Science

Do You Still Believe Fluoride Is Good For Our Teeth? Read This!

October 12, 2012 By Joe M 1 Comment

This topic has become so big in recent years that it probably isn’t necessary to state this, but for those that are new to the subject, here goes!

The fluoride used in dental practices and in our water supply is not a chemical made in a laboratory and approved as a safe drug. To understand fluoride further, we can look at it scientifically; technically the name fluoride is scientifically inaccurate. Fluoride is a naturally occurring compound in nature but is not safe for humans in high dosages.

What must now be understood is when we are speaking about Fluoride from here on in this article, is that we are not just talking about a naturally occurring compound, nor is that compound good for our teeth. We are referring to a chemical mixture that is sold under the name of Fluoride that contains a wide array of chemicals, putting this substance in category four of hazardous materials. This is the highest and most dangerous rating a substance can receive. The substance labeled “Fluoride” that we use in dental practices, toothpaste and water fluoridation is the hazardous waste substances caught in the wet scrubbers of the phosphorus industries.

This extremely toxic, hazardous chemical is illegal to dump and would cost companies a hefty price tag to properly dispose of, instead they are SOLD to cities and towns where they are then dumped into water supplies, legally.

Fluoride in our water and its actual chemical content is like many other shocking revelations that no one believed until it became a known fact that we were all being lied to and fooled for so long. It’s only a matter of time until it becomes common knowledge that the use of fluoride is doing nothing more than poisoning our bodies.

Facts:

Note: If these facts challenge your current beliefs on fluoride, then do research about this to see what resonates most. These facts have become very clear, are well documented and now scientifically proven.

The chemical names of the main substances used in fluoridation practices are hexafluorosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride, often referred to as sodium fluoride.

It is illegal to dump the hazardous fluoride waste products hexafluorosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride into water streams or rivers, it is even considered an act of terrorism to do so, yet it is legal and accepted as safe practice to add it to many of our water supplies under the guise that it is helping with dental hygiene. This theory of helping with dental hygiene is built off of assumptions.

Roughly 99% of the water pumped through municipalities is not consumed through the mouth; most is used for showering, water crops and washing clothes. Given these facts, most of it ends up in streams, rivers and oceans where this hazardous waste is destroying and contaminating our environment. And what is consumed by us does nothing more than harm our bodies.

24 studies have shown a link between fluoride exposure and the lowering of IQ levels. When you really think about it though, is it all that surprising that brain function is hindered by the consumption of an extremely hazardous waste product?

Fluoride is an unapproved drug being used in a highly illegal mass medication scheme. Adding fluoride to the water supply is said to be voluntary for municipalities but the people never get a vote. The drug has not been approved by any drug agency and no one has been assessed for prescriptions.

Fluoride is so toxic and dangerous that it has the ability to eat through metal and concrete. A fluoride spill requires the use of hazmat suits to clean up.

Photographs of Dental Fluorosis by Dr. Hardy Limeback and Dr. Iain Pretty, et al.

Water fluoridation is nothing more than the dumping of industries hazardous waste into people and our environment to avoid having to pay to dispose of the waste. In fact they make a profit instead.

Drinking fluoridated water has never been scientifically proven to reduce tooth decay.

Research has found that fluoride affects normal endocrine function, causes kidney disease, bone weakness, dental fluorosis, cancer, lowering of IQ, calcification of the pineal gland, arthritis, immune deficiencies, skeletal fluorosis and much more.

Below is a video showing hidden camera images inside a fluoride facility.

What Can We Do?

Stop drinking fluoridated water. Use a filtration system in your home that filters out fluoride. Most filters can also remove chlorine which is another harmful chemical.

Educate your doctors and dentists about where fluoride really comes from; the majority of the time those professionals are not trying to hurt you they just don’t know the truth behind the substance. They are limited to what their education taught them and unfortunately the education system is funded and controlled by the companies who benefit from this.

Spread this information with others and your city politicians to put an end to water fluoridation. Be neutral and open as you talk about this information with them so they will take you seriously; too often anger of the issue makes it seem like it’s not something worth looking into.

Watch and share this documentary about fluoride.

Sources:

https://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/08/04/do-you-still-believe-fluoride-is-good-for-our-teeth-read-this/

https://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/health/

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/11/toxic-fluoride-contaminates-iceland-volcanic-ash-and-is-killing-animals.aspx

https://www.naturalnews.com/030952_CDC_fluoride.html

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/05/is-your-dentist-drilling-for-dollars.aspx

https://www.greenfacts.org/en/fluoride/index.htm

https://www.fluoridealert.org/articles/50-reasons/

https://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/water/

https://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/dental-products/

https://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/fluorosis/

https://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/caries/

https://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/

Filed Under: Cancer, Chemistry, Corruption, Environment, Featured, Fluoride, Health, Mental Health, Neuroscience, Ocean, Pollution, Water Tagged With: Fluoride

Genetically Altering Unborn Babies Personalities A Moral Obligation says Oxford Professor

September 18, 2012 By Aaron Jackson 5 Comments

Genetically screening our offspring to make them better people is just “responsible parenting”, claims an eminent Oxford academic, The Telegraph reports.

Professor Julian Savulescu, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics said that creating so-called designer babies could be considered a “moral obligation” as it makes them grow up into “ethically better children”, this based on a few genetic links to ‘personality disorders’.

He said that we should actively give parents the choice to screen out personality flaws in their children as it meant they were then less likely to “harm themselves and others”.

Studies show that the child’s upbringing, including parenthood and
schooling methods are the root causes of many ‘personality flaws’. Other studies give strong evidence that nutrition, meditation and exercise greatly influence behavioural patterns and emotional well-being. This entire theory is also blind to the side effects of many medicines, vaccines, food additives and (some) GMO foods that have been proven to affect psychological behaviour, and this isn’t even touching on the possible beneficial use of marijuana and other substances for those with undesired personality traits.

“Surely trying to ensure that your children have the best, or a good enough, opportunity for a great life is responsible parenting?” wrote Prof Savulescu, the Uehiro Professor in practical ethics. Clearly without thinking of the potentially worse side effects of this theoretical treatment.

Professor Savulescu goes on to say that science is increasingly discovering that genes have a significant influence on personality — with certain genetic markers in embryo suggesting future characteristics.

In the end, he said, “rational design” would help lead to a better, more intelligent and less violent society in the future. Definitely something westernised nations will be pushing for - obedience.

Indeed, when it comes to screening out personality flaws, such as potential alcoholism, psychopathy and disposition to violence, you could argue that people have a moral obligation to select ethically better children. They are, after all, less likely to harm themselves and others.

He said that “we already routinely screen embryos and foetuses for conditions such as cystic fibrosis and Down’s syndrome and couples can test embryos for inherited bowel and breast cancer genes. Rational design is just a natural extension of this”. ”Natural extension” he said.

He said that unlike the eugenics movements, which fell out of favour when it was adopted by the Nazis, the system would be voluntary and allow parents to choose the characteristics of their children.

Many human genes have also been patented which raises huge ethical questions, as explained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU):

A 2005 study found that 4,382 of the 23,688 human genes in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s gene database are explicitly claimed as intellectual property. This means that nearly 20% of human genes are patented.

Prof Savulescu:

Whether we like it or not, the future of humanity is in our hands now. Rather than fearing genetics, we should embrace it. We can do better than chance.

This type of genetic modification, called cytoplasmic transfer already results in a slightly higher chance of death and some have already been diagnosed with autism.

It seems that while we do not have freedom to smoke a plant or to gain access to effective cancer treating drugs such as DCA due to insufficient testing, the modification of the human species is taken lightly. Who knows what purposeful and accidental modifications will come from this.

Sources:

Genetically engineering ‘ethical’ babies is a moral obligation, says Oxford professor - https://www.kurzweilai.net/genetically-engineering-ethical-babies-is-a-moral-obligation-says-oxford-professor

Genetically engineering ‘ethical’ babies is a moral obligation, says Oxford professor - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9480372/Genetically-engineering-ethical-babies-is-a-moral-obligation-says-Oxford-professor.html

DNA From Three Parents Okay, Genetically Modified Babies Are Ethical Says British Council - https://www.pakalertpress.com/2012/07/07/dna-from-three-parents-okay-genetically-modified-babies-are-ethical-says-british-council

Mitochondrial DNA disorders Introduction - https://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/mitochondrial-dna-disorders/mitochondrial-dna-disorders-introduction

Julian Savulescu - https://www.neuroethics.ox.ac.uk/our_members/julian_savulescu

Preventing mitochondrial disease - an explanation - Newcastle University - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za6pTxcFdvg

Fertility breakthrough for inherited mitochondrial disease (HD) | A film by the Wellcome Trust - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wFn9Oj4u2E

9 Ways Exercise Can Make You Feel Better - https://www.fitwatch.com/weight-loss/9-ways-exercise-can-make-you-feel-better-605.html

Exercise and Stress Relief - https://exercise.about.com/od/healthinjuries/a/stressrelief.htm

Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity - https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676

Depression and anxiety: Exercise eases symptoms - https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043

Personality Development - https://www.indiaparenting.net/person-develop.asp

Effects of parent personality, upbringing, and marijuana use on the parent-child attachment relationship. - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10673836

Nutritional Influences on Aggressive Behavior - https://orthomolecular.org/library/articles/webach.shtml

Dr Russell Blaylock Nutrition and Behavior Aspartame MSG - https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2963728494205235281

Dr. Russell Blaylock: Fluoride’s Deadly Secret - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie6gJHqkSgc

The Links Between Diet and Behaviour - https://www.foodforthebrain.org/content.asp?id_Content=1767

The Links Between Diet and Behaviour. (PDF) - https://www.foodforthebrain.org/download.asp?id_Doc=96

Vaccines Will Soon Be Used to Control Behavior - https://www.gaia-health.com/articles451/000478-vaccines-behavior.shtml

Leaked Pentagon Video - Flu Vaccine Use to Modify Human Behavior - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MuXgpl2Sxg

Vaccination and Social Violence - https://www.whale.to/vaccines/coulter5.html

Vaccination and Violent Crime - https://www.whale.to/vaccines/coulter6.html

THE BRAINS OF THE INOCULATED - https://www.whale.to/vaccines/loat1.html

BEHAVIOURAL FACTORS IN IMMUNIZATION (PDF) - https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/28.pdf

GM Foods are Harming our Kids - https://healthandwealthcentre.com/gm-foods-are-harming-our-kids.html

Removing junk food (and GMOs) improved children’s behavior - https://www.naturalhealth365.com/food/junk-food-and-gmo.html

World’s first genetically modified babies born - https://weirdworldnews.org/2012/07/13/worlds-first-genetically-modified-babies-born/

Dozens of Genetically Modified Babies Already Born - How Will They Alter Human Species? - https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/17/first-genetically-modified-babies-born.aspx

Meditation improves emotional behaviour - https://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-13/fitness/31254064_1_meditation-practices-behaviour

DCA - Cancer Cure Discovered - But YOU can’t have it…. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LXH-TJYS5w

Filed Under: Biotechnology, Featured, Fluoride, Food, Genetics, Marijuana, Mental Health, Neuroscience, Psychology, Vaccines and Medicine

8 Eye Opening Reasons to Not Drink Diet Soda

September 7, 2012 By Joe M 6 Comments

Written by Joe M, edited by Aaron Jackson

Someone orders a meal of food that is loaded with calories, fat, and salt and right at the end they opt for the diet pop; I always get a kick out of that one. If only they realized they were probably doing more harm with the diet pop than if they stuck with just regular. Obviously the best is to avoid those types of drinks all together! Here are a number of reasons why diet pop/soda is not something you want to be consuming.

1. Neurotoxic

While artificial sweeteners may be a zero calorie alternatives to sugar, they are in no way healthier. Diet sodas may use a variety of artificial sweeteners in place of sugar, such as aspartame, which acts as a neurotoxin.

Also known as NutraSweet, Aspartame originally received FDA approval for use in carbonated beverages in1983, and it still remains the most commonly used sweetener in diet soda. Annually, reactions to aspartame result for a majority of the adverse reaction reports made to the food and drug administration.

Made from L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanyl-methyl-ester, Sspartame is 200 times as sweet as sugar and contains negligible calories. Once in the human body, aspartame breaks down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Methanol is a wood alcohol poison that, when heated above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (the human body temperature is 98.6 degrees), converts to formaldehyde. Aspartame is also an excitotoxin that builds up in the brain, and can excite brain neurons to the point of cell death.

2: Causes Headaches and Other Symptoms

Another artificial sweetener commonly used in diet sodas, Sucralose, may cause a host of health problems including headaches.

Made from a modified sugar molecule, Sucralose is supposed to pass through the body unabsorbed. Because Sucralose is still relatively new in the market, its long-term effects have not been measured. Some evidence suggests Sucralose may cause migraines, gastrointestinal issues, and thymus gland damage. Sucralose may also intensify sugar cravings, increase appetite, and trigger insulin release.

3: Acidifying

Soda is made up of a number of acidic chemicals. It is one of the most acidic substances humans ingest. The acids in diet soda demineralize the bones and teeth, and can lead to fractures and osteoporosis. Acid in the body also can lead to a number of health conditions such as inflammation and corrosion of body tissue. When your body is overly acidic your skin will not be as beautiful or youthful, it will contribute to aging.

4: Caffeinated

Many diet sodas contain caffeine, which is an artificial stimulant and an addictive substance. Caffeine also excessively taxes the liver and can hamper its ability to cleanse and filter toxins from the body. Additionally, caffeine can trigger stress hormones, which can result in chronic stress and weight gain. Caffeine is also a diuretic, which dehydrates the body. It’s best to avoid caffeine in all its forms, particularly diet soda.

5: Increases Risk of Obesity

Studies show that although diet soda has no caloric value (or not much), it may have an impact on insulin similar to sugar ingestion. This is most likely due to the cephalic phase insulin response in the brain. When you taste the sweeteners in diet soda, your body perceives it as sugar and causes the pancreas to release insulin just as it would if you were consuming actual sugar.

Some studies show that drinking diet soda may increase the incidence of obesity and/or prevent you from losing weight. In fact, researchers at the University of Texas Health Center made some startling findings when testing the link between obesity and diet soda.

Obesity risk increased as followed:

26.5 percent for people drinking up to ½ can of diet soda per day, and 24 percent for regular soda drinkers consuming up to one can per day,
54.5 percent for one to two cans of diet soda per day as opposed to 32.8 percent for those drinking the same amount of regular soda,
57.1 percent for people drinking more than two cans of diet soda per day as opposed to 47.2 percent for people drinking the same amount of regular soda.

In other words, diet soda consumption had a higher correlation with obesity rates than consumption of caloric soda containing sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

6: Increases Toxic Load

There’s not a lot that’s natural in diet soda. Here are just a few of the ingredients you may find:

Carbonated water
Artificial coloring
Phosphoric acid
Potassium benzoate
Citric acid

Doesn’t sound so delicious and healthy, does it! It sounds nasty, and that is because it is indeed a nasty product. Diet soda places a significant toxic load on your liver and can contribute to toxic sludge in your intestines. You are much better off drinking pure, filtered, non-tap water.

7: Increases Risk of Heart Disease

A study at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine showed that people who drank diet soda daily had a 61 percent increased risk of a cardiovascular event. The study followed more than 2,500 participants for about nine years, during which 559 vascular events occurred. Even accounting for age and other risk factors, the risk with diet soda consumption appeared to be at least 48 percent higher. With that kind of risk, why take a chance on diet soda?

8: May Contribute to Metabolic Syndrome

A study at University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health in 2008 linked diet soda to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic disorders including obesity, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides and hormone resistance. According to the study, consuming diet soda increased the risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 34 percent, which was higher than the elevated risk from consuming two other unhealthy types of foods – meat (26 percent increased risk), and fried foods (25 percent increased risk).

So there you have it, another item that if we chose to remove from our diet we would see drastic changes in our overall health. Just the Aspartame reason alone should be enough to remove anything containing Aspartame from our diet.

Filed Under: Chemistry, Featured, Food, Health, Obesity

US Teen Invents Advanced Cancer Test Using Google

August 31, 2012 By Ian Crossland 1 Comment

Originally posted on bbc.co.uk, August 20, 2012

Fifteen-year-old high school student Jack Andraka likes to kayak and watch the US television show Glee.

And when time permits, he also likes to do advanced research in one of the most respected cancer laboratories in the world.

Jack Andraka has created a pancreatic cancer test that is 168 times faster and considerably cheaper than the gold standard in the field. He has applied for a patent for his test and is now carrying out further research at Johns Hopkins University in the US city of Baltimore.

And he did it by using Google.

The Maryland native, who won $75,000 at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May for his creation, cites search engines and free online science papers as the tools that allowed him to create the test.

The BBC’s Matt Danzico sat down with the teenager, who said the idea came to him when he was “chilling out in biology class”.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19291258

Filed Under: Biotechnology, Cancer, Chemistry, Health, Media, Positive, Science, Technology

Scientists Implant ‘World’s First’ Bionic Eye

August 31, 2012 By Ian Crossland 2 Comments

Originally posted by Agence France-Presse on RawStory.com

shutterstock.com

Australian scientists said Thursday they had successfully implanted a “world first” bionic eye prototype, describing it as a major breakthrough for the visually impaired.

Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a government-funded science consortium, said it had surgically installed an “early prototype” robotic eye in a woman with hereditary sight loss caused by degenerative retinitis pigmentosa.

Described as a “pre-bionic eye”, the tiny device is attached to Dianne Ashworth’s retina and contains 24 electrodes which send electrical impulses to stimulate her eye’s nerve cells.

Researchers switched on the device in their laboratory last month after Ashworth had fully recovered from surgery and she said it was an incredible experience.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash — it was amazing,” she said in a statement.

“Every time there was stimulation there was a different shape that appeared in front of my eye.

Penny Allen, the surgeon who implanted the device, described it as a “world first”.

Ashworth’s device only works when it is connected inside the lab and BVA chairman David Penington said it would be used to explore how images were “built” by the brain and eye.

Feedback from the device will be fed into a “vision processor” allowing doctors to determine exactly what Ashworth sees when her retina is subjected to various levels of stimulation.

“The team is looking for consistency of shapes, brightness, size and location of flashes to determine how the brain interprets this information,” explained Rob Shepherd, director of the Bionics Institute which was also involved in the breakthrough.

The team is working towards a “wide-view” 98-electrode device that will provide users with the ability to perceive large objects such as buildings and cars, and a “high-acuity” 1,024-electrode device.

Patients with the high-acuity device are expected to be able to recognise faces and read large print, and BVA said it would be suitable for people with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

Penington said the early results from Ashworth had “fulfilled our best expectations, giving us confidence that with further development we can achieve useful vision”.

“The next big step will be when we commence implants of the full devices,” he said.

Source: https://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/30/scientists-implant-world-first-bionic-eye/

Filed Under: Biotechnology, Health, Robotics, Science, Technology

Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes

August 30, 2012 By Ian Crossland 4 Comments

Originally posted by Christina Bonnington and Spencer Ackerman on Wired.com, August 30, 2012

It seemed like a simple enough idea for an iPhone app: Send users a pop-up notice whenever a flying robots kills someone in one of America’s many undeclared wars. But Apple keeps blocking the Drones+ program from its App Store — and therefore, from iPhones everywhere. The Cupertino company says the content is “objectionable and crude,” according to Apple’s latest rejection letter.

A mockup of developer Josh Begley’s drone-strike app for iOS. Wired.com

It’s the third time in a month that Apple has turned Drones+ away, says Josh Begley, the program’s New York-based developer. The company’s reasons for keeping the program out of the App Store keep shifting. First, Apple called the bare-bones application that aggregates news of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia “not useful.” Then there was an issue with hiding a corporate logo. And now, there’s this crude content problem.

Begley is confused. Drones+ doesn’t present grisly images of corpses left in the aftermath of the strikes. It just tells users when a strike has occurred, going off a publicly available database of strikes compiled by the U.K.’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which compiles media accounts of the strikes.

iOS developers have a strict set of guidelines that must be adhered to in order to gain acceptance into the App Store. Apps are judged on technical, content and design criteria. As Apple does not comment on the app reviews process, it can be difficult to ascertain exactly why an app got rejected. But Apple’s team of reviewers is small, sifts through up to 10,000 apps a week, and necessarily errs on the side of caution when it comes to potentially questionable apps.

Apple’s original objections to Drones+ regarded the functionality in Begley’s app, not its content. Now he’s wondering if it’s worth redesigning and submitting it a fourth time.

“If the content is found to be objectionable, and it’s literally just an aggregation of news, I don’t know how to change that,” Begley says.

Begley’s app is unlikely to be the next Angry Birds or Draw Something. It’s deliberately threadbare. When a drone strike occurs, Drones+ catalogs it, and presents a map of the area where the strike took place, marked by a pushpin. You can click through to media reports of a given strike that the Bureau of Investigative Reporting compiles, as well as some basic facts about whom the media thinks the strike targeted. As the demo video above shows, that’s about it.

It works best, Begley thinks, when users enable push notifications for Drones+. “I wanted to play with this idea of push notifications and push button technology — essentially asking a question about what we choose to get notified about in real time,” he says. “I thought reaching into the pockets of U.S. smartphone users and annoying them into drone-consciousness could be an interesting way to surface the conversation a bit more.”

But that conversation may not end up occurring. Begley, a student at Clay Shirky’s lab at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, submitted a threadbare version of Drones+ to Apple in July. About two weeks later, on July 23, Apple told him was just too blah. “The features and/or content of your app were not useful or entertaining enough,” read an e-mail from Apple Begley shared with Wired, “or your app did not appeal to a broad enough audience.”

Finally, on Aug. 27, Apple gave him yet another thumbs down. But this time the company’s reasons were different from the fairly clear-cut functionality concerns it previously cited. “We found that your app contains content that many audiences would find objectionable, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines,” the company e-mailed him.

It was the first time the App Store told him that his content was the real problem, even though the content hadn’t changed much from Begley’s initial July submission. It’s a curious choice: The App Store carries remote-control apps for a drone quadricopter, although not one actually being used in a war zone. And of course, the App Store houses innumerable applications for news publications and aggregators that deliver much of the same content provided by Begley’s app.

Wired reached out to Apple on the perplexing rejection of the app, but Apple was unable to comment.

Begley is about at his wits end over the iOS version of Drones+. “I’m kind of back at the drawing board about what exactly I’m supposed to do,” Begley said. The basic idea was to see if he could get App Store denizens a bit more interested in the U.S.’ secretive, robotic wars, with information on those wars popping up on their phones the same way an Instagram comment or retweet might. Instead, Begley’s thinking about whether he’d have a better shot making the same point in the Android Market.

Drones+ iPhone App from Josh Begley on Vimeo.

Source: https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/drone-app/

Filed Under: Censorship, Genocide, Internet, Media, Military, Murder, Pakistan, Technology, Terrorism, USA, War, Weapons

Harvard Creates Cyborg Flesh That’s Half Man, Half Machine

August 30, 2012 By Ian Crossland 1 Comment

Originally posted by Sebastian Anthony on ExtremeTech.com, August 29, 2012

Bioengineers at Harvard University have created the first examples of cyborg tissue: Neurons, heart cells, muscle, and blood vessels that are interwoven by nanowires and transistors.

These cyborg tissues are half living cells, half electronics. As far as the cells are concerned, they’re just normal cells that behave normally — but the electronic side actually acts as a sensor network, allowing a computer to interface directly with the cells. In the case of cyborg heart tissue, the researchers have already used the embedded nanowires to measure the contractions (heart rate) of the cells.

To create cyborg flesh, you start with a three-dimensional scaffold that encourages cells to grow around them. These scaffolds are generally made of collagen, which makes up the connective tissue in almost every animal. The Harvard engineers basically took normal collagen, and wove nanowires and transistors into the matrix to create nanoelectric scaffolds (nanoES). The neurons, heart cells, muscle, and blood vessels were then grown as normal, creating cyborg tissue with a built-in sensor network.

Cardiac cells, with a nanoelectroic electrode highlighted. Extremetech.com

So far the Havard team has mostly grown rat tissues, but they have also succeeded in growing a 1.5-centimeter (0.6in) cyborg human blood vessel. They’ve also only used the nanoelectric scaffolds to read data from the cells — but according to lead researcher Charles Lieber, the next step is to find a way of talking to the individual cells, to “wire up tissue and communicate with it in the same way a biological system does.”

Suffice it to say, if you can use a digital computer to read and write data to your body’s cells, there are some awesome applications. If you need a quick jolt of adrenaline, you would simply tap a button on your smartphone, which is directly connected to your sympathetic nervous system. You could augment your existing physiology with patches — a patch of nanoelectric heart cells, for example, that integrates with your heart and reports back if you experience any problems. When we eventually put nanobots into our bloodstream, small pulses of electricity emitted by the cells could be used as guidance to damaged areas. In the case of blood vessels and other organs, the nanoelectric sensor network could detect if there’s inflammation, blockage, or tumors.

A computer chip, containing a sample of nanoES tissue. Extremetech.com

Realistically, though, we’re a long way away from such applications. In the short term, though, these cyborg tissues could be used to create very accurate organs-on-a-chip — lab-grown human organs that are encased within computer chips and then used to test drugs or substance toxicity, without harming a single bunny or bonobo.

Source: https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/135207-harvard-creates-cyborg-flesh-thats-half-man-half-machine

Filed Under: Biotechnology, Featured, Health, Science, Technology

New Wind Turbine Makes Drinking Water

August 30, 2012 By Ian Crossland Leave a Comment

Originally posted by Neal Colgrass on Newser.com, August 26, 2012

Eole Water

A French inventor may have an answer for the millions of people who scramble to find fresh drinking water each day: a wind turbine that literally pulls H2O from the air. Marc Parent, head of Eoie Water, designed the turbine while living in the Caribbean and enduring water shortages. His solution is called the WMS1000, which gathers moisture from the air and turns it into drinking water, ABC News reports. On average, each unit creates over 62 liters per hour when the temperature is 75 Fahrenheit with 45% humidity, according to the company website.

“Let me highlight this word: CREATE,” says Eole Water executive Thibault Janin. “All existing solutions (wells, desalination, lakes/rivers pumping, etc) only treat an existing source of water.” He adds that the world’s water scarcity will affect more than the 150 million possible WMS1000 customers; household water needs are also growing, so Eole Water is seeking other solutions—especially affordable ones. Once testing is complete, each WMS1000 should cost $600,000 and last for 20 years.

Source: https://www.newser.com/story/152849/new-wind-turbine-makes-drinking-water.html

Filed Under: Environment, Featured, Health, Positive, Self-Sustainability, Water

Brazillian Court Demands Nestle Label GMO Ingredients

August 28, 2012 By Ian Crossland Leave a Comment

Originally posted by Anthony Gucciardi on NaturalSociety.com, August 22, 2012

Photo courtesy of NaturalSociety.com

It appears another victory has been declared in the battle against Monsanto and GMO ingredients. According to a major Brazilian business publication and GMWatch, a Brazilian court has demanded that multi-billion dollar food giant Nestle label all of their products as genetically modified that have over 1% GMO content. The ruling reportedly coincides with Brazilian law which demands all food manufacturers alert consumers to the presence of GMOs within their products.

Perhaps even more shocking is the fact that the court exposed a deep relationship between the Brazilian government and a major food industry lobby group that was forged in an effort to stop the court from issuing the ruling. This of course is predictable when considering that not only does Monsanto have a massive amount of political power with a figurehead in multiple branches of government, but when considering the previous WikiLeaks report that detailed how those who opposed Monsanto and biotechnology would be subject to ‘military style trade wars.’

The WikiLeaks documents revealed just how closely Monsanto has been working with the United States government, and just how serious the U.S. is about ensuring that the corporation’s GMO crops are widely accepted across the globe.

Amazingly, the Brazilian court took a stand against this corruption. Instead of groveling to Brazilian officials and mega biotechnology groups, the Brazilian business wire reports that the court determined the Brazilian government to be illegally working with the food industry entity known as ABIA. Furthermore, the court stated that consumers have the basic right to know what they are putting into their mouths — especially when it comes to GMO ingredients.

Nestle World Headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland - Panoramio.com

The court issued a fine of $2,478 per product that was found to violate the ruling after finding the presence of GMO ingredients in Nestle’s strawberry “Bono” cookies.

Other nations have taken similar actions against Monsanto and GMOs as a whole, with Poland banning Monsanto’s GM maize and Peru passing a monumental 10 year ban on GMOs as a whole. In the United States, the government continues to ignore and deny the concerns surrounding genetically modified crops and ingredients, instead streamlining the approval process for Monsanto’s new modified creations.

Source: https://naturalsociety.com/brazilian-court-demands-nestle-label-gmo-ingredients

Filed Under: Big Pharma, Biotechnology, Brazil, Corporations, Corruption, Crime, Food, Health, Law, Money, Monsanto, Peru, Poland, Politics, Rights, Science, USA

Metatronic Chip Replaces Electricity With Light, Swaps Resistors With Silicon Nitride Nanorods

August 28, 2012 By Ian Crossland 1 Comment

Originally posted by Sebastian Anthony on ExtremeTech.com, February 24, 2012

www.element14.com

Optical engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have created the first computer circuit where logic is performed with light instead of electricity. Dubbed “metatronics,” this light-based logic could enable smaller, faster, and more energy efficient computer chips.

The team, led by Nader Engheta, demonstrated that it’s possible to make resistors, inductors, and capacitors that act on light. By creating a chip that has a comb-like array of nanorods — tiny pillars of silicon nitride (pictured below) — the flow of light can be controlled in such a way that the “voltage” and “current” of the optical signal can be altered. By changing the height and width of the nanorods, and by altering their arrangement, different effects can be achieved. For example, if light has to pass by a short rod and then a tall rod, it might create a resistor-like effect — but a square of four short rods might act as an optical capacitor. The metatronic name comes from the fact that these nanorods are a metamaterial; a material that has properties that can’t be found in nature.

Because Engheta and co are working with light instead of electricity, their metatronic chip has some very odd properties. For example, light’s polarization — whether the light wave undulates left/right or up/down — affects how it moves through the nanorods. When the light is aligned with the nanorods (pictured above), the circuit fires in parallel; but when light is perpendicular, the circuit is serial. In effect, one set of nanorods can act as two different circuits, which Engheta calls “stereo-circuitry.”

www.extremetech.com

Furthermore, if you rotate the circuit itself through 45 degrees, the light wave would hit the nanorods obliquely, creating a circuit that is neither series or parallel — a setup that doesn’t occur in regular electronics. Eventually — and be careful, this might make your brain explode — you could even build 3D arrays of nanorods, where a single arrangement could act as dozens of different circuits.

To put this into perspective, imagine a low-power, ultra-high-speed CPU that turns into a GPU when you change the input signal — that’s the kind of functionality that metatronic circuits might one day enable. In the short term, though, work needs to be done on optical interconnects– and, as yet, the closest we’ve come to creating an optical transistor is MIT’s optical diode. In the short term it is much more likely that optoelectronic chips — chips that mix electronic logic with optical interconnects, and which can be built using standard semiconductor processes — will be used commercially.