The science behind total recall: New player in brain function and memory

 

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Artist's abstraction (stock illustration).

Is it possible to change the amount of information the brain can store? Maybe, according to a new international study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). Their research has identified a molecule that puts a brake on brain processing and when removed, brain function and memory recall is improved. Published in the latest issue of Cell Reports, the study has implications for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, such as autism spectral disorders and Alzheimer's disease.

"Previous research has shown that production of new molecules is necessary for storing memories in the brain; if you block the production of these molecules, new memory formation does not take place," says RI-MUHC neuroscientist, Dr. Keith Murai, the study's senior author and Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University. "Our findings show that the brain has a key protein that limits the production of molecules necessary for memory formation. When this brake-protein is suppressed, the brain is able to store more information."

FXR1P: a controller of certain forms of memory

Dr. Murai and his colleagues used a mouse model to study how changes in brain cell connections produce new memories. They demonstrated that a protein, FXR1P (Fragile X Related Protein 1), was responsible for suppressing the production of molecules required for building new memories. When FXR1P was selectively removed from certain parts of the brain, these new molecules were produced that strengthened connections between brain cells and this correlated with improved memory and recall in the mice.

Disease link

"The role of FXR1P was a surprising result," says Dr. Murai. "Previous to our work, no-one had identified a role for this regulator in the brain. Our findings have provided fundamental knowledge about how the brain processes information. We've identified a new pathway that directly regulates how information is handled and this could have relevance for understanding and treating brain diseases."

"Future research in this area could be very interesting," he adds. "If we can identify compounds that control the braking potential of FXR1P, we may be able to alter the amount of brain activity or plasticity. For example, in autism, one may want to decrease certain brain activity and in Alzheimer's disease, we may want to enhance the activity. By manipulating FXR1P, we may eventually be able to adjust memory formation and retrieval, thus improving the quality of life of people suffering from brain diseases."

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by McGill University Health Centre. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Denise Cook, Erin Nuro, Emma V. Jones, Haider F. Altimimi, W. Todd Farmer, Valentina Gandin, Edith Hanna, Ruiting Zong, Alessandro Barbon, David L. Nelson, Ivan Topisirovic, Joseph Rochford, David Stellwagen, Jean-Claude Béïque, Keith K. Murai. FXR1P Limits Long-Term Memory, Long-Lasting Synaptic Potentiation, and De Novo GluA2 Translation. Cell Reports, 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.10.028

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Live longer? Save the planet? Better diet could nail both

 

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This image shows Dr. G David Tilman at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Tilman is director of the University of Minnesota research field station.

As cities and incomes increase around the world, so does consumption of refined sugars, refined fats, oils and resource- and land-intense agricultural products such as beef. A new study led by University of Minnesota ecologist David Tilman shows how a shift away from this trajectory and toward healthier traditional Mediterranean, pescatarian or vegetarian diets could not only boost human lifespan and quality of life, but also slash greenhouse gas emissions and save habitat for endangered species.

The study, published in the November 12 online edition of Nature by Tilman and graduate student Michael Clark, synthesized data on environmental costs of food production, diet trends, relationships between diet and health, and population growth. Their integrated analysis painted a striking picture of the human and environmental health costs of our current diet trajectory as well as how strategically modifying food choices could reduce not only incidence of type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and other chronic diseases, but global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and habitat degradation as well.

"We showed that the same dietary changes that can add about a decade to our lives can also prevent massive environmental damage," said Tilman, a professor in the University's College of Biological Sciences and resident fellow at the Institute on the Environment. "In particular, if the world were to adopt variations on three common diets, health would be greatly increased at the same time global greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by an amount equal to the current greenhouse gas emissions of al all cars, trucks, plans trains and ships. In addition, this dietary shift would prevent the destruction of an area of tropical forests and savannas as large as half of the United States."

The researchers found that, as incomes increased between 1961 and 2009, people consumed more meat protein, empty calories and total calories per person. When these trends were combined with forecasts of population growth and income growth for the coming decades, the study predicted that diets in 2050 would contain fewer servings of fruits and vegetables, but about 60 percent more empty calories and 25 to 50 percent more pork, poultry, beef, dairy and eggs -- a suite of changes that would increase of type II diabetes, coronary heart disease and some cancers. Using life-cycle analyses of various food production systems, the study also calculated that, if current trends prevail, these 2050 diets would also lead to an 80 percent increase in global greenhouse gas emissions from food production as well as habitat destruction due to land clearing for agriculture around the world.

The study then compared health impacts of the global omnivorous diet with those reported for traditional Mediterranean, pescatarian and vegetarian diets. Adopting these alternative diets could reduce incidence of type II diabetes by about 25 percent, cancer by about 10 percent and death from heart disease by about 20 percent relative to the omnivore diet. Additionally, the adoption of these or similar alternative diets would prevent most or all of the increased greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction that would otherwise be caused by both dietary changes and increased global population.

The authors acknowledged that numerous factors go into diet choice -- but also pointed out that the alternative diets already are part of the lives of countless people around the world. Noting that variations on the diets used in the scenario could potentially show even greater benefit, they concluded that "the evaluation and implementation of dietary solutions to the tightly linked diet-environment-health trilemma is a global challenge, and opportunity, of great environmental and public health importance."

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Minnesota. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. David Tilman, Michael Clark. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nature13959

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The Red Baron flies again!

      

       Man spends £50,000 building himself an exact working replica of the German pilot's Fokker triplane

• Paul Ford, 52, spent five years on his DIY replica inside an old factory in his in-laws' garden in Cambridgeshire
• All 320 Fokker Dr1 Dreideckers have been destroyed or lost, so he had to base it on 1970s U.S. technical drawings
• Mr Ford is no ordinary hobbyist - he spent 26 years at Cambridge University and entered BBC hit show Robot Wars
• He narrowly avoided death when he crashed it last year, but rebuilt plane and made sure it passed safety checks
• 'It was very scary the first time I flew it,' the hobbyist admitted. 'But after the first time they're just so much fun to fly'

By Dan Bloom for MailOnline

Published: 12:10 GMT, 11 November 2014 | Updated: 08:28 GMT, 12 November 2014

A plane-mad engineer has spent five years and £50,000 building a perfect replica of the Red Baron's Fokker triplane - and is still flying it despite coming close to death in a crash.

Paul Ford used his wife's patience, his in-laws' garden and his three children's help to recreate the Fokker Dr1 Dreidecker, a First World War fighter made famous by German pilot Manfred Von Richthofen.

Nicknamed 'The Red Baron' for his penchant for painting his aircraft scarlet, Von Richthofen downed at least 70 allied pilots until his death in aerial combat aged 25 a few months before the war ended in 1918.

Scroll down for video

Now that's a model plane: Paul Ford, 52, spent five years and £50,000 creating his working replica of the Fokker Dr1 Dreidecker. The German First World War fighter was made famous by Manfred Von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron, who shot down 70 allied pilots

Those magnificent men: Instead of converting an existing craft, Mr Ford created his Fokker triplane from scratch - and it is back in the skies after one of the wing struts was broken in a crash last year. Each part was hand-crafted by the Cambridge engineer's friends

Impressive: With the help of friends and his three children - Ashley, 25, Kirsty, 20, and Michael, 17- Mr Ford's Fokker had its first test flight six years ago and built up a reputation at British air shows, where it flies replica dogfights with an original Tiger Moth

Jaunt: The assistant at Derby Aero Club in his fully-functional replica. His madcap project took 3,500 hours and began 15 years ago, when he built a radio-controlled quarter-size model of the Red Baron's scarlet craft - but he said: 'I had to have the real thing'

The 52-year-old co-owner of Derby Aero Club has been obsessed with vintage planes since he became an 11-year-old volunteer at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, now home to the Imperial War Museum.

The triplane is his crowning achievement and his full-time career - delighting air show crowds across Britain in mock dogfights with a vintage Tiger Moth.

'It is the ultimate plane from the First World War,' he said. 'My wife, Sarah didn't believe I'd do it until one day when the metal and the wood arrived at the front door.'

His madcap project took 3,500 hours and began 15 years ago, when he built a radio-controlled quarter-size model of the Red Baron's scarlet craft.

'I wasn't satisfied', he said. 'I had to have the real thing'.

So to the bemusement of his 50-year-old wife, he bought a book called How to Build a WW1 Replica AND Stay Married! and began work on the Fokker in his in-laws' garden in the village of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire.

'Ironically my wife had time to read it but I didn't,' he said. 'I was too busy working on the plane'.

Challenge: To the bemusement of his 50-year-old wife, Mr Ford bought a book called How to Build a WW1 Replica AND Stay Married! and began work on the Fokker in his in-laws' garden in the village of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire. It had its first test flight six years ago

Unfamiliar sight: The Fokker Dr1 Dreidecker, of which only 320 were built and none survive, was a favourite of the feared Red Baron

Meticulous: The plane had to be based on 1970s technical drawings by a U.S. enthusiast in order to pass strict safety tests by authorities

Mr Ford added: 'I was very lucky. Sarah's parents lived in a very old Victorian house and in the garden there was an old basket-waving factory from the 1800s so we used that. Most of it was built in there'.

The challenge was not easy. All 320 Fokker Dr1 Dreideckers have been destroyed or lost, and many surviving photos were grainy at best.

So Mr Ford, from Egginton, South Derbyshire, used technical drawings created in the 1970s by aviation fanatic Ron Sands, a U.S. engineer who drew up detailed plans for many wartime planes.

It meant converting many imperial measurements into metric ones and hand-making the parts, but without the drawings the plane would never have been cleared to fly by the Light Aircraft Association.

With the help of friends and Mr Ford's three children - Ashley, 25, Kirsty, 20, and Michael, 17- the Fokker had its first test flight six years ago and built up a reputation at air shows, where it flies replica dogfights with an original Tiger Moth.

But a year ago, Mr Ford crashed the plane on the grass runway of Podington Airfield in Northamptonshire - narrowly avoiding death.

'I had a little accident', he admitted.

'The trouble with First World War planes is they have to be landed into the wind. Unfortunately a gust of wind caught me sideways, the wing clipped a gate and I landed on my back.

'If there had been a fire I wouldn't be here. One of the wing struts was broken and it took a year to rebuild. We've only just got it flying again.'

View from the cockpit: Mr Ford spent 26 years developing gas turbines in Cambridge University's engineering department - despite not having a degree - before making Mortis, one of the most celebrated entrants to the BBC's hit geeks' battleground show Robot Wars

Detailed: Everything on the plane is as it would be except for the engine. These three 'cylinders' are actually old fire extinguishers

Transported in time: Mr Ford wears a vintage-style flying helmet to complete the look. 'It was very scary the first time I flew it,' he admitted. 'Having built it myself I was a little bit nervous - you always are. But after the first time they're just so much fun to fly'

Defiant: Mr Ford continues flying despite a crash last year. 'If there had been a fire I wouldn't be here,' he said. 'It took a year to rebuild'

To this day, the only part of the plane which wouldn't have been the same in 1918 is the engine. Instead of a rotary engine it is a U.S.-made Lycoming which allows him to fly for up to four hours.

To complete the look there is a dummy engine - little more than three old fire extinguishers painted silver - and machine guns on the nose, unarmed of course.

Mr Ford is no ordinary hobbyist.

He spent 26 years developing gas turbines in Cambridge University's engineering department - despite not having a degree.

With talented colleagues there he made Mortis, one of the most famous, fearsome and expensive entrants ever to the BBC's hit show Robot Wars.

He then quit to run his own company which worked on military jet engines, where he spent ten years.

Unlike similar lookalikes which modified an existing plane, the Fokker was completely built from scratch.

Clunky: The plane is a little unstable, but its creator said it helped improve manoeuvrability in a high-octane (imitation) dogfight

Everything thought of: The plane's labels are in German and weights in kilograms - the latter was a problem when using American plans

Taking aim: The plane has a vintage machine gun, though of course an unarmed one, for its travels over airshows across Britain

Crowning achievement: While building the plane, the engineer bought a book called How to Build a WW1 Replica AND Stay Married! 'Ironically my wife had time to read it but I didn't,' he said. 'I was too busy working on the plane' - which now flies triumphant over Britain

'There are a few other planes that are quite similar to this one but the Fokker just stood out to me,' Mr Ford said. 'It can be a little unstable when flying it but that's what makes it so special.

'It's actually unstable on purpose because it means when it's in the air it can get out of the way very, very quickly and back on your opponent's tail in a dog-fighting situation.

'It was very scary the first time I flew it. Having built it myself I was a little bit nervous - you always are. But after the first time they're just so much fun to fly.'

The Red Baron's is not the first plane Paul has built. He is currently working on two other projects inspired by German First World War planes which he hopes to have finished by next year. Once they are completed, he intends to begin work on a British plane.

Paul, who thanked several devoted friends and family members including his wife for their help, said: 'They cost around £50,000 to make, but they're worth a lot more. The tri-plane is worth around £180,000, but I won't sell any of them.

'They're a lot of fun, and they'll keep me busy when I retire.'

FIGHTER ACE FEARED BY BRITS: HOW THE RED BARON FOUND INFAMY IN A NEW WAR OF AERIAL COMBAT

The achievements of fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen (right) - who shot down some 70 allied pilots in the First World War - made him hated by the Brits and a propaganda tool for the Germans.

He was 22 and stationed on Germany's eastern border when the war broke out in 1914, but it was not always guaranteed he would become a pilot.

At first he was a cavalryman, but his unit became rapidly obsolete in what would be the world's first modern mechanised war.

In May 1915 he travelled to Cologne to become an Air Service observer before taking to the skies for the first time later that year.

His reputation became formidable quickly. Just a month after first sitting in a flying plane as a gunner, he took his first solo flight and soon became one of the best-known names in the German military.

His nickname - also translated as Red Devil and Red Knight - came from his disregard for combat or camouflage colours to paint his aircraft blood-red in a show of fearlessness.

But it was that love of combat that would be his undoing.

In the summer of 1917, General Jan Smuts produced a War Office report calling for the creation of an entirely new addition to the Armed Forces.

Both the Royal Navy and the Army had developed their own airborne units - the Royal Naval Air Squadron and the Royal Flying Corps - but the war had made the argument for a separate entity to govern the sky.

The Government agreed. Within a year, the Royal Air Force was born and the 1st Viscount Rothermere was appointed the first Secretary of State for Air.

It was in aerial combat with the allies - and flying a Fokker DR1 - that the Baron would meet his fate. The pilot was 25 years old when he was shot down and killed near Amiens, France, on 21 April 1918.

Many theories exist about who killed him, and for a long time the RAF credited Canadian Captain Arthur 'Roy' Brown, who had to dive steeply at high speed to intervene in the dogfight. Later theories suggested the bullet which downed the Baron was fired from the ground.

 

www.dailymail.com.uk

14 amazing and lesser known historical facts

One Minute List

Spend 60 seconds daily to learn something new

1. The shortest war, The Anglo-Zanzibar war (1896) on record lasted for 38 minutes.
2. Saddam Hussein was given the key to the city of Detroit.
3. In Ancient Egypt people used stones as pillows.
4. The Romans used human urine as mouthwash.
5. Japan invaded Alaska during the WWII in 1942.
6. The last American Civil War veteran lived until 1956. This means he grew up while there was still slavery and was able to see jets and nukes.
7. At ony point during the WWII the German Army was only 12 miles away from Moscow.
8. Albert Einstein was offered to be the second president of Israel in 1952 (he declined).
9. Genghis Khan and his army killed 11% of the entire world population (around 40 million people).
10. Iceland’s parliament was established in 930 and still functioning.
11. Oxford University predates the Aztec Empire by 250 years.
12. The Egyptian pyramids were built by paid laborers not by slaves.
13. Since the Second World War all British tanks are equipped with tea-making facilities.
14. The Roman Empire was only the 19th largest empire in history.

www.oneminutelist.com

17 lesser known facts about the atomic bomb

One Minute List

Spend 60 seconds daily to learn something new

1. 10% of the US electricity is made from dismantled atomic bombs.
2. Only 3 of 12 people on board of the Enola Gay knew what the mission to Hiroshima was about.
3. At the peak time there was almost 1000 uranium mines in the USA.
4. The US dropped 49 practice bombs (called “Pumpkin bombs”) on 14 targets in Japan that killed 400 people and injured 1,200 before dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
5. The entire cost of the Manhattan Project was around $20 billion. This is over $255 billion in today’s dollar (because of the inflation).
6. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are not radioactive anymore.
7. Around 70,000 nuclear missiles were built since WWII.
8. Tokyo only realized that atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima 3 hours after it happened.
9. 4,680 nuclear bombers were built since 1945.
10. The original target of the atomic bomb that landed in Nagasaki was originally Kokura, an other Japanese city.
11. The US blew up multiple atomic and hydrogen bombs in space.
12. The closest known survivor was only 170 meters or 558 feets aways from the detonation of the atomic bomb of Hiroshima.
13. One out of every 250 US citizen worked on the Manhattan Project during the Second World War.
14. The last US nuclear test was in 1992.
15. The Flame of Peace in Hiroshima has burned since 1964 in honor of the victims. It will be only extinguished when all of the nuclear weapons are destroyed and the planet is free from any nuclear threat.
16. There are currently about 16,400 nuclear warheads in the world.
17. In this video all of the nuclear detonations around the world are visualised till 1998.

www.oneminutelist.com

16 most addictive websites

One Minute List

Spend 60 seconds daily to learn something new

1. Console Living Room – Created by the Internet Archives, you can play 900 classic arcade games in your browser.
2. Reddit – Reddit is the most addictive website for millions of people worldwide. According to traffic stats the site makes a little less than 1 million unique visitors every day and 90% of them are returning users.
3. The useless web – Similar to StumbleUpon (which can also be addictive), but instead of useful and educational sites it shows you completely useless one.
4. Mental_Floss – Random interesting and amazing facts.
5. Plink – Make music with other people live.
6. SNES Fun – Play SNES games in your browser!
7. GeoGuesser – This awesome websites gives you a random street view location and you have to guess where you are in the World. You can also share your map and challenge your friends.
8. Wonder How To – Learn impressive and useful things.
9. 2leep – Collection of bizarre blogs and articles.
10. Eyes In Space – Fly up to the space while you can look around.
11. Uncrate – The ultimate gadget guide for men.
12. Where Cool Things Happen – Daily resource for cool things.
13. Cracked – Source of bizarre and interesting lists.
14. The Onion – Satiric newspaper. Take nothing seriously on this site.
15. Ovguide – Search for a movie you want to watch or discover new ones.
16. Build With Chrome – Build anything with LEGO in your browser.

www.oneminutelist.com

Review: The Woojer wearable woofer

 

The Woojer adds a new dimension to music listening (Photo: Paul Ridden/Gizmag)

Image Gallery (9 images)

About this time last year, the Woojer hit popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise production funds. Rather than merely massaging or enhancing the output from a mobile music player with the aid of a headphone amp, the so-called wearable woofer sends beat-driven vibrations throughout the region of the body where it's placed, adding a new dimension to the personal music listening experience. The matchbox-sized device entered the consumer space at the end of October, and Gizmag has been grooving to Woojer's polyphonic beat ever since.

First things first, the Woojer is not really a woofer. Developed by a rock concert audio engineer, it's essentially a Soundbug-like box tuned to lower end frequencies of source music and sends vibrations through a wearer's body "hotspots" instead of a window or table. Though it's claimed silent to anyone around you, some sound can be heard from the device in really quiet environments. It's probably not enough to get on anyone's nerves though.

The Woojer features an integrated belt clip to help with placement on pants or backpack/bag straps and comes with a magnet that's attracted to the metallic belt hook and allows user to hang the Woojer in the middle of the chest, with the magnet under the pullover or shirt and the device out front. The belt clip proved solid enough, but the magnet did lose its hold over the device on occasion (which was quite a test for my lightning-fast reactions). If you're going to be using the device on the move, I'd recommend adding a Woojer elasticated sport strap to your shopping basket.

Body hotspots include the sternum, the front of the hip, somewhere near the collarbone and at belt level on the spine. The Woojer can be worn with the front facing out or pushed against the body, the latter boosting the vibration effect a little. There are three user-selectable levels of vibration intensity from the device's "polyphonic" transducer, but I found that where it's placed and user activity level have just as much to do with how much of a buzz you get from the Woojer as the selected intensity level.

If trailing cables hit a nerve, then this device probably isn't going to win your friendship. The cable running to the output jack of the Woojer is going to be at least 3 ft (1 m) for most earphones/headphones and then another male to male jack audio cable runs from the source player to the device. Even though I took care with placement, I was attacked by tangle on more than a few occasions. It's by no means a big issue, though trying to untangle intertwined cables while running for the train is not something I would recommend.

The Woojer's vibrates to all frequencies below 500 Hz and has a reported latency of 1.3 ms (which is not even noticeable). It has about the same upper face dimensions as the Zo 2 personal subwoofer, but is quite a bit chunkier (28 mm/1.1 in) and tips the scales at 87 g (3 oz), including the detachable chest magnet on the belt clip.

Grooving with the vibes

Having watched the Kickstarter pitch video and some of the clips on the company's YouTube channel, I was expecting my chest, hips and spine to take quite a beating from the tunes I had lined up for Woojer-enhancement. As it turned out, for the most part, the music-driven thump was a good deal more subtle. But I'm jumping ahead, to the music ...

My first port of call was an old favorite. I plugged one end of the Woojer's supplied audio cable into my portable digital player and the other into the device itself. I connected some circumaural headphones to the output port, hooked the Woojer on my belt at the hip (I also detached and pocketed the magnet for safe keeping) and sat back for the driving bass and drums throughout New Model Army's The Love of Hopeless Causes in FLAC format. Rather than opt for a neutral EQ as advised by the instruction booklet, I decided to start with the player set to the preset I usually use to listen to this album, which enhances the lower registers.

At comfortable listening levels, the low setting on the Woojer didn't really have much to offer, but the second and third notches produced some nice beat-driven thumps. The vibrations were by no means overpowering, but they did add a pleasant new dimension to music listening while seated. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was barely a murmur from the device on the album's only primarily acoustic track though.

Continuing the bass-centric theme, I swapped to the headphone output of my NAD amp and invited quirky new wave rockers XTC to the party with the vinyl excellence that is the Go 2 album from 1978. I experimented with volume with these tracks, with the Woojer producing more and more punch as the amp raised the output to beyond what's comfortable or safe for headphones listening.

There are two LED status lights on the front on the Woojer, one is for power but the other is supposed to flash to the beat. Though there was barely a flicker when connected to my portable music player, the power of my hi-fi amp seemed to wake this up from its slumber to dance to the thumping kick and bass.

Returning to my portable player, I selected some popping blues in the shape of Keb Mo's BluesAmericana and opted to use my earbuds instead of the over-ear cans. Still wearing the Woojer on my hip, I flipped it around so that the front face was pushed against my pants and the clip over my belt. I flattened the EQ and had to push the Woojer up to the highest setting to really "feel the beat" of the pounding kick and chugging bass throughout these recordings, which was a little disappointing.

Dialing in my usual "blues" EQ, which ups the bass and lower mids, improved the Woojer's performance markedly and I actually found myself turning down the Woojer to its middle setting. The jazzy Old Me Better was particularly enjoyable with added thump. I was walking around while listening to this album and noticed that the Woojer's effect diminished while moving, and returned when standing or seated. So if you're the kind of mobile music lover who is always bustling between destinations on foot rather than on the train or bus, then this may be something to consider.

Before moving to a straight run to test the Woojer's battery life, I headed for the CD cabinet and picked out some drum-driven pop-punk from the recently-reformed China Drum. This time I slipped the Woojer under my t-shirt and positioned it in the middle of my chest, front face pointing in, and held it in place using the magnet.

Of all of the suggested hotspots and placements, this one proved to be most effective for me. The pace of the source music in this test was pretty fast throughout, and the rumble throughout my chest actually quite involving – not too far removed from the vibrations you might feel in the middle of a standing-only gig. I could even feel the music during the album's acoustic moment.

The Woojer website offers some recommended listening, and I did give some of them a whirl (via YouTube). Though it felt rather alien to have the likes of Shania Twain, Jay-Z and 2 Unlimited vibrating through my bones, I pushed on through and found the Woojer handled the different genres pretty well and don't in any way hold the device responsible for me not warming to Beyonce, Wiz Khalifa and others.

Movies, games and continuous play

The site also lists some movies to watch while wearing the Woojer, but I opted to watch a few DVD or digital vids instead, including top TV such as Sherlock and DCI Banks, movie favorites like Soul Men and Warm Bodies, and live music from such legends as Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Joe Bonamassa.

I found the Woojer had more to offer when watching music-driven content, straight movies and TV shows were less rewarding. Sure, I was perhaps more drawn in by atmospheric music than I would otherwise have been, but getting buzzed during loud dialog just felt weird – though getting a rumble through my chest when folks were being shot at was certainly an interesting experience.

Of course, in a gaming environment such sensations can be very welcome. Receiving a thump from the Woojer when hit by a sniper round or, less so, when shooting a few rounds in the general direction of the zombie hordes can certainly add an extra something to the game. You're not going to get anywhere near the same level of physical feedback as you would if the boys over at IRLShooter got their hands on you, but the feedback is there nonetheless.

If you're in the middle of a noisy battlefield though, you can expect the Woojer to mix in vibrations when shouts and screams, helicopters and tanks or even frantic footfall are detected. It can end up being a pretty constant rumble interrupted by the occasional bump, which I actually found more annoying than immersive.

The Woojer's 700 mAh Li-ion battery is claimed to offer 4 hours of continuous vibration-enhanced music listening per charge. In continuous music playback tests at comfortable earphone listening volume with the Woojer set to the second intensity level, I actually found that it consistently offered around 7 or 8 hours. Mixed gaming, movie-watching and music usage squeezed another hour or so out of the battery.

A juice up from flat took around 2 hours using the supplied charger with dual 350 mA USB output ports. Interestingly, sounds from the source device will continue to output to headphones even when the Woojer is switched off or runs out of battery and the device doesn't appear to add any of its own flavor or coloring to the source audio.

The bottom line

The Woojer looks stylish and feels well-made, and the battery life proved quite impressive. I prefer the non-gloss finish of the Kickstarter prototype to the fingerprint magnet production model, but maybe that's just me. It's a bit of a one trick pony but it never failed to put a smile on the faces of those who tried it during the review period.

Though the Woojer did indeed add another layer to music listening, the vibration effect worked best when I was seated and wasn't nearly as pronounced as I was expecting. To get any forceful physical feedback required upping the source volume to a level too uncomfortable for anything more than the shortest of short bursts of headphone listening.

I found that fast-paced, bass-driven tunes can result in a steady buzz rather than highlighted bass and kick action, but when positioned on the chest and listening to recordings of live concerts, the device did draw me in more than without it. Feeling the music while on the move proved more of a challenge though, and I got decidedly mixed results from videos and games.

The Woojer is available now in black, white, red or green for US$99. There's an optional free app available too, but as it's only currently available for iOS, I didn't have the opportunity to test that out as part of this review. App users are reportedly able to boost the bass or select from eight genre-tuned presets to squeeze more performance from the Woojer. The app can even be used to auto adjust the device for different types of headphones.

Source: Woojer

 

How to live past 150,000 (miles, that is)

 

Twelve tips to help you keep your car running forever

The author's 1993 Honda Accord: 140,000 miles and still going strong.  Aaron Gold

Improvements in technology, build quality and metallurgy mean that cars are living longer and longer, even in the Rust Belt. Not just Japanese cars, either -- domestics and Europeans are giving reliable service up to, and well past, 150,000 miles. With proper care and feeding, virtually any car can be kept on the road as long as the owner wants to keep it. Here are twelve guidelines to keeping your car alive well into six-figure territory.

• Buy a good car to begin with. Though Japanese cars are generally the most reliable, don't dismiss American cars -- their quality is improving and they are often less expensive to repair. European cars are generally the most expensive to fix. It's a good idea to do some online research or talk to owners of similar cars about their experiences.
• Follow the maintenance schedule in your owner's manual. If your car has a "maintenance minder", use that as a guideline for service, but be sure to double-check your owner's manual as some items need to be replaced based on time rather than mileage. Don't forget the timing belt! Most cars need to have the timing belt replaced every 60,000 to 90,000 miles. It's not cheap, but it’s far less expensive than the damage it will cause if it breaks.
• Keep a repair fund. Cars do break, and there's nothing like a $1,500 repair bill to scare an old-car owner into the new-car showroom. Remember, your car would have to generate repair bills of around $5,000 per year for at least four years in a row to even approach the cost of a new car. In place of your payment, put $100 or $200 per month into an interest-bearing car-repair account. That way an unexpected repair or major maintenance won't bust your budget.
• Do your homework. Many cars have known problems that pop up under certain circumstances or after enough mileage/time. Most makes and models have Web sites and forums devoted to them; they can be a gold mine of information. Knowing your car is prone to a given problem isn't necessarily cause to get rid of it; it just allows you to be prepared.
• Be aware. Be on the lookout for new noises, strange smells or anything that just doesn’t feel right. If something seems amiss, talk to your mechanic or dealership. Don't let them tell you "that's normal" -- if you've been driving your car long enough, you know best what normal is.
• Ask a friend to drive. Every two or three months, ask a friend to take you for a drive in your car. Some problems appear or increase so gradually that you may not even notice them, but they'll stick out like a sore thumb to someone less familiar. And by riding in the passenger's seat, you may spot something you missed while preoccupied with driving.
• Fix everything as soon as it breaks. If you're going to keep your car as long as possible, you have to want to keep it as long as possible. Don't ignore seemingly unimportant problems like broken trim, torn upholstery, or electrical glitches. Little annoyances add up and can begin to erode your love affair with your old car.
• Use quality replacement parts. Whether or not to use genuine manufacturer parts is open to debate, but don't just opt for the least expensive parts you can find. Discuss options with your mechanic or parts store. If a non-wearing part is damaged, consider buying a used replacement -- you'll get manufacturer quality at a more affordable price.
• Keep it clean. Paint does more than make your car look good; it protects the materials underneath. Wash your car regularly. When water no longer beads on the paint, wax it. (Read more: How to wash and wax and detail your car like the pros.)
• Fight rust. If you live where it snows, be sure to wash the car regularly -- but only if the temperature is above freezing. (Below freezing the salt stays in solution and won't harm the car.) Don't park in a heated garage; melting snow allows embedded salt to attack. Make sure your car wash does not recycle their water -- otherwise they're just spraying your car with salt from other people's vehicles. (Check out my four-season guide to preventing rust).
• Drive gently. There's no need to baby your car; in fact, a little foot-to-the-floor acceleration every once in a while is a good thing, but driving like a wannabe Michael Schumaker in his Formula 1 Ferrari isn't good for your car (or your nerves).
• Gloat! If you enjoy the surprised looks people give you when you tell them your car has 150,000 miles on it, wait until you see their faces at 250,000. If people chide you about your old wheels, chide them about their car payments and higher insurance rates. Keeping your car as long as possible saves you hundreds of dollars per month; keeping it in good repair minimizes the environmental impact by ensuring that it runs cleanly and efficiently as possible. Feel free to gloat -- you and your car have earned it!

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10 Cool Painting Hacks

 

After surfing the web I came across some really creative ideas for painting in your house: walls, floors, furniture, etc. I live under the mentality that if you don’t like something change it, and if you can’t afford it, make it. These clever hacks definitely fall under those categories.

 

1. Paint Your Laminated or Vinyl Floors

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2. Half Painted Walls

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3. Accenting Your Steps

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4. Painting the Sides of Dresser Drawers

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5. Fun With Chalkboard Paint

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6. Accenting the Backs of Your Bookshelves

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7. Map Murals

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8. Accenting the Sides of Doors

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9. Painting Your old Book Covers

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10. Tree Murals

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www.paintersofloiusville.com

Lung regeneration mechanism discovered

 

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A research team led by Jackson Laboratory Professors Frank McKeon, Ph.D., and Wa Xian, Ph.D., reports on the role of certain lung stem cells in regenerating lungs damaged by disease.

The work, published Nov. 12 in the journal Nature, sheds light on the inner workings of the still-emerging concept of lung regeneration and points to potential therapeutic strategies that harness these lung stem cells.

"The idea that the lung can regenerate has been slow to take hold in the biomedical research community," McKeon says, "in part because of the steady decline that is seen in patients with severe lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (known as COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis."

Nevertheless, he notes, there are examples in humans that point to the existence of a robust system for lung regeneration. "Some survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, for example, are able to recover near-normal lung function following significant destruction of lung tissue."

Mice appear to share this capacity. Mice infected with the H1N1 influenza virus show progressive inflammation in the lung followed by outright loss of important lung cell types. Yet over several weeks, the lungs recover, revealing no signs of the previous lung injury.

Using this mouse model system, McKeon and his colleagues had previously identified a type of adult lung stem cell known as p63+/Krt5+ in the distal airways. When grown in culture, these lung stem cells formed alveolar-like structures, similar to the alveoli found within the lung. (Alveoli are the tiny, specialized air sacs that form at the ends of the smallest airways, where gas exchange occurs in the lung.) Following infection with H1N1, these same cells migrated to sites of inflammation in the lung and assembled into pod-like structures that resemble alveoli, both visually and molecularly.

In the new paper, the research team reports that the p63+/Krt5+ lung stem cells proliferate upon damage to the lung caused by H1N1 infection. Following such damage, the cells go on to contribute to developing alveoli near sites of lung inflammation.

To test whether these cells are required for lung regeneration, the researchers developed a novel system that leverages genetic tools to selectively remove these cells from the mouse lung. Mice lacking the p63+/Krt5+ lung stem cells cannot recover normally from H1N1 infection, and exhibit scarring of the lung and impaired oxygen exchange--demonstrating their key role in regenerating lung tissue.

The research team also showed that when individual lung stem cells are isolated and subsequently transplanted into a damaged lung, they readily contribute to the formation of new alveoli, underscoring their capacity for regeneration.

In the U.S. about 200,000 people have ARDS, a disease with a death rate of 40 percent, and there are 12 million patients with COPD. "These patients have few therapeutic options today," Xian says. "We hope that our research could lead to new ways to help them."

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Jackson Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Wei Zuo, Ting Zhang, Daniel Zheng'An Wu, Shou Ping Guan, Audrey-Ann Liew, Yusuke Yamamoto, Xia Wang, Siew Joo Lim, Matthew Vincent, Mark Lessard, Christopher P. Crum, Wa Xian, Frank McKeon. p63 Krt5 distal airway stem cells are essential for lung regeneration. Nature, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nature13903

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