In case you didn’t know, your mobile phone charger — as well as other AC adapters and electrical transformers in general — emit dangerous radiation at close proximity.

The electrical current that’s needed to operate most cellular phones is lower than the current that’s buzzing on the electrical grid. And since we don’t want to fry our phone with an amount of current it cannot handle, we have to convert the current properties somewhere along the way — that’s where our AC Adapter comes into action. The little (often) black box creates a magnetic field that’s blocking some of the current from reaching the end device. Yes, a plugged-in transformer establishes a magnetic field around it! And it’s a dangerous one, to be sure.

On the contrary, the good news is that the magnetic field is relatively small, and its strength substantially diminishes as you step away from it. Thirty cm from the transformer, the radiation becomes harmless, and half-a-meter away it’s almost undetectable.

The bottom line, don’t be afraid of your mobile phone charger, just make sure not to sleep right next to it.

Crossing the street is sometimes an intensive experience of passive smoking!

Vipassana meditation thickens parts of the brain responsible for awareness and sensation:

Our data suggest that meditation practice can promote cortical plasticity in adults in areas important for cognitive and emotional processing and well-being,” says Sara Lazar, leader of the study and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School. “These findings are consistent with other studies that demonstrated increased thickness of music areas in the brains of musicians, and visual and motor areas in the brains of jugglers. In other words, the structure of an adult brain can change in response to repeated practice.”

Global warming responsible for less sex in the desert:

American prostitutes are offering free fuel after finding that high petrol prices were keeping customers away.

In the Nevada desert, where it is legal to run brothels, truck drivers make up a significant proportion of the men who like to pay to stay awhile.

But with bowser prices making filling the tank of the big rigs which ply their trade on America’s highways almost prohibitively expensive, something has had to give.

The Nevada Brothel Owners Association claim they are bearing the brunt, with revenue in some establishments dropping by up to 45 per cent since the oil crisis began.

From Natural News:

(NaturalNews) A non-psychoactive chemical that occurs naturally in the marijuana plant may prevent breast cancer from spreading, according to a study published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

Researchers found that a chemical called cannabidiol (CBD) affects the activity of a gene known as Id-1 in patients with hormone-independent breast cancer.

Because CBD occurs in only very small quantities in the cannabis plant, the researchers do not recommend smoking marijuana as a cancer treatment. To be effective, CBD will either have to be artificially synthesized or extracted and concentrated.

The chemical’s major advantage, according to the researchers, is its apparent non-toxicity.

From the Ethics in Action community:

80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.

The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.

In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs.

Hemp, or cannabis, or marijuana was outlawed in 1937 because it threatened the nation-less corporate interests of - William Randolph Hearst ­ and - DuPont. They had to get rid of the competition. - Hearst’s yellow journalism newspaper chain wrote scathing stories about “marijuana” - a word he made up - because he knew no one would believe them about hemp, which George Washington himself grew hemp.

Last week I described how the patterns of our brain waves control different states of consciousness. By altering these patters, we can induce many mental and emotional states, such as sleep, anxiety, calmness, and concentration. Several technological applications already try to take advantage of this mechanism for the treatment of humans.

As of today, we are able to transmit magnetic waves over a short distance that can manipulate a person’s state of consciousness. But as technology advances, we could one day broadcast a certain frequency over a broad area of space. When this becomes finally practical, it will certainly have many uses in the animal kingdom…

Agriculture

First of all, farmers could use this technique to ward off pesticides off their fields. Imagine a grasshopper that falls asleep when he’s nearing the edge of the broadcast-protected zone, or a bird that becomes anxious in the vicinity of her favourite fruit garden and therefore flies away.

Another possible application would be the improvement of dairy production. Cows could be excited during a certain time of day to make more milk, while enjoying a “good night sleep” at other times due to relaxing patterns, thus recuperating faster and better in time for the next milking.

Domestic Uses

Flies in the summer pose a major annoyance. But what if we could make them fall asleep when zooming past the garden fence. We will feel confident to sleep with the window wide open! Same thing goes for dogs that tend to bark excessively during the night.

Photo by Jay Torborg

Entertainment and Recreation

Have you ever fantasized about entering the tigers’ cage in the zoo and petting their beautiful fur? Doing it nowadays would mean becoming a tiger’s lunchtime dessert. But in the future, we could neutralize their aggressive behavior and killer instincts without putting them to sleep. They’d be awake and gentle at the same time.

And what about the monkey in the cage next door? He knows a few tricks, but it takes weeks and months to teach him those tricks. However, beta waves are known to be activated in humans when we concentrate. If we can induce beta waves (or their equivalent) in monkeys, elephants and dolphins — their training will progress much more easily and much faster.

– Prologue –

Life is circular. There is always a start — Birth, and there is always an end — Death. In between there are other circular activities, such as breathing for example, which is common to all life forms, from bacteria to palm trees, and from tiny worms to human beings. Finally, there is sleep, which is unique to a certain group of multicellular eukaryotic organisms — i.e. Animals.

Sleep is a recurring activity, usually occurring within a circadian (”of 24 hours”) rhythm. As humans, we know we get tired at night, lie down, close our eyes, stop moving, relax… and sleep. When asleep, we all enter alternating states of consciousness. We lose track of time and become rather indifferent to outer stimuli. Dreams may appear and go. And we may or may not remember them in the morning. Whatever the experience is for each individual, each night, our brain is a primary player in this phenomenon. By altering its own electrical patterns — what is known as Brain Waves — it controls behavior, alertness, and memory.

Simple observations tell us that animals sleep as well. We see our dogs and cats lie down, stationary, while their shut eyelids are rapidly twitching from side to side as they dream (about us perhaps). However, scientific research provides the evidence that simpler forms of animals, such as flies and worms, sleep as well — even if “sleep” is manifested differently with these species.

As technology advances more and more, we now have methods of controlling human brain waves, as a way to induce hypnosis-like states in patients or to facilitate concentration in people suffering from ADD. These machines work primarily via sound and light, although future versions could operate on the premise of magnetic waves. There is already an experimental method used in psychiatric hospitals, called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which remotely affects a person’s brain patterns.

On the exciting applications of TMS (and other futuristic methods of brain-wave manipulation) on animals, come back for next week’s issue of… Future Nature.

TMS Picture by Revolution Health

Our spiritual friends at Israel launched their new website King Solomon Legend. It’s a good place to read lots of engaging information about the ancient Israelite King Solomon, who’s believed to had been able to talk to animals.

http://www.KingSolomonLegend.com

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental disabilities afflicting mankind. The current scientific position tells us that the most likely cause of these conditions is a combination of both a genetic predisposition along with acute environmental stress (such as the consumption of harmful junk food, or the ordeals of a divorce). Whatever the actual reasons for a certain episode of melancholy, there are several known brain mechanisms that engage in the regulation of mood, stress, and motivation. I can assume most of us have heard of the infamous neurotransmitters Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine. Taking antidepressants (such as Prozac) affect the receptivity of our nerve cells to these molecules, and by doing so these drugs reprogram our brain to behave differently — hopefully, in a more healthy manner.

Recently, other mood-regulating neurotransmitters have been discovered. One of them is Orexin, a peptide which was traditionally mentioned in the field of hunger-regulation. It’s also important in maintaining a state of wakefulness, as can be evidenced by a drug called Modafinil that is used to increase brain levels of Orexin in order to treat people with narcolepsy.

Later this month, a group of researchers in Israel will pronounce the discovery of yet another mood-regulating neurotransmitter. It is called IA (Incensole acetate), and it activates an ion channel named TRPV3. Ion channels are specially-designed proteins that sit on the membrane (the outer layer) of nerve cells, and control the flow of electrically charged particles into and out of the cell — a process that determines whether a certain nerve cell is activated at a certain moment, or not. In other words, molecules (neurotransmitters) that can alter the function of TRPV3 channel change the patterns of our brain activity — and as just mentioned, cutting-edge research from Israel indicates that this pattern of change adjusts the levels of mood and stress.

More specifically, a group of scientists from The College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel, led by Prof. Ester Fride, conducted experiments with the Boswellia plant, which contains the IA molecules. They’ve discovered that this plant does indeed reduce anxiety, without all the pesky side effects of ordinary antidepressants, such as sexual dysfunction and weight gain.

It is interesting to note that the ancient Israelites burnt incense made of the Boswellia plant in the Temple in Jerusalem, since it created a relaxing atmosphere, suited for prayer and rituals. Perhaps as we revert back to ancient remedies, we’ll discover healthier - more organic - solutions to modern maladies.

Picture by Garnet’s Book of Shadows

We are all familiar with the RDA column on the side of our food packages. RDA means “Recommended Daily Allowance” and it is the daily amount of each nutritional element that the FDA recommends us to consume each and every day. Nowadays, RDA has changed its name to RDI (Reference Daily Intake).

But in recent years new research has dicovered that the RDI figures represent the very minimal amount of nutrients our body needs — if it is completely healty. However, almost no one is constantly in optimal health, and as we grow older, our body’s ability to absorb nutrients from within the digestive system decreases.

The outcome of these outdated RDI figures is that most of us don’t consume enough vitamins and minerals to keep our body fit and healthy. To be able to meet these minimal requirements, most of us would have to take supplements.

Therefore it is important to undertake regular blood checks to see if we have a good balance of nutrients in our bodies. Remember, having too much can also be dangerous, as especially is the case with minerals and certain vitamins (such as Vitamin A).

Last but not least, when we add vitamin supplements to our diet, it is important to pick those with a high bio-availability — i.e, those formulas that have been proven to be more easily digested and absorbed within the body.

Stay well and have a splendid weekend!

Mercury - that silvery liquid metal that is still found in many thermometers and heating thermostats, is now being linked to increases of autism in infants and children. Autism is a condition that is found in more boys than girls and now strikes an average of one in every 150 live births in America. Although other factors are also instrumental to causing this unfortunate condition, the increased presence of mercury in our environment is now being linked to causing autism, especially in areas where the presence of mercury is higher.

A study made by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that rates of autism in infants and young children increases in areas close to higher than normal quantities of mercury being found in either the atmosphere — as a result of industrial air pollution, in the water supply — due largely to dumping of industrial wastes into streams and reservoirs, and in the soil — due to leakage of metallic and chemical pollutants into the soil.

The research was conducted on a group of more than 1,000 Texas school children and found that higher rates of autism occurred in areas where mercury and other industrial pollutants were more prevalent. Some of the causes of this pollution include coal-dependant power plants, medical and chemical waste disposal sites, and the manufacture of concrete. All of these sources involve the used the mercury at one stage or another. The researchers found that for every 1,000 pounds of mercury released by either industrial causes or electrical power facilities, the rate of autism is increased by between 2.5% to 3.5%, depending on the distance from the facility and the source of the pollution. The percentages decrease at distances further away from the source of the pollution.

Of course other sources are also linked to mercury pollution and the resulting autism, including eating fish contaminated with mercury (such as mackerel, tuna, and sea bass) as well as the presence of mercury in smoke which may come from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Countries such China and India are heavy users of mercury as they are rising industrial countries and have less stringent anti-industrial pollution laws.

Solutions to reduce this growing danger include enacting stricter laws against industrial pollution, increasing testing of fish and sea food for mercury content, and reducing the presence of mercury in all medical equipment and products. While these steps may not eliminate the tragedy of autism, they will at least somewhat reduce the numbers.

Picture by Wikipedia