Technology // Current TV

200,000-Year-Old Patch of Seagrass Is the World's Oldest Living Organism

A patch of Posidonia oceanica, a species of seagrass native to the Mediterranean, has... more

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Solve for X

Plan has been compared to the annual TED conferences.

deane
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http://www.thetechnofiles.com/2012/02/05/sony-ericsson-xperia-play-review/

Kyle from TheTechnoFiles.com reviews the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

kleishear
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India - High-Biotech, IT-Hub, DIY-Science and 8-Armed Cyborgs with a Third Eye

What is the future of India? This forecaster predicts bright years ahead, thanks... more

googygood
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Actually The Entertainment Industry Had An Amazing Decade

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch frequently tweets about how web pirates are destroying... more

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8 days ago
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LOUP - The Opening - free album . great free jazz

LOUP is a mix between free-jazz, drone and noise, captured in a voluntary, affirmed... more

worrg
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12 days ago
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When Candidates Don't Get Video and Audio Tape

Six years after noted grifter and late Alaska Senator Ted Stevens showed his... more

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13 days ago
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Magic Mushrooms Point to New Depression Drugs

The brains of people tripping on magic mushrooms have given the best picture yet of how psychedelic drugs work and British scientists say the findings suggest such drugs could be used to treat depression.

Two separate studies into the effects of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, showed that contrary to scientists' expectations, it does not increase but rather suppresses activity in areas of the brain that are also dampened with other anti-depressant treatments.

"Psychedelics are thought of as 'mind-expanding' drugs so it has commonly been assumed that they work by increasing brain activity," said David Nutt of Imperial College London, who gave a briefing about the studies on Monday. "But, surprisingly, we found that psilocybin actually caused activity to decrease in areas that have the densest connections with other areas." These so-called "hub" regions of the brain are known to play a role in constraining our experience of the world and keeping it orderly, he said. "We now know that deactivating these regions leads to a state in which the world is experienced as strange." In the first study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, 30 volunteers had psilocybin infused into their blood while they were inside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, which measure changes in brain activity. It found activity decreased in "hub" regions and many volunteers described a feeling of the cogs being loosened and their sense of self being altered.

The second study, due to be published in the British Journal of Psychiatry on Thursday, involved 10 volunteers and found that psilocybin enhanced their recollections of personal memories. Robin Carhart Harris from Imperial's department of medicine, who worked on both studies, said the results suggest psilocybin could be useful as an adjunct to psychotherapy. Nutt cautioned that the new research was very preliminary and involved only small numbers of people.
"We're not saying go out there and eat magic mushrooms," he said. "But...this drug has such a fundamental impact on the brain that it's got to be meaningful -- it's got to be telling us something about how the brain works. So we should be studying it and optimizing it if there's a therapeutic benefit."
The key areas of the brain identified -- one called the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and another called the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) -- are the subject of debate among neuroscientists, but the PCC is thought by many to have a role in consciousness and self-identity.

The mPFC is known to be hyperactive in depression, and the researchers pointed out that other key treatments for depression including medicines like Prozac, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and deep brain stimulation, also appear to suppress mPFC activity. Psilocybin's dampening action on this area may make it a useful and potentially long-acting antidepressant, Carhart-Harris said. The studies also showed that psilocybin reduced blood flow in the hypothalamus - a part of the brain where people who suffer from a condition known as cluster headaches often have increased blood flow. This could explain why some cluster headache sufferers have said their symptoms improved after taking the psychedelic drug, the researcher said.
The studies, which are among only a handful conducted into psychedelic substances since the 1960s and 1970s, revive a promising field of study into mind-altering drugs which some experts say can offer powerful and sustained mood improvement and relief from anxiety. Other experts echoed Nott's caution: "These findings are very interesting from the research viewpoint, but a great deal more work would be needed before most psychiatrists would think that psilocybin was a safe, effective and acceptable adjunct to psychotherapy," said Nick Craddock, a psychiatry professor from Cardiff University.
Kevin Healy, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' faculty of medical psychotherapy said it was interesting research "but we are clearly nowhere near seeing psilocybin used regularly and widely in psychotherapy practice."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46105129/ns/health-mental_health/t/magic-mushrooms-point-new-depression-drugs/#.Tx7UYG9SQsc

http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx90/RobMarley420/DSCF0033.jpgThe brains of people tripping on magic mushrooms have given the best picture yet of... more

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Humanity Overdue

Short Documentary exploring the current state of the world and some of the social,... more

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17 days ago
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Star Trek's 'tricorder' medical scanners could become reality after breakthrough in T-ray technology

Star Trek-style hand held medical scanners are a step closer thanks to a new... more

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18 days ago
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This week in Blipfoto 20/01/2012

As in many things that Blip does, we have been the victim of our own success... Due to... more

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19 days ago
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25 Quick Facts About X-Ray Technology and Radiography You Should Know

X-Ray technology has made a major impact in the healthcare field, though there may... more

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22 days ago
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What Is SOPA - Stop Online Piracy Act (VIDEOS)

Beginning earlier this morning at midnight, Wednesday, January 18, 2012 some major... more

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23 days ago
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Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh SOPA Smackdown With Rick Cotton of NBC Universal On PBS News Hour (VIDEO)

Beginning earlier this morning at midnight, Wednesday, January 18, 2012 some major... more

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Stop SOPA: Protect Your Online Rights!

PROTECT-IP is a bill that has been introduced in the Senate and the House and is... more

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23 days ago
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REDDIT To Protest PROTECT IP / SOPA Bill - Blackout Schedule for January 18, 2012 8AM - 8PM EST (ANNOUNCEMENT)

Brace Yourselves: The great Reddit blackout of 2012 is nigh. The site's... more

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25 days ago
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Nigerian Army Education site hacked by Nigerian Hacktivists : The Hacker News

Nigerian Army Education site hacked by Nigerian Hacktivists : The Hacker News ~... more

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Saudi hacker target Israeli stock exchange and National air carrier : The Hacker News

Saudi hacker target Israeli stock exchange and National air carrier : The Hacker News... more

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25 days ago
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Car explosion kills yet another nuclear scientist in Tehran

A motorcyclist stuck a bomb on the side of the car in northern Tehran, say reports... more

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30 days ago
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20 Ways Technology Has Revolutionized Physical Therapy

With an aging population and rising health costs, improving technology so treatments... more

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