Poppy-cocked

     Experiments on neurons show the ability to control the dopamine response.  This seems quite the breakthrough seeing that the dopamine receptors themselves were only discovered in 1958 by Arvid carlsson.

Artwork by Shirley Novak

Study Shines Light on Brain Mechanism that Controls Reward Enjoyment
Science Daily
by

     "GABA neurons located in the VTA are just microns away from dopamine and are negative regulators of dopamine funtion," Stuber proposes. "When they become active, their basic job is to suppress dopamine release. A dysfunction in these GABA neurons might potentially underlie different aspects of neuropsychiatric illness, such as depression. Thus, we could think of them as a new physiological target for various aspects of neuropsychiatric diseases."

UNC study coauthors include Ruud van Zessen and Jana L. Phillips. 

Coauthor Evgeny A. Budygin is at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. 

Hippie Chip Flower Children

Kids are so easily bought. This "hippie chip" cookie is $15 and kids are buying it to relax. It's just 5-HTP and Valerian Root and I'm sure not very much. I buy whole bottles of 5-HTP for the same price and it lasts me for months. I got a bottle of Valerian Root for free from my roomie workin at whole foods. Who buys a $15 cookie and doesn't look at the ingredients. Also - this silly cookie doesn't even list the mg of the vitamins and I can't find the ingredient stats anywhere online. Do yourself a favor kids. Read.

Found this cookie in my kitchen drawer this morning. My teenage brother gave it to my dad.

Solar Storm

Is something building up or falling apart? These times - are they changing or is history just an illusion for change? Lots to read about how this effects us physically, externally... perhaps give a thought to how the cosmos shares energy with us internally, universally. 

NASA

BBC NEWS Solar Storm: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17295337

NASA Solar Flare News & Updates: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News012312-M8.7.html

NASA Earth Sun Mission Updates: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030712-X5-4.html

Solar Dynamics Observatory Sees Jan. 23 Solar Flare Credit: NASA/SDO NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory observed the M9-class solar flare that sparked the strongest radiation storm since 2005

.http://www.space.com/14331-photos-strongest-solar-storm-sun-radiation.html

Count the Costs Campaign

Highlights: "The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), together with Transform Drug Policy Foundation, were among the NGOs launching the Count the Costs campaign to urge governments to evaluate the impacts of the 50 years old UN drug control system. This campaign movie highlights one of the most compelling issues, the human rights impacts of the global war on drugs."

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union: http://drogriporter.hu/en

Transform Drug Policy Article: http://transform-drugs.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-countthecosts-film-from-hclu.html

Count the Costs: http://www.countthecosts.org/seven-costs/undermining-human-rights

Count the Costs site has great resources and reading materials. Information will set us free.

The Symphonies of the Planets Series

Wiki: "The Symphonies of the Planets series, a collection of works by NASA and Brain/Mind Research in which planetary electromagnetic waves are captured by the Voyager unmanned space probes and converted into audible sound, can also be considered an organic manifestation of dark ambient."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP3Ghjm5d18&feature=related