Optogenetics and Chemogenetics

These are new ideas scientists are developing to hack into the brain in order to treat epilepsy. In optogenetics brain cells are genetically engineered to fire in the presence of light. The problem with this is that fiber optic cables must be implanted in the brain in order to let the trigger (light) in so the therapy can work. Hence the next therapy developed, chemogenetics, which doesn't need fiber optics, but instead uses brain cells engineered to fire in the presence of certain drugs. It has been used with some success in tests with rats and could soon be tested in humans. The type of epilepsy researchers think chemogenetic therapy can help regulate is called focal epilepsy. In this type of epilepsy people can feel when a seizure is about to begin and that would be when they would take the clozapine N-oxide as a pill, injection, or nasal spray to trigger the genetically engineered brain cells (the ones that cause the seizures) to turn off. The chemical, the clozapine N-oxide, only stays in the body for about 7 hours so the effect would be only temporary but this chemogenetic therapy does show promise.

ISIS

Four little letters with lots of different meanings, most recently the group responsible for the reprehensible. In the past I associated Isis with the name of an Egyptian goddess, a patron of children for one thing, or the TV show (from the 70’s when I used to watch TV) called The Secret of Isis, or one of the Egyptian super heroes called Isis, created by Marvel Comics or DC comics. There’s nothing comic-al about ISIS the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. They’re not a non-governmental organization dealing with human trafficking, or a British technology transfer company, or a US pharmaceutical company, all of which share the same initials with the Al Qaida splinter terrorist group. ISIS the terrorist organization isn't an operating system on an Intel processor either, but we could use some more intel on their operations. They’re not part of Bob Dylan’s Isis song that could be considered a symbolic take off on mythological themes of a male hero separating from his wife, going on adventures and acting crazy, and then returning to the marriage, going back to the Odyssey. If this terrorist group’s kind of crazy was only temporary relief might be in sight, but it doesn't appear that way to me. The beheadings ISIS claims responsibility for are beyond disturbing along with their self-proclaimed justification for committing these acts. Complacency and desensitization of civilized societies toward these murderous, inexplicable, and unjustifiable acts is equally disturbing.

Teacher Shoots Self in Class

It’s way too early in the school year for the teacher to be feeling like this, was my first thought accompanied by a sarcastic chuckle to my retired educator self when I saw this headline on MSN. Then I clicked on it and saw that a professor’s handgun accidentally discharged in his pocket which resulted in a bullet wound to his foot. There is a lesson here about guns in schools. At first I typed -They don’t belong there. - But specifically speaking I mean this - Guns don’t belong in schools! The gun in this case was a semi-automatic, the school Idaho State University, and there is a law that allows concealed weapons to be carried on campus. The professor was treated for the gunshot wound at a local hospital and released. He may yet face charges of firing a gun within the city limits. I’m not sure that’s enough for what I consider a danger not only to his own foot but to all the others at the university, discharging a gun in a school. Guns don’t belong in schools, period.

Octopus Mom

Reproduction is the final stage of life for an octopus. During this stage all the octopus mom’s energy is directed to producing and caring for her eggs. I didn’t know that! One remarkable octopus mom brooded her eggs for four and a half years. By this I mean she kept a constant vigil over them protecting them from predators and constantly blowing water over them to bathe them in the oxygen they needed to survive. The octopus mom (with her brood of 160 eggs) that I’m writing about was first observed in 2007 by some folks from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute clinging to a rocky ledge about 1400 meters down in a submarine canyon in the middle of Monterey Bay in the Pacific Ocean. Over the following four and a half years the researchers made 18 visits to the same area and saw that this same octopus mom, with distinctive scars and markings for identification, was still on the job. This octopus mom like all others to date was never observed leaving her post to eat or anything and the researchers think the very cold temperatures in the pacific may have helped slow her metabolism enough to allow the mom to last the four and a half years. On their last trip to the ledge they only saw remnants of hatched egg capsules. The previous record for length of brooding time was held by a deep sea shrimp that carries its eggs for 20 months. The octopus mom’s dedication surpassed that record in a big way. This only adds to my perspective on the nine months and the years of childhood that follow for human moms. Moms, no matter the species, are special.

Mattress Performance Art

A Columbia University art student is carrying a mattress around everywhere she goes as a performance art project about rape, and it’s personal. She reported an alleged sexual assault on the first day of her sophomore year in August 2012, after she found out that two other students had made complaints against the same student. In each instance, he (the alleged rapist) was found "not responsible" by Columbia University administration. Later she filed a police report but the alleged rapist still attends the same school. Her mattress performance art is titled Carry that Weight because since she was raped in her dorm room she has carried the weight of the trauma with her everywhere and the mattress is her chosen symbol of the event. The twin-sized mattress is the right size to draw attention to the issue and light enough to manage, but heavy enough that the art major continues to struggle with it as she continues to struggle with rape. She plans to carry it as long as she and her alleged rapist attend the same school. I think this is an interesting way to bring attention to the issues of sexual assault on college campuses, and I hope that this art student eventually becomes strong enough as she carries that weight to someday throw it off and live free of the trauma associated with rape.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out and give greater weight to information that confirms what we think rather than what contradicts it. Apparently there is quite a bit of research in the area of confirmation bias that points toward people searching for evidence to support their preexisting viewpoints, and then interpreting that information in a way that reinforces their beliefs. This type of bias has served to polarize issues in the news recently, in particular the police shooting of the unarmed black teen, Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri. Confirmation bias creates a bigger gap between black and white by eliminating the gray area. Regardless of the evidence each side has their minds made up with the help of confirmation bias and neither side will give, instead they choose to ignore or underweigh evidence that could disconfirm their own views. The truth in my opinion is that another tragic shooting of an unarmed child has occurred. I don’t pretend to know the circumstances but as a mother my own bias makes my heart go out to the family, friends, and community who are the ones that have to endure this loss. Community law enforcement is a part of this community too. The real trouble in the aftermath is that confirmation bias distorts everyone’s active pursuit of facts.

Chirping Hardwired Smoke Detector

Yes, this is happening and it is driving me a little crazy. When I first heard it I investigated every room in the house and the garage for any scent of smoke, even the smallest whiff, but I found none. Then I checked the electrical panels and no popped circuits. There is one outlet in the kitchen that pops off regularly (when I release steam from the pressure cooker it seems the worst) but that wasn't the problem. To give you some background info, the house with the chirping hardwired smoke detector is the same house that was rebuilt after a substantial fire in 2009. All the more reason for my thorough sniffing investigation, and finding no evidence of smoke or fire, I finally realized that the detector is only chirping and not actually going off in an indication of smoke. Next I went straight to Google and found a YouTube video on chirping hardwired smoke detectors. The nice fireman on the video explained the backup battery system (in case the power goes off) that every hardwired smoke detector has. Then they showed how to change it etc. The part that got to me was the suggestion for changing the batteries twice each year when you turn the clocks forward and back. Since I didn’t know the hardwired smoke detectors had batteries I’d never changed the batteries in the ones in my house. They are 5 years old now. Guess I’ll be picking up a few 9 volt batteries today!