Author: Kirk

Reversing The Effects Of Fragile X Syndrome

Researchers at MIT have been able to not only understand how Fragile X Syndrome manifests within the mouse brain structure, but also have found an inhibitor protein that actually reverses the physical abnormalities seen in Fragile X mice. The inhibitor actually works therapeutically, meaning it reverses/treats the abnormalities after they have already formed in the brain.

Fragile X Syndrome in humans is associated with symptoms ranging from mild learning disabilities to severe autism. Their hope is that this drug works in a similar manner in humans, providing a means of treating children and people with some types of learning disabilities. Imagine if autism became a mostly treatable state – where the brain is able to return to a normal structure through protein inhibition. This isn’t some kind of doping or reduction of functionality. This is blocking protein action to allow normal development.

If this works in humans in a similar manner this could be a major breakthrough. That’s a big if though – not everything in the mouse model works identically in the human model.

What Do You Eat In A Typical Week?

An interesting looking book was featured on Time.com in a photo essay. It’s title is “Hungry Planet” – the book captures an international look at what a family eats in a typical week. Califormia, Sicily, Breidjing Camp and more. The photo essay is called “What the World Eats” and features a few of the pictures which, even in their scarcity, provide an interesting look at the world’s food and its consumption.

The photographers have made a point of trying to create an artistic view of the food, which in itself is of note.

I’m Not Forgetful – I’m Just Indecisive

The New York Times reports on a journal article in Nature on how memory works in a neurobiological sense – the brain suppresses or forgets memories in order to enable a person to remember more interesting or important things.  So as the article says:

Blocking out a distracting memory is something like ignoring an old (and perhaps distracting) acquaintance, experts say: it makes it that much harder to reconnect the next time around. But recent studies suggest that the brain plays favourites with memories in exactly this way, snubbing some to better capture others. A lightning memory, in short, is not so much a matter of capacity as it is of ruthless pruning — and the new study catches the trace of this process at it happens.

So once again it seems all my problems stem from my inability to make fast decisions.  I’m forgetting inappropriate things not because I’m going senile but rather because my poor overloaded brain can’t decide which memories to suppress.   I just think everything is equally important, so I forget to feed the pets but remember that Peter Murphy’s album “Dust” was presaged by the song Huuvola on his album “Cascade”.

That brain thing sure is tricky

Privacy In A Public Space

Imagine, if you will …

It is a dark, blustery day downtown and you’re rushing through the mist trying to stay as dry as possible. The chilly air frosts your ragged breath with each puff as you race to your destination down the block. You pause a moment to catch your breathe beside a pink and purple neon sign – the only real source of light you can see. Maybe it really is time to invest in a watch with a back light.

Your eyes are drawn to the end of the street, where a set of dim lights suddenly rounds the corner. A nondescript van stares back at you sullenly, waiting for you to move, or speak, or breathe. What is it waiting for? Now the van starts to inch its way down the road. A series of clicks and whirs echo down the street as it moves languidly towards you.

You instinctively pull back a bit towards the neon and take a closer look at the unremarkable van – well, almost unremarkable. Now that you’re looking closely at it you notice that the roof of the van seems to bulge upwards a little bit. There seems to be some kind of turret or attachment on top of the van. Slivers of pink and purple neon wink on and off of a reflective surface of some kind on top of the van – is it glass or metallic? The van slows down on the road beside you and seems to pause. You freeze, daring only to breathe shallowly – for some reason you’re feeling like prey and it isn’t a good feeling. Something shifts and winks from the turret on top of the van – a click, a whir, and the van inches off further down the road.

“What just happened?” you wonder as you sneak off into the mist behind the van. Who was that and what did they want?

You get home and take a quick glance over your new emails – one strikes you as peculiar so you read it. It’s from your friend, warning you about an organization that is sending vans out into the street to photograph the people, places, and buildings. Images of “Big Brother” immediately come to mind, and then you remember that van. That whirring and clicking – it must have been taking pictures of you – but for what reason? Who is behind these vans and why do they want pictures of your neighbourhood? With a chill you realize that the pink and purple neon lights you so cleverly hid in front of were from the strip joint around the corner – and now someone has a picture of you looking suspicious outside a strip joint. Aren’t there laws against this kind of thing – invasion of your privacy or something like that? Who knows where that picture will show up now ….

Actually, the picture will now show up on Google searches. Google has introduced a new feature to their mapping software – Google Street View. A van coasts along and takes pictures of the area to allow reconstruction of a 3-D view of the area for people who choose to view it when using Google’s mapping service.

Nothing sinister (though some may try to convince you otherwise) – but what happens when this van captures the private lives of people’s homes? How about illegal activity or pseudo pornography? What expectations can one honestly have when walking in public? Is there a difference between an expectation of privacy and an expectation that your picture won’t be distributed across the world without your permission, no matter where you are?

The feature is bringing up all sorts of interesting discussions around privacy in public spaces.

Sorry!

For those of you who noticed that theBside was down for a few days there, I apologize. The power supply on the server took in too much juice and overheated, about 8 hours before my taxi arrived for my trip to Boulder. I resolved the problem once I got home so I’m sorry if some kind of vital service was disrupted here.

All I know is I wasn’t able to record Lost last week. It’s OK everyone, I’ve managed to catch up – but thanks for the concern.

Like Little Angels …

You know those deep down itches you get once in a blue moon if you’re particularly unlucky? No, I don’t mean deep down on your body, I mean those deep, rooted, soul-tickling itches that emanate from the very core of your body. No you can’t scratch it! You must endure it! Yes, it will subside … eventually. They lead to madness and despair – s’truth!

Now imagine one of those itches in your ear – a subtle inflammation of your eustachian tube. Not enough to cause pain but just enough to give you a soul-shredding itch that feels like it emanates from the inner side of your mushy cerebellum.

Well that’s what I’ve got.

But there is hope! I have been prescribed ear drops and lo they are the cure! I do not refer to their protracted and longterm curative effects (though I look forward to those as well) but rather to their immediate benefits.

A drop, a mere drop, whispering down the ear canal – it feels like there are little angels dancing on the tips of my cochlear hairs, throwing up pixie dust under their crystal-tipped blue suede shoes. I kid you not, a single drop is enough to make me want to follow the great Leonard Cohen‘s footsteps to Mount Baldy Zen Center to stay a decade or two in contemplation of the divine.

Poor Judgement Indeed

What would cause a group of teachers in the States to “pretend” that there was a person in a school with guns trying to shoot their students, without giving notice that it was a prank or part of a ghost story event?

And then to have one teacher dress up in black and try to get through the locked door while the 6th graders cried under their desks … ?

I think poor judgement is an understatement here.