Soon, a pill that won't let you forget

LONDON: Here’s some good news for students — a memory pill which can help you with revision for exams is being developed by scientists.


An international team is coming up with the pill which could make memories stick, in a study that will not only help students revising for exams but also patients with dementia or other brain disorders.

In their study, the scientists discovered that fatty foods not only send feelings of fullness to the brain but they also trigger a process that consolidates long term memories. Now, the team, led by California University, hope to develop drugs which mimic the effect of fat and rich foods to boost memory in those suffering from brain disorders or who need to cement the facts in their brain.

In fact, they found that oleic acids from fats are transformed into a compound called oleoylethanolamide (OEA) in the upper region of the small intestine. OEA not only send hunger-curbing messages to the brain but “causes memory consolidation, the process by which superficial, short-term memories are transformed into meaningful, long-term ones”, according to the scientists.

Daniele Piomelli, who led the team, said the pill works by activating memory-enhancing signals in amygdala — the part of the brain involved in the consolidation of memories of the emotional events. “Remembering the location and context of a fatty meal was probably an important survival mechanism for early humans. It makes sense that mammals have this capability.

“OEA is part of the molecular glue that makes memories stick. By helping mammals remember where and when they have eaten a fatty meal, OEA’s memory-enhancing activity seems to have been an important evolutionary tool for early humans and other mammals,” the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

The study found administering OEA to laboratory rodents improved the memory retention in two tests. When cell receptors activated by OEA were blocked, memory retention effects decreased. Piomelli said drugs that mimic OEA are currently in clinical trials.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust said the research offered “fascinating” insights into the way we remember. “When thinking about what constitutes a healthy diet, usually what's good for the heart is also good for the head. Better understanding of how memories are formed could lead to new treatments that help the brain when it becomes affected by Alzheimer’s.”

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Rare dolphins sighted in Bay of Bengal

WASHINGTON: Thousands of rare dolphins have been sighted in the fresh waters off the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal, according to Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS). WCS researchers estimated that nearly 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins, related to orcas or killer whales, were found living in freshwater regions of Bangladeshi Sundarbans and adjacent waters of the Bay of Bengal- an area where little marine mammal research has taken place up to this point. Prior to this study, the largest known populations of Irrawaddy dolphins numbered in the low hundreds or less. Each discovery of Irrawaddy dolphins is important because scientists do not know how many remain on the planet. In 2008, they were listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List based on population declines in known populations. "With all the news about freshwater environments and state of the oceans, WCS's discovery that a thriving population of Irrawaddy dolphins exists in Bangladesh gives us hope for protecting this and other endangered species and their important habitats," said WCS President and CEO Steven E. Sanderson. "This discovery gives us great hope that there is a future for Irrawaddy dolphins," said Brian D. Smith, the study's lead author. However, study authors warn that the dolphins are becoming increasingly threatened by accidental entanglement in fishing nets. During the study, researchers encountered two dolphins that had become entangled and subsequently drowned in fishing nets - a common occurrence, according to local fishermen. The results of the study were announced Friday at the First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas in Maui, Hawaii and published in the Winter issue of the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, said a WCS release. Authors of the study include Brian D. Smith, Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli, and Samantha Strindberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society, along with Benazir Ahmed of Chittagong University in Bangladesh.

Astrophysics to aid of heart patients

How planets form might save a heart patient. Though it might sound a bit farfetched it’s absolutely true that result from an astrophysics research might help doctors detect deadly blood clots in a human heart. Geologists studying how molten metal coagulates at the centre of planets while they are forming have discovered that their research can also be used to investigate blood flow in the human heart. Their work has already helped surgeons find the location of a potentially life-threatening blood clot in a patient’s heart, reports the Telegraph.

Using sophisticated computer modelling developed to explore the flow of liquid metal through rocks, the scientists were able to show doctors where the patient’s blood was gathering in a pool in their heart due to a blood clot. Doctors were then able to confirm the clot and treat the patient, who has not been named for confidentiality reasons.

The researchers now hope to conduct more detailed clinical studies on the technique to see if it could be used routinely as a way of identifying dangerous blood clots in heart patients. Nick Petford, a geologist and pro vice-chancellor at Bournemouth University, who led the research, said: “We were examining how liquid metal accumulates in the core of a planet like the Earth over just a few million years, which is quite fast in geological terms.

“The metal flows through cracks and fissures that open up in the rock as the planet is deformed by impacts from outer space during its early period. When we started talking to clinicians, we found that actually the vascular system was just like these cracks we were studying and we were able to look at blood flow in the same way we looked at the flow of metal.”

Petford’s technology uses a computer to scan images of cracks in arteries in the heart to produce an accurate simulation of how liquid will flow through them. Working with Roger Patel, a consultant radiologist at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, the experts used MRI scans of a patients heart to analyse the blood flow. Doctors now hope the technology can be developed so it can be used routinely to analyse scans from heart patients.

Microsoft Contraceptive 98

Microsoft Corporation has taken another step toward dominating every aspect of American life with the introduction of Contraceptive98, a suite of applications designed for users who engage in sex. Microsoft has been a pioneer in peer-to-peer connectivity and plug and play. It believes these technologies will give it substantial leverage in penetrating the copulation enhancement market.
The product addresses two important user concerns: the need for virus protection and the need for a firewall to ensure the non-propagation of life.
The Contraceptive98 suite consists of three products: Condom98, DeFetus 1.0 (from Sementec), and AIDScan 2.1 (from Norton Utilities). A free copy of Intercourse Explorer 4.0 is bundled in the package. The suite also comes in two expanded versions. Contraceptive98 Professional is the Client / Server edition, for professionals in the sexual services sector.
Contraceptive98 Small Business Edition is a package for start-ups, aimed at the housewife and gigolo niches.
While Contraceptive98 does not address non-traditional copulatory channels, future plug-ins are planned for next year. They will be known as BackDoor, AuraLee, TitElation, and JerkOff.
Operation
Only one node in a peer-to-peer connection needs to install the package. At installation, the Condom98 software checks for minimum hardware. If the user meets the requirements, the product installs and is sufficiently scaleable to meet most requirements. After installation, operation commences. One caution is that the user must have sufficient RAM to complete the session. When the session is complete, a disconnect is initiated, and the user gets the message, "It is now safe to turn off your partner."
Drawbacks
Usability testers report that frequent failures were a major concern during beta testing. General Protection Fault was the most serious error encountered. Early versions had numerous bugs, but most of these have been eliminated. The product needs to be installed each time its used.
Conclusion
Contraceptive98 is a robust product. Despite its drawbacks, it is a reasonably good value for its $49.95 price tag, and is far superior to its shareware version. Hopefully, future releases (of the software, that is) will add missing functionality, such as Backout and Restore, Uninterruptible Power Supply, and Onboard Camera (Peepy Cam). Microsoft CEO Bill Gates is optimistic about Contraceptive98's potential. He recently said, "Our contraceptive products will help our customers do to each other what we've been doing to them for years."