Zika Virus Is Spreading, How Do We Stop It?

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What [do we] do about the Zika virus?

As this — another viral disease — emerges, we’re again facing down a primordial threat that reminds us we are animals in an ecosystem. It’s an ecosystem that’s changing with us and because of us. Beating back Zika will require openness to innovation in both technology and policy.

The primary mosquito species now transmitting Zika virus throughout numerous countries in the Americas, Aedes aegypti, actually evolved alongside humans to target us specifically, versus other animals.

Now it is spreading its domain, due to the warming climate and its predilection for our built-up environment. Mosquitos have already altered human history before by causing millions of deaths via the spread of yellow fever and Dengue, two viruses that are closely related to Zika . . .

While we lack definitive proof that the virus caused the severe cerebral and skull deformities these newborns are suffering with, the evidence we’ve got mandates decisive action. Doctors have found Zika virus in the amniotic fluid of affected fetuses and in the placentas and brains of miscarried fetuses with microcephaly. (Read more from “Zika Virus Is Spreading, How Do We Stop It?” HERE)

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The Shocking Confessions of Flight Attendants on Anonymous App Whisper

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Despite dealing with demanding passengers, unwieldy trolleys and turbulence at 30,000ft, flight attendants are well-known for their reassuring manner and helpful attitude.

But behind those smiles and pristine uniforms, some members of cabin crew are gradually losing their patience with difficult passengers in what one hostess describes as a ‘lonely’ job.

Air stewards have taken to Whisper, the anonymous confession app, to reveal what they’re really thinking during the flight, from hoping turbulence ‘knocks you on your ass’ to fantasising about a crash so that they can play the hero.

In one post, a flight attendant stated that during an emergency landing she spent the entire time hoping that the delay wouldn’t interfere with her 2pm hair appointment, and another revealed that she had caused a diversion when she sneakily smoked a cigarette in the toilet and set off the alarms . . .

One air hostess claimed that while working for an Australian airline, she had started drinking before both take-off and landing and another stated that they often walked up and down the aisle on a night flight to laugh at the passengers’ sleeping faces. (Read more from “The Shocking Confessions of Flight Attendants on Anonymous App Whisper” HERE)

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Niagara Falls Is Going to Go Dry – Again

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New York State plans to shut off the thundering waters of Niagara Falls – again. At least, the American side of the falls. This “once in a lifetime” event actually may take place twice in some folks’ lifetimes. The New York State parks system wants to turn off the falls on the American side sometime in the next two to three years to replace two 115-year-old stone arch bridges that allow pedestrians, park vehicles and utilities access to Goat Island.

The proposal to “dewater” the falls will be presented at a public hearing Wednesday at the Niagara Falls Conference Center. Two of three plans propose a temporary shutdown of the American Falls.

The American Falls was slowed to a trickle in 1969 to study the effects of erosion and buildup of rock at the base of the falls. When that happened, people came from all over the world to see the falls turned off, said Michelle Kratts, who served as Niagara Falls city historian until this past December . . .

In fact, something like skeletons were found. Workers on that project discovered two bodies when the water was diverted, she said.

They also found millions of coins, carrying them out in buckets to deter people from going out onto the rocks, she said. (Read more from “Niagara Falls Is Going to Go Dry – Again” HERE)

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Scientists Just Discovered Something That Shows the Human Brain Is Even More Amazing Than We Thought

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The human brain has a capacity that is ten times greater than first thought and can retain 4.7 billion books, scientists have discovered.

This is according to US scientists who have measured the storage capacity of synapses – the brain connections that are responsible for storing memories.

They discovered that, on average, one synapse can hold roughly 4.7 bits of information. This means that the human brain has a capacity of one petabyte, or 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes.

One petabyte is the same as 20 million four-drawer filing cabinets filled with text,13.3 years of HD-TV recordings, 4.7 billion books or 670 million web pages.

However, this is only the total amount of information that the relevant part of the brain could theoretically carry at any one moment. Its actual archive of memories would be a lot smaller. (Read more from “Scientists Just Discovered Something That Shows the Human Brain Is Even More Amazing Than We Thought” HERE)

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MS Patients See ‘Miraculous’ Healings After Adult Stem Cell Treatments

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British sufferers from multiple sclerosis are reporting remarkable improvements in their condition after injection with adult stem cells taken from their own bodies. The treatment is part of a clinical trial of techniques pioneered at America’s Northwestern University by Dr. Richard Burt.

The adult stem cell treatment for MS is just one of many being applied around the world for more than 100 medical conditions, many to do with diseases of the auto-immune system.

Sheffield patient Holly Drewry, a 25-year-old mother of one, went into that city’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital in a wheelchair but left on her own feet after a single treatment using her own adult stem cells, taken from her bone marrow. “I started seeing changes within days of the stem cells being put in. It was a miracle,” she told a BBC interviewer for an episode of Panorama.

Researchers for a clinical trial at Hallamshire and at a London hospital have re-examined Drewry and found her multiple sclerosis in remission.

“I couldn’t walk steadily. I couldn’t trust myself holding her [daughter Isla] in case I fell. … It is scary because you think, when is it going to end?” said Drewry. But after a two-stage treatment involving first chemotherapy to kill her malfunctioning autoimmune system and then adult stem cells to remake it, she reported that “I walked out of the hospital. I walked into my house and hugged Isla. I cried and cried. It was a bit overwhelming. It was a miracle.” (Read more from “MS Patients See ‘Miraculous’ Healings After Adult Stem Cell Treatments” HERE)

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Concerns Over Zika Virus Outbreak Growing in U.S.

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U.S. health officials are reporting new cases of a mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects.

Three cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed in Florida, and two pregnant women tested positive in Illinois. Texas and Hawaii also have confirmed cases, including a baby born with a birth defect.

The growing cases at home are traced back to overseas, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a travel alert over the virus, warning pregnant women to avoid some of the most popular American vacation destinations, reports Elaine Quijano of CBS News’ digital network, CBSN.

In the handful of confirmed cases in the U.S., those infected traveled outside of the country and tested positive once they got home.

The Zika virus is caused by the Aedes mosquito. It’s been determined women can pass the virus to their babies, causing birth defects. (Read more from “Concerns Over Zika Virus Outbreak Growing in U.S.” HERE)

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Beards May Be More Hygienic and Bacteria-Resistant Than Shaven Skin, Study Finds

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Beards may contain bacteria which could potentially be developed into new antibiotics, a study has found.

Researchers found that clean-shaven men were actually more likely to harbour infection-causing bacteria resistant to antibiotics when compared to bearded men.

The study, published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, tested swabs from the faces of 408 hospital staff with and without facial hair.

According to the results, clean-shaven men are more than three times as likely to be carrying methicillin-resistant staph auerus (MRSA) on their cheeks as their bearded counterparts.

Clean-shaven men were also more than 10 per cent more likely to have colonies of Staphylococcus aureus on their faces, a bacterium that causes skin and respiratory infections, and food poisoning. (Read more from “Beards May Be More Hygienic and Bacteria-Resistant Than Shaven Skin, Study Finds” HERE)

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Lyme Disease–Carrying Ticks Are Now in Half of All U.S. Counties

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The ticks that transmit Lyme disease, a debilitating flulike illness caused by Borrelia bacteria, are spreading rapidly across the United States. A new study shows just how rapidly. Over the past 20 years, the two species known to spread the disease to humans have together advanced into half of all the counties in the United States.

Lyme disease cases have tripled in the United States over the last 2 decades, making it the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. The disease now affects around 300,000 Americans each year. If diagnosed early—a rash commonly appears around the site of the tick bite—Lyme can be effectively treated with antibiotics, but longer term infections can produce more serious symptoms, including joint stiffness, brain inflammation, and nerve pain.

To get a comprehensive map of where the two species—the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus)—were living, Rebecca Eisen and colleagues from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fort Collins, Colorado, combined data from published papers with state and county tick surveillance data going back to 1996. They counted reports of tick sightings in each of the 3110 continental U.S. counties to determine whether those counties hosted an established population or just a few individuals. Ticks were considered “established” when sightings of at least six ticks, or two of the three life stages, had been reported in a year.

Their results, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, show that the blacklegged tick has undergone a population explosion, doubling its established range in less than 2 decades. It is now reported in 45.7% of U.S counties, up from 30% in 1998. Blacklegged ticks are found in 37 states across the eastern United States. The rarer western blacklegged tick, restricted to just six states, has shown only modest increases in established populations, from 3.4% to 3.6% of counties. Combined, these two Lyme disease vectors are now found in half of all U.S. counties. (Read more from “Lyme Disease–Carrying Ticks Are Now in Half of All U.S. Counties” HERE)

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Rise of the Robots Will Eliminate More Than 5 Million Jobs

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Over five million jobs will be lost by 2020 as a result of developments in genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics and other technological change, according to World Economic Forum research.

About 7 million jobs will be lost and 2 million gained as a result of technological change in 15 major developed and emerging economies, WEF founder Klaus Schwab and managing board member Richard Samans said in “The Future of Jobs.” The findings are taken from a survey of 15 economies covering about 1.9 billion workers, or about 65 percent of the world’s total workforce.

The blurred lines between physical, digital and biological spheres amount to a Fourth Industrial Revolution, according to the WEF, which will address the idea as the idea at its annual meeting of policy makers, academics and economists in Davos, Switzerland. It’s already a hot topic thanks in part to books such as ‘The Second Machine Age’ and ‘The Rise of The Robots,’ while Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane has warned that the millions of jobs at risk from automation are creating issues officials need to address.

“To prevent a worst-case scenario — technological change accompanied by talent shortages, mass unemployment and growing inequality — reskilling and upskilling of today’s workers will be critical,” the authors said. (Read more from “Rise of the Robots Will Eliminate More Than 5 Million Jobs” HERE)

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This Is the Horrifying Thing Cocaine Can Do to Your Brain, According to Experts

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High doses of cocaine can cause the brain to eat itself, research suggests.

A mouse study found that the drug can trigger out-of-control ”autophagy” – a process by which cells literally digest themselves.

When it is properly regulated, autophagy provides a valuable clean-up service – getting rid of unwanted debris that is dissolved away by enzymes within cell ”pockets”.

Dr Prasun Guha, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US – who led the research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said: ”A cell is like a household that is constantly generating trash.

”Autophagy is the housekeeper that takes out the trash – it’s usually a good thing. But cocaine makes the housekeeper throw away really important things, like mitochondria, which produce energy for the cell.” (Read more from “This Is the Horrifying Thing Cocaine Can Do to Your Brain, According to Experts” HERE)

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