INU-OH ‘犬王’ Dir. Masaaki Yuasa

The music over the ruins of Aleppo, Syria, 2017 - by Joseph Eid (1976), Lebanese

Ah-Weh-Eyu (Pretty Flower). Seneca Native American. 1908.

Vintage real photo postcard. Photograph by J.L. Blessing, published by The Blessing Studio, Salamanca, New York, United States.

A tayuu from Shimabara in Kyoto, about 1920s 

“The brain is radically resilient; it can create new neurons and make new connections through cortical remapping, a process called neurogenesis. Our minds have the incredible capacity to both alter the strength of connections among neurons, essentially rewiring them, and create entirely new pathways. (It makes a computer, which cannot create new hardware when its system crashes, seem fixed and helpless.) This amazing malleability is called neuroplasticity. Like daffodils in the early days of spring, my neurons were resprouting receptors as the winter of the illness ebbed.”

— Susannah Cahalan, Brain On Fire

Woman from Djelfa, Algeria, ca. 1900

Mosaic floor from a villa in Baiae, an ancient Roman luxury town which was submerged centuries ago due to volcanic activity in the area.

Photos: © Edoardo Ruspantini

The Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park. World Heritage Site

phys.org

Okra and fenugreek extracts remove most microplastics from water, finds research

The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synt

The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer. Previously, researchers proposed using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they report in ACS Omega that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics in ocean water, freshwater and groundwater. Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues have been exploring nontoxic, plant-based approaches to attract and remove contaminants from water. In one set of lab experiments, they found that polymers from okra, fenugreek and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

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Nuu-chah-nulth tribal member wearing fringed chilkat blanket and thick neckring which is emblematic of the individuals ties to a local secret society known as the hamatsa. The mask being worn represents a recently deceased family member who had been a shaman. The Nuu-chah-nulth were one of the few indigenous peoples on the Pacific Coast who hunted whales. Whaling is essential to Nuu-chah-nulth culture and spirituality. It is reflected in stories, songs, names, family lines, and numerous place names throughout the Nuu-chah-nulth territories. From earliest contact with European explorers beginning with the invasion of Captain Cook in 1778, more than 90% of the Nuu-chah-nulth died as a result of infectious disease epidemics, namely malaria and smallpox.

Futurity

Could a drug offer the benefits of exercise?

A drug led obese mice to lose weight by convincing the body's muscles that they're exercising more than they really are, say researchers.

New research with mice shows promising results that could lead to the development of a weight-loss drug that mimics exercise. As reported in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the compound led obese mice to lose weight by convincing the body’s muscles that they are exercising more than they really are, boosting metabolism. It also increased endurance, helping mice run nearly 50% further than they could before. All without the mice lifting a paw. The drug belongs to a class known as “exercise mimetics,” which provide some of the benefits of exercise without increasing physical activity. The new treatment, currently in the early stages of development, could one day be tested in people to treat diseases like obesity, diabetes, and age-related muscle loss. The research comes as drugs like Ozempic have provided a breakthrough in reducing appetite, helping treat these metabolic diseases. But the new drug, SLU-PP-332, doesn’t affect appetite or food intake. Nor does it cause mice to exercise more. Instead, the drug boosts a natural metabolic pathway that typically responds to exercise. In effect, the drug makes the body act like it is training for a marathon, leading to increased energy expenditure and faster metabolism of fat in the body.

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Good Morning by the Daily Mirror, England, May 5, 1944