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This Lozenge Claims to Cure Your Overeating Habits – The Daily Meal

Posted on March 2, 2017 by ev1

Anyone who has tried dieting knows that one of the biggest challenges is fighting hunger. Sometimes that healthy lunchtime salad just doesnt work and you start eyeing the office doughnuts. MealEnders hopes to alleviate that problem with lozenges that are meant to curb your enthusiasm for food using behavioral science. The seemingly miraculous product will be showcased on an upcoming episode of Shark Tank, though it hasnt yet been revealed whether any of the investors will bite.

They are signaling lozenges that combine behavioral psychology and sensory science to help you beat overeating, master portion control and curb snacking, Mark Bernstein the CEO and founder of San Francisco-based MealEnders told Forbes. There are no other products on the market that simply and safely help you stop.

The science behind MealEnders, which youre supposed to pop into your mouth when youve finished eating a reasonable amount of food, is simple. The small lozenges are comprised of two components: a sweet outer layer that is meant to emulate a meal-ending dessert, which triggers the reward center of the brain, and a second cooling layer that is supposed to engage the trigeminal nerve, responsible for the motor function of chewing among other things, and prevent overeating.

Though Bernstein is seeking capital for expansion on Shark Tank, his product has been out since 2015 and has decidedly mixed reviews. Some say the behavioral science works, but others say the product is a glorified chocolate breath mint thats all hype with few results.

The lozenges, which come in four flavors chocolate mint, cinnamon, mocha, and citrus cost $16.95 for a package of 25.

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This Lozenge Claims to Cure Your Overeating Habits - The Daily Meal

Gut Microbiota Therapy: the next big thing in Medical Treatments – Inquirer.net

Posted on March 2, 2017 by ev1

CHECK AND BALANCE. European double-board certified in Nutritional Medicine and Anti-Aging Medicine Dr. Ted Achacoso of BioBalance with microbiota expert Dr. Peter Konturek at the recent 4th World Congress on Targeting Microbiota in Paris, France.

Recent years have seen fecal transplant, or formally Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT), becoming an emerging procedure in the medical field, which basically involves transferring a healthy individuals gut bacteria into a sick persons colon. This may sound surprising to some, but more and more studies reveal the role of gut microbesincluding those in human wastein treating various health conditions, from gastrointestinal problems (ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.) to non-gastrointestinal diseases such as diabetes, liver disease, allergies, obesity, and autoimmune diseases, among many others. Simply put, a healthy gut is revealed to play a role in both the cure and prevention of such diseases, making the demand for the FMT and other advanced gut health diagnostics and treatment surge across the world in the past two years.

The emerging science of gut health

Addressing gut health for disease prevention and optimization makes sense with the understanding that the gut makes up 70 percent of our immune system. Its thousands of diverse bacterial species are responsible for deciding which substances we consume or gets into our body will be absorbed or secretedprotecting us from infection and regulating our metabolism. A leaky gut would have fewer strains of good bacteria to do such a job, thus the current popularity of FMTs. Today, we can already look into a persons overall gut health and clearly see if there are bad bacteria in your gut or if you lack good bacteria in it that causes you to get sick, become obese, and more, says Dr. Ted Achacoso, a prodigy doctor who isEuropean double-board certified in Nutritional Medicine and Anti-Aging Medicineand heads BioBalance Wellness Institute in the Philippines.The state of your gut says so many things about your entire body.

How the gut influences mood, immunity, aging

Approximately, up to 100 trillion microorganisms per human body colonize the intestinal tract making an additional acquired organ that provides many vital functions to the host. A healthy gut microbiome can be defined by the presence of the various classes of microbes that enhance metabolism, resistance to infection and inflammation, prevention against cancer and autoimmunity, and that positively influence so called brain-gut axis, states a study in the Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 2015 co-authored by Dr. Peter Konturek, considered the worlds most prominent microbiota expert. The study further discusses the correlation of gut health to peoples behaviors, moods, and aging, among others, only putting more emphasis on the importance of a healthy gut.

Bringing to Manila the worlds expert on gut health

Dr. Peter Konturek, the worlds expert on gut health and FMT, has been thriving as a Professor of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany and the Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Thuringia Clinic Saalfeld. BioBalance Wellness Institute, a major proponent of health optimization and gut health in the Philippines, is bringing Dr. Konturek to Manila this month for a medical lecture. The lecture intends to impart knowledge on scientific advances on the gut microbiotas influence on health and disease in the hope of expanding the knowledge and influence enthusiasm among medical practitioners and patients. BioBalance has been offering its clients intensive and advance gastro-intestinal and nutritional diagnostics since its inception, making the institute the perfect partner for Dr. Konturek in the Philippines.

Part of Dr. Kontureks lectures in Manila on March 14 will include scientific advances and perspectives on the gut microbiotas influence on peoples brain, mood, immunity, aging, and diseases; a special session on FMT, and practical gut health protocols. Having published over 250 original peer-reviewed publications and more than 15 book chapters, Dr. Kontureks researches are focused on the impact of H.pylori infection in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer, pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and the role of microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract and interaction with the brain-gut-axis, among others.

Dr. Peter Kontureks medical lecture titled The Investigational New Drug in Your Gut: Advances in Gut Microbiota Science and Fecal Microbiota Transplant Therapy will be held on March 14, 2017 (Tuesday), from 6 to 9 p.m., at JY Halls A & B, Bayanihan Center, Unilab. For more information and seat reservation, please contact BioBalance Institute at (02) 650-4858 or (0917) 521-4860, or e-mailinfo@biobalanceinstitute.com. Limited seats are available.

ADVT

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Gut Microbiota Therapy: the next big thing in Medical Treatments - Inquirer.net

DNA Computer Enables Controlled Drug Delivery – Anti Aging News

Posted on March 2, 2017 by ev1

Posted on March 2, 2017, 6 a.m. in Biotechnology Drug Delivery Technology

Researchers develop the first DNA computer capable of pinpointing several antibodies in the blood and carrying through resultant calculations.

A team of researchers has developed an intelligent DNA computer that can enable controlled drug delivery into the bloodstream. The team, from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, believes this new method will lead to the development of smart drugs that more effectively treat autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. The team, led by Professor of Biochemical Chemistry Maarten Merkx, published their findings in the Nature Communications journal.

DNA Computing

DNA computing is a largely experimental field of scientific study. Using a combination of DNA, biochemistry, and molecular biology hardware, researchers seek to use DNA sequencing for data storage and to perform complex calculations.

The goal of this new field is to create nano-computers using DNA instead of mechanical parts. The resulting machines would be able to store immense amounts of data and make complex calculations faster than inorganic equipment. Some scientists believe DNA computers may one day replace silicon-based hardware.

Possible Applications in Medical Treatment

DNA computing methods, due to their organic nature, allow medicines to work more effectively with the bodys natural defenses. Researchers compare the body to a security system with facial recognition. Previous research has focused on creating a machine that is recognized by the body, similar to the way a security system would recognize an authorized person.

Professor Merkxs method adds the ability to recognize the presence of antibodies. The identification and measurement of antibodies is a crucial step in diagnosing and treating disease. Antibody levels are also a factor when calculating the dosage of therapeutic drugs.

With DNA nano-computers able to detect and measure antibodies while performing complex analyses, researchers are hopeful machines can be programmed to carry out actions in response to certain measurements. Merkxs team successfully used DNA computing to control the activity of enzymes. The professor believes it is possible to apply this technique to therapeutic antibodies. This should result in better absorption of therapeutic substances. When used as a delivery system, these computers will be able to decide how much medicine to release into the bloodstream, based on the antibodies in the bloodstream.

Future Applications in the Treatment of Chronic Disease

Researchers are working on ways to use the technology in the fight against chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohns Disease. These conditions are often treated with the same drugs. The dosage is dependent on the condition it is meant to treat. Smart drugs would be able to deliver the most accurately therapeutic dose of medication. This would allow for more effective treatment. It would also reduce the overall cost of treatment and reduce side effects.

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DNA Computer Enables Controlled Drug Delivery - Anti Aging News

‘Poker was like being in a trance’: readers’ experiences of problem gambling – The Guardian

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Bookmakers face losing their licence and huge fines over problem gambling. Photograph: Daniel Hambury/PA

Problem gambling costs the UK up to 1.2bn according to a report by charity GambleAware, with spending related to police intervention, mental health services and homelessness putting pressure on the system.

The charity warned of the narrow focus on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), known as the crack cocaine of gambling, and called on the government to do more to combat online betting.

We asked readers to share their personal experiences of problem gambling. Heres what some of you said.

Over three years I ran up an online poker loss of around 12,000. Playing poker was like being in a trance. I couldnt quit even whilst ahead. I drank. Id wake up the next day and wonder who that was last night that mad person who had dribbled away my hard-earned salary?

Since I work in finance this meant I couldnt change jobs as Id have my credit checked. This has held my career back. As a renter, it also meant I couldnt move from my flat, which has mould. For years I felt like a dirty loser with no control over my life.

I did have a good experience though with the site PartyPoker. I told them about my gambling and asked for a deposit limit of 10 to be put on my account. They said they took that sort of thing very seriously, closed my account and provided a link for advice on responsible gaming. I was pretty impressed, and to be honest that really helped break the poker-fever.

Sam, Edinburgh

I started playing blackjack online when I turned 18 and won several thousand pounds to start with. Then I started playing for more and more money and was simultaneously introduced to casino and internet poker. For several years I went through phases of giving myself an ultimatum that I would never play poker or gamble again, but inevitably I would break this promise to myself.

I tried to get counselling from Gamblers Anonymous (GA) but when it was offered to me I found I did not have the strength of mind to talk to a counsellor. I have hidden most of my online gambling from family and friends and have this burden of how I have wasted my time and money to myself. I am not sure who to tell as I am deeply embarrassed about it and feel it reflects badly on me and that those close to me will change their opinion.

Roger, London

My partner used to work for a high street bookmaker and developed a gambling problem through being in that environment. He suffers mental health problems and went off work for long term sickness and eventually left. He is a compulsive gambler and turns to gamble when he cannot cope with life.

Receiving substantial amounts of money can be distressing for him because of the compulsion he constantly feels to gamble. One time a few thousand poundswas played on roulette and lost within two and a half hours. No attempts to contact were made by the bookmaker, even though my partner had already lost a lot of money and they had access to files explaining his mental health issues.

Bookmakers always talk about protecting the vulnerable. I feel like allowing my partner to gamble like that was a massive failure and feel strongly enough to say they did not honour their licence agreement. Thankfully we pulled through and my partner received counselling through a local service . However I think he will always be a gambling addict and may always relapse throughout his life.

Louisa, north of England

My gambling was very secretive and involved bets on my phone. I gambled away money I didnt have, took out payday loans, borrowed off family members, all the while my wife didnt have a clue. I consider myself to be a family man, I love my wife and daughter and would do absolutely anything to give them a life they deserve. Gambling for me wasnt about chasing the big win, it was about chasing the money Id already lost. I got more satisfaction about recouping money Id lost that I did my winning outright.

When my wife found out about my problem she was devastated. We are saving up for our first mortgage and I was daft enough to waste what money I had left over on something so meaningless. I then risked my long-term credit rating by taking out short-term loans to fund my habit. I have attended GA meetings for the past 10 weeks and at the time of writing am coming up to 90 days without placing a bet.

Craig, Lancashire

My husband is a recovering gambler. He gambled for years without any issues then one day in the bookies he tried a roulette machine. Three years later and thousands of pounds in debt he eventually told me and started attending GA. It nearly destroyed our marriage and has had a profound impact on my ability to trust him. We now lose a substantial amount of our income a month to a debt management plan and whilst were financially secure due to reasonably paid jobs we cant afford all the nice things I see friends doing like holidaying abroad, going out for meals etc.

He is an intelligent, degree-educated man who works with addicts every day but these machines turned him into an addict of a different sort. He has had mental health problems ever since and remains on medication for anxiety. I dont think the 12 step approach suits everyone though. Perhaps there should be more CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)-like approaches as there are with drugs and alcohol problems.

Amy, Yorkshire

I started gambling when I was 14. My mum, uncle and grandfather were all addicted to gambling. I started playing fruit machines in the pub where I worked part time. My mum and I then started going into the arcade in the local town often from 9am-9pm when it closed, before the 24 hour arcades opened. I have gambled pretty much every day since my mum died 10 years ago often going to the arcade and phoning in sick.

Ive had two periods of absence from work one lasted for 18 months and currently its been a couple of weeks. My mum died with a thousands of pounds of debt which my father knew nothing about. I have had counselling, taken part in clinical tests and have been to all the relevant NHS clinics but these are not supported as much as they should be.

Charlie, London

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'Poker was like being in a trance': readers' experiences of problem gambling - The Guardian

March: 10 trance releases you need to hear this month – Mixmag

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Cosmic Gate 'Materia Chapter.One' (Black Hole Recordings)

As an artist, it must be hard trying to whittle your tracks down to fit onto one album, especially if youve had as many hits as Cosmic Gate have had recently. But rather than discarding the records they love and disregarding new concepts they wanted to try out, the German duo have decided to release their new album in two parts, with the second to come later this year. Featuring collaborations with huge names such as Ferry Corsten, Ilan Bluestone, Julie Thompson and Eric Lumiere, part one is a mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks, all of which have been made fore the club (apart from Fireflies and Halo, which give you a chance to catch your breath right at the end). The bars been set for the second chapter, then and we expect it to be just as good.

8/10

March: 10 trance releases you need to hear this month - Mixmag

Interview with Luminosity Events founder Bo van Eck | Trance Hub – Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

We had a chat with Bo van Eck, the man behind one of the biggest trance music events in the world Luminosity Events. Trance music is all about passion and it is essential to know what goes in making our dream events like Luminosity Beach Festival and more. Bo discusses behind the scenes stories and his love for trance music. You can buy tickets to #LBF17 Paylogic

The pleasure is mine! Im looking forward to hear all of the artists of course but Im always the most curious about the fresh names who will be making their Luminosity debut. It has always been a big priority for us to support new and upcoming artists and give them a stage to help their profile to grow and have their fans finally being able to hear and meet them.

The most important basis here is a big passion for the trance scene as a whole and the ideal to support especially the producing artists to help them making a living out of music and that way being able to continue producing beautiful trance music. Without this passion for trance music Im sure we wouldnt have the big support and success as we are currently receiving from so many passionate fans world width.

People recognize that the event is made by trance fans for trance fans. In this light the quality of the line-up and having a surprising element in the line-up is always the biggest priority for our events.

Already a few weeks before the coming Luminosity Beach Festival will be organised we start with planning the dates of the next years event. This of course has to go through the venues involved and has to be communicated with the local city councils as well as they need to confirm that the required emergency crew (police, ambulance and more) capacity will be available that specific weekend. Once that has been cleared we move forward with multiple artworks and start the first discussions with the agencies of the main headliners to double check if their agendas are free and to see if all is clear to move forward. As a whole confirming the line-up is a process of approx. 4-6 months more often than not all the requested artists are able to confirm directly.

Once the line-up is confirmed we can move forward with other key elements such as the promotion of the event, the production, organising the crew, plan meetings with suppliers and brainstorm about fresh ideas etc. In all aspects the main organisation mission is to 1) surprise the visitors every year by adding new elements and changing organising and production compared with the previous year and 2) to improve literally every aspects which is involved in the event organisation. Think of the production, merchandise, minimalizing the waiting time at the entrance, bars and toilets, transports, accommodation for all artists and crew involved and most importantly the overall atmosphere of the event.

During the event our crew has approx. 60-70 people. In the preparations we are working with approx. 8 people. Most tasks are split, thinking of artwork, merchandise, administration & accounting, customer service, social media, artists hospitality, logistics, physical promotions, online marketing, personnel, web mastering etc.

The best thing without a doubt is seeing and meeting passionate people from all over the world, enjoying the music and making new friends, experiencing the event together with a friendly crew like it is a small heaven on earth.

Listening to new music and radio shows and finding new amazing tracks and exciting talented artists also gives me a great feeling of motivation and hope for the years to come.Apart from the atmosphere and happiness factor Im a planner type of guy from origin so it makes me happy and proud when things work out as planned and organised. Small example is seeing people from the main event walking to the shuttle buses to the after party, all staying together, friendly and controlled. Making sure everything happens in a good, safe and responsible way. Every now and then police and other authorities are stopping by to keep an eye on the overall organisation and seeing their happy and sometimes even surprised face expression is great to see and a sign that we as event as a whole are doing great which is also the basis for the local authorities to approve out request to organise the event there in the future again.

Negatives are the enormous pressure involved to keep the event as one of the best out there. Of course it is a huge privilege to often read positive feedback from the visitors but after the event it can sometimes cause sleepless nights as thinking how we are going to improve next year

Theres also a huge overall challenge as there are many parties involved in organising an event and we need to make sure all are motivated and capable of organising the event as we planned. During the event I think its safe to say that 80% of what we planned in the preparations runs differently than how we expected so in that case its important that all involved are flexible, able to improvise and are capable to work with big pressure and still stay friendly and always being focused on finding solutions.

Picture: Ivan Lavarini

Music wise I miss a lot the more old school sounds in the BPM area between progressive and 138 where the focus is on euphoric melodies and dreamy vocals and vibes. I do enjoy most of the sub-genres today (from progressive to psy-trance). Furthermore Im happy to see that the more trouse sounds havent made out in the trance scene for long and havent took over trance as a whole.

Apart from the global situation Im a bit worried about the trance event scene here in The Netherlands as there is a bit of a overkill going on with often multiple events being organised in the same weekend which Im afraid affects in events pulling a smaller crowd, having a smaller budget and so seeing the overall quality going down. When that happens Im afraid that event visitors get a negative experience and arent so likely anymore to visit another trance event in the future which is killing for the trance scene in the long terms.

Thats a difficult one! Id say the Luminosity Beach Festival 2016 as the feedback of that event was so positive even while expectations were already incredible high. The atmosphere experienced, seeing people crying of happiness, is something I havent witnessed ever before. Also from the organisation and crew perspectives that was an event which I look back to in a very positive way. Apart from last years beach event every event is important and special for us.

Ive actually kept my regular daytime job for the past 9 years while organising events, this as I studied for it, had great joy doing the work and had great colleagues to work with as well. Quitting my day time job in times of a crises was a bit of a tricky thing to do as you never know if in the future an employer will give you the job in the previous working experience again, as obviously Id be out of that work for some years and they then might prefer a more junior and cheaper employee. Looking back at things now I have dont really understand how Ive managed to get things done back then ha! Even today Id wish there would be 100 hours in a day, being able to do more. This is also the reason that we now have an office which gives the possibility to work in a bigger team and also work more together, exciting times really!

Simple! The way how trance music can hit you in the soul and have an impact on our daily moods is so big! Possibly for many of us it could be an addiction I also find the trance scene overall a very open and friendly type of people. When visiting events its easy to make new friends and have fun together. You dont get fights quickly when stepping on someone toes by accident etc. People have positive minds and make the best of things.

Not really, no. So far the goal is to keep the event as exclusive as possible and not sell the concept to earn more money. The event has grown from very small to an average sized event step by step, in a very organic and non-forced way. The vital factor in our event, as I see it, is having the support of the most dedicated and passionate crowd out there. Copying the event to another part in the world would require the same slow and organic way of event grow. This is also something very time taking so to do so we would have to start from zero somewhere else which would also effect in having less budgets and a lower overall event quality which obviously doesnt meets the ambitions from our side and expectations from the crowd. Copying the event to somewhere else and then forcing the event to have a similar event visitors as in the Netherlands would require a big mainstream promotion campaign and effect in a type of crowd which doesnt meet our concept fully.

This week however we had the pleasure to announce a new partnership with Captured Festival in Ibiza, who have much similar ethos as Luminosity Events so we are exciting to combine powers and organise great events there in the coming years!

I wouldnt say its the best festival in the world but our power is the combination of a unique line-up, a great location with the freedom to leave the event at any time to take a relaxing break at the beach and then come back to the event, a friendly crew and most important the support of a huge internationally dedicated and passionate trance crowd.

I in no way like to sound arrogant here but not really no. I could mention someone like Tiesto but honestly I wouldnt know what the effects on Luminosity of such a booking would be; what crowd would visit us then and which atmosphere will there be? Im happy, privileged and proud on and with the artists who we have worked with so far. In that light I rather re-book artists which we have previously worked with than new superstars who would possibly change our concept too much.

Im a family guy who loves making day trips and travels to see the world and experience as much as possible. I love football but quit playing myself after some injuries in my youth so Im now a professional TV watcher

In the weekends I love to spent time with my kids, go to a restaurant and visit trance events every few weeks

Thank you. Its always a pleasure to do interviews like this one. Id also like to thank all the fans for their long and loyal support and my family to be able to balance work and personal life. Its a busy job which often continues up to night times while others would spend quality family time together so it means a non-stop mixture of family time and hard work, but Im very lucky to be in this position, to share what we as team love doing and spreading the love for trance music worldwide.

Hope to see you all on the dancefloor at Luminosity Beach Festival 2017.

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.

Weve upgraded one of our most popular 2-channel mixers to create the...

Interview with Luminosity Events founder Bo van Eck | Trance Hub - Trance Hub (satire) (press release) (blog)

Ghost in the Shell: Tumblr and Paramount sponsor cyberpunk … – Netimperative

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

To celebrate the release of The Ghost in the Shell movie, Tumblr and Paramount Pictures are collaborating for an event to explore the future relationship between technology, fashion, and humans.

Prototype will take place on March 7th during Paris Fashion Week, where the latest wearable technology will be showcased. The exhibition will feature creations from designers using technological advances to innovate the world of fashion, with garments that react to adrenaline, display video content, adjust the temperature of the wearer or change shape when they sense different sounds.

Curated by Tumblr, the event will also feature a headline performance from Viktoria Modesta, the Bionic Pop Star and face of Channel 4s Born Risky disability initiative. Following the event, Tumblr will showcase highlights and original content from the it online.

Featuring creations from designers using technological advances to innovate the world of fashion, the exhibition features garments that react to adrenaline, display video content, adjust the temperature of the wearer or change shape when they sense different sounds. Tumblr will showcase highlights and original content from the event online from March 10th.

The event will feature a headline performance from Viktoria Modesta, the Bionic Pop Star whos single Prototype inspired elements of this event through its exploration of fashion, art and technology. Modesta, who is also the face of Channel 4s Born Risky disability initiative will be performing live to some the industrys biggest opinion formers.

The Latvian born singer and model wears an extensive range of alternative prosthetic legs, regarding them as fashion items. Her approach to her disability makes her perfectly placed to explore the intersection of wearable technology and humanity prevalent themes of Ghost in the Shell.

Hollywood costume designers, Chromat will also be at the event to exhibit their Adrenaline Dress. Powered by Intel the piece is composed of printed panels interlinked into an expandable carbon fibre framework which mimics the bodys fight or flight reaction and changes shape to empower the wearer.

Other exhibitors include:

Wise Wear

WiseWear, is an award winning boutique engineering and design firm that develops innovative products from end-to-end. WiseWear fuses fashion with threads of technology by seamlessly integrating proprietary biosensing and wireless communication technologies into everyday items. The industry refers to WiseWear as the first FASHION-FUSIONISTS which strive to make electronics invisible a balanced blend of fashion, form and function. Fashion icon Iris Apfel is an avid spokesperson for the Socialite Collection.

Cutecircuit

The internationally renowned fashion house has been attracting fans to its interactive designs since its launch in 2004. With celebrity advocates including Katy Perry, Nicole Sherzinger and Sarah Brightman, the brand innovates through the use of smart textiles and micro-electronics to create both ready to wear and haute couture collections. Pieces include a Kinetic Dress which reacts to the wearers surroundings and mood to a dress which can receive and display tweets in real time.

EMEL+ARIS

Creators of the Smart Coat, which uses Far Infrared technology to warm the muscles of the wearer, improving circulation to allow the wearers whole body to feel warm. The luxury jacket for men and women is designed to bridge the gap between fashion and function with six of the garments available to trial at the event.

Silvia Fado

Shoe designer Silvia Fados work explores the relationship between the movement of the body and fashion footwear design on the one hand, and high performance Sports footwear and body movement on the other. Her Kinetic Traces collection of Hydraulic Heels brings Sports footwear fundamentals to high-end fashion to create an arresting anthology which uses springs, rubber balls and pneumatic hydraulics to absorb shock. To download a collection of images, click here: https://we.tl/0CRlGHS6Dq

Ying Gao

Designer Ying Gao will present her project Incertitudes, two interactive garments which use dress makers pins to create motion. The pins are activated by the wearers partner in conversation and create an engaging display to the spectator.

The event will be held during Paris Fashion Week on March 7, 2017 from 6-9pm at Le Dme, Elphant Paname. The restored Napoleonic mansion fuses history with innovation to create a unique space which will bring the themes of the event to life.

Ghost in the Shell opens in UK cinemas on March 31st 2017. Ghost in the Shell opens in France on March 29th 2017.

Originally posted here:

Ghost in the Shell: Tumblr and Paramount sponsor cyberpunk ... - Netimperative

TMS girls basketball wrap up – Thermopolis Independent Record Homepage

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Eighth grader Jasmine Collins looks to the basket during a game earlier this season.

Thermopolis Middle School's seventh and eighth grade girls basketball teams had their final games last weekend, with eighth grade attending conference in Powell and seventh playing here.

Seventh grade coach Kent Hessenthaler said his girls played very well, but lost by just three points to Worland in a "barn burner".

Their second game of the day was against Riverton, however, the girls lost that one by five points after leading through most of the game. Hessenthaler said they just seemed to run out of gas in the last half of the last quarter, with Riverton outscoring the girls 6-0.

"We were handicapped by just having seven girls playing the tournament," he said. "One of our girls missed the tournament due to a prior commitment and we missed her a lot.

"Playing against the larger schools with many more players was tough on us. Still, I'm very proud of our girls. They gave 100% effort in both games."

Seventh grader Layne Myers puts up a shot during the Yellowstone Conference Saturday.

Hessenthaler added that this is an incredible bunch of young ladies with a bright future.

"It's Monday evening and I miss them already," he said. "I feel like I should be at practice right now. Every practice and game this year was a pleasure.

"I commend them and their parents for a great season."

The eighth graders faired better, coming away with a fifth place win. Coach Katie Despain said, "The season overall has been a lot of fun. The girls have been improving from game to game.

"I am excited to watch the girls next year at the high school level. They have a lot of potential and will become even better athletes moving forward.

"I could not have asked for a better bunch of girls to coach this year. I will most certainly miss them next year!"

TMS girls basketball wrap up - Thermopolis Independent Record Homepage

Edap Tms SA (EDAP) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Friday – Sports Perspectives

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

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TMS Announces 2017 Bladesmithing Competition Winners – Newswise (press release)

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Newswise March 1, 2017San Diego, CA (USA): A blade forged from a meteorite, a mythical Elven shortsword made real, and a reproduction of a Viking battle axe were among the 26 entries that competed in the 2017 TMS Bladesmithing Competition, held as part of the TMS 2017 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in San Diego, California, February 26March 2.

It was a sword produced in the style of a Norwegian langseax, however, that took home the inaugural TMS Wadsworth-Sherby Bladesmithing Grand Prize when the winners of the competition were announced on February 28. The sword was forged by a student team representing the South Dakota School of Mines, with steel smelted in a historic manner with local materials gathered from the Black Hills.

Now in its second year, the TMS Bladesmithing Competition challenges university teams across the globe to produce a knife or sword blade formed by hand hammering or trip hammer forging. The teams are also required to prepare a technical report on the science behind the creation of their entry, as well as a technical poster and a video. The entries are rigorously judged on technical excellence, safety, and aesthetics by a panel of scientists and engineers in the minerals, metals, and materials professions.

The TMS Wadsworth-Sherby Bladesmithing Grand Prize is sponsored by Battelle and was established by Battelle President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Wadsworth. The Prize consists of a $2,000 cash award for the team, a medal, and a commemorative volume of Wadsworth-Sherby Collected Works on Damascus Steels & Related Topics. Wadsworth presented the Grand Prize during the Bladesmithing Award ceremony, noting that he had intended for the award to honor his mentor and friend, Oleg D. Sherby, who had developed a seminal body of research with Wadsworth on Damascus steel and other ancient weapons.

In addition to the TMS Wadsworth-Sherby Grand Prize, TMS conferred second, third, and honorable mention place awards. The full list of 2017 TMS Bladesmithing Competition winners are as follows:

TMS Wadsworth-Sherby Grand Prize ($2,000 prize) South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Second Place ($500 prize) Norwegian University of Science and Technology "Reproduction of the T19391 Sword from the Late Norwegian Iron Age"

Third Place ($250 prize) Colorado School of Mines "A Closer Shave: Forging a Damascus Steel Straight Razor"

Honorable Mention ($100 prize) California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo "A Rapier Eclectic"

Visit the TMS Bladesmithing Competition website for further information on the contest background and rules, as well as a list of the 2017 contestants. All student videos are also available for viewing.

ABOUT TMS The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) is a member-driven international professional society dedicated to fostering the exchange of learning and ideas across the entire range of materials science and engineering, from minerals processing and primary metals production, to basic research and the advanced applications of materials. Included among its nearly 13,000 professional and student members are metallurgical and materials engineers, scientists, researchers, educators, and administrators from more than 70 countries on six continents. For more information on TMS, visit http://www.tms.org.

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TMS Announces 2017 Bladesmithing Competition Winners - Newswise (press release)

This May Explain Why So Many People Feel Outraged About Childfree Adults – Huffington Post

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

There was once a time when deciding not to have children automatically made you a social pariah. And even as an increasing number of people are choosing not to become parents, the social bias against childfree adults persists.

Birth rates among 20-something women have declined steeplyas millennialsdelay marriage and having kidsin order to focus on things like education, career, personal growth and financial stability. Many others arent having children at all, and the number of women who have chosen to forgo motherhood altogether has doubled since 1970.

Yet many people still consider the decision to forgo parenthood as not only abnormal and surprising, but also morally wrong, suggests new research from Indiana University-Purdue University.

The findings, published in the March issue of Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, show that most people view parenthood as a moral imperative for men and women.

For the study, 204 psychology students at a Midwestern university read a short passage about a married adult and then rated their feelings toward the person and their perception of the persons level of psychological fulfillment. The only details in the passages that changed were the characters gender and whether they had chosen to have kids.

Childfree men and women were consistently viewed as being less personally fulfilled than those who had two children. This is likely due to the fact that the participants reported significantly greater feelings of moral outrage including anger, disgust and disapproval toward the voluntarily childless people.

Perceiving the childfree people as less fulfilled acts as a way of punishing them for violating whats often considered to be both a social norm and a moral imperative,according to study author Dr. Leslie Ashburn-Nardo.

Parenthood is a cultural norm and as with other norms, violations are not looked upon kindly.Research has shown that people who diverge from social role expectations often face backlash from other members of society for defying the unwritten social contract.

Through parentsand peers,people learn that parenthood is both typical and expected,Ashburn-Nardo wrote. Peoplewho violate social role expectations based on widely sharedcultural stereotypes are subject to perceivers backlash, suchas social and economic sanctions and sabotage. This backlashis justified in the minds of perceivers because the targets arethought to have brought it upon themselves by not fulfillingtheir expected roles.

Of course, the fact that childless women are widely discriminated against shouldnt come as news to anyone. Childlessness has been described as the final female taboo,and women who choose not to become mothers are often considered selfish or career-obsessed.Women are still expected to conform to gender stereotypes and are criticized and punished when they dont.

This enduring bias carries real repercussions. A 2011 studyfound that women without children suffer from poorer health, likely thanks to the enduring social stigma against childlessness. Childless people are also discriminated against in the workplace, being subject to less schedule flexibility and fewer tax breaks compared to their co-workers who are parents.

Other research has linked moral outrage to discrimination and interpersonal mistreatment, Ashburn-Nardo said in a statement. Its possible that, to the extent they evoke moral outrage, voluntarily child-free people suffer similar consequences. ... Exploring such outcomes for this demographic is the next step in my research.

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This May Explain Why So Many People Feel Outraged About Childfree Adults - Huffington Post

Is political correctness killing US institutions? – Canada Free Press

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Donald Trump electrified crowds. He refused to bow to the Left's totalitarian PC orthodoxy

BombThrowers: The concept of political correctness, or PC, goes back more than a half century. Over time PC has changed America for the worse. It was invented not to expand discussions but to prevent them through peer pressure and intimidation.

The origins and continuing implications of PC were part of a high-profile panel discussion at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., over this past weekend.

This fascinating panel met on the main stage at CPAC and featured moderator Jan Riordan of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, along with a panel consisting of Fox News contributor and Conservative Review columnist Tom Borelli, U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), College Republican National Committee chairman Alex Smith, and Capital Research Center president Scott Walter. It was a wide-ranging discussion, delving into the history of political correctness, its impact in culture and business, the dumbing down of education, and what the future may hold.

Scott Walter kicked off the discussion by defining political correctness. Not surprisingly, Walter, whose organization, Capital Research Center (the parent of Bombthrowers), specializes in unmasking organizations of the Left and their funders, gave a succinct explanation:

The real origin of the term goes back to the first half of the twentieth century and the hard Left where they made no bones about itthere is no objective truth, all that matters is what serves the party, so truth will change from day to day. This is what you see in [George] Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four, where things go down the memory hole. Then it began seeping into the broader Left in this country and it was probably around the 1980s I think when conservatives began to make fun of political correctness because it was already becoming so ridiculous. But I have friends who, at graduate school in Cornell in the 1980s and at meetings there would be: Oh we cant say that. It wouldnt be politically correct. Now it has become a vicious orthodoxy that is enforced with bullying, so that whatever the political agenda of today is, if you violate it, wham!

In fact it was 1950s large-C Communists who created that phrasepart of the enforcement mechanism for maintaining strict adherence to doctrinaire communism among their membership. That rigid, uniform obedience to Communist ideology is what allows the Communists to stay on message and is what has made their messaging so effective. If you repeat a lie long enough, and get many people repeating it, sooner or later it begins to gain acceptance as legitimateno matter how outlandish.

Just consider transgender bathrooms. A few short years ago, such an idea would have been laughable, had anyone even considered it. But last year Obamas Justice and Education Departments jointly issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students imposing bathroom use based on an individuals internal sense of gender on schools nationwide. Thankfully, President Trump recently reversed that official guidance.

Fox News Channels Tucker Carlson debated Zac Petkanas, a senior advisor to the Democratic National Committee who heads DNCs Trump War Room. Petkanas called President Trump a monster for reversing Obamas action. Carlson pressed his guest to offer one example of a scientist who would publicly claim that ones sex is determined by what a person says it is, regardless of their biology. Petkanas claimed he could name thousandsbut never didand insisted that, like global warming, it was settled science. He accused Carlson of embracing right-wing pseudo-science. Carlson then asked him if he could change his race too just by saying so and upped the ante by offering him $1,000 if he could produce one, just one, scientist who says you can determine your sex just by saying so.

Watch the Carlson versus Petkanas video here:

Liberalism really is a mental disorder.

Congressman Rooney was asked how political correctness impacts his work in Congress. He said there were so many egregious instancesImagine this. In recent years, the government decided that you couldnt say the word Islam and terrorist in government manuals, including the government counter-terrorism manual. You cant say Islam and Islamic terrorism in the government manual!

Alex Smith said there were too many [instances of PC] to count on college campuses today She mentioned the maddening case of Dr. Condoleezza Rice being disinvited from speaking at the Rutgers University commencement last year, and how students then entered university administration buildings and destroyed property to make their point. She noted that on college campuses nationwide there is the real lack of intellectual diversity, while the Left trumpets all kinds of other diversity.

Tom Borelli described how PC infects the business world, saying that many business leaders, like Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, are progressives, and use their companies to advance PC ideas, while other companies are intimidated by shareholder activists and boycotts or threats of boycotts. The most recent example he cited was Nordstroms decision to drop Ivanka Trumps footwear line. While Nordstrom denied it, this was believed to be in response to the #GrabYourWallet campaign, which asked people to boycott any company carrying Trump products, refrain from doing business with the Trump family, or boycott businesses whose owners supported Trumps candidacy. He also mentioned how when Under Armors president publicly stated that President Trump would be good for business, Under Armors stock was downgraded, an action hugely important for the investment community. (Editors note: Tina Trent touched upon #GrabYourWallet in a recent Bombthrowers article.)

This is the extent to which the lunacy of political correctness has infected our society today. And it is a very dangerous lunacy. It requires rigid adherence to ideas that go against common sense, decency, and everything we know to be true. Anyone who makes the mistake of questioning the insane PC orthodoxy is targeted for vilification as racist, sexist, homophobic, or fill-in-the-blank-phobic. It is a tactic designed specifically to enforce conformity and destroy opponents, following Lenins admonition to write in a language which sows among the masses hate, revulsion, and scorn toward those who disagree with us. It is a mark of totalitarian thinking that is in fact the sixth stage, polarization, in The Ten Stages of Genocide.

In the Soviet Union, defying political orthodoxy was grounds for execution. In the book, Black on Red: My 44 Years Inside the Soviet Union, author Robert Robinson recounted his life in the Soviet Union under Stalin. He said that clothing was so poorly manufactured that pant legs differed in length, shoe pairs never matched sizes, and nothing fit properly. It was so bad that a public campaign was launched that made wearing ill-fitting clothes a badge of patriotism. Not only was it dangerous to complain about it, but if you were found to be wearing clothes without defects, you were accused of being disloyal to the regime. In communist states it is dangerous even to think about questioning the prevailing orthodoxy. As the saying goes, Think before you think.

Our nation, on college campuses and elsewhere, is rapidly approaching that point. It is one of the many reasons why candidate Donald Trump electrified crowds. He refused to bow to the Lefts totalitarian PC orthodoxy. In fact he shifted the paradigm, restoring PC to the butt of jokes it deserves to be. That is yet another reason college campuses and the Left nationwide have gone on a lunatic crusade to destroy President Trump and anyone willing to admit they voted for him. They have advanced by manipulating language to bend culture to their despotic will. President Trump now threatens their dominance.

This was an excellent forum on a critical topic, and this column cannot do it justice.

So I urge you to watch the entire thing, right here:

Is political correctness killing US institutions? - Canada Free Press

Enough with the political correctness: transgender individuals shouldn’t be allowed to compete in sports – The Rebel

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

What you do with your own body shouldn't have to be anyone's business but your own. When you start competing in sports, you're making it everyone's business. That's unfair to others, but also to yourself.

By now you've heard the story of Mack Beggs the high school wrestler who was born a female and competed against females to win the Texas state wrestling championship.

Beggs began transitioning to a male in 2015. ATTN reports that The transition hormones are significant because some male hormones have the potential to enhance athletic performance.

MORE: Political correctness on the podium: Transsexuals will be competing against women and men at the Olympics

Dr. Brandon Mines, assistant professor at Emory University's Department of Orthopedics, told CNN that Testosterone and anabolic steroids are in the same family and have the effect of increasing muscle mass and strength gains. He is allowed to take them and compete because they are considered a valid medical purpose.

This so-called 'valid' purpose as well as the fact he wasn't allowed to compete against boys, resulted in Beggs steamrolling the competition. How bad was it? He went 56-0.

The overwhelming dominance is disturbing. It's clear he doesn't belong competing against women. By contrast, MMA 'athlete' Fallon Fox, a male turned female martial artist, annihilated her female opponents.

Is it fair to females that they face off against a girl who is trying to become a man? Is it fair they compete against a woman using what essentially amount to performance enhancing drugs? It's clear that all Beggs wants to do is compete, and I respect that. It's good seeing kids be healthy and in shape, but at the what expense?

Is this really how you want to win? Competing against women when you're a man? Competing while male hormones give you an advantage? To prove what? To cause a big enough disruption so state rules will be changed?

Honestly, I don't even think Beggs should be competing against men either. If a woman tried to play hockey, how would men react? Not hit her? How is that fair? The same applies to wrestling or any sport with contact. It's opening a massive problem. No amount of drugs can change the fact you still grew up at a physical disadvantage or advantage. Which is why Fallon Fox is able to destroy her opponents.

It's only a matter of time until someone gets seriously hurt. Whether that person happens to be transgender or someone competing against them when you modify your body, you can't expect the rules to change to accommodate you.

Unless a transgender's dream involves NASCAR or competitive gaming such as StarCraft (see Scarlet), sports are something that should be removed from the equation. Respecting people is fine and encouraged, but when 'respect' results in these results, it's no longer about 'respect'.

Unfortunately, any sort of compromise results in the integrity of the competition also being compromised.

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Enough with the political correctness: transgender individuals shouldn't be allowed to compete in sports - The Rebel

Is Max cloning Tracey the barmaid to take over Walford in … – Metro – Metro

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

(Picture: BBC)

EastEnders could be set to turn sci-fi as fans may have discovered the first hints of a shocking CLONING storyline which will see Max Branning deploy ANDROIDS disguised as background character Tracey the barmaid in his bid to take over Albert Square.

The shocking turn of events will see the schemer, who we have already seen plotting to bring down the Queen Vic, create an army of Traceys which will leave the Carters and the rest of the community quivering with fear.

The plan is genius in its execution as no-one ever notices silent Tracey, it will be too late by the time characters realise that the Square is actually overrun with clones of the dutiful pint puller. But in a heart-stopping twist, Maxs best laid plans were nearly destroyed when Tracey actually spoke. Luckily, the Tracey that Shirley was talkingwith was the genuine article and Max breathed a sigh of relief.

While the characters are oblivious to Maxs slow burning plan, savvy fans and press have already spotted it coming to fruition. As while the real Tracey was talking with Shirley in the Vic, one of the cunningly placed droids was immersed in the pancake race crowd outside. And who knows how many others are lurking about?

And disaster soon struck when Ian Beale took a funny turn, collapsing to the ground after feeling dizzy during the race. Could this have been the work of Tracey Clone Unit TX13-40Y?

An EastEnders source whispered to us: We are very keen to preserve the secrecy of this storyline, but suffice to say we are working in conjunction with the Doctor Who team to create an explosive and pretty hypnotic series of twists for fans.

Maxs shocking plan to clone Tracey may not have gone unnoticed by fans but it will strike the heart of the Walford community without warning and soon, they will realise that incidents such as the bus crash and the materialisation of devil incarnate Keegan are all connected. Traceys clones are powerful forces to be reckoned with and Max may be about to win this war.

It is thought that actress Jane Slaughter will soon find herself appearing several times in all scenes, meaning that the extra will become the busiest member of the soap cast.

Rumours of this creating disharmony among the rest of the actors have been blown out of proportion, although an on set mole has suggested that many werent happy that Tracey the Barmaid will soon utter the iconic line: Get outta my pub! to the Carters while flanked by Max and 30 of her clones.

DISCLAIMER: We may be taking the piss ever so slightly. The real story is that Tracey appeared in two scenes in a row but given that soap episodes arent filmed in real time, this isnt really a massive issue. Let Tracey enjoy the pancake race.

MORE: EastEnders spoilers: Keegan exacts a cruel porn video revenge on teen Bex Fowler with huge consequences

MORE: EastEnders spoilers: What is wrong with Ian Beale as he suffers a shock collapse?

Metro Blogs is a place for opinions. These opinions belong to the author and are not necessarily shared by Metro.

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Is Max cloning Tracey the barmaid to take over Walford in ... - Metro - Metro

Facts About Cloning – Live Science

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Dolly the Sheep in a field at The Roslin Institute.

Cloning is the process of taking genetic information from one living thing and creating identical copies of it. The copied material is called a clone. Geneticists have cloned cells, tissues, genes and entire animals.

Although this process may seem futuristic, nature has been doing it for millions of years. For example, identical twins have almost identical DNA, and asexual reproduction in some plants and organisms can produce genetically identical offspring. And scientists make genetic doubles in the lab, though the process is a little different.

There are three different types of cloning, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI):

In gene cloning, a genetic engineer extracts DNA from an organism and then uses enzymes to break the bonds between nucleotides (the basic building blocks of DNA) and snip the strand into gene-size pieces, according to the University of Nebraska.

Plasmids, small bits of DNA in bacterial cells, are combined with the genes. Then, they are transferred into living bacteria. These bacteria are allowed to grow into colonies to be studied. When a colony of bacteria containing a gene of interest is located, the bacteria can be propagated to make millions of copies of the plasmids. Then, the plasmids can be extracted for gene modification and transformation.

Gene modification, or gene design, is when a genetic engineer cuts the gene apart and replaces regions of it with new material. Transformation is the step in which the new genetic material is transferred to a new organism, which changed it genetically. The organism, such as a plant, is grown, and the seeds they produce have inherited the new genetic properties.

Reproductive cloning

In reproductive cloning, a genetic engineer removes a mature somatic cell (any cell except for reproductive cells) from an organism and transfers the DNA into an egg cell that has had its own DNA removed, according to the NHGRI. Then, the egg is jump-started chemically to start the reproductive process. Finally, the egg is implanted into the uterus of a female of the same species as the egg.

The mother gives birth to an animal that has the same genetic makeup as the animals that donated the somatic cell. This was the process that produced Dolly the sheep.

Therapeutic cloning

Therapeutic cloning works in a similar way to reproductive cloning. A cell is taken from an animal's skin and is inserted into the outer membrane of a donor egg cell. Then, the egg is chemically induced so that it creates embryonic stem cells. These stem cells can be harvested and used in experiments aimed at understanding diseases and developing new treatments. [Infographic: How Stem Cell Cloning Works]

The first study of cloning took place in 1885, when German scientist Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch began researching reproduction. In 1902, he was able to create a set of twin salamanders by dividing an embryo into two separate, viable embryos, according to the Genetic Science Learning Center. Since then, there have been many breakthroughs in cloning.

In 1958, British biologist John Gurdon cloned frogs from the skin cells of adult frogs. On July 5, 1996, a female sheep gave birth to the now-famous Dolly, a Finn Dorset lamb the first mammal to be cloned from the cells of an adult animal at the Roslin Institute in Scotland.

"The birth of Dolly and the new understanding of the opportunity to change the functioning of cells made researchers consider other possible ways of modifying cells," Ian Wilmut, the scientist who led the team that created Dolly, told Live Science.

Since Dolly, many more animal clones have been born, and the process is becoming more mainstream. Research has also been conducted on human-cell cloning. In 2013, scientists at Oregon Health and Science University took donor DNA from an 8-month-old with a rare genetic disease and successfully cloned human embryonic stem cells for the first time. Unfortunately, the researchers didn't remove the cells to save the child. The project was to prove that mature donor cells could be used to produce new ones. This research has evolved into using stem cells for many different applications, including hair regrowth, treatments for burns and more.

Several companies are currently providing services that use cloning technology. For example, South Korea-based Sooam Biotech clones pets for around $100,000. And a Texas-based company, Viagen Pets, clones cats for $25,000 and dogs for $50,000.

Even plants are being cloned. One company is cloning maple trees to provide lumber for guitar-makers, with the aim of duplicating a quality in the wood, called figuring, that gives a guitar a sort of shimmering appearance.

There are many other applications for cloning. The movie "Jurassic Park" stirred the public's imagination and asked the question, "Can we use cloning to bring back extinct species through cloning?" For this process to be successful, scientists would need living DNA from the extinct animal and a living animal egg that is closely related to the extinct creature.

On July 30, 2003, a group of scientists led by Jose Folch at the Center of Food Technology and Research of Aragon, in northern Spain, brought back an extinct wild goat called a bucardo, or Pyrenean ibex. The cloned animal lived for only 10 minutes, according to National Geographic, but the scientists proved that an extinct animal could be brought back. Researchers at Harvard are currently working to clone woolly mammoths, and they say they should be able to do so by 2019.

While cloning a human is currently illegal in most parts of the world, cloning stem cells from humans is a very promising field of research. Stem cells can be reprogrammed to become any type of cell needed to repair or replace damaged tissue or cells in the body. Stem cell research has the potential to help people who have spinal injuries and other conditions.

Another area of research, the cloning of hair follicles, began more than a decade ago. It's just one potential application of human-cell cloning: treating hair loss. "We have learned recently that human hair cells lose their potential to multiply when expanded in cell cultures in a petri dish," said Ken L. Williams Jr., a surgeon and founder of Orange County Hair Restoration and author of "Hair Transplant 360: Follicular Unit Extraction" (Jp Medical Ltd., 2015). "Global gene expression analysis of the human hair follicle, however, has revealed that a special 3D spheroid culture may be able to allow cloning of hair cells in the future years. By manipulating the environment that the human hair cells grow, induction or expansion of hair cells occurs."

Another example of practical human-cell cloning is to use stem cells to help burns heal. A biotech company, RenovaCare, has created what it calls the CellMist System. In this process, stem cells are applied to the burned area on the patient, and that application triggers new skin-cell growth. Though it's still experimental, this process could help burn victims heal faster and experience less scarring.

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Facts About Cloning - Live Science

20 Years After Dolly: Cloning Past, Present and Future – KQED

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Its been 20 years since scientists in Scotland told the world about Dolly the sheep, the first mammal successfully cloned from an adult body cell. What was special about Dolly is that her parents were actually a single cell originating from mammary tissue of an adult ewe. Dolly was an exact genetic copy of that sheep a clone.

Dolly captured peoples imaginations, but those of us in the field had seen her coming through previous research. Ive been working with mammalian embryos for over 40 years, with some work in my lab specifically focusing on various methods of cloning cattle and other livestock species. In fact, one of the coauthors of the paper announcing Dolly worked in our laboratory for three years prior to going to Scotland to help create the famous clone.

Dolly was an important milestone, inspiring scientists to continue improving cloning technology as well as to pursue new concepts in stem cell research. The endgame was never meant to be armies of genetically identical livestock: Rather, researchers continue to refine the techniques and combine them with other methods to turbocharge traditional animal breeding methods as well as gain insights into aging and disease.

Not the Usual Sperm + Egg

Dolly was a perfectly normal sheep who became the mother of numerous normal lambs. She lived to six and a half years, when she was eventually put down after a contagious disease spread through her flock, infecting cloned and normally reproduced sheep alike. Her life wasnt unusual; its her origin that made her unique.

Before the decades of experiments that led to Dolly, it was thought that normal animals could be produced only by fertilization of an egg by a sperm. Thats how things naturally work. These germ cells are the only ones in the body that have their genetic material all jumbled up and in half the quantity of every other kind of cell. That way when these so-called haploid cells come together at fertilization, they produce one cell with the full complement of DNA. Joined together, the cell is termed diploid, for twice, or double. Two halves make a whole.

From that moment forward, nearly all cells in that body have the same genetic makeup. When the one-cell embryo duplicates its genetic material, both cells of the now two-cell embryo are genetically identical. When they in turn duplicate their genetic material, each cell at the four-cell stage is genetically identical. This pattern goes on so that each of the trillions of cells in an adult is genetically exactly the same whether its in a lung or a bone or the blood.

In contrast, Dolly was produced by whats called somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this process, researchers remove the genetic material from an egg and replace it with the nucleus of some other body cell. The resulting egg becomes a factory to produce an embryo that develops into an offspring. No sperm is in the picture; instead of half the genetic material coming from a sperm and half from an egg, it all comes from a single cell. Its diploid from the start.

Long Research Path Led to Dolly

Dolly was the culmination of hundreds of cloning experiments that, for example, showed diploid embryonic and fetal cells could be parents of offspring. But there was no way to easily know all the characteristics of the animal that would result from a cloned embryo or fetus. Researchers could freeze a few of the cells of a 16-cell embryo, while going on to produce clones from the other cells; if a desirable animal was produced, they could thaw the frozen cells and make more copies. But this was impractical because of low success rates.

Dolly demonstrated that adult somatic cells also could be used as parents. Thus, one could know the characteristics of the animal being cloned.

By my calculations, Dolly was the single success from 277 tries at somatic cell nuclear transfer. Sometimes the process of cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer still produces abnormal embryos, most of which die. But the process has greatly improved so success rates now are more like 10 percent; its highly variable, though, depending on the cell type used and the species.

More than 10 different cell types have been used successfully as parents for cloning. These days most cloning is done using cells obtained by biopsying skin.

More Than Genes Can Affect a Clone

Genetics is only part of the story. Even while clones are genetically identical, their phenotypes the characteristics they express will be different. Its like naturally occurring identical twins: They share all their genes but theyre not really exactly alike, especially if reared in different settings.

Environment plays a huge role for some characteristics. Food availability can influence weight. Diseases can stunt growth. These kinds of lifestyle, nutrition or disease effects can influence which genes are turned on or off in an individual; these are called epigenetic effects. Even though all the genetic material may be the same in two identical clones, they might not be expressing all the same genes.

Consider the practice of cloning winning racehorses. Clones of winners sometimes also will be winners but most of the time theyre not. This is because winners are outliers; they need to have the right genetics, but also the right epigenetics and the right environment to reach that winning potential. For example, one can never exactly duplicate the uterine conditions a winning racehorse experienced when it was a developing fetus. Thus, cloning champions usually leads to disappointment. On the other hand, cloning a stallion that sires a high proportion of race-winning horses will result very reliably in a clone that similarly sires winners. This is a genetic rather than a phenotypic situation.

Even though the genetics are reliable, there are aspects of the cloning procedure that mean the epigenetics and environment are suboptimal. For example, sperm have elegant ways of activating the eggs they fertilize, which will die unless activated properly; with cloning, activation usually is accomplished by a strong electric shock. Many of the steps of cloning and subsequent embryonic development are done in test tubes in incubators. These conditions are not perfect substitutes for the female reproductive tract where fertilization and early embryonic development normally occur.

Sometimes abnormal fetuses develop to term, resulting in abnormalities at birth. The most striking abnormal phenotype of some clones is termed large offspring syndrome, in which calves or lambs are 30 or 40 percent larger than normal, resulting in difficult birth. The problems stem from an abnormal placenta. At birth, these clones are genetically normal, but are overly large, and tend to be hyperinsulinemic and hypoglycemic. (The conditions normalize over time once the offspring is no longer influenced by the abnormal placenta.)

Recent improvements in cloning procedures have greatly reduced these abnormalities, which also occur with natural reproduction, but at a much lower incidence.

Continuing Onward With Cloning

Many thousands of cloned mammals have been produced in nearly two dozen species. Very few of these concern practical applications, such as cloning a famous Angus bull named Final Answer (who recently died at an old age) in order to produce more high-quality cattle via his clones sperm.

But the cloning research landscape is changing fast. The driving force for producing Dolly was not to produce genetically identical animals. Rather researchers want to combine cloning techniques with other methods in order to efficiently change animals genetically much quicker than traditional animal breeding methods that take decades to make changes in populations of species such as cattle.

One recent example is introducing the polled (no horns) gene into dairy cattle, thus eliminating the need for the painful process of dehorning. An even more striking application has been to produce a strain of pigs that is incapable of being infected by the very contagious and debilitating PRRS virus. Researchers have even made cattle that cannot develop Mad Cow Disease. For each of these procedures, somatic cell nuclear transplantation is an essential part of the process.

To date, the most valuable contribution of these somatic cell nuclear transplantation experiments has been the scientific information and insights gained. Theyve enhanced our understanding of normal and abnormal embryonic development, including aspects of aging, and more. This information is already helping reduce birth defects, improve methods of circumventing infertility, develop tools to fight certain cancers and even decrease some of the negative consequences of aging in livestock and even in people. Two decades since Dolly, important applications are still evolving.

George Seidelis aprofessor of biomedical science atColorado State University.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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20 Years After Dolly: Cloning Past, Present and Future - KQED

The evolution of Japanese color vocabulary over the past 30 years – Phys.Org

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

March 2, 2017 (Top) color samples were used in the present study. (Bottom) optimal number of clusters in Japanese color names derived by k-means analysis with Gap statistic. Credit: Ichiro Kuriki

Color plays an important role in conveying visual information. For example, color can help the observer find an object in a cluttered environment. Although the human eye can distinguish millions of colors, human languages have only a few color terms, such as "red," "green," "blue" and "yellow," which speakers can use to communicate about colors in everyday life. These color terms change over time as a language evolves, and the Japanese language is no exception.

This became clear through the work of an international collaboration between researchers at Tohoku University, their colleagues at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Ohio State University.

The researchers investigated the number of color categories (such as aka, midori, ao, ki, etc.) that are commonly used by native Japanese speakers. They asked 52 participants to name 320 color samples of various hues and lightness (plus black, white and several grays) using only single color words without modifiers (no "greenish yellow" or "light purple").

Statistical analysis of the results revealed 19 common Japanese categories. There were the 11 basic color categories common to most modern industrialized cultures (red, green, blue, yellow, purple, pink, brown, orange, white, gray and black), plus eight additional named color categories. These were: mizu ("water")/light blue, hada ("skin tone")/peach, matcha ("ceremonial green tea")/yellow-green, oudo ("mud")/mustard, enji/maroon, yamabuki ("goldflower")/gold and cream. Of these additional terms, mizu was used by 98% of informants, making it a strong candidate for a 12th Japanese basic color category.

Thirty years ago, a study of Japanese color categories (Uchikawa & Boynton, 1987) did not reveal mizu as a basic color category, because the informants in that earlier study often used mizu ("water") and ao (blue) interchangeably. Conversely, Uchikawa & Boynton found that kusa ("grass") was a very popular term for yellow-green, whereas, in the present study, kusa has been largely replaced with matcha ("ceremonial green tea"). These results illustrate that color terms, like many other aspects of language, change over time.

In contrast to these recent changes, there is one tradition that has not changed over the past millennium: the mixed use of green and blue. Careful study of classic Japanese poems before the 10th century showed that ao ("blue") was used to name both things that were clearly blue and also things that were clearly green; the same was true of midori ("green"). Even today, modern Japanese people refer to the color of the green traffic light, lush green leaves and green vegetables, as ao ("blue"). However, the use of ao and midori are otherwise quite distinct.

The transition from a single category encompassing both blue and green ("grue") to distinct blue and green categories is considered to be a landmark in the typical evolution of color lexicons around the world. For example, the Middle English term "hwen" was used to denote a grue category until 13th century, but modern English, like modern Japanese, has distinct terms for separate blue and green color categories. These investigators showed that, in addition to distinct color terms for blue and green, modern Japanese has recently added a new intermediate color term "mizu" for lighter bluish and greenish samples.

This study showed that although modern Japanese is not a "grue" language - since blue and green are distinct color categories - Japanese people have nonetheless retained traditional expressions from the classic poetic tradition of a thousand years ago.

Explore further: Blue or green? United Kingdom split over color of swatch

More information: Ichiro Kuriki et al, The modern Japanese color lexicon, Journal of Vision (2017). DOI: 10.1167/17.3.1

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The evolution of Japanese color vocabulary over the past 30 years - Phys.Org

Panthers GM not a fan of talk of offensive evolution – NBCSports.com

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

NBCSports.com

Panthers GM not a fan of talk of offensive evolution
NBCSports.com
I know our coaches are bright men and they can evolve, . . . I hate that word, Gettleman said. They can change. Stick a needle in my eye, I'm different than the first time you guys saw me up here. The bottom line is the responsibility of the coaches ...

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Panthers GM not a fan of talk of offensive evolution - NBCSports.com

Siberia’s Melting ‘Doorway To The Underworld’ Is Exposing Ancient Forests – Collective Evolution

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

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The Siberian permafrost has been a massive freezer for everything buried within it for hundreds of thousands of years. But climate change has provoked an alarming defrost of the tundra.

Permafrost is a silent ticking time bomb, explains Robert Spencer, an environmental scientist at Florida State University, because as it thaws, the dirt canrelease bacteria, carbon, methane, viruses, and more.

Huge holes have even begun appearing seemingly out of the blue, and in other places, the tundra is bubbling beneath peoples feet.

Now, new research has revealed that one of the permafrosts biggest craters in the region, which is referred to bythe local Yakutian people as the doorway to the underworld, is growing so quickly that its exposing forests, carcasses, and up to 200,000 years of historical climate records. Its called the Batagaika crater, which is a megaslump or thermokarst.

The largest of its kind, coming in at almost 0.6 miles long and 282 feet deep, it seems the crater is expanding each day. The team even suggests that the side wall of the crater will reach a neighbouring valley in just a few months due to temperatures heating up in the Northern Hemisphere, which couldresult in additional land collapse.

On average over many years, we have seen that theres not so much acceleration or deceleration of these rates, its continuously growing, explainsFrank Gnther from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. And continuous growth means that the crater gets deeper and deeper every year.

The hole will only get deeper and larger, which will bring to the surface carbon stores that have been trapped for thousands of years.

Global estimations of carbon stored in permafrost is [the] same amount as whats in the atmosphere, Gnther said.

At the very least, however, the crater could reveal a slew of important climate data, which, according to lead researcherJulian Murton from the University of Sussex, could help us to understand how the climate of Siberia changed in the past, and how it will shift over the coming years. Such insight mayhelp us to better prepare for when the permafrost melts again, which last occurredaround 10,000 years ago,when theEarth transitionedout of its last Ice Age.

The Batagaika site contains a remarkably thick sequence of permafrost deposits, which include two wood-rich layers interpreted as forest beds that indicate past climates about as warm or warmer than todays climate, Murton explains.

The upper forest bed overlies an old land surface that was eroded, probably when permafrost thawed in a past episode of climate warming.

But theres more research that needs to be done, Murton says,as the exact dates of the sediment that have been exposed in the crater still arent known.

Murton is devising a plan at the moment to drill bore holes in the region in order to examine additional sediment in hopes of getting a better understanding of what happened in the past.

Ultimately, were trying to see if climate change during the last Ice Age [in Siberia] was characterised by a lot of variability: warming and cooling, warming and cooling as occurred in the North Atlantic region, he explains.

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Siberia's Melting 'Doorway To The Underworld' Is Exposing Ancient Forests - Collective Evolution

Macroevolution and Its Complaints – Discovery Institute

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Danzig

Macroevolution and Its Complaints
Discovery Institute
The term macroevolution has problems. Why? Among other things, because it's a term that means different things to different people. Case in point: an email correspondent points out a random usage on a BioLogos Forum thread, Is evolution continuing?

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Macroevolution and Its Complaints - Discovery Institute

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