If the scarecrow had turned to modern day scientists rather than the Wizard of Oz he would have gotten something significantly more useful than a piece of paper. I'm referring to the ongoing research into the development of a human brain, better known in scientific circles as cerebral organoids.
Jurgen Knobloch of the Austrian Academy of Science and a team of Austrian and British scientists have grown stem cell derived three-dimensional models of embryonic human brains. These in vitro models develop various but interdependent brain regions. "Stem cells can be coaxed into balls of neural cells that self organize into distinctive layers," according to Arnold Kriegstein. Madeline A. Lancaster and her team have grown these cerebral organoids in a spinning chamber with sufficient nutrients to allow them to develop. Because there is no neural network these organoids are short lived, 20 to 30 days. They begin to die from the interior outward due to the lack of a blood supply.
The need for such experimentation has to do with the complexity of determining how the human brain develops. The use of mice for such research has limited value and the need to determine how such disorders as microcephaly and schizophrenia develop make this a valuable scientific study. With microcephaly the brain doesn't develop enough neurons and therefore is small. A smaller brain equates to less connectivity. And there is a good discussion on a study into how different substances affect these organoids to determine how they react in schizophrenics here.
Of course there are ethical issues as to what constitutes a living being and when does the tiny mass of cells in the petrie dish constitute life. I'll leave that for another day. For the moment, I'm thinking Mary Shelley and Frankenstein.
Happy writing.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
You're Toast!
Ellie Zolfagharifard reported in The Daily Mail that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) narrowly missed the earth three weeks ago. EMPs are caused by solar flares or high altitude nuclear explosions. In this instance it was caused by a massive solar flare like the one pictured here photographed on May 12, 2013.
Evidence of the effects of such a flare were first noted by the astronomer Richard Carrington on September 1, 1859. People reported being able to read their newspapers due to the brightness. Worldwide telegraph operators were shocked unconscious and sparks flew from their telegraph machines even after being disconnected from their batteries. The power from the solar flare created electricity in the telegraph lines.
In response to the incident three weeks ago, Peter Vincent Pry, who served on the Congressional EMP Threat Commission stated, "There had been a near miss about two weeks ago, a Carrington-class coronal mass ejection crossed the orbit of the Earth and basically just missed us. Basically this is a Russian roulette thing," he said. "We narrowly escaped from a Carrington-class disaster."
EMP have the capability of wreaking havoc on our electronically dependent lives. In 1989 an EMP knocked out the electrical grid of Quebec.
The sun is nearing an eleven year peak in solar activity and 2012 saw very volatile activity. A study into solar storms last year predicted there was a one in eight chance of a major one affecting the Earth by 2020. There have been Congressional panels ongoing to address the issue of how to protect the power grid of the U.S. In the U.K. the Royal Academy of Engineering experts feel they are prepared for such an event.
Where will you be when the lights go out?
Evidence of the effects of such a flare were first noted by the astronomer Richard Carrington on September 1, 1859. People reported being able to read their newspapers due to the brightness. Worldwide telegraph operators were shocked unconscious and sparks flew from their telegraph machines even after being disconnected from their batteries. The power from the solar flare created electricity in the telegraph lines.
In response to the incident three weeks ago, Peter Vincent Pry, who served on the Congressional EMP Threat Commission stated, "There had been a near miss about two weeks ago, a Carrington-class coronal mass ejection crossed the orbit of the Earth and basically just missed us. Basically this is a Russian roulette thing," he said. "We narrowly escaped from a Carrington-class disaster."
EMP have the capability of wreaking havoc on our electronically dependent lives. In 1989 an EMP knocked out the electrical grid of Quebec.
The sun is nearing an eleven year peak in solar activity and 2012 saw very volatile activity. A study into solar storms last year predicted there was a one in eight chance of a major one affecting the Earth by 2020. There have been Congressional panels ongoing to address the issue of how to protect the power grid of the U.S. In the U.K. the Royal Academy of Engineering experts feel they are prepared for such an event.
Where will you be when the lights go out?
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