Neuroscience: Scientists Uncover Molecular Roots Of Cocaine Addiction In The Brain And Reveal A Promising New Anti-Addiction Drug

neurosciencestuff:

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine’s effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe for humans, is undergoing further animal testing in preparation for…

Thas pretty coo

sinidentidades:

How Can You Measure Income Inequality? Count The Trees

Turns out there’s a direct correlation between the number of trees a neighborhood has and its monetary wealth — and we can see how this dynamic plays out in space. Environmental journalist Tim De Chant mapped it all out for us on his blog, Per Square Mile, where he worked up a small project called “Income Inequality, As Seen From Space.” 

De Chant took satellite images from Google Earth that compared two neighborhoods from selected cities to show income disparities. I was able to chat with him on the phone about the inspiration for his work and the impact it has had on readers.

Tell me a little bit about how you got into environmental writing.

I got my Ph.D. in environmental science at UC Berkeley where I studied the effects of urbanization on California’s oak woodlands. In grad school, I also taught environmental education for Team Oakland, a job training program for high school students. They got one day a week off from their jobs — which unfortunately had devolved over the years to picking up garbage in parks due to reduced funding — for the courses. It was a great experience. We’d switch up the locations where we met, ranging from parks in Oakland to the UC Berkeley campus. Many of the students weren’t used to “the great outdoors”, and I think that’s in part due to a lack of tree cover in their neighborhoods. That experience made an impression on me.

After graduation, I got into science writing and exploring urbanization, nature and ecosystems.

What inspired this particular post on visualizing income inequality through trees?

I write a post once or twice a week on scientific research that is out there. I had stumbled across a paper that spoke on how different income groups and neighborhoods showed what economists call “demand for trees.” Wealthy people demand more trees, and have money to pay for them and the land needed. They found that for every one percent increase in income, the demand for trees increased by 1.76 percent. According to economists, this correlation reflects a luxury good. This was pretty disheartening. I don’t think trees should be a benefit reserved for the wealthy.

You can see these disparities easily on Google Earth. I spent lots of time on my dissertation looking at aerial maps. And in the last 10 years, or even earlier, Google Earth has become really popular and an easy way to showcase the very evident difference.

Why did you pick cities like Oakland and Boston?

I picked these cities halfway at random. I wanted them to be familiar but somewhat representative, and cities that had wealthy and lower-income neighborhoods. I live in Boston. The Somerville neighborhood is still middle-income but not as wealthy as West Cambridge. So they are relative comparisons.

What type of impact has this project has so far?

I’m really glad and surprised at the impact the post has had. I’ve received a hundred or more emails and comments for the post. People are really taking this idea and applying it to their own cities and neighborhoods. I’m working on a follow-up post with submissions from readers. [De Chant had asked for readers to send in photos and example of cities of their choice.]

*****

Below are some of the maps from De Chant’s post. The median household income numbers have been added by Colorlines.com. 

OAKLAND  |  2009 estimated median household income: $51,473

West Oakland  |  2009 estimated median household income: $26,432

Piedmont  |  2009 estimated median household income: $165,903

BOSTON  |  2009 estimated median household income: $55,979

Somerville  |  2009 estimated median household income: $69,471

West Cambridge  |  2009 estimated median household income: $115,798

CHICAGO  |  2009 estimated median household income $45,7343

Woodlawn  |  2009 estimated median household income: $22,166

Hyde Park  |  2009 estimated median household income: $48,568

********

And my own city:

SAN FRANCISCO  |  2009 estimated median household income: $70,770

Hunters Point  |  2009 estimated median household income: $40,180

Saint Francis Wood |  2009 estimated median household income: $193,584

(via wefoundloveinaknopelessplace)

inseptica:

✧*:*:☆✿ ¡¡¡SUN!!BEAM!!!!☆¡¡¡¡SNAKES!!!!! ☆✿*:・ﾟ✧

hello yes i would like 2 introduce you to some friends of mine called xenopeltis unicolor but you can just call them sunbeam snakes because what the fuck they are so shiny and perfect and they light up my world. ok they live in southeast asia in those tropical lush areas and they are constrictors so they snoop around and pounce and crush little creatures with their powerful muscles and then the snake eats them whole because its a fucking sunbeam of death. they look rly rly cute and fat after theyve eaten and then they go take a nap in the dirt to sleep it off. ok thats the basic stuff. but this is why i love them this is the awesome part:

1. they live in the tropics with like 1000000% humidity but they still drink massive amounts of water because they want to be well hydrated and silky smooth 2 attract the ladiez and menz and nonbinary friendz
2. they are very nervous and they get stressed out easily and if they are stressed out for too long they develop lil snake pimples on their backs so they can have bacne all over their bodies because their whole body is one huge back kinda
3. they like to stay underground during the hot part of the day and come out at night. they probably wont be hittin the club tho. just cruisin for a midnight snack. i respect that 
4. their scales are iridescent and multifaceted so when the light hits it, they glow like opals and its un fucking believable look at those pictures wow. fucking wow. 
5. their skin starts to separate and slough off when its time for a new cycle and their eye cap glazes over until its almost white and so when they shed their skin all the way their scales shine bright like a diamond and they are beautiful like diamonds in the sky 
6. they do not do well in captivity, which means even snake breeders dont want them because they die so fast because they get so stressed. (if you ever see anyone selling exotic pets or pets from breeders etc please dont give them money, go to the damn humane society and save a life u shitwad )
7. newly hatched little shiny angel babies have small bands of white around their throats and they look like little bibs or little priest collars and its so fucking cuuuuuuuute 
8. they can be really big like 3 feet long or they can be only one foot long but it really depends on the individual so they all grow up different unique sizes depending on how much food they got as babies and how fat they got :3
9. they are completely harmless to humans but they do smell really bad and they like to burrow through rotting stuff so they can find prey so they always smell weird 
10. but also if you try to pick them up and they dont like u they will push out their leftover anal lubrication gland stuff onto you with their ass muscles so dont fuck with these guys or they will just start shittin on ya whole life

(via bonedrone)

(Source: alexleefitz, via bonedrone)

thedeaditeslayer:

A behind the scenes look at the puppetry mechanism of the skeleton deadites used in Army of Darkness.

(via multipleskarosis)

odditiesoflife:

Curious History:  Famous Demons

(Source: phalusifer, via banshee-bones)

attackon-titan:

The nine circles of hell from Dante’s Inferno recreated in Lego by Mihai Mihu

I. LIMBO: A place of monotony, here the souls are punished to wander in restless existence while they moan helplessly in echoes between the ruins of a temple.

II. LUST: Surrounded by erotic representations, those overcome by lust are forced to watch and experience disgusting things, ultimately being condemned to drown in the menstrual river.

III. GLUTTONY: The circle itself is a living abomination, a hellish digestive system revealing horrific faces with mouths ready to devour the gluttons over and over for eternity.

IV. GREED: This pompous place is reserved for the punishment of the greedy ones.

V. ANGER: In this depressing place the souls are trapped in the swamp, they can’t move and they cannot manifest their frustration which is making them even more angry.

VI. HERESY: The giant demon watches closely over his fire pit, dwarfing the damned that are dragging the new arrivals in the boiling lava. Those who committed the greatest sins against God are getting a special treatment inside the temple where they are doomed to burn for eternity in the scorching flames.

VII. VIOLENCE: A place of intense torture where the horrific screams of the damned are eternally accompanied by the hellish beats of drums.

VIII. FRAUD: In Fraud the Demons enjoy altering the shape of souls, this is how they feed.

IX. TREACHERY: Lucifer lies here chained by the Angelic Seal which keeps him captive in the frozen environment.

(via cultofweird)

Hehe

How to Look at Art, Arts & Architecture, Ad Reinhardt, January 1947

(Source: lessadjectivesmoreverbs, via badtouchme)