for me in this period as seeing what in Russia is happening in cultural field theese types of research are importants with founding some correlate institutions where it needs and for example also in Ucraina not only in India is need an institute that is for me of estethic correlate to mexico for the fact that some many characteristics are really similars and i have a demonstration of an artist of Ukraina that could prove this.

Russia is not only in itself and not only european... is also caucasic cultural and for understanding this and improve also communication technologies perhaps the foundation of an institute in Ucraina is the right way.

it is a great pity that you not respond me..

bye

in every case if you see or contact jojo marengo of world art foundation you could tell the same thing

i'm sure that he will listen you...

bye

i think that is not a confusion idea and that is good..

bye

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=humans-alone-wiped...
Humans Alone Wiped Out Tasmanian Tiger, Study Says

A new mathematical model shoots down claims that an unknown disease epidemic wiped out the meat-eating marsupial

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/02/03/caught.act.researchers.....

http://www.leonardo.info/reviews/jan2011/goodstein_zilberg.php
On Fact and Fraud: Cautionary Tales from the Front Lines of Science

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/02/07/social.network.use.refl...

Social network use reflects East-West disparity

Side-Dominant Science: Are You Left- or Right-Sided?
Each person's brain is divided into two sides—the left and right hemispheres. In some cases, one hemisphere may be more active than the other during a certain activity. For example, when someone processes language, one hemisphere is usually more active than the other. Doing this or other activities, however, is not absolutely limited to using one hemisphere or the other, or even certain hemispheric parts. Different brain areas are important and work together for different activities, such as speech, hearing and sight. But if part of a hemisphere is damaged when a person is young, other parts of the brain can often take over doing whatever the damaged regions of the brain used to do.

What do the brain's hemispheres have to do with sidedness? When someone is processing language, one hemisphere is usually working harder than the other. There is also some correlation between the side(s) we use in our brain and the side we use on our body. This preference to use one side of the body over the other is known as sidedness, laterality or left/right dominance.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bring-science-home...

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/02/09/twist_weekly_vi...
New Video Science Series: TWIST

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/information-culture/2013/02/12/...

Your theory is rubbish (but I won’t say it out loud)

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/02/24/the-langu...
The “Language” Gene and Women’s Wagging Tongues

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/2004/5/scientific-literacy
Scientific literacy
Scientific Literacy

The United Nations agency UNESCO has defined literacy as an individual's ability to "read and write a short simple statement relevant to his everyday life." Scientific literacy does not imply that a person must be learned in matters of science, but it does not suffice that a person be able to read and write. It rather means functional literacy, the ability to comprehend what is read or written to an extent sufficient to perform adequately in society, whether to communicate with individuals, to further one's own economic or other interests, or to participate in the democratic way of life. Scientific literacy implies the ability to respond in a meaningful way to the technical issues that pervade our daily lives and the world of political action.

Scientific literacy does not require knowing the definition of angular momentum or that the expression of DNA is mediated by transfer–RNA molecules. But a scientifically literate person would know that astrology is not science and that children are not born with stronger muscles just because their parents exercise in the gym. Scientific literacy implies that whether or not a person endorses a program for water fluoridation or for building a nuclear power plant is based on some understanding of the issues at hand, rather than on prejudice (that all tampering with natural resources is harmful or unambiguously beneficial) or ignorance that decisions involve trade–offs, as might exist between a nuclear and a coal–fueled plant.

Two increasing demands of modern nations establish the universal need for scientific literacy. First is the need for a technically trained labor force. Second is the requirement that citizens at large pass judgment on the promises and actions of their governments and on the claims of advertisers of consumer goods.

The productive sector of the economy of any industrial nation demands a scientifically literate labor force. Scientific and engineering breakthroughs are the basis of industrial productivity. But economic and industrial development more immediately come from the adaptation of scientific ideas: new materials and manufacturing processes, quality control, advances in productivity and the performance of workers, and consumer appeal and marketing. The successful implementation of scientific and engineering innovations requires cadres of educated workers skilled in the management of machinery, computers, control centers, quantitative information and materials.

The need for scientific literacy extends beyond industry to other sectors such as agriculture. The recent greatly increased agricultural productivity in the United States and other countries is largely attributable to the introduction and application of modern farming practices and the use of machinery that requires skilled operators.

Scientific literacy is also required for informed public involvement in the political and public life of a nation. Whether or not a highway system will be developed, and if so, where and how; how to protect and improve the water supply and air quality; the exploitation of mineral or marine resources; the preservation and commercial use of forests, rivers and coasts—these are among the numerous political decisions that call for the participation of the body politic.

A participatory democracy will not be consummated if the import of the technical premises of political decisions with great economic consequence, and which affect the present and future welfare of a nation, can be understood only by a small fraction of the population. A public that has no inkling of the technical issues at stake exposes the democratic process to exploitation by special interests and demagogues, and even to fraud of the kind that masks pseudoscience, such as astrology or parapsychology, with the cloak of science.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/02/23/ent-scienceart-and-science...
ENT science:Art and science of sword swallowing
The art of sword swallowing has a lot to do with science
The practice dates back 4,000 years, when priests in India swallowed swords to demonstrate their supposed supernatural powers and connection to the gods.

Today, sword swallowing is a popular act in circuses and sideshows, and has diversified to include even more dangerous feats. Some performers tackle other objects, such as saws or fluorescent tubes, and some even swallow multiple swords at the same time. The record is more than 20.

Although professional sword swallowers make these incredible feats look easy, the art -- or science -- of sword swallowing is one that takes years to learn and even longer to master. Beginners learn from an experienced performer and follow the 7 x 7 rule-- practising seven times a day, seven days a week for many years, before they're ready to perform. The main challenge they face is learning to become aware of parts inside the body that we normally don't have any control over.

When a sword is swallowed, the path it takes in the body is the same path that your food takes when you eat -- from the mouth, to the throat, through the esophagus, and into the stomach.

First, the sword swallower must straighten their spine and tilt their head back. This positions the body in a straight line, ready for the sword to enter. Next, they need to relax the muscles at the back of the throat to allow the sword to pass through.

In this way, sword "swallowing" is actually a misnomer. When you swallow, you're contracting those muscles in your throat to send food towards your stomach.

Finally, the sword swallower needs to relax two more keys sets of muscles -- those at the top and bottom of the esophagus -- before the sword passes all the way down to the bottom of the stomach.

Sword swallowing is not a hoax or a trick. Many people think that sword swallowers use a collapsible sword, or a fake sword made of plastic -- but rest assured, it's a real metal sword.

Swallowers constantly dull and buff the edges because even a small nick or scratch can cause serious injury. If you were to touch a sword swallower's sword, which you can do in the exhibition, you would notice that it's not sharp enough to cut your skin. However, the soft lining inside your body does not have the same protection, and sword swallowers can puncture the esophagus if they try to swallow before their mind and body are ready.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/02/27/young-s...
Young Scientists Encourage the Public to Demand Peer Review

http://www.senseaboutscience.org/

http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/a4e_what_we_can_do.html

http://www.ias.ac.in/resonance/March2010/p268-276.pdf
About science in India
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psi-vid/2013/02/26/a-visit-to-a...

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34518/title/O...
Scientific Peer Review in Crisis

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34518/title/O...
Scientific Peer Review in Crisis

My reply to this article: Opinion: Scientific Peer Review in Crisis
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34518/title/O...
If you read some of the papers published in the journals around the world you feel this is true.
Ignorance, lack of quality reviewers who are good at several things, confusion all around, commercialization of science and biases are playing a great part in substandard stuff coming out of these journals.
But who cares and who reads? Like Indians say 'sub kutch chalta hai idhar' - everything is okay here or everything and anything goes here! I thought till now this is relevant to developing countries. But now I feel anything goes in the developed world too! We are on the same wavelengths! Standards?! Forget them. If you have that big name and aura around you, or money to support scientific research you can get away with anything and everything! Yes, with rubbish too!
But science is suffering in all this. People will lose their faith in science if this is allowed to go on.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112799946/genetic-dust-mites-...
Study Of Dust Mites Show That Reverse Evolution Is Genetically Possible

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/mar/13/jo-marchant-science-w...
Science writing: 'You need a burning curiosity'

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=split-brain-patien...
Split-Brain Patients Reveal Brain's Flexibility

http://babscience.com/Home.html

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/03/18/tourist.fed.stingrays.c...

Tourist-fed stingrays change their ways

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/03/18/elite.athletes.also.exc...

Elite athletes also excel at some cognitive tasks

Women have more efficient brains: Study

Women may have smaller brains than men, but they are more efiiccient at completing a task, a new study has claimed. It has been a mystery for scientists why women show no difference in intelligence, although their brains are eight per cent smaller than men's. Neuroscienitsts found that women's brains are more efficient , needing fewer neurons and less energy to complete a task. The study conducted a range of psychological tests on 59 women and 45 men, aged 18-27. They found that in women the hippocampus, which plays a central role in memory , intelligence and emotion, consumes less energy and uses fewer brain cells on a given task than in men, the Sunday Times reported.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/03/26/you.dont.own.your.own.g...

You don't 'own' your own genes

http://www.spongelab.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Hop+on+...

http://www.scilogs.com/communication_breakdown/four-ways-to-open-a-...
Four ways to open a science story

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=india-court-ruling...
India Court Ruling Upholds Access to Cheaper, Generic Drugs

India’s Supreme Court today rejected efforts by the Swiss drug major Novartis to patent the anticancer drug Gleevec (imatinib mesylate), in a ruling that signaled India’s determination to support affordable medicines.

The court rejected the Basel-based company’s challenge to India’s patent law, which limits drug firms’ ability to extend patent life beyond 20 years by making minor modifications to drugs, a tactic known as ‘evergreening’. Novartis's patent claim on a modified version of Gleevec (marketed in some countries as Glivec) “fails in both the tests of invention and patentability”, the court said.

****

The Supreme Court denied efforts by Novartis to patent an anticancer drug by "evergreening" its chemistry, signaling India's commitment to price reductions for drugs, especially HIV drugs
The purpose of evergreening by the pharmaceutical companies is to extend the patent on the old drug and NOT allow generics to be made. This keeps the price & $profits high and restricts access to the drug.

"This technique, known as “evergreening,” allows pharmaceutical companies to obtain or extend monopoly protection for old drugs simply by making minor modifications to existing formulations or dosages, or by identifying a new therapeutic use for an existing medicine."

http://aids2012.msf.org/2012/the-trans-pacific-partnership-agreemen...

http://adage.com/article/global-news/courvoisier-unilever-manipulat...
How Courvoisier and Unilever Manipulate the Senses
Other Marketers Lag In Sensory Marketing; Expert Spells Out Opportunities

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mirror-neurons-can...
Mirror Neurons Can Reflect Hatred

Mirror neurons distinguish between those we like and those we do not.
Mirror neuron activity is thought to be a very basic part of brain function—and it can be seen in many animals besides humans—the new finding supports the notion that our brain is predisposed to distinguish “us versus them.” This distinction can be beneficial, encouraging caution around those with harmful intentions, or dangerous, further entrenching prejudices. To weaken unwelcome biases, lead author Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Southern California, suggests that exposure and perspective taking could go a long way.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/27-science-fictions-that-became-scie...
27 Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012

Official mind reading is possible

Crime drama CSI, which airs on KHQA-CBS.
One of that show's saying is, "Science doesn't lie." - Very True!

Scientists 'read dreams' using brain scans

Scientists have found a way to "read" dreams, a study suggests.

Researchers in Japan used MRI scans to reveal the images that people were seeing as they entered into an early stage of sleep.

Writing in the journal Science, they reported that they could do this with 60% accuracy.

The team now wants to see if brain activity can be used to decipher other aspects of dreaming, such as the emotions experienced during sleep.

Professor Yukiyasu Kamitani, from the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, in Kyoto, said: "I had a strong belief that dream decoding should be possible at least for particular aspects of dreaming... I was not very surprised by the results, but excited."

Brain wave

People have been trying to understand dreams since ancient Egyptian times, but the researchers who have carried out this study have found a more direct way to tap into our nighttime visions.

The team used MRI scans to monitor three people as they slept.

Just as the volunteers started to fall asleep inside the scanners, they were woken up and asked to recount what they had seen.

Each image mentioned, from bronze statues to keys and ice picks, was noted, no matter how surreal.

This was repeated more than 200 times for each participant.

The researchers used the results to build a database, where they grouped together objects into similar visual categories. For example, hotel, house and building were grouped together as "structures".

The scientists then scanned the volunteers again, but this time, while they were awake and looking at images on a computer screen.

With this, they were able to see the specific patterns of brain activity that correlated with the visual imagery.

Dream machines?

During the next round of sleep tests, by monitoring the brain scans the researchers could tell what the volunteers were seeing in their dreams. They were able to assess which broad category the images were in with 60% accuracy.

"We were able to reveal dream content from brain activity during sleep, which was consistent with the subjects' verbal reports," explained Professor Kamitani.

The researchers now want to look at deeper sleep, where the most vivid dreams are thought to occur, as well as see whether brain scans can help them to reveal the emotions, smells, colours and actions that people experience as they sleep.

Dr Mark Stokes, a cognitive neuroscientist from the University of Oxford, said it was an "exciting" piece of research that brought us closer to the concept of dream-reading machines.

"It's obviously a long way off, but there is no reason why not in principle. The difficult thing is to work out the systematic mapping between the brain activity and the phenomena," he explained.

However, he added that a single dream-reading system would not work for everyone.

"All of this would have to be done within individual subjects. So you would never be able build a general classifier that could read anybody's dreams. They will all be idiosyncratic to the individual, so the brain activity will never be general across subjects," he said.

"You would never be able to build something that could read other peoples thoughts without them knowing about it, for example."

Sursa: bbc.co.uk

Thank you, Georgescu, for posting this information!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9977464/Scientists-...
Scientists should be celebrities, says Prof Brian Cox
It means he can no longer visit his favourite pub incognito, but Professor Brian Cox has argued scientists should be celebrities as it gets people interested in the subject.

The particle physicist and television presenter said he hoped for a return to the way of the 19th century, when British scientists such as Michael Faraday and Humphry Davy were “celebrities hanging out with the romantic poets.”

It was a time when attending science lectures was a popular pursuit and “ideas were seen as exciting,” he said.

Reflecting on the renown that means he can no longer visit the Clapham High Street pub he loves in south London for fear of being ambushed by fans, he said: "Why wouldn't you want academics to be celebrities?... Of course I want science to be part of popular culture like that again.

“It's the way you get people interested in scientific ideas."

Prof Cox, who has recently returned to lecturing at Manchester University, where he teaches quantum physics and relativity, denied that his students were star struck by him however.

He told the Sunday Times News Review: “Maybe in the first lecture that I give in September they'll behave differently when they first come in, but within minutes they're criticising the size of your writing or whatever."

While he did not tend to listen to his critics, he said, “sometimes they make you aware of the clichés you've created or any laziness that's coming into what you do, so for that reason they can be good.”

Prof Cox, who played the keyboard in a hard rock band called Dare before joining the better known pop group D:Ream, said he had learned his lesson about critics then.

“Our first album was criticised for not being heavy enough, so we followed it up with one that was heavier but basically fairly s***,” he said of Dare.

“It was exactly the wrong thing to do and I've always remembered that.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/04/12/secrets.bacterial.slime...
Secrets of bacterial slime revealed
Newcastle University scientists have revealed the mechanism that causes a slime to form, making bacteria hard to shift and resistant to antibiotics. When under threat, some bacteria can shield themselves in a slimy protective layer, known as a biofilm. It is made up of communities of bacteria held together to protect themselves from attack.

Biofilms cause dental plaque and sinusitis; in healthcare, biofilms can lead to life threatening and difficult to treat infections, particularly on medical implants such as catheters, heart valves, artificial hips and even breast implants. They also they coat the outside of ships and boats polluting the water.