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Embryology

Poppy seed oil can boost female fertility | IOL – Independent Online

A SIMPLE treatment appears to offer a cheap alternative to IVF for women who are struggling with infertility, say scientists.

They have found that women whose fallopian tubes are flushed with poppy seed oil are more likely to become pregnant.

For 100 years, doctors have used poppy seed oil to check for blockages in womens reproductive systems. The oil is used because it contains iodine, which glows white in scans to show whether the tubes are clear.

Poppy seed can boost female fertility, says expects. Image: Pixabay

But doctors noticed that when they swapped it for water mixed with iodine, fewer became pregnant - indicating that the poppy oil boosted patients fertility.

Scientists at the University of Adelaide found that 40% of women whose fallopian tubes were flushed with poppy seed oil became pregnant within six months.

This compares with 29 per cent whose tubes were flushed with the water and iodine solution.

Figures from the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority show that 32% of women up to 35 become pregnant after IVF, although this falls to just 14% once they hit 40.

Professor Ben Mol, who led the study, believes he may have been conceived following the procedure. He said yesterday: "The rates of successful pregnancy were significantly higher in the oil-based group - and after only one treatment.

"This is an important outcome for women who would have had no other course of action other than to seek IVF treatment. It offers new hope to infertile couples.

"Over the past century, pregnancy rates among infertile women reportedly increased after their tubes had been flushed with either water or oil during this X-ray procedure. Until now, it has been unclear whether the type of solution used in the procedure was influencing the change in fertility.

"Our results have been more exciting than we could have predicted. My mother went from being infertile for years to becoming pregnant. I was born in 1965. I have a younger brother, so its entirely possible - in fact, based on our research, its highly likely - that my brother and I are both the result of this technique."

The study of 1119 women was also carried out by experts at VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam.

The authors, whose results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine, say their findings could spare some women the huge cost and emotional strain associated with IVF treatment.

They believe the high natural iodine content of the oil could be behind the phenomenon.

Research on mice suggests it creates a better environment for a woman's egg in the womb and is thought to make the womb more receptive to being implanted by an embryo.

The act of flushing out the tubes could help couples conceive by clearing debris that could prevent sperm from reaching the egg. - Daily Mail

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Poppy seed oil can boost female fertility | IOL - Independent Online

Anatomy

Augmented reality turns live volunteers into anatomy lessons – Futurity: Research News

A new augmented reality system lets physiotherapy students see inside the human body by projecting different layers of muscles and bones over the top of a volunteer patient.

The technology, called the Augmented Studio, is designed to enhance the teaching of physiotherapy, in whichstudents currently use their knowledge of anatomy to understand how muscles work beneath the skin of patients they cant see into. But the Augmented Studio bridges the gap between that theory and practice.

By using tracking sensors mounted on a scaffold it projects images of our muscles and skeleton directly onto a volunteer. The images automatically follow the shape and movement of the body, giving students in the studio space an interactive all-round view of how our bodies work. It can even allow them and their teachers to draw on the projected image to make information and action more explicit.

What we are doing is overlaying virtual models of what we look like underneath our skin and synchronizing that with real human action, says Thuong Hoang, a research fellow at the Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural Users Interfaces at the University of Melbourne.

The Augmented Studio was built by Hoang, computer engineer Zaher Joukhadar, and doctoral student Martin Reinoso, who adapted Microsofts Kinect body sensing and tracking device as well as RoomAlive projection technology; both of which were originally designed for computer gaming.

Once a person steps into the projection space and forms a T-shape with their arms outstretched, the trackers lock on to them and the projected image conforms to their shape and movement.

At the moment the projected overlay doesnt show how our muscles actually move when we contract and relax our muscles. Instead, it tracks the body and movement at the joints. But eventually Hoang wants to add in animation that can show the actual movement of muscles as the model moves.

Physiotherapy lecturer David Kelly says the students quickly embraced the technology during pilot sessions in 2016, which are continuing in 2017. He says the combination of live movement and interaction, in which students could actually move and feel the models limbs, helps them to grasp the relationship between their learned anatomy and how it works dynamically.

For first year students it can be really hard to bring together anatomical knowledge with how the body actually works because it can be difficult to visualize. But when they see a real person who they can interact with, while also seeing the muscles and skeleton projected over the top, combined with the ability to draw and write on the body, it all becomes much easier for the students to learn about how the body moves, says Kelly, from the universitys School of Health Sciences.

The Augmented Studio also provides a more visual and intuitive way of learning that Kelly says will benefit those students who naturally learn more easily by direct visualization, rather than through reading and listening.

There has always been a group of students that struggle because the limited ways in which we have to teach may not conform to how they learn best, he says.

Developments in AR, which seeks to use technology to enhance what we can already see, hear, and feel in the real world, are far ahead of chasing GPS-tracked Pokmon. There are viewing devices such as glasses that can overlay what we see with three-dimensional graphics, video, and holograms, and we can generate projections like games that people manipulate by moving our hands.

The big advantage of the Augmented Studio over advances like 3D holograms is that the students can actually touch and move the body, making it a much more interactive experience. They also dont have to wear headgear, which means it could potentially be used in bigger settings with larger numbers of students.

It has always been hard to capture the dynamic side of how our anatomy works, so the difference here is the high level of interaction you can achieve. The student can, for example, ask the model to kick and they can then look at variations from different angles at what is happening as someone kicks, Kelly says.

The Augmented Studio is still in early-stage development and Kelly would love to see it migrate to using muscle animations. Hoang is also working to develop a system for the student interaction with the model to be automatically recorded onto their tablets so they can have a permanent record of what they were learning.

Another challenge is to find a way to make the studio more transportable and quicker to set up. At the moment the studio can work very effectively in a dedicated tutorial space where it could be permanently set up, but Kelly says a more portable set up would increase its flexibility for teaching.

Hoang is now working on extending the tracked projection technology to various health and fitness areas, and even in performance art. He says that using tracking sensors with projections it is possible to create guides that show people how to position their bodies for practicing fitness, sport, and dance.

Using virtual reality headsets he and doctoral student Martin Reinoso have already developed a prototype that allows a martial arts teacher to remotely instruct students on the right position to hold. By using body tracking and linked headsets student can match their movement to align with those of their teacher.

There is also scope to project information on our own bodys performance, such as heart rate and breathing, so it is visible either on our projected selves or on a nearby surface.

The innovation we have created isnt just limited to the fixed information that we have been projecting so far. If can be used to project dynamic information onto yourself or any surface around you, Hoang says. All of what Im dreaming of is very possible.

Source: University of Melbourne

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Augmented reality turns live volunteers into anatomy lessons - Futurity: Research News

Anatomy

Physical Therapy Students Volunteer to Teach Gross Anatomy to Local High School Students – Pacific University

Recently, more than 100 high school students from Aloha High School and Faith Bible High School toured the gross anatomy labs on Pacific Universitys Hillsboro Campus as a capstone experience for their year-long anatomy class. Students and chaperones alike communicated their gratitude at the opportunity to learn from the human cadavers, with many students expressing their surprise at how different the muscles and organs of the body look in real life as compared to the images in textbooks.

This event would not have been possible without the volunteer work of twelve first-year physical therapy students (pictured below) and the generous educational gift provided by our body donors.

Back row (left to right): Claudia Cordero, SPT; Kayla Peters, SPT, Courtney Belt, SPT; Sarah Tiffany, SPT; Jessica Truong, SPT; Jamie Condiss, SPT; Dr. Jose Reyna, PT, DPT; Tabitha Galindo, SPT Front row (left to right): Carly Negrila, SPT; Katie Rock(s), SPT; Heather Higashi, SPT; Shannon Wurgler, SPT; Dr. Andy Weyer, PT, DPT, PhD Not Pictured: Sarah Troicky, ATC, SPT, Dr. Erin Jobst, PT, PhD, and Dr. Sheryl Sanders PhD.

Interested in supporting events like this in the future? Please consider making a financial donation to support scholarships for students in the School of Physical Therapy.

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Physical Therapy Students Volunteer to Teach Gross Anatomy to Local High School Students - Pacific University

Human Behavior

What behavioral finance can teach us about markets and ourselves – InvestmentNews

Behavioral finance a body of work combining psychology, economics and other social sciences has upended the way we think about people and money. Where we once assumed that men and women are purely rational decision makers, we now realize that people are rational some of the time but also emotional, biased and often seemingly irrational when making money-related decisions. Omar Aguilar, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Equities and Multi-Asset Strategies, at Charles Schwab Investment Management, analyzes global equity markets through a behavioral finance lens. In a recent discussion with Evan Cooper, Executive Editor of InvestmentNews Content Strategy Studio, he shared some thoughts on the rational and irrational elements in human investment behavior and ways advisers can help bridge the gap.

InvestmentNews: Let's begin with some basics. What are the core principles of behavioral finance?

Omar Aguilar: This whole field came into being because conventional economic theory with its math, models and equations could not explain what happens in real life. So it's appropriate that the first principle of behavioral finance is that we're human; we're not machines carrying out algorithms. Second, and closely related, is that because we're human, we have biases. We're wired that way, and our biases have enabled us to survive as a species, even if they sometimes lead to less-than-optimal solutions. Finally, there is a significant degree of dispersion in how people react to different events, partly due to our innate biases and partly due to social pressure and circumstance.

IN: What decisions do people make that reveal these biases?

OA: All of them. It's actually irrational to think that people will always make rational decisions. Again, traditional economic theory assumes market efficiency and that every individual is making rational investment decisions. If that's the case, and if people are making rational decisions constantly, then markets become efficient. If an individual doesn't make a rational decision, the market is supposed to correct it instantly and say, You were wrong. But the market doesn't know what an individual's objectives are, the costs associated with achieving those objectives, and hence the lack of information may be at odds with the theory of efficient markets. In other words, an individual's investment decision could be irrational, but right for the individual utility function. By the same token, you could make a decision that's perfectly rational and in your best economic interest, but it might keep you awake at night. So if it's a rational decision that maximizes your wealth but doesn't let you sleep, you'll probably be biased towards irrational decisions. For advisers, the challenge is trying to understand client biases, getting clients to understand them, and then encouraging actions that will be in a client's best interests.

IN: Many veteran advisers probably would say they don't need behavioral finance to know that their clients often make irrational decisions. How can a formal understanding of the area help advisers better serve clients?

OA: Making the connection between the client's investment objectives and emotional tendencies is what makes a long-term relationship succeed. At Charles Schwab Investment Management, we have a defined process that can help advisers do that. We help them understand a client's investment objectives in the pure economic sense, using financial planning tools to create a rational solution. That's the traditional part, which of course only solves part of the problem.

For the emotional side, we encourage advisers to get into deeper discussions with clients to understand their needs as well as the trade-offs clients and the adviser may have to make to reach the long-term goal. Getting there isn't based on just one decision, it's a journey. So advisers should understand if their recommended investment solutions will satisfy the emotional and human aspects of their clients. The best thing that can happen for an adviser is to make good recommendations that meet client needs, so that the client sticks with those recommendations in a plan that lasts a long time.

IN: What should advisers do to nudge clients in the right direction?

OA: There aren't any nudges or tricks. Advisers have to understand each one of the client's biases and incorporate them into their solutions. That is what's critical for a successful, long lasting relationship with their clients. As we describe it to our advisers and clients, there are two types of human biases: emotional and cognitive, and they are very different. Some people tend to have biases that are more emotional in nature, others more cognitive. As a result, even individuals who on paper look the same in terms of wealth, generation or education may react very differently to the same economic conditions or even communications.

For clients whose biases tend to be emotional in nature, we encourage financial advisers to create a clear and disciplined strategy for addressing uncertainties that may generate emotional reactions, for example changes in volatility or market corrections. Most importantly, we help advisers identify a communication strategy that focuses on their clients' emotional traits. Clients are not going to change very easily because emotional biases never change. Emotional biases can be mitigated and controlled, but they rarely change.

Cognitive biases are easier to deal with as they tend to be driven by evidence or are social in nature, for example feeling left out of a bull market. Advisers can provide clients with information explaining their biases and how they can actually use them to work in their favor. This gives clients a better sense of solid evidence that will help them achieve their long term goals.

IN: What about an adviser's own biases? How can those be countered?

OA: That's a question we get all the time, and I always offer the following analogy. Imagine you're on a plane and it suddenly hits turbulence. No matter who you are a passenger, the pilot or a crew member a reaction is expected because we are human. If you're the pilot or a flight attendant, the cognitive part of your brain kicks in almost immediately and calms you down. But if you don't travel that often or if you hate flying, it will take a while for the rational part of your human brain to override the emotional part. Both the trained and the untrained flyers have the same emotional reactions, it's just that trained professionals can switch mental gears more smoothly.

In the same way, financial advisers have the training and experience to help them overcome their own biases. But don't be mistaken; advisers have biases just like anyone else, and those biases don't go away. Advisers need to understand their own biases and how to manage them.

For example, if the market takes a dive, some advisers' gut reaction based on experience would be that everything will be okay like it was in the past, in other words this is just turbulence. They would immediately reach out to clients and reassure them. Other advisers will first do research around similar historical market scenarios and then call clients armed with data to show how markets recovered under similar circumstances. In the first case, advisers are relying on their own emotional and experience bias to stay calm. In the second case, advisers gather information so their cognitive brain can override their emotional brain.

IN: Should advisers admit their biases to clients?

OA: I think they should. Being upfront about it makes you more human. But advisers also should explain that they have the training and experience to help understand their own biases, as well as the tools and equipment to help clients handle different market conditions when emotions can be overwhelming.

IN: Are there certain patterns of client biases, based perhaps on age or gender?

OA: Absolutely. In addition to psychology and economics, society plays a role in triggering and reinforcing cognitive biases. We've done a lot of work on generational differences, and there are several biases based on those differences. For example, the generation that lived through the Great Depression was very risk averse even after they realized that things were getting better.

As kids, baby boomers had to fight to get a seat in school because there were too many of them and not enough schools or chairs. They were always elbowing each other to get attention, which shaped and reinforced their risk taking nature.

Millennials on the other hand grew up in the middle of several economic recessions and stock market collapses since the late nineties. Therefore, they tend to be more risk averse than other generations and less trustworthy of capital markets in general than other generations at their age. They also have more school loans than any previous generation. Their risk aversion is likely to carry through as they age.

IN: Does the rise of robo advice, where things are more or less on autopilot, mean that behavioral finance issues will become less important in the future?

OA: Robo advisers are great because they provide financial recommendations for people who may not otherwise have access. But we believe the human touch is necessary too and shouldn't be lost. The client-adviser relationship is just as important as the investment solution itself, whether the solution comes through traditional methods or a machine. The ability to merge investment solutions with an understanding of clients' social and behavioral preferences can help advisers deliver more optimal investment solutions and build stronger long-term relationships.

IN: Why is Charles Schwab Investment Management so interested in behavioral finance?

OA: Our mission is to create solutions for clients that are in their best interest. So, understanding what makes investors tick is very important, especially if you look at products and solutions through the eyes of clients, which is what we always try to do.

Understanding the client means not just trying to make a good asset-allocation decision. It also means trying to understand how an asset allocation is going to affect the life of a particular human being.

We also recognize that markets contain a lot of information that reflects inefficiencies created by human behavior. Sometimes people refer to this as soft data. We strive to understand behavioral aspects that may be moving markets so that we can reconcile that with the hard data and hence can provide appropriate guidance to advisers and clients about how to navigate market conditions.

IN: For advisers who want to know more about behavioral finance, what does Charles Schwab Investment Management offer?

OA: We have a behavioral finance program called Biagnostics to help advisers understand and address their clients' biases. It also helps them better understand behavioral science and the ways it can benefit their practices and their clients.

And since we look at markets and investing through a behavioral finance lens, we provide insights that differ from what clients might read or hear from the media. This unique perspective can be helpful to advisers when trying to explain market moves to their clients.

When you asked about why we are interested in behavioral finance, I think it all boils down to caring about people. There are a lot of things you can do today without human interaction including investing. But we also understand that investment decision-making is a function of recognizing that we're all human and that we must adapt to our own irrationality. Advisers play a key role in that process.

To learn more about Charles Schwab Investment Management's BiagnosticsTM behavioral finance program for advisers, visit csimfunds.com/biagnostics.

(0517-Z7F5)

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What behavioral finance can teach us about markets and ourselves - InvestmentNews

Human Behavior

The right thing to do: Why do we follow unspoken group rules? – Phys.Org

May 22, 2017 Credit: CC0 Public Domain

How you dress, talk, eat and even what you allow yourself to feel - these often unspoken rules of a group are social norms, and many are internalized to such a degree that you probably don't even notice them. Following norms, however, can sometimes be costly for individuals if norms require sacrifice for the good of the group. How and why did humans evolve to follow such norms in the first place?

A new study from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis explores this question, shedding light on the origins of human cooperation.

The results, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the ability of humans to internalize social norms is expected to evolve under a wide range of conditions, helping to forge a kind of cooperation that becomes instinctive.

The researchers used computer simulations to model both individual behavior in joint group actions and underlying genetic machinery controlling behavior. The researchers worked from the premise that adherence to norms is socially reinforced by the approval of, and rewards to, individuals who follow them and by punishment of norm violators. The researchers' goal was to see whether certain norms get internalized, meaning that acting according to a norm becomes an end in itself, rather than a tool to get something or to avoid social sanctions.

In the model, individuals make choices about participating in collective actions that require cooperation, and individuals who don't cooperate, or "free riders," can face consequences.

Specifically, the authors looked at two general kinds of collective actions requiring cooperation that our ancestors might have regularly faced. The first type of group action involves "us-vs.-nature" scenarios, where groups must defend against predators and hunt and breed cooperatively. The second type of group action is "us-vs.-them," which constitutes direct conflicts or other costly competition with other groups over territory, mating, access to trade routes, and the like.

The model found that norm internalization readily evolves in both scenarios.

The model also shows that encouraging peer punishment of free-riders is much more efficient in promulgating cooperation in collective actions than promoting participation itself.

The study predicts a significant genetic variation in the ability of humans to internalize norms. In particular, under some conditions populations are expected to have a relatively small frequency of "over-socialized" individuals who are willing to make extreme sacrifices for their groups. Examples in today's society might be suicide bombers and other displays of extreme self-sacrificial behavior for the good of the group. Likewise, there are also "under-socialized" individualspsychopathswho are completely immune to any social norms.

As social and physical environments vary greatly between different human groups, the model accounts for this variation and can predict how these differences will affect human social behavior and human decision-making in different regions.

In addition to answering theoretical questions about the origins of human cooperation, the study may have a variety of practical applications.

"Every day human beings make choices among multiple options in how to respond to various social situations. Those choices are affected by many interacting factors, including social norms and values. Understanding the effects of social norms could help us better understand human decision-making and better predict human actions in response to certain events or policies," said lead author Sergey Gavrilets, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and mathematics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and NIMBioS associate director for scientific activities.

Gavrilets also said the models could be helpful in social and economic policymaking.

"Changing social institutions is a common strategy for changing human behavior," he said. "Sometimes there are attempts to borrow or transfer institutions from one country or region to another. Often such strategies fail miserably, however. Our models can help explain why. Generalizing our models can lead to the development of better tools for predicting consequences of introducing certain social policies and institutions and in identifying the most efficient strategies for changing or optimizing group behaviors."

Explore further: Evolutionary computation scientists find social norms required for the transition to cooperative societies

More information: Sergey Gavrilets el al., "Collective action and the evolution of social norm internalization," PNAS (2017). http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1703857114

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The tribal dynamic = internal altruism + external animosity.

The tribes that were better at this dynamic could be expected to prevail in conflict.

This is group selection. The results are biological. Innate. We are born with these traits.

IOW we are domesticated. Artificial. Selected over 100s of gens for our ability to ascribe to the tribal dynamic.

"Rude tribes and... civilized societies... have had continually to carry on an external self-defence and internal co-operation - external antagonism and internal friendship. Hence their members have acquired two different sets of sentiments and ideas, adjusted to these two kinds of activity... A life of constant external enmity generates a code in which aggression, conquest and revenge, are inculcated, while peaceful occupations are reprobated. Conversely a life of settled internal amity generates a code inculcating the virtues conducing to a harmonious co- operation (Spencer, 1892, i, 322).

"These two different sets of sentiments and ideas he called the 'code of amity' and the 'code of enmity'." http://rint.recht...rid2.htm

-Tribalism made us human.

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Human Behavior

Thoughtful Home Design Anticipates Human Behavior – Builder Magazine

There is a new design philosophy centered in a collaborative, well-thought-out process that brings homes to be a living part of family connectivity, well-being, and time management. Designers and builders work together to study behavior and incorporate elements to intentionally bring people together during times of the day when its needed and when its meaningful to them.

The Meritage reNEWable Living home represents a design that understands how important time is as a valuable commodity and helps the homeowners optimize time, even giving back time in every possible way.CR Herro, vice president, environmental affairs at Meritage Homes, says that all of the team's design initiatives for this concept home are centered around the value proposition of the people who will live in the home, which required a complete shift in the home's functionality. This new concept re-engages a broader family dynamic and promotes it in an emotional, credible way.

In the past, we gave people homes and told them to figure out how to live in it, says Stephen Moore, senior partner and director of marketing at BSB Design, the architect for the reNEWable Living Home. We worked to create an environment that anticipates the way the buyers live. The design of the house understands human behavior.

The home presents itself as a "system" with embedded functionality that speaks to a new family dynamic. Herro points out that this new family dynamic addresses multigenerational independent living for both older and young adults so that dignity and independence are maintained, but still allow a synergistic family dynamic to occur under one roof. Plus, there is an entire suite of technology interwoven throughout the house to act as lifestyle enhancers without changing the aesthetics to do laundry and cook dinner.

Herro says that the trick is that it needs to not feel like technology to the home buyer. When the Meritage team identifies products for the home, they focus on dynamic interaction that anticipates and responds to buyers' needs with minimal technical interaction. His hope is that the additional automation features they are including in the reNEWable Living Home add value that formerly wasnt available.

We want to allow buyers to not have to think to manage it, Herro says. It is not designed to be a technical interaction, but a support behind the scenes to enhance the lifestyle and to free time up to enjoy the lifestyle.

Moore and his team at BSB also are thinking about technology in the design, and he pinpoints the importance of sensing technology. He says that new sensors allow home buyers to do washing and drying, cooking, and other tasks the way they want to instead of being a slave to the machine.

Herro points out that is how the concept home is helping disrupt housing. It breaks from the path, he says. It doesnt have appliances that are informed by what has been successful, but by what is best, what is possible.

Along with technology, one of the key components of this home is multigenerational living. Herro explains that analogous to both the technology and the new family dynamic, its returning to a more collective society where two or more generations can coexist in the same home to enable synergies that have been lost in modern distributed urbanism. This reNEWable design concept optimizes human performance by providing new sources of childcare, new ways to educate all generations, and new ways for family members to support each other.

The balance of multigenerational design is to maintain independence and dignity and still create spaces for interaction and synergy. Each of the defined independent living areas exit into common living areas to promote family community.

In this house, the suite for the grandmother is located in a very specific spot to interact with the family at every critical point of the day, Moore says. It is designed for her to pop out immediately to help with the grandchildren. That connectivity is important for the grandmother. For the Fonzie flat, the eldest son has privacy, but hes still connected. It offers both. Human peak performance is about rejuvenation and renewal of the spirit. People like to spend time with family.

This connectivity and family bonding is especially important with international buyers that proliferate the Orlando market.

The reNEWable Living Home implies that families will be healthier, and their living space will be serene, rejuvenating, and conducive to living. The house thinks of everything, from being able to ensure family safety to not having to get up and walk around to turn off all the lights. For ongoing news about the home, visit http://www.builderonline.com/renewable.

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Thoughtful Home Design Anticipates Human Behavior - Builder Magazine

Human Behavior

Human Behavior and Cognition Expert, Tony J. Selimi, Featured on FOX – MENAFN.COM

(MENAFN Editorial)

Human Behavior and Cognition Expert, Tony J. Selimi, Featured on FOX

Tony J. Selimi, Human Behavior and Cognition Expert, Speaker, Educator and Internationally Published Author, was recently seen on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX network affiliates around the country as a guest on The Brian Tracy Show

London, England May 17, 2017 Tony J. Selimi, Human Behavior and Cognition Expert, was recently a featured guest on The Brian Tracy Show. The show was hosted by Best-Selling Author and one of the country's leading business minds, Brain Tracy, and features business leaders and experts from around the world. Tony J. Selimi was one of Brian Tracy's recent guests, discussing his five step method to maximize human awareness and awaken people's innate healing faculties, the TJS Evolutionary Method.

Selimi's expertise and specialization in helping people realize their full potential led to an invite to the set of The Brian Tracy Show to tell the revolutionary story on how he went from living homeless on the streets of London to becoming a thought leader. His work has changed the lives of his clients by helping them align their highest values to their daily lives, build iconic ethical businesses, co-loving relationships, achieve work-life balance, and find inner peace and attain ultimate health. His feature has been seen by viewers across the country, and has undoubtedly inspired many.

The Brian Tracy Show, filmed in San Diego, California, is produced by Emmy Award-winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq. and Emmy Award winning Producer, JW Dicks, Esq., Co-Founders of America's PremierExperts and The Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency. The episode featuring Selimi recently aired on NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates across the country.

Watch Selimi's appearance on The Brian Tracy Show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyeYlGrASdw

About Tony J. Selimi:

Tony Jeton Selimi went from being a teenage victim of war feeling hopeless, impoverished, and abandoned on the streets of London, to graduating with honors from one of London's most prestigious engineering universities UCL. He build a very successful IT career before following his hearts calling to follow the entrepreneurial path that led him to become No.1 Amazon bestselling and award-winning author, key note speaker, co-creator of Living My Illusion Documentary Series and the founder of TJS Cognition, a service educational institution dedicated to unravelling, advancing, and elevating human potential.

He specializes in assisting businesses owners from all market sectors and people from all professions find solutions to their personal and business problems, accelerate their learning, and achieve excellence in all of the eight key areas of life: Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Business, Money, Relationship and Love.

Like a transparent mirror, Tony is known for his ability to see through people' problems, unconscious behaviors, thought patterns, skewed perceptions, and dis-empowering beliefs that prevent them from creating and delivering astronomical visions and living the lifestyle they dream about. He helps them break free from shame, guilt, expectations, control, fears, trauma, addictions and other mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual blockages by upgrading their 'cognitive operating system and teaching them how to tap into the infinite wisdom of their interstellar existence.

As a business consultant he globally provides answers to questions and practical solutions to life's challenges in talks, workshops, one to one coaching, mastermind groups, retreats, articles, radio and TV interviews as well as through his books and online downloads of Audio Books and the TJS Evolutionary Meditation Solutions.

His clients are entrepreneurs, leaders, and people from all walks of life who seek his help to manifest their highest vision, to be more healthy, wealthy, wise, spiritual and influential. They range from Coaches, #Sports Personalities, Musicians, Celebrities, MPs, Dr's, Scientists, to CEO's and Managers of FTSE 100 companies such as Microsoft, SAP, Bank of America, E & Y, Gayacards, Vandercom and Deutsche Bank.

Tony appeared in various national magazines including Soul and Spirit, Global Women, Science to Sage, Hitched, Migrant Women, Accelerate Your Business, Changing Careers Magazine, Consciousness Magazine, Your Wellness, Time Out, Pink Paper, Gay Star News, Key Person Influence, and Soul Mate Relationship World Summit.

Some of his recent TV appearance include Digging Deep Show for SKY TV, Top Channel, Klan Kosova, AlsatM, Jeta KohaVision, RTM, MTV2, Kanal 21, and Shenja.

Tony's unique wisdom is sought regularly by various radio broadcasters to inspire their listeners including Hay House Radio, Voice of America, Radio Macedonia, Radio Kosova, Beyond 50, Knowledge for Men, Love and Freedom, Empty Closet, Donna Sebo Show, News for the Soul, Channel Radio, Untangled FM, Self-Discovery, and Spirit Radio.

He loves travelling, consulting, researching, teaching, speaking, and coaching clients globally. Tony loves using his creative flair and in partnership with the owners of Vandercom, a leading telecommunication and IT service Provider Company, he is co-creating inspiring films and documentaries that share his clients' real life breakthrough stories that are emotionally engaging, mind illuminating, and heart awakening to move people into action.

He is known for creating amazing transformation and leaving his clients feeling revitalized, energized, and with a sense of inner peace.

If you would like to learn more about Tony J. Selimi and his services, connect with him at: http://TonySelimi.com

###

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Christine Enberg

Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency

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Human Behavior and Cognition Expert, Tony J. Selimi, Featured on FOX - MENAFN.COM

Genetics

Western Pennsylvania beekeepers abuzz on genetic engineering – Tribune-Review

Updated 10 hours ago

A theory to solve the nation's ever-worsening bee decline through genetic engineering has Western Pennsylvania beekeepers split about whether it will work.

We have to start working with bees that are locally adapted to the areas we keep them, explained Dwight Wells, 77, a founding member of the Heartland Honeybee Breeders Cooperative and president of the West Central Ohio Beekeepers Association who was a guest speaker at a weekend seminar in Beaver County. Beekeepers have got to understand their bees like farmers understand their crops and cows and pigs. Farmers are careful on the genetics they have in herds and fields big-time. They're looking for proper genetics.

Beekeepers have to start thinking along the same line and start calling themselves bee farmers.

Wells has worked with Purdue University geneticists since 2013 to improve the genetics of honeybees by mating them with queen bees that have adapted to chew off the legs of Varroa mites, also known as Purdue ankle biters. The parasites have long been blamed for honeybee loss because they transmit deadly diseases.

Wells said there are many theories that attempt to explain the mysterious colony collapse disorder, which surfaced in 2006. But he is convinced the main problem is linked to the Varroa mite and malnourished bees a problem he believes is solvable by combining the genetics of mite-resistant bees with Southern, commercial bees that are not fully adapted to surviving harsh winters.

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, is not sure the project will work in the long run.

Fine, who keeps about 130 colonies at farms and backyards throughout Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties, lost about 60 percent of his honey bees this winter.

Beekeepers can't afford not to treat for mites because we have to treat them to keep business going, Fine said.

He makes money by selling bees and honey and by renting out colonies to farmers. Business suffers when bees die off in winter, so Fine said he has a vested interest in keeping his bees alive.

To replenish his stock, he buys packages from large-scale commercial beekeepers in Georgia.

You like your strawberries I like blueberries and squash is really good, and people like zucchini, Fine said. Bees are always going to be moved.

According to the Atlanta-based American Beekeeping Federation, bees contribute nearly $20 billion to the country's agriculture industry by pollinating everything from apples to cranberries, melons and broccoli. Crops such as blueberries and cherries are almost entirely dependent on bee pollination. Almonds are entirely dependent on their pollination.

An estimated two-thirds of the country's 2.7 million bee colonies are transported to different farms across the nation throughout the year, ABF reports.

To keep his bees alive, Fine usually sprays them with an organic pesticide twice a year. The spray, he said, burns Varroa mites with naturally occurring acids. This year, however, he plans on using three or four treatments.

But Wells' genetic improving program is not necessarily targeting large beekeeping operations, which typically move bees long distances, said John Yakim, president of the Beaver Valley Area Beekeepers Association. He thinks the program would work if hobbyists who own five to 10 hives, like himself, introduced Purdue ankle biters to the region.

Yakim met Wells at a Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association seminar in November 2014. Since then, he said he has been learning about the practice and wants others to be exposed to it as well.

BVABA hosted its Queen Raising Seminar on Friday and Saturday in Baden. Participants received unmated queen bees that Yakim and Wells hope mate with local drones.

This is designed for small-scale hobbyist and sideliners, Yakim said of the genetic improving program.

But that doesn't mean he thinks the program couldn't potentially work for large-scale beekeeping operations.

I don't see why not, even for producers with 10,000 colonies. The underlying science isn't going to change, he said.

The science lies in combining the genes of climate survivability and Varroa mite resistance, Wells said.

The problem with bees bought by beekeepers is that most of them are adapted to live in warmer climates, such as Georgia and Florida, where most commercial stock is produced, Wells said.

Beekeepers have been relying on chemicals since the 1980s to treat for mites. But mites develop resistance. And now they're running out of chemicals, Wells said. The smart ones are understanding they got to start developing their own stocks in order to kill mite spells. They're in trouble, and they realize it.

Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1298, dcarr@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dillonswriting.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

The queen bee, marked with a yellow dot, can be seen inside an observation hut Al Fine, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fine

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, lights a ball of cardboard for his smoker, before he inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. The Smoke is believed to mask the bees alarm pheromones, which blocks the bees ability to raise the alarm of an intruder.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, removes the cover of a beehive, before inspecting the hive after recently introducing a new queen, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, removes the cover of a beehive, before inspecting the hive after recently introducing a new queen, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. The Smoke is believed to mask the bees alarm pheromones, which blocks the bees ability to raise the alarm of an intruder.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, searches for a newly introduced queen, while inspecting his bee hives at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

The dark bodied queen bee, crawls around a frame, as Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Honey bees, owned by Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, stand at the uncovered entrance to the bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fine

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, inspects his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, takes a break while inspecting his bee hives, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fine

Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

Al Fine, owner of Fine Family Apiary, poses for a portrait in his bee keeper suit, at Triple B Farms in Monongehala, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

Original post:
Western Pennsylvania beekeepers abuzz on genetic engineering - Tribune-Review

Genetics

FDNA Announces Collaboration with GeneDx and Blueprint Genetics in the Launch of Face2Gene LABS – Business Wire (press release)

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, FDNA (www.FDNA.com) announces its collaboration with two of the most reputable genomics testing labs in the world, GeneDx and Blueprint Genetics. The collaboration will fully integrate FDNAs analysis into the genetic testing workflow of these labs by enabling clinicians to share phenotypic data with these labs in real time. This marks the first time clinicians will have the ability to send phenotypic data, including facial analysis collected through FDNAs Face2Gene suite, directly to labs, paving the way for a new precision medicine industry standard.

Founded in 2011, FDNA is committed to helping clinicians, labs and researchers diagnose, treat and create therapies for rare diseases. FDNAs Face2Gene suite of applications helps to quickly evaluate patients clinical signs through artificial intelligence and facial analysis. With a comprehensive database of more than 10,000 rare disease syndromes, this new LABS capability is improving the speed and accuracy of a diagnosis for rare disease patients.

Trying to diagnose patients with genetic sequencing is like searching for a pinin a 22,000-needle haystack, said Dekel Gelbman, CEO of FDNA. By providingaccurate phenotypic and clinical data to the lab directly at the point of genetic interpretation, we are truly realizing the promise of precision medicine. And, with the power of artificial intelligence behind it, clinicians will be pointed toward potential diagnoses that they may have never otherwise considered. GeneDx and Blueprint Genetics are both examples of innovative and renowned labs adopting technology that will lead the way in pinpointing rare disease and promote further medical advancements.

The results of PEDIA, a recent study led by the Berlin Institute of health and Charit University of Medicine, displayed exciting results of this collaboration on the accuracy of genetic sequencing. We estimate that the addition of phenotypic features [encoded in HPO terms] increases the diagnostic yield to about 60% [from 25% without]. When adding facial analysis, FDNAs technology, to that process, the diagnostic yield increases to more than 85%, explained Dr. Peter Krawitz, Principal Investigator of PEDIA.

One in 10 people worldwide suffer from a rare genetic disease, and often the search for answers is a tiresome journey. With hundreds of millions of patients having their phenotypic information buried in paper files and unstructured data, it is challenging to integrate this information to support the variant interpretation process. With the Face2Gene LABS application, all of this information is available immediately to support the analysis of genetic testing to help clinicians pinpoint the disease-causing genetic variants as they draw clearer and more efficient conclusions.

This is an important collaboration for several reasons, said Dr. Ben Solomon, Managing Director of GeneDx and practicing clinical geneticist.Its a great way to leverage clinical and genetic information and machine learning approaches to find answers for the clinicians, patients and families GeneDx serves.Aside from providing answers, this integration will make the diagnostic testing process easier, smoother and more enjoyable for clinicians.

Since 2012, Blueprint Genetics has been developing technological innovations in sequencing and clinical interpretation to improve the quality and performance of rare disease diagnostics, said Dr. Tero-Pekka Alastalo, PhD and Chief Medical Officer of Blueprint Genetics. Its great to see how these innovations are now helping the genetics community and patients suffering from inherited disorders. Combining these technological innovations with our transparent approach to diagnostics and next generation phenotyping tools like Face2Gene represents the next steps forward in molecular genetic diagnostics.

About FDNA and Face2Gene FDNA is the developer of Face2Gene, a clinical suite of phenotyping applications that facilitates comprehensive and precise genetic evaluations. Face2Gene uses facial analysis, deep learning and artificial intelligence to transform big data into actionable genomic insights to improve and accelerate diagnostics and therapeutics. With the worlds largest network of clinicians, labs and researchers creating one of the fastest growing and most comprehensive genomic databases, FDNA is changing the lives of rare disease patients. For more information, visit http://www.FDNA.com.

About GeneDx GeneDx is a world leader in genomics with an acknowledged expertise in rare and ultra-rare genetic disorders, as well as one of the broadest menus of sequencing services available among commercial laboratories. GeneDx provides testing to patients and their families in more than 55 countries. GeneDx is awholly-owned subsidiaryof BioReference Laboratories,anOPKO Health, Inc.company.For more information, visitwww.genedx.com.

About Blueprint Genetics Blueprint Genetics is a genetic diagnostic laboratory that provides comprehensive genetics testing services through innovative technologies. This includes DNA sequencing and clinical interpretation in human rare diseases that enable improved quality and performance, faster lead-time and overall cost efficiency. With IBM Watson-powered CLINT technology, Blueprint Genetics expert team of geneticists and clinicians provide top-quality clinical interpretation and reporting, changing the standards of molecular diagnostics. For more information, visit http://www.blueprintgenetics.com.

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FDNA Announces Collaboration with GeneDx and Blueprint Genetics in the Launch of Face2Gene LABS - Business Wire (press release)

Genetics

Scientists identify 40 genes that shed new light on biology of intelligence – The Guardian

Scientists identify 40 genes that shed new light on biology of intelligence Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

A major study into the genetics of human intelligence has given scientists their richest insight yet into the biology that underpins our cognitive skills.

The research on 60,000 adults and 20,000 children uncovered 40 new genes that play a role in intelligence, a haul that brings the number of genes known to have a bearing on IQ to 52.

Forming part of the blueprint for the brain, the genes provide instructions for the building of healthy neurons, the paths they take through the 3lb lump of tissue, and the construction of hundreds of trillions of synapses that connect them.

We want to understand how the brain works and learn what are the biological underpinnings of intelligence, said Professor Danielle Posthuma, a statistical geneticist at the Free University of Amsterdam, who led the study published in Nature Genetics.

Previous work with twins has shown that genes account for about half of the difference that is seen in IQ scores across the population, with the rest being shaped by factors such as conditions in the womb, nutrition, pollution and a persons social environment. Genes do not determine everything for intelligence, said Posthuma. There are so many other factors that affect how well someone does on an IQ test.

It is thought that hundreds, if not thousands, of genes play a role in human intelligence, with most contributing only a minuscule amount to a persons cognitive prowess. The vast majority have yet to be found, and those that have do not have a huge impact. Taken together, all of the genes identified in the latest study explain only about 5% of the variation in peoples IQs, the scientists found.

Working with an international team of scientists, Posthuma looked for genetic markers linked to intelligence in 13 different groups of people of European descent. Amid the 52 genes they found, 40 were new ones that predominantly switched on in the brain. The same genes were also associated with better educational attainment, a larger head circumference at birth, living longer, and autism.

While scientists have an idea what many of the newfound genes do, Posthuma said the next step was to block their function in mice to see what impact each gene has on brain function. The same could be done with human neurons made from skin cells in the lab, she said. In time, if researchers can build up a detailed picture of the genetics of intelligence, it could help them understand what goes wrong in conditions that lead to mental impairment.

But research on the genetics of IQ has always raised serious questions about how the information might be used. Could human embryos be chosen according to their future brain power? Could scientists make drugs to enhance human intelligence? If so, would only the richest have access to such powerful technology? There is always the question of designer babies and can we use this knowledge to improve intelligence, said Posthuma. These are valid questions, but its very far from where we are now. You certainly wouldnt be able to design a baby based on the current knowledge.

Such uses are on the horizon. IVF embryos are already screened for genetic faults. With larger studies, scientists expect to find more genes that contribute to intelligence. Eventually, the work may reach a point where the genomes of IVF embryos could be used to rank them according to their intellectual potential, even if the difference is so small as to be insignificant. You can imagine that as soon as it becomes possible to explain a good deal of the variance in intelligence, people are going to start doing this, said Stuart Ritchie, a researcher in cognitive ageing at Edinburgh University and author of the book Intelligence: All that Matters.

The prospect of IQ-boosting drugs should not be dismissed either, Ritchie added. The world is home to an ageing population and cognitive function declines in old age, leaving the aged more prone to error and accidents, more vulnerable to scammers. If we know what genes are involved, and we can develop the treatments, then we might be able to stave of that cognitive ageing to some degree, he said. Over time, you could see an inequality growing there.

Another long-term prospect, perhaps, is using genetic information to tailor teaching for individual students, Posthuma said. Maybe one day we can say that based on your genetic makeup, it could be easier for you to use this strategy rather than that one to learn this task. But thats still very far off, she said. I dont think whats written in our genes determines our lives.

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Scientists identify 40 genes that shed new light on biology of intelligence - The Guardian