“Once, There Stood A Tree By The Road. High… Proud… Strong. It Stood Away From Everyone, Doing

Scientists discover schizophrenia gene roles in brain development

A USC research team identified 150 proteins affecting cell activity and brain development that contribute to mental disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar condition and depression.

It’s the first time these molecules, which are associated with the disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) protein linked to mental disorders, have been identified. The scientists developed new tools involving stem cells to determine chemical reactions the proteins use to influence cell functions and nerve growth in people.

“This moves science closer to opportunities for treatment for serious mental illness,” said Marcelo P. Coba, the study author and professor of psychiatry at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

The findings appear in Biological Psychiatry.

Schizophrenia affects less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, but has an outsized impact on disability, suicide and premature deaths.

The DISC1 gene was linked to schizophrenia nearly 20 years ago. It controls how nerve cells called neurons develop, as well as how the brain matures. DISC1 also directs a network of signals across cells that can contribute to the disease. Scientists say errors in these chemical reactions contribute to schizophrenia.

But the identity of proteins that DISC1 can regulate is poorly understood, prompting the USC researchers and colleagues from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center to undertake the research. The challenge was to simulate conditions inside the human brain, Coba explained.

Using stem cells, they conducted assays resembling habitat where DISC1 does its work. They then used gene editing to insert a molecular tag on DISC1, allowing them to extract it from brain cells and identify the proteins with which it associates.

Identifying the proteins that interact with DISC1 in brain cells could lead to understanding how the risk factors for psychiatric diseases are connected to specific molecular functions, Coba explained. The discovery enables researchers to determine specific processes that differ in patients suffering from specific mental illnesses.

“This gives researchers specific trails to follow within cells from both healthy patients and those diagnosed with disorders,” Coba said.

Schizophrenia research

Schizophrenia is one of the top 15 leading causes of disability worldwide. People with schizophrenia live an average of nearly 29 years less than those without the disorder, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH).

The illness is often accompanied by conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which contribute to the high premature mortality rate among people with schizophrenia. About 5 percent of people with schizophrenia die by suicide, a rate far greater than the general population, with the highest risk in the early stages of illness, according to the NIMH.

The recent release of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes“ reminded me of one of my favorite ape vs. man films – this 1932 video that shows a baby chimpanzee and a baby human undergoing the same basic psychological tests.

Its gets weirder – the human baby (Donald) and the chimpanzee baby (Gua) were both raised as humans by their biological/adopted father Winthrop Niles Kellogg.  Kellogg was a comparative psychologist fascinated by the interplay between nature and nurture, and he devised a fascinating (and questionably ethical) experiment to study it:

Suppose an anthropoid were taken into a typical human family at the day of birth and reared as a child. Suppose he were fed upon a bottle, clothed, washed, bathed, fondled, and given a characteristically human environment; that he were spoken to like the human infant from the moment of parturition; that he had an adopted human mother and an adopted human father.

First, Kellogg had to convince his pregnant wife he wasn’t crazy:

 …the enthusiasm of one of us met with so much resistance from the other that it appeared likely we could never come to an agreement upon whether or not we should even attempt such an undertaking.

She apparently gave in, because Donald and Gua were raised, for nine months, as brother and sister. Much like Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” movies, Gua developed faster than her “brother,” and often outperformed him in tasks. But she soon hit a cognitive wall, and the experiment came to an end. (Probably for the best, as Donald had begun to speak chimpanzee.)

You can read more about Kellogg’s experiment, its legacy, and public reaction to it here.

““You don’t need water to feel like you’re drowning, do you?””

—  Jodi Picoult (via naturaekos)

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♠️♦️How to Divine Using Playing Cards ♥️♣️

♥️HEARTS♥️

♥️Ace: home or close environment. Could represent a visit, travel or a change of address.

♥️King: an influencial man, someone who has the power or ability to do something good for the querent. Money, wealth, success in love.

♥️Queen: A trusted woman. Someone knowledgeable and faithful. One who always plays fair. Trust, honesty, friendship.

♥️Jack: A good friend to the querent, someone close, a cousin or confidant, someone they have known for a long time. Friendship, relationships (usually family-related), and gathering or celebration.

♥️10: A good card: means good luck, can counteract bad cards around it.

♥️9: Harmony, prosperity. Also known as ‘the Wish Card’. If surrounded by bad cards, these can represent obstacles that need to be dealt with in order to get the fulfillment of the wish.

♥️8: An event, a celebration, a party/wedding ..etc. Some sort of ceremony that is already in the works, or is being planned.

♥️7: A card of disappointent. Usually indicates a partner or other person failing to keep their promises. If this card comes up when dealing with some sort of plan, expect that the other person will back out.

♥️6: Warning card. Someone may try to take advantage of the querent. Also, the querent is being used by a close friend or partner.

♥️5: Indecisiveness: The querent’s inability to make up his/her mind on a subject. A tendency to make and break plans with others.

♥️4: The bachelor/old maid card. This card represent someone who is too fussy in their selection of a partner. Someone who, by their picky nature, is destined to remain alone.

♥️3: An unwise decision, made in haste and without proper background information.

♥️2: Success, often beyond the querent’s expectations. If bad cards surround, there may be delays in reaching the goal.

♣️CLUBS♣️

♣️Ace: Indicates wealth, fame, and having many friends or acquaintances. Also feeling well known and being able to receive certain perks due to good looks or social status.

♣️King: Represents a very good friend. A lifelong companion, someone who can be trusted and counted on during times of need and sorrow.

♣️Queen: Represents a wife or girlfriend in long term relationship for a man. For a woman, represents a sister or good friend, someone who shares a lot of knowledge about the querent.

♣️Jack: Represents a good friend, one who uses a lot of flattery, but only to make the other person feel better. Someone who is good at cheering the querent up.

♣️10 :A card of happiness and good fortune. Can also represent a long and fun-filled journey.

♣️9: Trouble: Represents arguments with good friends. A loss of a relationship, a dispute that will remain unresolved.

♣️8: A sense of desperation. An urgent need for money.

♣️7: A card of good luck, if other favorable cards are around. Success if there is not interference from the opposite sex.

♣️6: A partnership card. Success based on mutual goals and friendship.

♣️5: A marriage card, or the beginning of a long standing alliance.

♣️4: A danger card, showing misfortune or failure. Supposed friends getting in the way, or turning against the querent.

♣️3: A sign of a second marriage or even a third. Or an engagement with someone, then a marriage with another, after a friendly separation.

♣️2: Bad luck. Being let down by those around. Opposition from friends and family. Do not count on others.

♦️DIAMONDS♦️

♦️Ace: an important message. A letter or package/gift arriving, the contents of which are very important.

♦️King: A bitter rival, a dangerous competitor, for women it can mean an abusive man or a deceitful lover.

♦️Queen: A flirtatious woman, one who will interfere in plans. Gossipy, very attractive to males..able to get away with things and interfere in situations.

♦️Jack: A bringer of bad news. A selfish person. Not dangerous to male querents, but problems for a female one.

♦️10: Money. Money being the driving force of a journey or partnership. Greed.

♦️9: Adventure: A move in the hopes of advancement.

♦️8: Country life, travel and marriage late in life. The querent’s life is too hectic at the moment..a need to settle down and get away..but being unable to do so at the present time.

♦️7: Bad luck on an enterprise or idea. A man who is unreliable, a gambler or drinker.

♦️6: An early marriage, but an unhappy one..and one not destined to last. A second marriage would also be unhappy.

♦️5: Prosperity, long enduring friendship. Pride in family. Success with children.

♦️4: Quarrels: Forgotten or neglected friends and family. Situations that have been brewing and now come to a head.

♦️3: A card of disputes and quarrels. Lawsuits, legal actions. A sign of separation or divorce.

♦️2: A serious love affair, resulting in a marriage or interfering with one depending on surrounding cards.

♠️SPADES♠️

♠️Ace: Bad news, loss of someone close, possible death to someone near, or an illness, miscarriage, etc.

♠️King: A man who will cause problems in marriage or relationships. One who will get in the middle, divide and conquer..and then destroy.

♠️Queen: A cruel woman, one who interferes. For women, a betrayal by a good friend. For men, a woman who will use them for their own gain.

♠️Jack: A person who hangs around and gets in the way. Not a bad person, but a lazy person. One who will get in the way of progress. Takes and takes, but does not give back anything.

♠️10: A very unlucky card. If near a good card, it can cancel it out. If found with bad cards, makes them twice as bad.

♠️9: The worst card of all: Illness, loss of money, or misery. Even among the best of cards. Defeat, lack of success:

♠️8: False friends, traitors, someone who will betray. Most of the trouble can be avoided if caught early on. Examine all relationships closely.

♠️7: Sorrow and quarrels. Avoid arguments with friends. Let them “win” for now.

♠️6: Much planning but little result. Hard work, without much profit. Discouragements.

♠️5: Success in business or love, after much time and hard work.

♠️4: Minor misfortune: A short illness, a temporary setback.

♠️3: Unhappiness: Misfortune in love or marriage. A loss of pride and hope. Do not dwell, move on in life.

♠️2: A complete and forced change. Sudden change of location, relationship or a death. Bound to make a big difference in the coming months.

GENERALLY: ♥️HEARTS: Emotional, symbols of pain and suffering.

♣️CLUBS: Friends, relationships.

♦️DIAMONDS: Difficulties, money problems.

♠️SPADES: Warnings.

““Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose… …Describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty - describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember. If your everyday life seems poor, don’t blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place. And even if you found yourself in some prison, whose walls let in none of the world’s sounds – wouldn’t you still have your childhood, that jewel beyond all price, that treasure house of memories? Turn your attentions to it. Try to raise up the sunken feelings of this enormous past; your personality will grow stronger, your solitude will expand and become a place where you can live in the twilight, where the noise of other people passes by, far in the distance. - And if out of this turning-within, out of this immersion in your own world, poems come, then you will not think of asking anyone whether they are good or not. Nor will you try to interest magazines in these works: for you will see them as your dear natural possession, a piece of your life, a voice from it. A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it.””

— Rainer Maria Rilke (via amargedom)

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