New Research into the Effects of Cocaine on your Brain is Downright Scary

I’m pretty sure that there is no one walking around right now that thinks that cocaine is healthy for you. Sure, I bet a drug dealer might try to convince you that it’s not as bad for you as it sounds as part of his sales pitch, but even they know it is still bad for you. New research from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is showing that cocaine is even worse for your brain than previously thought.
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Aside from making just about everyone who uses cocaine an insufferable asshole, this new research is showing that it causes our brain cells to quite literally eat themselves. Keep that in mind the next time someone tells you “oh, it’s not that bad.” The study, which was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, points out that cocaine hijacks a normal function of the brain called autophagy and turns it on itself.

Dr. Prasun Guha, the author of the study, says: “Autophagy is the housekeeper that takes out the trash – it’s usually a good thing. But cocaine makes the housekeeper throw away really important things, like mitochondria, which produce energy for the cell.” That metaphor is spot on, if you ask me. I can just imagine a cocain’d up maid tearing a house apart in an effort to “clean” it.
Read: 10 Scientific Ways To Detox From Sugar Addiction (Before It Kills You)

These results were all discovered through post-mortem examinations of mice that were given cocaine. The study also found that the babies of pregnant mice that were given cocaine showed the same autophagy damage. As if you needed another reason to stay away from cocaine, this new research is another fine example of the damaging effects of the drug. Considering that 1 in every 10 people tries cocaine at least once in their life, spreading this kind of information should serve as a warning of what drugs like cocaine can do to you.

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MDMA Could Prove to be the Key to More Effective Therapy

One-on-one sessions with a licensed therapist can be one of the most effective ways to deal with personal issues that a person can do for themselves. Therapists are awesome. There is just something about being able to talk to a person about what is going on in your life without worrying about judgment. Sometimes all we need to figure things out is an unbiased opinion. Therapists can be that shift in perspective that unlocks the root of a lot of the issues we face with ourselves every day.
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The key to effective sessions with a therapist still remains in the individual. It’s a therapist’s job to navigate our emotions and personal conditions in a manner that gets to the foundations of who we are, and why we are like we are. Opening these seemingly locked doors requires honesty and a level of vulnerability that some people are not comfortable with. You hear people talking about having a “breakthrough” with therapists, and that’s essentially what they are – a barrier being breached into how you really feel about something. New research is being done into even more effective ways to dismantle those mental barriers that we create, and it revolved around the use of MDMA.

MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or “molly”, has been shown to make people more open in therapy sessions because it changes people’s perceptions of themselves. Matthew J. Baggot, the author of the study, says: “We found that MDMA simultaneously positively altered evaluation of the self (i.e. increasing feelings of authenticity) while decreasing concerns about negative evaluation by others (i.e. decreasing social anxiety). Consistent with these feelings, MDMA increased how comfortable participants felt describing emotional memories.”
Read: St. John’s Wort is Better Than Antidepressant Drugs

The study, which was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, suggests that when people feel more authentic, they are more open and honest about their feelings. When you are talking about dealing with conditions like PTSD, the individual’s appraisal and acceptance of the way they feel are the absolute keys to healing the emotional wounds left by a major trauma in life.

The researchers concluded that “Although conclusive studies are lacking and the current study must be considered preliminary and requires replication, MDMA appears to have unusual socioemotional effects, consistent with the proposal that it represents a new class of psychoactive with psychotherapeutic potential.” I personally think that in a controlled environment, drugs like MDMA have a real place in therapy. Again, the key there being “in a controlled environment.” Conditions like PTSD are crippling for the people that suffer from them and making a deeper connection to your own feelings, without worrying about judgement, is an amazing way to break down the barriers that keep those feelings trapped underneath the surface of our everyday lives.

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The Power of Writing – Use Your Words

Excuse me while I hike up my pants to assist me in stepping up onto my soap box. I want to take a minute address a travesty that I see committed every day, and I am sure that you do too. It’s everywhere around us and so few of us pay attention to it: people are absolutely butchering the beauty of written words.
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I get it, people want to be hip and cool and fit into all of the idiotic trends out there. But seriously, can we leave the written word out of it? For instance, what is a bae? Is a bae a good thing? What happened to real terms of endearment like “sweetheart” or “dear”? Better yet, why does any man refer to a woman he cares about by anything other than “ma’am” or “beautiful?”
Read: Researchers Find That People Who Use Curse Words Could Be Smarter And More Articulate

Words are a powerful thing. Think about it, our entire history as human beings wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for written words. Nowadays people don’t even use words anymore. They use emojis and abbreviated acronyms like “LOL”. I get it, technological advances are changing the way we communicate. But why can’t that become an ENHANCEMENT for writing instead of the downfall of it? We live in a time when having an audience is damn-near automatic if you have a social media account. People should be taking advantage of those avenues.
Read: 20 Words to Enhance your Vocabulary

You see, there is magic in writing. Every sentence you type is its own little creation. A collection of words that was never arranged quite like you arranged it until you wrote it. Every unique sentence goes into a collection of thoughts that you put back out into the universe. There is responsibility in that, and not enough people take it seriously. Granted, I know that I am as biased about the topic as anyone could be.

I’ve got to believe that if you’re on this site reading this rant, you’ve got to have an understanding of what I’m talking about. Because of that, I challenge you to be more expressive. To use these beautiful words that we have at our disposal and share your soul with the world, even in your own small way.

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The Real-Life Mystery Surroundings the “Hobbits” of Flores Island

Back in 2003, the fossilized skeletons of diminutive humans were found on the Indonesian island of Flores. The skeletons, which dated back at least 15,000 years were dubbed “hobbits” because they were tiny compared to modern man and have been the subject of intense debate following their discovery. After a recent study, researchers believe they have finally put the argument to rest.
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The Debate

The heart of the debate over Homo floresiensis, or “hobbits”, was whether or not they were actually a completely different species of human or just a genetic defect. One school of thought was that the tiny little humanoids, who were about 3 feet tall and weighed 55 pounds, were a result of a process known as “insular dwarfing”. Basically, as a species moves around and their food supply becomes more scarce, they shrink in size over generations. This theory was supported by the presence of a tiny elephant species also found on Flores Island that was thought to develop and evolve under the same conditions.
Read: Want to live in a Hobbit House? This guy from UK built one for £3000

The other thought was that the “hobbits” were simply a group of ancient humans that had a genetic disorder. The “hobbits” weren’t only just smaller in size, their brains were smaller. Scientists argued that the “hobbit’s” size was caused by dwarfism.

The Research

In the past, all of the examinations of the “hobbit” remains was purely visual. The most recent study, which was published in the Journal of Human Evolution, utilized a high-tech method of imaging to examine the layers of bone in the “hobbit” skulls. The study’s lead author, Antoine Balzeau, said “So far, we have been basing our conclusions on images where you don’t really see very much. There is a lot of information contained in bone layers of the skull.”
Read: Your Favourite Fairy Tales Are Older Than The Bible

The Findings

Although their findings were not 100% conclusive, what Balzeau’s team did find was that there were no signs of genetic diseases believed to cause the “hobbit’s” tiny size. Balzeau went on to say, “There were no characteristics from our species”—that is, Homo sapiens.” This study is the first step in establishing the origins of this amazing species of ancient hominid, and the mysteries of human evolution as a whole. As more information is gathered and analyzed, these mysteries are slowly being solved. All I know is that if they find a ring with the fossils, the argument is over.

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Could MDMA Save Relationships?

Before it was banned and categorised as an illegal substance in the USA in 1985, MDMA was frequently used in couples therapy to help couples open up and tackle heavy issues that they found otherwise difficult to communicate about. In an article published in the German magazine GEO, Oxford University researcher Brian D. Earp highlighted a few examples of researchers who used MDMA with approximately 80 clients from 1980 to 1985. Their findings indicating that individuals achieved “a more healthy and accurate perspective of who and what they were psychologically.” According to researchers, this might have been accomplished by the drug’s apparent ability, when used in combination with psychotherapy, to decrease irrational fear responses to perceived emotional threats.
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The researchers went on to say that the same feelings of euphoria, emotional warmth, and empathy that made the drug beloved in clubs could help those afflicted with PTSD to re-live and reprocess traumatic events in a safe environment so that they can come to terms with those memories.

Though MDMA became a drug of abuse with no medical value under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in 1985, new clinical trials exploring its use in controlled settings have begun to get approval. With the help of data sets from older trials it is finally receiving serious consideration.
Read: Studies Find Psychoactive Drug Safer Than Alcohol When Driving

MDMA—found in molly and ecstasy—earned a bad rap in the 1990s as a ravers’ drug of choice and was banned because of abuse in the party scene. In a recent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment trial, 83 percent of his treatment-resistant participants no longer showed symptoms of PTSD when treated with MDMA.  Psychotherapists are coming to value the way it increases empathy while decreasing fear and defensiveness. “MDMA gives people the ability to revisit an event that’s still painful without being overwhelmed,” says psychiatrist Michael Mithoefer who headed the study.

So seemingly it has beneficial result when used in small controlled doses for both couples and those affected with PTSD. Psychopharmacologist, psychiatrist, and author Julie Holland, M.D. hypothesizes that the use of MDMA on the non-affected party will inspire compassion and openness when the traumatized individual is opening up. Holland explains, “A lot of people have described MDMA as a heart-opening experience, full of empathy and compassion. You want the ‘non-affected partner’ in the couple to have that experience, as it could be exactly what’s needed to support and stabilize the patient who experiences PTSD.”
Read: St. John’s Wort is Better Than Antidepressant Drugs

Neuroscientist and MDMA researcher Matthew Baggott highlights that there are legitimate concerns about the drug’s harmful long term effects but noted there has been little indication of problems in controlled clinical experiments. “We’ve seen people in our studies feel tired and a little emotionally unstable the next day, but they are also positive, as if they’ve accomplished something big,” he said. “We don’t see the midweek blues that users report in uncontrolled settings, maybe because we use single, modest doses and our participants are not taking other drugs.”

Baggott also suggested that the doses most recreational users ingest aren’t optimal for lasting emotional effects. “Pioneering psychedelic therapist Leo Zeff said his clients often wanted more intense MDMA experiences than they really needed,” Baggott explained. “It was as if they preferred to be pushed through to a state of bliss rather than relax into a state of clarity and then do some psychological work.” The smaller controlled MDMA doses favored by therapists in the studies are less likely to compromise the memory of the experience than the higher recreational doses.  “When people take MDMA in party settings they often get so blissed out that they remember almost nothing. People at lower doses remember their thoughts and feelings and what they shared with each other,” Baggott said. “All those memories last beyond a trip.”
Read: Inside The Institute Of Illegals Images: Over A Millions Hits Of LSD On Display

With the benefits of MDMA use becoming more than apparent in the lives of potential patients, perhaps it’s just a matter of time if the policies surrounding the drug steer away from fear tactics and binge culture, and move towards control and moderation to help many other people enter into a open hearted and truly healing space.

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Too Much “Screen Time” is Making Kids Angry, Lazy, and Moody

Anytime I am around anyone under the age of, oh let’s say 25, I am astonished by how much time they spend glued to screens. Phone screens. Tablet screens. Tv screens. It’s almost as if you out a moving image on a flat surface, people can’t take their eyes off of it. The phenomenon is even worse for children. As it turns out, kids are also more adversely affected by their addictions to their screens.
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It is becoming more and more common these days for children to be diagnosed with major mental disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, and ADHD.As children are being diagnosed with these conditions, doctors and parents alike are scrambling to find the source of these mental conditions in standard places like the family environment and surroundings. The truth to the rise in the prevalence of these conditions might lie right in the children’s hands: cellphones and tablets.

The Impacts of Screen Time

Sleep Deprivation

There have been several studies that show that staring at a screen before trying to sleep messes with even adult sleep cycles. The reasoning is that the screens suppress the body’s natural release of melatonin. Melatonin is crucial for your body to slip into it’s natural sleep cycle, so when it’s not released properly, our sleep cycles get oh of whack. Aside from a myriad of other health problems, moodiness and depression are both linked to poor sleep cycles. Not to mention exhaustion, which can make kids and adults both unmotivated and lethargic.
Read: The Vitality of Recess: How Giving Kids A Break Improves Everything

Screen Addiction

If you really want to freak a kid out, take away their mobile device. Children are experiencing the same addictive qualities that drug users experience. Chemically, the dependence is based on dopamine release in the brain. Just like with drug addicts, children can build up dopamine sensitivities that affect mood and motivation.

Sensory Overload

Even as seemingly harmless as games can seem on a mobile device or tablet, they are basically a full-on assault on the senses. One of the major things that lead to anger issues and frustration in kids is a lack of focus. When children’s minds are so entangled at keeping up with the latest game or app, they lose the ability to focus on anything else around them. The real world basically becomes an annoyance.
Read: The Kids Are Alright: Most Young Americans Accept Evolution Over Creationism

Lifestyle Impacts

Essentially, the more time a kid spends looking at a screen, the less time they are being active. When is the last time you saw a group of kids running around a park with a tablet or cell phone in their hands?
Read: Ideas on Raising Environmentally-conscious Kids

The Solution Quite simply: Turn Them Off. In severe cases of screen addiction, there might have to be a weening process to an extent. In the end, the solution is still the same. Children’s time with tablets and mobile devices should be limited.

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Unlocking the Secrets to a Longer Life

Throughout history, there has always been a quest to extend our time here on earth through any means necessary. From the search for the fictional Fountain of Youth to modern medical miracles, the search for longevity is part of the human condition. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic believe that they have found an answer to the question of how to extend our lifespans, and their recent studies with mice have shown some interesting results.
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The key to longevity in this recent study is a natural biological process that slows down as we get older. Every day, as our bodies natural go about their normal processes, we have cells that are constantly dividing and creating new cells. When these cells stop dividing they become what is known as a senescent cell. These cells accumulate in the body and can lead to tumor formation and the decline of organ tissue and function.

Dr. Jan van Deursen, Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular biology at Mayo Clinic, explains: “Cellular senescence is a biological mechanism that functions as an ’emergency brake’ used by damaged cells to stop dividing. While halting cell division of these cells is important for cancer prevention, it has been theorized that once the ’emergency brake’ has been pulled, these cells are no longer necessary.”
Read: Could This Be The Secret To Happiness?

Normally, our body’s immune system clear out these senescent cells, but over time, that process becomes less and less effective as we age. It is an accumulative process that is the essence of aging on a cellular level. The senescent cells cause damage to the cells around them and are more likely to develop tumors. These cells are also responsible for frailty and other age-related diseases.

The researchers at the Mayo clinic used a process in mice, in which they created a drug-induced elimination of senescent cells. By regulating the removal of senescent cells, the researchers were able to increase the lifespan of the mice by as much as 35%.

Dr. van Deursen said, “Senescent cells that accumulate with aging are largely bad, do bad things to your organs and tissues, and therefore, shorten your life but also the healthy phase of your life. And since you can eliminate the cells without negative side effects, it seems like therapies that will mimic our findings – or our genetic model that we used to eliminate the cells – like drugs or other compounds that can eliminate senescent cells would be useful for therapies against age-related disabilities or diseases or conditions.”
Read: A Metaphor for Life: “Changing Your Soil”

Scientists are excited about the results of this study, which were published in Nature. Many of them believe that the removal of senescent cells from the body could be a real-life Fountain of Youth.

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