Lifeboat Foundation

Is this new law anti-kemetic and anti-pagan as it implies only one “God”? And why should atheists put up with this public brainwashing? A new state law that took effect this month requires all public schools in the state’s 149 districts to paint, stencil or otherwise prominently display the national motto.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP)- When students return to public schools across South Dakota this fall, they should expect to see a new message on display: “In God We Trust.”

A new state law that took effect this month requires all public schools in the state’s 149 districts to paint, stencil or otherwise prominently display the national motto.

Continue reading “‘In God We Trust’ signs going up in South Dakota public schools” »

Patients are about to be enrolled in the first study to test a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR inside the body to try to cure an inherited form of blindness.

People with the disease have normal eyes but lack a gene that converts light into signals to the brain that enable sight.

The experimental treatment aims to supply kids and adults with a healthy version of the gene they lack, using a tool that cuts or “edits” DNA in a specific spot. It’s intended as a onetime treatment that permanently alters the person’s native DNA.

For the cells in our bodies to function as a unit, they must communicate with one another constantly. They secrete signalling molecules—ions, proteins and nucleic acids—that are picked up by adjacent cells, which in turn pass on the signal to other cells. Our muscles, digestive system and brain are only able to function thanks to this type of communication. And this is the only way in which our immune system can recognise pathogens or infected cells and react accordingly—again, by sending out signals to mobilise the immune defences. If something goes wrong with this signalling between cells, it can lead to diseases such as cancer or autoimmune disorders. “This is why it is important to research which signals the cells send out in which situations,” says Morteza Aramesh. The biophysicist, who works in the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics at ETH Zurich, has developed a new method that does precisely that: it listens to communication between individual cells.

An innovative nanosensor

Although it has been possible to measure these signals in the past, it could only be done for entire populations of hundreds or thousands of cells. The methods were not sensitive enough to use on individual cells, meaning that the signalling molecules from individual cells were submerged into the average of the total cell population: “It was impossible to detect differences between cells in order to identify diseased cells, for instance,” says Aramesh.

Restless rapid eye movement (REM) sleep impedes emotional processing, which may contribute to mood and anxiety disorders, new research suggests.

A team of Dutch investigators used fMRI to scan the brains of participants who underwent a stressful experience — in this case, hearing themselves sing out of tune. Brain activity was measured using electroencephalography (EEG).

The next morning, after spending the night in a sleep laboratory, participants were subjected to the same unpleasant experience. Those who had experienced REM sleep were less distressed, whereas those with restless REM sleep were once again upset.

A few years ago, researchers discovered that abnormalities in microbial communities, or microbiomes, in the intestine appear to contribute to childhood malnutrition. Now comes word that this discovery is being translated into action, with a new study showing that foods formulated to repair the “gut microbiome” may help malnourished kids rebuild their health [1].

In a month-long clinical trial in Bangladesh, 63 children received either regular foods to treat malnutrition or alternative formulations for needed calories and nutrition that also encouraged growth of beneficial microbes in the intestines. The kids who ate the microbiome-friendly diets showed improvements in their microbiome, which helps to extract and metabolize nutrients in our food to help the body grow. They also had significant improvements in key blood proteins associated with bone growth, brain development, immunity, and metabolism; those who ate standard therapeutic food did not experience the same benefit.

Globally, malnutrition affects an estimated 238 million children under the age 5, stunting their normal growth, compromising their health, and limiting their mental development [2]. Malnutrition can arise not only from a shortage of food but from dietary imbalances that don’t satisfy the body’s need for essential nutrients. Far too often, especially in impoverished areas, the condition can turn extremely severe and deadly. And the long term effects on intellectual development can limit the ability of a country’s citizens to lift themselves out of poverty.

HELLO! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6025786/

With approximately 40 million adults across the United States experiencing anxiety each year, scientists and researchers have dedicated their careers to trying to better understand this condition. Despite this work, we are still somewhat unclear on what actually causes this condition to occur.

Continue reading “Panic Attacks and Anxiety Episodes Linked to Vitamin Deficiencies in Groundbreaking Study” »

Brain cells called microglia serve as the brain’s garbage crew, scarfing up bits of cellular debris. But their underperformance in aging brains contributes to neurodegeneration. Now, a possible workaround?

Scientists from the University of Exeter believe it may be possible to avoid developing dementia, and there are 5 ways that can help to reduce the risk, findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

As published in the journal JAMA living a healthy lifestyle may help reduce the risk of dementia even if you have a genetic risk; risk of dementia in those with a higher genetic risk who followed a healthy lifestyle were found to be at 32% lower risk than those with an unhealthy lifestyle.

Data was studied from 196,383 adults of European ancestry who were 60+ years old; 1,769 cases of dementia were identified over an 8 years follow up period; those with high genetic risk and an unhealthy lifestyle were found to be almost 3 times more likely to develop dementia.