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Niall Bradley
In Ottawa today, in an event "unprecedented in Canada's history", someone shot dead - at point blank range - one of the two soldiers who stand guard at Canada's National War Memorial. From there the suspect(s) hijacked car(s) and made their way to Parliament Buildings, where they opened fire in close proximity to Canadian government ministers and legislators. Canada's capital city is currently on lockdown as thousands of personnel from multiple security forces patrol the area and set up checkpoints to monitor vehicles going in and out of the city.Sott.net 2014-10-22 21:04:00 One of the shooters has been killed, allegedly by a security guard inside the Parliament. At least two patients have turned up with gunshot wounds at a local hospital. Eyewitnesses told local news outlet CTV that "a man with long hair carrying a rifle" fired four shots at a soldier next to Canada's 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier'. That soldier has since died.
Canada's military has been put on high alert, with all its bases on lockdown. Canada had incidentally raised its national terrorism alert level earlier today, following a separate attack on Monday, in whichtwo Canadian soldiers were run over in a hit-and-run by a "homegrown radicalized jihadist",Quebecois Martin Couture-Rouleau, aka 'Ahmad the Converted'. One of the soldiers died. The suspect was summarily executed following a manhunt by militarized police. | |
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Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer 2014-10-23 20:39:00
As warned, after multiple staged incidents used to ratchet up fear and paranoia in the build-up to US and its allies' military intervention in Syria and Iraq, at least two live attacks have now been carried out in Canada - precisely as they were predicted. The first attack involved a deadly hit-and-run that left one Canadian soldier dead. AP would report in its article, "Terrorist ideology blamed in Canada car attack," that: A young convert to Islam who killed a Canadian soldier in a hit-and-run had been on the radar of federal investigators, who feared he had jihadist ambitions and seized his passport when he tried to travel to Turkey, authorities said Tuesday.The second, most recent attack, involved a shooting in Ottawa injuring several and killing another Canadian soldier. RT in its article, "Ottawa gunman 'identified' as recent Muslim convert, high-risk traveler," would report that: While the name of the Ottawa gunman is yet to be announced, a number of officials told numerous media that the shooter is believed to be Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a recent Muslim convert, allegedly designated as a high-risk traveler. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was born in Quebec as Michael Joseph Hall north of Montreal, two US officials told Reuters, claiming that American law enforcement agencies have been advised that the attacker recently converted to Islam. AP sources also identified the man to be Zehaf-Bibeau. A Twitter account associated with Islamic State militants tweeted a photo they identified as the Ottawa shooter. TheGlobe and Mail reports that the shooter was designated a "high-risk traveler" by the Canadian authorities with his passport seized.Clearly, both suspects were under the watch of not only Canadian authorities, but also US investigators, before the attacks. | |
Comment: See also Niall Bradley's SOTT Focus on the Ottawa shooting: Ottawa under attack: 'ISIS' assault on Canadian capital another false-flag terror event
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| Puppet Masters |
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New york times
2014-10-23 20:45:00
With just four days to go until Brazilians vote in a bitterly contested presidential election, an opinion poll published Wednesday suggests that the challenger, Aécio Neves, remains the underdog but still has a fighting chance of defeating President Dilma Rousseff. If he is going to unseat Brazil's first female president, however, Mr. Neves will have to do so without the endorsement of the American actress Lindsay Lohan. A spokeswoman for the actress clarified on Wednesday that "a tweet declaring Ms. Lohan's support for a Brazilian presidential candidate," which had attracted wide attention in Brazil one day earlier, was posted on her Twitter account in error. "While Ms. Lohan doesn't support any of the candidates," her publicist, Leslie Sloane, wrote in an email, "she encourages Brazilians to vote on Oct. 26." | |
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Tom Philpott
Mother Jones 2014-10-20 19:57:00
David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, presides over a company with famously wacky product labels. Sample sentence, from the 18-in-1 Hemp PEPPERMINT soap bottle: "Each swallow works hard to be perfect pilot-provider-teacher-lover- But apparently, Bronner's writing on GMOs is too hot for the advertising pages of the English-speaking world's two most renowned science journals, Science and Nature -even though a slew of magazines, including Scientific American, The New Yorker, Harper's, The Nation, Harvard, and, yes,Mother Jones, accepted the Bronner ad. It consists of a short essay, known in publishing as an advertorial, that's nothing like the wild-eyed rants on his company's soap bottles. Bronner's ad (PDF) focuses on how GMO crops have led to a net increase in pesticide use in the United States, citing an analysis by Ramon Seidler, a retired senior staff scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency. Bronner wrote his essay in response to Michael Specter's recent New Yorker takedown of anti-GMO crusader Vandana Shiva. He first published his critique on Huffington Post, and then decided to publish it as an ad in a variety of high-profile magazines, because he felt that The New Yorker is highly influential among liberal elites, and he wanted to get his dissenting view out, he told me. | |
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RT
2014-10-17 20:52:00
A classified US Senate probe into the CIA's post-9/11 detention and interrogation program does not evaluate the role of former President George W. Bush or top administration officials in approving abuses including torture, according to a new report. The Senate Intelligence Committee's $40 million investigation into the Central Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation program - active from September 11, 2001 to 2006 - has found that the spy agency purposely deceived the US Justice Department to attain legal justification for the use of torture techniques, among other findings that resulted in a 6,000-page report, completed from March 2009 to December 2012. Of that investigative report, the public will only see a 500-page, partially-redacted executive summary that is in the process of declassification. What the report does not include, according to sources for McClatchy news service, is any accounting of responsibility that top members of the Bush administration have for the shadowy capture-and-detain regime at Guantanamo Bay and secret "black site" prisons, often fueled by suspect bounties, or for crafting the legal framework that allowed the CIA to interrogate detainees with waterboarding and other methods deemed to be torturous by international standards. | |
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Ned Simon
Huffington Post 2014-10-22 10:39:00
Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who revealed the extent of American and British surveillance programmes, should be charged with murder, according to a senior United States congressman. Republican Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, told a meeting in the House of Commons in London on Tuesday evening that Snowden was a "traitor" who was now living in the "loving arms" of Russian spies. "The [US] government has pressed charges on Mr Snowden," he said. "We are treating him, as, I would argue, the traitor that he is." Rogers added: "And by the way, and this is important, I would charge him for murder." Rogers also warned the gathering of British MPs and interested foreign policy professionals thatBritish policy of restricting its strikes against ISIS to Iraq was giving the Islamic militant group a "safe haven" in Syria. The material provided by Snowden to The Guardian exposed the depth and breadth of US and UK global and domestic spying capabilities and activities. However the Michigan congressman said the leak had caused the deaths of American and British armed forces. "He took information that allows force protection, not only for British soldiers, but for US soldiers, and made it more difficult for us to track those activities. Meaning it is more likely that one of those soldiers is going to get their legs blown off or killed because of his actions," he said. "Anybody that provides information to the enemy is a traitor, period, pure and simple." He added: "Many don't find it odd he is in the loving arms of an SVR [Russia's External Intelligence Service] agent right now in Moscow. I do." Snowden fled to Russia after handing NSA files over the press. His life there is the subject of a new documentary by Laura Poitras, one of the journalists who worked with him to make some of activities of Western intelligence agencies public. | |
Comment: ..."take our collective heads out of our collective backsides and start paying attention"... that might be the redeeming statement of this article. Isn't that what Snowden did? Isn't that what American public opinion is repeatedly telling the government? Maybe Intel Committee Chair Rogers missed the memo that the US is responsible for the emergence of ISIS - bought, trained and doing the dirty work of the homeboys.
Charge Snowden with murder...Rogers' line of reasoning would then apply to the entire US government and military complex. Not seeking re-election, Mr. Rogers has lined up a syndicated radio show for his next career. Some blowhards should just shut up. As for 'links between Snowden and Russian Intelligence', no links are necessary; they just are (intelligent). | |
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ABC News
2014-10-23 16:11:00
Japan's new industry minister has admitted that some of his staff spent office money at a sex bar, thethird political scandal to hit the Japanese cabinet this week. Yoichi Miyazawa said he learned from a news report that his political support group billed 18,230 yen ($170) as entertainment expenses during a visit to a sadomasochism-themed clubHiroshima in September 2010. The venue's shows depict women being tied up with ropes and whipped. The 64-year-old veteran MP immediately distanced himself from the scandal, saying he was not present at the club. "I came to know of that through a media report, and it was true," Mr Miyazawa told reporters in Tokyo on Thursday. "It is also true that I myself was not there," he added. | |
Comment: Makes you wonder what else they are up to and spend public money on without our knowledge:
Still evil after all these years: The Franklin scandal and pedophilia in high places Conspiracy of Silence Beyond the Dutroux affair: The reality of protected child abuse and snuff networks in a world ruled by psychopaths | |
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Dmitry Orlov
Club Orlov 2014-10-21 15:38:00
A year and a half I wrote an essay on how the US chooses to view Russia, titled The Image of the Enemy. I was living in Russia at the time, and, after observing the American anti-Russian rhetoric and the Russian reaction to it, I made some observations that seemed important at the time. It turns out that I managed to spot an important trend, but given the quick pace of developments since then, these observations are now woefully out of date, and so here is an update. At that time the stakes weren't very high yet. There was much noise around a fellow named Magnitsky, a corporate lawyer-crook who got caught and died in pretrial custody. He had been holding items for some bigger Western crooks, who were, of course, never apprehended. The Americans chose to treat this as a human rights violation and responded with the so-called "Magnitsky Act" which sanctioned certain Russian individuals who were labeled as human rights violators. Russian legislators responded with the "Dima Yakovlev Bill," named after a Russian orphan adopted by Americans who killed him by leaving him in a locked car for nine hours. This bill banned American orphan-killing fiends from adopting any more Russian orphans. It all amounted to a silly bit of melodrama. | |
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John Pilger
John Pilger marks the death of former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam with the one story missing from the 'tributes' to a man whose extraordinary political demise is one of America's dirtiest secrets. Asia Times Online 2014-10-23 14:03:00
Across the political and media elite in Australia, a silence has descended on the memory of the great, reforming prime minister Gough Whitlam, who has died. His achievements are recognised, if grudgingly, his mistakes noted in false sorrow. But a critical reason for his extraordinary political demise will, they hope, be buried with him. Australia briefly became an independent state during the Whitlam years, 1972-75. An American commentator wrote that no country had "reversed its posture in international affairs so totally without going through a domestic revolution". Whitlam ended his nation's colonial servility. He abolished Royal patronage, moved Australia towards the Non-Aligned Movement, supported "zones of peace" and opposed nuclear weapons testing. Although not regarded as on the left of the Labor Party, Whitlam was a maverick social democrat of principle, pride and propriety. He believed that a foreign power should not control his country's resources and dictate its economic and foreign policies. He proposed to "buy back the farm". In drafting the first Aboriginal lands rights legislation, his government raised the ghost of the greatest land grab in human history, Britain's colonisation of Australia, and the question of who owned the island-continent's vast natural wealth. | |
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Nil Nikandrov
Strategic Culture Foundation 2014-10-21 00:00:00
Over two thousand Brazilian political activists, intellectuals, people of art and culture signed a manifest on October 26 highlighting the hostile actions of Washington aimed at prevention of Dilma Rousseff election victory. The document is posted to social nets. It says the coming to power of Aécio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira - PSDB), who serves the interests of tycoons, will inflict irreparable damage to the country and take away all the snags on the way of US direct interference into the Brazilian internal affairs. Neves is to play the role of obedient tool in the hands of US administration. Washington goes to any length to achieve its goal and bring the desired candidate to power - some things are done covertly, some tricks are resorted to in a clandestine way. All CIA information and propaganda resources are used to support Neves. Around 80 million Brazilians have access to Internet, 150 million are cell phone users. The US special services have perfect command of destabilization techniques. The recent protests and social unrest in Brazil threatened the World Cup proving that the forces are ready to react as the «color revolution» scenario to be implemented at any time. The activities of non-government organizations are not restricted in any way; their members have close ties with US embassy and consulate staff, as well as ISAID workers. The human intelligence is used to discredit the policy of the Dilma Rousseff government. The lies about its ineffectiveness are spread around by all available means. «Experts» forecast collapse in case the President wins another term. They disseminate dubious results of «rating polls» that complicate the vision of reality. | |
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| Society's Child |
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RT
2014-10-23 22:47:00
Foreign tourists with any travel history are now not welcome in North Korea - concerns about Ebola made Pyongyang bar any tours from entering the country. At least this is what North Korean specialized travel agencies tell media. "We have just received official news from our partners in the DPRK that, as of tomorrow, tourists from any country, regardless of where they have recently visited, will not be permitted to enter," Gareth Johnson of the China-based Young Pioneer Tours told Reuters. North Korean state media released a statement on Thursday notifying its readers that checks on travelers were becoming more stringent. "Travelers and materials are undergoing more thorough checks and quarantine at airfields, trading ports and border railway stations than ever before," the state KCNA agency wrote. Further agencies reported similar instructions. "We have just received news from our partners in Pyongyang that the country is not accepting any international tourists from tomorrow, effectively closing its borders due to the threat of the spread of the Ebola virus," said a spokesperson for Beijing-based Koryo Tours. "It is unknown how long this closure will be in effect, and due to the very changeable nature of DPRK policy, we are still hopeful we will be able to run the three tours we have scheduled for the remainder of 2014," Nick Bonner stated. International travel to the notoriously insular North Korea is a rarity anyway. Tourist travel is only possible with a guide. This is not the first time the country has imposed entry limits over a health scare. "In 2003, the country closed its borders due to the threat of SARS, despite not a single case being reported there," said Bonner. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization announced that 9,936 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - all of which have suffered the worst outbreaks - have contracted the disease. Some 4,877 people have died in total. | |
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Michael Snyder
Activist Post 2014-10-23 00:00:00
Thanks to the Federal Reserve, the middle class is slowly being suffocated by rising food prices. Every single dollar in your wallet is constantly becoming less valuable because of the inflation the Fed systematically creates. And if you try to build wealth by saving money and earning interest on it, you still lose because thanks to the Federal Reserve's near zero interest rate policies banks pay next to nothing on savings accounts. The Federal Reserve wants you to either spend your money or to put it in the giant casino that we call the stock market. But when Americans spend their paychecks they are finding that they don't stretch as far as they once did. The cost of living continues to rise at a much faster pace than wages are rising, and this is especially true when it comes to the price of food. Someone that I know wrote to me today and let me know that she had to shut down the food pantry that she had been running for the poor for so many years. It isn't that she didn't want to help the poor anymore. It was that she just couldn't deal with the rising food prices any longer. Now she is just doing the best that she can to survive herself. | |
Comment: Things aren't likely to improve anytime soon, and if fact, could probably get much worse as recent indicators show the US economy is headed for a crisis. Storing food would be a wise thing to do:
A good way to invest your money: Store large amounts of food, like now | |
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James Rush
The Independent 2014-10-23 21:27:00
Video footage has emerged of Israeli soldiers allegedly detaining a disabled 11-year-old Palestinian boy, who had been accused of throwing stones. In the video the boy can be seen to be pushed up against the rear end of a jeep before his hands are tied behind his back. He is then blindfolded and placed into the back of the vehicle by the two soldiers. The footage, filmed in the Palestinian city of Hebron, was this week published online by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. The organisation said the boy was briefly detained after Palestinian children had thrown stones at soldiers on Sunday. It said the boy was held in the jeep for 15 minutes until his father arrived and convinced the soldiers to release his son, who the group said had a learning disability.
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Police State USA
2014-10-23 19:43:00
Tucson - Riot police brutally handled a crowd following a NCAA basketball game, leading to multiple state-sanctioned assaults caught on video. On March 29th, 2014, Tucson officers held a heavy presence on University Boulevard, which was the site of some unruliness amongst the young people gathered in the street. One officer - clad in a gas mask and riot gear - was caught on film on that evening performing multiple acts of unprovoked aggression on students in the area. It was Tucson PD Sergeant Joel Mann, an 18-year-veteran of the force. Sgt. Mann shoved a female pedestrian so hard that she flew into a metal bench on the sidewalk. The woman, Christina Gardilcic, had been doing nothing other than walking along the sidewalk toward a group of students congregating up ahead. "We were just walking behind on the sidewalk and next thing I know I was just on a bench," Ms. Gardilcic told ABC News. "My feet were... up in the air and I just got hit. It really happened very fast. I got up fast 'cause I was kind of in shock." "What happened to me, I consider excessive force," Gardilcic added in the ABC interview. "I had no idea I was doing anything wrong. If I was, and he physically shoved me and I fell, I could have been really hurt." View a bystander's recording of Sgt. Mann's the assault on Christina Gardilcic below. A helmet-cam video shot from Mann's perspective is also available. | |
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Mike Adams
Natural News 2014-10-18 11:52:00
The only thing spreading faster than the global pandemic outbreak right now is the mental illness it seems to invoke across the establishment media. The principle of isolation, a fundamental tool for halting any outbreak, is now being widely and repeatedly described in the leftist media as "racist." (See video below.) What we are being told by the media now is essentially that people with dark skin like Thomas Duncan should never be kept in medical isolation because that would be racist. Similarly, flights from countries with dark-skinned people can never be restricted because that, too, would be "racist." | |
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RT
2014-10-23 20:10:00
Home Secretary Theresa May has ordered an inquiry into police use of Taser stun guns, after it emerged the weapons were increasingly and disproportionately used against black Londoners and the mentally ill. On Thursday, May said she wanted to see clear data on the reasons why officers deployed Tasers in specific incidents. The weapons were introduced to UK police forces in 2004. "Taser is an important operational tactic which can protect the public, but we are right to demand transparency," the Home Secretary said. "So I have asked the national policing lead and Home Office officials to conduct an in-depth review of the publication of Taser data and other use of force by police officers. "This will present options for publishing data on how police officers are deploying these sensitive powers, who they are being used on and what the outcome was. Just as with 'stop and search', we need to bring proper transparency to these powers by improving data reporting." | |
Comment: It seems the UK police are following in the footsteps of the US police state, where police increasingly use violent tactics first, ask questions later, if at all. It will be interesting to see if anything useful comes out of this inquiry. More likely it will result in little more than rhetoric and hand-slapping.
UK Police State: Tasers used 28 times EVERY DAY in 2013, over 10,000 in total London police Taser blind man after mistaking cane for samurai sword | |
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Reuters
2014-10-23 14:12:00
A man arrested after jumping the White House fence on Wednesday night has been charged with three felony counts and four misdemeanors, the U.S. Secret Service said on Thursday. Dominic Adesanya of Bel Air, Maryland, was unarmed when he was arrested on the White House grounds and facing Secret Service dogs that stopped and attacked him, the Secret Service said. The incident came about one month after an intruder armed with a knife scaled the White House fence and entered the executive mansion, raising questions about security at the heavily guarded complex and spurring the resignation of Julia Pierson as Secret Service director. Officials charged Adesanya, 23, with two felony counts of assault on a K-9 police officer, one felony count of making threats and four misdemeanor counts of resisting and unlawful entry, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said. K-9 refers to the team using specially trained dogs. | |
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Danielle Haynes
United Press International 2014-10-22 22:03:00
Clearwater, Fla., woman charged with aggravated battery after allegedly dousing roommate in nail polish remover and setting him on fire. A Florida man was in critical condition Wednesday after his roommate allegedly set him on fire in a dispute over some spaghetti and meatballs. Clearwater, Fla., police arrested Melissa Dawn Sellers, 33, for allegedly pouring nail polish remover on her roommate, 42-year-old Carlos Ortiz Jr., and setting him on fire with a cigarette lighter. The pair had been drinking and fighting about pasta Sellers accused Ortiz of throwing away. "She was setting little objects on fire, then that turned into pouring nail polish remover all over him, and then all of a sudden, the lighter sparked and he lit on fire," witness Ines Causevic told Bay News 9. "When he got up, his face was like melting off, it was pink and sore," he added. "His lips were burning." | |
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Greg Hunter
USAWatchdog 2014-10-22 00:00:00
Michael Snyder is a self-proclaimed "truth-seeker" and financial writer who says there is no recovery on Main Street, and we are not going to get one - ever. Snyder contends, "We've had permanent damage to the U.S. economy. It's kind of like going to the beach, and you build a sandcastle. The waves start coming in, and the sandcastle is not going to be destroyed by the first wave. Then, more waves will come in, and eventually the whole sandcastle will be wiped out. That's kind of what's happening to the U.S. economy. We've had waves of economic problems, and we have had permanent damage as a result. Our economy is not totally destroyed yet, but we have permanent damage. Now, new waves are on the way, which will cause more damage because of the long term trends." Snyder goes on to explain, "None of the long term problems that have been plaguing our economy have been fixed. Instead, the Fed printed a bunch of money and pumped up the stock market. It made people feel good, but the underlying fundamentals are not getting any better." | |
Comment: Also watch for a rapid rise in the US Dollar Index as capital flees stocks/bonds/derivatives for the perceived relative safety of the USD, T-Bills, etc.
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RT
2014-10-23 11:37:00
A Guinean woman has been attacked in a bus in Rome by angry passengers who told her she was infected by Ebola and had to get off the bus, Italian media reports. She was taken to hospital suffering from multiple bruises. Fataomata Sompare, 26, was about to get off the bus on Monday, said Il Messaggero, an Italian newspaper, as cited by the Local. A teenage girl who was on the bus with her friends saw Sompare and began accusing her of having the deadly virus. Then some of the teen's relatives started beating the woman. "They told me that I had Ebola and that I had to get off the bus," said Sompare, who has been living in Italy for four years. People at a bus stop near Grotte Celoni Metro station in the east of the city managed to save the woman, who suffered multiple bruises after being beaten by passengers. The police arrived and she was taken to hospital. The incident was reported to public prosecutors by Sompare's lawyer. | |
Comment: Andrew M. Lobaczewski, author of Political Ponerology had this to say about hysteria in Germany during the 19th and 20th century and what we are witnessing again today:
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Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project 2014-10-22 04:03:00
An Ohio medical doctor was assaulted and arrested at his own home on charges that would eventually be found to be false. Montgomery, OH - Dr. Randal Cox was hosting his terminally ill son's 18th birthday when six police officers from two different precincts showed up to his door. When Dr. Cox opened the door he was attacked by the officers. The incident was captured on cellphone video from one of the guests at the party. "Somebody grabbed me around the neck, they body slammed me then multiple people got on top of me then I started getting Tased," said Cox. Cox was then arrested and hauled off to jail in front of his son, who was left devastated at what would be his last birthday. Cox's son died several months later as a result of his terminal brain cancer. Cox was charged with resisting arrest, which would later be dropped. | |
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| Secret History |
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Andrey Borodovsky
The Siberian Times 2014-10-23 19:48:00
It is a place unlike any other and is, arguably, one of the greatest art galleries anywhere in the world. Yet you won't find masterpieces in the traditional sense here, with no Rembrandts, Monets, or Da Vinci's anywhere in sight. Instead, this is the Russian Altai mountain range, where art exists in its most natural sense, carved into the rocks by ancient civilisations 5,000 years ago. Located in Siberia, at its borders with China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, it is home to literally thousands of petroglyphs and drawings that continue to fascinate archaeologists today. Experts have been studying the area for more than a century, with each expedition deep into the heart of the valleys and gorges uncovering more fingerprints of the past. | |
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Andrew Lawler
Science AAAS 2014-10-23 12:00:00
Polynesians from Easter Island and natives of South America met and mingled long before Europeans voyaged the Pacific, according to a new genetic study of living Easter Islanders. In this week's issue of Current Biology, researchers argue that the genes point to contact between Native Americans and Easter Islanders before 1500 C.E., 3 centuries after Polynesians settled the island also known as Rapa Nui, famous for its massive stone statues. Although circumstantial evidence had hinted at such contact, this is the first direct human genetic evidence for it. In the genomes of 27 living Rapa Nui islanders, the team found dashes of European and Native American genetic patterns. The European genetic material made up 16% of the genomes; it was relatively intact and was unevenly spread among the Rapa Nui population, suggesting that genetic recombination, which breaks up segments of DNA, has not been at work for long. Europeans may have introduced their genes in the 19th century, when they settled on the island. Native American DNA accounted for about 8% of the genomes. Islanders enslaved by Europeans in the 19th century and sent to work in South America could have carried some Native American genes back home, but this genetic legacy appeared much older. The segments were more broken and widely scattered, suggesting a much earlier encounter - between 1300 C.E. and 1500 C.E. | |
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New research on a 45,000-year-old Siberian thighbone has narrowed the window of time when humans and Neanderthals interbred to between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, and has shown that modern humans reached northern Eurasia substantially earlier than some scientists thought. Qiaomei Fu, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and first author of a paper describing the research, said the sample had a long history before making its way into her hands. The bone was found eroding out of a Siberian riverbank, but no one knows precisely where. The bone changed hands several times before finding its way to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, where Fu was working with professors Janet Kelso and Svante Pääbo. Fu put the finishing touches on the research after she started in the laboratory of David Reich, HMS genetics professor. Carbon dating and molecular analysis filled in many of the blanks about the sample. Testing determined that the sample was from an individual who lived 45,000 years ago on a diet that included plants or plant eaters and fish or other aquatic life. | |
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ScienceDaily
2014-10-20 20:00:00
Roman gladiators ate a mostly vegetarian diet and drank ashes after training as a tonic. These are the findings of anthropological investigations carried out on bones of warriors found during excavations in the ancient city of Ephesos. Historic sources report that gladiators had their own diet. This comprised beans and grains. Contemporary reports referred to them as hordearii ("barley eaters"). In a study by the Department of Forensic Medicine at the MedUni Vienna in cooperation with the Department of Anthropology at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Bern, bones were examined from a gladiator cemetery uncovered in 1993 which dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century BC in the then Roman city of Ephesos (now in modern-day Turkey). At the time, Ephesos was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and had over 200,000 inhabitants. Using spectroscopy, stable isotope ratios (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur) were investigated in the collagen of the bones, along with the ratio of strontium to calcium in the bone mineral. | |
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Sheila Foran
The Dutch ship Huis de Kreuningen went to her watery grave on March 3, 1677. But until a team led by University of Connecticut professor and maritime archaeologist Kroum Batchvarov found her this past summer in the waters of the southern Caribbean, no one knew precisely where that grave was.UConn Today 2014-10-21 20:00:00
Batchvarov, assistant professor of maritime archaeology in UConn's Department of Anthropology, is an internationally known researcher specializing in 17th-century ship building and maritime archaeology. He is leading a multi-phased investigation to find and study the remains of 16 vessels that were sunk in a fierce battle that took place in what is now known as Scarborough Harbour in the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. The battle was fought between the invading French and the Dutch, who controlled the island of Tobago at that time. Although often overlooked by students of maritime history, the confrontation was significant, both in terms of the number of lives lost and the damage done to both fleets. "What has been discovered is a treasure trove for archaeological researchers," says Batchvarov. | |
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Ori Lewis
Reuters 2014-10-21 19:45:00
Israeli archaeologists displayed on Tuesday a 2,000-year-old stone block unearthed in Jerusalem that they hope will help shed new light on a Jewish revolt against the Romans. It is part of a lintel from an arch built to welcome Emperor Hadrian when he visited Jerusalem in 130 AD, around the time the region's Jews, led by Bar Kochba, rose up against Roman rule. The Latin inscription on the remnant, which hails Hadrian in the name of the 10th Roman legion, fills out understanding of the extent to which the empire controlled Judea at the time, said Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Rina Avner. "This is another (part in the) puzzle in the historical mystery of what preceded what: the revolt of Bar Kochba or the foundation and the establishment of a city on top of the ruins of Jerusalem named 'Aelia Capitolina' and the change of status of Jerusalem to a Roman colony," she said. "We don't know yet which preceded which." | |
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UCD News
Ancient Europeans remained intolerant to lactose for 5,000 years after they adopted agriculture2014-10-22 15:00:00
By analysing DNA extracted from the petrous bones of skulls of ancient Europeans, scientists have identified that these peoples remained intolerant to lactose (natural sugar in the milk of mammals) for 5,000 years after they adopted agricultural practices and 4,000 years after the onset of cheese-making among Central European Neolithic farmers. The findings published in the scientific journal Nature Communications (21 Oct) also suggest that major technological transitions in Central Europe between the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age were also associated with major changes in the genetics of these populations. For the study, the international team of scientists examined nuclear ancient DNA extracted from thirteen individuals from burials from archaeological sites located in the Great Hungarian Plain, an area known to have been at the crossroads of major cultural transformations that shaped European prehistory. The skeletons sampled date from 5,700 BC (Early Neolithic) to 800 BC (Iron Age). | |
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NOAA
German U-boat 576 and freighter Bluefields found within 240 yards of one another2014-10-21 20:00:00
A team of researchers led by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries have discovered two significant vessels from World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. The German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields were found approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Lost for more than 70 years, the discovery of the two vessels, in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, is a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII. "This is not just the discovery of a single shipwreck," said Joe Hoyt, a NOAA sanctuary scientist and chief scientist for the expedition. "We have discovered an important battle site that is part of the Battle of the Atlantic. These two ships rest only a few hundred yards apart and together help us interpret and share their forgotten stories." On July 15, 1942, Convoy KS-520, a group of 19 merchant ships escorted by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, was en route to Key West, Florida, from Norfolk, Virginia, to deliver cargo to aid the war effort when it was attacked off Cape Hatteras. The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan flagged freighterBluefields and severely damaged two other ships. In response, U.S. Navy Kingfisher aircraft, which provided the convoy's air cover, bombed U-576 while the merchant ship Unicoi attacked it with its deck gun. Bluefields and U-576 were lost within minutes and now rest on the seabed less than 240 yards apart. | |
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| Science & Technology |
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Kelly Dickerson
Live Science 2014-10-23 06:48:00
The invisible force that pulls in the Millennium Falcon spacecraft to the Death Star in Star Warsmovies is still far from becoming a reality, but physicists have developed a miniature version of sorts: a tractor beam that can reel in tiny particles. The laser-based retractor beam pulled the particles a distance of about 8 inches (20 centimeters), which is 100 times farther than any previous experiments with tractor beams. "Because lasers retain their beam quality for such long distances, this could work over meters," study researcher Vladlen Shvedov, research fellow at the Australian National University, said in a statement. "Our lab just was not big enough to show it." During the experiment, the researchers used a laser that projected a doughnut-shaped beam of light with a hot outer ring and cool center. They used the light beam to suck in tiny glass spheres, each of which measured about 0.2 millimeters (0.008 inches) wide. Not only did the researchers move the glass spheres farther than had been demonstrated in previous experiments, but they used a different technique altogether. Other retractor beams rely on the momentum of light particles in the laser beam to reel in mass. In those experiments, the momentum from the light particles shooting out of the laser is transferred to the target that the laser is hauling in. However, that technique works well only in a vacuum that is shielded from other free-floating particles that can interfere with the momentum transfer. | |
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phys.org
2014-10-19 16:02:00
The claim by microbiologist Derek Lovley and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that the microbe Geobacter produces tiny electrical wires, called microbial nanowires, has been mired in controversy for a decade, but the researchers say a new collaborative study provides stronger evidence than ever to support their claims. UMass Amherst physicists working with Lovley and colleagues report in the current issue of Nature Nanotechnology that they've used a new imaging technique, electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), to resolve the biological debate with evidence from physics, showing that electric charges do indeed propagate along microbial nanowires just as they do in carbon nanotubes, a highly conductive man-made material. Physicists Nikhil Malvankar and Sibel Ebru Yalcin, with physics professor Mark Tuominen, confirmed the discovery using EFM, a technique that can show how electrons move through materials. "When we injected electrons at one spot in the microbial nanowires, the whole filament lit up as the electrons propagated through the nanowire," says Malvankar. Yalcin, now at Pacific Northwest National Lab, adds, "This is the same response that you would see in a carbon nanotube or other highly conductive synthetic nanofilaments. Even the charge densities are comparable. This is the first time that EFM has been applied to biological proteins. It offers many new opportunities in biology." | |
Comment: see also: Forming new circuits - Meet the electric life forms that live on pure energy
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Bob Yirka
Phys.org 2014-10-23 14:28:00
It's been ten years since the bones of Homo floresiensis, aka, the "hobbit" were uncovered in Liang Bua, a cave, on the island of Flores in Indonesia, and scientists still can't agree on the diminutive hominin's origins. This month, the journal Nature has printed a comment piece by Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London and two pieces by Ewen Callaway, one a retrospective with interviews with the central players, and the other a podcast with the four principle scientists involved in the find - Bert Roberts, Thomas Sutikna, Dean Falk, and Stringer. Did H. floresiensis descend from Australopithecus, leaving Africa and somehow settling on Flores, or was it a case of an early member of our family tree finding its way to the island and then because of limited resources, evolving into a much smaller size? That's the central question in the debate. The majority opinion has sided with the island effect, mostly because of the time frame - H. floresiensis existed a mere 13,000 years ago, which means it was alive when other Homo sapienswere about, thus it seemed to make sense that H. floresiensis was also a member that had become stranded on an island. But Stringer doesn't agree. In his commentary piece he notes the chin and jaw are more reminiscent of pre-human fossils, dating back approximately two million years. Also, the body shape and tiny brain appear to be more primitive than humans. He says taken together, the evidence suggests a closer match with Australopithecus, a pre-human group living in Africa which also includes the remains of the famous "Lucy" - and which also date back to approximately 1.2 million years ago. | |
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| Earth Changes |
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Emil Foget
ColombiaReports.co 2014-10-23 21:57:00
Authorities in southwestern Colombia have raised alert levels on Tuesday after a 5.6M earthquake hit the border region, raising concerns that two nearby volcanoes might erupt in a matter of days. Colombia's Geological Service have changed the alert level of two volcanoes from yellow to orange. The two volcanoes are Cerro Negro and Chiles, both active on Colombia's southern border with Ecuador. The orange alert level is defined by the Geological Service as "probable eruption in term of days to weeks." The earthquake that hit the border region caused a scare on both side of the border. Officials in the Colombian town of Cumbal, near the quake's epicenter, were quoted as saying by The Associated Press that they formed an emergency committee to survey possible damage. But so far, there were no reports of injuries in the town of 36,000 residents, the majority of them members of an indigenous tribe. "It was really strong, every house" felt it, Jose Diomedes Juezpesan, the town's top official, told AP. If the volcanoes are to erupt, it will mostly affect the state Nariño. Local state government have started to take security measures in order prevent tragedies. | |
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Piotr Wojciak
ColombiaReports.co 2014-10-23 21:50:00
Authorities in southwest Colombia ordered the evacuation of around 12,000 people living near the Chiles and Cerro Negro volcanoes on the border with Ecuador, amid fears that recent volcanic activity may result in an eruption. On Tuesday, Colombia's Geological Service have changed the alert level of two volcanoes from yellow to orange. 48 hours later, it was followed up by the National Disaster Risk Management Unit's (UNGRD) decision to evacuate more than 3,500 families belonging to indigenous reserves of Chiles , Panam and Mayasquer. According to Carlos Ivan Marquez, the director of the UNGRD, the authorities set up an incident command post in the town of Cumbal where they have delivered 3,000 tents for the people in temporary shelters. "In accord with the forecast given to us by the Geological Service, the change of alert level from yellow to orange means anticipated eruptions in the coming days or weeks," Marquez told the media. If the volcanoes are to erupt, it will mostly affect the state Nariño. Local state government have started to take security measures in order prevent tragedies. | |
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Jun Hongo
Wall Street Journal 2014-10-23 21:51:00
One major volcanic eruption could make Japan "extinct," a study by experts at Kobe University warns, although the chances of that happening are relatively slim. The study, by Prof. Yoshiyuki Tatsumi and Associate Prof. Keiko Suzuki, concludes that the chance of a big eruption that would disrupt the lives of everyone in Japan are about 1% over the next 100 years. The researchers based their findings on the cycles and impacts of major eruptions in Japan on the study of the Aira Caldera near what is now the city of Kagoshima on southern Kyushu island. The caldera was created 28,000 years ago and has a diameter of 20 kilometers. If a similar eruption were to take place in the area today, within about two hours the flow of molten rock, lava and ash would cover an area in which seven million now live. A large amount of ash would be carried across the country, shutting down transportation and other key systems, disrupting the lives of nearly 120 million people, or almost everyone in Japan. "We should be aware," the researchers warn in their report to be published in November. "It wouldn't be a surprise if such gigantic eruption were to take place at any moment." | |
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MBL.is
2014-10-23 22:11:00
Approximately 70 earthquakes occurred on the Bárðarbunga caldera rim in the last 24 hours reports the Iceland Met Office this morning. The strongest quakes were of the magnitude of 4.8 yesterday at 13:21 and at 4.6 at 01:36. Seven earthquakes altogether exceeded the magnitude of 4, and 15 earthquakes were in the magnitude range of 3-3.9. Subsidence of the caldera is continuous. According to the Iceland Met Office, no significant changes are observed in the seismic activity around the Bárðarbunga volcanic system. Around 30 events have been detected in the northern part of the dyke intrusion, between northern Dyngjujökull and the eruption site in Holuhraun. The strongest ones were both of the magnitude 1.4 yesterday at 10:07 and 13:33. | |
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Oliver Pritchard
The Comet 2014-10-09 21:13:00
New data reveals there has been a rise of almost 300 per cent rise in the number of dogs attacks in Stevenage since January. A total of 31 offences were reported to police in the last 10 months, compared with just 11 in the equivalent period last year. Now Herts police have launched Is You Dog Fully Under Control? - a campaign that aims to educate people about responsible dog ownership along with the recent changes in the law. The Stevenage Safer Neighbourhood team were in the town centre on Saturday to spread the word. Officers, Stevenage Borough Council staff and representatives of dog charities were on hand to talk about the changes in the law and give advice on training, identification and other issues. Sgt Manjit Khela from the team said: "A dog can be dangerously out of control even if it is on a lead. "The correct level of control needs to be exerted to ensure it does not go on to injure another dog or person. "If a dog bites a person, it will be seen as being dangerously out of control - but even if the dog does not bite, but gives the person grounds to feel that the dog may injure them, the law still applies." | |
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China's largest freshwater lake, Poyang, has shrunk by one third in the past three days due to reduced water supply from the Yangtze River and little rainfall. At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the lake's surface area was 1,490 sq km, a reduction of 679 sq km compared with 2,169 sq km on Monday, said the Jiangxi Provincial Hydrological Bureau. The water level at Xingzi hydrological station was 11.99 meters at 4 p.m. Wednesday, 2.13 meters lower than the levels in normal years. The water level is falling by 30 cm per day. | |
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Joshua Krause
Daily Sheeple 2014-10-20 19:38:00
Nestled in the mountains of California, is the infamous tourist destination of Bodie. Once a thriving gold mining town, it is now an empty shell of its former self. As soon as the gold depleted in the early 20th century, the town faced decades of decline that it would never recover from. By the early 1960′s, the last handful of residents left the town. They leaving behind an eerie scene, filled with crumbling homes and businesses amidst a desolate landscape. However, gold isn't essential to living. If the Western drought continues on its current course, then we have dozens of ghost towns to look forward to in the near future. So far the drought in California has been relentless. Where I live in the Bay Area, we've had our first rain of the year today, if you could call it that. More like a fine mist. Normally we've gotten at least one rainy day by this time of year, but it's looking like this winter is going to be just as bad as last year. | |
Comment: Read more about the California drought spreading at unprecedented rate:
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Officials with a Saskatchewan wildlife center said workers and residents of a home invaded by snakes have captured 102 snakes in the house. Megan Lawrence, director of rehabilitation at the Salthaven West Wildlife Rehabilitation, said the family first discovered garter snakes in the basement of their home near Regina. "We got a call from a family that found some garter snakes in their basement, and as they investigated further they found a lot more. And then they started finding them in other areas of the house, like kitchens and bedrooms. So they decided then it wasn't a good idea to have them there anymore," Lawrence told CBC News.
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A 12-year-old Rehoboth boy was bitten on the leg and hand on Monday night by what animal control officers believe was a fisher cat. Wes Brown said he was throwing a football in his backyard with his cousin when he saw an animal coming toward him. "I couldn't exactly see it because it was at night but it looked gray and it had pointy ears," he said. At first, Brown thought it was a cat, but then it attacked him. Brown said the animal latched onto his leg. He ran into the house and used the door to get the animal off. "It kept coming in and kept coming after me so I shut the door," he said. His parents started throwing tools at the animal to scare it away.
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Hurricane Gonzalo, or at least what is left of it, has caused storm surges and coastal flooding in parts of northern Europe over the last few days. Gonzalo has left a trail of destruction behind from Bermuda to Canada and on to UK and other parts of northern Europe, including Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. On Monday 20 October, Gonzalo hit Ireland and the United Kingdom with winds of 159 kph (99 mph) was reported on the Isle of Wight, according to the BBC. Around 600,000 homes were left without power at one point. Three people have been killed in the storm (1 in UK and 2 in France), and several others left injured.
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euronews.com
2014-10-21 16:58:00
The heaviest autumn snow in three years blanketed Mohe City, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, affecting local residents' daily lives and traffic flow.
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Charlotte Krol
Black bear cub spotted stalking the aisles of a pharmacy in OregonThe Telegraph, UK 2014-10-23 12:56:00
Shoppers at an Oregon, US drug store were surprised to see a bear cub scurrying down the aisles. Witnesses say the cub first showed up Sunday at a nearby hotel, hopped out a window and crossed the street to the Rite Aid in Ashland, a city 15 miles north of the California border. Local media reports said that customers took photos and video until police arrived and scooped the little bear into a shopping cart. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding the cub until it can be moved to a rehab center or a zoo. | |
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| Fire in the Sky |
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phys.org
2014-10-22 17:22:00
Beta Pictoris is a young star located about 63 light-years from the Sun. It is only about 20 million years old and is surrounded by a huge disc of material - a very active young planetary system where gas and dust are produced by the evaporation of comets and the collisions of asteroids. Flavien Kiefer (IAP/CNRS/UPMC), lead author of the new study sets the scene: "Beta Pictoris is a very exciting target! The detailed observations of its exocomets give us clues to help understand what processes occur in this kind of young planetary system." For almost 30 years astronomers have seen subtle changes in the light from Beta Pictoris that were thought to be caused by the passage of comets in front of the star itself. Perhaps 'something wicked this way comes'?
Comets are small bodies of a few kilometres in size, but they are rich in ices, which evaporate when they approach their star, producing gigantic tails of gas and dust that can absorb some of the light passing through them. The dim light from the exocomets is swamped by the light of the brilliant star so they cannot be imaged directly from Earth. Rosetta update: Dirty snowball is "dry like hell" "It is nothing like the so-called dirty snowball or fluffy ice ball that mainstream astronomers have long envisioned. Most astonishingly,scientists have reported they have not found a single trace of water ice on the comet surface. It is, in the words of mission scientist Holger Sierks, "dry like hell." To study the Beta Pictoris exocomets, the team analysed more than 1000 observations obtained between 2003 and 2011 with the HARPS instrument on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The researchers selected a sample of 493 different exocomets. Some exocomets were observed several times and for a few hours. Careful analysis provided measurements of the speed and the size of the gas clouds. Some of the orbital properties of each of these exocomets, such as the shape and the orientation of the orbit and the distance to the star, could also be deduced. | ||
Comment: As the British astronomer Victor Clube said:
Beware of PTB propaganda / information warfare: As cometary/fireball activity intensifies (Brazil(twice), Alabama, the Netherlands, Iowa, and probably Northwestern Louisiana too), expect more blaming of cyclical celestial events on their enemies; such as Russian military satellite, EMP and baiting conspiracy theorists with chemtrails disinformation.
For more on Sol's dark companion and accompanying cometary swarm and much more, read Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection. | ||
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Thomas Tamblyn
The Huffington Post 2014-10-22 11:28:00
The Sun has fired off a massive X-Class solar flare which astronomers are suggesting could be the start of a huge increase in solar activity. NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory captured the X-class flare -- the most powerful there is -- erupting from a massive Active Region on the star's surface. Since the solar flare the sun spot has apparently doubled in size and is now around 78,000 miles wide -- that's almost as wide as Jupiter. | |
Comment: One wonders if there is a correlation between this massive solar flare and recent fireball activity over Brazil (twice), Alabama, the Netherlands, Iowa, and probably Northwestern Louisianatoo; and the recent close shave of Comet Siding Spring with one of our planetary neighbours, Mars?
To understand more about the Electric Universe theory, Plasma discharge modes, our Sun's companion and it's accompanying cometary swarm, and much more, read Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection. For more relevant information, listen to: SOTT Talk Radio show #70: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made? SOTT Talk Radio: The Electric Universe - An interview with Wallace Thornhill | |
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| Health & Wellness |
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Ellen Wulfhorst and Sandra Maler
Reuters 2014-10-23 22:06:00
A New York City hospital is running Ebola tests on a healthcare worker who returned to the United States from West Africa with a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms, the city's Health Department said on Thursday. Preliminary test results were expected in the next 12 hours, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a statement. The patient being treated at Bellevue Hospital is a healthcare worker who returned to the United States within the past 21 days from one of the three African countries facing the Ebola outbreak, it said. The Health Department said it was tracing all of the patient's contacts to identify anyone who may be at potential risk. It also said the patient had been transported by a specially trained unit wearing protective gear. | |
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ScienceDaily
2014-10-23 21:09:00
Supplements of the fatty acids omega 3 and 6 can help children and adolescents who have a certain kind of ADHD. These are the findings of a dissertation at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, which also indicates that a special cognitive training program can improve problem behavior in children with ADHD. Between three to six percent of all school age children are estimated to have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). ADHD is a disorder that entails a difficulty controlling impulses and temper, sitting still, waiting, or being attentive for more than short periods at a time. There are various kinds of ADHD where disturbances in attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity have varying degrees of prominence. ADHD is often treated with stimulant medications, which are effective for most, but do not work for everyone. Relevant improvement In this study, 75 children and adolescents with ADHD were given either the fatty acids omega 3 and 6 or a placebo over three months, and then they were all given omega 3/6 over three months. The study was conducted double-blind, which means that neither the researchers nor the participants were allowed to know whether they received the active capsules until afterwards. "For the group as a whole, we did not see any major improvement, but in 35 percent of the children and adolescents who have the inattentive subtype of ADHD called ADD, the symptoms improved so much that we can talk about a clinically relevant improvement," says Mats Johnson, doctoral student at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg. | |
Comment: It's important to remember that there are several studies linking ADHD to diet and changing the diet could help.
Study: Western Diet Link to ADHD Study: Cutting Out Suspect Foods Could Help Calm ADHD Children Do Synthetic Food Colors Cause Hyperactivity? | |
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ScienceDaily
2014-10-23 21:00:00
John Boekamp, Ph.D., clinical director of the Pediatric Partial Hospital Program (PPHP) at Bradley Hospital recently led a study that found sleep difficulties -- particularly problems with falling asleep -- were very common among toddlers and preschool-aged children who were receiving clinical treatment for a wide range of psychiatric disorders. The study, titled "Sleep Onset and Night Waking Insomnias in Preschoolers with Psychiatric Disorders," is now published online in the journal Child Psychiatry & Human Development. "The most common sleep difficulties reported nationally for toddlers and preschoolers are problems of going to bed, falling asleep and frequent night awakenings -- collectively, these problems are referred to as behavioral insomnias of childhood," said Boekamp. "Sleep problems in young children frequently co-occur with other behavioral problems, with evidence that inadequate sleep is associated with daytime sleepiness, less optimal preschool adjustment, and problems of irritability, hyperactivity and attention." Boekamp's team was interested in learning more about sleep and sleep problems in young children with behavior problems, as early sleep problems may be both a cause and consequence of children's difficulties with behavioral and emotional self-regulation. "Essentially, these young children might be caught in a cycle, with sleep disruption affecting their psychiatric symptoms and psychiatric symptoms affecting their sleep-wake organization," said Boekamp. | |
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Jacob Wagner
NextShark 2014-10-23 18:09:00
The general belief is that vegetarians are usually healthier. However, studies conducted in the U.S. are showing some detrimental side-effects to the sperm of male vegetarians. In an experiment done by researchers at Loma Linda University, 443 meat-eaters and 31 vegetarians and vegans were monitored between 2009 and 2013. They initially assumed vegetarians' sperm would be healthy, but here's what they found, according to lead study author Eliza Orzylowska: "We found that diet does significantly affect sperm quality. Vegetarian and vegan diets were associated with much lower sperm counts than omnivorous diets.Although these people are not infertile, it is likely to play a factor in conception, particularly for couples who are trying to conceive naturally, the old-fashioned way."They also found that vegetarians had 30 percent lower concentrations of sperm (50 million per milliliter versus 70 million) and that their sperm was also weaker in terms of movement. For vegetarians, only 30 percent of their sperm were active, as compared to 60 percent of their meat-eating counterparts. | |
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| Science of the Spirit |
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Claire O'Callaghan
EurekAlert! 2014-10-23 02:00:00
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have discovered that music therapy reduces depression in children and adolescents with behavioural and emotional problems. In the largest ever study of its kind, the researchers in partnership with the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust, found that children who received music therapy had significantly improved self-esteem and significantly reduced depression compared with those who received treatment without music therapy. The study, which was funded by the Big Lottery fund, also found that those who received music therapy had improved communicative and interactive skills, compared to those who received usual care options alone. 251 children and young people were involved in the study which took place between March 2011 and May 2014. They were divided into two groups - 128 underwent the usual care options, while 123 were assigned to music therapy in addition to usual care. All were being treated for emotional, developmental or behavioural problems. Early findings suggest that the benefits are sustained in the long term. |
