Come to Edscape in New Jersey this Saturday October 13

<br /><div style="font-family: Times;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guest post from </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">--</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Eric Sheninger </span><a href="http://ericsheninger.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;" target="_blank">http://ericsheninger.com</a> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> Eric is a </span><a href="http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=2012_NASSP_Digital_Principal_Award_Winners" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">NASSP Digital Principal Award winner (2012)</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, </span><a href="http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pdkintl.org%2Fawards%2F12pressrel%2FSheninger_Ryan_PR.pdf" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">PDK Emerging Leader Award recipient (2012)</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, Google Certified Teacher, </span><a href="http://www.adobe.com/education/k12/adobe-education-leaders/eric-sheninger.html" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Adobe Education Leader</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, </span><a href="http://www.ascd.org/conferences/annual-conference/scholars/esheninger.aspx" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ASCD 2011 Conference Scholar</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, co-author of "</span><a href="http://www.solution-tree.com/Public/Media.aspx?ShowDetail=true&ProductID=BKF474" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Communicating and Connecting With Social Media: Essentials for Principals</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">" and "</span><a href="http://www.solution-tree.com/wpntk-teaching-learning-science.html" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What Principals Need to Know About Teaching and Learning Science</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">", writer on education for the </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-sheninger/" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, co-creator of the </span><a href="http://edscapeconference.com/" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Edscape Conference</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, sits on the </span><a href="http://www.featraining.org/about/bod.aspx" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FEA Board of Directors</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">, and was named to the </span><a href="http://vocuspr.vocus.com/vocuspr30/Newsroom/Query.aspx?SiteName=NSBANew&Entity=PRAsset&SF_PRAsset_PRAssetID_EQ=116250&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=False" linktype="url" style="color: #4679ba; font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">NSBA "20 to Watch"</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> list in 2010 for technology leadership.  </span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The annual <a href="http://edscapeconference.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Edscape Conference</a> will once again be held at New Milford High School in New Milford, NJ on Saturday October 13, 2012.  Hundreds of educators from over seven different states and Canada will once again descend upon my school to learn together and network in an effort to move their respective school cultures down an innovative path.  Edscape evolved out of the need to provide educators with relevant, meaningful professional development focusing on digital learning and innovation that was in dire need for many.  This was the case for teachers in my District as well as those throughout the Tri-State area. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Times; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdM1JHbLokD-83Zec2UINPYGwrJE-xcdAaCMzD136JDrQmJ_OlZkOR9V1lC9MU-vYx_m2ObwsfgaNNIbebwPkcMO6o9K0TBDhRjTro6ivVNyskUK9mFx0GJRw_iAqpJSSsUlF2AKm_250/s1600/edscape.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdM1JHbLokD-83Zec2UINPYGwrJE-xcdAaCMzD136JDrQmJ_OlZkOR9V1lC9MU-vYx_m2ObwsfgaNNIbebwPkcMO6o9K0TBDhRjTro6ivVNyskUK9mFx0GJRw_iAqpJSSsUlF2AKm_250/s400/edscape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a description of the conference:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>As the educational landscape changes schools must transform accordingly in order to prepare all learners with the skills, tools, and knowledge to be successful in the 21st Century. This requires a shift in instructional techniques that focus on critical thinking, inquiry, problem-solving, authentic contexts, and technology. </i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Edscape is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices.  </i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”. We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction.  </i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The Edscape Conference will feature presentations and workshops by innovative educators who believe that change is essential to meet the diverse needs of all learners in the 21st Century. They will share best practices, success stories, applicable strategies, and pedagogical techniques that address the following:</i></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Meaningful, cost-effective professional growth opportunities to improve teaching and learning.</i></span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Effective technology integration as a means to promote student creativity, apply knowledge, and increase engagement in the classroom.</i></span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Design of authentic learning experiences to enhance critical thought, inquiry, problem-solving, and relevancy in the classroom.</i></span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Essential leadership practices to articulate a vision for school improvement and begin the implementation process.</i></span></li></ul><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other conference highlights include the following:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Times;"><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fedscapeconference.com%2Fedscape-course-descriptions.pdf" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">60 concurrent sessions</a></span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keynote by <a href="http://www.coolcatteacher.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Vicki Davis</a>, an internationally-renowned teacher</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Presentations by educators who routinely speak and present at national conferences</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Breakfast and lunch</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fantastic networking opportunities</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An innovation lab to see firsthand some of the latest educational technology in action</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Giveaways</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.edscapeconference.com/register/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">DON'T MISS OUT AND REGISTER TODAY!</a></span><br /><br />Sponsors include: <a href="http://www.teq.com/" target="_blank">TEQ</a>, <a href="http://www.newmilfordschools.org/NMHS/hs_main_page.html" target="_blank">New Milford High School</a>, <a href="http://www.njea.org/" target="_blank">NJEA</a>, <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/" target="_blank">Edutopia</a><br /><br />Note from Vicki: I'll be presenting an updated version of 21st century influencer and am working on something incorporating <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-captivating-teacher-manifesto.html" target="_blank">the Captivating Teacher Manifesto</a>. Hope to see you there. Many incredible tweeters will also be there including #satchat founders and others.</div></div>

Come to Edscape in New Jersey this Saturday October 13

Guest post from  --   Eric Sheninger  http://ericsheninger.com    Eric is a  NASSP Digital Principal Award winner (2012) ,  PDK Emerging Lea...

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Facts on the Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine". Learn more about the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to 2011.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/shortfacts.html">http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/shortfacts.html</a>

Facts on the Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nob...

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The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><h2 align="center" style="font-size: 1.82em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Press Release</h2><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">2012-10-08</p><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/redirect/links_out/prizeawarder.php?from=/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2012/press.html&object=ki&to=http://nobelprizemedicine.org" target="_blank" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: transparent; color: rgb(48, 117, 152); text-decoration: none; ">The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet</a> has today decided to award<br><br><b>The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012</b></p><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">jointly to</p><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka</strong></p><p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed <br>to become pluripotent</strong></p><h2 style="font-size: 1.82em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 2px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Summary</h2><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The Nobel Prize recognizes two scientists who discovered that mature, specialised cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">John B. Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the specialisation of cells is reversible. In a classic experiment, he replaced the immature cell nucleus in an egg cell of a frog with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. This modified egg cell developed into a normal tadpole. The DNA of the mature cell still had all the information needed to develop all cells in the frog.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Surprisingly, by introducing only a few genes, he could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells, i.e. immature cells that are able to develop into all types of cells in the body.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and cellular specialisation. We now understand that the mature cell does not have to be confined forever to its specialised state. Textbooks have been rewritten and new research fields have been established. By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy.</p><h3 style="font-size: 1.42em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Life – a journey towards increasing specialisation</h3><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">All of us developed from fertilized egg cells. During the first days after conception, the embryo consists of immature cells, each of which is capable of developing into all the cell types that form the adult organism. Such cells are called pluripotent stem cells. With further development of the embryo, these cells give rise to nerve cells, muscle cells, liver cells and all other cell types - each of them specialised to carry out a specific task in the adult body. This journey from immature to specialised cell was previously considered to be unidirectional. It was thought that the cell changes in such a way during maturation that it would no longer be possible for it to return to an immature, pluripotent stage.</p><h3 style="font-size: 1.42em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Frogs jump backwards in development</h3><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>John B. Gurdon</strong> challenged the dogma that the specialised cell is irreversibly committed to its fate. He hypothesised that its genome might still contain all the information needed to drive its development into all the different cell types of an organism. In 1962, he tested this hypothesis by replacing the cell nucleus of a frog's egg cell with a nucleus from a mature, specialised cell derived from the intestine of a tadpole. The egg developed into a fully functional, cloned tadpole and subsequent repeats of the experiment yielded adult frogs. The nucleus of the mature cell had not lost its capacity to drive development to a fully functional organism.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>Gurdon's </strong>landmark discovery was initially met with scepticism but became accepted when it had been confirmed by other scientists. It initiated intense research and the technique was further developed, leading eventually to the cloning of mammals. Gurdon's research taught us that the nucleus of a mature, specialized cell can be returned to an immature, pluripotent state. But his experiment involved the removal of cell nuclei with pipettes followed by their introduction into other cells. Would it ever be possible to turn an intact cell back into a pluripotent stem cell?</p><h3 style="font-size: 1.42em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">A roundtrip journey – mature cells return to a stem cell state</h3><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Shinya Yamanaka was able to answer this question in a scientific breakthrough more than 40 years after Gurdon´s discovery. His research concerned embryonal stem cells, i.e. pluripotent stem cells that are isolated from the embryo and cultured in the laboratory. Such stem cells were initially isolated from mice by <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2007/evans.html" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: transparent; color: rgb(48, 117, 152); text-decoration: none; ">Martin Evans</a> (Nobel Prize 2007) and Yamanaka tried to find the genes that kept them immature. When several of these genes had been identified, he tested whether any of them could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Yamanaka and his co-workers introduced these genes, in different combinations, into mature cells from connective tissue, fibroblasts, and examined the results under the microscope. They finally found a combination that worked, and the recipe was surprisingly simple. By introducing four genes together, they could reprogram their fibroblasts into immature stem cells! </p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The resulting induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) could develop into mature cell types such as fibroblasts, nerve cells and gut cells. The discovery that intact, mature cells could be reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells was published in 2006 and was immediately considered a major breakthrough.</p><h3 style="font-size: 1.42em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">From surprising discovery to medical use</h3><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialised cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances. Although their genome undergoes modifications during development, these modifications are not irreversible. We have obtained a new view of the development of cells and organisms.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Research during recent years has shown that iPS cells can give rise to all the different cell types of the body. These discoveries have also provided new tools for scientists around the world and led to remarkable progress in many areas of medicine. iPS cells can also be prepared from human cells.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">For instance, skin cells can be obtained from patients with various diseases, reprogrammed, and examined in the laboratory to determine how they differ from cells of healthy individuals. Such cells constitute invaluable tools for understanding disease mechanisms and so provide new opportunities to develop medical therapies.</p><h3 style="font-size: 1.42em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> </h3><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>Sir John B. Gurdon</strong> was born in 1933 in Dippenhall, UK. He received his Doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1960 and was a postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology. He joined Cambridge University, UK, in 1972 and has served as Professor of Cell Biology and Master of Magdalene College. Gurdon is currently at the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>Shinya Yamanaka</strong> was born in Osaka, Japan in 1962. He obtained his MD in 1987 at Kobe University and trained as an orthopaedic surgeon before switching to basic research. Yamanaka received his PhD at Osaka City University in 1993, after which he worked at the Gladstone Institute in San Francisco and Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. Yamanaka is currently Professor at Kyoto University and also affiliated with the Gladstone Institute.</p><div style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br></div><table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="References" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><tbody><tr><td><h3 style="font-size: 1.42em; color: rgb(2, 70, 100); font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; ">Key publications:</h3></td></tr><tr><td><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; ">Gurdon, J.B. (1962). The developmental capacity of nuclei taken from intestinal epithelium cells of feeding tadpoles. Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology 10:622-640.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 0px; line-height: 1.25em; ">Takahashi, K., Yamanaka, S. (2006). Induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblast cultures by defined factors. Cell 126:663-676.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br></div></div><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2012/press.html">http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2012/press.html</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release

Press Release 2012-10-08 The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet  has today decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2...

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How to Die - NYTimes.com

One morning last month, Anthony Gilbey awakened from anesthesia in a hospital in the east of England. At his bedside were his daughter and an attending physician.<br /><br><br /><br>The surgery had been unsuccessful, the doctor informed him. There was nothing more that could be done.<br /><br><br /><br>"So I'm dying?" the patient asked.<br /><br><br /><br>The doctor hesitated. "Yes," he said.<br /><br><br /><br>"You're dying, Dad," his daughter affirmed.<br /><br><br /><br>"So," the patient mused, "no more whoop-de-doo."<br /><br><br /><br>"On the other side, there'll be loads," his daughter — my wife — promised.<br /><br><br /><br>The patient laughed. "Yes," he said. He was dead six days later, a few months shy of his 80th birthday.<br /><br><br /><br>When they told my father-in-law the hospital had done all it could, that was not, in the strictest sense, true. There was nothing the doctors could do about the large, inoperable tumor colonizing his insides. But they could have maintained his failing kidneys by putting him on dialysis. They could have continued pumping insulin to control his diabetes. He wore a pacemaker that kept his heart beating regardless of what else was happening to him, so with aggressive treatment they could — and many hospitals would — have sustained a kind of life for a while.<br /><br><br /><br>But the hospital that treated him offers a protocol called the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient, which was conceived in the 90s at a Liverpool cancer facility as a more humane alternative to the frantic end-of-life assault of desperate measures. "The Hippocratic oath just drives clinicians toward constantly treating the patient, right until the moment they die," said Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett, who was until recently the chief executive of the center where the protocol was designed. English doctors, he said, tell a joke about this imperative: "Why in Ireland do they put screws in coffins? To keep the doctors out."<br /><br><br /><br>The Liverpool Pathway brings many of the practices of hospice care into a hospital setting, where it can reach many more patients approaching death. "It's not about hastening death," Sir Thomas told me. "It's about recognizing that someone is dying, and giving them choices. Do you want an oxygen mask over your face? Or would you like to kiss your wife?"<br /><br><br /><br>Anthony Gilbey's doctors concluded that it was pointless to prolong a life that was very near the end, and that had been increasingly consumed by pain, immobility, incontinence, depression and creeping dementia. The patient and his family concurred.<br /><br><br /><br>And so the hospital unplugged his insulin and antibiotics, disconnected his intravenous nourishment and hydration, leaving only a drip to keep pain and nausea at bay. The earlier bustle of oxygen masks and thermometers and blood-pressure sleeves and pulse-taking ceased. Nurses wheeled him away from the wheezing, beeping machinery of intensive care to a quiet room to await his move to "the other side."<br /><br><br /><br>Here in the United States, nothing bedevils our discussion of health care like the question of when and how to withhold it. The Liverpool Pathway or variations of it are now standard in most British hospitals and in several other countries — but not ours. When I asked one American end-of-life specialist what chance he saw that something of the kind could be replicated here, the answer was immediate: "Zero." There is an obvious reason for that, and a less obvious reason.<br /><br><br /><br>The obvious reason, of course, is that advocates of such programs have been demonized. They have been criticized by the Catholic Church in the name of "life," and vilified by Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann in the pursuit of cheap political gain. "Anything that looks like an official protocol, or guideline — you're going to get death-paneled," said Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the bioethicist and expert on end-of-life care who has been a target of the rabble-rousers. (He is also a contributing opinion writer for The Times.) Humane end-of-life practices have quietly found their way into cancer treatment, but other specialties lag behind.<br /><br><br /><br>The British advocates of the Liverpool approach have endured similar attacks, mainly from "pro-life" lobbyists who portray it as a back-door form of euthanasia. (They also get it from euthanasia advocates who say it isn't euthanasia-like enough.) Surveys of families that use this protocol report overwhelming satisfaction, but inevitably in a field that touches families at their most emotionally raw, and that requires trained coordination of several medical disciplines, nursing and family counseling, the end is not always as smooth as my father-in-law's.<br /><br><br /><br>The less obvious problem, I suspect, is that those who favor such programs in this country often frame it as a cost issue. Their starting point is the arresting fact that a quarter or more of Medicare costs are incurred in the last year of life, which suggests that we are squandering a fortune to buy a few weeks or months of a life spent hooked to machinery and consumed by fear and discomfort. That last year of life offers a tempting target if we want to contain costs and assure that Medicare and Medicaid exist for future generations.<br /><br><br /><br>No doubt, we have a crying need to contain health care costs. We pay more than many other developed countries for comparable or inferior health care, and the total bill consumes a growing share of our national wealth. The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — makes a start by establishing a board to identify savings in Medicare, by emphasizing preventive care, and by financing pilot programs to pay doctors for achieving outcomes rather than performing procedures. But it is barely a start. Common sense suggests that if officials were not afraid of being "death-paneled," we could save some money by withholding care when, rather than saving a life, it serves only to prolong misery for a little while.<br /><br><br /><br>But I'm beginning to think that is both questionable economics and bad politics.<br /><br><br /><br>For one thing, whatever your common sense tells you, there is little evidence so far that these guidelines do save money. Emanuel has studied the fairly sketchy research and concluded that, with the possible exception of hospice care for cancer patients, measures to eliminate futile care in dying patients have not proved to be significant cost-savers. That seems to be partly because the programs kick in so late, and partly because good palliative care is not free.<br /><br><br /><br>Even if it turns out that programs like the Liverpool Pathway save big money, promoting end-of-life care on fiscal grounds just plays into fears that the medical-industrial complex is rushing our loved ones to the morgue to save on doctors and hospital beds.<br /><br><br /><br>When I asked British specialists whether the Liverpool protocol cut costs, they insisted they had never asked the question — and never would.<br /><br><br /><br>"I don't think we would dare," said Sir Thomas. "There was some very nasty press here in this country this year about the Pathway, saying it was a way of killing people quickly to free up hospital beds. The moment you go into that argument, you might threaten the whole program."<br /><br><br /><br>In America, nothing happens without a cost-benefit analysis. But the case for a less excruciating death can stand on a more neutral, less disturbing foundation, namely that it is simply a kinder way of death.<br /><br><br /><br>"There are lots of reasons to believe you could save money," said Emanuel. "I just think we can't do it for the reason of saving money."<br /><br><br /><br>During Anthony Gilbey's six days of dying he floated in and out of awareness on a cloud of morphine. Unfettered by tubes and unpestered by hovering medics, he reminisced and made some amends, exchanged jokes and assurances of love with his family, received Catholic rites and managed to swallow a communion host that was probably his last meal. Then he fell into a coma. He died gently, loved and knowing it, dignified and ready.<br /><br><br /><br>"I have fought death for so long," he told my wife near the end. "It is such a relief to give up."<br /><br><br /><br>We should all die so well.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/opinion/keller-how-to-die.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121008&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/opinion/keller-how-to-die.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121008&pagewanted=print</a>

How to Die - NYTimes.com

One morning last month, Anthony Gilbey awakened from anesthesia in a hospital in the east of England. At his bedside were his daughter and a...

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<br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Do you bite your nails? For 30 years, I did. We nail biters can be "pathological groomers" — people for whom normal grooming behaviors, like skin picking or hair pulling, have become virtually uncontrollable.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">But psychiatry is changing the way it thinks about pathological grooming, and these changes will be reflected in the American Psychiatric Association's <a href="http://www.psych.org/practice/dsm" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">DSM</a>, short for<em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</em>. A <a href="http://www.dsm5.org/about/Pages/DSMVOverview.aspx" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">new version</a> is coming out early next year, and it puts pathological grooming in the same category as another disorder you've probably heard of: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001926/" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">obsessive compulsive disorder</a>, or OCD.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">This rethinking gives pathological groomers some new ways to think about those behaviors.</div><a href="" name="more" style="background-color: white; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: 0px;"> </a><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">I can tell you the exact moment I became a nail biter. I was 6 years old, watching my mom get dressed for work. She paused to mull something over, chewing on a nail. My reaction: "How cool! How grown-up! I think I'll try it."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">I never stopped. It was embarrassing — like wearing your neuroses on your sleeve. At parties, I learned to wrap my fingers all the way around my wine glass, so that my nails faced my chest. I hated filling out forms in public places.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Recently, something happened that made me finally quit biting my nails. I'll get to that in a bit. But I was feeling quite pleased with myself when I showed them to <a href="http://psych.ucsf.edu/faculty.aspx?id=300" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">Carol Mathews</a>, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco. "Your cuticles are pushed back. It's not bad. Looks like you're a recovered nail biter is what I'd say," she pointed out.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Mathews specializes in pathological grooming — a group of behaviors that includes nail biting, hair pulling, called <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trichotillomania/DS00895" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">trichotillomania</a>, and skin picking, known as<a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-woman-who-thought-too-much/201109/life-dermatillomania" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">dermatillomania</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"They are behaviors that stem from normal grooming — the kind of thing that most animals do and is evolutionarily adaptive, right?" says Mathews.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">But in pathological groomers, those behaviors go haywire. Instead of being triggered by, say, a hangnail, the pathological nail biter is triggered by driving, reading or feeling stressed out. "After a while, the behavior becomes untriggered," says Mathews. "It becomes just an automatic behavior that has no relationship to external stimuli at all."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Until recently, the DSM treated pathological grooming a bit like an afterthought and put it in a catch-all category called "not otherwise classified." But the new DSM<a href="http://www.dsm5.org/proposedrevision/Pages/Obsessive-CompulsiveandRelatedDisorders.aspx" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">proposes</a> to lump together pathological groomers and those with mental disorders like OCD. That includes people who wash their hands compulsively or have to line up their shoes a certain way.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">These behaviors have a lot in common. In both cases, it's taking a behavior that's normal and healthy and putting it into overdrive, doing it to the point of being excessive. But in at least one way, OCD and pathological grooming are also very different.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"In OCD, the compulsion is really unwanted," says Mathews. People with OCD <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/03/29/149619994/triggered-anxiety-and-the-doubting-disorder" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">don't want</a> to be washing their hands or checking the stove over and over again. There is no fun in it. There's fear — fear that if they don't do something, something else that's very bad will happen to them.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">But from her pathological grooming patients, Mathews hears a very different story: They enjoy it. "It's rewarding. It feels good. When you get the right nail, it feels good. It's kind of a funny sense of reward, but it's a reward," she says.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">I can relate to that. And in my household, I'm not the only one. My daughter Cora is 3, and she's why I decided to quit. I didn't want Cora to learn to bite from me, the same way I learned from my mom. So for three months, I wore acrylic fingernails and spent many long hours at the manicurist maintaining them.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">And it worked. I lost the urge. But apparently, it was too late.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"I don't want to put my fingers in my mouth. I just [do] it even though I don't want to," Cora explained to me. But was she just mimicking me, or was there something else going on — something deep and strong enough to make nail biters out of at least four generations of women in my family, including my grandmother?</div><div class="bucketwrap video youtube-video large graphic624" id="res161952867" style="background-color: white; border: none; clear: left; color: #666666; float: none; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; width: 624px;"><div class="video-wrap"><object height="351" width="624"><embed width="624" height="351" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9X88bMINXWs" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent"></object></div><div class="captionwrap externalasset"><span class="creditwrap" style="display: block; float: right; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><span class="credit">Nature</span>/<span class="source">YouTube</span></span><div style="clear: both; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; padding: 0px;">Francis Lee and his colleagues at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York found that mice with a certain mutation obsessively groomed themselves.</div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">That's where <a href="http://www.med.cornell.edu/research/fslee/biography.html" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">Francis Lee</a>, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, comes in. A few years ago, a colleague came to Lee with a mystery: A mouse — bred with a specific gene mutation — was behaving very oddly. "I was dumbstruck," recalls Lee. "It was just repetitively moving its front paws over its eyes and ears," — a behavior he instantly recognized from studying people.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Mice bred with this mutation groom so much, they give themselves bald spots. "They've removed the hair around their eyes, they actually look like they have little white rings around their eyes," says Lee.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">In these mice, the genome is destiny. Every mouse that has this particular mutation — even if it's separated from its mother early on — eventually will become a pathological groomer. And the grooming isn't all. Lee says these are some of the most anxious mice he's ever seen. He even said to his colleague at the time, "That is one crazy mouse."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">People, of course, are a lot more complicated. There are some genetic mutations that seem to crop up in people with OCD and in people who groom pathologically. But just because you have the mutation doesn't mean you get the behavior.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">In fact, with OCD, it's more likely you won't, says Mathews. "As genetically determined as OCD is, the risk to a family member for someone who has OCD is only 20 percent. So it's 80 percent chance of not getting it," she says.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Which brings me back to my own crazy mouse.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">As a parent, there are ways I could lower the chances that Cora will grow into a biter. When Mathews works with young kids, she does things like put Band-Aids on their fingers to help them notice when they're biting or pulling. Then she sets up reward systems to try to steer them away from the behavior.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">I'd already started to do a clumsier version of this, gently batting Cora's hand away from her mouth whenever she started to bite. But it had come at a price, one I wasn't entirely comfortable with. I had to decide what was worse: making Cora feel bad about herself for something she couldn't help, or just letting her grow into a nail biter, which, while certainly not the worst thing in the world, had given me some grief.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://psych.ucsf.edu/faculty.aspx?id=2640" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">Tracy Foose</a>, a psychiatrist in San Francisco who specializes in anxiety disorders, seemed to offer a third option. She bites her nails, and, like me, she has a 3-year-old daughter. Foose has a whole different take on it — probably a much better one. Nail biting is just part of who she is. She's even proud of it. "You know, my mom bites her nails. She was an artist. So, I think I associate it with being cool and being older and working on something important," she says.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">During her residency, Foose met a patient at the ER one night. "A lovely, middle-aged mother of several kids who came in and looked scared out of her wits," she recalls. This woman had become fixated on a perceived blemish on her face. "She had picked at her cheek to a level where she was bleeding profusely," says Foose.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">It was <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-woman-who-thought-too-much/201109/life-dermatillomania" style="color: #3366cc; text-decoration: none;">dermatillomania</a>, to be specific.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"She truly could not control herself, despite the pain that it was causing, despite the disfigurement. And nail biting sort of forever fell off my radar," says Foose.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Nail biting is not life threatening. On the scale of human failings, it barely lifts the needle. It's not to say Cora wouldn't be better off not biting her nails. But, says Foose, there may be a better way to talk about it. Just as Foose had removed the stigma and guilt for herself, maybe I could do that for my daughter.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"You can go to the place of giving kids information. Like, 'Oh, I see you biting your nails. Mommy bites her nails, too. You know why we shouldn't bite our nails? Because there are germs that live under our nails,' " explains Foose.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">A way that frames it, in other words, as a choice. One that's hers to make — even if it takes having her own kids one day to make it.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/01/161766321/nail-biting-mental-disorder-or-just-a-bad-habit">http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/01/161766321/nail-biting-mental-disorder-or-just-a-bad-habit</a></div>

Do you bite your nails? For 30 years, I did. We nail biters can be "pathological groomers" — people for whom normal grooming behav...

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Our conversation pit!

<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday I blogged about visiting the very cool and retro Sam Stephenson designed Conversation Pit in <a href="http://www.number31.ie/architect_sam_stephenson/">Number 31</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Here's our take on a conversation pit - our upholstery was completed and delivered on Saturday morning.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmva43Fj9TY0atzaffHzb3qDNICLW9qaiclODzLwBWZhT3qjQWZYd3rHHnKX9-FresycQutV-Tk9LkGqsXnmVLcJQiMfdjV62eco0tLdZjJnDWy2CKXZuUCDY307Z3ulJDP6PUNobUkkUY/s1600/IMG_2169%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmva43Fj9TY0atzaffHzb3qDNICLW9qaiclODzLwBWZhT3qjQWZYd3rHHnKX9-FresycQutV-Tk9LkGqsXnmVLcJQiMfdjV62eco0tLdZjJnDWy2CKXZuUCDY307Z3ulJDP6PUNobUkkUY/s320/IMG_2169%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">10 people can comfortably sit on this couch - 12 if you are feeling friendly!!</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_c_1A1xktoVfv8HW8DH1g_YyIsKRRmnXMLJNuXwS_kRpt5gIopfHkzruFmD1869NC1g7d6qJA1J9taBTp8-QpPpRr2BM8T-M3LqyDearZpj_zyCIxHqKKrJY27PJpR6c4CUXGGEof2x2/s1600/IMG_2168%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_c_1A1xktoVfv8HW8DH1g_YyIsKRRmnXMLJNuXwS_kRpt5gIopfHkzruFmD1869NC1g7d6qJA1J9taBTp8-QpPpRr2BM8T-M3LqyDearZpj_zyCIxHqKKrJY27PJpR6c4CUXGGEof2x2/s320/IMG_2168%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">How do you think it turned out??</span>

Our conversation pit!

Yesterday I blogged about visiting the very cool and retro Sam Stephenson designed Conversation Pit in Number 31 Here's our take on a co...

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House pictures!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's been a long time since I posted pictures of the house.  Here are a few that I took this morning.  I hope you enjoy them and would love to hear your comments.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Artwork in the Master Bedroom - this was painted by Ciaran</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkOhQrvzpxuno6W3UPJ1DpwBcFR_MrmI9Zjvm5nHW4bL9k_7GOjLH_PeJgEkB-uxmdVm5vnkC-bNtKkhgFh8RmPIoJ061VIqEgerllyeiSeCmVC2w8xllbYeZrZTQd_TOvEeXFPd56iVZ/s1600/IMG_2180%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkOhQrvzpxuno6W3UPJ1DpwBcFR_MrmI9Zjvm5nHW4bL9k_7GOjLH_PeJgEkB-uxmdVm5vnkC-bNtKkhgFh8RmPIoJ061VIqEgerllyeiSeCmVC2w8xllbYeZrZTQd_TOvEeXFPd56iVZ/s320/IMG_2180%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">                                   The Master Bedroom</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgqjQEjtRPCXza9mIdH443lTT_zz2mXeVRSYCLXNzX-YllyDSqR3mXIPJIPHd-mgCwWLV_xf_hSjrXXLqMDWDEOiAoLoRUE7-eVdnRtGf2fq_zWPGgfy8z1YqkiGtruVPFWevvxf3YgHX/s1600/IMG_2179%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgqjQEjtRPCXza9mIdH443lTT_zz2mXeVRSYCLXNzX-YllyDSqR3mXIPJIPHd-mgCwWLV_xf_hSjrXXLqMDWDEOiAoLoRUE7-eVdnRtGf2fq_zWPGgfy8z1YqkiGtruVPFWevvxf3YgHX/s320/IMG_2179%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>                                                          <br /><span style="font-size: large;">                                          Bathroom</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZK75051NV65EAF1UoP8X9jNaJ7wsD6HdrS1WqxuugaLKfWy47TvcpU2wnObtBo3XSjL-Oz062EdOMvIjDL6VqVCnEtHdfJmJIAjemERNStpjx1o2wKnIxzGCdNA8Z5EHDFN0lDaIzsD3K/s1600/IMG_2178%5B2%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZK75051NV65EAF1UoP8X9jNaJ7wsD6HdrS1WqxuugaLKfWy47TvcpU2wnObtBo3XSjL-Oz062EdOMvIjDL6VqVCnEtHdfJmJIAjemERNStpjx1o2wKnIxzGCdNA8Z5EHDFN0lDaIzsD3K/s320/IMG_2178%5B2%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the living room:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHEj8-IVjaNyRxdM8_wcrXNBnDhSmGHzy4k2SAK9XVNMjRFbL4u23exLNZfISFzp3nTXNbDvkwg0xdASW5areqUbNG4e9H304-AoINHlTXSZQm3JU2f4NCvDMGgL32SEYKuFCUVtQaf8g/s1600/IMG_2175%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHEj8-IVjaNyRxdM8_wcrXNBnDhSmGHzy4k2SAK9XVNMjRFbL4u23exLNZfISFzp3nTXNbDvkwg0xdASW5areqUbNG4e9H304-AoINHlTXSZQm3JU2f4NCvDMGgL32SEYKuFCUVtQaf8g/s320/IMG_2175%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The glass stairs leading up to the studio.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIs925x0XrHsSn4uFrFwCnHdR-Pj1Qb5O27O6juQhsshRUnvbEOn3lPIvWMbSrGSdeaRuYWUVI8nmKJ3Mw9d5vwlP8bbqSm21lKF6bJyLun8ODuSLEpVxaPB0wACgGp_ZHA57Ay7HpFpS-/s1600/IMG_2174%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIs925x0XrHsSn4uFrFwCnHdR-Pj1Qb5O27O6juQhsshRUnvbEOn3lPIvWMbSrGSdeaRuYWUVI8nmKJ3Mw9d5vwlP8bbqSm21lKF6bJyLun8ODuSLEpVxaPB0wACgGp_ZHA57Ay7HpFpS-/s320/IMG_2174%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The Lucellino Wing Lights in the Guest bedroom.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjko45rFeHMCL1GxGKjH648iVbtPYqqH7CORfCVBYidy4oDpjc1K-lT6SC1FuB47GRIrhlCVpN3h4hu_uuv2OHHjtOaB8W4Zao0K0bD8RW6d7TMwCeFJQ7TMJqurQ0meZpmTmyRXCkyKX0g/s1600/IMG_2173%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjko45rFeHMCL1GxGKjH648iVbtPYqqH7CORfCVBYidy4oDpjc1K-lT6SC1FuB47GRIrhlCVpN3h4hu_uuv2OHHjtOaB8W4Zao0K0bD8RW6d7TMwCeFJQ7TMJqurQ0meZpmTmyRXCkyKX0g/s320/IMG_2173%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the bed in the Guest Bedroom.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_ZlROlsVD9wApCkMy6wQgV90jR7F3-5ySVVmM2qWDzxMIHWS6Psvhq-mvNIugYipA4Qmwv16fGOgP56PGHPmY1TepZE8UaorEC7en4113Zr6mDVxDD9ZP3-91DFzunMBYuTPZQJqDoHW/s1600/IMG_2172%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_ZlROlsVD9wApCkMy6wQgV90jR7F3-5ySVVmM2qWDzxMIHWS6Psvhq-mvNIugYipA4Qmwv16fGOgP56PGHPmY1TepZE8UaorEC7en4113Zr6mDVxDD9ZP3-91DFzunMBYuTPZQJqDoHW/s320/IMG_2172%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the mantlepiece in the Guest Bedroom.  I have put my Paddington Bear's on the ground.  Check out the biggest bear - he's nearly 30 years old and he is one of the original design Paddington Bears - he is a much more solid bears then the newer ones.  I used to love reading Paddington Bear when I was younger, written by Michael Bond he will always be a favourite of mine.  Here is some trivia about Paddington Bear - Jeremy Clarkson's mother (of Top Gear fame) made and marketed the first Paddington Bear Teddy!!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The picture on the mantlepiece is of Picasso, it was painted by Ciaran's Dad.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gb5NVhplgkARDlMOgqBPSVkkftT35FM6HMO8i3ymE8-22IZ0EH8xCqqlyl1KXTe2QrhFvcIyxoPoSCF4i8Hl5NALlCYqEOYGPBQ68FqJu9gK3Ucj_KudiRYdUDM15BUUmD64SX8lUAqp/s1600/IMG_2170%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gb5NVhplgkARDlMOgqBPSVkkftT35FM6HMO8i3ymE8-22IZ0EH8xCqqlyl1KXTe2QrhFvcIyxoPoSCF4i8Hl5NALlCYqEOYGPBQ68FqJu9gK3Ucj_KudiRYdUDM15BUUmD64SX8lUAqp/s320/IMG_2170%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />

House pictures!

It's been a long time since I posted pictures of the house.  Here are a few that I took this morning.  I hope you enjoy them and would l...

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IRAN and ISRAEL

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6wav1Oyp7ra7LN1_dwP_mf6YyTQTFBCE16hTAQIRCK7xNde_uL5Wn65OI6nRuCY99-gQFVMuhU7Negr9ZsH_EQvVb7AZ8y1tKoYGxTdp_wr1z4Acm_0msveutl6oJg5y7nk0OqyqH8Kk/s1600/helicopter_1469431c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6wav1Oyp7ra7LN1_dwP_mf6YyTQTFBCE16hTAQIRCK7xNde_uL5Wn65OI6nRuCY99-gQFVMuhU7Negr9ZsH_EQvVb7AZ8y1tKoYGxTdp_wr1z4Acm_0msveutl6oJg5y7nk0OqyqH8Kk/s400/helicopter_1469431c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">UAV INTRUSION: IRANIAN ACT OF BELLIGERENCE AGAINST US AND ISRAELI MILITARY TARGETS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via DEBKA<i>file</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">PENETRATION OF ISRAELI AIR SPACE BY A LARGE UNMANNED HELICOPTER</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">However ISRAELI official spokesmen present the incident of Saturday, Oct. 6, the penetration of ISRAELI air space by a large unmanned helicopter should not have been allowed to happen. The surprise interloper should have been shot down before spending nearly half an hour over southern ISRAEL. The incident showed ID intelligence and command not up to handling enemy surprises, even after countless drills and exercises.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Four months ago, on July 20, <b>Hizballah’s </b>leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech, “The resistance movement will surprise Tel Aviv in any future war.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SHjflLBiMawIf756kUiqYXs8n150xlAbpGjM1m2gAFsbhyphenhyphenGQ5N1X2nv1b_Tys9qEjo4bHVldQBfQcDC5C0pz644N5TbXcE7E_m4nLWvo4ytkkWEgTSXz1LRYpcGwNzYBXupGOATjk6Np/s1600/34c6acb39ef174080c116bf17ad65328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SHjflLBiMawIf756kUiqYXs8n150xlAbpGjM1m2gAFsbhyphenhyphenGQ5N1X2nv1b_Tys9qEjo4bHVldQBfQcDC5C0pz644N5TbXcE7E_m4nLWvo4ytkkWEgTSXz1LRYpcGwNzYBXupGOATjk6Np/s200/34c6acb39ef174080c116bf17ad65328.jpg" width="178" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IAF insignia  </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><b>Hizballah</b> with IRANIAN backing almost certainly proved its point Saturday, very likely in collaboration with its <b>Palestinian</b> ally, <b>Hamas.</b><br />Our intelligence experts note that before the ISRAELI Air Force fighters scrambled to shoot it down, the intruder would have had enough time for its surveillance equipment to beam to its IRANIAN control station, wherever it was, the electronic signatures of US and ISRAELI military installations within its purview in the South and the Negev. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THIS WAS A MAJOR LAPSE.</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The alien aircraft should have been intercepted the moment it flew in from the Mediterranean and entered the skies of the Gaza Strip. By then, it was clearly seen heading toward Beersheba. Had there been weapons aboard, the incident would have ended in a worse disaster, reminding ISRAEL of its worst nightmare: an IRANIAN plane flying over with a nuclear bomb.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tiy7ObbGqMzZZMbhZSq1R2CgWBvxj2BDTaMYq2wAZF9fYR3wxKqvppTcrjMI5GCp4nuEyzHoqB85_QFydR-M1MILH2q8X5UGea2PlQYZFvnUJ9snVsZCYBsdxTiSWnhfMj-QMsQh0BDa/s1600/600x450xisraeli-air-force.jpg.pagespeed.ic.S1IHGTE8lS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tiy7ObbGqMzZZMbhZSq1R2CgWBvxj2BDTaMYq2wAZF9fYR3wxKqvppTcrjMI5GCp4nuEyzHoqB85_QFydR-M1MILH2q8X5UGea2PlQYZFvnUJ9snVsZCYBsdxTiSWnhfMj-QMsQh0BDa/s320/600x450xisraeli-air-force.jpg.pagespeed.ic.S1IHGTE8lS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">alleged location of shot down helicopter drone </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As it is, the sophisticated aerial surveillance vehicle was able to cover the space over the IDF’s southern facilities, the town of Beersheba and the Israeli Air Force base at Nevatim before it was shot down over the Yatir forest south of Mt. Hebron. Its primary missions may have been to record the electronic signatures of the Dimona nuclear reactor’s air defense systems and the AMERICAN X-band radar station in the Negev, which is linked to the US X-band station in TURKEY. Together, they are the “forward eyes” of the joint US-ISRAELI shield against IRANIAN ballistic missile attack.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">IRANIAN “SYSTEM TEST”?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">If the intruder came to spot the gaps in that shield, it would have succeeded.<br />It is therefore important in this context to recall a more recent and explicit threat, this one by Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s ground forces, who said on Sept. 23 that his country was not waiting to be attacked but ready to carry out preemptive operations against the US and ISRAEL.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnfsFmU2DcF8xxmwIJ_VSTT3dU0FTPIRFIXhXmbAF4SUv0LZ3Yb5uMndjvs2GFqQEOORX5g24AXgNmcKxES4Ax8-yvaisIOSmy65alVMMa3fyLDBsxYbtM8PE7MjpFVVxSnWuxiej-Lcn/s1600/640x392_16530_241548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnfsFmU2DcF8xxmwIJ_VSTT3dU0FTPIRFIXhXmbAF4SUv0LZ3Yb5uMndjvs2GFqQEOORX5g24AXgNmcKxES4Ax8-yvaisIOSmy65alVMMa3fyLDBsxYbtM8PE7MjpFVVxSnWuxiej-Lcn/s320/640x392_16530_241548.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barak passed  decision to  PM</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The aerial overflight Saturday may well have been a preparatory step for such an attack.<br />Tehran would also have noted the time lapse before ISRAEL acted: The IDF asked the Defense Minister Ehud Barak what to do instead of acting at once and Barak passed the buck to the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />They decided initially to down the helicopter by electronic means and capture it intact in an attempt to establish who sent it and study its systems. However, the IRANIAN controllers fought back – hence the cyber battle <a href="http://www.debka.com/article/22414"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></a>rocking back and forth over southern ISRAEL for nearly half an hour - before shooting it down.<br />The image the IDF spokesman put out of a ball of fire in the sky was misleading. On its way down to earth, the vehicle broke up into fragments large enough to offer up important secrets to ISRAEL’S military researchers.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />On Saturday, ISRAEL’S electronic warfare systems were fully operational and effective. However, ISRAEL’S leaders were struck dumb and caught unawares by IRAN’S audacity in springing on them an overt act of belligerence against their own and AMERICAN military installations housed in the Negev. ISRAEL officials have vowed to respond to an obvious act of war.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

IRAN and ISRAEL

UAV INTRUSION: IRANIAN ACT OF BELLIGERENCE AGAINST US AND ISRAELI MILITARY TARGETS Via DEBKA file PENETRATION OF ISRAELI AIR SPACE BY A LA...

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Bad Fortune Cookie Messages

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hola y’all! Do you love Chinese food? Of course you do. Everyone does! Well, except me. I know that you’re surprised by that what with my love of Asian babes and all. I’m just weird that way, I guess. Anyway, I do love Fortune Cookies though, even if they are kind of hokey. So, here are some messages you aren’t likely to get in your Fortune Cookies next time you hit the Chinese Buffett.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxg6ojhTrMxVzlwpj-9SYpsGX0w5ny652TZngvFbBL57A3TYcrzXkZ2ZObwzP2xyCYcJ-hFW71rY8ceNlbPmqYTrKHWpL_Ml4ZGrSXMrlHsFN8jA3qHOFv8QmUa5trm0XGa4ebB2FCAso/s1600/Zhang-Ziyi-Hot-Asian-Babe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxg6ojhTrMxVzlwpj-9SYpsGX0w5ny652TZngvFbBL57A3TYcrzXkZ2ZObwzP2xyCYcJ-hFW71rY8ceNlbPmqYTrKHWpL_Ml4ZGrSXMrlHsFN8jA3qHOFv8QmUa5trm0XGa4ebB2FCAso/s400/Zhang-Ziyi-Hot-Asian-Babe.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>“Do you really believe this shit?”<br /><br />“Bet you wish you had done Mexican instead, huh?” <br /><br />“All previous fortunes are now invalid. Sorry about that.” <br /><br />“You’re probably gonna die alone.” <br /><br />“It’s okay to act out your homoerotic dreams.” <br /><br />“There’s someone hiding in your bedroom closet.” <br /><br />“Your partner will bring you a surprise that you can treat with antibiotics.”<br /><br />“Don’t watch that new show ‘Nashville’ on ABC. It’s gonna suck.” <br /><br />“Those weren’t raisins.” <br /><br />“The cook with the long hair and dozens of tats and piercings? Yeah, he has TB.” <br /><br />“That guy you think is your brother is really your father.” <br /><br />“You will live downstairs from a sexual deviant with bad taste in music.” <br /><br />“Creepy guys will sniff you in the elevator.” <br /><br />“You have 20 minutes to get home before the cramps start.”<br /><br />“I bet you were going to put a pic of this on Instagram, weren’t you?” <br /><br />“Listen to I’m With Stupid every Wed at 11 am ET and Sun at 12 Noon ET: <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid.">www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid.</a>”<br /><br />“You should probably take it easy on the Crab Rangoon big boy.” <br /><br />“Your mother never really loved you.”<br /><br />“99% of your Facebook ‘friends’ hate you.” <br /><br /><br />Okay, there you go. That’s way better than all the silly “You will meet a mysterious stranger” stuff you usually get! <br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws">@Jayman_IWS </a><br /><br />In other news we welcomed the lovely and hilarious Missy to IWS today and she did NOT disappoint! She told us about all the weird and wacky things that have happened to her over the years. So definitely check this show out! <br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="105" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fim-with-stupid%2F2012%2F10%2F07%2Fone-hot-miss%2Fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fim-with-stupid%2F2012%2F10%2F07%2Fone-hot-miss%2fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;">Listen to <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/">internet radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid">Im With Stupid</a> on Blog Talk Radio</div><br /></div>

Bad Fortune Cookie Messages

Hola y’all! Do you love Chinese food? Of course you do. Everyone does! Well, except me. I know that you’re surprised by that what with my lo...

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Trendspotting: Room Art

Three art installations in New York City this fall make me think of the phrase "Room Art." I don't think such a type exists, but it seems like an interesting coincidence that each artist is constructing a room as a canvas and then immersing the visitor (a more accurate term in this case then viewer) into the space for effect. Respectively, the below examples are an elevated room that gets visitors close to a sculpture usually out of reach, set within a fairly tacky-looking mock apartment; a disorienting, plywood-lined space squeezed into a Chelsea gallery; and a simulated Rikers Island jail cell.<br /><br />Tatzu Nishi's <a href="http://www.publicartfund.org/view/exhibitions/5495_discovering_columbus"><i>Discovering Columbus</i></a> at Columbus Circle until November 18:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roccocell/8011037688/" title="COLUMBUS CIRCLE | TATZU NISHI - DISCOVERING COLUMBUS by roccocell, on Flickr"><img alt="COLUMBUS CIRCLE | TATZU NISHI - DISCOVERING COLUMBUS" height="424" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8011037688_302c085eb8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />[Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roccocell/">Roccocell</a> via the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/pool/">archidose flickr pool</a>] <br /><br />Julian Hoeber's <i>Demon Hill #2</i> at <a href="http://www.harrislieberman.com/exhibition/2551/Julian-Hoeber">Harris Lieberman</a> until October 20:<br /><img alt="art-room2.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/art-room2.jpg" title="Julian Hoeber's Demon Hill #2" /><br />[Photo via <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670888/a-crazy-tilting-box-that-tricks-your-inner-ear#1">Co.Design</a>] <br /><br />Artist <a href="http://www.jessicafeldman.org/">Jessica Feldman</a>'s (with designer Steven Gertner) <i>The Glass Sea</i> at Lieutenant Petrosino Park from October 25 to November 25:<br /><img alt="art-room3.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/art-room3.jpg" title="Julian Hoeber's Demon Hill #2" /><br />[Photo: Jessica Feldman and Steven Gertner, via <a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121005/soho/prison-cell-replica-is-latest-public-art-headed-soho">DNAinfo</a>]

Trendspotting: Room Art

Three art installations in New York City this fall make me think of the phrase "Room Art." I don't think such a type exists, b...

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Mystery House

On one occasion during my recent trip to Switzerland and Italy, I found myself without my camera. So coming across a contemporary concrete house in the middle of the small village of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collina_d%27Oro#Agra">Agra, Collina d'Oro</a> (CH), I had no choice but to snap a few photos with the camera on my old-school (not smart) phone.<br /><br /><img alt="Photo065.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/Photo065.jpg" title="Cell phone photo of concrete house" /><br /><br />If the house were not located in its setting I may not have payed much attention to it—that's probably why I had left my camera in the car. But it's so different than the old buildings around it, both in terms of style and in how the house addresses the street; instead of meeting the street it is set back from it beyond a stone wall and lawn.<br /><br /><img alt="Photo064.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/Photo064.jpg" title="Cell phone photo of concrete house" /><br /><br />So does anybody know the story behind this house, who designed it, who might live there? For reference, it's the construction site smack in the middle of <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/PHPkF">this Google Maps aerial</a>.<br /><br /><img alt="Photo066.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/Photo066.jpg" title="Cell phone photo of concrete house" /><br /><br /><b>Update 10.09:</b> Thanks to Hans for emailing me the name of the architects: <a href="http://www.giraudiwettstein.ch/progetti/edifici-privati/76_cb.html">Giraudi Wettstein</a> (click link for project page on their website).

Mystery House

On one occasion during my recent trip to Switzerland and Italy, I found myself without my camera. So coming across a contemporary concrete h...

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