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Octopuses Can Defy Their Genetic Instructions – And It’s Slowed Down Their Evolution

By: , Posted on: June 1, 2017

Are octopuses so clever because they ignore their genetic programming? Research has shown that octopuses and other cephalopods edit the messages sent from their DNA instead of following them almost exactly like most living things usually do.

Previously, scientists thought this process of molecular Chinese whispers was largely insignificant in animal evolution. But a new study published in the journal Cell shows this is certainly not true for these tentacled ocean dwellers.

It suggests that genetic editing may directly contribute to cephalopods’ remarkable intelligence, which enables them to solve complicated puzzles and visually communicate by changing their skin colour, making them the smartest of all invertebrates. However, the ability to alter genetic messages may come at a price, potentially reducing other more common forms of adaptive evolution.

DNA is the blueprint of life. This genetic instruction manual is written in a four-letter language and describes how to build all the different proteins an organism can construct. To synthesise a particular protein, an enzyme first transcribes the recipe from DNA into a message in a similar molecule called RNA. Part of this message is eventually translated into chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

Doryteuthis pealeii Roger Hanlon, Marine Biological Laboratory

For most organisms, including humans, the whole process of protein synthesis remains remarkably faithful to the original instructions laid out in the DNA. This premise has underpinned much of our understanding of genetics since we discovered that genetic information is stored as DNA. But recent research has shown that octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish do not always follow their genetic instructions to the letter.

After the RNA message is copied accurately from the DNA, it can be altered in a process called RNA editing. This edited message then produces proteins that also have modifications. RNA editing was first described in 1986 by researchers studying single-celled parasites closely related to the microbe responsible for causing sleeping sickness.

Sepia officinalis Roger Hanlon, Marine Biological Laboratory

Since then, RNA editing has been seen as relatively unimportant in animals. Humans, for example, have only a handful of RNA editing sites in their protein coding sequences. What’s more, the changes from RNA editing we knew about were thought to have little effect, and very few of them were shared across groups of closely related species, including mammals.

However, in the remarkably intelligent squid, RNA editing affects most genes associated with the nervous system. This suggests that, in certain groups of organisms, the practice may play an important role. By comparing how often RNA editing occurs within the cephalopod family, the new study identified when in evolutionary history this ability to alter genetic messages appeared.

The researchers showed that widespread RNA editing evolved in the common ancestor of the exceptional behaviourally sophisticated octopuses, squid and cuttlefish. And that it is lacking in the relatively simple-minded nautilus, a more distant relative. Because neural proteins exhibit some of the most intensive RNA editing, the researchers suggest that this process may contribute to cephalopods’ remarkable intelligence.

RNA editing is thought to give cephalopods an evolutionary advantage by increasing the variation in the proteins they produce. This enables them to rapidly adapt to changing environments. For example, we know RNA editing allows octopuses to deal with dramatic changes in temperature and so survive in frigid polar waters.

But this recent study also suggests that there may be a trade-off between this ability to adapt quickly and the long-term process of Darwinian DNA evolution.

RNA editing is performed by an enzyme, and this enzyme requires a specific target site written into the genetic code. This long stretch of molecules surrounds the point in the RNA message that needs editing. Any mutation in this target marker will disrupt the whole process, and the enzyme will no longer be able to edit the RNA message. To avoid this, cephalopods have evolved DNA that is less likely to mutate.

Octopus bimaculoides Tom Kleindinst, Marine Biological Laboratory

However, mutation is the basis for conventional molecular DNA evolution and is needed to permanently change the code for a protein in a way that improves its function. So the prevalence of RNA editing in cephalopods appears to have substantially limited its potential for adaptive DNA evolution. This pattern may go some way towards explaining why this process is not more prevalent across the animal kingdom.

The widespread use of RNA editing in cephalopods means we may have to rethink our understanding of its importance in nature. In the case of cephalopods, the ink the DNA instructions are written in appears to be less permanent than we originally thought.

If you found this article interesting, you may be interested in browsing more content on ScienceDirect. We are pleased to offer you a free article from the Reference Module in Life Sciences called “Gene Networks Driving Development, Conservation and Evolution of.

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Somewhere Else VR - VR Age of Experience
VR Storytelling : The Age of AX
Christophe Mallet VR
Christophe Mallet VR Creative Strategist & Producer at SomewhereElse

VR has already made walking on a plank of wood in your living room a true act of bravery, it has allowed you to live in a Van Gogh painting, it has put you in the shoes of a secret agent … and that’s just the beginning!

Yet, most VR campaigns still consist in a static shot taken in a middle of a group of dancers or a 3 minute take from a car, surfboard, skis or a drone…basically concepts written for video and shot in 360 because “you can turn your head around”. Those experiences might work with VR 1st-timers but will then quickly find their place on the Gimmick shelf, somewhere between the ‘annoying’ , ‘neck-breaking’ and ‘yawn’ sections…

VR is not a new tech, it’s a new medium entirely. It’s opening a whole new world for storytellers. Beyond immersiveness, VR has the power to build memories, cure phobias, increase charity donations and even decrease subconscious racism bias.

Let’s look at what it means to tell stories in VR.

1. Welcome to the story-world

At heart, VR is the ultimate make-believe medium. The VR creator’s primary job is to create a 360 world, consistent enough to give an illusion of reality. He will then drop narrative items in this world: objects, characters, dialogues, visual and audio clues and a sense of passing time. All of this is created with one thing in mind: someone is going to be dropped in the middle of that reality, and, from that point on, will build whatever story they want… In VR, there’s no frame. Each shot is just a different set of time/space coordinates in a living and breathing world. We’re entering the era of story-world building and it requires a whole new creative toolbox.

AX stands for Audience Experience. As the seminal Storyteller’s Guide to VR puts it: “VR Storytellers have to become AX designers, focusing not on the linear impact of the storyline but on how individuals will inhabit the scripted reality created for them. Successful AX designers will have to learn how to juggle the emotional, cognitive and physical dimensions of their experience.”

2. Chapter One

VR, as a storytelling medium, is very young compared to his cousins cinema and video games. The book of AX is collectively being written by VR creators around the world. Look at Notes on Blindness or Ctrl. Those are powerful experiences that are truly VR-native in the way they were written.

Witnessing the birth of a new medium, especially one that wants to sublimate reality by re-creating the exact ways in which it works, is fascinating.

VR opens up a universe of story-worlds and VR creators have started exploring in all directions. Truly transformative experiences are in the making, stay tuned.

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Moons of solar system v7

Notable moons of the Solar System

Most of the moons pictured above have enough mass and gravity to be spheroid and capable of being terraformed or paraterraformed. To see the picture at full scale CLICK on the image.

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Blueprint for the Profession

As the profession of respiratory therapy in Canada and the CSRT celebrates 50 years of existence, the nature of the roles and responsibilities of the practicing respiratory therapist continues to evolve. The challenges and opportunities practitioners across Canada face today are significantly different than they were a half century ago. In order to maintain the highest levels of patient care the profession will continue its evolution in response to multiple pressures, including: funding models, patient needs, new technology and demographic change.

The purpose of the Blueprint is to provide a framework in which future policy directions for the profession can be developed such that they remain aligned with the health needs of the Canadian population. This document will serve as a valuable resource for CSRT and its collaborators when considering the future strategic directions of the profession.

The Blueprint consists of a series of nine foundational pillars. The pillars are broad statements which are bolstered by supporting statements; these refer to more specific drivers or actions that support the realization of the above principles. The Blueprint is titled on a fundamental principle: “Respiratory therapy: dedicated to optimal cardio-respiratory health and wellness”


fNotice :

From the Autism Speaks website:
What is Autism?

What is Autism?

How common is Autism?

From the Autism Speaks Website:

How is Autism Diagnosed
DSM-IV Criteria for a Diagnosis of Autism
Frequently Asked Questions About The Diagnosis of Autism

How is Autism Diagnosed?

Social Symptoms
Communication Difficulties
Repetitive Behaviors
Physical and Medical Issues that may Accompany Autism

Autism affects the way a child perceives the world and makes communication and social interaction difficult. The child may also have repetitive behaviors or intense interests. Symptoms, and their severity, are different for each of the affected areas – Communication, Social Interaction, and Repetitive Behaviors. A child may not have the same symptoms and may seem very different from another child with the same diagnosis. It is sometimes said, that if you know one person with autism; you know one person with autism.

The symptoms of autism typically last throughout a person’s lifetime. A mildly affected person might seem merely quirky and lead a typical life. A severely affected person might be unable to speak or care for himself. Early intervention can make extraordinary differences in a child’s development. How a child is functioning now may be very different from how he or she will function later on in life.

The following information – about the social symptoms, communication disorders and repetitive behaviors associated with autism – is taken from the National Institute of Mental Health Website.

Social Symptoms

By contrast, most children with autism seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in the give-and-take of everyday human interactions. Even in the first year of life, many do not interact and avoid eye contact in a normal way. They may seem indifferent to other people, and prefer being alone. They may resist attention or passively accept hugs and cuddling. Later, they may fail to seek comfort or respond to parents’ displays of anger or affection in a typical way. Research has suggested that although children with autism are attached to their parents, their expression of this attachment is unusual and difficult to “read”. To parents, it may seem as if their child is not connected at all. Parents who looked forward to the joys of cuddling, teaching and playing with their child may feel crushed by this lack of the expected and typical attachment behavior.

Children with autism also are slower in learning to interpret what others are thinking and feeling. Subtle social cures such as a smile, a wave, or a grimace-may have little meaning to a child with autism. To a child who misses these cues, “Come here” may always mean the same thing, whether the speaker is smiling and extending her arms for a hug or frowning and planting her fists on her hips. Without the ability to interpret gestures and facial expressions, the social world may seem bewildering. To compound the problem, people with autism have difficulty seeing things from another person’s perspective. Most five year olds understand that other people have different thoughts, feelings, and goals than they have. A child with autism may lack such understanding. This inability leaves them unable to predict or understand other people’s actions.

Although not universal, it is common for people with autism to have difficulty regulating their emotions. This can take the form of “immature” behavior such as crying in class or verbal outbursts that seem inappropriate to those around them. Sometimes they may be disruptive and physically aggressive, making social relationships even more difficult. They have a tendency to “lose control”, particularly when they’re in a strange or overwhelming environment, or when angry or frustrated. At times, they may break things, attack others or hurt themselves. In their frustration, some bang their heads, pull their hair or bite their arms.

Communication Difficulties

Some people with autism remain mute throughout their lives; although the majority develops spoken language and all eventually learn to communicate in some way. Some infants who later show signs of autism “coo” and babble during the first few months of life, but they stop. Others may be delayed, developing language as late as age five to nine. Some children may learn to use communication systems such as pictures of sign language.

While it can be challenging for others to understand what children with autism are less able to say, their body language may also be difficult to understand. Facial expressions, movements, and gestures may not match what they are saying. Also their tone of voice may fail to reflect their feelings. They may use a high-pitched, sing-song, or flat, robot-like voice. Some children with relatively good language skills speak like little adults, failing to pick up on the “kid-speak” that is common in their peers. Without meaningful gestures or the language to ask for things, people with autism are less able to let others know what they need. As a result, they may simply scream or grab what they want. Until they are taught better ways to express their needs, children with autism do whatever they can to get through to others. As they grow up, they can become increasingly aware of their difficulties in understanding others and in being understood. As a result, they are at greater risk of becoming anxious or depressed.

Repetitive Behaviors

Although children with autism usually appear physically normal, odd repetitive motions may set them apart from other children. These behaviors might be extreme and highly apparent or more subtle. Some children and older individuals repeatedly flap their arms or walk on their toes. Some suddenly freeze in a position.

As children, individuals with autism might spend hours lining up their cars and trains in a certain way, rather than using them for pretend play. If someone moves one of the toys, the children may be tremendously upset. Many children with autism need, and demand, absolute consistency in their environment. A slight change in routines, such as mealtimes, dressing, taking a bath, and going to school at a certain time or by the same route, can be extremely stressful.

Repetitive behavior sometimes takes the form of a persistent, intense preoccupation. These strong interests may be unusual because of their content (e.g. Being interested in fans or toilets) or because of the intensity of the interest (e.g. knowing much more detailed information about Thomas the Tank Engine than peers). For example, a child with autism might be obsessed with learning all about vacuum cleaners, train schedules, or lighthouses. Often older children with autism have a great interest in numbers/letters, symbols, dates or science topics.

Physical and Medical Issues that may Accompany Autism

Seizure Disorders
Seizure Disorder, also called Epilepsy, occurs in as many as 39% of people with autism. It is more common in children who also have cognitive deficits than those without. Some researchers have suggested that it is more common when the child has shown a regression or loss of skills.

The seizures associated with autism usually start either early in childhood or during adolescence, but may occur at any time. If there is a concern that a child may be having seizures, a referral to a neurologist is recommended. The neurologist may order tests which may include an EEG, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), CT (Computed Axial Tomography) and a CBC (Complete Blood Count).

Children and adults with epilepsy are typically treated with anticonvulsant or seizure medicines to reduce or eliminate occurrence. If a child has epilepsy, it is important to work closely with a neurologist to find the medicine that works the best with the fewest side effects and to learn the best ways to ensure a child’s safety during a seizure.

Genetic Disorders
A small number of children with autism may also have an identifiable neurogenetic condition such as Fragile X Syndrome, Angelman’s Syndrome, a neurocutaneous disorder called Tuberous Sclerosis, Chromosome 15 Duplication Syndrome or another chromosomal abnormality.

If a child has clinical features, such as a family history or physical symptoms, that are characteristic of one of these disorders, a pediatrician may order tests or may refer a family to a developmental pediatrician, a geneticist and/or a child neurologist for testing. The chance of having one of these abnormalities is a little higher if the child also has cognitive deficits or mental retardation. It is also higher if the child has certain physical features that are characteristic of a given syndrome.

While none of these conditions is curable, it is important to know if a child has one of these syndromes because there may be other medical issues that go along with some of them. Having a known genetic cause for autism may also change your risk of having another child with autism.

Gastrointestinal Disorders
Many parents report gastrointestinal (GI) problems in their children with autism. The exact number of children with both gastrointestinal issues such as gastritis, chronic constipation, colitis, celiac disease and esophagitis and autism is unknown. Surveys have suggested that between 46 and 85% of children with autism have problems such as chronic constipation or diarrhea.

One recent study identified a history of gastrointestinal symptoms (such as abnormal pattern of bowl movements, frequent constipation, frequent vomiting, and frequent abdominal pain) in 70% of the children with autism, compared with 42% of children with other developmental disabilities and 28% of children without developmental disabilities.

If a child has symptoms such as chronic or recurrent abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation, a consult with a gastroenterologist (preferably one that works with people with autism) is recommended. Sometimes the child’s physician may be able to help find an appropriate specialist. Pain caused by GI issues is sometimes recognized because of a change in a child’s behavior, such as an increase in self soothing, behaviors such as rocking or outbursts of aggression or self-injury. Bear in mind that a child may not have the language skills to communicate pain caused by GI issues. Treating GI problems may result in improvement in a child’s behavior.

A popular dietary intervention for GI issues includes the elimination of dairy and gluten containing foods. As with any treatment it is best to consult the child’s physician to develop a comprehensive plan. In February 2007, Autism Speaks initiated a campaign to inform pediatricians about the diagnosis and treatment of GI problems associated with autism. For additional information that can be shared with a child’s doctor, please click here.

Sleep Dysfunction
Sleep problems are common in children and adolescents with autism. Having a child with sleep problems can affect the whole family. It can also have an impact on the ability of a child to benefit from therapy. Sometimes sleep issues may be caused by medical issues such as obstructive sleep apnea or gastroesophageal reflux and addressing the medical issues may solve the problem. In other cases, when there is no medical cause, sleep issues may be managed with behavioral interventions including “sleep-hygiene” measures such as limiting the amount of sleep during the day, and establishing regular bedtime routines. There is some evidence of abnormality of
melatonin regulation in children with autism. While melatonin may be effective for improving the ability of children with autism to fall asleep, more study is needed. Melatonin or sleep aids of any kind should not be given without first consulting with the
child’s physician.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction

SIDs can involve hypersensitivity, also known as sensory defensiveness, or hyposensitivity. An example of hypersensitivity would be the inability to tolerate wearing clothing, being touched, or being in a room with normal lighting. Hyposensitivity might be apparent in a child’s increased tolerance of pain or a constant need for sensory stimulation. Treatment for Sensory Integration Dysfunction is usually addressed with occupational therapy and/or sensory integration therapy.


*Note: I am skipping Debate Tuesday this week. And I missed Sunday Dinner. Apologies. It’s the end of semester, and life and parental duties collided over the past week. The collateral damage is contained. I wrote this last week, and was at a loss as to where it fit in, so I thought I would share…Enjoy! 🙂

Weird Observation 2 – The Truth Brigade.     Copyright© T. Riggs 2016

I survived a decade from about the mid-nineties to the mid-2000’s where literally everything was being questioned.

Books came out that told us that we had been lied to in our school history books, et al.

We were told things like “George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree or told his mother he couldn’t tell a lie.” But, if you read the book and/or article, it said, “There is no recorded evidence of the event ever actually occurring. Therefore, it never happened.”

Yes. You read that right.

A logical fallacy led a whole truth brigade against the onslaught of what they deemed the establishment’s conspiracy to… to what?

To unite our country under a common belief system, grounded in a respect and admiration for our founding fathers? It was a harmless, cute, family story. Truth? Who cares?

I tell family stories all the time. About my brothers and sisters. I retell tales that my father told me about his family members. All of them are true, or as true as we are able to remember them. But, they are not written down. Not yet at least. How do we know that George Washington didn’t chop down the cherry tree, unless his mother saw fit, in a journal to say, “George never learned how to use an axe”?

I’ve noticed a trend lately. It’s not a new trend. It is still the truth brigade of old, but the focus is new.

I buy cage-free and/or free-range eggs, just as a lot of left-leaning liberal types do that want to change the world. But as a moderate, I do so for very practical and sane reasons.

It is really easy to raise chickens.

I have taken care of chickens, helped raise them, fed them, saw my father butcher them and my mother strip them of their feathers, cut them up and cook them. They are food with legs. And, from experience, they aren’t very smart.

From the time I was 3 until almost 5 years old, it was my job to go out and gather eggs in the morning.

I have a few vivid memories of sneaking into the chicken coop just before dawn, and reaching my little hand under the sleeping hens’ warm, soft, feathered bottoms to take eggs and place them carefully into my basket. I also remember, after giving my mother the eggs, running back to the chicken yard later to chase the hens around after they awoke. (Hey, I was a kid. Don’t judge.)

It is really easy to raise chickens. Even a 4 year old can do it.

You don’t have to put them in cages and leave them their entire life to get what you need from them. Even though it never really ends well for the chickens, I say, why not let them live and breathe the air, and enjoy some sunshine? It’s a win, win.

Lately though, I have been seeing articles pass through my newsfeeds that say, “Is cage-free really humane?” and “What is cage-free? Does it mean, ‘free’?” Basically, these stories attempt to question the practice of cage-free, and free-range.

On the one hand, I can appreciate that the writers may be informing consumers that some companies are barely meeting the minimum USDA requirements. On the other hand, the rogue neuron in my brain that loves a good conspiracy theory think it’s the large chicken producers that are feeding the information to the public to help justify their atrocious practices. (The ‘I know you are, but what am I?’ argument, just more subtle… and calculated.)

What were those statistics of people who only read the headlines? Eighty-something percent?

Really though, it’s probably just human nature.

We question, we ponder, we think… especially when we are bored. And if I could describe the current society today, it is through boredom. How else could you explain trawling through hours of twitter feed and Facebook updates on a daily basis? (Or blogging, lol.)

But this tendency to think when we are at a stop is not always productive.

And I think we, as a society, know that now… but in a more subtle sense.

The new word of the year was “post-truth” to be added to the dictionary. We are sick of ‘truths’, of ‘facts’, and now prefer emotionally charged messages that are neither truthful nor factual.

What a strange world.

I guess we can start telling the cherry tree story again? And I can just stop reading news articles. All I need to know will be in the headlines, right?


Your Body and the Stars: The Zodiac as Your Wellness Guide

by Stephanie Marango and Rebecca Gordon

The you that you see in the mirror is a body borne of millions of years of anatomical evolution—a head, a torso, arms, legs, and more that define our species. But what about the rest of you? The parts of you that are not visible or tangible but that define you to your very core? (And by core we mean more than your abdomen!) These bits and pieces of your body are so much more than physical form: they are the living, breathing embodiment of your hopes and fears, strengths and susceptibilities, dreams and disappointments.

Civilizations throughout history have looked to the stars to empower our understanding of ourselves and our world. For aeons, our ancestors saw no distinction between earth and heaven, the natural and the divine; the stars were reflected within the regions of the body and, correspondingly, offered an insightful guide to life’s inner workings. Let’s look at our hands as an example: You likely see two functional appendages, while our ancient Greek predecessors looked at their hands and saw a gift from the gods—a gift from Zeus, ruler of the gods, to be exact. This gift was in the form of twin sons, known in Latin as Gemini, represented as a constellation of stars the sun passes through every year (May 21–June 20).

The study of this relationship (between heaven and earth, celestial bodies, and human affairs) became the study of astrology. It is a mathematical art and science that developed out of people’s daily observations and experiences for thousands of years. And as illustrated by the Gemini myth above, our ancestors believed that the physical and nonphysical worlds were united, that ancient gods pervaded, animated, and informed the earthly world.

Without our modern, scientific knowledge, their surroundings—and the wisdom derived from them—were poetry. Storms were not the result of fluctuating meteorological conditions, but the outcome of mighty clashes between the gods. Earth did not arise through a happenstance combination of gases, but was born from the womb of a great Mother. Love was not an activation of dopamine-rich areas of the brain, but a shot from Cupid’s bow. There was no distinction between matter and spirit, nature and divine. Gods regularly influenced, and were influenced by, earthly affairs—and there was no greater place to witness the workings of these divinities than the night sky.

On a clear and dark night, a couple thousand stars may be visible to the naked eye. To the trained eye, these stars combine to form twelve constellations, each with its own story and sign. These twelve constellations lie along the sun’s path, known as the ecliptic plane, forming a starry belt called the zodiac. In principle, the sun travels through one constellation a month, working its way through the entire zodiac in a year. (Since the sun is not actually moving, its apparent path is the trajectory it appears to make in the sky, based on the vantage point of an observer viewing the sun from Earth, which rotates as it orbits the sun.)

According to the IAU’s updated requirements for planet status, eight planets currently exist. That said, astrology counts eleven, including Pluto (plus additional objects like the Sun and Moon—the luminaries—which are not planets, per se, but exert a similar effect).

Each planet represents a dimension of your character. For example, Mars represents action, a powerful force that helps drive you toward your goal whether during a marathon or an argument. Venus, in contrast, characterizes you as a lover and underscores the qualities that attract you to your partner from the get-go. All the planets are present throughout your birth chart.

If the planets function like actors on your living stage, think of the signs as roles that the planets play as they travel through the zodiac. There are twelve zodiac signs of 30 degrees each, equally dividing the 360-degree celestial sphere. And while your sun sign might be the most prominent, all twelve signs live and express themselves within you.

As a planet travels through each of the zodiac signs, it is influenced by each sign’s distinct characteristics. For example: Gemini’s role is communication. When the planet Mars is traveling in Gemini, he brings his trademark style of action into the realm of communication; he might therefore become a verbal powerhouse, aggressively advancing his cause in a way that would make any debate team proud. On the other hand, Venus traveling in Gemini is a charming orator, expressing her message with the grace and ease that befits a beauty pageant queen.

With its complexity, astrology becomes much more than pop culture prediction or predestination. The original intent behind astrology was to optimize the human condition by drawing the connection between the planets and the stars to life on Earth, to use the language of the sky to learn from the past and make the most of the present and future. Throughout time, astrologers have used astrological information for a variety of purposes, including informing important political decisions, forecasting weather patterns, fortuitously timing events, and caring for one’s health. In other words, astrology has been used to answer why, when, and how versus what. And the same holds true today: each horoscope may function like a self-help guide, a way of understanding your true self and living it accordingly.

Excerpted with permission from Your Body and the Stars, © 2016 by Stephanie Marango and Rebecca Gordon.


Is Postpartum Depression a Public Health Crisis?

In the Minds of Mothers: How Mental Health Impacts Mothers Worldwide

A Q + A between Christy Turlington Burns and Dr. Jessica Zucker

I met Dr. Jessica Zucker in the spring of 2011. She is a clinical psychologist whose practice specializes in women’s reproductive and maternal mental health in Los Angeles. Dr. Zucker has a background in international public health and is passionate about reproductive issues facing women globally. In her practice she weaves together her global health experience with her clinical skills as she assesses and treats perinatal mood disorders and other mental health challenges women face during the process of pregnancy and beyond. Jessica writes and lectures extensively on these issues. She has worked in developing countries (i.e. Africa, Nepal, India) and so I asked her about PPD in those regions where she worked.

Christy Turlington Burns: Jessica, while there has been some progress around the de-stigmatization of PPD here in the U.S. it seems to not even be on the radar in many developing countries I have visited. It can’t be that we think it doesn’t exist, but why are we not addressing maternal mental health like the pandemic it clearly is?

Dr. Jessica Zucker: Perinatal mood disorders have been named the most common complication associated with childbirth. Postpartum depression is indeed a public health crisis. What we know is that in the United States, 15–20 percent of new mothers, or approximately 1 million women each year, experience perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. What we don’t know is how widespread postpartum depression is in the developing world.

Unfortunately, data has not been collected in a consistent way on maternal mental health related issues in developing countries. After doing extensive research and talking with colleagues in the public health arena as well as within the psychology community, my hunch is that mental health issues are not addressed given the various other challenges being juggled that are more immediate — basic needs such as food, shelter, and maternal and infant mortality.

My longtime concern, however, is that we have not widened the global health conversation to include the mental wellbeing of mothers and her offspring. If a mother isn’t thriving psychologically, her baby experiences the ramifications. Consequently, the child may not have the opportunity to form a solid foundation of relational attachment, trust, or emotional connectivity. The mental health of the mother invariably impacts the family, the community, and culture at large.

Christy Turlington Burns: We often talk about the upside of the global maternal mortality tragedy as being the fact that pregnancy and childbirth are not diseases. We are not waiting for a cure and there is no single silver bullet. But mental health is a disease and there are effective treatments out there. Do we really understand the relationship between pregnancy and mental health?

Dr. Jessica Zucker: Culture’s impact on how women talk about their mental health in new motherhood is noteworthy. Though postpartum depression is discussed, reported, assessed, and treated, the stigma and confusion around embracing one’s difficult feelings as a nascent mother is of grave concern. Coming to terms with feelings of ambivalence, anger, anxiety, grief, or outright misery — a sampling of some of the feelings that can accompany postpartum depression — at the exact moment you are attempting to navigate a new identity, a relationship with your newborn, and a shifting experience with your partner can feel earth shattering.

Women are ashamed and shocked by feeling the antithesis of what they thought they might feel upon becoming a mother.

With a newborn reliant on the mother for care, consistency, and nurturance, the pressure for women to feel fortified and present in their newfound role as mother is that much more pressing. Knowing this and feeling able to do this are two very different things, especially when suffering from postpartum depression. Women report blaming themselves, feeling like “failures”, worrying they are “bad” mothers, sequestering the depth and range of labile feelings, all the while gritting their teeth, getting from one day to the next hoping sunrise will yield a metamorphosis of their maternal landscape.

Unfortunately, hope and time do not squash the hardship that is postpartum depression.

In fact, left untreated perinatal mood disorders can be insidious and intractable. The stigma remains steadfast in this country and many others, even though there are resources available to women suffering.

Mood disorders during and after pregnancy can affect any woman, regardless of age, income, culture, or education. We understand that there are risk factors for postpartum depression that can be addressed during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. We know that postpartum depression is a temporary illness that is fully treatable with professional help. Frequently in the context of my clinical work I hear the question, “Why didn’t anyone tell me motherhood was going to be this hard?” Our culture is wedded to upholding the “glowing” new mother as an idyllic icon. This Super Woman image leaves millions of women feeling that much more isolated and stymied by the reality of parenthood, particularly when she is deluged by the symptoms that pervade postpartum depression.

Christy Turlington Burns: There has been a lot of media attention around the dangers of drugs used to treat mental illness on the fetus. Where do you think this information puts women?

Dr. Jessica Zucker: In an article I wrote for your vital organization Every Mother Counts titled “Considerations of Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period” I explored the complexities involved in this media discussion. The issue is not black or white. From a clinical perspective, I witness countless women struggling with this very quandary — to be or not to be on medication during pregnancy and/or while breastfeeding. I’m less inclined to choose a side in this debate, but rather support women in making informed choices that are the most advantageous for them and their burgeoning families. Given all that we know from the attachment literature, it is quite clear that the mental state of the mother directly shapes the evolving worldview of the infant. A child comes to understand the building blocks of connection — trust, love, and relationships — through the caregivers’ responsiveness and attunement.

When a mothers’ mental welfare is compromised she is less likely to have the wherewithal to meet the everyday challenges and nuanced needs that parenthood requires. The informational debate all too often leaves women who are suffering with a perinatal mood disorder feeling unsupported, under-resourced, misunderstood, terrified, or self-blaming. Medication during pregnancy needs to be gracefully thought through on a case-by-case basis, weighing the costs and benefits for the mother and developing fetus/baby.

Christy Turlington Burns: What should all women considering becoming mothers know about maternal mental health?

Dr. Jessica Zucker: The experience of motherhood is not one-size-fits-all. The emotional spectrum is wide and varied — ranging from immensely gratifying, deeply challenging, and everything in between. What all women considering becoming mothers should know about maternal mental health is that anything you might feel during your journey throughout motherhood, others have felt. You are not alone. Speaking up and asking for help reveals strength of character and courage — two core ingredients that we should all aspire to model for our children. I often ask my patients the following question, “If your young daughter came to you and shared that she was struggling emotionally with something, how might you respond?” Unequivocally the pregnant or parenting mother sighs with relief and says something like, “I would probably embrace her and let her know that I will help her navigate through the difficulties she is facing. I would praise her for identifying the issue and talking about it openly with me.” The next layer of inquiry is inevitably about how important it is that we explore the layered answers to why it can feel nearly impossible to advocate for ourselves the way we are certain we would do for our children.

Being the role model we hoped we had or were fortunate enough to have had is always possible. Striving for perfection is an impossible conundrum that results in feelings of deflation, ineptitude, and isolation. Our children do not need perfect mothers. They need a “good enough” mother who is wise enough to know when something is emotionally astray and takes action on her own behalf. Women need to be tender with themselves as they enter into uncharted territory — learning about and getting accustomed to their new identity in motherhood.

Christy Turlington Burns: I like that as bottom-line advice — Women need to be tender with themselves. Imagine a world where mothers take as good care of themselves as they do their children and a world where mothers are so supported they’re able to do that. That’s the world we all need to create because our children, families and communities are depending on us.

This article was originally featured on The Huffington Post.
Follow Christy Turlington Burns on Twitter: @CTurlington
Follow Dr. Jessica Zucker on Twitter: @DrZucker

Jessica Zucker, Ph.D. is a Los Angeles based psychologist specializing in women’s reproductive and maternal mental health. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and elsewhere. She is the creator of the viral #IHadAMiscarriage hashtag campaign that she kicked off with her first New York Times piece in 2014 and launched a line of pregnancy loss cards in October 2015 in honor of Pregnancy/Baby Loss Awareness Month: shop.drjessicazucker.com. Find her online: www.drjessicazucker.com.

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I’m enjoying a new author, Jennifer Ashley, and the first book of her Shifters Unbound series, Pride Mates. It’s light and airy, mostly, and the perfect antidote to the marvelous but depressingly heavy Robin Hobb trilogy I just finished. But even when an author colors inside the lines of the paranormal fantasy genre, as Ms. Ashley does (and this is not at all a criticism, I read these books with a certain expectation of knowing what to expect), there is a depth to the best of the genre that transcends the stereotypes of strong, independent women, hot alpha males, hotter sex, and inevitable HEAs. In this case, Ms. Ashley writes about beautiful people, who happen also to change into feline and lupine alter egos (or alter bodies, really), and the decidedly not beautiful consequences of prejudice that attend their ability to transform.

Ms. Ashley is not the first to explore the ugly underbelly of human hatred and the small mindedness of judgment before the fact attendant to the “other” in our society. Charlaine Harris explores the consequences of racial discrimination against the newly revealed vampires living among humans and what happens when vampires “come out of the coffin.”  The inimitable Laurell Hamilton writes movingly about the prejudice experienced by those unfortunates who have been stricken with lycanthropy (the disease that causes a human to shift into a beast), and who now have no option but to let their animal natures out to play, and maybe to kill. Patricia Briggs expounds on the systematic internment of the Fae into mandatory reservations and the consequences of that decision by the federal government against an element of the population. Lilo Abernathy investigates, as a central theme of her Bluebell Kildare series, the civil unrest that occurs as a result of the antipathy between “norms,” or non-magical humans, and their Gifted counterparts.

In each of these cases, the author explores the universal human need to identify a group, “them,” for the sole purpose of more clearly defining “us.” What a shame and a waste. But we humans do it again and again. That which is not “us” is, by definition, “them.” Those who are “them” are, by extension and necessity, evil or, at a minimum, worse than “us.” They are who we use to make us look and feel better about ourselves.

Are we hard-wired to hate? It seems so. Hatred of the other, which I’ve written about before, gives us unity, camaraderie, and a sense of shared purpose. It makes us feel like we belong—but it is a perversion of fellowship and community, not an authentic expression of fellowship. This phenomenon of human existence also serves to help some of us feel superior to others. We do this in a bizarre and seemingly nonsensical way (as if prejudice could ever have any basis in logic or reality, which makes makes sense in a twisted way, if you know what I mean).

In all of these distasteful scenarios, and quite explicitly in the world of Shifters Unbound, the non-human, supernatural beings are considered less than human. These are not beings with full rights because they are not considered full persons. They, like American slaves, along with Jews, gypsies and homosexuals in Nazi Germany before them, are fractional people, so that more than one is needed to make a whole. What a concept. Personally, I have trouble wrapping my mind around it, which is a good thing and I won’t expend too much effort trying. It’s not clear to me how someone or more than one someone, can look at a living, breathing entity in front of them who has two eyes, ears, arms and legs just like they do, whose faces form smiles and frowns and whose voices speak truth and beauty just like theirs do, and see them as less than human.

As you know, I love the world of paranormal fiction because it allows authors to explore ideas and philosophies in an exaggerated way to make their points. In Jennifer Ashley’s world, shifters are herded into ghettos called Shiftertowns in different cities. These are analogous to internment and refugee camps or Native American reservations. After all, we need to keep them contained and accountable. If they are all forced to live in one place, we’ll know where to find them, won’t we? And then we’ll be able to control them, and isn’t that what this little exercise in fear and prejudice is all about?  This way of thinking is very warped, but seems to be prevalent, nonetheless. In Pride Mates, not only are shifters forced to live in Shiftertowns, they are also forced to wear magical collars that supposedly keep their beasts in check. Talk about taking control to the next level.

And, while the shifters (or any disenfranchised population) is corralled into ghettos and forced to wear symbols of their status, their captors (those would be the humans) like to practice deprivation. In Pride Mates, shifters aren’t allowed access to cable TV or high-speed internet (controlling access to information, presumably), and they are not allowed to hold any job where they might come into physical contact with human (gee—not even as manicurists?).  This deprivation is partly preventive, because it ensures that the dominated population can never become too rich or too powerful, but it’s also punative—a punishment for being less than—as if those who are denigrated in this way have any choice in the matter. And while deprivation might serve to keep the population down, physically and psychologically, it is also, as we’ve seen time and again, a recipe for fomenting discontent and rebellion. Stupid is as stupid does.  Again, I’m talking about the humans in this scenario.

Because, of course, all of this says a great deal more about “us” than it does about “them.”  Anyone who would subjugate a population just because it’s different or because they can doesn’t actually deserve to be called human, at least in my book. People who enslave, or imprison or degrade others to prop themselves up are the beasts, the savages, the ones unworthy of the status of personhood.  That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to live or to do as they want—as long as what they want doesn’t involve putting and keeping others down. So, along with my light and airy read, my paranormal fantasy also provokes deep and meaningful thoughts.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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1. WeatherSpark.com
  2. United States
  3. California
  4. Wasco
  5. January

Average Weather in January in Wasco California, United States

In Wasco, the month of January is characterized by rising daily high temperatures, with daily highs increasing by 5°F, from 58°F to 62°F over the course of the month, and rarely exceeding 72°F or dropping below 49°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 7°F, from 47°F to 40°F, rarely falling below 32°F or exceeding 57°F. The lowest daily average low temperature is 40°F on January 31.

For reference, on July 23, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Wasco typically range from 67°F to 99°F, while on January 31, the coldest day of the year, they range from 40°F to 62°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in January

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on January. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in January

Average Hourly Temperature in January in Wasco12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM181522291122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930303131DecFebchillycoldcoolcomfortable
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands: frigid < 15°F < freezing < 32°F < chilly < 45°F < cold < 55°F < cool < 65°F < comfortable < 75°F < warm < 85°F < hot < 95°F < sweltering. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

The month of January in Wasco experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 41% throughout the month.

The clearest day of the month is January 26, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 60% of the time.

For reference, on February 21, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 43%, while on August 9, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 92%.

Cloud Cover in January

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Wasco, the chance of a wet day over the course of January is very rapidly increasing, starting the month at 3% and ending it at 19%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 23% on February 21, and its lowest chance is 0% on June 27.

Probability of Precipitation in January

Over the course of January in Wasco, the length of the day is increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 38 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 1 minute, 17 seconds, and weekly increase of 8 minutes, 56 seconds.

The shortest day of the month is January 1, with 9 hours, 48 minutes of daylight and the longest day is January 31, with 10 hours, 27 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in January

The latest sunrise of the month in Wasco is 7:07 AM on January 6 and the earliest sunrise is 10 minutes earlier at 6:57 AM on January 31.

The earliest sunset is 4:55 PM on January 1 and the latest sunset is 29 minutes later at 5:24 PM on January 31.

Daylight saving time is observed in Wasco during 2017, but it neither starts nor ends during January, so the entire month is in standard time.

For reference, on June 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:42 AM and sets 14 hours, 34 minutes later, at 8:16 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:03 AM and sets 9 hours, 45 minutes later, at 4:48 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in January

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Wasco is essentially constant during January, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on August 29, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 1% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in January

The average hourly wind speed in Wasco is essentially constant during January, remaining around 2.6 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on June 1, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 3.8 miles per hour, while on November 10, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 2.6 miles per hour.

The lowest daily average wind speed during January is 2.6 miles per hour on January 21.

Average Wind Speed in January

The hourly average wind direction in Wasco throughout January is predominantly from the south, with a peak proportion of 40% on January 7.

Wind Direction in January

Solar Energy

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Wasco is gradually increasing during January, rising by 0.6 kWh, from 2.7 kWh to 3.4 kWh, over the course of the month.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in January

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in January in Wasco0.0 kWh0.5 kWh1.0 kWh1.5 kWh2.0 kWh2.5 kWh3.0 kWh3.5 kWh4.0 kWh4.5 kWh5.0 kWh5.5 kWh181522291122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930303131DecFebJan 12.7 kWhJan 12.7 kWhJan 313.4 kWhJan 313.4 kWhJan 112.8 kWhJan 112.8 kWhJan 213.1 kWhJan 213.1 kWh

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Wasco are 35.594 deg latitude, -119.341 deg longitude, and 325 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Wasco is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 49 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 327 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (305 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (8,041 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Wasco is covered by cropland (81%) and artificial surfaces (19%), within 10 miles by cropland (95%), and within 50 miles by grassland (41%) and cropland (40%).

Data Sources

This report illustrates the typical weather in Wasco year round, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 6 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Wasco.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Wasco according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Wasco is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Wasco and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Meadows Field (51%, 32 kilometers, southeast); Porterville Municipal Airport (23%, 55 kilometers, northeast); Paso Robles Municipal Airport (7%, 117 kilometers, west); San Luis Obispo County Airport (7%, 124 kilometers, west); Santa Maria Airport (6%, 127 kilometers, southwest); and Santa Ynez Airport (6%, 129 kilometers, southwest).

Other Data

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .


Lexicon series created by the Institute for Anarchist Studies/Anarchiststudies.

“Anarchism” by Cindy Milstein Series design by Josh MacPhee/Justseeds.org Printed by P&L/Pandlprinting.com

February 2012

productive, harmonic dissonance: ﬁguring out ways to coexist and thrive in our differentiation. Anarchists create processes that are humane and substantively participatory. They’re honest about the fact that there’s always going to be uneasiness between individual and social freedom. They acknowledge that it’s going to be an ongoing struggle to ﬁnd the balance. This struggle is exactly where anarchism takes place. It is where the beauty of life, at its most well rounded and self-constructed, has the greatest possibility of emerging—and at times, taking hold. Although it happens at any level of society, one experiences this most personally in small-scale projects—from food cooperatives to free schools to occupations—where people collectively make face-to-face decisions about issues large and mundane. This is not something that people in most parts of the world are encouraged or taught to do, most pointedly because it contains the kernels of destroying the current vertical social arrangements. As such, we’re generally neither particularly good nor efﬁcient at directly

t its core, anarchism is indeed a spirit—one that cries out against all that’s wrong with present-day society, and yet boldly proclaims all that could be right under alternate forms of social organization. There are many different though often complementary ways of looking at anarchism, but in a nutshell, it can be deﬁned as the striving toward a “free society of free individuals.” This phrase is deceptively simple. Bound within it is both an implicit multidimensional critique and an expansive, if fragile, reconstructive vision.

15 Here. that we can imagine and also implement a wholly marvelous and materially abundant society. or power-over social relations. Anarchism also recognized. nor do they need. And better. and their replacement with horizontal versions. “without. want. and then better still. solidarity and love among the people. as a creative and inherent part of human existence. Assembly decisionmaking mechanisms are hard work. They raise tough questions. But through them. the ghost that haunts humanity: that our lives and communities really can be appreciably better. One person’s freedom necessarily infringes on another’s. More contemporaneously and accurately. “ruler. 1922 democratic processes. anarchism’s basic aspiration for a free society of free individuals gives transparency to what should be a 13 . The Lexicon series aims to convert words into politically helpful tools—for those already engaged in a politics from below as well as the newly approaching—by offering deﬁnitional understandings of commonly used keywords. Anarchism gives voice to the grand yet modest belief.” and arkh(os). That is the spirit of anarchism. It highlights that people are not all alike. or power-together and in common—again. a placeholder for “order” or. if only intuitively. freedom and justice for all. “organization. a further shorthand depiction of anarchism is helpful: the ubiquitous “circle A” image.By anarchist spirit I mean that deeply human sentiment. or even on the good of all. and everyone can only be free if each person can individuate or actualize themselves in the most expansive of senses. it stands for the absence of both domination (mastery or control over another) and hierarchy (ranked power relations of dominance and subordination).” drawing on Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s seminal deﬁnition in What Is Property? (1840): “as man [sic] seeks justice in equality. a free society of free individuals. No common good can meet everyone’s needs and desires. how can people collectively selfdetermine their lives to become who they want to be and simultaneously create communities that are all they could be as well? Anarchism maintains that this tension is positive. which is not an exclusive characteristic only of self-declared anarchists. —Errico Malatesta. April 13. authority”—meaning the absence of authority. for redistributing power to everyone. Anarchism is a synthesis of the best of liberalism and the best of communism. More crucially. that such a task is both a constant balancing act and the stuff of real life. Umanita Nova. or desire the same things. but inspires all people who have a generous heart and an open mind. people school themselves in what could be the basis for collective self-governance. 4 on both individual and collective freedom— no one is free unless everyone is free.” The circle A symbolizes anarchism as a dual project: the abolition of domination and hierarchical forms of social organization. so society seeks order in anarchy. The circle could be considered an O. The A is a placeholder for the ancient Greek word anarkhia—combining the root an(a). From the start. At its best. better yet. people selfdetermine the structure of the new from spaces of possibility within the old. anarchism asked the difﬁcult though ultimately pragmatic question: Acknowledging this self-society juggling act as part of the human condition. which aims at the good of all. embraced by people throughout human history.

Of course. Anarchism always “demands the impossible” even as it tries to also “realize the impossible. But what was at least theoretically revolutionary about this Copernican turn was that before then. and the other seeks a community structured along collectivist lines. the vast majority of people largely didn’t believe in their own agency or ability to self-organize on such an interconnected. 7 . None of this ensured that people would think for themselves. widespread basis. reconstructive ethics. Unfortunately. In short. the state. question the word “free” in both cases. Nonetheless. They were born. and the church. into an isolated village as a serf with the expectation that they’d live out their whole lives accordingly. played a large part in allowing anarchism to serve as 10 articulated in theory. it jettisoned the state and property as the pillars of support. Its values serve as a challenge to continually approach the dazzling horizon of freedom by actually improving the quality of life for all in the present. relying instead on self-organization and mutual aid. act for themselves. Anarchism understood that any egalitarian form of social organization. self-conscious. These ethics still animate anarchism. and nonhierarchical society. that they would accept their lot and the social order as rigidly god-given or natural—with any hopes for a better life placed in the afterlife. Nor did it concern itself much with ecological degradation. public libraries. Its dynamism. Areas such as gender and race. and at their most “democratic. ranging from individual rights to self-governance.liberatory technologies to potentially more democratic political structures) to craft a set of uncompromising. 5 As many are rediscovering today. Communism’s overarching project is to ensure the communal good. and crucially. but time and again. or act out of a concern for humanity. The two necessarily come into conﬂict. New common social spaces like coffeehouses. at the same time. Hierarchical forms of social organization can never fulﬁll most peoples’ needs or desires. Nineteenth-century anarchism was not necessarily always ahead of its day in identifying various forms of oppression. and their replacement in all cases with greater degrees of freedom. and with as much overall honesty about the many dead-ends in the journey itself. theoretically and through practice. and speakers’ corners in parks allowed for debate about and the spread of these incendiary ideas. especially one seeking a thoroughgoing eradication of domination. in which domination occurs beyond capitalism. freedom can never be achieved in this lopsided manner: through the self or society. nonhierarchical forms have demonstrated their capacity to come closer to that aim. were often given short shrift or ignored altogether. It makes eminent and ethical sense to experiment with utopian notions. Technological advancements in printing facilitated the relatively widespread dissemination of this written material for the ﬁrst time in human history via books. The project of liberalism in the broadest sense is to ensure personal liberty. Both are worthy notions.” Its idealism is thoroughly pragmatic. particularly in the actual implementations of liberalism and communism. an essential principle. One could. comparing classical anarchism to today’s much more sophisticated understanding of forms of organization and the myriad types of domination is also a bit unfair—both to anarchism and other socialisms. pamphlets. for instance. voluntarily. Anarchism’s great leap was to combine self and society in one political vision. respectively. almost instantly. the classical period of anarchism exhibited numerous blind spots and even a certain naïveté. and their shared emphasis on the state and property as ensuring freedom. That said. had to be premised 12 elevated and transformed by the best of traditions that work toward an egalitarian. Anarchism developed over time. No other political philosophy does this as consistently and generously. and periodicals. supplying what’s most compelling about it in praxis. and should. anarchism from the ﬁrst explored something that Marxism has long needed to grapple with: domination and hierarchy.” one’s aim is an individual who can live an emancipated life. as doggedly.

Like any new political philosophy.” It’s not that anarchists didn’t take this history seriously. egalitarian ones in every instance. and during a period when older ways of life were so obviously being destroyed by enormous transitions. These early anarchists. These new radical impulses took many forms of political and economic subjugation to task.” The state has its own logic of command and control. soft on their critique of the state. drawn from practice and yet 6 its own challenge. It is neither neutral nor can it be “checked and balanced. state. then it literally stands to reason that they can potentially think through and act on notions of the good society. anarchists concentrated on the economy. as the main agents of revolution. to a large degree theorized from these revolts. which—at its best—popularized three pivotal notions. the “left wing” of socialism. a third idea arose: If people can think and act on their own initiative. such as in Haiti. 8 like all anarchists after them. 9 . and heretical religious movements around the world in which people decided that enough was enough. It attempts to take up more and more governance space. A host of Enlightenment thinkers offered bold new conceptions of social organization. First: Individuals have the capacity to reason. In a time of revolutionary possibility. the state complemented and worked with capitalism. if one takes anarchism’s initial impulse seriously. Anarchists held that the state cannot be used to dismantle capitalism. This revolutionary period started around 1789 and lasted until about 1871 (reappearing in the early twentieth century). Second: If humans have the capacity to reason. but its aspirations and practices grew out of. Its openness to other social movements and radical ideas contributed to its further unfolding. leading to a host of libertarian ideologies. many people gradually embraced these three Enlightenment ideas. of monopolizing political power.Anarchism as a term emerged in nineteenth-century Europe. and church—in contrast to. centered around the three great concerns of their day—capital. hundreds of years of slave rebellions. They can innovate. and saw the laboring classes in the factories and ﬁelds. and the related experimentation for centuries with various forms of autonomy. to say the least. Like capitalism. is. Perhaps most liberating. The Communist Manifesto’s assertion that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. and socialism. nuanced worldview—a process. They advocated an expansive “no gods. peasant uprisings. Like all socialists. nonstatist society. and Mexico. contributing to an outbreak of revolutions throughout Europe and elsewhere. the early anarchists were frequently extravagant in their visions for a better world. hierarchical social relations. and continually sees itself as “only a beginning. the United States. nor as a transitional strategy toward a noncapitalist. then they also have the capacity to act on their thoughts. in part. anarchism’s core aspiration has been to root out and eradicate all coercive. Anarchism was. but was its own distinct entity. they can create a better world. no masters” perspective. there were other histories. the state will not “negotiate” with any other sociopolitical system. though.” to cite the title of a recent anthology. liberalism. it would take many minds and many experiments over many years to develop anarchism into a more full-bodied. and dream up and establish consensual. They also felt that many socialists were to the “right” or nonlibertarian side of anarchism. as well as artisans. from the religious congregationalisms to secular republicanism. of always expanding that worldview to account for additional blind spots. in “classical” anarchist Peter Kropotkin’s words. and other struggles—something that anarchism would continue to ﬁll out over the decades. Anarchism developed within this milieu as. From its beginnings. for example. saw the state as equally complicit in structuring social domination. speciﬁcally capitalism. Anarchism was also partly inﬂuenced by Enlightenment thought in the eighteenth century. They drew on what was being lost (from small-scale agrarian communities to the commons) and what was being gained (from potentially 11 Due to the catalytic relationship between theory and practice.

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Saje's Aromatherapy Jewelry Combines Beauty and Wellness

 - Jan 21, 2015
References: saje
Saje Wellness' decorative aromatherapy jewelry is aesthetically pleasing and beneficial for one's health and wellness. The sterling silver pendants come in triangular locket and cannister shapes with a build-in oil pad, so that a few drops of your favorite oil can be easily added and inhaled throughout the day.

Rather than carrying around a perfume bottle and occasionally spraying yourself with a scent that will quickly fade, it's easy to revive the scents that come from this accessory by adding a few more drops of an oil or diffuser blend. Since the scent that comes from this necklace is mostly for your benefit, it likely won't bother others and the best part is that you can pick and choose what scent to wear with you each time you put it on.


The Martian spacecraft has imprinted Earth and the Moon

It is about the Martian Prospecting Device or simply MRO which has been started in August, 2005 by the American Space Agency NASA with a research objective of the Red Planet. The automatic interplanetary station worth 720 million dollars still is in an orbit around Mars and continues to carry out the mission.

On November 20, 2016 by means of the dash camera of high resolution HiRISE he has taken the picture from the Mariana orbit into which Earth and the Moon have got. At the time of photographing the distance between Mars and Earth has made 205 million kilometers. The Slozhnosostavny image given above has been made on the basis of two separate photos of the Moon and Earth.

The photo shows the correct size and location of two imprinted celestial bodies. By the way, the distance between Earth and the Moon makes 30 terrestrial diameters.


Tag Archives: Alcoholic beverage

Is it necessary to have sugar?

Sources: The Times Of India

Tinospora sagittata

Botanical Name : Tinospora sagittata
Family :Menispermaceae
Genus: Tinospora
Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Plants
Division: Vascular plants
Class:Dicotyledonous flowering plants
Order: Ranunculales

*Tinospora szechuanensis SY Hu
*Tinospora imbricata SY Hu
*Tinospora capillipes Gagnep.
*Limacia sagittata Olive.

Tinospora sagittata is an evergreen Perennial Climber growing to 20 m (65ft 7in). It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from Oct to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

Cultivation & propagation: The plant grows well in light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. It is propagated through seeds.

Medicinal Uses:
The roots are anodyne, antiphlogistic, depurative and febrifuge. A decoction is used internally, or the mashed root is used as a poultice, in the treatment of laryngitis, dysentery, boils and abscesses, poisonous snakebites

Urtica dioica

Botanical Name:Urtica dioica
Family:    Urticaceae
Genus:    Urtica
Species:    U. dioica
Kingdom:    Plantae
Order:    Rosales

Common Names: Common nettle or Stinging nettle

Habitat : Urtica dioica is native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica.

Propagation :

Edible Uses: Colouring;  Curdling agent;  Drink;  Oil.
Young leaves – cooked as a potherb and added to soups etc. They can also be dried for winter use. Nettles are a very valuable addition to the diet, they are a very nutritious food that is easily digested and is high in minerals (especially iron) and vitamins (especially A and C). Only use young leaves (see the notes above on toxicity) and wear stout gloves when harvesting them to prevent being stung. Cooking the leaves, or thoroughly drying them, neutralizes the sting, rendering the leaf safe to eat. The young shoots, harvested in the spring when 15 – 20cm long complete with the underground stem are very nice. Old leaves can be laxative. The plants are harvested commercially for extraction of the chlorophyll, which is used as a green colouring agent (E140) in foods and medicines. A tea is made from the dried leaves, it is warming on a winters day. A bland flavour, it can be added as a tonic to China tea. The juice of the leaves, or a decoction of the herb, can be used as a rennet substitute in curdling plant milks. Nettle beer is brewed from the young shoot

Medicinal Uses:

Nettles have a long history of use in the home as a herbal remedy and nutritious addition to the diet. A tea made from the leaves has traditionally been used as a cleansing tonic and blood purifier so the plant is often used in the treatment of hay fever, arthritis, anaemia etc. The whole plant is antiasthmatic, antidandruff, astringent, depurative, diuretic, galactogogue, haemostatic, hypoglycaemic and a stimulating tonic. An infusion of the plant is very valuable in stemming internal bleeding, it is also used to treat anaemia, excessive menstruation, haemorrhoids, arthritis, rheumatism and skin complaints, especially eczema. Externally, the plant is used to treat skin complaints, arthritic pain, gout, sciatica, neuralgia, haemorrhoids, hair problems etc. The fresh leaves of nettles have been rubbed or beaten onto the skin in the treatment of rheumatism etc. This practice, called urtification, causes intense irritation to the skin as it is stung by the nettles. It is believed that this treatment works in two ways. Firstly, it acts as a counter-irritant, bringing more blood to the area to help remove the toxins that cause rheumatism. Secondly, the formic acid from the nettles is believed to have a beneficial effect upon the rheumatic joints. For medicinal purposes, the plant is best harvested in May or June as it is coming into flower and dried for later use. This species merits further study for possible uses against kidney and urinary system ailments. The juice of the nettle can be used as an antidote to stings from the leaves and an infusion of the fresh leaves is healing and soothing as a lotion for burns. The root has been shown to have a beneficial effect upon enlarged prostate glands. A homeopathic remedy is made from the leaves. It is used in the treatment of rheumatic gout, nettle rash and chickenpox, externally is applied to bruises. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Urtica dioica Stinging Nettle for rheumatic ailments (internal use of leaf), irrigation therapy, for inflammatory disease of the lower urinary tract and prevention of kidney ‘gravel’ formation, urination difficulty from benign prostatic hyperplasia (root)  for critics of commission

Known Hazards:
Nettle stings are irritating and poisonous but are very rarely serious.The leaves of the plants have stinging hairs, causing irritation to the skin. This action is neutralized by heat or by thorough drying, so the cooked leaves are perfectly safe and nutritious. However, only young leaves should be used because older leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths which act as an irritant to the kidneys. Possible interference with allopathic drugs for diabetes mellitus, hypertension. Central nervous system depression drugs (e.g. morphine, alcohol) may also interact with nettle. Avoid during pregnancy,

Other Uses:

A strong flax-like fibre is obtained from the stems. Used for making string and cloth, it also makes a good quality paper. It is harvested as the plant begins to die down in early autumn and is retted before the fibres are extracted. The fibre is produced in less abundance than from flax (Linun usitatissimum) and is also more difficult to extract. The plant matter left over after the fibres have been extracted are a good source of biomass and have been used in the manufacture of sugar, starch, protein and ethyl alcohol. An oil obtained from the seeds is used as an illuminant. An essential ingredient of ‘QR’ herbal compost activator. This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost. The leaves are also an excellent addition to the compost heap and they can be soaked for 7 – 21 days in water to make a very nutritious liquid feed for plants. This liquid feed is both insect repellent and a good foliar feed. The growing plant increases the essential oil content of other nearby plants, thus making them more resistant to insect pests. Although many different species of insects feed on nettles, flies are repelled by the plant so a bunch of freshly cut stems has been used as a repellent in food cupboards. The juice of the plant, or a decoction formed by boiling the herb in a strong solution of salt, will curdle milks and thus acts as a rennet substitute. This same juice, if rubbed into small seams of leaky wooden tubs, will coagulate and make the tub watertight again. A hair wash is made from the infused leaves and this is used as a tonic and antidandruff treatment. A beautiful and permanent green dye is obtained from a decoction of the leaves and stems. A yellow dye is obtained from the root when boiled with alum

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Time Magazine reports:

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Eat Mouth-Healthy for Healthy Teeth

Immediate Effects of Food

How does this happen?
All carbohydrate foods eventually break down into simple sugars: glucose, fructose, maltose and lactose. Fermentable carbohydrates break down in the mouth. Other foods don’t break down until they move further down the digestive tract.

The longer food stays near the bacteria on the tooth, the more acids will be produced. So sticky carbohydrates, such as raisins, can do more acid damage. But other foods that pack into crevices in the tooth also can cause decay. Potato chips are a terrific example. Eat a handful of chips and see how long you have to work to get all the stuck bits out from between your teeth. Teeth with a lot of nooks and crannies, such as molars, are more likely to trap food. That’s why they tend to have more decay.

To make matters worse, many of the foods that are unhealthy for teeth don’t just create acids while they are being eaten. The acids stick around for the next half-hour.

Depending on your eating and drinking patterns, it’s possible for the bacteria to produce acid almost constantly. This can happen if you sip soft drinks or sweetened coffee throughout the day. Eating many small sweet or starchy snacks can produce the same effect. The resulting acid damage adds up, so decay is more likely. Studies have shown that people who eat sweets as snacks between meals have higher rates of decay than people who eat the same amount of sweets with their meals.

On the brighter side, some foods actually help to protect teeth from decay. That’s because they increase saliva flow and neutralize the acids produced by bacteria. This makes it less likely that the enamel will lose minerals. For example, aged cheese eaten immediately after other food helps to buffer the acid.

Chewing sugarless gums also can help protect your teeth against cavities. Xylitol is an ingredient in some sugarless gums. This sweetener has been shown to reduce the amount of bacteria in the mouth. It also helps to buffer the teeth against the effect of acid. Most sugarless gums and sugarless candies increase the flow of saliva, which helps to protect your teeth against bacteria.

Long-Term Effects:-
Like the rest of your body, your mouth depends on overall good nutrition to stay healthy. In fact, your mouth is highly sensitive to poor nutrition. It can lead to tooth loss, serious periodontal (gum) disease and bad breath.

What To Eat:-
The current and best advice for overall good nutrition is found in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This document was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The guidelines are simple in concept:

*Eat whole grains daily instead of refined grains. Whole grains include brown rice, oatmeal and whole wheat bread. Refined grains include white bread and white rice.
*Eat healthier vegetables, including dark green and orange vegetables.
*Eat a variety of fruits.
*Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, fruits and vegetables.
*Choose fish, beans, nuts and seeds for some of your protein needs.
*Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars.
*Choose and prepare foods with less salt.
*If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
*Aim for a healthy weight and be physically active each day.

To help people understand these guidelines, the USDA has replaced the old Food Guide Pyramid. The new guide is an interactive tool called MyPyramid. It is actually many different pyramids, depending on a person’s age, gender and physical activity. The tool can be found at www.mypyramid.gov.

Your diet, like the pyramid, should have:

*A strong base of grains
*At least 2½ cups of vegetables a day
*At least 2 cups of fruits a day
*At least 3 cups of calcium-containing milk, yogurt and cheese
*Proteins such as meats, beans, eggs and nuts

Eat fats and sweets sparingly.

To prevent tooth decay, you should follow a few additional guidelines. This can help to keep the amount of acid created by the bacteria on your teeth to a minimum. Here are some tips:

*Best choices — Cheese, chicken or other meats, or nuts. These foods actually may help protect tooth enamel. They do this by neutralizing acids or by providing the calcium and phosphorus needed to put minerals back in the teeth.

*Moderate choices — Firm fruits such as apples and pears and vegetables. Firm fruits contain natural sugars. However, their high water content dilutes the effects of the sugars. These fruits also stimulate the flow of saliva, which fights bacteria and helps protect against decay. Vegetables do not contain enough carbohydrates to be dangerous.

*Worst choices — Candy, cookies, cakes, crackers, breads, muffins, potato chips, french fries, pretzels, bananas, raisins and other dried fruits. These foods provide a source of sugar that certain bacteria can use to produce acid. The problem can be worse if the foods stick to teeth or get caught between them.

2.Limit the amount of soft drinks or any other drinks that contain sugar. These include coffee or tea with added sugar, cocoa and lemonade. Fruit juices contain natural sugars that also can cause decay. Limit the amount of time you take to drink any of these drinks. Avoid sipping them throughout the day. A can of soda that you finish with a meal exposes your teeth to acids for a shorter time than a soda that takes you two hours to drink.

*Better choices —
Unsweetened tea and water, especially little fluoridated water(  as permissible by WHO). Tea also has fluoride, which can strengthen tooth enamel. Water helps flush away bits of food. It also can dilute the sugar acids.

3.Avoid sucking on hard candies or mints, even the tiny ones. They have enough sugar to increase the acid produced by bacteria to decay levels. If you need a mint, use the sugarless varieties.

4.Very acidic foods (such as citrus fruits) can make the mouth more acidic. This may contribute to a loss of minerals in the teeth. The effects of acid exposure add up over time. Every little bit counts.

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English descriptive essay

Having a friend read the essay helps writers see trouble spots and edit with a fresh perspective. 5. Order your paper and have it done in 79 hours. A great resource about. Memory and emotion play an important role in conveying the subject’s significance. Normally, one point can be detailed in one paragraph. Read what parents are saying about their children s writing progress in Time9Writing courses.

Ask which among the ideas written down is the most important and would create a great impact to the readers. Here are some examples: The house was old. The house frowned with a wrinkled brow, and inside it creaked with each step, releasing a scent of neglected laundry. He was smart. If you had to pick a study buddy, you would pick this guy. The clock had been in our family for years. The clock stood by our family, faithfully marking the minutes and hours of our lives. Enjoy the process of describing the subject—it can be a rewarding experience. The topic doesn’t have to be famous or unusual. You can find a lot of information there. Get the knowledge! We often hear students asking Please! Similes and metaphors work well. Writing takes work. Brainstorm about all the details associated with the topic. Understanding and following the proven steps of the writing process helps all writers, including students. The main message is the reason the author wants to share this experience with the reader. And remember, to be able to properly describe things, make use of the five senses and illustrate using the different figures of speech. For example, the topic is about the 68th birthday celebration of a friend. Remember, there isn’t a writer on earth who isn’t sensitive about his or her own work. Otherwise, the reader will have trouble building the image in their mind’s eye. Brainstorming could help in information gathering. Where does the person live? In the topic 68th birthday celebration of a friend, the food, the venue or the guests cheering for the debutante as she walks up the stage could be widely discussed. The courses also cover how to interpret essay writing prompts in testing situations. The person could be a grandparent, the object, a favorite toy, and the place, a tree house. Once a topic is chosen, students should spend time thinking about the qualities they want to describe. For example, don’t describe a glossy coat of fur before telling the reader the essay is about a dog! 9. It’s also the time to improve style and clarity. Here, the writer elaborates each of the pointers that he has written.

Consider not just physical characteristics, but also what memories, feelings, and ideas the subject evokes. The body consists of the amount of paragraphs required to describe each aspect or side of the described subject. A unique online writing program for elementary, middle school, and high school students, Time9Writing breaks down the writing process into manageable chunks, easily digested by young writers. an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Each essay sample provided by custom-essays. org is absolutely free. One of the best ways to show is to involve all of the senses—not just sight, but also hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The main subject could be a place, a thing, an event, an experience or a person. It’s better to go from the general to the specific. Where is the object located? The introductions plays a rather important part here as it is the part the catches the reader s attention. The facts in this type of essay can be just the background of the vivid experiences presented by the writer. It does not necessarily mean that all the items written on the outline should be included in the article. Watch out for clichés and loading up on adjectives and adverbs. Do they want to write about a person of significance in their lives, or an object or place that holds meaning? Even when not writing about a place, reflect on the surroundings. The high school Exciting Essay Writing course focuses in depth on the essay writing process with preparation for college as the goal. The author basically describes what he observes and perceives. Was it the parent’s speech, the debutante’s gown, her first dance, the mood of the whole party? Students steadily build writing skills and confidence, guided by one-on-one instruction with a dedicated, certified teacher. Prior to writing, identify the topic first. Plan the focus of each paragraph and create an outline that puts these details into a logical sequence. 7. English descriptive essay.