Radiation contamination is still enough to cause serious developmental problems in wildlife twenty-five years after the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant! Young birds showed the greatest degree of brain abnormality. But, it isn’t just young birds that are showing brain function damage. Medical records of children in northern Ukraine show a higher rate of neurological disorders than children in other parts of the Ukraine or Europe.

There is so much good that science can accomplish when self-interest gives way to global concerns. May this evolution happen quickly for the sake of the planet!

Source: DiscoveryNews

The demand for “human material” such as organs, eggs, sperms, and stem cells for medical treatment and research far exceeds the supply worldwide, and many countries endeavor to meet those demands in creative ways that hover on the edge of the ethical question. But most countries, like Britain, have laws prohibiting actual monetary payment to people for any body part. The concern, of course, is that offering payment or financial incentives to people for body parts that one can only assume would be unneeded after death, might encourage a financially needy individual to take a health risk or to possibly go against his or her religious beliefs.

It is a debate that will no doubt continue, both in and out of think tanks, as the need for and use of human parts becomes more and more vital to the good of humanity as a whole.

Researchers from around the world are gathering this week in San Jose, California , for the largest conference on psychedelic science held in the United States in forty year. They will discuss studies on the use of psilocybin and other psychedelics in the treatment of depression in cancer patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder, end-of-life anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction to drugs or alcohol.

I suspected (hoped?) that the twenty-first century would offer dramatic positive change in medical practices, even it it had to look back almost a half century to become inspired! And, sure enough, scientists are taking a new look at”old”  hallucinogens and their therapeutic benefits.  And, they are particularly intrigued by the similarities between hallucinogenic experiences and the experiences reported by religious mystics and those who meditate. Apparently, the “ego-freeing” effects of some hallucinogenics allow patients to face life-changing events, such as terminal illness, from a more impersonal, expanded perspective.

Volunteers in the study completed personality and well-being assessments, and then wore inconspicuous recording devices so that psychologists could monitor their conversations with friends and colleagues to determine whether happy and unhappy people differed because of the types of conversations they engaged in. Researchers listened to the recordings and catagorized them as either trivial “small talk” or “substantive” discussions.

According to the results, published in the journal Psychological Science, the researchers were startled to find that even though greater well-being appeared to be related to spending more time talking to others than being alone (the happiest participants spent 25 % less time alone than the unhappiest participants and 70% more time talking), the researchers were surprised to discover that the type of conversations people engaged in affected their happiness levels.

The happiest participants engaged in one-third as much “small talk” as the unhappiest participants, and had twice as many deep and meaningful conversations.  “These findings suggest that the happy life is social and conversationally deep rather than solitary and superficial,” said Matthias Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona. “Just as self-disclosure can instill a sense of intimacy in a relationship, deep conversations may instill a sense of meaning in interaction with partners.”

The researchers conclusion? Profound conversations may have the potential to make people happier.

This is another lovely instance where scientific inquiry has touched the human spirit.

What is truly amazing, however, is a report earlier this month by the National Cancer Institute that stated that dogs, in particular, may also have a role in diagnosing disease. Apparently, more than five years ago studies showed that healthy dogs can actually smell cancer, and that dogs with cancer may even be able to advance the diagnosis and treatment of human cancers due to clinical and biological similarities.

Faith, it would seem to me, is the wind beneath the wings of science, lifting the actual out of the potential. Until an unknown scientific concept is proven, is it not faith that keeps the scientist continuously focused, experimenting, over and over again, until some “truth” is proved? Surely science, as much as religion, needs faith in the unseen. And, both science and religion are validated when that faith manifests in the physical world. Faith without works is dead in both science and religion. In that way, science and religion are united.

For centuries, churches, synagogues, and mosques have, by their very nature, been sanctuaries of peace where those who entered felt a calm, healing, safe presence that quieted the mind and relaxed the body. So, I find it interesting that many churches nowadays are being forced to close, and that, in fact, far more churches are closing than opening.

Father Daniel Berniquez, episcopal vicar of the French sector of the Ottawa archdiocese, says churches that once drew 400 to 500 people now attract about 40. “Fifty years ago, most people went to church.” They say that across Canada, the U.S., and Europe changing demographics, “shifting values and growing secularism” are taking a toll. In a British report published two years ago, an independent organization called Christian Research said thousands of churches are closing for lack of practicing Christians.

Are people really becoming less religious or are churches actually becoming environmentally less “holy”? It certainly seems that in the past few years churches have become bully pulpits for raging and divisive political views. Politicians seek out church congregations to gather support for often prejudiced and hateful views. Ministers rail against prevailing governmental politics and political candidates, and their congregations shout, fists raised in the air, in support as if vitriolic separatism was “natural” in place that professes to be in brotherhood with the Prince of Peace. Bombs exploded in mosques where Allah is worshiped. In fact, the number of Muslims who go to mosque for prayer vary, but according to Ottawa demographer Daood Hamdani, 15% of adult Muslims in the Ottawa region attend mosque every week. Youth attendance is lower.

“There has to be an examination of conscience to see if the church is doing something wrong. A tremendous amount of flexibility in responding to changing circumstances is required,” says Christophe Potworowski, the Kennedy Smith chair of Catholic studies at McGill University. Potworowski suggests that people haven’t given up on faith, but are rejecting “organized religion.”

Perhaps many are discovering that they must create their own “spaces of peace” internally, and that they need to seek out external places other than religious structures, where they can (re)discover an atmosphere of spiritual sanctity. The traditional structures, unfortunately, can no longer be depended upon to “keep the peace.”

Of “photomicrography,” Charles Krebs, 61, a travel and nature photographer who several years ago rediscovered his childhood passion for microscopic photography, said: “It shows you how complex and beautiful the world is even down to levels that we can’t experience with our normal senses,” said . He added that he’d been “yearning to see something new and different.”

Since 1975, Nikon (Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition) has been awarding annual prizes to scientists and enthusiasts who take pictures through a microscope. Krebs entered for the first time in 2004 and he came in sixth place. The next year he took top honors, and this year, he was invited to be one of Nikon’s four judges.

So, if you can’t “see” a reason for peace today, take a moment to let your eyes (and soul) feast on images unavailable to our naked eye. The peace you find in these photos will be its own reward.