Animals In Space, Then & Now

Nae's Nest —  May 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

This image shows scientific equipment for studying mice, BIOS MLZH 01, to be flown on the Bion-M1 mission. CREDIT: Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences

 

A Russian space capsule carrying lizards, mice, gerbils, fish and other creatures has safely returned to Earth, but not all of its animal passengers survived the month-long spaceflight, according to news reports.

The Bion-M1 space capsule launched into space on April 19 atop a Russian-built Soyuz 2 rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On Sunday (May 19) the capsule came back to Earth, guided with the help of a parachute system to the ground in Russia’s Orenburg region. It is the longest animal astronaut mission of its kind.

The Bion-M1 space capsule, which will carry animals into space in April 2013, is seen during mission preparations at its Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan.
CREDIT: Russian Federal Space Agency
View full size image

Space officials reportedly discovered that more than half of the 45 mice aboard the spacecraft died during the flight, the AFP reported. All eight Mongolian gerbils and many of the other critters also did not survive, but all 15 geckos did survive, the news service reported. [See photos of the Bion-M1 space animals mission]

According to Russian scientists, some losses were to be expected during the flight, and the mission still promises to yield valuable data from experiments on how space travel affects living things. The capsule spent 30 days orbiting 357 miles (575 kilometers) above Earth. Scientists planned to humanely euthanize the animals after their return to Earth in order to complete the experiments.

A Russian Soyuz rocket soars toward orbit carrying the Bion-M1 animal-carrying space capsule on April 19, 2013 after a smooth launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
CREDIT: TsENKI

Animals have been launched into orbit in the past. In the early days of spaceflight, both the United States and the Soviet Union launched animals to space to test the safety of launching humans into orbit

But the Bion-M1 mission marks longest experiment of its kind.

“This is the first time that animals have been put in space on their own for so long,” Vladimir Sychov of the Russian Academy of Sciences was quoted as saying by AFP in announcing the capsule’s return. Sychov added that “less than half of the mice made it — but that was to be expected.”

The project was run by Russia’s Federal Space Agency, also called Roscosmos, but an international team of scientists was overseeing the mission’s experiments. It was the first Russian space mission to launch animals into orbit in 17 years. Prior to Bion-M1, the most recent animal space mission for Russia was a Bion flight that sent rhesus monkeys, geckos and amphibians into orbit for 15 days in 1996.

Geckos will fly on the Russian Bion M1 space mission for the purposes of biological research.
CREDIT: Roscosmos
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Nicole Rayl, project manager for NASA’s portion of the Bion-M1 animal astronaut mission, told SPACE.com in April that the flight would be important because of its duration and because it would allow scientists to analyze data with tools that weren’t available to them during previous similar missions.

Scientists had prepared a battery of experiments designed to test how space travel would affect the bodies of the animals. One of the NASA experiments was aimed at studying how microgravity and radiation would impact sperm motility in mice. With eye toward long, interplanetary missions, Rayl said that test would be important to help determine if humans can procreate from sex in space.

According to the Associated Press, the animals were to be flown to Moscow after landing to undergo a series of tests at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, where Sychov is deputy director.

Animals have been launched into orbit in the past. In the early days of spaceflight, both the United States and the Soviet Union launched animals to space to test the safety of launching humans into orbit.

In the early days of rocket science, no one knew what the effects of weightlessness would be. Animals — mainly dogs, monkeys and chimps — were used to test the safety and feasibility of launching a living being into space and bringing it back unharmed.

Since then, animals have continued to play an important role in understanding the impact of microgravity on many biological functions. Astronauts have studied all kinds of animals — wasps, beetles, tortoises, flies, worms, fish, spiders, rabbits, bees, ants, frogs, mice, crickets, rats, newts, snails, urchins, moths, brine shrimp, jellyfish, guinea pigs, butterflies, scorpions and cockroaches.

Sputnik and Muttnik
Laika was a young, mostly-Siberian husky. She was rescued from the streets of Moscow. Soviet scientists assumed that a stray dog would have already learned to endure harsh conditions of hunger and cold temperatures. Laika and two other dogs were trained for space travel by being kept in small cages and learning to eat a nutritious gel that would be their food in space.

The dog’s name was originally Kudryavka, or Little Curly, but she became known internationally as Laika, a Russian word for several breeds of dog similar to a husky. American reporters dubbed her Muttnik as a pun on Sputnik.

Unfortunately, Laika’s trip into space was one-way only. A re-entry strategy could not be worked out in time for the launch. It is unknown exactly how long Laika lived in orbit — perhaps a few hours or a few days — until the power to her life-support system gave out. Sputnik 2 burned up in the upper atmosphere in April 1958.

The first animal astronauts
Although there is no distinct boundary between the atmosphere and space, an imaginary line about 68 miles (110 kilometers) from the surface, called the Karman line, is usually where scientists say Earth’s atmosphere meets outer space.

The first animals to reach space — not counting any bacteria that may have hitched a ride on previous rockets — were fruit flies. On Feb. 20, 1947, the United States put fruit flies aboard captured German V-2 rockets to study radiation exposure at high altitudes. In 3 minutes and 10 seconds, the fruit flies reached a distance of 68 miles.

The first mammal in space was Albert II, a Rhesus monkey. Albert I’s mission had been unsuccessful, but the second Albert reached a distance of 83 miles on June 14, 1949. Albert was anesthetized during flight and implanted with sensors to measure his vital signs. Unfortunately, Albert II died upon impact at re-entry.

While the United States was experimenting with monkeys, the Soviet Union was experimenting with dogs. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet Union had slots for at least 57 dogs. However, because some dogs flew more than once, fewer than 57 actually participated.

The first dogs launched, Tsygan and Dezik, were aboard the R-1 IIIA-1. The dogs reached space on July 22, 1951, but did not orbit. They were the first mammals successfully recovered from spaceflight.

After Laika, the Soviet Union sent two more dogs, Belka and Strelka, into space on Aug. 19, 1960. The animals were the first to actually orbit and return alive.

Ham the chimpanzee after his successful suborbital spaceflight of Jan. 31, 1961.
CREDIT: NASA
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Other members of the first space menagerie include:
Gordo, a squirrel monkey, launched 600 miles high on Dec. 13, 1958. He died on splashdown when a flotation device failed.
Able, a Rhesus monkey, and Baker, a squirrel monkey, were launched together on May 28, 1959. They flew 300 miles high and returned unharmed. However, Able died during an operation to remove an electrode from under her skin. Baker lived until 1984, dying of kidney failure at age 27.
Ham, a chimpanzee trained to perform tasks during spaceflight. Ham, named after the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, became a celebrity after his flight on Jan. 31, 1961. Ham learned to pull levers to receive banana pellets and avoid electric shocks. He successfully became the first animal to actually interact with a space vessel rather than simply ride in it.
On Oct. 18, 1963, French scientists launched the first cat into space. Felix was successfully retrieved after a parachute descent.
Two Russian dogs, Veterok and Ugolyok were launched into space on Feb. 22, 1966. They orbited for a record-breaking 22 days. Humans did not surpass the record until 1974.

Animals in other space research
Although the early animal astronauts achieved great fame, many other animals have quietly contributed to the body of scientific knowledge about life in space. As humans have grown more accustomed to space travel, fewer animals make the front-page news. Still, their contribution are important.

Some animals have been sent up as part of experiments designed by students, others by NASA and other countries. By 2004, the space shuttle program had flown over two dozen SpaceLab experimental packages. Nearly all of the experiments were designed with one main purpose in mind: to study the effects of microgravity on the biological functions of earth creatures.

Some of the biological functions that have been studied are (to name just a few): brain states, behavioral performance, cardiovascular status, fluid and electrolyte balance, metabolic state, tissue development, and mating in zero gravity.

Here are some examples of specific experiments:
Nov. 9, 1970: Two bullfrogs were launched on a one-way mission to learn more about space motion sickness.  Some water bears eat microscopic animals, while others consume algae.
CREDIT: Daiki Horikawa, NASA Ames
View full size image

July 28, 1973: Two garden spiders named Arabella and Anita were used to study how orbiting earth would impact spiders’ ability to spin webs. Arabella spun a fairly symmetric web even though the thread thickness varied — something that earthbound spiders don’t experience.

July 10, 1985: Ten newts flew on board the Bion 7. Their front limbs were amputated in order to study regeneration in space to better understand how humans might recover from space injuries.

April 17, 1998: More than 2,000 creatures joined in 16 days of neurological testing alongside the seven-member human crew of the shuttle Columbia.

September 2007: Microscopic creatures commonly known as water bears (tardigrades) survived a 10-day exposure to open space. The creatures are known to have the ability to withstand extreme conditions, including dehydration, and still recover and reproduce. The animals were dried out and re-hydrated after surviving cosmic rays, a near vacuum, and freezing temperatures.

— Elizabeth Dohrer, SPACE.com Contributor

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Ambercrombie & Fitch , Just Another Bully

Nae's Nest —  May 23, 2013 — Leave a comment

http://thesocietypages.org

I have never been a fan hurting others, nor have I ever endorsed separating people with labels and boxes. History has shown us how dangerous this can be.  This country has worked hard to be free and equal.

My thoughts stem off the disturbing article below regarding Abercrombie & Fitch and their “policies”.  Are they (policies) really any different from having public drinking fountains labeled “white” and “black”? Will a sign end up on the store’s door proclaiming “perfect, popular and good-looking only?”

How do we teach children not to bully or pick on others who are disabled or different, when society is openly discriminatory and unaccepting toward those who do not “fit-in”? Who determines what is “cool” and what isn’t?  Why is society so hung up these differences anyway? Fear?

Does it also not occur to Abercrombie the “cool” kids they cater toward most likely have parents who may not pass the “cool quiz”?  Therefore, isn’t is plausible these parents may refuse to buy from Abercrombie not only because they, the parent, has been insulted but also because these same parents are also trying to teach their “cool” children not to be uncaring, insensitive bullies who feel the need to put labels on others?

How can this not turn your stomach?

During his college years, my youngest son was once approached by a spokesperson for Abercrombie and Fitch. He was simply strolling across campus when stopped by a good-looking representative. He was told that he “fits” their sales model. In fact, he was offered to be a model and invited to come to the Abercrombie business office to find out more about this position.

My son discussed this with his father and myself. Ultimately, he decided to find out more about the position. As a student, extra money is always a plus. (The reader must also keep in mind, this was a few years before the issue of Abercrombie being openly discriminatory was made public.)

Abercrombie actually wanted to pay my son to walk in and around the store premises, pretend to shop and flex his muscles, while fully dressed in the store’s attire. The thought behind this sexy “position” is other hot good-looking shoppers will be enticed to shop at Abercrombie’s after seeing my flexing, gyrating son walking around smiling, winking and shopping there.

I was proud my son turned the offer down, regardless of the pay scale. Some things are not for sale. I am proud to say my son’s jiggling body parts are not displayed on the Abercrombie  menu.

My elaborate, but true story is an introduction to the article below. When my son was offered that ridiculous job, afterward, it was a good laugh. However, I can’t help but be disgusted just how ridiculous Abercrombie’s policies.———-Renee Robinson

http://thejourneyksu21days2011.tumblr.com/

*************** At your nearest Abercrombie and Fitch, you can find shirtless salesmen and the latest distressed denim, but if you’re looking for a women’s extra-large blouse, you’re out of luck. The trendy retailer’s CEO doesn’t want your business.  May 9, 2013 (NEW YORK) (WLS) — Mike Jeffries of Abercrombie and Fitch is on the hot seat after the popular style chain is accused of discriminating against overweight customers, making clothes only for the thin.  An exam of the Abercrombie flagship store in New York City found mostly double-zeros, and extra-smalls and a couple of large tops and size 10 pants. Sales people there confirmed Abercrombie doesn’t carry XL or XXL for women.
“He’s been very, very successful, so he doesn’t want anybody in the store that doesn’t fit that cool, young and sexy definition,” said Robin Lewis, co-author of “The New Rules of Retail.” Lewis says it’s all part of Jeffries’ master plan to cultivate what he considers cool.   A spokesperson for Abercrombie and Fitch declined to comment, but in a 2006 interview Jeffries told Salon magazine: “We go after the attractive all-American kid. A lot of people don’t belong in our clothes, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

There are myriad lemonade-from-lemons issues embedded in the fashion industry, a situation that L.A. writer Greg Karber has already learned in the fallout from Mike Jeffries’ resurfaced quotes about his belief that hiring good-looking people will tap into their desired (read: exclusively tiny) market of cool, “attractive all-American kid[s] with a great attitude and a lot of friends.” Karber recently responded to Jeffries’ personal, yet absurd business model by posting a #FitchTheHomeless video that showed him handing out thrift store-sourced Abercrombie apparel to homeless men and women on Skid Row in East Los Angeles.

Jeffries may defend his views until he dies, but his quotes serve as yet another “clothes: they’re not for everyone [though everyone must wear them]” quandary. Abercrombie, like many other retailers, has stores in malls and on street corners on both Fifth Avenue and Main Street, USA, yet they blatantly don’t aim to appeal to a majority of the wide audience of consumers that encounter the storefronts on a daily basis.

An exam of the Abercrombie flagship store in New York City found mostly double-zeros, and extra-smalls and a couple of large tops and size 10 pants. Sales people there confirmed Abercrombie doesn’t carry XL or XXL for women.   “He is a brilliant visionary,” Lewis said. “He really crystallized this core consumer he was going after.” But Lewis says it’s a model that may not fit the future. Plus-sized shoppers now make up 67 percent of consumers. “I think the young people today want cool, but as they define it themselves,” Lewis said.

From Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign – highlighting real women – to H&M’s inclusion of plus-sized swimsuit model Jennie Runk, many other brands are embracing that individualism and making their clothes more accessible. For example, rival retailers H&M and American Eagle both carry sizes up to 16 and 18 The largest at Abercrombie & Fitch is a 10

Those excluded, “uncool” kids saw just the tip of the iceberg during American Apparel’s 2010 “no uglies” policy scandal. The hoopla surrounding Jeffries’ comments have made them the next, though more than likely not the last, category of people either discriminated against or ignored by the greater fashion industry. Whether by circumstance or by design, huge swaths of consumers, from shorter men to minorities, have experienced the ubiquitous exclusivity of style, yet many have fashioned their own solutions.

Here, a look at how some under-served individuals addressed their fashion problems:
Minorities: Low-priced mall retailer Wet Seal has weathered several crises of discrimination in the past decade for firing employees that don’t fit the “white, blond, blue-eyed” prototype to which they hope to exclusively market. Nicole Cogdell, an African-American manager of Wet Seal’s King of Prussia Mall location, was fired four days after meeting former Wet Seal vice president Barbara Bachman in 2012. Immediately following Bachman and Cogdell’s introduction, Cogdell heard Bachman say, “That’s the store manager? I wanted someone with blond hair and blue eyes,” she told CBS Philadelphia. Following the incident, Bachman sent out an e-mail stating that “Store teams need diversity. African American-dominate, huge issue.” The e-mail also stated that though the King of Prussia lovation was doing well, Cogdell was “not right fit for the store.” Cogdell filed a racial discrimination complaint with the EEOC and was offered her job back, but filed a class action lawsuit when she saw that nothing had changed. This wasn’t Wet Seal’s first go-round with discrimination. Nine years prior to Cogdell’s termination, Wet Seal agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a class action suit that originated when three African-American employees from a Philadelphia-area store filed a complaint claiming the company fired them because they didn’t fit the store’s image.
People with disabilities: Abercrombie & Fitch’s inclusion problem has also touched its surf-cool Hollister stores. The company labels itself as a retail destination that’s “all about hot lifeguards and beautiful beaches. Hollister’s laid-back lifestyle and All-American image is timeless and effortlessly cool.” A recent lawsuit proved that the stores aren’t effortless for all shoppers. Earlier this month, a Denver-based federal judge ruled that the entrances to hundreds of Hollister stores nationwide violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications and governmental activities. Hollister’s store entrances feature steps that lead up to a mock-surf shack or beach house’s front porch to enhance their Southern California-cool vibe, but they instead pose an insurmountable obstacle for disabled customers. Technically, there are side ramp entrances that comply with the ADA, yet plaintiffs said the ramps, disguised by decorative shutters, are blocked with tables stacked with merchandise. The ruling ordered the company to work with disability rights activist on implementing accessibility options at Hollister stores.
By Terry Pous http://style.time.com/author/tepous/

Follow @TIMEStyle Read more: http://wp.me/p2GndJ-9Wnn

(Copyright ©2013 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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Secret Life of Plants

Nae's Nest —  May 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

http://songsfromtheforest.blogspot.com/

 

By James F. Coyle, Author of Beyond Belief: The Ultimate Mindpower Instructional Manual

In 1966 a very strange event occurred. Cleve Backster, America’s top polygraph (lie detector) expert was working late in his New York office. His secretary had installed a Dragon pot plant to brighten the office.

Backster noticed that the plant needed water, and on impulse attached the leads of a lie detector to one of the leaves. The lie detector measures skin resistance and Backster knew that it would indicate when water reached the actual leaf. He poured water over the root system and waited to see how long before this moisture reached the leaves.

Nothing happened. In fact after a while the instrument appeared to indicate less moisture in the leaf. The pen-tracing equipment attached to the lie detector was trending downwards with a fair amount of “saw tooth” motion.

Backster was puzzled as this was exactly the same response expected from a human being experiencing an emotional stimulus of short duration. He wondered if the plant could be displaying emotion.

Backster knew from long experience that the best way to make a polygraph needle “jump” was to threaten the subjects well-being so he dunked the plant leaf in his hot coffee. There was no reaction. He thought about this for a couple of minutes then conceived a worse threat. (He used to work for the CIA). He would light a match and burn the leaf. The instant he conceived this thought something dramatic happened – something that has had far reaching scientific implications all over the world…

…THE POLYGRAPH REACTED VIOLENTLY!

The pen-traced graph moved off its centerline into a pronounced upward curve.
Backster was staggered. He was some distance from the plant and he wondered if it could possibly have been reading his thoughts.

As later events will prove… IT WAS!

This was the start of an incredible reaction from the scientific community. And the interesting fact is that thousands of people have been able to duplicate this experiment. All you need is a “Wheatstone Bridge” circuit and a sensitive multimeter which any competent electronics enthusiast can easily assemble. With this simple equipment you can carry out your own experiments.

Backster initially wondered if his equipment was faulty but thorough tests over the following weeks eliminated this as a coincidental effect.

Backster discovered a further vital fact. When he only “pretended” to burn the leaf there was no reaction. In other words the emotion and intent had to be genuine.

Backster advised associates around the country as to what he had discovered and they were able to replicate his results which proved that it was not a “one off” effect between Backster and his plant and quelled the skeptics who claimed he had faulty equipment.

That was the start of an amazing series of experiments on different types of plants, fruits and vegetables such as bananas, oranges and onions.
Backster named this strange new effect – Primary Perception.

At this point Backster realized he was on to something with enormous potential so he converted his offices into a full scale scientific laboratory.

Over the following months all sorts of plant matter was tested. In one instance a plant leaf was totally shredded but when reattached to the electrodes it still exhibited the same response.

It was discovered accidentally that the plants also reacted to unexpected stimuli such as the sudden appearance of a dog in the room or a person who did not like plants.

It was also found that the plants reacted to the attempts of a spider attempting to escape from the close proximity of humans which it perceived as a threat. The plant reacted JUST BEFORE the spider made any movement – that is, it picked up the spiders intentions.

Backster concluded that while plants may be in “tune” with each other they are more in tune with animal life which is mobile and may present a threat.

Another interesting observation was that when a plant was seriously threatened it tended to “pass out” from “emotional” overload. The plant appears to go into a “deep faint” for a while and then recovers. Backster discovered this while he was demonstrating his effect to a group of visiting scientists. The plants simply would not respond on this occasion and it was discovered that one of the scientists in the group roasted plants in an oven to get their dry weight for experiments.
Forty five minutes after this person left the building the plants came back to normal. This “fainting” effect has been replicated on many occasions.

A skeptical reporter was invited by Backster to assist in an experiment to see if a philodendron could “read his mind”. The idea was to find the reporters year of birth by naming each of the 7 years between 1925 and 1931. The reporter was instructed to answer “no” to each question. Each year was read out and the plant responded strongly (via the polygraph) when the reporter answered no to the correct date. The resultant article created so much impact that it eventually appeared in the Readers Digest. Further tests indicated that plants could reliably indicate when a person was telling a lie, however this is fraught with legal dangers as the plant could easily be sabotaged by the subject mentally picturing the plant being burnt.

In another experiment a group of Backster’s students drew a folded slip of paper out of a hat. The instructions on one of the slips told its bearer to totally destroy one of two plants placed in the laboratory. This was to be done in secret at some point during the day, without anyone else knowing. The surviving plant was attached to the polygraph and the students were paraded past it. When the culprit approached the plant reacted strongly, positively identifying the “murderer”. The conclusion was that the plant could remember and identify the person who destroyed a sister plant.

Backster also noted that a bond appeared to develop between a plant and its owner. He used a synchronized stopwatch while he was making a trip out of town to New Jersey. The moment he made a conscious decision to return to his lab he triggered the stopwatch. When he returned he noted from the polygraph recording equipment that the plant had given a response at that critical instant he had pressed the stopwatch.

After years of testing Backster concluded that if a person genuinely liked a plant it would respond to him or her which might explain why some people have “green fingers” and others don’t. It appeared that a communication “bond” developed which was totally unaffected by distance and there is now considerable evidence that this communication is not limited to the speed of light (as radio waves are) but is instantaneous.

Obviously segments of the scientific community are wondering if this could be used for deep-space communication where a radio signal takes years to reach us, even traveling at the speed of light. Even the signals from our deep space probes out beyond Mars can take hours to reach us and we haven’t really started serious space probes yet! In a speech Backster made to the American Congress he indicated that it might be possible to modulate (overlay information) on signals between plant and human life.

His further experiments indicated that once a plant is “linked” to a particular person it seems to be able to maintain that link, no matter where that person is or how big a crowd of other people they are in.

Tests were carried out with the plant in a Faraday cage and a lead container. Both block out radio waves. The communication still went thru unchecked. Backster concluded that this primary perception was outside the usual electromagnetic spectrum.

On one occasion Backster cut his finger and as he applied iodine to the wound the polygraph attached to his plant reacted. It also reacted when somebody poured boiling water down the sink. After months of tests it was concluded that the plants were sensitive to the destruction of living cells and the bacteria in the sink plug-hole. This lead to lengthy experiments on single cells and simple cell structures including scrapings from a human mouth. When these scrapings were centrifuged and attached via fine gold electrodes to a polygraph it was found that they reacted to the emotions of their human donor – even when he was miles away! That is, human cells react in the same way that plants do!

This was quite an astounding finding because it explained for the first time how a persons emotions and thoughts might affect the individual body cells – and hence the functions and health of that body! In fact there is some doubt as to whether our body cells are individually controlled from the brain by electro-chemical impulses – it is considered a possibility that the cells receive “operating instructions” via this “primary perception” in a manner not yet understood. Which might explain why people who “know” that they don’t catch colds… don’t! And people who “know” that they are always sick… are!

In a well thought out scientific experiment, designed to quell the skeptics, Backster and his staff designed an automated device that dumped live, healthy Brine Shrimp into boiling water. At the instant the shrimp died in this boiling water, the three monitored plants reacted. The Brine were dumped automatically at random intervals so there was no human interference with the process. Light and temperature conditions were strictly controlled and a fourth polygraph (with a fixed value resistor in place of a plant leaf) was used as a control, to indicate possible fluctuations in power supplies or electromagnetic fields.

Backster’s 1968 report in the International Journal of Parapsychology drew more than 7000 queries from scientists around the world, wanting more information. Most of the news media ignored Backster’s work until the February 1969 edition of National Wildlife featured a story about this strange new effect.

This attracted worldwide attention and everywhere housewives started talking to their plants!

Another event led Backster onto a different path. One evening he was about to feed a raw egg to his dog. He cracked the egg in preparation and as he did this noticed that one of his plant/polygraph mechanisms reacted quite violently. He decided to attach a store-bought raw egg to his equipment and his chart recorder indicated that it was pulsing with the same rhythms as a chicken embryo, with a frequency between 160 and 170 beats per minute. However the egg was unfertilized and when it was broken open there was absolutely no sign of a circulatory system. Backster appeared to have discovered the same force which has been noticed in Kirlian Photography.

After some years of experimenting Backster’s work indicated that when connected to polygraph equipment plants register pleasure, fear and relief. They respond to the threatening intentions of other life forms that they are attuned to. This is where the term PRIMARY PERCEPTION evolved in relation to the apparent interconnectedness between organic and other living matter.

Furthermore it has now been firmly established that human cells respond in the same manner to various emotions displayed by their “host’ body, even when these cells are miles from their “host”. Human brain neurons (made up of cells) share a common consciousness with other human brain neurons via this “primary perception” which would explain why mind-to-mind contact in the form of Subjective Communication works so well. Rupert Sheldrake calls this a morphogenic field.

There appears to be a common life-force here which has yet to be identified and explained. We have discovered it, but we don’t know what it is or how to use it….yet! It is like the discovery of electricity and magnetic fields. We were able to manipulate and use them in the 19th century but didn’t even come close to understanding them until well into the 20th century. And 18th century people knew about them in the form of static electricity and lodestones. (Natural magnetic rock). So it has taken around 200 years to get magnetism and electricity up and running properly.

It is likely to take a lot less time than this to commercially utilize primary perception because of the scientific protocols and equipment available. The speed of progress will be restricted only by the same human restrictions evident in the 18th and 19th century ….. “closed minds”. It has been suggested that primary perception is a universal communication handshake in the same manner that gravity is a universal force field handshake.

The main problem with this primary perception business is that it only appears to work if the intent is genuine. It seems to be linked to survival and doesn’t respond to play acting. Genuine skeptics also have a lot of trouble getting a response. In fact this applies to virtually all mind-power forces – if you believe in it …. it works!

The big problem with the investigation of primary perception is that it seems to work only when genuine emotional intent is involved or when there is a question of survival in living organisms. Scientists are having a hard time with it because results are not uniform and sometimes not even capable of being replicated. All other forces known to science can be reliably measured in any laboratory anywhere, which has the right equipment. Not so with the Backster Effect. So mainstream science understandably finds it hard to deal with.

If a scientist sets up a Backster style experiment in his laboratory and gets it running perfectly …. and then demonstrates it to a group of his fellow scientists only to find it doesn’t work, he ends up with a certain amount of egg on his face.

This non-replicability is a serious problem for the scientific community. Science works on protocols – which can best be described as regulated pre-formatted procedures. When you approach a plant with this procedural protocol firmly fixed in your mind the plant perceives no serious emotional intent or genuine threat so it does not respond. And if the same test is applied repeatedly to the same plant its response quickly drops off. These are only some of the problems that will have to be overcome before plant life can be used for, say, interstellar communication.

There is one exception to this response-dropping factor …. and that is the death of human cells. The plants seem to respond consistently to the death of healthy human cells. At one point during Backsters experiments he was noticing that the polygraph would give irregular emotional responses which didn’t seem to tie in with any of the tests being done. It took some time to discover what is was. There was a men’s urinal next door to the lab. Every time it was flushed, the plant reacted. It was finally concluded that the disinfectant in the cistern was destroying cells in the body’s excretions. But the strangest thing was that when the person using the urinal was aware of this effect there was no reaction from the plant!

There have been a multitude of tests by different researchers in an attempt to ascertain the effects of love and hate on plant systems and almost without exception they report that feelings of love toward a plant enhance its growth and wellbeing, something that every “green thumb” already knows!

Experiments of this kind with plants started long before Backster made his amazing polygraph discovery but did not make any substantial public impact until America’s top lie detector expert announced his findings.

Meanwhile research goes quietly on – it will be most interesting to see just where it ends up!

James F. Coyle is the author of
Beyond Belief: The Ultimate Mindpower Instructional Manual

Learn more in this fascinating video:  http://youtu.be/wt3smrXkVpE

In inspiration, Nae's Nest, nature, News Article, photography, Renee Robinson, Short Stories, Spirituality/Reigion, Surrealism, wildlife , , , , , ,
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Miracles & Magic

Nae's Nest —  May 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

https://www.facebook.com/themysticalraven

Surrender  yourself

Set yourself free

Take in a deep breath

*

Release

*

Let it be

*

Instead of living

Life with disease

Live

*

 A miracle

A prayer

A dream

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Collect prayers

Miracles and magic

Meditate

*

Eat healthy and seek

Alternative ways

To  be cured     

To enlighten

To change cancer’s ways

*

The  frame of mind

The key to healing

 Positive thought

Happy feelings

*

Bring some color into another life

Flavor with lots of seasoning

Creating memories

To outshine

Always full of great meaning

*

Life is a mural of seasons

Scents, colors and flavors

 Brilliant and free-flowing

*

I want to live like a song

To be a musical note

Floatin

I want to dance each breath

masterfully

As if conducted by Beethoven.

 I want my life to slowly

Drift away 

Toward the origin 

Of all music and love

And happy days

 Renee Robinson

http://mysticalskepticalme.blogspot.com/

In Art, Awards, by Renee Robinson, Cancer Is My Name, Death, inspiration, My Poetry, Nae's Nest, photography, Spirituality/Reigion , , , , ,
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Dear Diary, Dancing With Cancer 5/15/13

Nae's Nest —  May 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

playdavid.hubpages.com

 

 

Most likely, I have lost my fight with cancer. I have decided instead of spending the rest of my life fighting cancer, I need to spend the rest of my life simply Living. I believe those who wear these shoes, know exactly what this means.  However, for those who have followed my story and suddenly feel a knot swelling up in the throat as it holds back the onset of tears, rest assure, this does not mean I have given up living. Nor does it mean I am surrendering myself to the jowls of Cancer.

My cancer is in the final stages. I must come to terms with this. This can be done without giving in  Instead of living out the rest of my life with cancer.  I simply want to live. Treatments are prolonging my life, without a miracle, my life will not be saved. Although I continue to collect prayers, miracles and magic every single day, I know my chances are slim. Instead of using all of my energy fighting until I am too exhausted to stand,  I believe the next logical step for me is to stay comfortable, to meditate, to eat healthy and seek alternative treatments.  There are many who have been cured while enveloping themselves in these more pleasant alternatives. I believe the frame of mind is an important key to healing.  Positive thought, living and happiness can offer the same benefit of homemade chicken soup. It is a known fact, laughter releases endorphins with highly oxygen enriched blood which allows the body to feel good.

I want to enjoy what life I have. If today is my last, I would like to know I truly enjoyed something today.  Had I been too busy, I might have missed it. I would like to know I told someone special “I love you”. I’d like to take a sweet trip down Memory Lane.  I’d simply like to remember past-times while creating new memories.

Life is a mural of seasons, scents, flavors and colors. I do not want my remaining seasons to be painted dark, cold and sterile.  I want my final seasons to be funny,  brilliant and free-flowing.

I want it to float. I want it to live out like a song. I want to dance each breath masterfully, as if conducted by Beethoven.   I want my life to slowly drift away toward the origin of all music and love.
Renee Robinson

from spiritual quotes & meditations

In Art, birds, by Renee Robinson, Cancer Is My Name, Death, inspiration, My Poetry, Nae's Nest, Short Stories, Spirituality/Reigion , , , ,
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Introducing Shadows & Flames Book Net

Nae's Nest —  May 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

Shadows & Flames Home.

Check out my new book net. It is a tool for emerging writers to present their book tours,events etc. For those who love to read, it is a great way to take advantage of winning free ebooks & books.

Author’s are encouraged to do book reviews for each other, non-writers are certainly encouraged to. As a new author, it is difficult to get a book “out there” and noticed.  Reviews are the single most important thing needed to help get a book be recognized by stores such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles, and Kobo.

I also hope to get information creating eBook covers. I would like to see illustrators, editors, publishers…anyone within the book/arts or “reading” industry come to offer your experience, knowledge and expertise. I am also looking into creating a bookstore allowing the author to sell books directly through your publisher, just like in Amazon. Shadows & Flames would not be cutting checks, handling monies or charging fee/percentage of payment.  I will only ask for a donation to help me to meet the monthly expenses needed to maintain the site.

Please join the site, membership is always free. http://phoenixwriter.spruz.com

 

In Art, Awards, birds, by Renee Robinson, Cancer Is My Name, dark poetry and stories, Death, domestic animals, holiday poetry, humor, inspiration, love poems/songs, My Poetry, Nae's Nest, nature, News Article, photography, Reblogged articles, musing, photos etc, Shadows of The Heart, Renee Robinson, Short Stories, Spirituality/Reigion, Surrealism, wildlife , , , , , ,
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Lightning Hitting The Grand Canyon

Nae's Nest —  May 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Striking Photo: Lightning Hits Grand Canyon

Striking Photo: Lightning Hits Grand Canyon Credit: Travis Roe/U.S. Department of the Interior In one of the most amazing images you’ll ever see, a photographer standing near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon captured lighting striking the famous landmark.

Carved by the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is one of the most famous and flocked-to natural features in the world. The canyon is 277 miles (446 kilometers) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and over a mile (1,800 meters) deep. Some 2 billion years of history are seen in the canyon’s walls.

Lightning is common at the Grand Canyon, especially during late spring and summer thunderstorms, which bring needed rain to the Colorado River. From 1997 to 2000, lightning struck somewhere in Grand Canyon National Park 104,294 times, averaging 26,073 strikes per year, according to the National Park Service. The canyon’s rims, rocky outcrops and other open areas are particularly vulnerable to lightning strikes. [7 Amazing Grand Canyon Facts]

About 600 deaths have happened in the Grand Canyon since the 1870s.

- Brett Israel, OurAmazingPlanet Contributor

In Death, inspiration, Nae's Nest, nature, photography, Reblogged articles, musing, photos etc, wildlife , , , , ,
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Book Trailer, Runes by Ednah Walters…..Book Review by Renee Robinson

Nae's Nest —  May 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Runes, by Ednah Walters..book review
The Runes

Welcome to the Book Trailer.

To enter the giveaway,

An account to Shadows & Flames

Will be needed.

Simply complete the

Application process.

Activate the account

Upon receipt of an email

Return to Shadows & Flames

To enter the giveaway

Which may be found in

The menu tab labeled

“Book Tours & Reviews”

Good Luck, Zona

Runes by Ednah Walters
I must say the storyline in this book is both enthralling and original. It has a few surprising twists and turns which took me completely by surprise. I love when I am unable to guess what is coming next, the mystery is what keeps me wanting to come back and get more. It keeps me on my toes and literally pulls me into Raine’s world. I feel her mixed feelings between the “good” and “dark” side of not only a man, but humanity as well.

Raine is strong, smart and beautiful. There is a softness and innocence about her too. She is drawn to Torin. He is best described as a “dark angel”. He is full of mystery. Raine finds him both fearful and sexy. He must come from hell, he must…She must follow him. She must follow him even into the depths of Hell…she must…

I recommend this book to those who enjoy fantasy, mythology, romans and mystery. It can fall under a variety of genres. A definite “must read”.- Renee Robinson https://www.amazon.com/author/reneerobinson

Links: where Runes will be avialable for a sale price of $0.99

Amazon Pre-order link for print: http://www.amazon.com/Runes-Ednah-Walters/dp/0983429766/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1367437599&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Runes+ednah+walters

Amazon links:

Kindle (US): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CP4YKTG

Kindle (UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CP4YKTG

Kindle (CA): https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00CP4YKTG

Barnes&Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1046631647?ean=2940016613338

Smashwords: Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=ednah+walters

Runes Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father*s disappearance, her mother*s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James*a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin*s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can*t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she*s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

About Ednah Walters:

EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she*s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She*s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS.

Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She’s presently working on book six. You can visit her online at http://www.ednahwalters.com or http://www.ebwalters.com.

Contact Ednah:

Website: http://www.ednahwalters.com/index.html

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4188120.Ednah_Walters

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdnahWalters

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ednahwalters

Be sure to link to Shadows & Flames.Become a member, do not miss any updates or events. http://phoenixwriter.spruz.com/events.htm
In Nae's Nest, Renee Robinson, Surrealism , , , ,
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Having Babies

Nae's Nest —  May 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

http://dovacenter.com/

*

Oh! Did you feel that?

Here, give me your hand.

Right there! OH!

“Did you feel it? There it went again”

*

Smiles and tears were shed

Crying for the first kick

Just the beginning of all the first

The joys of a first time mother at work

*

The first smile

The first tooth

The first step

The first baby rattle

The first word

The first tantrum

The first potty

The first turd

*

Oh the joys of being a mom

Sweet little baby in my arms

Wouldn’t trade it for the moon

OH! They grow up way too soon

*

Baby Dear, please go to sleep

Sweet lil monster I adore

Midnight drives and pacing the floor

Up all night, in need of peace

*

Screaming still , you baby beast

Small little baby, he is no more

He is now the eldest of four

Has friends over, up all night

Stays in bed way past noon

Wakes up hungry, big appetite

Grabs a soda and pastry

Wants the car, Where’s the keys?

Throws a fit, He can’t have the car

Mom needs to go to Wal-Mart

He claims he’s treated like a baby

Mom said No to drive him crazy

Why was he born, he wants to know?

Mom replies that was years ago

When she thought  babies

Fulfilled her dreams,

How young she was and not very bright

Having babies sacrificed life!

Love them, bathe them, wipe their butts

They grow into teens and hate your guts

OH the joys of motherhood

Wishing they would hurry and grow up

Renee Robinson

*

http://www.jinen-butoh.com/press_e.html

In Art, by Renee Robinson, holiday poetry, humor, My Poetry, Nae's Nest, photography , , , ,
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Beauty on The Outside, Deadly on The Inside

Nae's Nest —  May 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

 

I love the brilliant colors and shape. The tiny green dots look as if they could glow like Christmas lights.

This is a microscopic image a 2 cancer cells splitting and dividing soon to become 4.

Looks can sure be misleading.  Sometimes the good-looking package on the outside is cleverly concealing a deathly venomous inside.

In Cancer Is My Name, Death, Nae's Nest, nature, photography, Surrealism , , ,
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