by Eliza Harvey

Centipede venom may fight chronic pain

The venom used by a centipede to paralyse prey contains a molecule that new research shows is more effective than morphine in blocking pain.

The finding in mice models could lead to the development of drugs for people with ongoing chronic pain, says co-author of the study Professor Glenn King, of the University of Queensland.

The current study targets human proteins known as voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) that play a critical role in electrical signalling in neurons and other excitable cells.

King, a research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, says humans have nine different Nav channels, with earlier studies showing the Nav1.7 channel plays a key role in pain transmission.

He says people with a mutation of this protein are unable to experience pain.

Previous research to target this channel has been hindered because of the impact of drug candidates on other Nav channels, which among other things play important roles in heart and muscle function.

"The difficulty is finding molecules that are selective for this one [Nav1.7] channel," he says.

In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, King and his Chinese colleagues show venom from the Chinese redheaded centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans) has 150 times selectivity for Nav1.7 over other Nav channels.

King says mice were injected with a peptide from the venom - Ssm6a - at a high dose and suffered no side effects with no impact on blood pressure or heart rate.

In thermal and acid-induced pain tests, the effect of the molecule "was similar to morphine", while in chemical-induced pain experiments it was more potent than morphine.

King says it is unlikely humans will develop a tolerance or addiction to drugs based on the venom molecule because unlike morphine it is not used to block receptors.

The work builds on an increasing body of research focusing on animal venoms for use in pain relief, but this is the first study to look at centipedes.

The current study focuses on a centipede that is farmed in China for consumption, but King and his colleagues believe the findings suggest centipede venom - which has been overlooked to date - may provide a source of lead molecules for drug development.

King agrees it is counterintuitive that a molecule used for predation could have therapeutic use.

However he says the key difference in ion channels between insects and humans makes this possible.

In contrast to humans, insects have only a single Nav channel, which is a common target of peptides in the venom of other arthropod predators such as scorpions and spiders.

"Centipedes worked out hundreds of millions of years ago the easiest way to catch prey was to paralyse them by blocking their Nav channel," King says.

"We're just lucky that of the nine Nav channels in humans, it hit the one we were after."

Recent US studies have shown the economic cost of chronic pain to be about $600 billion annually - more than the combined annual cost of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

King says it is estimated at any one time about 20 per cent of the population on average is suffering from chronic pain, defined as pain that persists for three months or more.

He says the next step in their research is to trial the peptide using more sophisticated pain models that replicate pain associated with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.

The finding in mice models could lead to the development of drugs for people with ongoing chronic pain, says co-author of the study Professor Glenn King, of the University of Queensland.

The current study targets human proteins known as voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) that play a critical role in electrical signalling in neurons and other excitable cells.

King, a research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, says humans have nine different Nav channels, with earlier studies showing the Nav1.7 channel plays a key role in pain transmission.

He says people with a mutation of this protein are unable to experience pain.

Previous research to target this channel has been hindered because of the impact of drug candidates on other Nav channels, which among other things play important roles in heart and muscle function.

"The difficulty is finding molecules that are selective for this one [Nav1.7] channel," he says.

In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, King and his Chinese colleagues show venom from the Chinese redheaded centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans) has 150 times selectivity for Nav1.7 over other Nav channels.

King says mice were injected with a peptide from the venom - Ssm6a - at a high dose and suffered no side effects with no impact on blood pressure or heart rate.

In thermal and acid-induced pain tests, the effect of the molecule "was similar to morphine", while in chemical-induced pain experiments it was more potent than morphine.

King says it is unlikely humans will develop a tolerance or addiction to drugs based on the venom molecule because unlike morphine it is not used to block receptors.

The work builds on an increasing body of research focusing on animal venoms for use in pain relief, but this is the first study to look at centipedes.

The current study focuses on a centipede that is farmed in China for consumption, but King and his colleagues believe the findings suggest centipede venom - which has been overlooked to date - may provide a source of lead molecules for drug development.

King agrees it is counterintuitive that a molecule used for predation could have therapeutic use.

However he says the key difference in ion channels between insects and humans makes this possible.

In contrast to humans, insects have only a single Nav channel, which is a common target of peptides in the venom of other arthropod predators such as scorpions and spiders.

"Centipedes worked out hundreds of millions of years ago the easiest way to catch prey was to paralyse them by blocking their Nav channel," King says.

"We're just lucky that of the nine Nav channels in humans, it hit the one we were after."

Recent US studies have shown the economic cost of chronic pain to be about $600 billion annually - more than the combined annual cost of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

King says it is estimated at any one time about 20 per cent of the population on average is suffering from chronic pain, defined as pain that persists for three months or more.

He says the next step in their research is to trial the peptide using more sophisticated pain models that replicate pain associated with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.

The finding in mice models could lead to the development of drugs for people with ongoing chronic pain, says co-author of the study Professor Glenn King, of the University of Queensland.

The current study targets human proteins known as voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) that play a critical role in electrical signalling in neurons and other excitable cells.

King, a research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, says humans have nine different Nav channels, with earlier studies showing the Nav1.7 channel plays a key role in pain transmission.

He says people with a mutation of this protein are unable to experience pain.

Previous research to target this channel has been hindered because of the impact of drug candidates on other Nav channels, which among other things play important roles in heart and muscle function.

"The difficulty is finding molecules that are selective for this one [Nav1.7] channel," he says.

In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, King and his Chinese colleagues show venom from the Chinese redheaded centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans) has 150 times selectivity for Nav1.7 over other Nav channels.

King says mice were injected with a peptide from the venom - Ssm6a - at a high dose and suffered no side effects with no impact on blood pressure or heart rate.

In thermal and acid-induced pain tests, the effect of the molecule "was similar to morphine", while in chemical-induced pain experiments it was more potent than morphine.

King says it is unlikely humans will develop a tolerance or addiction to drugs based on the venom molecule because unlike morphine it is not used to block receptors.

The work builds on an increasing body of research focusing on animal venoms for use in pain relief, but this is the first study to look at centipedes.

The current study focuses on a centipede that is farmed in China for consumption, but King and his colleagues believe the findings suggest centipede venom - which has been overlooked to date - may provide a source of lead molecules for drug development.

King agrees it is counterintuitive that a molecule used for predation could have therapeutic use.

However he says the key difference in ion channels between insects and humans makes this possible.

In contrast to humans, insects have only a single Nav channel, which is a common target of peptides in the venom of other arthropod predators such as scorpions and spiders.

"Centipedes worked out hundreds of millions of years ago the easiest way to catch prey was to paralyse them by blocking their Nav channel," King says.

"We're just lucky that of the nine Nav channels in humans, it hit the one we were after."

Recent US studies have shown the economic cost of chronic pain to be about $600 billion annually - more than the combined annual cost of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

King says it is estimated at any one time about 20 per cent of the population on average is suffering from chronic pain, defined as pain that persists for three months or more.

He says the next step in their research is to trial the peptide using more sophisticated pain models that replicate pain associated with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.

Via http://www.abc.net.au

LATEST SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES: 'Designer baby' patent raises ethical questions

LATEST SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES: 'Designer baby' patent raises ethical questions: 23forMe says the patent was for a calculator that offered a ways for parents to see what kind of traits such as eye colour the child migh...

'Designer baby' patent raises ethical questions

23forMe says the patent was for a calculator that offered a ways for parents to see what kind of traits such as eye colour the child might inherit(Source: loops7/iStockphoto)

Bioethicists have raised the red flag over an American patent for a method that could allow people to choose genetic traits like eye colour in children sired from donor eggs or sperm.

The patent for what is called a "gamete (egg or sperm) donor selection" method, was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to the firm 23andMe on 24 September.

A description on the USPTO website said the "technique allows the potential gamete recipients to make more informed donor choices".

"What 23andMe is claiming is a method by which prospective donors of ova and/or sperm may be selected so as to increase the likelihood of producing a human baby with characteristics desired by the prospective parents," write medical ethicists from Belgium, the Netherlands and France in the journal Genetics in Medicine.

This would be based on a computerised comparison of the genomic data of the egg provider with that of the sperm provider.

Characteristics on the parents' "shopping list" could include height, eye colour, muscle development, personality traits, or risk of developing certain types of cancer and other diseases, say the commentators.

A figure attached to the patent application would allow prospective parents to indicate whether "I prefer a child with": "longest expected life span", "least expected life cost of health care", or "least expected cumulative duration of hospitalisation", they say.

There were also options for "0 per cent likely endurance athlete" and "100 per cent likely sprinter", though the company had stated it could not guarantee the outcome but merely boost the chances of a child having the desired traits.

The commentators describe the method as "hugely ethically controversial" -- particularly as it allows for the selection of characteristics that have nothing to do with the child's health.

"At no stage during the examination of the patent application did the patent office examiner question whether techniques for facilitating the 'design' of future human babies were appropriate subject matter for a patent," they write.

Crossing the line

Associate Professor Jayne Lucke from the Centre for Clinical Research at the University of Queensland says the patent granted to 23forMe appears to cross the line between the accepted practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis to eliminate a specific disease risk and the controversial idea of selecting socially desirable traits.

"By framing the proposal around the method, the patent has been granted without appearing to address the moral and ethical implications, or the question about whether the procedure is appropriate," says Lucke.

She says the commentary in Genetics in Medicine raises a number of questions for public debate surrounding the use of genetic and reproductive technologies.

"The idea of a "baby farm" manufacturing babies on demand for customers with no emotional or biological connection to the gametes or the resulting child is clearly unacceptable. But where should we draw the line between methods for disease prevention and those seeking to enhance future children with the "right" characteristics, whatever they may be?" she asks.

Medical ethicist Dr Leslie Cannold says patent law was never intended to manage the moral complexities that arise from 23and Me's screen.

"It is up to society to get our collective heads around what is happening in the the lab, and to deploy the political process to regulate it accordingly, says Cannold, who holds an adjunct position at Monash University.

"While it is questionable whether science can deliver many of the genetic predispositions promised in the 23andMe patent, what is certain is that the science that forms the foundation of the application was never intended for such frivolous use."

Broad definitions

23forMe says the patent, applied for more than five years ago, was for a tool dubbed Family Traits Inheritance Calculator that offered "an engaging way for you and your partner to see what kind of traits your child might inherit from you" -- from eye colour to whether the child will be able to perceive bitter taste or be lactose intolerant.

The language of the patent was much broader than the technology to support the calculator, the company says in a blog on its website.

"At the time 23andMe filed the patent, there was consideration that the technology could have potential applications for fertility clinics, so language specific to the fertility treatment process was included," it says.

"The company never pursued the concepts discussed in the patent beyond our Family Traits Inheritance Calculator, nor do we have any plans to do so."

Via www.abc.net.au