Alzheimer’s Disease: Possibly Caused From Haywire Immune System Eating Brain Connections?

By: Alexandria Addesso

Memory loss and absent-mindedness has long been seen as an inevitable flaw that comes with old age. Although there is a slew of medications on the market that are prescribed for those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, none seem to change it by too large of a margin. This has led scientists to rethink what in particular is the root cause of Alzheimer’s.

New studies done on laboratory test rodents have found that there is a marked loss of synapses, which are a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter. Specifically synapses that are located in brain regions that are highly significant and key to memory.



These junctions between nerve cells are where neurotransmitters are released to spark the brain’s electrical activity. Currently, all pharmaceutical drugs on the market for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, focus on eliminating β amyloid, a protein that forms telltale sticky plaques around neurons in people with the disease. But, more β amyloid does not always mean more severe symptoms such as memory loss or poor attention.

Researchers at the University of Virginia, School of Medicine, in Charlottesville found that a protein called ‘C1q’ sets off a series of chemical reactions that ultimately mark a synapse for destruction. After this occurs immune cells called microglia-glial cells derived from mesoderm that function as macrophages (scavengers) in the central nervous system and form part of the reticuloendothelial system, destroy or “eat” the synapse.



“It is beautiful new work brings into light what’s happening in the early stage of the disease,” said one of the researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine neuroscientist Jonathan Kipnis.

These findings could mean that treatment that blocks C1q could be pivotal and highly successful in fighting Alzheimer’s Disease. When researchers gave the laboratory rodent test subjects an antibody to stop the destruction of cells by microglia, synapse loss did not appear. This could also mean a slowing in cognitive decline, but according to Edward Ruthazer, a neuroscientist at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital in Canada, using microglia as such a central role to fight the disease is “still on the controversial side.”

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Are the Well Read More Likely to Succeed?

By: Alexandria Addesso

With television, movies, and the internet to entertain us many have been reading less and less. So much information can now be attained in small sound bites or social media posts, which often leaves large knowledge filled tomes on the shelf. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, “reading has declined among every group of adult Americans,” and for the first time in American history, “less than half of the United States adult American population is reading literature.” But could this trend be detrimental? How important is reading and how does it affect a person’s chances at achieving success in their lifetime?



Studies done at The New School, a New York City private University found that reading is crucial for socialization especially in children. Researchers also found evidence that literary fiction improves a reader’s capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling. In one study done by the university and published in Science, participants read non-fiction/nothing, popular fiction, or literary fiction then were tested on their ability to understand other people’s thoughts and emotions. Participants that read non-fiction/nothing showed unimpressive results. When they read excerpts of popular fiction their test results were dually insignificant. But, when they read literary fiction their test results improved vastly and so did their capacity for empathy.

Reading is also the key for those who want to be leaders or chief executive officers (CEO). Reading in general has shown to increases verbal intelligence, making a leader a more adept as well as a more articulate communicator. Being that reading is a form of leisurely recreation, it has been shown to be a good stress reliever which overall leads to a more peaceful work environment. Some very well read successful people include Steve Jobs the founder of Apple, Phil Knight the founder of Nike, and Winston Churchill who won the Nobel Prize for Literature.



Currently about 60 million Americans suffer from some form of a sleep disorder. A lack of sleep can negatively affect a person’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Sleep experts often recommend establishing a regular de-stressing routine before bed to calm your mind and ready your body for rest. Reading is one of the top strategies recommended to add to your routine right before going to sleep. Bright lights from electronic devices signal the brain to wake up, whereas reading a book under a dim light can tell your system to do the inverse.

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Smartphone Usage Linked to Male Infertility

By: Alexandria Addesso

The use of cellular phones, have become so common in our day-to-day lives that the inanimate objects almost become another appendage. Smart phones, the most commonly used type of cellular phones today rely on electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation to receive real time messaging. But could this form of frequencies be harmful when they are being transmitted all day?

Being that cell phones are portable, people tend to have them on their person all day. Men, more often than women, usually keep their cellular smart phones in their front pockets. Multiple recent studies have been conducted on whether keeping these cellular devices in such a close proximity to a man’s genitalia while transmitting EMF radiation could be harmful.



“Collectively, the research indicates that exposure to cell phone radiation may lead to decreases in sperm count, sperm motility and vitality, as well as increases in indicators of sperm damage such as higher levels of reactive oxygen species (chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen), oxidative stress, DNA damage and changes in sperm morphology ,” said The Environmental Working Group (EWG) after publishing a scientific literature review of 10 studies linking smartphone usage and male infertility.

Other studies even indicate specifically an 8 percent decrease in sperm motility and an approximate 9 percent decrease in sperm viability.
“Overall, these findings raise a number of related health policy and patient management issues that deserve our immediate attention. Specifically, we recommend that men of reproductive age who engage in high levels of mobile phone use do not keep their phones in receiving mode below waist level,” wrote researcher GN De Iuliis in the study Mobile phone radiation induces reactive oxygen species production and DNA damage in human spermatozoa in vitro published in 2009.



Even though keeping your cell phone on a belt clip has long been seen as more safe, much data has shown that it is only slightly better than carrying it in your front pocket. If a man is trying to conceive a child it is best that he reduces his cell phone usage. Data on smartphone usage and female infertility is still widely unknown.

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The Science of Solidarity

By: Alexandria Addesso

To many Charles Darwin is the utmost authority when it comes to the study of evolution. Many people took his findings about the importance of competition and how it plays a role in evolution and ran with it. Even as far as applying it to society and thus creating social Darwinism. Anarcho-scientist Peter Kropotkin was inspired by the publication of On the Origin of Species to go and do his own observations of a multitude of species and seemed to come to the opposite conclusion of such Darwinism backers. He argued against claims that competition alone led to evolution or ‘survival of the fittest’, and insisted that mutual aid is a major factor of evolution. The following is an introductory excerpt from Kropotkin’s book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.

Two aspects of animal life impressed me most during the journeys which I made in my youth in Eastern Siberia and Northern Manchuria. One of them was the extreme severity of the struggle for existence which most species of animals have to carry on against an inclement Nature; the enormous destruction of life which periodically results from natural agencies; and the consequent paucity of life over the vast territory which fell under my observation. And the other was, that even in those few spots where animal life teemed in abundance, I failed to find – although I was eagerly looking for it – that bitter struggle for the means of existence, among animals belonging to the same species, which was considered by most Darwinists (though not always by Darwin himself) as the dominant characteristic of struggle for life, and the main factor of evolution.



Kropotkin chronicled his findings while observing a wide variety of insects, birds, sea-life, and different mammals including humans. When it came to who was fittest to survive and further their species, it was most often those who cooperated via forms of mutual aid and solidarity.

As soon as we study animals – not in laboratories and museums only, but in the forest and the prairie, in the steppe and the mountains – we at once perceive that though there is an immense amount of warfare and extermination going on amidst various species, and especially amidst various classes of animals, there is, at the same time, as much, or perhaps even more, of mutual support, mutual aid, and mutual defense amidst animals belonging to the same species or, at least, to the same society. Sociability is as much a law of nature as mutual struggle. Of course it would be extremely difficult to estimate, however roughly, the relative numerical importance of both these series of facts. But if we resort to an indirect test, and ask Nature: "Who are the fittest: those who are continually at war with each other, or those who support one another?" we at once see that those animals which acquire habits of mutual aid are undoubtedly the fittest. They have more chances to survive, and they attain, in their respective classes, the highest development of intelligence and bodily organization. If the numberless facts which can be brought forward to support this view are taken into account, we may safely say that mutual aid is as much a law of animal life as mutual struggle, but that, as a factor of evolution, it most probably has a far greater importance, inasmuch as it favours the development of such habits and characters as insure the maintenance and further development of the species, together with the greatest amount of welfare and enjoyment of life for the individual, with the least waste of energy.



Solidarity scientifically leads to the continuation of life. Through the solidarity of family units, as wells even sometimes larger communities, children are able to be raised and protected. Solidarity is also pivotal for any revolution, social movement, or major change to occur. The slogan “workers of the world unite,” first mentioned in the Communist Manifesto in 1848, called for solidarity among all proletariat (the lower/working class) regardless to nation or ethnicity. These were truly powerful words of unity for those across a particular class line against their oppressors that belonged to the bourgeoisie (the middle/capitalist class).

A major group that unified lower class people across ethnic and gender lines on U.S. soil in the aftermath of the Democratic Convention protests of 1968 was the original Rainbow Coalition. It was formed by the Illinois Chapter of The Black Panthers in Chicago and also included the Young Patriots (a group of white youth who had migrated from Appalachia to Chicago), the Young Lords (a group of Puerto Rican nationalist youth), disenfranchised jewish youth and members of the women’s movement. The Rainbow Coalition epitomized solidarity and intersectionality within the class struggle. Because of its diversity, the Rainbow Coalition was able to bring about treaties among violent rivaling gangs as well as fight against police brutality that did nothing but add to the wave of violence. With unity comes power, and this was highly threatening to both local and national government.



“It seems to me that a lot of the real intense government repression didn’t happen until the Black Panthers started building coalitions,” said Bobby Lee a Black Panthers member who helped organize the Rainbow Coalition along with Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Chapter Fred Hampton, in an interview with Chicago Area. “Once the party departed from the ‘hate whitey’ trip and got serious about building real politics, we were a threat—plain and simple. The FBI were always watching us. But the Rainbow Coalition was their worst nightmare.”

For major changes to occur, for the preservation of life, and to strive towards survival and thus evolution, solidarity is a major factor.

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Myths and Truths about Phlegm, Snot and Boogers

By: Alexandria Addesso

Although Spring is slowly approaching, the cold and flu season is still among us. One of the most unpleasant symptoms of such winter sicknesses as the cold and flu is an increased amount of mucus. Whether, if it's in the form of phlegm, a runny nose or dry booger build-up, an increase in mucus production is a major annoyance and inconvenience.

Although it seems that most people experience an increased production of mucus at least once a year, whether it be during cold and flu season or allergy season, there is still a lot of misinformation about it. Although it seems like a nuisance, mucus actually plays a beneficial role for the human body’s ecosystem. Mucus functions as naturally occurring moisturizer for nasal, mouth, and sinuses, without which the tissue surface could easily become dry and crack. The thick and sticky consistency of mucus also helps prevent bacteria, dust, and other harmful substances from entering the body by trapping it and removing it when it is extracted.



Many parents have taught their children that you can tell what type of common illness you have by judging the color of the snot or phlegm. This is not exactly true, when a harmful virus or bacteria enters the sinuses the enzymes in the mucus contain high levels of iron to combat it thus producing a thick green consistency. When mucus sits for several hours without being expelled, such as when a person is asleep, it becomes more concentrated thus making it a dark yellow or green, thick consistency.

Mucus in all forms; snot, phlegm, and boogers; usually gross most of the general population out. Most believe that they are loaded with harmful germs. Yet, these forms of mucus are actually loaded with a variety of strong antibacterial, antiviral, and other protective chemicals that work to keep you healthy. Now this doesn't mean that you should seek out other people’s runny noses to bask in, but rather just not be too freaked out about it. Especially when it comes to your own. When someone touches snot or phlegm and then touches an object or surface without washing their hands first, the virus will only live on that surface for 24 hours.
Be safe, don’t be too grossed out by mucus, and wash your hands.

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Is the Lose of Religious Liberties Inevitable in a Modern Society?

By: Alexandria Addesso

Religion has long been the scapegoat of many of the world’s problems; poverty, ignorance, immorality, backwardness, and war. It is believed and frequently perpetuated that most wars were started and carried out because of religion, such instances were usually deemed “holy wars”. But do these notions suggest that there must be a war fought against religion itself?

Most first-world Western Nations are highly secularized. Where religions were once used to dictate moral standards and laws, now modern “norms” seem to be the guiding light. Such nations that lean toward secularism seem to hold atheism as the highest intellectual belief structure (or rather lack thereof). So what does that mean for those who still practice religions or formal faith structures?

Religious liberty and freedoms are hot-button topics in current events. The newly elected United States president, just days after being inaugurated, signed an executive order that banned people from entering the country if their visas were from 7 particular countries and if they were also Muslim. And while some may not disagree with these measures and brand the United States as a “Christian” nation, the state department completely disregarded the
Christian genocide that was ongoing in the Middle East and Africa for several years.



What is the cost we pay for progressiveness? Technological and scientific advances seem to push the need for the protection of religious liberties and freedoms further and further away. Would a religion-free society be better than a religious one? There is no doubt that many people would fight to establish the former, and there are currently people working for just that.

But with a look back on history to nations that tried to eliminate religions and make all such practices illegal does not paint a perfect picture, but rather just the gruesome opposite. The Cristero Rebellions in the 1920s where the Mexican government tried to suppress Catholicism and kill off clergy is one such example of such wickedness. The religionless Soviet Union is another. Yet in most of these cases the faith of such adherents only seemed to grow stronger, even unto death. So should these religious liberties be protected like any other human right or should they be part of the “final test”? Stay vigilant.

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The Evolution of Area 51

By: Alexandria Addesso

Area 51 has seemed to exist in two different places for decades, on both the southern shore of Groom Lake about 83 miles north-west of Las Vegas, and in the collective consciousness of those who can only imagine the whereabouts of the military base that has long been kept “top secret” and confidential. Over three-dozen films have been made about Area 51 as well as a host of mini-series despite the fact that very little information about the base has been verified. The idea of Area 51 has definitely evolved over the years.

Area 51 was built in 1941 and was given the official name of “Watertown” in 1956. Other monikers for the test site were Paradise Ranch and Dreamland, the latter was based on a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. The site was originally used as an auxiliary airfield. By 1951 the base was being utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to develop the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, an American single-jet engine, ultra-high altitude aircraft nicknamed “The Dragon Lady.” It is believed that over half of the unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings during the 1950s and 1960s were actually U-2 aircrafts.



This of course has helped contribute to the largely believed lure that aliens as well as their spacecrafts have been or are currently held at Area 51. It is true that aside from the U-2, numerous odd looking aircrafts have been developed, held and tested at the base. Most of which are used for spying or other military purposes. Also many of the projects done at the site are deemed confidential, to which information and details of can never be disclosed. Despite this fact many so called past employees of the base have “leaked” information. Retired Area 51 scientist Boyd Bushman released a video in which he describes the base as containing aliens, UFOs, and anti-gravity projects. The video was released right before his death.



Whether or not you believe that the confidential information about what is done at Area 51 has to do with alien life forms or not seems to be influence on your belief in extraterrestrials in general. Top secret projects done at the base having to do with both domestic and international spying is already factually known. Another reason why certain projects at Area 51 are kept confidential is because they can actually harm the general population. In the 1970s and 1980s Area 51 employees were repeatedly exposed to jet fuel toxins. In 1996 Helen Frost, the wife of one of the employees that died from these toxins, brought up a lawsuit against the United States government but it was dismissed because such allegations could not be “confirmed” and the base is exempt from any environmental laws.

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Sweat Sensors

By: Alexandria Addesso

Science and technology seems to steadily progress and the health field is one of the main industries that is reaping the benefits of the new innovations. As our health statuses and test results seem to be at our fingertips, people become more and more health conscious. Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have recently designed a biosensor that is capable of checking glucose levels of the person who wears it.

"We've been developing various thin, soft and flexible skin-mounted devices as a next-generation platform for wearable technologies for a few years now," said Dr. John Rogers, the senior author of the study as well as a materials scientist and director of Northwestern University's Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics in Evanston, Illinois. "Now, we've developed such a device to capture and analyze sweat."



The sensor sticks to the skin and is around the size of a quarter, which is a drastic upgrade in comparison to the handheld glucose reading devices that are currently being used. Such devices needed to pluck the user’s finger to draw a small amount of blood in order to read glucose levels, a task most people suffering with diabetes found daunting.

"Fitness trackers that monitor heart rate and step count are very popular, but wearable, non-invasive biosensors would be extremely beneficial for managing diseases," said Dr. Shalini Prasad, a professor of bioengineering at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.

"We used known properties of textiles and weaves in our design," said Prasad. "What was innovative was the way we incorporated and positioned the electrodes onto this textile in such a way that allows a very small volume of sweat to spread effectively through the surface."



Sweat and blood are not the only bodily secretions that have been tested to see if they can get glucose readings. Google Laboratories is currently working on a contact lense that can read glucose levels from tears. While none of these new sensors have hit the market or even yet been licensed, there is no doubt that they will soon make invasive blood collecting glucose readers obsolete.

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The Universe's largest supernova: a spinning, star eating black hole

By: Alexandria Addesso

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a supernova is defined as one of the largest explosions that take place in space, in particular the explosion of a star. A supernova usually manifests when there is a change in the core, or center, of a star.

The brightest supernova ever recorded, and actually categorized as a super-luminous supernova, was the explosion of an extremely massive star at the end of its life. It was named ASASSN-15lh. ASASSN-15 lhn, was first observed in 2015 by the All Sky Automated Survey for Super-Novae (ASAS-SN). It was twice as bright as the previous record holder, and at its peak was 20 times brighter than the total light output of the entire Milky Way.



"We observed the source for 10 months following the event and have concluded that the explanation is unlikely to lie with an extraordinarily bright supernova,” said Giorgos Leloudas the leader of the team that observed the event at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. “Our results indicate that the event was probably caused by a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole as it destroyed a low-mass star."
After a series of further observations, it was discovered that the massive explosion took place about 4 billion light-years from Earth in a distant galaxy. It is believed that the star that the black hole consumed in order to produce such a massive explosion was its solar system's biggest star, comparable to our own sun. Since then rays have been observed traveling from the black hole towards us at the speed of light. These rays are forming a disc of gas around the black hole as it converts gravitational energy into electromagnetic radiation, producing a bright source of light visible on multiple wavelengths.



"Incredibly, this source is still producing X-rays and may remain bright enough for Swift to observe into next year," said David Burrows, the lead scientist of the team utilizing NASA's Swift satellite to monitor the massive black hole as well as a professor of astronomy at Penn State University. "It behaves unlike anything we've seen before."

Could such an explosion happen in our solar system with our own sun? This is a question scientists and inquiring minds are still trying to figure out.

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Glass Solar Roofing: Helpful Innovation or Unrealistic Luxury Item?

By: Alexandria Addesso

Cost-efficient and eco-friendly are buzzwords used in many new product pitches being that they are major concerns of “conscious” consumers. Solar energy has grown as an industry tremendously in the past several years due to its use as a cleaner power source. Solar panels, although initially more expensive when first installed, are believed to save users money on their energy bills in the long run.



Last October Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX amongst many other occupational titles, unveiled his newest project which is solar roof made out of many glass tiles. He revealed the solar glass roof at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

"So the basic proposition will be: Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and—by the way—generates electricity? Why would you get anything else?," said Musk.

The tiles will come in four different variations which include slate glass tile, textured Glass Tile, Tuscan Glass Tile, and Smooth Glass Tile. But could such an innovation really be cheaper than a good old shingled roof? According to Musk the solar glass roofs will be cheaper than the terra cotta or slate roof styles that they are trying to mimic, which are the most expensive roofs on the market.

"The solar roof consists of uniquely designed glass tiles that complement the aesthetics of any home, embedded with the highest efficiency photovoltaic cells," explained a statement released by Tesla. "Customers can choose which sections of their roof will contain the hidden solar technology while still having the entire roof look the same."



The solar glass roofs function by utilizing three levels of glass film, then solar cells. When the sunlight reaches solar cells it is converted to energy and saved on a power wall. The glass solar roofs have not been priced or mass produced yet, the projected date is mid-2017. Although they may be beneficial and aesthetically pleasing, they will most likely be a highly priced luxury item.

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Exoplanets

By: Alexandria Addesso

From a young age we are taught the names and placements of the planets within our own solar system, but very infrequently taught about planets outside of it. Exoplanets are planets the orbit stars outside of our solar system. For thousands of years such planets were unfathomable because of the lack of technology needed to see them. And within the scientific community, seeing is believing.

“People ask what will happen if Mars One fails. There will be Mars Two, Mars Three, there will be Gliese 581 One, Proxima Centauri b One etc,” said playwright Mehmet Murat Ildan.
“If a project opens the path for other projects, it means that it has already triumphed!”



It was not until the 1990s that exoplanets were discovered. In 1992 a pulsar, which is a rapidly spinning corpse of a star that died as a supernova, named PSR 1257+12 was discovered. Although not an exoplanet, PSR 1257+12 sparked the momentum for scientists to do more research in the field. By 1995 the first exoplanet was confirmed, it was a Jupiter-mass-like planet 20 times closer to its sun-like star than the Earth is to its sun. The planet was deemed 51 Pegasi b.

With the help of the Kepler Spacecraft that was launched in March of 2009, many other exoplanets have been discovered. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) there are 3,431 confirmed exoplanets, an additional 4,696 possible exoplanets yet to be confirmed, and a total of 2,562 solar systems. Scientist are also researching what exoplanets may be habitual for human beings. Such planets are usually the same or similar distance from their sun as Earth is from ours.



“This is the big question we all have: are we alone in the universe? And exoplanets confirm the suspicions that planets are not rare,” said astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson.

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Cognitive Dissonance of Believing in Peace and Condoning War

By: Alexandria Addesso

Cognitive dissonance theory describes a mental state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude changes. In many cases cognitive dissonance can be linked to anxiety and even depression. Most individuals deal with some sort of cognitive dissonance on a daily basis. Such as wanting to help the environment but driving a no eco-friendly car, smoking despite the fact that you know it is bad for you, or being against child labor despite buying items that come from such labor.

While the above examples seem to be clear, there are facets of society where cognitive dissonance seems to be completely ignored. Such as believing and even advocating for peace while condoning war. Some even go as far as defending war-making as the only viable way to achieve peace, which is a complete contradiction. In fact, if this last statement was not repeatedly used, perpetuated and accepted then politicians would not be able to justify most wars and conflicts.



Yet where is the cognitive dissonance coming into play? If war was a “necessary” evil to secure possible future peacetime is rationalized, the dissonance is usually silenced. Furthermore, when individuals do not experience the effects of war firsthand, like most living in the first world or Western countries, it becomes easy to ignore it and not let it affect you. If there is already a lax or non-existent value of human life, there is no dissonance.

But, what about the people who practice doctrines that call for peace? Christianity is based on what Jesus said and did. He submitted to all suffering, was nonviolent to all his persecutors, and emphasized the golden rule of loving your neighbor as yourself, even when your neighbor is your enemy. So how can so many people who claim to be Christians, go to church on Sundays, and read the Bible be pro-war? The way they must rationalize such beliefs definitely fulfills the cognitive dissonance theory. And other faiths that proclaim peace are no exception.



Wanting peace but condoning war is contradictory because violence only begets more violence and creates violent attitudes. What goes on inside of the head of the “peace-loving” pro-war individual? How do they sleep at night? Possibly very well, just because you want to secure peace for yourself does not mean you care about the wellbeing of others.

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Parallel Worlds

By: Alexandria Addesso

Parallel worlds and alternate universes have long been a loved theme of interest in Twilight Zone episodes and science fiction movies and literature. Like much other science fiction subject matter, parallel worlds actually do have some scientific data behind it, although many are still very skeptical.

"The idea of parallel universes in quantum mechanics has been around since 1957," said physicist at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, Howard Wiseman, who was also part of the team of physicists that came up with the ‘Many-Worlds Interpretation’ (MWI).

"In the well-known ‘Many-Worlds Interpretation’, each universe branches into a bunch of new universes every time a quantum measurement is made. All possibilities are therefore realized – in some universes the dinosaur-killing asteroid missed Earth. In others, Australia was colonized by the Portuguese."



Yet despite what the name of the name of the MWI seems to suggest, these other worlds and universes have absolutely no proven effect on our own. Thus leaving skeptical physicists all the more doubting, while many parallel world theories often get ridiculed or put on the back burner by many mainstream scientists, the String Theory is a way to make sense of multiple dimensions mathematically. The String Theory states that within the theoretical framework of the theory, point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings and describes how these strings circulate through space and interact with each other.

Superstring theory goes a step farther and attempts to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modelling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. For mathematical consistency, both theories require extra dimensions of space-time. The String Theory suggests that space-time is 26-dimensional, while superstring theory is 10-dimensional.

"You almost can't avoid having some version of the multiverse in your studies if you push deeply enough in the mathematical descriptions of the physical universe," said physicist Brian Greene who authored the book The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos.



"There are many of us thinking of one version of parallel universe theory or another. If it's all a lot of nonsense, then it's a lot of wasted effort going into this far-out idea. But if this idea is correct, it is a fantastic upheaval in our understanding."

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"Affluenza" and the Shopping Season

By: Alexandria Addesso

Ah, the holiday season. A time for sharing, gratitude, concern for your fellow man, and time spent making memories with loved ones that will last a lifetime. No wonder so many people love the holiday season, yet others can hardly even bear to endure it. The Western world has added an innovation to the holiday season that has nothing to do with a Savior or gratitude or new beginnings; shopping. Year after year the shopping season seems to start earlier and earlier. No longer are people starting their shopping at midnight on Black Friday but rather skipping out on Thanksgiving dinner all together to try and catch the sales. The sacred is out and commercialized consumerism is in, but could it be an illness that is affecting those partaking in it?

According to Wikipedia the word affluenza is a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. The symptoms of affluenza are shopping fever, chronic stress, hyper commercialism, fractured families, and global infection, not to mention the fattening of the pockets of the high-ups of corporations. The relationship between prosperity and stress is possession overload and that most prosperous countries seem also to be the most stressful.



Advertising influences our lives and buying habits by telling us we can meet our nonmaterial needs through material ends and this usually starts in childhood. Such advertising is hyper-produced during and just before the shopping season. We are a society that is preoccupied with material things at the expense of our children. Most Americans are in an immense amount of debt, as well as the country as a whole. The more material objects a family has the more space they need and the less quality time they actually spend with each other. Not to mention that holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah, which have traditions of gift giving, are turned into completely commercialized ritualism of what “I want” in disregard to what less fortunate individuals actually need.

Affluenza only widens the gap between the rich and the poor because the rich buy and easily discard items whereas the poor struggle to obtain items for their basic needs. Resource exhaustion is an almost complete depletion of resources and the only thing we can do about it is to adjust to simple living and use less. Simple and conscious living is also a cure and prevention for affluenza. Many are calling for a complete buying blackout from November 24th to January 31st, other than essential living items, as a way to protest not only consumerism but many other social injustices currently taking place.

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The Effects of the Winter Drought

By: Alexandria Addesso

Water. It is what keeps us alive as well as other animals and all vegetation. Without it the Earth as we know it would cease to exist. Although oil has been the main liquid fought over in hundreds of wars and conflicts around the world for the past century, water seems like it may be a new cause for nation to rise up against nation. There are currently 36 countries under high water stress according to the World’s Resources Institute.



Although the United States is considered to be a medium water stress country, there are currently significant droughts happening across 45 percent of the mainland of the country. There has been a record breaking drought in the state of California for nearly six years straight according to the government’s figures although it is believed to be part of a larger drought that has lasted decades. Yet, the drought period for the winter of 2016-2017 may have even more major ramifications.



The winter of 2015-2016 was an El Niño year, which is a climate cycle characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific which usually brings about cooler and wetter weather to the southern tier of the U.S. While there was slightly more rainfall last year than previous years, it was not enough to break any significant droughts, and to make matters worse the winter of 2016-2017 will be exhibiting the La Niña climate cycle which is the opposite of El Niño being that it is characterized by warmer and drier weather for the southwestern parts of the country currently experiencing the most drought.

Aside from possible water regulations that limits the regular daily use of water by individuals and corporations, the hardest hit will be irrigated land. In severe drought states such as California, irrigated land already consumes the highest percentage of water. Further restrictions on such irrigated lands, which already have to funnel water from eight other states, will definitely negatively affect the produce industry in the U.S. One can only imagine what the dry season during the summer months will bring.



So what can be done? Although the water conflicts currently between the downstream Nile River countries Egypt and Sudan, and the upstream countries which includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Southern Sudan, Rwanda and Kenya, are far more immediately alarming than anything happening in the U.S., does not mean Americans should not take action. Showering less, letting nature water your lawn, swimming in lakes, rivers, and oceans instead of filling man-made pools are all viable options. The age-old phrase “take no more than is needed” needs to be in the minds of every individual concerning the conservation of everything. The fact that Los Angeles, which is highly affected by drought, has more fountains than any other U.S. city I have ever seen is definitely alarming. The revolution must first take place in the mind.

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Did Oil Production Cause 20th Century Earthquakes in California?

By: Alexandria Addesso

The more man finds new corners to cut in terms of the environment, the more planet Earth seems to strike back with ecological karma. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction according to Newton, and we must be able to face the ramifications of our actions. For over a 150 years people have been drilling for oil, and new evidence has been uncovered concerning how it has affect the planet.

A recent study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) followed the correlation between 20th century oil extraction and earthquakes. The study focused on drilling done in the 1920s and 1930s in the County of Los Angeles that are linked to several devastating earthquakes. These earthquakes include the 1920 Inglewood earthquake, the 1929 Whittier earthquake, the 1930 earthquake in Santa Monica, and the most devastating 1933 Long Beach earthquake which had a 6.4 magnitude on the richter scale and killed 120 people.



"If you take our four-the 1920, 1929, 1930 and 1933 earthquakes out of the calculations as induced or potentially induced, it does call into question what the rate of natural earthquakes in the L.A. Basin really is," said U.S. Geological Surveyor Susan Hough. "Maybe the L.A. Basin as a geological unit is more seismically stable than we've estimated."

The U.S. Geological Survey team studied 22 earthquakes that took place during the 20th century and found that 13 of them were most likely connected to nearby “oil production activities”. The study attributed these earthquakes to “industry practices that are no longer employed (i.e., production without water reinjection), and do not necessarily imply a high likelihood of induced earthquakes at the present time." Yet, another study released last year by U.S. Geological Surveyors suggested that mid-20th century earthquakes in Oklahoma were caused by injecting wastewater into the earth to extract oil, unlike the oil production methods of the 1920s and 1930s but very similar to the fracking method used to extract oil today.



Fracking is a very controversial method of oil extraction because it can very easily taint the water supply of the surrounding area. In the past year, after much urging by environmental and civil rights groups , the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a 1,000 page document confirming "specific instances" when fracking "led to impacts on drinking water resources, including contamination of drinking water wells." With this information as well as the oil extraction connections to earthquakes, it would appear that more concern would be raised about halting such projects. Yet, neither of the U.S. Geological Surveys mentioned any concerns with the current fracking method.

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The Neurotoxicity Of Vaccines

By: Alexandria Addesso

Illness is something no one wants to suffer from. Over-the-counter, prescription drugs, and holistic treatments are vigorously sought after to alleviate the slightest form of suffering. In the past hundred years vaccinations have become commonplace when trying to combat both deadly diseases and common ailments. Yet there has been a movement against vaccinations springing up in the last two decades.

Of all vaccinations the flu shot has become the most common and the most frequently administered vaccine being that people usually get one annually at the onset of the flu season. It is well known that if a person already has a compromised immune system at the time of receiving the shot they are highly likely to become very ill. Another controversial and alarming aspect about the flu shot is the high amounts of mercury it contains. Recent lab tests conducted by the Natural News Forensic Food Lab found that seasonal flu vaccines contain 25 thousand times more mercury than is legally allowed in drinking water. Mercury is one of the most toxic metals, it is also particularly neurotoxic. Mercury is known to penetrate and damage the blood-brain barrier very rapidly, leading to a dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier system. Women who are pregnant are usually told to abstain from seafood due to it containing mercury, yet they are encouraged to receive a flu shot as well as other high-risk groups such as children and the elderly.



The flu shot is not the only vaccination known to be neurotoxic, nearly all the vaccines we often push on newborns and infants are. For quite some time autism has been seen to be directly linked to newborn and infantile vaccinations, yet many try to argue the opposite despite autism being almost completely unheard of before mass vaccination programs were initiated in Western nations.

"Dyslexia, minimal brain damage, ADD, autism, allergies, visual and many other neurologic diseases grouped together as ‘developmental disabilities, ’barely existed before mass vaccination programs,” said Dr. Ted Koren. “Probably twenty percent of American children, one youngster in five-suffers from, a 'developmental disability.' This is a stupefying figure developmental disabilities are nearly always generated by encephalitis. And the primary cause of encephalitis in the United States and other industrialized countries is the childhood vaccination program.”

What is most alarming about the childhood vaccination program is that it is a major requirement for public schooling, only sometimes avoided by citing religious belief. A quick Google search can uncover a stories of parents telling stories of how their babies had febrile seizure right after inoculations, some numerous times. Yet their first-hand accounts, either go unheard or purposely silenced. Their previously healthy babies having life-long neurological disorders afterwards.



As people we cannot submit to the state’s demands simply because we are threatened. The youth or other high-risk groups can no longer be a sacrificial offering. Stay curious
and keep questioning everything.

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Your Birth Certificate and How It Affects You

By: Alexandria Addesso

In this maximum data-collecting world it seems almost normal to have everything concerning our lives, in written documents. From when we are born until we die many facets of our lives are documented and filed away either in internet databases or old filing cabinets. But how often do we question why?

All children born in the United States, as well as in many other countries, are given birth certificates. They are needed to register for school, driver’s license, and many other things. But in reality is a document verifying that someone was born necessary when that person is standing in front of you? Most people do not question the necessity of their birth certificates, but things can get hazy for the few that do.

If you are one of the rare individuals that still have the “original” birth certificate given to your mother after birth you may see that it is marked “copy”. The true original is kept in Washington, DC with all other official records. If you look closely at your copy of your birth certificate you can find a red six-digit serial number as well as the “American Bank Note Company” seal. Upon further inspection, you may also notice that the paper used for your birth certificate is bank note paper. Why?



In 1913 the Federal Reserve Act was put into effect thus creating a centralized bank, the Federal Reserve. After 20 years of borrowing from the Federal Reserve the government had become so bankrupt that then president Frederick Delano Roosevelt, used the only form of capital as collateral he had left, U.S. citizens. This is why birth certificates and naturalization forms are kept by the government, they guarantee on average about $650,000 - $750,000 of tax revenue during the lifetime of every citizen.

They will be stripped of their rights and given a commercial value designed to make us a profit and they will be none the wiser, for not one man in a million could ever figure our plans and, if by accident one or two should figure it out, we have in our arsenal plausible deniability,” said American diplomat and presidential advisor Edward Mandell House in a letter to Woodrow Wilson.



So now that you are in the know, what can you do? Lose your name. Being that your legal name is what is registered with the Federal Reserve, if you choose no longer to use it you owe nothing. This does not mean you should legally change your name, because then your new name will just be registered as well. To truly break the chains you must completely cut ties with any function that requires the use of your legal name, which is a lot harder than it sounds but not impossible. Your life is truly yours only if you claim it, or else someone else will.

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