Police grill Likud minister for 3rd time in aerospace graft probe – The Times of Israel

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Police on Thursday questioned Welfare Minister Haim Katz (Likud) for a third time as a criminal suspect in an investigation into alleged corruption at Israel Aerospace Industries.

Katz served as head of the IAI workers union for over two decades before becoming a minister two years ago.

The interrogation at the headquarters of the Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit in the central city of Lod was the third time Katz was questioned under caution by police in connection to the affair.

Suspicions of corruption, fraud and breach of trust at IAI became public in March when police raided the defense contractor, arresting 14 people among them Katzs son Yair.

The younger Katz, 36, who serves in the senior management of IAI and has been a member of its powerful workers union for four years, was arrested at the time on suspicion of coercing employees into joining his fathers Likud party.

He was held along with fellow union member David Peretz and their homes were raided and searched.

Yair Katz (L), son of Welfare Minister Haim Katz (Likud), at a remand hearing at the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court, March 22, 2017. (Flash90)

The labor union at IAI, which employs some 16,000 people and is Israels largest state-owned company, is seen as closely tied to the senior Katz.

Responding to the attorney generals decision in March to allow police to question Katz, the minister said that he and others and the IAI were the targets of an unjustified smear campaign.

I will cooperate fully with the investigation and I am sure that everything will return calmly to the way it was before, he said in a statement.

In a separate case, the Israel Securities Authority is investigating suspicions that Haim Katz after being appointed a minister bought shares in a real estate company shortly before the company announced it was merging with the Airport City business park in summer 2015. Together with another suspected insider dealer, he is thought to have illegally reaped a NIS 290,000 ($75,000) profit.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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Union takes over Northstar Aerospace facility in Milton – 680 News

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The union representing the employees of Northstar Aerospace has taken over the facility in Milton.

According to Unifor, Northstar Aerospace is relocating the equipment from its Milton facility to Chicago and Windsor and closing the Milton plant. They allege the company is refusing to meet a 25 per cent pension shortfall for current and future retirees.

The union says that based on the type of pension plan in place, Northstar is not legislatively required to compensate for the shortfall. But Unifor National President Jerry Dias says given the companys considerable resources, they should.

This plant is owned by Wynnchurch Capital, a major private equity company (they) certainly have the financial resources to treat our members with respect.

Dias says Unifor and Local 112 have attempted negotiations with Northstar since January to ensure that current pension provisions and benefits are protected. The company has allegedly refused to discuss the matter.

The union took over the facility at around 4 a.m. on Thursday morning. More than 250 people have set up picket lines outside the plant and more are expected to join the protest.

Dias says that for employees who have been retired for several years, a sudden steep reduction in pension is completely unacceptable.

The fact that they are nonchalant about our current retirees taking a 25 per cent reduction is outrageous, said Dias. These are some of the wealthiest private equity companies in the world for them the pension shortfall is nickels and dimes, but its not nickels and dimes to the people that depend on it for basic survival.

CityNews has reached out to Northstar Aerospace for a statement but has not yet heard back.

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Aerospace Employee Tried To Sell Intel To Car | The Daily Caller – The Daily Caller

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Newly released documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation reveal that a disgruntled satellite expert allegedly stole highly sensitive tracking information for planes, helicopters, and boats used by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that he attempted to sell to Mexican drug cartels, The Daily Mail reported on Monday.

Senior project management specialist Robert Miller, 45, was fired from Honeywell Aerospace in February this year and supposedly wanted to screw over the company because he was pissed that he didnt get a raise. The company deactivated Millers access to their systems at the time of his termination but were unaware that he created a secret login into its system in case such an event took place. Millers plan was to sell secret access codes for the companys high-tech location-tracking system the Satellite Tracking System (STS) on the black market for $2 million, court documents show.

Millers alleged plan took an unexpected turn when the FBI launched an investigation after a man calling himself John Patriot tipped off the company in late July that he discovered Miller was planning to sell the STS logins on the black market.

Posing as members of a well-funded Mexican drug cartel, FBI agents met with Miller at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he demonstrated his ability to login into the companys STS system and showed agents how to locate vehicles and aircraft used by the DEA. The undercover agents arrested Miller after the meeting without incident.

FBI Special Agent Steven Garbett said in court documents that Miller then claimed in an interview with investigators that his intentions were innocent.

Miller claimed that his intention in meeting with the individuals whom he thought represented the Mexican cartel was to gather and share information with law enforcement, Garbett wrote. Miller stated that he had researched how to become a DEA informant and was planned to talk to a DEA agent friend of Millers brother.

Miller now faces two counts of computer fraud.

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Ripple Price Forecast: Factors Suggest XRP Cryptocurrency Could Hit $1

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What’s Behind Ripple Cryptocurrency Price?
While most headlines in the cryptocurrency space involve Bitcoin or Ethereum, an increasing number of investors are thinking about investing in Ripple, the bank-focused blockchain company that is taking the crypto world by storm. With that in mind, I’ve put together this report with a complete Ripple price prediction in 2018.

I know the names, tokens, and details can become overwhelming. Blockchain technology is widely misunderstood in part because the industry is so young; so the articles.

The post Ripple Price Forecast: Factors Suggest XRP Cryptocurrency Could Hit $1 appeared first on Profit Confidential.

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Ripple Price Forecast: Factors Suggest XRP Cryptocurrency Could Hit $1

Two Ascension schools back on campus one year after flood – WBRZ

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ST. AMANT - Teachers and students in Ascension Parish got a head start on the school year Monday night.

Even though school doesn't start for a few more days, they got the chance to check out the restored buildings at St. Amant Primary and Middle schools.

The school celebrated the much-anticipated reunion almost a year after the flood forced them out of their classrooms.

While touring the new school, Kevin Mitchell, a third grade parent, was impressed with the progress made over the past year.

"It's good to have it back, it's good to have her back at her home campus for school back with all her friends and everybody else," Mitchell said.

The Ascension Parish School Board officially presented the newly renovated primary and middle school at a ribbon cutting Monday night. Parents and students reflected on the past school year and watched viewed a documentary about the flood.

The principals of both schools shared the obstacles they've had to overcome during the past 12 months.

"Last August our school community and communities abroad stopped at nothing to make sure our students could continue their learning in spite of our circumstances," St. Amant Primary school Principal Paisley Morgan said.

"It was difficult, it was a very difficult year for us, but we're moving forward," St. Amant Middle school Principal Christy Bourgeois said.

St. Amant Middle school cheerleaders like Abigail Clifton say they're excited to be back on their campus for things like practice.

"It's better to have our cafeteria and our gym back because we were struggling with practice and stuff like that," Clifton said.

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Two Ascension schools back on campus one year after flood - WBRZ

Ascension Parish population expected to grow – www.brproud.com

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ASCENSION PARISH, La (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) - Ascension Parish is one of the fastest growing parishes in Louisiana. In fact, families have been sending their children to Ascension Parish public school since the 1980s, continuing the population growth.

The population has increased even more due to Hurricane Katrina.

Monday, Baton Rouge General officials said they are expecting a 40 percent population increase. CEO and President Edgardo Tenrerio said 22,000 Ascension Parish residents traveled to Baton Rouge for emergency care in 2016. With these numbers, they plan to build a new hospital in Prairieville.

What a better gift to this community than to bring that trusted brand here to Ascension Parish,"Tenrerio said.

The 60,000 square foot hospital includes a 10-bed inpatient hospital, a lab, a 14-bed emergency room, as well as physician practices and office space.

Fire Chief Mark Stewart said Ascension Parish will have a fifth fire station August 8.

"This is an area kind of isolated, Stewart said. We had the need to put one out here so this will better serve the people in this area."

There will be a ribbon cutting to open the newest fire station in Ascension Parish August 8 at 10:30 a.m.

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Voyager celebrates 40 years of space exploration – The Space Reporter

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The twin Voyager spacecraft are celebrating 40 years of space travel as they continue to send data to NASA from the far-flung reaches of local space.

NASA reports that the Voyager craft communicates with ground control on a daily basis, despite being the longest-lived and furthest-travelling spacecraft ever launched.

The two space probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, each carry a copy of a Golden Record of images, sounds and messages from Earth. The recordings could endure for billions of years, carrying a record of human civilization deep into the galaxy.

Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space when it passed beyond the outer reaches of the solar system. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to conduct a flyby of all the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The Voyager craft was the first to self-diagnose and address technical problems autonomously.

I believe that few missions can ever match the achievements of the Voyager spacecraft during their four decades of exploration, Thomas Zurbuchen of NASA said. They have educated us to the unknown wonders of the universe and truly inspired humanity to continue to explore our solar system and beyond.

Voyager 1, which launched on Sept. 5, 1977, is now nearly 13 billion miles from Earth. The probe has determined that cosmic rays are about four times more powerful in interstellar space than near Earth, suggesting that our solar systems heliosphere serves as a shield against outside radiation.

Voyager 2, launched on Aug. 20, 1977, is about 11 billion miles from Earth and should enter interstellar space within a few years. The probes are heading in opposite directions, allowing scientists to compare data collected from two sides of the solar systems neighborhood.

None of us knew, when we launched 40 years ago, that anything would still be working, and be continuing on this pioneering journey, Ed Stone of Caltech in Pasadena said. The most exciting thing they find in the next five years is likely to be something that we didnt know was out there to be discovered.

In honor of the occasion, NASA will beam an uplifting message from humanity into interstellar space on the 40th anniversary of Voyager 1s launch. The agency is holding a contest via social media to select the message. Contestants are encouraged to tag a short message #MessageToVoyager by August 15.

Kathy Fey is a freelance writer with a creative writing degree from Mount Holyoke College. She is an active blogger and erstwhile facilitator of science and engineering programs for children.

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Working at SpaceX: Low Pay, High Stress and a Chance to Be Part of History – PayScale Career News (blog)

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Image Credit: NASA

Who hasnt dreamed of playing an integral role in mankinds exploration of space? The first written story of space travel appeared in the early 17th century, but cave paintings and hieroglyphics dating back tens of thousands of years seemingly reference rockets, spaceships and interstellar travelers. The 18th best television show of all time according to Rolling Stone is Star Trek, perhaps the definitive story of space exploration. And the 9th greatest movie of all time according to the Hollywood Reporter is 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Star Wars comes in at number 11.)

Elon Musk and his employees at Space Exploration Technologies Corporation better known as SpaceX get to live out that dream.

As written on the Los Angeles-area companys website, SpaceX manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

For decades, the only game in town when it came to working in space exploration were state-sponsored programs like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Russias Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (shortened to Roscosmos, and formerly known as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA). But the founding of a handful of privately owned companies in the 2000s including SpaceX means you no longer have to take a government job if you want to toe the starting line of the space race.

Fifteen years after it was founded, SpaceX is among the leaders in spacecraft development (as is rival billionaire Jeff Bezos Blue Origin). As described in The New York Times, the company is best known for Mr. Musks goal of colonizing Mars, but it is also a key player in the business of sending commercial satellites into space. Its Falcon9 rockets have been launched 38 times since the first launch in 2010, with only one mission failure resulting in a rocket destruction.

SpaceX is also, one of the most valuable privately held companies in the world, with a valuation of around $21 billion.

Whats it like to work at SpaceX? According to former employee Josh Boehm:

There are almost no private offices, as just about everyone has a cubicle, including Elon. You get pretty much full access to the factory, and can walk around and explore on your breaks. Its amazing to be able to see the process of building a rocket, basically from start to finish. They even have cameras set around the factory, so you can watch whats going on from your desk. Depending on your department the culture can be quite different. My department was pretty flexible about where and when you work, just so long as you got your work done, where as other departments had time cops and you have to clock in and out. Communication is very open, and even Elon is approachable if you have a good reason.

But that flexibility is paired with a heavy workload and a high level of stress:

While no one will be forcing you to, youll end up working crazy long hours, just to keep up with your workload, and because you dont want to leave the place. A phrase Ive heard thrown around SpaceX frequently is everyone is their own slave driver. I was frequently there late at night for my job, and I never really felt alone. The factory is always alive and cranking out rockets no matter what time of day or night you go there.

Boehms description aligns with the findings published in PayScales recent report, Tech Companies Compared: Salaries, Tenure and Corporate Culture.

Of the 52 companies we surveyed, employees of SpaceX reported the highest level of stress attributed to their job; 86 percent of SpaceX employees reported that their work environment was Fairlystressful or Extremely stressful when asked How stressful is your job/work environment? Thats more stressful than the infamously stressful Amazon (64 percent) and this is despite the fact that the the median mid-career salary at SpaceX is last on our list, at $80,000. (The top-ranked company on our list based on median mid-career salary is Zendesk, at $186,000.)

But SpaceX employees clearly arent in it for the money. Again, according to our data, employees of the company report the highest job meaning of any of the companies we surveyed. Ninety percent of SpaceX respondents answered Very much so or Yes to the question, Does your work make the world a better place?

Boehms account of his time with the company matches up with our findings:

The job satisfaction and team camaraderie is like nowhere else. Every time there is a launch, everyone crowds around mission control and cheers it on. Getting your mission patch after a launch was always a very satisfying feeling. If there was ever a failure, you definitely felt it in the air, but it wouldnt stop any of us from working or demotivate us. If youre considering working for SpaceX, I would highly recommend pursuing it, as its an incredibly rewarding experience.

No surprise here. Space, the final frontier, is ripe for exploration and colonization, and play even a small part in that historic undertaking is the dream of millions.

If youre interested in working for SpaceX, you can view the job openings on their website, here.

With any luck, youll land the job of your dreams and launch your career into the future.

See 52 top tech companies compared in our report, Tech Companies Compared: Salaries, Tenure and Corporate Culture.

Do you want to take part in the space race by working for a space exploration company? Tell us your thoughts in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter.

aerospace industry best jobs career in tech careers in tech NASA SpaceX working at SpaceX

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Space Exploration and Travel: Is It Crazy or Inevitable? – Investorplace.com

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Of course, everyone in the Baby Boom generation remembers how uniting and inspiring the early orbits and moon landings were. Such heroic efforts, much like wars, also advance learning and technology, often beyond any expectations.

Today we have billionaires and tech leaders from Telsa Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEOElon Musk to Richard Branson planning civilian trips around the moon as early as next year leading the parade to Mars and its colonization and mining asteroids for precious and rare metals.

This may all sound kind of far out and unaffordable, maybe even wasteful, but one thing I know about leading-edge technologies is that they grow and improve exponentially, and, if viable, ultimately become affordable to the masses.

Who would have thought, when airplanes were first invented in the early 1900s, that today the everyday person could fly halfway around the world in less than 20 hours for just $1,000? Steamships took many months to do the same thing! Today we hardly think twice about the trip!

So, is this sort of out-of-the-box thinking by creative genii hype or reality?

My opinion is its both! It starts out as hype. The big dream. The stuff of science fiction. With time, it becomes reality.

Still, Im skeptical, as I know some of you are, based on your responses to Teresas question in the Saturday wrap-up

The payoffs from space exploration could take a long time to be felt back here on Earth. Likely, none of us will be alive to enjoy any of it.

Also, theres the old saying, stick to your knitting. Just because Elon Musk succeeded in jump-starting the electric car and home battery systems doesnt mean he can succeed at space travel ditto for Branson (maybe even more so because hes much less high tech).

The comedian and political commentator, Bill Maher, recently derided major expenditures on space exploration and the creation of colonies on Mars. He had a long list of advantages of Earth versus our red neighbor, including things like we have oxygen, Mars doesnt.

Besides, why would anyone want to spend 115 days flying to the red planet (the current optimist estimates of how long the trip would take), when you can fly to Arizona in a few hours?

However, free markets should be allowed to decide what makes sense for future investments, even though most early-stage attempts will and do necessarily fail.

They dont do it alone though. Government spending on large scale R&D that even large businesses cant afford often has huge payoffs for more practical innovations down the road, including the internet and GPS.

And as Stephen Sandford reveals in his book Gravity Well, there are dozens and dozens of technologies we use in our everyday lives now that wouldnt exist if it werent for our desire to travel to the stars.

With all of that said, there are two big questions to consider:

1. How much investment in the space drive is too much?

This question divides us as a nation (as do many things these days). Some believe the money would be better spent elsewhere. Others believe were not spending nearly enough. Im somewhere in the middle. We should explore, innovate, and advance. But we shouldnt go stupidly overboard.

2. Whats next?

This is the question that Stephen will attempt to answer when he addresses the audience in his keynote at this years Irrational Economic Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. And hes probably the person best positioned to provide realistic answers, having spent decades in the industry.

For me, Im most interested in hearing about the developments underway for mining rare minerals from the moon or asteroids. How close to reality is that? I suspect that this will really only start to become viable closer to the 2040s, when the next commodity cycle turns around and heads back down. If we can get at the space minerals in a cost-effective way, it would send prices of those same minerals on Earth into a negative spiral because supply would no longer be finite.

Only time will tell, but Im dying to hear what Stephen has to share with us. Join me.

Harry Follow me on Twitter@harrydentjr

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Nano-chip promises to heal organs at a touch – Cosmos

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Injured tissues can be repaired and damaged organs healed using a new nanotech device that adapts a patients own skin to generate stem cells, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Researchers from Ohio State University call the new technology tissue nanotransfection (TNT).

They say TNT which is basically a lab on a chip can adapt skin cells to change into any type of tissue required, which can then be introduced to injured or degenerated areas. They claim a success rate of 98%.

With this technology we can convert skin cells into elements of any organ with just one touch, says co-author Chandan Sen. This process only takes less than a second and is non-invasive, and then you're off. The chip does not stay with you, and the reprogramming of the cell starts. Our technology keeps the cells in the body under immune surveillance, so immune suppression is not necessary."

Lead author Daniel Gallego-Perez says the new technology comprises two elements: the nanotech chip designed to introduce reprogrammed DNA into existing adult cells; and a specific biological cargo that induces the cells to change from one type to another.

The device works using a small electrical charge.

It does not require any laboratory-based procedures, according to Gallego-Perez, and can be used at the point of care a doctors office, say, or an outpatient clinic.

The paper describes experiments on mice and pigs. These included using the device to act upon badly injured legs that lacked blood flow. One week after the application of TNT, vascular vessels reappeared. Within a fortnight flow was back within normal parameters.

In a second experiment, skin cells were converted into nerve cells and introduced into the brains of mice crippled by stroke.

Says Sen: By using our novel nanochip technology, injured or compromised organs can be replaced. We have shown that skin is a fertile land where we can grow the elements of any organ that is declining.

The concept is very simple, adds co-author James Lee: As a matter of fact, we were even surprised how it worked so well. In my lab, we have ongoing research trying to understand the mechanism and do even better. So this is the beginning, more to come.

Lee, Sen and Gallego-Perez were part of a group of researchers that lodged a patent application in 2016 for an earlier iteration of TNT: a device that enables compositions and methods for reprogramming somatic cells into induced endothelial cells.

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LSD as therapy: How scientists are reclaiming psychedelics …

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At 6.30am on Thursday 29 October 2009, Friederike Meckel Fischers doorbell rang. There were ten policemen outside. They searched the house, put handcuffs on Friederike a diminutive woman in her 60s and her husband, and took them to a remand prison. The couple had their photographs and fingerprints taken and were put in separate cells in isolation. After a few hours, Friederike, a psychotherapist, was taken for questioning.

The officer read back to her the promise of secrecy she had each client make at the start of her group therapy sessions. Then I knew I was really in trouble, she says.

I promise not to divulge the location or names of the people present or the medication. I promise not to harm myself or others in any way during or after this experience. I promise that I will come out of this experience healthier and wiser. I take personal responsibility for what I do here.

The Swiss police had been tipped off by a former client whose husband had left her after they had attended therapy. She held Friederike responsible.

What got Friederike in trouble were her unorthodox therapy methods. Alongside separate sessions of conventional talk therapy, she offered a catalyst, a tool to help her clients reconnect with their feelings, with people around them, and with difficult experiences in their lives. That catalyst was LSD. In many of her sessions, they would also use another substance: MDMA, or ecstasy.

Friederike was accused of putting her clients in danger, dealing drugs for profit, and endangering society with intrinsically dangerous drugs. Such psychedelic therapy is on the fringes of both psychiatry and society. Yet LSD and MDMA began life as medicines for therapy, and new trials are testing whether they could be again.

In 1943, Albert Hofmann, a chemist at the Sandoz pharmaceutical laboratory in Basel, Switzerland, was trying to develop drugs to constrict blood vessels when he accidentally ingested a small quantity of lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD. The effects shook him. As he writes in his book LSD, My Problem Child:

Objects as well as the shape of my associates in the laboratory appeared to undergo optical changes Light was so intense as to be unpleasant. I drew the curtains and immediately fell into a peculiar state of drunkenness, characterised by an exaggerated imagination. With my eyes closed, fantastic pictures of extraordinary plasticity and intensive colour seemed to surge towards me. After two hours, this state gradually subsided and I was able to eat dinner with a good appetite.

Intrigued, he decided to take the drug a second time in the presence of colleagues, an experiment to determine whether it was indeed the cause. The faces of his colleagues soon appeared like grotesque coloured masks, he writes:

I lost all control of time: space and time became more and more disorganised and I was overcome with fears that I was going crazy. The worst part of it was that I was clearly aware of my condition though I was incapable of stopping it.

Occasionally I felt as being outside my body. I thought I had died. My ego was suspended somewhere in space and I saw my body lying dead on the sofa.

"I observed and registered clearly that my alter ego was moving around the room, moaning.

But he seemed particularly struck by what he felt the next morning: Breakfast tasted delicious and was an extraordinary pleasure. When I later walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity that persisted for the entire day.

Hofmann felt it was of great significance that he could remember the experience in detail. He believed the drug could hold tremendous value to psychiatry. The Sandoz labs, after ensuring it was non-toxic to rats, mice and humans, soon started offering it for scientific and medical use.

One of the first to start using the drug was Ronald Sandison. The British psychiatrist visited Sandoz in 1952 and, impressed by Hofmanns research, left with 100 vials of what was by then called Delysid. Sandison immediately began giving it to patients at Powick Hospital in Worcestershire who were failing to make progress in traditional psychotherapy. After three years, the hospital bosses were so pleased with the results that they built a new LSD clinic. Patients would arrive in the morning, take their LSD, then lie down in private rooms. Each had a record player and a blackboard for drawing on, and nurses or registrars would check on them regularly. At 4pm the patients would convene and discuss their experiences, then a driver would take them home, sometimes while they were still under the influence of the drug.

Around the same time, another British psychiatrist, Humphry Osmond, working in Canada, experimented with using LSD to help alcoholics stop drinking. He reported that the drug, in combination with supportive psychiatry, achieved abstinence rates of 4045 per cent far higher than any other treatment at the time or since. Elsewhere, studies of people with terminal cancer showed that LSD therapy could relieve severe pain, improve quality of life and alleviate the fear of death.

In the USA, the CIA tried giving LSD to unsuspecting members of the public to see if it would make them give up secrets. Meanwhile at Harvard University, Timothy Leary encouraged by, among others, the beat poet Allen Ginsberg gave it to artists and writers, who would then describe their experiences. When rumours spread that he was giving drugs to students, law-enforcement officials started investigating and the university warned students against taking the drug. Leary took the opportunity to preach about the drugs power as an aid to spiritual development, and was soon sacked from Harvard, which further fuelled his and the drugs notoriety. The scandal had caught the eye of the press and soon the whole country had heard of LSD.

By 1962, Sandoz was cutting back on its distribution of LSD, the result of restrictions on experimental drug use brought on by an altogether different drug scandal: birth defects linked to the morning-sickness drug thalidomide. Paradoxically, the restrictions coincided with an increase in LSDs availability the formula was not difficult or expensive to obtain, and those who were determined to could synthesise it with moderate difficulty and in great amounts.

Still, moral panic about its effects on young minds was rife. The authorities were also worried about LSDs association with the counterculture movement and the spread of anti-authoritarian views. Calls for a nationwide ban soon followed, and many psychiatrists stopped using LSD as its negative reputation grew.

One of many stories in the press told of Stephen Kessler, who murdered his mother-in-law and claimed afterwards that he didnt remember what hed done as he was flying on LSD. In the trial, it emerged that he had taken LSD a month earlier, and at the time of the murder was intoxicated only with alcohol and sleeping pills, but millions believed that LSD had turned him into a killer. Another report told of college students who went blind after staring at the sun on LSD.

Two US Senate subcommittees held in 1966 heard from doctors who claimed that LSD caused psychosis and the loss of all cultural values, as well as from LSD supporters such as Leary and Senator Robert Kennedy, whose wife Ethel was said to have undergone LSD therapy. Perhaps to some extent we have lost sight of the fact that it can be very, very helpful in our society if used properly, said Kennedy, challenging the Food and Drug Administration for shutting down LSD research programmes.

Possession of LSD was made illegal in the UK in 1966 and in the USA in 1968. Experimental use by researchers was still possible with licences, but with the stigma attached to the drugs legal status, these became extremely hard to get. Research ground to a halt, but illegal recreational use carried on.

At the age of 40, after 21 years of marriage, Friederike Meckel Fischer fell in love with another man. Sadly, as she soon discovered, he was using her to get out of his own marriage. I had a pain within myself with this man having left me, with my husband whom I couldnt connect to, she says. It was just like I was out of myself.

Her solution was to become a psychotherapist. She says she never thought of going into therapy herself, which in 1980s West Germany was reserved for only the most serious conditions. Besides which, her upbringing taught her to do things herself rather than seek help from others.

Friederike was at the time working as an occupational physician. She recognised that many of the problems she saw in her patients were rooted in problems with their bosses, colleagues or families. I came to the conclusion that everything they were having trouble with was connected to relationship issues, she says.

A former professor of hers recommended she try a technique called holotropic breathwork. Developed by Stanislav Grof, one of the pioneers of LSD psychotherapy, this is a way to induce altered states of consciousness through accelerated and deeper breathing, like hyperventilation. Grof had developed holotropic breathwork in response to bans on LSD use around the world.

Over three years, travelling back and forth to the USA on holidays, Friederike underwent training with Grof as a holotropic breathwork facilitator. At the end of it, Grof encouraged her to try psychedelics.

In the last seminar, a colleague gave her two little blue pills as a gift. When she got back to Germany, Friederike shared one of the blue pills with her friend Konrad, who later became her husband. She says she felt herself lifted by a wave and thrown onto a white beach, able to access parts of her psyche that were off-limits before. The first experience was breathtaking for me, she says. I only thought: Thats it. I can see things. And I started feeling. That was, for me, unbelievable.

The pills were MDMA, a drug which had entered the spotlight in 1976 when American chemist Alexander Sasha Shulgin rediscovered it 62 years after it was patented by Merck and then forgotten. In a story echoing that of LSDs origins, upon taking it, Shulgin noted feelings of pure euphoria and solid inner strength, and felt he could talk about deep or personal subjects with special clarity. He introduced it to his friend Leo Zeff, a retired psychotherapist who had worked with LSD and believed the obligation to help patients took priority over the law. Zeff had continued to work with LSD secretly after its prohibition. MDMAs potential brought Zeff out of retirement. He travelled around the USA and Europe to instruct therapists on MDMA therapy. He called it Adam because it put the patient in a primordial state of innocence, but at the same time, it had acquired another name in nightclubs: ecstasy.

MDMA was made illegal in the UK by a 1977 ruling that put the entire chemical family in the most tightly controlled category: class A. In the USA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), set up by Richard Nixon in 1973, declared a temporary ban in 1985. At a hearing to decide its permanent status, the judge recommended that it should be placed in schedule three, which would allow use by therapists. But the DEA overruled the judges decision and put MDMA in schedule one, the most restrictive category. Under American influence, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs gave MDMA a similar classification under international law (though an expert committee formed by the World Health Organization argued that such severe restrictions were not warranted).

Schedule one substances are permitted to be used in research under the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In Britain and the USA, researchers and their institutions must apply for special licences, but these are expensive to obtain, and finding manufacturers who will supply controlled drugs is difficult.

But in Switzerland, which at the time was not a signatory to the convention, a small group of psychiatrists persuaded the government to permit the use of LSD and MDMA in therapy. From 1985 until the mid-1990s, licensed therapists were permitted to give the drugs to any patients, to train other therapists in using the drugs, and to take them themselves, with little oversight.

Believing that MDMA might help her gain a deeper understanding of her own problems, Friederike applied for a place on a psycholytic therapy course in Switzerland. In 1992, she and Konrad were accepted into a training group run by a licensed therapist named Samuel Widmer.

The course took place on weekends every three months at Widmers house in Solothurn, a town west of Zurich. Central to the training was taking the substances a number of times, 12 altogether, to get to know their effects and go through a process of self-exploration. Friederike says the drug experiences showed her how her whole life had been coloured by the loss of her father at the age of 5 and the hardship of growing up in postwar West Germany.

I can detect relations, interconnections between things that I couldnt see before, she says of her experiences with MDMA.

I could look at difficult experiences in my life without getting right away thrown into them again. I could for example see a traumatic experience but not connect to the horrible feeling of the moment.

"I knew it was a horrible thing, and I could feel that I have had fear but I didnt feel the fear.

People on psychedelic highs often speak of profound, spiritual experiences. Back in the 1960s, Walter Pahnke, a student of Timothy Leary, conducted a notorious experiment at Boston Universitys Marsh Chapel showing that psychedelics could induce these.

He gave ten volunteers a large dose of psilocybin the active ingredient in magic mushrooms and ten an active placebo, nicotinic acid, which caused a tingling sensation but no mental effects. Eight of the psilocybin group had spiritual experiences, compared with one of the placebo group. In later studies, researchers have identified core characteristics of such experiences, including ineffability, the inability to put it into words; paradoxicality, the belief that contradictory things are true at the same time; and feeling more connected to other people or things.

When the experience can be really useful is when they feel a connection even with someone who has caused them hurt, and an understanding of what may have caused them to behave in the way they did, says Robin Carhart-Harris, a psychedelics researcher at Imperial College London. I think the power to achieve those kinds of realisations really speaks to the incredible value of psychedelics and captures why they can be so effective and valuable in therapy. I think that can only really happen when defences dissolve away. Defences get in the way of those realisations.

He compares the feeling of connection with things beyond oneself to the overview effect felt by astronauts when they look back on the Earth. All of a sudden they think, How silly of me and people in general to have conflict and silly little hang-ups that we think are massive and important. When youre up in space looking down on the entirety of the Earth, it puts it into perspective. I think a similar kind of overview is engendered by psychedelics.

Carhart-Harris is conducting the first clinical trial to study psilocybin as a treatment for depression. He is one of a few researchers across the world who are pushing ahead with research on psychedelic therapy. Twelve people have taken part in his study so far.

They begin with a brain scan, and a long preparation session with the psychiatrists. On the therapy day, they arrive at 9am, complete a questionnaire, and have tests to make sure they havent taken other drugs. The therapy room has been decorated with drapes, ornaments, coloured glowing lights, electric candles, and an aromatiser. A PhD student, who is also a musician, has prepared a playlist, which the patient can listen to either through headphones or from high-quality speakers in the room. They spend most of the session lying on a bed, exploring their thoughts. Two psychiatrists sit with them, and interact when the patient wants to talk. The patients have two therapy sessions: one with a low dose, then one with a high dose. Afterwards, they have a follow-up session to help them integrate their experiences and cultivate healthier ways of thinking.

I meet Kirk, one of the participants, two months after his high-dose session. Kirk had been depressed, particularly since his mothers death three years ago. He experienced entrenched thought patterns, like going round and round on a racetrack of negative thoughts, he says. I wasnt as motivated, I wasnt doing as much, I wasnt exercising any more, I wasnt as social, I was having anxiety quite a bit. It just deteriorated. I got to the point where I felt pretty hopeless. It didnt match really what was going on in my life. I had a lot of good things going on in my life. Im employed, Ive got a job, Ive got family, but really it was like a quagmire that you sink into.

At the peak of the drug experience, Kirk was deeply affected by the music. He surrendered himself to it and felt overcome with awe. When the music was sad, he would think of his mother, who had been ill for many years before her death. I used to go to the hospital and see her, and a lot of the time shed be asleep, so I wouldnt wake her up; Id just sit on the bed. And shed be aware I was there and wake up. It was a very loving feeling. Quite intensely I went through that moment. I think that was quite good in a way. I think it helped to let go.

During the therapy sessions, there were moments of anxiety as the drugs effects started to take hold, when Kirk felt cold and became preoccupied with his breathing. But he was reassured by the therapists, and the discomfort passed. He saw bright colours, like being at the funfair, and felt vibrations permeate his body. At one point, he saw the Hindu elephant god Ganesh look in at him, as if checking on a child.

Although the experience had been affecting, he noticed little improvement in his mood in the first ten days afterwards. Then, while out shopping with friends on a Sunday morning, he felt an upheaval. I feel like theres space around me. It felt like when my mum was still alive, when I first met my partner, and everything was kind of OK, and it was so noticeable because I hadnt had it in a while.

There have been ups and downs since, but overall, he feels much more optimistic. I havent got that negativity any more. Im being more social; Im doing stuff. That kind of heaviness, that suppressed feeling has gone, which is amazing, really. Its lifted a heavy cloak off me.

Another participant, Michael, had been battling depression for 30 years, and tried almost every treatment available. Before taking part in the trial, he had practically given up hope. Since the day of his first dose of psilocybin, he has felt completely different. I couldnt believe how much it had changed so quickly, he says.

My approach to life, my attitude, my way of looking at the world, just everything, within a day.

One of the most valuable parts of the experience helped him to overcome a deep-rooted fear of death. I felt like I was being shown what happens after that, like an afterlife, he says. Im not a religious person and Id be hard pushed to say I was anything near spiritual either, but I felt like Id experienced some of that, and experienced the feeling of an afterlife, like a preview almost, and I felt totally calm, totally relaxed, totally at peace. So that when that time comes for me, I will have no fear of it at all.

During her training with Samuel Widmer, Friederike also worked in an addiction clinic. The insights from her drug experiences gave her new empathy. All of a sudden I could understand my clients in the clinic with their alcohol addiction, she says. They were coping differently than I did. They had almost the same problems or symptoms I had, only I hadnt started drinking. But only a few of them were able to open up about how those experiences made them feel. She wondered: could an MDMA experience help them release those emotions?

MDMA is a tamer relative of the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, mescaline, DMT. They have effects that can be disturbing, like sensory distortions, the dissolution of ones sense of self, and the vivid reliving of frightening memories. MDMAs effects are shorter-lasting, making it easier to handle in a psychotherapy session.

Friederike opened her own private psychedelic therapy practice in Zurich in 1997. During the next few years, she began hosting weekend group therapy sessions with psychedelics in her home, inviting clients who had failed to make progress in conventional talking therapy.

Since the 1950s, psychiatrists have recognised the importance of context in determining what sort of experience the LSD taker would have. They have emphasised the importance of set the users mindset, their beliefs, expectations, and experience and setting the physical milieu where the drug is taken, the sounds and features of the environment and the other people present.

A supportive setting and an experienced therapist can lower the risk of a bad trip, but frightening experiences still happen. According to Friederike, they are part of the therapeutic experience. If a client is able to go through or lets himself be led through and work through, the bad trip turns into the most important step on the way to himself, she says. But without a correct setting, without a therapist who knows what hes doing and without the commitment of the client, we end up in a bad trip.

Her clients would come to her house on a Friday evening, talk about their recent issues and discuss what they wanted to achieve in the drug session. On Saturday morning, they would sit in a circle on mats, make the promise of secrecy, and each take a personal dose of MDMA agreed with Friederike in advance. Friederike would start with silence, then play music, and speak to the clients individually or as a group to work through their issues. Sometimes she would ask other members of the group to assume the role of a clients family members, and have them discuss problems in their relationship. In the afternoon they would do the same with LSD, which would often let the participants feel as though they were reliving traumatic memories. Friederike would guide them through the experience, and help them understand it in a new way. On Sunday, they would discuss the experiences of the previous day and how to integrate them into their lives.

Friederikes practice, however, was illegal. Therapeutic licences to use the drugs had been withdrawn by the Swiss government around 1993, following the death of a patient in France under the effect of ibogaine, another psychotropic drug. (It was later determined that she died from an undiagnosed heart condition.)

The early LSD researchers had no way to look at what it was doing inside the brain. Now we have brain scans. Robin Carhart-Harris has carried out such studies with psilocybin, LSD and MDMA. He tells me there are two basic principles of how the classic psychedelics work. The first is disintegration: the parts that make up different networks in the brain become less cohesive. The second is desegregation: the systems that specialise for particular functions as the brain develops become, in his words, less different from each other.

These effects go some way to explaining how psychedelics could be therapeutically useful. Certain disorders, such as depression and addiction, are associated with characteristic patterns of brain activity that are difficult to break out of. The brain kind of enters these patterns, pathological patterns, and the patterns can become entrenched. The brain easily gravitates into these patterns and gets stuck in them. They are like whirlpools, and the mind gets sucked into these whirlpools and gets stuck.

Psychedelics dissolve patterns and organisation, introducing a kind of chaos, says Carhart-Harris. On the one hand, chaos can be seen as a bad thing, linked with things like psychosis, a kind of storm in the mind, as he puts it. But you could also view that chaos as having therapeutic value. The storm could come and wash away some of the pathological patterns and entrenched patterns that have formed and underlie the disorder. Psychedelics seem to have the potential through this effect on the brain to dissolve or disintegrate pathologically entrenched patterns of brain activity.

The therapeutic potential suggested by Carhart-Harriss brain scan studies persuaded the UKs Medical Research Council to fund the psilocybin trial for depression. Its too early to evaluate its success, but the results so far have been encouraging. Some patients are in remission now months after having had their treatment, Carhart-Harris says. Previously their depressions were very severe, so I think those cases can be considered transformations. Im not sure if there are any other treatments out there that really have that potential to transform a patients situation after just two treatment sessions.

In the wake of MDMAs prohibition, American psychologist Rick Doblin founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) to support research aiming to re-establish psychedelics place in medicine. When Swiss psychiatrist Peter Oehen heard they were funding a study on using MDMA to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he jumped on a plane to meet Doblin in Boston.

Like Friederike, Oehen trained in psychedelic therapy while it was legal in Switzerland in the early 1990s. Doblin agreed to support a small study with 12 patients at Oehens private practice in Biberist, a small town about half an hour by train from the Swiss capital, Bern.

Oehen thinks that MDMAs mood-elevating, fear-reducing and pro-social effects make it a promising tool to facilitate psychotherapy for PTSD. Many of these traumatised people have been traumatised by some kind of interpersonal violence and have lost their ability to connect, are distrustful, are aloof, says Oehen. This helps them regain trust. It helps build a sound and trustful therapeutic relationship. It also puts the patient in a state of mind where they can face their traumatic memories without becoming distressed, he says, helping to start reprocess the trauma in a different way.

When MAPSs first PTSD study in the USA was published in 2011, the results were eye-opening. After two psychotherapy sessions with MDMA, 10 out of 12 participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD. The benefits were still apparent when the patients were followed up three to four years after the therapy.

Oehens results were less dramatic, but all of the patients who had MDMA-assisted therapy felt some improvement. Im still in touch with almost half of the people, he says. I can see still people getting better after years going on in the process and resolving their problems. We saw this at long-term follow-up, that symptoms get better after time, because the experiences enable them to get better in a different way to normal psychotherapy. These effects being more open, being more calm, more willing to face difficult issues this goes on.

In people with PTSD, the amygdala, a primitive part of the brain that orchestrates fear responses, is overactive. The prefrontal cortex, a more sophisticated part of the brain that allows rational thoughts to override fear, is underactive. Brain-imaging studies with healthy volunteers have shown that MDMA has the opposite effects boosting the prefrontal cortex response and shrinking the amygdala response.

Ben Sessa, a psychiatrist working around Bristol in the UK, is preparing to carry out a study at Cardiff University testing whether people with PTSD respond to MDMA in the same way. He believes that early negative experiences lie at the root not just of PTSD but of many other psychiatric disorders too, and that psychedelics give patients the ability to reprocess those memories.

Ive been doing psychiatry for almost 20 years now and every single one of my patients has a history of trauma, he says. Maltreatment of children is the cause of mental illness, in my opinion. Once a persons personality has been formed in childhood and adolescence and into early adulthood, its very difficult to encourage a patient to think otherwise. What psychedelics do, more than any other treatment, he says, is offer an opportunity to press the reset button and give the patient a new experience of a personal narrative.

Sessa is planning a separate study to test MDMA as a treatment for alcohol dependency syndrome picking up the trail of Humphrey Osmonds LSD research 60 years ago.

He believes psychiatry would look very different today if research with psychedelics had proceeded unencumbered since the 1950s. Psychiatrists have since turned to antidepressants, mood stabilisers and antipsychotics. These drugs, he says, help to manage a patients condition, but arent curative, and also carry dangerous side-effects.

Weve become so used to psychiatry being a palliative care field of medicine, Sessa says. That were with you for life. You come to us in your early 20s with severe anxiety disorder; Ill still be looking after you in your 70s.

Weve become used to that. And I think were selling our patients short.

Will psychedelic drugs ever be ruled legal medicines again? MAPS are supporting trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in the USA, Australia, Canada and Israel, and they hope they will have enough evidence to convince regulators to approve it by 2021. Meanwhile, trials using psilocybin to treat anxiety in people with cancer have been taking place at Johns Hopkins University and New York University since 2007.

Few psychiatrists I asked about the legal use of psychedelics in therapy would give their opinions. One of the few who did, Falk Kiefer, Medical Director at the Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, says he is sceptical about the drugs ability to change patients behaviour. Psychedelic treatment might result in gaining new insights, seeing the world in a different way. Thats fine, but if it does not result in learning new strategies to deal with your real world, the clinical outcome will be limited.

Carhart-Harris says the only way to change peoples minds is for the science to be so good that funders and regulators cant ignore it. The idea is that we can present data that really becomes irrefutable, so that those authorities that have reservations, we can start changing their perspective and bring them around to taking this seriously.

After 13 days under arrest, Friederike was released. She appeared in court in July 2010, accused of violating the narcotics law and endangering her clients, the latter of which could mean up to 20 years imprisonment. A number of neuroscientists and psychotherapists testified in her defence, arguing that one portion of LSD is not a dangerous substance and has no significant harmful effects when taken in a controlled setting (MDMA was not included in the prosecutions case).

The judge accepted that Friederike had given her clients drugs as part of a therapeutic framework, with careful consideration for their health and welfare, and ruled her guilty of handing out LSD but not guilty of endangering people. For the narcotics offence, she was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and given a 16-month suspended sentence with two years probation.

I have been blessed by a very understanding lawyer and an intelligent judge, she says. She even considers the woman who reported her to the police a blessing, since the case has allowed her to talk openly about her work with psychedelics. She gives occasional lectures at psychedelic conferences, and has written a book about her experience, which she hopes will guide other therapists in how to work with the substances safely.

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LSD as therapy: How scientists are reclaiming psychedelics ...

Psychedelic drugs saved my life. So why aren’t they prescribed? – Wired.co.uk

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Mike McQuade

The world is in the throes of a mental-health crisis, as depression and dementia afflict spiralling numbers of people.

In March 2017, the World Health Organization declared that depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. More than 300 million people are living with it, an increase of more than 18 per cent between 2005 and 2015. But help is at hand - if we can reach out and grasp it.

A group of drugs long considered taboo is poised to transform the way we treat mental health. Recent research suggests that psychedelics - once regarded as a relic of the hippy-dippy 60s - could prove powerful tools not only to treat, but also potentially cure, many mental health problems regarded as chronic.

Psychedelics do something that our current go-to psychiatric drugs cannot: transform hardwired neural patterns to reroute the very architecture of the brain, sometimes in a single dose. Roland Griffiths, a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, has likened psychedelics' ability to bring about neural rerouting as akin to a "surgical intervention".

Take psilocybin, better known as magic mushrooms. A single dose of the drug can do "in 30 seconds what it takes antidepressants three to four weeks to do", according to David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

A study published in the Journal of Psycho-pharmacology on people with anxiety associated with life-threatening illness suggested that LSD-assisted psychotherapy was successful in almost 70 per cent of subjects, with the positive effects lasting more than a year and causing no lasting adverse reactions.

Given the overwhelmingly positive results of these and other trials, one would think the clinical use of psychedelics would represent a sea change in our approach to mental-health treatment. But, sadly, outdated societal prejudice against psychedelics is proving a formidable handicap, hampering research and keeping many in need from reaping the benefits.

Strict anti-drug legislation that still criminalises the use of such substances has pushed psychedelic-assisted treatments underground: unless you are among the lucky few accepted into a clinical trial, your only options are to find an unlicensed practitioner, attempt to do it yourself illegally or travel to places where the compounds are legal.

Growing numbers of people are doing just that, and in recent months, there has been flurry of articles on the topic which have stoked curiosity about the potential of psychedelics. In April of this year, the Psychedelic Science Conference in California was attended by more than 3,000 people who travelled from across the globe to learn about recent advances. Although it's heartening that more people are finding relief, ad hoc experimentation is not the way to go. We must bring this research into the mainstream, guarantee adequate funding and shield well-intentioned facilitators from criminal prosecution.

I should know. I was once the victim of a violent robbery, which left me shattered. Out of desperation I turned to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. It helped saved my life.

Mental-health practices around the world are in desperate need of an overhaul, and psychedelics could be just the hack we need to achieve such fundamental - and indispensable - change. I believe mental health to be a human right, and as such it is nothing short of our duty to follow, and fund, the science.

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Psychedelic drugs saved my life. So why aren't they prescribed? - Wired.co.uk

What Made Us Fall in Love with Trance. – Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

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Wikipedia describes Trance, as a collection of melodic loops mixed with a progression of soft & fast beats. However, ask a trance fan from anywhere around the world and Im sure they will agree with us when we say that there is way more to it that just the beat or the melody.

Each one of us has a different perception of this six letter word, but perhaps the essence of every description will remain uniform. The most unique thing about trance that separates it from other genres is the fact that despite each track being starkly different from each other, it still manages to connect us all and take us to that utopian place we all look forward to being at. Words like Journey, Blissful and Uplifting have been so commonly associated with the genre, its almost become synonymous to what trance stands for.

In the universe of electronic music, trance has always been a genre that has been associated with spirituality. Several mortals like us have always found comfort in it. However, as unfortunate as it may seem, people these days have been ridiculing the genre and its artists. In fact, they have even gone a step ahead and deemed it as a dying art.

Probably, they have never experienced moments where the mid-climax of a trance song has covered their entire body with goose bumps, or had their feet tremble while listening to the haunting yet beautiful vocals or the feel a surge of emotions which makes you want to cry and smile at the same time.

Well, to all of them out there, all we can do is sympathise with them, because honestly, no matter how much you try, these feelings cannot be bought. It can only be experienced. Moving further, since we are anyhow discussing the genre, we also will shed some light on the two major aspects that form the crux of the scene, the artists & the trance community or the fans.

Going back to old school analogies, trance has been blessed to have artists that have always looked to build and improve the genre. They are the Knights templar, the humans who have always done everything to protect the Holy Grail which bears the origins of the genre. If artists are the gladiators in the field of music, the trance community is the loudest community in the Colosseum, always motivating and cheering its heroes.

Each artist in this field has managed to incorporate different elements and modify the sounds to not only create musical masterpieces to please their fans, but to also broaden the horizons of the genre and to provide a multi-faceted music experience.

Trance fans are probably the warmest people on earth. No wonder group hugs amongst random people who may be absolute strangers are one of the most common sightings during trance gatherings. These songs have the ability to bring people together as ONE. Most of all, its only this genre that we have the concept of a trance family. The reason why we fell in love with the genre is not solely because of the music, but also the all round experience and the community. The feeling of walking through the doors of an event and letting loose is one of the most euphoric feelings we have ever experienced. Its not about the drop or the 1, 2, 3 jump clich chant. Its more about actually connecting with the music on a spiritual level which is absolutely surreal.

Also, no one is embarrassed or ashamed to show their feelings. In fact, the genre encourages you to look into the depths of your soul. That is the reason you see people crying at these events. They are surrounded by people who hold them and hug them and share the emotion with them. The genre bonds people together. People have walked in here and have ended up finding their soul mates. In fact, the both us writing this piece, also met because of trance. So many of us have friends from all across the globe mainly because of the genre. This is the beauty of trance.

What is even more beautiful to watch is the fierce loyalty of the fans. They swear by the genre. Most of all, the artists also do understand the responsibility that comes with their positions. They are extremely approachable and they understand the gravity of their impact on the lives of the people listening to their music.

Maybe Trance is not on the main stage anymore, but we feel that it doesnt affect the way the ones true to community think. As long as all of us are able to sway our hands in the air & feel each beat, feel each moment and sometimes even cry randomly, we are fine even if we get a small space to listen & dance to the sounds of the genre we love. Because, when we fell in love with the genre, it was not because it was popular or because it was commercial. We fell in love with the sounds, and it is the only thing that will matter.

This article was written by Gaurav Purohit and Shivani Murthy

Trance enthusiast. Armada Ambassador. Content writer. Im not afraid of 138! Making people give Trance a chance.

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Armin Van Buuren is known well for his power packed performances. Versatile as he is,...

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What Made Us Fall in Love with Trance. - Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

The most awaited Markus Schulz GDJB Sunrise set is here – Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

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It is the highlight of every Global DJ Broadcast summer, as Markus Schulz harnesses the emotions and memories that are entailed in the annual Sunrise Set. This is a very special mix dedicated to you and all the listeners, featuring some of the most beautiful melodies that have graced the shores of Miami, Ibiza, Bali and beyond, whether we watch the sunrise alone, with family, with friends or with loved ones.

We hope that this is something you will cherish and keep in your collection for many years to come. Enjoy the journey and immerse yourself in the theater of the mind. The ninth edition of the GDJBSunrise Set is here.

You are welcome to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Tracklist:

Markus Schulz 01. Ludovico Einaudi I Giomi 02. Foxhill Supermassive 03. Roald Velden & Zeni Dreaming of You 04. Dylhen Drift 05. Chicane Halcyon (Robert Nickson presents RNX Remix) 06. Hans Zimmer S.T.A.Y. (Madis Remix) 07. Arkham Knights Knightfall (Chillout Mix) 08. Arabella Nabucco (M.I.D.O.R. Remix) 09. Genesis Supernova 10. Temple One presents Tu Casa Escape 11. Sander Kleinenberg My Lexicon 12. Sun in Arms Stay Near 13. Ferry Corsten Eternity 14. Bedrock Beautiful Strange (Ambient Mix) 15. Markus Schulz presents Dakota In Search of Something Better (Chillout Mix) 16. Orkidea Higher State 17. Pryda Lillo 18. 4 Strings Wondering 19. Hazem Beltagui You Before Me 20. Dreas presents Havannah Havannah 21. Deva Premal Om Ram Ramaya (Markus Schulz Sunrise Reconstruction) 22. Bakke & Joni Bali 23. Anden Kerry (Monoverse Remix) 24. The Thrillseekers In These Arms (The Thrillseekers presents Hydra Remix) 25. DJ Observer & Daniel Heatcliff featuring Madeleine Rison Vision (Lentos Dub) 26. Vangelis Rachels Song (Andy Moor Remix) 27. Dennis Sheperd Reconnected 28. Markus Schulz Luce Prima 29. Pink Floyd Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Markus Schulz Sunrise Reconstruction) 30. London Grammar Truth is a Beautiful Thing (Markus Schulz Sunrise Reconstruction)

Co-Founder of Trance Hub, Curator of The Gathering events in India and ALT+TRANCE in Czech Republic. By day, a Digital Marketing Enthusiast with love for Food and Technology. By night, a dreamer who wants to grow the Trance scene in India.

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Wikipedia describes Trance, as a collection of melodic loops mixed with a progression...

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The most awaited Markus Schulz GDJB Sunrise set is here - Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

Watch: Armin Van Buuren cries with joy at Untold Festival | Newshub – Newshub

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Armin Van Buuren was filmed crying tears of joy during his latest DJ set, at the Untold Festival in Romania over the weekend.

The Dutch trance legend was scheduled to play a three hour slot from 3am - 6am at the event's main stage, but ended up playing well beyond sunrise to 8am.

Van Buuren became emotionalseveral timeswhen addressing the crowd at the Cluj-Napoca festival via a microphone, but openly wept midway through the fifth hour of his performance. Tears streamed down his face as he played Jorn van Deynhoven's remix of 'Ramsterdam' by Ram, despite his attempts to wipe them away.

Video of the moment was published online and shows many revellers in the crowd also crying with happiness.

Van Buuren is hugely popular within the trance genre, with his A State of Trance show broadcast to a reported 37 million listeners each week.

His full Untold set can be viewed below.

Newshub.

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Watch: Armin Van Buuren cries with joy at Untold Festival | Newshub - Newshub

Archangel Successfully Brings William Gibson’s Cyberpunk to Comics – CBR (blog)

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For all its cool, grit, and darkness, it can be easy to miss the humor in William Gibsons work. From Neuromancer to his scattered forays into culture criticism, theres always been a current of sharp wit beneath his techno-apocalyptic topsoil. Hop over to Twitter, where Gibsons handle is @GreatDismal, and youll find his timeline littered with retweets of missives both dire and hilarious.

Archangel, the foundational cyberpunk authors first foray into comics, alongside co-writer Michael St. John Smith and artists Butch Guice, Alejandro Barrionuevo and Wagner Reis, isnt funny haha, but in the series final panel, its clear the narrative hinges on a bleak, cosmic joke. As the sci-fi adventure concludes, our unnamed, tattooed hero, the Pilot finds himself in 2016. Fresh from preventing the deranged Vice President Junior Henderson from rearranging history back in 1945, the Pilot finds his worlds no longer an irradiated wasteland, but its well, its something else. Something familiar. Its a classic Twilight Zone twist, asking: What if all the timelines are pretty bad? What if the true dystopia is whatever dystopia you happen to inhabit?

REALTED: Neuromancer Author William Gibson Warps Comics, Reality in IDWs Archangel

change winds have been blowing over Archangel since we began to publish, Gibson writes in the afterword. For those doing the math, issue one debuted in May 2016, and its five issues came out every couple months throughout one of the strangest presidential elections in history. The book concluded this month. Power-hungry politicians, complicated conspiracies involving Russia, U.K. and U.S. agents caught between shifting national allegiances, strong-willed operatives pondering the justification of their actions Archangels felt at times deliriously contemporary. But its never felt pedantic, employing a pulpy, quick tone that renders it an utter blast. Filled with wild shoot-outs, far-out technological concepts, and hilarious dialogue, and its easy to see why the book earned an Eisner nomination for Best Limited Series. No matter how heady or dense, Archangel zings by, charged with electricity.

Stepping in for Guice, Reis and inker Tom Palmer do a terrific job with the final chapter. The issues almost exclusively devoted to climactic action. Set mostly in a plane carrying a B-29 bomb above the Russian port at Archangel, the fights are confined to a cramped, claustrophobic setting, but Reis makes the most of the limited space, focusing on tight, close expressions and the occasional splashy outburst. Though they originally intended Archangel for television, Gibson and St. John Smith seem perfectly at home in with the graphic format, focusing on a few key characters and tossing the reader directly into the fray. They delight in each BLAM and KRAK sound effect.

Though Gibson and St. Michael keep the story relatively streamlined, they subtly riff on big concepts, too, making clear that no matter the outcome of war be it World War II or some distant future conflict the human toll is always high. In some cases, it means sacrifice like the one Major Torres, operator of the Splitter which sent the Pilot back, undertakes to complete her mission but often it means bystanders, collateral damage. Soon, well know the number dead. Like London. Berlin. Dresden number, but not their names, British operative Dr. Naomi Givens says upon learning of the successful bombing of Nagasaki. In Archangel, immense loss of life is a given. The places and people change, but no matter whos ordering the bombs dropped, they always fall. Perhaps thats what makes the end of the series so effective. For all the time travel, sophisticated weapons technology, and loopy violence, something about it all seems so plausible.

Its been a great time for literary figures in comics, with writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, R.L. Stine, Margaret Atwood, Benjamin Percy, Roxane Gay and others recently putting forth compelling work in the medium. After decades of his novels powerfully influencing comics and manga, you can add Gibsons name to the list. With Archangel wrapped, heres hoping his jacked-in prophet in the wilderness voice makes it way back to the page soon. The more absurd our present gets as it morphs into the future, the more we need imaginative cackling like his to accompany the process.

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Archangel Successfully Brings William Gibson's Cyberpunk to Comics - CBR (blog)

When medication fails, this helmet can treat depression – Metro US

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Julie Travis is one of the more than 15 million Americans who struggle with clinical depression. For years, she was able to manage it with medication, but recently that wasnt enough.

Unfortunately, this isnt uncommon, said Dr. Amita Talati, a psychiatrist in Voorhees, New Jersey who has been treating patients with depression for more than 20 years, including Travis.

At some point, medications may not work for a lot of patients, she said. She sees more and more patients becoming resistant.

But there is another option when all else fails: deep transcranial magnetic stimulation, or Deep TMS.

Talati recently got a Brainsway Deep TMS system, which uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the areas of the brain responsible for depression. Her clinic is the first in South Jersey to offer it and its also used at Harvard, Mount Sinai and by the U.S. Navy.

Essentially, its a helmet to treat depression. Travis visited Talatis clinic five days a week to receive the 20 minute treatments, during which she wore a helmet attached to the machine that stimulated her brain for about 3 seconds at a time, pausing for about 15 seconds in between.

Travis felt a slight tapping on her head, she said, but it wasnt painful. The system is noninvasive and requires no sedation.

Though Travis said she was a bit skeptical at first that it would work, she was desperate to try anything that could help her.

From September on, I was pretty much not functioning, she said of how her depression had worsened. It was just this overwhelming fear of being awake. Life was so overwhelming to me.

Three weeks into her Deep TMS treatment, Travis noticed slightbut still monumentalchanges.

I can very distinctly remember when I started singing to the radio, and it really hit me that day, like, Wow, this is good, she said.

Travis reported no side effects, and Talati said the most common is a slight headache. In total, Travis received 36 sessions and said she hasnt felt that intense depression again since.

Its incredible, she said. Im out socializing again, meeting up with people, doing things I used to enjoy. My friends are like, Oh my god, shes back.

Deep TMS is FDA cleared for patients with major depressive disorder and studies are currently evaluating its further uses, such as treating OCD. The Brainsway company holds an exclusive license from the National Institutes of Health for the technology.

To Talati, who has seen many patients try many different types of medicine some with serious side effects the treatment option is revolutionary.

One of my other patients said, I don't know why everyone who has depression doesnt get this treatment, she said. Its going to take off. Its remarkable.

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When medication fails, this helmet can treat depression - Metro US

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GDC Theatre Management System is number one in India | Film … – Film Journal

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GDC Technology Limited announced that its GDC Theatre Management System (TMS) has claimed the top spot in Indias cinema market. To date, more than 1,000 screens, among nearly 3,700 DCI-compliant 2K/4K screens, have been installed with GDC TMS-2000 in India. This represents close to 30% of Indias total DCI-compliant screen count.

Globally, more than 22,000 screens use the GDC TMS.

GDC TMS-2000 features include integrated screen monitoring with playback and equipment status displayed on a single access point, an enhanced Content Manager enabling centralized content and KDM management, and an intelligent Show Scheduler which alerts users regarding missing CPLs and invalid KDMs.

This year, additional features designed to reduce user workload during cinema operations were developed for the GDC TMS. These include:

* Auto SPL Generation:SPL is generated automatically based on POS movie title, showtime and screen capability.

* Auto Pre-Show Assignment:Template to automatically insert pre-show advertisements and trailers from a configurable set of rules.

* Auto KDM + DCP Ingestion:KDMs and DCPs are automatically detected and ingested into the TMS server and media server.

Customers today have raised the bar about what they expect from the cinema viewing experience, including audio and visual enhancements, movie content variety, and even the physical comfort of theatres, said Dr. Man-Nang Chong, founder, chairman and CEO of GDC Technology Limited. Our role is to keep being responsive to the market changes and expectations, and continually improve the theatre management system to offer exhibitors a complete solution for management of the digital cinema workflow, and achieve the greatest possible efficiency under centralized control.

GDC also offers QualityManager, an optional module and value add-on that maintains crisp color, clear audio, and the right level of projector brightness. In addition, the GDC TmsRemoteTM mobile app extends theatre management to mobile platforms. Besides supporting more than 30 pre-qualified POS systems, GDC TMS-2000 seamlessly integrates with all leading cinema equipment brands.

Visit GDC booth #402 at Big Cine Expo 2017 August 8-9 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India (bigcineexpo.com), to learn more about the features and benefits of GDCs latest IMB product lineup and software products.GDC will also demonstrate the TMS-2000 Theatre Management System and Network Operations Centre 2.0. Delegates may also schedule an appointment for an in-depth discussion by contacting Rohit Sharma at rohit.sharma@gdc-tech.com.

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GDC Theatre Management System is number one in India | Film ... - Film Journal

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EDAP TMS SA (NASDAQ:EDAP) Stock Ticks -6.98% – Concord Register

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EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) shares saw the needle move -6.98% on the week. The stockclosed the most recent session at $2.93 after seeing60016 shares trade hands. This represents a change of-0.85% from the opening.

The closing price represents the final price that a stock is traded for on a trading day. Its the most up-to-date valuation until trading begins again on the next day.However, most financial instruments are traded after hours, which means that the the closing price of a stock might not match the after-hours price. Regardless, closing prices are a useful tool that investors use to quantify changes in stock prices over time. The closing prices are compared day-by-day to look for trends and can measure market sentiment for any security over the course of a trading day.

On any given trading day, supply and demand fluctuates back-and-forth because the attractiveness of a commoditys price rises and falls. Because of these fluctuations, the closing and opening prices are not necessarily identical. A number of factors can affect the attractiveness of a stock in the hours between the closing bell and the next days opening bell. For example, if there is good news like a positive earnings announcement, the demand for a stock may increase, raising the price from the previous days close. It follows that bad news will negatively affect price.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

Lets take a look at how the stock has been performing recently. Year to date EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) is-10.67%, 15.81% over the last quarter, and -9.29% for the past six months.

Over the past 50 days, EDAP TMS S.A. stocks -23.90% off of the high and 12.69% removed from the low. Their 52-Week High and Low are noted here. -23.90% (High), 30.22%, (Low).

RSI

Technical analysts have little regard for the value of a company. They use historic price data to observe stock price patterns to predict the direction of that price going forward. Analysts use common formulas and ratios to accomplish this.

EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP)s RSI (Relative Strength Index) is 39.86. RSI is a technical indicator of price momentum, comparing the size of recent gains to the size of recent losses and establishes oversold and overbought positions.

Nothing contained in this publication is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional.

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EDAP TMS SA (NASDAQ:EDAP) Stock Ticks -6.98% - Concord Register

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Washington University awarded $2.6 million for neurotechnology research – St. Louis Business Journal

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Washington University awarded $2.6 million for neurotechnology research
St. Louis Business Journal
Washington University plans to create a hub to study neurotechnology with funds from a $2.6 million award from the National Science Foundation. Subscribe to get the full story. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Subscribe to get the full story. Already a ...

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Washington University awarded $2.6 million for neurotechnology research - St. Louis Business Journal