Wipe away fearful memories from brain

WASHINGTON: And you thought it just happens in sci-fi movies!

Scientists have found that newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain, a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for phobias and post-traumatic stress, with researcher Thomas Agren from Uppsala University leading the research.

"The findings may be a breakthrough in research on memory and fear. Ultimately the new findings may lead to improved treatment methods for the millions of people in the world who suffer from anxiety issues like phobias, post-traumatic stress, and panic attacks," said Agren.

When a person learns something, a long-term memory is created with the aid of a process of consolidation, which is based on the formation of proteins.

As we remember something, the memory becomes unstable for a while and is then restabilized by another consolidation process.

In other words, we are not remembering what originally happened, but rather what we remembered the last time we thought about what happened.

By disrupting the reconsolidation process that follows upon remembering, we can affect the content of memory.

Researchers showed subjects a neutral picture and simultaneously administered an electric shock. In this way the picture came to elicit fear in the subjects which meant a fear memory had been formed.

To activate this fear memory, the picture was then shown without any shock.

For one experimental group the reconsolidation process was disrupted with the aid of repeated presentations of the picture.

Just one glass of wine a day could trigger breast cancer

LONDON: A single glass of wine everyday for an year could trigger breast cancer and other tumours, a new study by an international team of researchers has claimed.

Researchers compared the effects between those who consumed up to one typical drink of alcohol a day with 'non-drinkers' in terms of relative risks for a number of types of cancer.

The study concluded there were detectable increases in cancer cases involving the mouth, throat, gullet and breast.

The team, from the University of Milan and other centres in the US, Canada, Iran, France and Sweden, estimated that in just one year, light drinking caused 24,000 deaths from oesophageal cancer, 5,000 from oral and 5,000 from breast cancer worldwide, the Daily Mail reported.

The latest research pooled data from a number of previous studies, involving more than 150,000 people.

The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research who reviewed the findings said they were concerned about a number of aspects of the study.

These included the fact the investigators included both ex-drinkers and never drinkers in their reference group and that they had no data on the duration of alcohol consumption at different levels.

The researchers also did not adjust their estimates for other lifestyle habits, including smoking. All of these factors tend to weaken the implications of their results, they said.

The study was published in the Annals of Oncology.

Our planet is singing!

WASHINGTON: Nasa's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probe (RBSP) satellites have captured the chirping and whistling radio waves emitted by Earth’s magnetosphere, known as 'Earth's chorus'.

It can be heard by human ears but you need to take your helmet off while floating in space which is not medically advisable. You might also encounter the tricky problem of sound not travelling through the vacuum.

Craig Kletzing from the University of Iowa, the principal investigator of the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) instruments on-board the satellites, said “People have known about chorus for decades. Radio receivers are used to pick it up, and it sounds a lot like birds chirping. It was often more easily picked up in the mornings, which along with the chirping sound is why it’s sometimes referred to as "dawn chorus".”

The sounds are emitted by energetic particles in the upper levels of Earth’s magnetosphere, before they get whipped around by the radiation belts circling the Earth.

The Van Allen belts are streams of particles, which arrive in Earth's vicinity from the solar winds and get caught in Earth's magnetic field.

Virtual foot to treat injuries

LONDON: Scientists have developed an advanced virtual model of the human foot which they claim will help treat conditions ranging from feet and ankle problems to amputations.

The 3-D model depicts bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons in an unprecedented level of detail.

The virtual foot will be used to drive forward improvements in treating serious injuries and illness, the 'BBC News' reported.

The 3.7 million euro a-footprint project is being led by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).

The human foot is particularly difficult to model because of its complexity.

The 'Glasgow/Maastricht Foot Model' has been created by the Maastricht University in collaboration with the Danish biomechanical firm AnyBody Technology.

The model also features applications in treating flat feet or foot drop - which prevents recovering stroke patients from moving their ankles and toes.

"The Glasgow/Maastricht foot is a game-changer," said GCU's Professor Jim Woodburn, who is the project co-ordinator. "It opens the door to a huge range of applications, including the manufacture of better and more efficient orthotics, resulting in quicker recovery times, reduced symptoms and improved functional ability for those suffering from conditions which afflict the foot and lower leg," Woodburn said.

The simulation can be used to test potential cures as well as developing new orthotic devices, using 3-D printing techniques.

A chunk of moon for sale

NEW YORK: A New York City auction will offer 125 meteorites for sale, including a large chunk of the moon and a cosmic rock that evokes Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream. The sale, one of the largest of its kind, is being held by Heritage Auctions on Oct 14. The moon rock has the highest pre-sale estimate of $340,000 to $380,000, as less than 0.1 per cent of all meteorites recovered are lunar in origin. The 179-pound (81-kilogramme) meteorite nicknamed The Scream is estimated at $175,000 to $225,000. "When I first saw this meteorite (The Scream) I saw the resemblance in a heartbeat," said Darryl Pitt, who consigned the piece to the auction. "It is sculpted in part by atmospheric entry and most significantly by its exposure to the elements on earth over millennia." Three of the concave hallows are evocative of Munch's image of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked sky. It was discovered in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. More than half of the meteorites in the sale come from the Macovich collection, the world's largest grouping of iron meteorites. Specimens from the collection are found at museums in London, New York and Paris and The Smithsonian in Washington, among others. Its principal owner is Pitt, who said that 20 years ago all meteorites were selling for the same price. "That has radically changed with the introduction of the first natural history auction in the mid-1990s," Pitt said in an interview. "I was on a mission to popularise meteorites. I knew that the only way I would be able to attract interest on the part of the public was to offer objects that were more visually captivating." "The overwhelming majority of meteorites are not aesthetic," he added. Some come with interesting stories, like a small portion of a meteorite estimated at about $4,000 that fell from the sky in 1492. It was later chained up in a church so it couldn't fly back into orbit.

Soon, car that can drive and park itself

An electric car that is able to park itself and come to the driver when 'called' has been launched at the Ceatec 2012 show in Tokyo.

Nissan's NSC-2015 is only a prototype, but its name suggests that the carmaker aims to have it on the market by 2015, the BBC reported.

Many car companies have been working on autonomous technology, with a number of driverless cars unveiled in recent months.

But one analyst warned that the mass use of such cars was a long way off.

The NSC-2015 is a modified version of Nissan's Leaf model.

It relies on sensors, cameras, computers and 4G communication technology for wireless links to navigate, and robotics to turn the steering wheel, change gears and brake.

When demonstrated at Ceatec, the car drove itself at about 3mph (5km/h) in a straight line forward and in reverse, and was able to turn.

It was shown that the car could recognise road markings and was able to stop at a crossing.

A Nissan representative also controlled the car from the outside, making it drive towards him, as he pressed some buttons on his phone.

"After the driver exits the NSC-2015, it starts to park itself automatically, following the instructions given by smartphone," the company said.

"The vehicle looks for a vacant parking space while identifying its surroundings; once it detects an open parking space automated parking begins.

"The driver can also use smartphone commands to make the NSC-2015 vehicle leave the parking space and return to the place where he or she is," the company said.

The car's security camera system automatically works with a camera installed in the vehicle.

If the system detects suspicious behaviour, the driver is alerted automatically by a report to his or her smartphone.

First human ancestor looked like a squirrel

First human ancestor – a primitive tiny animal - looked like a squirrel, a new study has claimed.
Newly discovered fossilised bones for the world's oldest and most primitive known primate, Purgatorius, reveal a tiny, agile animal that spent much of its time eating fruit and climbing trees.
The fossils are the first known below-the-head bones for Purgatorius and previously, only teeth revealed its existence.
"The ankle bones show that it had a mobile ankle joint like primates today that live in trees," co-author Stephen Chester, a Yale University vertebrate paleontologist, told the Discovery News.
"This mobility would have allowed for rotating the foot in different directions as it adjusted to different angles presented by tree trunks and branches," Chester said.
"It also shows that the first primates did not have elongate ankles that you see in many living primates today that are thought to be related to leaping behaviours," added Chester.
He conducted the study with colleagues Jonathan Bloch of the Florida Museum of Natural History and William Clemens, a professor emeritus at the University of California.
Researchers believe that the specialised ankle bones of Purgatorius played a key role in the evolutionary success of early primates.
"These new fossils support the idea that the first 10 million years of primate evolution happened in the context of an intense period of similar diversification in flowering plants, including the ability to climb in branches and collect fruits and other products of the trees at the very beginning," Bloch said.
While many questions remain unanswered about Purgatorius, this and other studies are shedding more light on the animal.
 
Purgatorius lived during the Paleocene, shortly after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. Given the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, the new era began the mammal-dominated era. This mammal is generally believed to have been small and brown, and had a bushy tail.
Purgatorius weighed about 1.3 ounces, making it roughly the size of the smallest living primates: the mouse lemurs of Madagascar, researchers said.
The mammal had a lot of teeth, including relatively low-crowned molars, which were specialised for eating fruit, although it probably ate other things too.
Tree living served this and other primates well, such that all but a few existing species remain at least partly arboreal. Humans are part of the rare exceptions, since our more recent ancestors left the trees some 60 million years after Purgatorius' lifetime.

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Britain launches first 4G mobile service

Britain's first fourth generation (4G) mobile service was launched in 11 cities Tuesday by the operator EE.

EE, a company formally known as Everything Everywhere, said the 4G service went live in Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton, reported Xinhua.

The price is diversified in different plans -- 500MB of data would be charged 36 pounds ($58) a month, while more elaborate plans would cost 56 pounds per month with a data allowance of 8GB.

"Today is a landmark day for our company, the UK mobile industry and, most importantly, the country's business and consumers," said Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, in a statement.

Tuesday's launch is reportedly the first phase of its 4G services. The network will expand by 2,000 square miles every month, both into new cities as well as providing denser coverage in existing areas.

4G technology can deliver internet download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G which helped bring the internet to mobile phones a few years ago.

EE was granted Britain's first 4G license in August by Ofcom, the regulator for British communication industries. Its rival companies such as Vodafone and O2 are waiting for a spectrum auction scheduled for early next year to launch their own 4G services in Britain.

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Sony launches Windows 8 hybrid ultrabook Vaio Duo 11

NEW DELHI: Sony India unveiled the next generation of hybrid ultrabook PC - VAIO Duo 11 - which also turns into a touchscreen tablet. With its Surf Slider design, the VAIO Duo 11 PC switches between tablet to PC modes. It has a 29.4cm (11.6-inch) Full HD OptiContrast Panel. The device features USB 3.0, USB Sleep Charge to charge your USB charging devices like mobiles or music players on the go; even when the PC power is off, HDMI, Ethernet and VGA video ports. It weighs approximately 1.3kg and is 17.85mm thick. Running Windows 8 operating system, the device is powered by an Intel Core processor. According to the company, Quick Boot gets you up and running in seconds. When you need a break, VAIO powers down into a deep energy-saving Sleep mode, keeping your documents safe. With RapidWake + Eco, everything's ready for instant wake-up, just as you left off. Optional accessories include a screen protection cover and carrying case. Available in Gun metal colour, this hybrid device is priced at Rs 89,990. It will be available in the Indian markets by the end of December. findeezz.com

School shooting fallout: Texas town allows teachers to carry concealed guns

HARROLD (TEXAS): In this tiny Texas town, children and their parents don't give much thought to safety at the community's lone school mostly because some of the teachers are carrying concealed weapons.

In remote Harrold, the nearest sheriff's office is 30 minutes away, and people tend to know and trust one another. So the school board voted to let teachers bring guns to school.

"We don't have money for a security guard, but this is a better solution," superintendent David Thweatt said. "A shooter could take out a guard or officer with a visible, holstered weapon, but our teachers have master's degrees, are older and have had extensive training. And their guns are hidden. We can protect our children."

In the awful aftermath of last week's Connecticut elementary school shooting, lawmakers in a growing number of states including Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota and Oregon have said they will consider laws allowing teachers and school administrators to carry firearms at school.

Texas law bans guns in schools unless the school has given written authorization. Arizona and six other states have similar laws with exceptions for people who have licenses to carry concealed weapons.

Harrold's school board voted unanimously in 2007 to allow employees to carry weapons. After obtaining a state concealed-weapons permit, each employee who wants to carry a weapon must be approved by the board based on his or her personality and reaction to a crisis, Thweatt said.

Employees also must undergo training in crisis intervention and hostage situations. And they must use bullets that minimize the risk of ricochet, similar to those carried by air marshals on planes.

CaRae Reinisch, who lives in the nearby community of Elliott, said she took her children out of a larger school and enrolled them in Harrold two years ago, partly because she felt they would be safer in a building with armed teachers.

"I think it's a great idea for trained teachers to carry weapons," Reinish said. "But I hate that it has come to this."

The superintendent won't disclose how many of the school's 50 employees carry weapons, saying that revealing that number might jeopardize school security.

The school, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth near the Oklahoma border, has 103 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Most of them rarely think about who is carrying a gun.

"This is the first time in a long time that I've thought about it," said Matt Templeton, the principal's 17-year-old son. "And that's because of what happened" in Connecticut.

Thweatt said other Texas schools allow teachers to carry weapons, but he would not reveal their locations, saying they are afraid of negative publicity.

The Texas Education Agency said it had not heard of any other schools with such a policy. And the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence did not know of any other districts nationwide that allow school employees to carry concealed handguns.

But that may change soon.

European Union (EU) Parliament asks India to protect Dalits.

Asks EU’s representatives in India to take up caste discrimination issue

The European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday conducted an hour-long debate over the persistence of human rights violations against Dalits in India.

While acknowledging the efforts at various levels to eradicate caste discrimination, the Parliament however, expressed alarm at the continually large number of reported and unreported atrocities and widespread untouchability practices, such as manual scavenging.
On its previous resolutions on the issue (February 2007 and April 2012), the Parliament noted that while India has made enormous economic progress, caste discrimination continues to be widespread and persistent.
It called upon the European Union’s and the Member States’ representatives in India to include the issue of caste discrimination in their dialogues with the Indian authorities, and to prioritise programmes addressing caste discrimination, in education, and programmes with particular focus on women and girls.
The Parliament instructed its President to forward this resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the EP, to India’s Prime Minister, Minister for Law and Justice, Home Minister, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, EU institutions, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, the Secretary-General of the UN and the President of the UN General Assembly.
The Parliament urged the Indian authorities to honour their pledges and to implement or, if necessary, amend the existing legislation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in order to effectively protect Dalits and other vulnerable groups in society.
The Parliament particularly underlined the need for victims to be able to safely register their cases with the police and judicial authorities, as well as for serious follow-up by the police and judiciary of reported atrocities and other cases of discrimination.
“According to estimates, the vast majority of crimes against Dalit women are not reported owing to fear of social ostracism and threats to personal safety and security.”
It particularly noted the cases of a gang rape of a girl in Haryana where her father committed suicide and the police only decided to take belated action when faced with mass protests and the looting and torching of 268 Dalit houses by a 1,000 strong mob of upper castes in Dharmapuri, with no intervention from the police officers present.
It called upon the Indian Parliament to act on its plans to pass a new Bill prohibiting employment of manual scavengers and securing their rehabilitation.