SOME ODDS AND ENDS
As I finally get caught up on all my grading, final exams, etc etc...

Many of my Moebius friends love their coffee in the morning--and there's good news for them:
"Drinking a daily cup of coffee -- or even several cups -- isn't likely to harm your health, and it may even lower your risk of dying from chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests."

Finally...something we like that ISN'T bad for you!

Meanwhile, isn't it amazing what technology can do these days for the disabled?  Check out this story:
"The stroke that disconnected Cathy Hutchinson’s brain from her body has kept her silent and unable to move for more than 14 years. But science is starting to change all that.
Researchers have connected the 58-year-old woman’s brain to a computer that runs a robotic arm. As Hutchinson sits at a table staring at a bottled drink and imagining the robot grabbing the bottle and bringing it to her mouth, the robot arm begins to move.
The robot is running on signals detected by sensors implanted in the part of Hutchinson’s brain that would normally control the movements of her right arm. The sensors pick up the sparking of nerve cells and send the signals to the computer which then translates them into commands for the robotic arm. Suddenly Hutchinson is able to do something she could only dream of before: As she thinks about getting herself a drink, the arm reaches over to the bottle and brings it to her lips, where she is able to sip the drink from a straw."

And some with Moebius are also affected by autism.  There's some news on that front:
"A simple nasal spray of a naturally-occurring hormone is showing tremendous promise in treating the socialization difficulties associated with autism.
Preliminary findings from a small, ongoing study of children ages 7 to 18 with autism indicate that a spray of oxytocin dramatically alters brain activity, particularly in the areas responsible for socialization.
“When we’re comparing days in which children come in and get an oxytocin spray versus days they come in and get a placebo spray, we’re seeing a huge difference in brain function,” said Ilanit Gordon of the Yale Child Study Center who presented the research Wednesday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Toronto.
The differences are especially striking because they are apparent as kids perform a wide variety of tasks, Gordon said.
The research is the first double-blind, placebo-controlled study to look at the effects of oxytocin on kids with autism.
Often referred to as the “love hormone,” oxytocin occurs naturally in the body during childbirth and helps mothers bond with their babies, for example.
Though many unknowns remain about the potential for utilizing oxytocin with those who have autism, Gordon said she and her colleagues are optimistic.
“We’re hopeful that this will lead to better treatment for social dysfunction in ASD,” Gordon said."

Could be good news!

"Getting an idea should be like sitting down on a pin. It should make you jump up and do something." -E.L. Simpson


“To finish first, you must first finish. ”--Rick  Mears (born 1951)