Venezuela recalls its chargé d'affaires from its Embassy in Washington, D.C. after U.S. President Barack Obama renewed a decree imposing sanctions on several top Venezuelan officials.

"I failed 3 times in college. I applied 30 times to get a job but I have always been rejected. When KFC came to China for the first time, we were 24 to apply and I was the only one to be dismissed. I wanted to go into the police and 5 postulants, I was the only one not to be accepted. I applied 10 times to return to Harvard University USA and I was rejected. " - Jack Ma, Alibaba Creator and 22nd World fortune according to Forbes in 2015 with $ 29.8 billion.

Never give up because you failed once, know that failure is sometimes out of the way to reach your intended route !!

Newark, New Jersey's 30 public schools shut off all water fountains after elevated levels of lead were found in nearly half of the schools during the state Department of Environmental Protection testing. The agency confirmed lead has not been found in the 280,000 residents' city water supply.

The Parliament of Egypt drafts a law which will ban women from wearing full-face veils such as the niqāband burqa in public places and government institutions. The move comes after Cairo University recently banned nurses and doctors from wearing veils in medical schools and in teaching hospitals, arguing the ban would “protect patients’ rights and interests”.

Peru's electoral court bans two leading candidates - Julio Guzman and César Acuña Peralta - from participating in next month's election due to breaches of electoral law.

A total solar eclipse occurs in Indonesia, and later, east of the international date line, in the northern Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse occurs in northern Australia, South-East Asia, and the Pacific.

and although the eclipse was only visible in a 100 mile stretch, many captured images the whole world is sharing

Macedonia says it will no longer let any migrants through its southern border with Greece, effectively blocking the Balkan route for migrants. The decision came after Slovenia barred access to migrants transiting the country. There are around 13,000 migrants now stranded at the Macedonia-Greece border.

Taliban militants attack government offices in the southern Helmand Province of Afghanistan, with at least 10 killed, including seven of the attackers.

Seattle, Washington (U.S.), fire crews, responding to reports of a natural gas leak, are caught in an explosion that injures nine firefighters. The explosion blew out windows in businesses and storefronts in the surrounding blocks. Three businesses were destroyed and a fourth was heavily damaged. "There’s nothing but rubble and bricks," a resident said. Search dogs are working to ensure no one else is under the rubble. The Seattle Police Arson Bomb Unit and Puget Sound Energy are investigating the cause of the explosion.

At least 30 people are killed after a five-story building still under construction collapses in Lagos, Nigeria.

U.S. special forces, landing in two helicopters, stage an overnight raid on the al-Shabaab-controlled town of Awdhegele in Somalia's Lower Shebelle region. Al-Shabaab spokesman, Sheik Abduasiz Abu Musab, confirmed the raid saying "The helicopters landed outside town and the ground forces entered, there was heavy fighting and they were forced to flee"."They were masked and spoke foreign languages which our fighters could not understand," Abu Musab told Reuters. "We do not know who they were but we foiled them."

North Korea's state media reports Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, in comments released today, states the country has miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles, and has ordered improvements in the power and precision of its arsenal

Dad Saves Son From Taking Broken Baseball Bat To The Face!

Federal Judge Says 3 Year Old Children Are Competent To Defend Themselves In Court!

The only picture ever taken of Concorde flying at Mach 2 (1,350 mph). Taken from an RAF Tornado fighter jet, which only rendezvoused with Concorde for 4 minutes over the Irish Sea: The Tornado was rapidly running out of fuel, struggling to keep up with Concorde at Mach 2

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A question at work this morning was... when is "International Men's Day"? 

....

Alzheimer’s disease could be caused by viruses like herpes, a group of renowned dementia experts have warned, as they call for urgent investigation into the link.

The worldwide team of 31 senior scientists and clinicians, which include specialists from Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Manchester Universities and Imperial College, have written an editorial which suggests that microbes are the major cause of dementia.

The herpes virus - the type which causes cold sores - and chlamydia bacteria are named as the major culprits, as well as a type of corkscrew-shaped bacteria called spirochaete.

Currently most scientists are trying to find treatments which prevent the build of sticky amyloid plaques and misfolded tau proteins in the brain which prevent neurons from communicating with each other, leading to memory loss and cognitive decline.

But in an the editorial in the Journal of Alzhimer’s Disease, it is suggested that it is a viral or bacterial infection which triggers the plaque build-up in the first place. Targeting them specifically with antimicrobial drugs could halt dementia.

Professor Douglas Kell of the University of Manchester’s School of Chemistry, said “We are saying there is incontrovertible evidence that Alzheimer’s Disease has a dormant microbial component. We can’t keep ignoring all of the evidence.”

There are currently 850,000 people living with dementia in Britain which is due to rise to one million by 2025 and two million by 2050. But despite 412drugs trials taking place between 2002 and 2012, nothing has been shown to combat the disease.

The authors say that viruses and bacteria are common in the brains of elderly people, and although they are usually dormant, they can ‘wake up’ after stress or if the immune system is compromised. Around two thirds of people will acquire the herpes virus at some point in their lives, and many will not realise they have it.

The herpes virus in particular is known to damage the central nervous system, and the limbic system in the brain which regulates mood and instinct and is associated with mental decline and personality changes.

They also point to the fact that a gene mutation - APOEe4 - which makes one in five people more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease, also raises their susceptibility to infectious disease. Viral infections in the brain are already known to cause symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s and the experts say the link has been ‘neglected’ for too long.

“Alzheimer’s disease causes great emotional and physical harm to sufferers and their carers as well as having enormously damaging economic consequences,” they write.

“We write to express our concern that one particular aspect of the disease has been neglected, even though treatment based on it might slow or arrest Alzheimer’s disease progression.

“We refer to the many studies, mainly on humans, implicating specific microbes in the elderly brain, notably herpes simplex virus type 1, chlamydia pneumoniae and several types of spirochatete.

“We propose that further research on the role of infectious agents in Alzheimer’s disease causation, including prospective trials of antimicrobial therapy, is now justified.”

They say new findings could also have implications for the future treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, and other progressive neurological conditions.

Professor Resia Pretorius of the University of Pretoria, who worked with Prof Kell on the editorial, said “The microbial presence in blood may also play a fundamental role as causative agent of systemic inflammation, which is a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Furthermore, there is ample evidence that this can cause neuroinflammation and plaque formation.”

Dementia charities said they had noticed that viruses and bacteria were more common in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Dr James Pickett, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Society said: “A large number of different microbes including viruses, bacteria and fungi have been found in the brains of older people - but there do appear to be more of them in the brains of people who have died with Alzheimer’s disease.

"While these observations are interesting and warrant further research, there is currently insufficient evidence to tell us that microbes are responsible for causing Alzheimer’s disease in the vast majority of cases. We would like to reassure people that there remains no convincing evidence that Alzheimer’s disease is contagious or can be passed from person to person like a virus.

“Given the enormous global impact of dementia, there is intense interest from the research community to understand all the potential contributing factors. We welcome research that explores all possible avenues and have committed £100 million over the next decade to more fully understand the causes of dementia and to improve diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the condition.”

Last year, researchers found that the 'seeds' of Alzheimer's could be passed through blood transfusions and medical accidents.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12188092/Alzheimers-disease-could-be-caused-by-herpes-virus-warn-experts.html

The wonder material graphene has recently led to another exciting scientific breakthrough, this time involving the building blocks of life. Whereas the process of reading DNA has so far been a laborious, expensive, and time consuming chemical process, a new breakthrough using graphene could transform the gene sequencing industry.

 New research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has simulated how DNA sequencing could become much faster and more accurate through a nanopore sequencing process: a single DNA molecule gets pulled through a tiny, chemically active hole in a super thin sheet of graphene, allowing changes in electrical current to be detected.

This method suggests that about 66 billion bases, or the smallest units of genetic info, could be identified in just one second through this method. Even more impressive, the study has found the results to be 90% accurate with no false positives. If the simulation proves as effective in experiments, this could be a huge breakthrough in several fields that utilize genetic information, including forensics.

While the concept of nanopore sequencing—pulling electrically charged molecules through a pore in a thin material—has been around for at least 20 years, using graphene as that sheet solves some of the major side effects that have hampered the process. Because of graphene’s unique chemical properties and it’s extreme thinness, four graphene nanoribbons could be bonded together to form an integrated DNA sensor. While the scientific properties at play in this process are quite complex, this video of the simulation breaks it down pretty clearly. If you’re interested in a more complex scientific explanation, check out this article from phys.org.

The major benefit of this new approach to DNA sequencing is that it would make the process much more real-world applicable. It would eliminate the need for costly computers and complex lab setups. Once NIST perfects its method and proves its success in real world conditions, we can expect to see huge strides made in DNA sequencing.

Originally published on DonBasile.com

S16030715450.pdf

Blockchain -- the Distributed Ledger Technology -- is on the lips and in the good books of most large financial institutions at present from Goldman Sachs to JP Morgan; from UBS to Credit Suisse; from Barclays to Royal Bank of Scotland; from BBVA to Commonwealth Bank of Australia; and State Street. Together they were the founding members of a Blockchain technology standardisation consortium called R3-CEV* in New York.

Whether one is in New York or London, Frankfurt or Zurich, Dubai or Mumbai, Hong Kong or Tokyo, there's no denying the immutable truth in regard to Blockchain technology's imminent impact.

Blockchain is about to fundamentally change our global markets and financial systems forever, and probably for the better in four different ways. Why? Blockchain acts as a decentralised register of all transactions and each transaction is immutably recorded within a Blockchain.

There are four ways** in which Blockchain technology could potentially transform capital markets:

1. Blockchain is going to improve the speed and efficiency of transactions. At present, when investors buy and sell debt and equity securities or transact derivatives, they generally rely on settlement and registration systems that take sometimes several days to settle trades. It can take even longer, sometimes, where the trade involves cross-border parties. Blockchain makes it possible to automate this whole process.

2. Blockchain's second benefit is the potential disintermediation of transactions. How? Blockchain automates trust; it eliminates the need for 'trusted' third-party intermediaries. In the traditional market, buyers and sellers can't automatically trust each other, so they use intermediaries to help give them the comfort they need. With blockchain, the decentralised immutable ledger offers this trust. Investors can deal with each other and with issuers in private markets directly.

3. Blockchain also reduces transaction costs. By eliminating the need to use settlement and registration systems and other intermediaries, there is significant potential to reduce transaction costs for investors and issuers. A mid 2015 report backed by Santander InnoVentures, the Spanish bank’s fintech investment fund, estimated that Blockchain could save lenders up to $20 billion annually in settlement, regulatory, and crossborder payment costs.

4. Finally, Blockchain could improve market access. Given the global nature of Blockchain-based standardisation, global markets have the potential to become even more easily accessible to investors and issuers; therefore making it easier for investors and for issuers to invest in and issue debt and equity securities. Blockchain potentially has profound implications for our global financial markets and for how we regulate.

[ENDS]

*The R3 consortium started on September 15, 2015 with 9 financial institutions: Barclays, BBVA, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Royal Bank of Scotland, State Street, and UBS.

On September 29, 2015 an additional 13 financial insititutions joined: Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Citi, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Morgan Stanley, National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Société Générale and Toronto-Dominion Bank.

On October 28, 2015 an additional 3 financial companies joined: Mizuho Bank, Nordea, and UniCredit.

On November 19, 2015 an additional 5 financial companies joined: BNP Paribas, Wells Fargo, ING, Macquarie Group and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

On December 17, 2015, an additional 12 financial companies joined: BMO Financial Group, Danske Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Natixis, Nomura, Northern Trust, OP Financial Group, Banco Santander, Scotiabank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, US Bancorp and Westpac Banking Corporation.

** According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

What are your thoughts, observations and views?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/blockchains-immutable-truth-how-fundamentally-change-global-dk-matai?trk=v-feed&trk=hp-feed-article-title-share