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"FEELING happy? Down in the dumps? Or been behaving strangely lately? Besides the obvious reasons, whether or not you are happy or sad, or prone to depression or other mental illnesses, could be a consequence of an infection - or even down to the diseases that you didn't catch during childhood. "It used to be thought that the immune system and the nervous system were worlds apart," says John Bienenstock of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Now it seems the immune system, and infections that stimulate it, can influence our moods, memory and ability to learn. Some strange behaviours, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, may be triggered by infections, and the immune system may even shape our basic personalities, such as how anxious or impulsive we are. The good news is that understanding these links between the brain and immune system could lead to new ways of treating all kinds of disorders, from depression to Tourette's syndrome." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"Lockheed Martin is currently developing its technology solution for Space Fence, a program that will revamp the way the U.S. Air Force identifies and tracks objects in space. Space Fence will use S-band ground-based radars to provide the Air Force with uncued detection, tracking and accurate measurement of space objects, primarily in low-earth orbit. The geographic separation and the higher wave frequency of the new Space Fence radars will allow for the detection of much smaller microsatellites and debris than current systems. Additionally, Lockheed Martin's Space Fence design will significantly improve the timeliness with which operators can detect space events which could present potential threats to GPS satellites or the International Space Station. Space Fence will replace the existing Air Force Space Surveillance System, or VHF Fence, which has been in service since the early 1960s. The new system's initial operational capability is scheduled for 2015. With more than 400... more... - Amira from Bookmarklet

"Does consciousness have a shape? It might sound a strange question at first since what immediately come to mind are the various figures of experience, of imagination, of memory and the abstract shapes of thought. All these seem to have a shape but they all appear in consciousness; none of them is consciousness itself. Paradoxically consciousness is never given, but it is always that by which anything given is given; always hidden and covered by that which it brings forth.So here is an idea, or rather a problem: the problem of consciousness and its shape. How, in what manner, according to which principles and towards what end(s) if any, might we engage in (radically) reshaping consciousness? (given that augmented fitness is really a boring option). What might be the consequences of developing such a capacity/technology? What are the relations between this problem and the future of individuality, of personhood, of human identity at large? These question marks are of course only... more... - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

two things ... from this (you well-articulated comment on your blog) we can see one of the limits of science, and, if one is of a mystical bent, or even ranks feeling as equal to thinking, we can begin the great adventure of self-investigation. inverting attention towards its source is one of the richest experiences i know of. - Gregory Lent

"Saudis practiced standing down anti-aircraft systems to allow Israeli warplanes passage for attack on Iranian nuclear sites, the London Times reports." - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

"Even with midair refueling, the targets would be as the far edge of Israeli bombers' range at a distance of some 2,250km. An attack would likely involve several waves of aircraft, possibly crossing Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Aircraft attacking Bushehr, on the Gulf coast, could swing beneath Kuwait to strike from the southwest, the Times said. Passing over Iraq would... more... - Alexander Kruel

"I was taken by the post because the author, Dan Seitz, did such a great job of finding people who were annoying, nasty, stubborn, mean-spirited, and otherwise socially inept or personally despicable, but had championed unpopular but good ideas (or in some cases, ideas that were just different from the prevailing wisdom but they were dismissed because the ideas were advocated by an alleged asshole). I urge you to read this quite detailed story, where you can learn about the exploits, quirks, and ideas of alleged assholes including baseball player Jose Canseco (he claimed that many stars, including himself, were using steriods, which turned out to be true), scientist Peter Duesberg (very unpopular because he claimed that AIDS is not caused by HIV, which made him so unpopular that his colleagues and others have -- until recently -- been ignoring his potentially breakthrough work on the causes of cancer), Harry Markopolos (who admits that he combines the worst characteristics of a math nerd and frat boy -- but spent 9 years pressing his accusations that Bernie Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme)." - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

Must-read. Also check my comments here: http://bjoern.brembs.net/comment... - Alexander Kruel

Also: http://ff.im/42meM - Goran Zec

"Scientists in China have succeeded in teleporting information between photons further than ever before. They transported quantum information over a free space distance of 16 km (10 miles), much further than the few hundred meters previously achieved, which brings us closer to transmitting information over long distances without the need for a traditional signal." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"While we humans carry on with our daily lives down here on Earth, perhaps stuck in traffic or reading blogs, or just enjoying a Springtime stroll, a school-bus-sized spacecraft called Cassini continues to gather data and images for us - 1.4 billion kilometers (870 million miles) away. Over the past months, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has made several close flybys of Saturn's moons, caught the Sun's reflection glinting off a lake on Titan, and has brought us even more tantalizing images of ongoing cryovolcanism on Enceladus. Collected here are a handful of recent images from the Saturnian system. (30 photos total)" - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

"To live, is something we all must learn, but no one can teach us. This old saying, highlights one of the most singular traits of human condition. That we are forever amateurs. It's impossible to learn everything, because everyday, there is more to learn. Knowledge is something in constant mutation. Things that we've learned become obsolete, others gain new colors, recombine, change... Living is like wandering through the corridors of the The library of Babel, an infinite space with all the possible variations of knowledge. But, what is knowledge? How do we gain knowledge? These questions have been asked by philosophers, and scientists for centuries. Since the greeks, joining Kant, into our cybernetic days, many were the epistemologies that tried to answer these questions. Although the answers are many, no one doubts that Science is a powerful way of knowing, but it could be a little more difficult to find someone who can say the same thing about Art. Arguably, the current definition... more... - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"It may look like some diagrams and a few blobs, but what you're seeing here is nothing short of a nanotech revolution. Four nanorobots made of DNA are interacting on an "assembly line" in order to build a tiny device.You're witnessing the birth of the next industrial revolution - except it's happening at nanoscale, and every single machine is made of DNA." - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"What does “sustainable agriculture” truly mean—and what should it look like? The outlines of this long-running debate will be familiar to many. One side argues that modern, industrialized farming, for all its flaws, has mostly been a force for good, vastly improving yield, reducing food-borne illness, and saving the world from Malthusian disaster. Building upon this foundation, modern farming should be science-based and highly capitalized, employing the arsenal of innovations in chemistry, biotechnology, and satellite systems—from biotech seeds to laser-leveled fields. The other side rebuts that given the enormous environmental and social costs of intensified agriculture, a paradigm shift is needed: one that takes a whole-systems approach based on traditional knowledge, alternative agriculture, and local food system experience." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"John Stewart argues that despite the perception that science has stripped the meaning from life, recent developments in evolutionary theory suggest that humans have a central role to play in the future of the universe" - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

an important perspective no doubt, but one that needs a thorough investigation, nevertheless I'll read the book and state my views afterwards. - Wildcat

Seen it already, one of my favorite TED talks. - Goran Zec

yep I just saw it and was officially impressed.. - Wildcat

"In the first FDA-approved trial evaluating the street drug's therapeutic applications, it proved phenomenally successful at treating PTSD." - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

"or The rise of the Cyber Unified Civilization “The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.”" - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

computer networks are part of an ongoing trend in communication technology following spoken and written language, each bringing an increase in speed and efficiency, and therefore allowing larger, more coordinated, and responsive groups - Mike Chelen

Ostrom’s study of governance is not only a source of inspiration, it is also a challenge to libertarians. In study after study, she has shown that the principles of individual freedom, responsibility, entrepreneurial creativity, and resourcefulness apply not only to the production and distribution of private goods, they also apply to a large institutional domain outside the market order. This “third sector,” which is “neither state nor market,” may in fact be as important a battleground for the preservation of a free and prosperous social order as the market itself. - starwalker from Bookmarklet

"A Perfect Pill: From Neurons to Nirvana is a smart-looking, in-depth analysis and commentary on psychedelic drugs in light of current scientific, medical and cultural knowledge." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

"The Egyptians supposedly used it to guide the construction the Pyramids. The architecture of ancient Athens is thought to have been based on it. Fictional Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon tried to unravel its mysteries in the novel The Da Vinci Code. "It" is the golden ratio, a geometric proportion that has been theorized to be the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and has been the root of countless mysteries over the centuries. Now, a Duke University engineer has found it to be a compelling springboard to unify vision, thought and movement under a single law of nature's design. Also know the divine proportion, the golden ratio describes a rectangle with a length roughly one and a half times its width. Many artists and architects have fashioned their works around this proportion. For example, the Parthenon in Athens and Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa are commonly cited examples of the ratio. Adrian Bejan, professor of mechanical engineering at Duke's Pratt School of... more... - Spaceweaver from Bookmarklet

"In adult fe­male mice, switch­ing off one gene seems to start turn­ing the ovaries in­to tes­ti­cles and trig­gers the pro­duct­ion of male hor­mones at nor­mal male levels, sci­en­tists say. The cu­ri­ous find­ings have led two re­search­ers to re­mark in a pub­lished pa­per that, bi­o­log­ic­ally speak­ing, fe­males may be en­gaged in a life­long “bat­tle to sup­press their in­ner ma­le.”" - Alexander Kruel from Bookmarklet

"I love spending time outside. From wild places like the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada mountains, to the mundane nature in my back yard, I find comfort in my natural experiences. These places are restful. Peaceful. They restore my batteries, and help me to focus. And I am not alone in these experiences. People around the world seek out natural experiences. Even when confined to built spaces, we add pets, plants, pictures, and momentos from nature. It is part of who we are, and these experiences in nature help us reflect on what is important in life. The benefits of spending time in nature have been well-documented. Psychological research has shown that natural experiences help to reduce stress, improve mood, and promote an overall increase in physical and psychological well-being. There is even evidence that hospital patients with a view of nature recover faster than do hospital patients without such a view. This line of research provides clear evidence that people are drawn to nature with good reason. It has restorative properties." - Wildcat from Bookmarklet

Related article: "Memory Improved 20% by Nature Walk" http://www.spring.org.uk/2009... - Amira

Two fine authors, Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, have written recent books, The God Delusion and Breaking the Spell arguing against religion. Their views are based on contemporary science. But the largest convictions of contemporary science remain based on reductionism. I would like to begin a discussion about the first glimmerings of a new scientific world view — beyond reductionism to emergence and radical creativity in the biosphere and human world. This emerging view finds a natural scientific place for value and ethics, and places us as co-creators of the enormous web of emerging complexity that is the evolving biosphere and human economics and culture. - starwalker from Bookmarklet

ahh! self reflection.. brilliant! - Wildcat

thx will check it out - Wildcat

The most powerful way to trigger your brain is to simply ask it a question. - starwalker from Bookmarklet