"Some philosophers believe that no one is born with a soul... that you earn one through suffering, thought, and prayer," Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons).
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Janis Joplin on Rejection
"I haven't ever tried to talk to anybody in 'Women's Lib'- I haven't been attacked by anyone, yet. How can they attack me? I'm representing an image that they want. You know what I mean?
I have an opinion about this-it's sort of like: 'You are what you settle for'. You are only as much as you settle for.
If they settle for being someone else's dishwasher, that's their own problem. If you don't settle for that and you keep fighting, then you'll end up anything you wanna be.
How can they attack me? I'm just doing what I want to and what feels right and not settling for BS- how can they be mad at that?I don't want to offend people, you know? I have a certain set of circumstances that I've had to live under too. You know this oppressive upbringing and things- I've had it too! You don think I've had oppressive upbringing in 'Port Arthur, Texas'? It's just that it drove me crazy and I kept fighting against it.
I don't think you can talk anybody into fighting against it- if they don't have it within themselves to need more... if they need more, they'll get more and that's that. If they demand more, they'll get more," Janis Joplin's Final interview.
Source: (PBS Digital interview//Blank on Blank.)
I have an opinion about this-it's sort of like: 'You are what you settle for'. You are only as much as you settle for.
If they settle for being someone else's dishwasher, that's their own problem. If you don't settle for that and you keep fighting, then you'll end up anything you wanna be.
How can they attack me? I'm just doing what I want to and what feels right and not settling for BS- how can they be mad at that?I don't want to offend people, you know? I have a certain set of circumstances that I've had to live under too. You know this oppressive upbringing and things- I've had it too! You don think I've had oppressive upbringing in 'Port Arthur, Texas'? It's just that it drove me crazy and I kept fighting against it.
I don't think you can talk anybody into fighting against it- if they don't have it within themselves to need more... if they need more, they'll get more and that's that. If they demand more, they'll get more," Janis Joplin's Final interview.
Source: (PBS Digital interview//Blank on Blank.)
Friday, November 24, 2017
Parkinsons & Diabetes Working Together
Michael J. Fox is best known for the classic sci-fi film
released in 1985 as Marty McFly in ‘Back to the Future’ and for not only his
personal challenges with Parkinson’s disease, but for his renowned work towards Parkinson’s
Research. The film, ‘Back to the Future’ brings the audience
through the adventure of time travel, thanks to eccentric scientist Doc Brown (role
played by Christopher Lloyd). Marty
travels through time in the DeLorean (a car created specifically for time
travel) and when Marty finds himself in the ‘50s with the young versions of his
parents, he must make sure his parents fall in love or he will cease to exist.
It was Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
(MJFF) that made it possible for the researchers at the National Hospital for
Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) to conduct a study inspired by previous animal
models that demonstrated the benefits ‘exenatide’ had on motor function. Researchers realized that this drug could be used as a
disease modifying agent for Parkinson’s. They took 60 individuals with Parkinson’s’
to test the effects of the drug ‘exenatide’. It was when an open-labeled trail
that was conducted which strengthened this evidence as the first randomized,
placebo-controlled trial of the drug for Parkinson's patients. [A]
Dr. Emmett Brown: The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?”
INTRODUCTION:
The Gila Monster Lizard, a venomous lizard found in
southwest regions in US and northwest areas in Mexico, is known for its saliva
which has helped individuals with diabetes world-wide to reach healthy glucose
levels and progressive weight loss in those with type 2 diabetes. This lizard’s
saliva has the hormone ‘exendin-4’ which is 50% identical to a hormone found in
the human digestive tract. Previously conducted 3-year study showed that this
very hormone, when used it its synthetic form now makes up the key ingredient
of the successful diabetes drug, ‘exenatide’, hence the drug’s name. [E]
The development of this new medication,
exenatide, activates the GLP-1 hormone receptors in the pancreas which in turn
stimulates insulin release. These GLP-1 receptors are also located in the brain.
Whenever these GLP-1 receptors are activated the dopamine connections in the
brain are enhanced/boosted in function producing anti-inflammatory effects as
well as improving energy production and turning on cell survival signals. It is
clear to see the benefits of the Glia Monster Lizard’s saliva and why it has
been used since 2005 to treat Type 2 Diabetes. [C]
The lizard hormone is about 50 percent identical to a
similar hormone in the human digestive tract, called glucagon-like peptide-1
analog, or GLP-1, that increases the production of insulin when blood sugar
levels are high. Insulin helps move sugar from the blood into other body
tissues where it is used for energy. The lizard hormone remains effective much
longer than the human hormone, and thus its synthetic form helps diabetics keep
their blood sugar levels from getting too high. Exenatide also slows the
emptying of the stomach and causes a decrease in appetite, which is how it
leads to weight loss. [E]
Current
medications for Parkinson’s are targeted to control symptoms of the disease,
but no medications exist to slow down or stop its progression all together. A
drug used most commonly for type 2 diabetes, exenatide, could possibly help
those living with Parkinson’s too. [A]
“George
McFly: Lou, give me a milk.
[dramatic pause]
George McFly: Chocolate.”
[dramatic pause]
George McFly: Chocolate.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative
disease worldwide. This disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system
that affects movement. It develops gradually with a barely noticeable tremor in
one hand. While this is the most well-known sign of Parkinson’s, stiffness and
slowed movements are also common. About 1 in 500 people are affected and are
not aware until over 70% of the brain’s dopamine-producing cells have been
affected. [C] This late diagnosis occurs more times than not, because its
early stages have very mild signs like little facial expression, cessation of
arm movement when walking, and soft or slurred speech. Although symptoms worsen
with time and vary from person to person, they usually appear on one side of
the body worsening on that side as the disease affects the whole body. [D]
Unconscious movements such as blinking, smiling, or swinging
arms while walking become lost as time progresses. Speech becomes soft, quick,
slurred or a noticeable pause or hesitation before speaking. Speech also can
become increasingly monotone. Writing also becomes more difficult as the script
begins to shrink in size as time progresses. The microscopic markers of Parkinson’s disease are clumps of
specific substances located in brain cells called Lewy bodies. Researchers
believe that these Lewy bodies hold an important clue to the cause of
Parkinson's disease. Inside these Lewy bodies, besides the many substances
located in them, it is the widespread clumped protein, alpha-synuclein
(A-synuclein) which cannot be broken down by cells. This is currently an
important focus among Parkinson's disease researchers.
“Marty
McFly: Whoa. Wait a minute, Doc. Are
you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?
Dr. Emmett Brown: Precisely.
Marty McFly: Whoa. This is heavy.
Dr. Emmett Brown: There's that word again. "Heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?”
Dr. Emmett Brown: Precisely.
Marty McFly: Whoa. This is heavy.
Dr. Emmett Brown: There's that word again. "Heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?”
In Parkinson's disease, certain nerve cells (neurons) in the brain gradually break down or die. Many of the symptoms are due to a loss of neurons that produce a chemical messenger in your brain called dopamine. When dopamine levels decrease, it causes abnormal brain activity, leading to signs of Parkinson's disease. Although the cause of Parkinson's disease is ultimately unknown, there are many factors that play a vital role in identifying the specific genetic mutation (s) that cause Parkinson’s. One such example are the genes in our bodies. It is very rare unless many family members are affected by Parkinson’s. The certain gene variations have been shown to increase the risk of getting Parkinson’s but even in this scenario the risk is small for each of these genetic markers.
Some of the factors
that could trigger Parkinson’s if the disease is in the family, include the
following. Age, heredity, gender, and exposure to toxins are the risk factors
of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson’s disease typically begins in middle age or
late in life as the probability of developing the disease increases with age.
Majority of individuals develop the disease around age 60. Family members such
as close relative(s) who have Parkinson’s increases the likelihood of
developing the disease. The good news is that your risks are small unless many
relatives have the disease in the family. Men are also more likely to develop
Parkinson’s than women. Also, exposure to toxins such as herbicides and pesticides
can increase the risks.
Because environmental
triggers, such as toxins, can trigger alterations in the configuration in the
brain which lead some people to develop Parkinson’s, is so miniscule that makes
it so difficult for scientists to confirm why these changes occur. Parkinson's
disease can't be cured, but medications have proven to improve many symptoms
that people experience. There are cases where physicians suggest surgery to
regulate certain areas of the brain to improve symptoms. [D]
There exists a
132-point scale that measures tremors, agility, and speech that was
specifically designed for Parkinson’s symptoms and used in this study to
measure the results. Researchers observed a statistically significant
difference between the two groups’ scores- a total of 4-point difference. [C]
“Dr. Emmett Brown: If my calculations are correct, when
this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit.”
RESEARCH:
Many studies have revealed the difficulties that exist
when dealing with insulin signaling in the brain and its link to
neurodegenerative disorders. Subsequently, researchers concluded the
possibility of diabetic drugs helping those with Parkinson’s. Led by Professor
Foltynie, his team of researchers discovered that ‘exenatide’ also helped to
improve symptoms in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. [C]
The study had a total of 60 volunteers who were diagnosed
with Parkinson’s randomly split into two groups. Group A was injected once a
week with ‘exenatide’ for 48 weeks and Group B was injected with a placebo.
Both groups took their regularly prescribed medications. Group A, the individuals who took ‘exenatide’, revealed
better motor function at the end of the 48-week study. The benefits of
‘exenatide’ to their symptoms persisted after treatment had ended, 12 weeks
later. Those who took the placebo, Group B, declined in motor function at both
the end of the study at 48 weeks as well as 12 weeks later (60-week mark). [C]
“[repeated line also said by George]
Marty McFly: If
you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
RESULTS:
The team of researchers discovered that Group A scored a
total of 4 points higher on the 132-point scale compared to Group B despite
many varying factors including disease severity. The 132-point scale is used to
measure symptoms of Parkinson’s such as tremors, agility, and speech. Even
after the trail was over, exactly 12 weeks after, participants of Group A
showed better motor function than those in Group B. [A] These observations show that the drug may be slowing down
the progression of the disease. Those who were injected with the placebo showed
a decline in motor function at both the end of the trial (at 48-week mark) and
after (at the 60-week mark). The drug holds potential to affect the progression
of the disease and its symptoms. [C]
Although, the participants themselves did not report
noticeable difference in their symptoms to the team of researchers, or during
the time post-trial period, the scores speak for themselves. The participants
were also tested while temporarily off all medication, to determine how the
disease itself was progressing. The research did not determine conclusively
whether the drug was modifying the disease itself, so the next stage in the
research will investigate this area. [C]
“[last lines] Marty McFly: Hey,
Doc, we better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.”
CONCLUSION:
Dr. Emmett Brown: Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.”
CONCLUSION:
Developing new treatments from scratch can be very
difficult and time consuming, so it is reasonable to see why scientists often
use already approved therapies for one condition or disease to treat another
(this is also known as ‘drug repurposing’). This allows for new approaches in
therapeutic developments and advancements in treatment options for many
diseases not just Parkinson’s. More specifically, the results of these ‘exenatide’
studies’ have proven that this drug has great potential in treating Parkinson’s
symptoms. But, before new treatments can be built centered around ‘exenatide’, it
will take years of testing before it will be safe for patients to use it.
The brain scans showed no clear after-effects, making
scientists question how the drug works and why some individuals benefited more
than others. Next, longer termed study with a larger pool of participants have
to be held to produce more conclusive results. [C] Such scientific breakthroughs, brings humanity a step closer
to give people their lives back and better quality of living. The future of Parkinson’s
disease and the individuals who live with the condition seems brighter than
ever.
LINKS:
[D] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/basics/definition/con-20028488
*Please note! These images are not mine. They were found
on various tumblr, pinterest, google image sites! If any are yours please let
me know so that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images
have no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks
so much & enjoy~
*Quotes by:
Monday, November 20, 2017
Ethan Hawke's Misconception About Filmmaking
"The difference between good and great is one twist of the screw but its the hardest one to do... its -grrh-.. so much rehearsal so much thought has to go into the tiniest gesture that ultimately can't even be planned out-it has to be spontaneous... Peter [Weir] was showing us attention to detail...who really thinks it matters a lot if a cup goes like this or like that. Its an accumulation period."
"He used to say its like a sail boat. Every true moment every beautiful thing every honest thought puts wind in the sail. And every fake moment, and every cheat, and every lie is a little tear [on the sail of the boat]. And you can sustain some of them. A few tears and the ship will still move. But... to make the 'GodFather', to write 'To Kill a Mocking Bird', to do something amazing... there has to be no tears."
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Jack Kerouac
"I promise I shall never give up, and that I'll die yelling and laughing, and that until then I'll rush around this world I insist is holy and pull at everyone's lapel and make them confess to me and to all," Jack Kerouac.
(American novelist and poet of French-Canadian descent.
He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation.1922-1969).
Anne Frank
"Everyone has inside him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is," Anne Frank.
(Annelies Marie 'Anne' Frank is one of the most discussed Jewish victim of the Holocaust. German-born and gained fame with the publication of 'The Diary of a Young Girl' in which she documents the time of her life that she and her family are in hiding from 1942-1944 during the German occupation f the Netherlands in WW2 ,1929-1945).
Tissue Nano-Transfection: Penelope & the Secret Family Curse
“Max: You know you inspired me, doing what
you did, going off on your own like that...”
A young aristocratic heiress, Penelope Wilhern is born with
a secret family curse that can only be broken when she is loved by ‘one of her
own kind.’ Her family decides to fake Penelope's death when she was just a
child and hides her away in their large majestic home. When Penelope reaches of
age, she is subjected to meeting a string of blue-bloods with the hope of
marrying her off to break her curse. It is when two men each with a unique
grudge against the family where the story begins and Max enters her life, as he
is hired to take a photo of the mysterious Penelope.
Max finds himself drawn to Penelope and finds himself
disappearing from all party's included, lives as to not expose or disappoint
her. This event overwhelms Penelope with feeling betrayed and lost. She runs
away from home out into the world where she finds adventure despite of her
curse. If only Penelope and her family had access to ‘Tissue
Nano-Transfection’, the latest breakthrough that treats injured or ageing
tissue, they could have had the solution to their secret family curse. 
INTRODUCTION:
A tiny device that sits on the skin and uses an electric
field to reprogram cells could possibly treat injured or aging skin or tissues.
This breakthrough is being called ‘tissue nano-transfection’. An intense yet
focused electric field is applied across the device. This electric field allows
the device to deliver genes to the skin cells beneath it, turning the
underlying cells into different types of cells. [A]
It instantly delivers new DNA or RNA into the living cells
to change their function to heal organs or tissues. A team of researchers from
Ohio State University- Wexner Medical Center- developed this device that can
switch cell function to rescue failing body functions with one touch. [B]
In other words, it injects genetic code into skin cells,
turning those skin cells into other types of cells required for treating
diseased conditions. When repairing damaged tissue, this new technique offers
the possibility of turning a patients very own tissue into a “bio-reactor” to
produce cells to needed either repair nearby tissues, or for use at another
site. [A]
Chandan Sen (from Ohio State University) co-led this study
and the results have shown that skin is a fertile land where
scientists/researchers can grow the very elements needed of any organ which is
aging or damaged. However, it is important to note that scientists have been
able to re-program cells into other cell types before. In 2012, John Gurdon and
Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize for this very discovery and is currently
being researched in many fields such as Parkinson’s disease. [A]
“Penelope: There are three hundred and twenty-six
first editions in that room. Of those, three hundred are worth over fifty
thousand, a dozen or so are worth over twenty-five thousand and I'm afraid
there's only one that's valued under a hundred.
Max:
Only one, huh?
Penelope: A little novel, written by a little
nobody that never amounted to anything.
Max: You don't say, under a hundred?
Penelope: I'm afraid so, and I'm afraid that
means that it's time for-
[interrupted]
Max:
But your favorite just the same.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Any general Biology course teaches us that one can change
the fate of a cell by incorporating new genes into the cell. Progress in Stem
cell research have shown that a skin cells such as neurons, vascular cell, or a
stem cell can in fact become any other cell when putting genes into them. But,
this new study has given researchers and scientists alike a new approach to re-programming
cells through skipping an intermediary step. This intermediary step is where
cells are turned into what are known as ‘pluripotent stem cells’. So instead of
turning skin cells directly into functional cells of different types. In the
human body, this process is a single step. [A]
In addition, this new approach does not rely on applying an
electric field across a large area of the cell or using viruses to deliver the
necessary genes. This study was the first to reprogram cells without the use of
any viral vectors. (The published study can be found on Nature Nanotechnology
journal. The publication describes how the team developed the new technique and
novel genes that allowed them to reprogram skin cells of the animals in their
study.) [A]
"Penelope: Used to? You don't do that anymore?
What are you doing instead?
Max:
[after a pause] Beating you at chess.
Penelope: I warned you I'd kill her.
Max:
Well that's great, because, you know what? As soon as my guys hear what you've
done...
Penelope: The game will be over, your Queen'll
be dead.
Max:
My King's still pretty... active. You know?
Penelope: Once the Queen is dead, the King is
useless.
Max:
What's that about?
Penelope: I don't know. Maybe he's too depressed
to fight. He really loved her, you know.”
Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), that can generate any cell
type of interest for treatment within the patient's own body. This technology
may be used to repair injured tissue or restore function of aging tissue,
including organs, blood vessels and nerve cells. [B]
TNT technology has two major components: First is a
nanotechnology-based chip designed to deliver cargo to adult cells in the live
body. Second is the design of specific biological cargo for cell conversion.
This cargo, when delivered using the chip, converts an adult cell from one type
to another. TNT doesn't require any laboratory-based procedures and may be
implemented at the point of care. The procedure is also non-invasive. The cargo
is delivered by zapping the device with a small electrical charge that's barely
felt by the patient. [B]
RESEARCH:
In a new study published in Nature Nanotechnology by the
first author Daniel Gallego-Perez of Ohio State demonstrated that the technique
worked with up to 98 percent efficiently. In a series of lab tests, researchers
applied the chip to the injured legs of mice that vascular scans showed
had little to no blood flow. “We reprogrammed their skin cells to become
vascular cells,” Sen said. “Within a week we began noticing the
transformation.” [C]
In laboratory tests, this process was able to heal the badly
injured legs of mice in just three weeks with a single touch of this chip. The
technology works by converting normal skin cells into vascular cells, which
helped heal the wounds. [B] Researchers studied mice and pigs in these
experiments. In the study, researchers were able to reprogram skin cells to
become vascular cells in badly injured legs that lacked blood flow. [A] The chip, loaded with specific genetic code or certain
proteins, is placed on the skin, and a small electrical current creates
channels in the tissue. The DNA or RNA is injected into those channels where it
takes root and begins to reprogram the cells. [C]
The team of researchers used the technique on mice with legs
that had had their arteries cut, preventing blood flow through the limb. The
device was then put on the skin of the mice, and an electric field applied to
trigger changes in the cells’ membrane, allowing the genes to enter the cells
below. As a result, the team found that they were able to convert skin cells
directly into vascular cells -with the effect extending deeper into the limb,
in effect building a new network of blood vessels. [A]
By the second week, active blood vessels had formed, and by
the third week, the legs of the mice were saved—with no other form of
treatment. [C] Within a week, active blood vessels appeared in the injured leg,
and by the second week, the leg was saved. In lab tests, this technology was
also shown to reprogram skin cells in the live body into nerve cells that were
injected into brain-injured mice to help them recover from stroke. [B]
"This is difficult to imagine, but it is achievable,
successfully working about 98 percent of the time. With this technology, we can
convert skin cells into elements of any organ with just one touch. This process
only takes less than a second and is non-invasive, and then you're off. The
chip does not stay with you, and the reprogramming of the cell starts. Our technology
keeps the cells in the body under immune surveillance, so immune suppression is
not necessary," said Sen, who also is executive director of Ohio
State's Comprehensive Wound Center. [B]
“Jessica
Wilhern: Honey, just think about what you're doing. This is the
moment we have worked so hard for.
Penelope: I
said go away!
Jessica
Wilhern: Sweetheart, please! Please, we are one yes away from a whole
new life, a whole new you!
Penelope: But I
don't want a whole new me, mother!
Jessica
Wilhern: Sweetheart please, please.
Penelope:
I
like myself the way I am!”
RESULTS:
“What’s even more exciting is that it not only works on
the skin, but on any type of tissue,” Sen said. In fact, researchers were able
to grow brain cells on the skin surface of a mouse, harvest them, then inject
them into the mouse’s injured brain. Just a few weeks after having a stroke,
brain function in the mouse was restored, and it was healed. Because the
technique uses a patient’s own cells and does not rely on medication,
researchers expect it to be approved for human trials within a year. [C]
After seven days, new vessels appeared and two weeks
later, blood flow was observed that reached the whole leg. They also used the
device to convert skin cells into nerve cells on mice. These cells were then
injected into the brains of mice who had experienced a stroke which aided their
recovery. These observations revealed that skin cells can be converted into
elements of any organ. The process takes less than a second and is
non-invasive. This technology avoids all issues with rejection. [A]
There are standard surgical techniques that deal with
blockages of blood flow to limbs. Greater refinement of this technology is
needed although the application of existing techniques that has potential. This
new technique is unlikely to be used on areas other than skin, since the need
for an electric current and the device near to the tissue means using it on
internal organs would require an invasive procedure. [A]
“Penelope:
[telling her class her story] And we lived happily ever after - well, happily
ever after so far at least.
Child
1:
I don't get it. What does it mean?
Penelope: Well,
you tell me what you think it means.
Child
2:
Rich people stink!
Child
3:
It's always the mother's fault.
Child
4:
It's not the power of the curse - it's the power you give the curse.”
CONCLUSION:
"The concept is very simple," Lee said. "As a
matter of fact, we were even surprised how it worked so well. In my lab, we
have ongoing research trying to understand the mechanism and do even better.
So, this is the beginning, more to come." [B] In other words, massive
developments are needed for this technique to be used for anything else other
than skin. The team of researchers hope to continue to perfect this process and
technique as they set out to begin clinical trials on humans next year. [A]
Links:
*Please note! These images are not mine. They were found on
various tumblr, pinterest, google image sites! If any are yours please let me
know so that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images have
no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks so
much & enjoy~
*Quotes by: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472160/quotes
*Screen caps by: http://kissthemgoodbye.net/movie/thumbnails.php?album=55
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