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Submission + - SPAM: Mind-Altering Cat Parasite Linked to a Whole Lot of Neurological Disorders

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The brain-dwelling parasite Toxoplasma gondii is estimated to be hosted by at least 2 billion people around the world, and new evidence suggests the lodger could be more dangerous than we think.

While the protozoan invader poses the greatest risk to developing foetuses infected in the womb, new research suggests the parasite could alter and amplify a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's, and also cancer.

"This study is a paradigm shifter," says one of the team, neuroscientist Dennis Steindler from Tufts University.

"We now have to insert infectious disease into the equation of neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, and neural cancers."

The findings are part of an emerging field of research looking into how T. gondii, which is usually transmitted to humans via contact with cat faeces (or by eating uncooked meat), produces proteins that alter and manipulate the brain chemistry of their infected hosts.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - NASA looks at reviving atomic rocket program (newatlas.com)

Submitted by Big Hairy Ian
Big Hairy Ian writes: When the first manned mission to Mars sets out, it may be on the tail of an atomic rocket engine. The Space Race vintage technology could have a renaissance at NASA after the space agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama signed a contract with BWXT Nuclear Energy to develop updated Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) concepts and new fuel elements to power them.

The Apollo missions to the Moon demonstrated many things. They showcased human ingenuity, determination, and courage. They proved what American engineering and industry could accomplish in short order when let loose on a goal and demonstrated that humankind need no longer be confined to a single planet.

Unfortunately, it also showed the fact that chemical rockets, even at the dawn of the conquest of space, had reached their technical limits. True, they could send astronauts to the Moon, but only by using a disposable rocket the size of a skyscraper of which only a capsule with the roominess of an SUV returned. And even this was in no shape for anything except a museum.

At the very least it looks much more feasible than Project Orion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Submission + - Vitamin B3 supplement stops some birth defects & miscarriages

Submitted by brindafella
brindafella writes: The landmark finding about vitamin B3, made by the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney, Australia, has been described as "the most important discovery for pregnant women since folate". The report has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "This historic discovery, which is believed to be among Australia’s greatest ever medical breakthroughs, is expected to forever change the way pregnant women are cared for around the globe. Every year 7.9 million babies are born with a birth defect worldwide and one in four pregnant women suffer a miscarriage in Australia. In the vast majority of cases the cause of these problems has remained a mystery. Until now. This breakthrough, led by Professor Sally Dunwoodie from the Victor Chang Institute, has identified a major cause of miscarriages as well as heart, spinal, kidney and cleft palate problems in newborn babies"

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