Genetically anti-social to be sedated
GeneFreak | 30.07.2004 11:49 | Bio-technology
Are activists and critics of the Government genetically abnormal? Is there an insubordination gene? Could gene-scans help identify troublemakers be sedated? Here's how the latest technology could be used to stop protests and other anti-social behaviour..
Gene scientists plan aggression drug
20 July 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1264938,00.html
By David Adam
Scientists yesterday raised the prospect of drugs being developed to treat
violent behaviour.
As experts gathered in London for a conference to discuss the role that
genes play in aggression, Donald Pfaff of Rockefeller University said there
was enough known about how genes influence behaviour in animals to consider
designing human medicines to fight the rising tide of antisocial behaviour.
"One question we're looking at is opportunities for pharmacogenomics,"
Professor Pfaff said. "The use of cleverly designed drugs to control
inappropriate aggression and violence [could] bring that individual into a
range where normal social controls, including a good family environment and
good school environments, can work."
Scientists already know how certain genetic factors make animals, including
mice and monkeys, more likely to be aggressive. Other research has suggested
there could be a similar effect in people, but the situation is complicated
by the role of the environment.
In 2002 researchers at King's College London and the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, showed that one common form of a gene called MAOA that
acts on enzymes in the brain makes men more likely to be violent - but only
if they experienced cruelty or rejection in childhood.
Prof Pfaff said: "The end goal has to be to keep the guy out of prison, and
we are mainly talking about boys. The gender ratio is incredible." Men are
responsible for 94% of violent incidents within families, he said.
Randy Nelson, a geneticist at Ohio State University, said such drugs would
not be handed out indiscriminately. Individuals who showed impetuous
behaviour could be targeted. "If there was some sort of pharmacological
treatment that could prevent that sort of impulsive aggressiveness from
occurring, that would probably be ideal."
Drugs could also be used to treat aggression in pets, he said, perhaps
preventing dogs that bite people from being destroyed.
"By studying the molecular mechanisms of aggression you are much more likely
to get to these pharmacological interventions," Prof Nelson said.
The scientists cautioned that genes do not hold all the answers; when it
comes to aggressive behaviour, studies have found a role for both nature and
nurture.
Working with colonies of rhesus monkeys, Stephen Suomi and colleagues at the
US National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop ment have shown that
caring mothers seem to reduce the risk of bad behaviour among animals
genetically programmed to misbehave.
They tested monkeys with different versions of a gene called 5-HTT, which
controls levels of the brain chemical serotonin. Up to 40% of monkeys carry
a short version, which is linked to aggressive behaviour, including starting
fights and taking dangerous risks such as jumping long distances from
treetop to treetop.
The scientists took half the monkeys from their mothers shortly after they
were born. Only these animals forced to grow up away from their families
seemed to succumb to the disruptive influence of their short 5-HTT gene.
The scientists will discuss the issues at a conference on molecular
mechanisms influencing aggressive behaviour at the Royal Society of Medicine
on Friday.
Gene scientists plan aggression drug
20 July 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1264938,00.html By David Adam
Scientists yesterday raised the prospect of drugs being developed to treat
violent behaviour.
As experts gathered in London for a conference to discuss the role that
genes play in aggression, Donald Pfaff of Rockefeller University said there
was enough known about how genes influence behaviour in animals to consider
designing human medicines to fight the rising tide of antisocial behaviour.
"One question we're looking at is opportunities for pharmacogenomics,"
Professor Pfaff said. "The use of cleverly designed drugs to control
inappropriate aggression and violence [could] bring that individual into a
range where normal social controls, including a good family environment and
good school environments, can work."
Scientists already know how certain genetic factors make animals, including
mice and monkeys, more likely to be aggressive. Other research has suggested
there could be a similar effect in people, but the situation is complicated
by the role of the environment.
In 2002 researchers at King's College London and the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, showed that one common form of a gene called MAOA that
acts on enzymes in the brain makes men more likely to be violent - but only
if they experienced cruelty or rejection in childhood.
Prof Pfaff said: "The end goal has to be to keep the guy out of prison, and
we are mainly talking about boys. The gender ratio is incredible." Men are
responsible for 94% of violent incidents within families, he said.
Randy Nelson, a geneticist at Ohio State University, said such drugs would
not be handed out indiscriminately. Individuals who showed impetuous
behaviour could be targeted. "If there was some sort of pharmacological
treatment that could prevent that sort of impulsive aggressiveness from
occurring, that would probably be ideal."
Drugs could also be used to treat aggression in pets, he said, perhaps
preventing dogs that bite people from being destroyed.
"By studying the molecular mechanisms of aggression you are much more likely
to get to these pharmacological interventions," Prof Nelson said.
The scientists cautioned that genes do not hold all the answers; when it
comes to aggressive behaviour, studies have found a role for both nature and
nurture.
Working with colonies of rhesus monkeys, Stephen Suomi and colleagues at the
US National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop ment have shown that
caring mothers seem to reduce the risk of bad behaviour among animals
genetically programmed to misbehave.
They tested monkeys with different versions of a gene called 5-HTT, which
controls levels of the brain chemical serotonin. Up to 40% of monkeys carry
a short version, which is linked to aggressive behaviour, including starting
fights and taking dangerous risks such as jumping long distances from
treetop to treetop.
The scientists took half the monkeys from their mothers shortly after they
were born. Only these animals forced to grow up away from their families
seemed to succumb to the disruptive influence of their short 5-HTT gene.
The scientists will discuss the issues at a conference on molecular
mechanisms influencing aggressive behaviour at the Royal Society of Medicine
on Friday.
GeneFreak
Comments
Hide the following 4 comments
serotonin
30.07.2004 13:41
HTT 5 is the serotonin transporter
ritalin and other behavior modification via
pharmaceutical 'solutions' affect this mechanism
they are genetically modifying our children
into what?
also the 'E generation'
the effects of MDMA' abuse on seretonin producers
could also lead to a 'moodless zombified' state
the future?
join these dots
Interception Capabilities 2000 by Duncan Campbell
star wars cancer
People attending a public meeting called to discuss the base's involvement in Son of Star Wars spoke of their concerns about cancer risks to people living locally, to walkers and also to personnel at Fylingdales.
One woman, Sue Cowan, of Thornton-le-Dale, said she knew many base employees who had died and had cancer, while Jackie Fearnley, of Goathland, said: "People want to know if it is safe to go walking round there and have a picnic at Ellerbeck (a beauty spot near Fylingdales)."
Wing Commander Chris Knapman, of RAF Fylingdales, said there had been deaths and cancer cases amongst personnel, but there was no evidence whatsoever that rates were any worse than anywhere else.
CND:
1) The radar beam is a health concern not only because of the levels of radiation but the fact that the radiation pulses rapidly from high to low levels. This rare type of radiation has not been properly investigated and the potential health effects are unknown. One study that did investigate this type of radiation concluded that there are possible effects on hormones and the heart that are of concern.
2) The study only uses old data from an 8 year period. This study is taking place in response to a similar study around a similar radar base at Cape Cod in the USA. The US Government has invested millions of dollars to fully investigate that base and is initiating new, in-depth cancer studies. The UK government should show the same commitment and investigate fully using new data.
3) The long-term health effects of this type of radiation are unknown. No evidence of a link between RAF Fylingdales and cancer registrations in the region does not allow one to conclude that the base poses no health risks.
UK involvement in Missile Defence
A submission to the Defence Select Committee by the Yorkshire Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
8th January 2003
Radiation from RADARSAT
3d radar
applications:
Missile defense
Mining : detecting resources
The following statement was made more than 25 years ago in a book which Brzezinski wrote while a professor at Columbia University: "Political strategists are tempted to exploit research on the brain and human behavior. Geophysicist Gordon J. F. MacDonald specialist in problems of warfare says accurately timed, artificially excited electronic strokes 'could lead to a pattern of oscillations that produce relatively high power levels over certain regions of the Earth. . . . In this way, one could develop a system that would seriously impair the brain performance of very large populations in selected regions over an extended period. . . .' No matter how deeply disturbing the thought of using the environment to manipulate behavior for national advantages, to some the technology permitting such use will very probably develop within the next few decades."
future warfare
--------------------------------------------------
3D TV!!!!
Philips 3-D Display Uses Patented Lens Technology And New Software
--------------------------------------------------
ambient intelligence
This is our vision of 'Ambient Intelligence': people living easily in digital environments in which the electronics are sensitive to people's needs, personalized to their requirements, anticipatory of their behaviour and responsive to their presence.
--------------------------------------------------
Detection systems used in the fight against terrorism and other crimes rely on X-ray radiation to penetrate materials and build up an image of what is underneath. However, because X-rays can damage living tissue, considerable precautions need to be taken when using these systems. Microwave radiation, on the other hand, is harmless to humans and has the potential to produce 3-dimensional holographic images of objects concealed from view.
--------------------------------------------------
microwave ovens explained
microwaves used in microwave ovens, similar to microwaves used in radar equipment, and telephone, television and radio communication, are in the non-ionizing range of electromagnetic radiation. Non-ionizing radiation is very different from Ionizing radiation . Ionizing radiation is extraordinarily high in frequency (millions of trillions of cycles per second). It is, therefore, extremely powerful and penetrating. Even at low levels, ionizing radiation can damage the cells of living tissue. In fact, these dangerous rays, have enough energy and intensity to actually change (ionize) the molecular structure of matter. In sufficient doses, ionizing radiation can even cause genetic mutations. As shown on the frequency spectrum, the ionizing range of frequencies includes X-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays. Ionizing radiation is the sort of radiation we associate with radioactive substances like uranium, radium, and the fall-out from atomic and thermonuclear explosions.
Non-ionizing radiation is very different. Because of the lower frequencies and reduced energy, it does not have the same damaging and cumulative properties as ionizing radiation. Microwave radiation (at 2450 MHz) is non-ionizing, and in sufficient intensity will simply cause the molecules in matter to vibrate, thereby causing friction, which produces the heat that cooks the food.
polaris tracking used in MRI Brain Mapping
The TMS lab at the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center is equipped with a Cadwell high-speed magnetic stimulator that generates 2.2 Tesla of maximal stimulation. Stimulation is delivered through three coils of different shapes. We have a standard circular coil, an eight-shaped coil that allows a more precise stimulation of specific sites of the cerebral cortex, and an angled coil that allows a deeper stimulation than the previous two coils. The lab is also equipped with two Magstim Model 220 units, a Blocking module and a Bistim module, allowing paired-pulse TMS at short (1 ms) and long intervals, two double 70 mm coils and one water-cooled coil. The lab is also equipped for frameless stereotaxy composed of an infrared-based tracking system and associated software. The tracking system is a Polaris Passive Tracking System, composed of a camera and tracking tools. The software BrainSight allows registration and online monitoring of the subject's head position with his/her structural brain image and tracking the position of the coil with respect to the underlying brain structures.
remote surgery
The basic concept behind tracking is
the following: markers are placed on a body which’s posi-
tion is to be determined, these markers are adapted to emit
energy in response to an activation signal or reflect energy
from an activable source, a sensor detects the energy emitted
or reflected, and this detection is translated into positional
information using various algorithms
polaris tracking system 2 GPS
CloserWorlds, the developers of Polaris, an innovative way to track objects over the Internet in real-time using GPS, GSM, GPRS and XML technologies. With Polaris, you can track vehicles, people, planes, ships, animals, cell phones, Laptops, PDAs and any other object that is capable of interfacing with the Polaris web service. Polaris is a software system that offers a rich set of features to not only track remote objects but communicate with them, exchange data and even control them.
Optical Tracking System
Boeing-SVS, Inc. (Albuquerque, NM)
Summary:
SVS Inc. (Albuquerque, NM) has developed an optical tracking control system, originally for the Low Cost Space Structures (LCSS) experiment, which can now be used in both military and commercial applications. The system is based on software that integrates commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) data collection hardware, such as a video camera, with pointing hardware. SVS was purchased by The Boeing Company in 2000 and is now Boeing-SVS, Inc., offering specialized tracking of missile boosters and satellites, as well as tracking of stationary objects from moving platforms. Two products that resulted from the LCSS technology are the Opti-Trak™ series of tracking systems and the INSPECT system for transmission power line trouble-shooting.
interesting aside
Kernel-space vs. user-space: The Linux operating system
has two levels: Only privileged processes can run in
the kernel, where they have access to all hardware and
to all kernel data structures and system calls. Normal
application programs can run their processes only in
user space, where these processes are shielded from
each other, and from direct access to hardware and to
critical data of the operating system
basically Linux has secret remote operating functions!
In an otherwise crowded market for Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) devices, Wavetrend has a clear focus on active RFID tags with the ability to read them at long ranges. In this market, Wavetrend has only one major competitor (Savi Technology).
Wavetrend's technology is solid and best in class, but what really seems to set this company apart is the innovative solutions that Wavetrend has enabled its customers to create.
The company has clearly innovated ahead of the market and is now a recognized leader. It needs to ensure that it stays ahead of the technology developments while continuing to provide innovative business solutions. It must consider if it has sufficient local presence or if the current indirect channel approach is sufficient.
remote viewing [psychic]
the concept is illuminating
- the signal line
(by signal line we mean the connection between your autonomic nervous system and the target)
MRI optical sattelite tracking & 3d radar
= digital remote viewing the next level?
example
find target = spy & view
find target 2 = locate window
the 'window they will use'
will be peoples senses
tapping in to any given brains electrical perception
signal goes from sense to brain
signal is surveilled decoded and watched as a hologram
[remember neural implants pdf
tapping into brains signal]
DNA database
via nano RFID marker in DNA?
is that why they need the database?
the death of privacy - potentially using anyone as a spy
are we artificial intelligence?
Consider the vast amount of information that we acquire and process every day. It is difficult to imagine that so much information and activity could be stored in such a small amount of tissue and fluid. Scientists have been theorizing that, indeed, the mind is not as much of a storage device as it is a communications device to some larger "knowledge base." The mind appears to be a way to pre-process data for storage and a way to analyze data for use while all the time maintaining a connection for data storage and acquisition with this knowledge base.
This knowledge base surrounds us with information and intelligence. Everything that every creature in the Universe knows, and will ever know, is stored and made available for us by simply asking for it. However, accessing it requires a connection, a field, which connects us all together in a large "bio-circuit." It can be seen as a "biological parallel computing environment." The information presented by this bio-circuit consists of a limitless and accessible Universal source of knowledge.
capt wardrobe
forgot to post this
30.07.2004 17:17
CAUTION; this is not for the faint hearted
this is why they are REALLY experimenting on animals [and HUMANS]
notice: about halfway into the document
those responsible suddenly remember to mention
prosthetic limb control...
just like those at Huntingdon suddenly remember
alzheimers and parkinsons
how many years has it been?
still NO CURE
WHY?
DEMAND ANSWERS.
The future is
A CONTROL/SURVIELLANCE GRID THAT WILL MAKE BIG BROTHER WET HIMSELF
behaviorism is just the start
this is techno fascism PLAIN & SIMPLE
cw
human brain implants
30.07.2004 19:03
note the usual use of
'we can cure all know diseases'
Human Studies Show Feasibility Of Brain-machine Interfaces
Date:
2004-03-24
DURHAM, N.C. -- In their first human studies of the feasibility of using brain signals to operate external devices, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report that arrays of electrodes can provide useable signals for controlling such devices. The research team is now working to develop prototype devices that may enable paralyzed people to operate "neuroprosthetic" and other external devices using only their brain signals.
While the new studies provide an initial proof of principle that human application of brain-machine interfaces is possible, the researchers emphasize that many years of development and clinical testing will be required before such neuroprosthetic devices are available.
The research team, led by neurosurgeon and professor of neurobiology Dennis Turner, M.D., and neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., will publish their results in the July 2004 issue of the journal Neurosurgery. Principal members of the research team also include Parag Patil, M.D., a resident in neurosurgery and lead author of the study, and Jose Carmena, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in neurobiology. The research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Institutes of Health.
The research builds on earlier studies in the Nicolelis laboratory, in which monkeys learned to control a robot arm using only their brain signals.
In the initial human studies, Patil and colleagues recorded electrical signals from arrays of 32 microelectrodes, during surgeries performed to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and tremor disorders. These surgical procedures routinely involve implanting electrodes into the brain and then stimulating the brain with small electrical currents to relieve the patient's symptoms. The patients are awake during surgery, and the neurosurgeons typically record brain signals to ensure that permanent electrodes are placed into the optimal location in the brain.
In the experiments being reported in Neurosurgery, the researchers added a simple manual task to the surgical procedure. While brain signals were recorded using the novel 32-channel electrode array, the 11 volunteer patients were asked to play a hand-controlled video game.
Subsequently analyzing the signals from these experiments, the team found that the signals contained enough information to be useful in predicting the hand motions. Such prediction is the necessary requisite for reliably using neural signals to control external devices.
"Despite the limitations on the experiments, we were surprised to find that our analytical model can predict the patients' motions quite well," said Nicolelis. "We only had five minutes of data on each patient, during which it took a minute or two to train them to the task. This suggests that as clinical testing progresses, and we use electrode arrays that are implanted for a long period of time, we could achieve a workable control system for external devices," he said.
While other researchers have demonstrated that individually implanted electrodes can be used to control a cursor on a computer screen, complex external devices would require data from large arrays of electrodes, said the Duke researchers.
According to Nicolelis, another major difference between the initial human studies and the monkey studies is that recording in the human patients were made from electrodes inserted deeper into the brain, in subcortical structures, rather than the cortical surface.
"This shows that one can extract information not only from cortical areas, but from subcortical ones, too," said Nicolelis. "This suggests that in the future, there will be more options for sampling neuronal information to control a prosthetic device," he said.
According to Turner, the progression to human clinical studies presents a number of challenges. For example, he said, the data with monkeys were obtained from electrodes attached to the surface of the cerebral cortex.
"We initially used subcortical electrodes, because they are more stable because they are buried deeper," said Turner. Also, he said, the deeper regions present other advantages. "The way the brain works, all the signals for motor control are filtered through these deep regions of the brain before they reach the final cortical output," he said. "So, they are theoretically easier to record from than cortical areas. The subcortical areas are also denser, which means there are more cells to record from in a smaller area.
Working with Duke biomedical engineers, the research team is currently developing the initial prototype of a neuroprosthetic device that will include a wireless interface between the patient and the device.
According to Turner, while the most obvious application of such technology would be a robot arm for a quadriplegic, he and his colleagues are planning other devices as well. One would be a neurally controlled electric wheelchair, and another a neurally operated keyboard, whose output could include either text or speech. Such devices could help both paralyzed people and those who have lost speech capabilities because of stroke or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).
A key question in future clinical studies will be whether humans can incorporate such devices into their "schema," or neural representation of the external world, said Turner. The monkeys in Nicolelis' studies appeared to do just that.
"We do know that for all kinds of motor training, such as riding a bicycle, people incorporate an external device into their schema, and the process becomes subconscious," he said. "We will build on that phenomenon in our human studies. It's known, for example, that patients who don't have use of their arm still show in MRI studies that the control centers in the brain are working normally. When they are asked to imagine moving their arm, the control centers become active. So, we have good hope that the neurons in those centers can still provide the same signals, even though the arm isn't physically working."
As their next major step, said Turner, the researchers have already applied for federal approval to begin implanting experimental electrode arrays long-term in quadriplegic patients. Such tests, conducted over the next three to five years would involve implanting the arrays in specific regions, asking the patients to perform specific tasks and then exploring which tasks are optimally controlled by that region.
cw
doh!
30.07.2004 19:41
take note: the project is funded by The defense advanced research projects agency
DEFENSE
not health
not cutesy mmm nice cure all fluffy mmm nice!
WAR KILL DEATH MURDER CONTROL!
i'm off to the wizard,
the wonderful wizard of EARTH
cw