Shuff's General Chat Thread ... #73 - Talk about anything and everything...  

Aluminium DOES cause Alzheimer's: Expert says new findings confirm the metal plays a role in the devastating brain disease

Chris Exley is a professor in bioinorganic chemistry based at Keele University
A link between between aluminium and Alzheimer’s has existed for many years
But a lack of evidence has caused the scientific community to remain unsure
However, his new research confirms the metal plays a role in cognitive decline
By Professor Chris Exley For The Hippocratic Post

A link between aluminium and Alzheimer's disease has long existed.

But many scientists says there is not enough evidence to blame the metal, used by thousands for everyday purposes to cook and store food.

However, Professor Chris Exley, from Keele University, says his latest research confirms it does indeed play a role in cognitive decline.

Here, in a piece for medical-blogging website The Hippocratic Post, he reveals the findings from his latest study.

There has been a strong link between human exposure to aluminium and the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease for half a century or more.

However, without definite proof, there is still no consensus in the scientific community about the role of this known neurotoxin in this devastating brain disease.

The latest research from my group, published in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, makes this link even more compelling.

In my view, the findings are unequivocal in their confirmation of a role for aluminium in some if not all Alzheimer’s disease.

At the very least, these new results should encourage everyone and even those who have steadfastly maintained that aluminium has no role in the disease to think again.

I don’t believe that is the only factor, but I think it is an important one which should be considered very seriously.

When our new results are put into the context of what is already known about aluminium and Alzheimer’s disease their significance becomes overwhelming and compelling.

We already know that the aluminium content of brain tissue in late-onset or sporadic Alzheimer’s disease is significantly higher than is found in age-matched controls.

So, individuals who develop Alzheimer’s disease in their late sixties and older also accumulate more aluminium in their brain tissue than individuals of the same age without the disease.

Even higher levels of aluminium have been found in the brains of individuals, diagnosed with an early-onset form of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, who have experienced an unusually high exposure to aluminium through the environment or through their workplace.

This means that Alzheimer’s disease has a much earlier age of onset, for example, fifties or early sixties, in individuals who have been exposed to unusually high levels of aluminium in their everyday lives.

We now show that some of the highest levels of aluminium ever measured in human brain tissue are found in individuals who have died with a diagnosis of familial Alzheimer’s disease.

The levels of aluminium in brain tissue from individuals with familial Alzheimer’s disease are similar to those recorded in individuals who died of an aluminium-induced encephalopathy while undergoing renal dialysis.

In support of our quantitative data, we have also used a recently developed and fully validated method of fluorescence microscopy to provide stunning and unequivocal images of aluminium in brain tissue from familial Alzheimer’s disease donors.

Familial Alzheimer’s disease is an early-onset form of the disease with first symptoms occurring as early as 30 or 40 years of age.

It is extremely rare, perhaps 2-3 per cent of all cases of Alzheimer’s disease.

Its bases are genetic mutations associated with a protein called amyloid-beta, a protein which has been heavily linked with the cause of all forms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Individuals with familial Alzheimer’s disease produce more amyloid beta and the onset of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are much earlier in life.

This new research may suggest that these genetic predispositions to early onset Alzheimer’s disease are linked in some way to the accumulation of aluminium in brain tissue.

Ageing is the main risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and aluminium accumulates in human brain tissue with ageing.

Environmental or occupational exposure to aluminium results in higher levels of aluminium in human brain tissue and an early onset form of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease.

The genetic predispositions which are used to define familial or early-onset Alzheimer’s disease also predispose individuals to higher levels of brain aluminium at a much younger age.

Aluminium is accepted as a known neurotoxin, for example being the cause of dialysis encephalopathy, and its accumulation in human brain tissue at any age can only contribute to any ongoing disease state or toxicity.

We should take all possible precautions to reduce the accumulation of aluminium in our brain tissue through our everyday activities and we should start to do this as early in our lives as possible.

Top Gear test track to be turned into housing estate

The famous Top Gear test track will go the way of the Dodo after the local council approved a plan to build 1800 new homes at the site.

Waverley Borough Council approved a plan on Wednesday which will see Dunsfold Aerodrome, the home of the famous TV test track, repurposed into a business park.

The Aerodrome currently homes 100 businesses which employ 800 people, as well as being the site of the famous Top Gear track.

Part of the new development must provide affordable housing, with Jim McAllister, the Dunsfold Park projet chief exeutive saying it’ll be an area for a community to flourish.

"The development of Dunsfold Aerodrome will provide homes for young families currently priced out of the area, direct development away from green fields, create new jobs and deliver a range of new community facilities and infrastructure improvements."

However, opponents of the development claim the site is not needed.

The loss of the Top Gear track to the encroachment of housing developments is a theme many Australians would know.

The iconic Oran Park circuit in New South Wales is now a suburban development, and tracks such as Sandown and Lakeside are seriously hampered by noise restrictions.

These tight regulations were implemented following complaints from residents who moved to the areas after the tracks had been built and operating.

Aside from being the site where The Stig has thrashed numerous of the world’s fastest and most exotic cars, the Dunsfold Aerodrome, which was built in World War Two as a bomber base, is also used for driver education and training, as well as housing the Surrey Cycle Racing League in Summer.

The Dunsfold Park project was first proposed by the owners of the Aerodrome in 2006, with 2,600 homes originally slated to be built.

Telstra's Pirate Bay block defeated by online users in seconds

Social media users are fighting back at a federal court ruling forcing the blocking of illegal pirate sites in Australia by posting ways to bypass the system online.

On December 15, internet service providers were given 15 days to implement the blocks for bittorrent websites The Pirate Bay, Torrentz, TorrentHound, IsoHunt and streaming service SolarMovie.

Rights holders Village Roadshow and Foxtel were also ordered to pay the legal costs of the internet service providers.

Telstra has become the first to comply with a federal court order to block torrent site Pirate Bay to Australian customers, Torrent Freak reports.

However, within hours of the block Telstra customers started posting to social media alerting others that a block had been set up, others were posting ways to break through the barrier.

https://twitter.com/thedannygilbert/status/...383978179448832

At least one video has surfaced on YouTube offering a step-by-step instruction on how to unblock Telstra's Pirate Bay block in just a few clicks.

Many users are configuring their computers to use Google's DNS while others are using OpenDNS, according to Torrent Freak.

It noted that while Telstra's blocking efforts are easy to sidestep, other providers might choose a more secure option which DNS won't work as a solution.

https://twitter.com/stevlud/status/811097254547197952

Foxtel and Village Roadshow filed their case in the Federal Court in February, applying to have the sites either blocked or made inaccessible in Australia.

The action means when users attempt to visit the blocked sites, they will be notified by a warning page. The "landing page" will be hosted by either the ISP or the rights holder.

The Pirate Bay is a torrent website founded in Sweden in 2003 and thought to be the largest torrent file host in the world.

Yes, Aaron the Bearded Wonder is Leaving Gas Monkey Garage
December 21, 2016


Richard here. As you may have heard by now, the Bearded Wonder has decided to leave Gas Monkey Garage. I want you all to know that it was not my decision and came completely out of left field. Aaron has been a part of Gas Monkey Garage since day one, and it will be a painstaking process moving forward without his talents. It is a big hit to GMG, but please note that it would be an insult to everyone here at Gas Monkey who has been putting in the work these past few years to say that we can’t do it without him.

Gas Monkey Garage is not one person, it’s not two people, it’s a team. AK helped me build GMG, and he helped build the team here, which is why I’m confident we will continue to crank out killer rides week after week. You know I like to keep the drama away from the cameras, and that’s something I’ll continue to strive for. You won’t see a degenerating team or a bunch of arguing. We are about the cars, brand and family!

To our fans, I want to say thanks for all of the continued support all these years, and keep watching because we aren’t going anywhere! Wishing nothing but good luck to Aaron and all past, current and future monkeys!

And to Aaron, I would like to sincerely express my appreciation for the 13 years you put into GMG. We worked long and hard from the bottom to the top. Not everyday was good, and we had our share of disagreements, but it has been a hell of a ride and I would not change a minute of it. Neither of us could have achieved this without the other. Thank You, Sir.

New ‘speed camera trailers’ to be rolled out across Qld over Christmas

December 22, 2016 10:43 am/in Gold Coast /by Shanee Dobeson


From tomorrow, new ‘speed camera trailers’ are being rolled out across Queensland as police ramp up their traffic blitz over the Christmas period.

The five new speed camera trailers will be managed remotely and used in high-risk areas where it is not currently safe or practical to deploy a police officer.

Commissioner Ian Stewart said the cameras will begin enforcement from tomorrow as people begin to head away for the festive break.

“Queensland has had a devastating start to the Christmas holidays on our roads, recording 15 fatalities since our road safety campaign commenced on December 9,” Commissioner Stewart said.

“Excessive speed continues to be a significant issue in Queensland with about one in four road fatalities involving a speeding motorist.

“That is why speed management and enforcement remains a priority for police as we do everything we can to create a safer environment on our roads.”

Commissioner Stewart said the speed camera trailers were designed to assist in areas where it is unsafe to use traditional speed camera devices.

“The new trailers will enable police to target high-end speeding motorists in high-risk zones which are unsafe for officer deployment such as specific areas on motorways, at roadwork sites or in school zones,” he said.

“As this is a new type of technology, tolerance levels will be phased in, starting with considerable speed margins which will allow the public to become familiar with the new equipment.

“The trailers will not replace our current speed detection methods of high visibility patrols, mobile speed camera deployments or fixed camera systems.”

Most accidents aren't speed related though?. Nice money grab for the Christmas holidays.

Quite comical isn't it,can't help but have a good laugh at these silly f'king twats,it's the same as the woman heading to court with the piece of paper covering her eyes.

Japan's huge sex problem just hit a 117-year low

Ever since 1899 when Japan began collecting data on how many babies are born each year, the total has never fallen below 1 million.
Until 2016.

With a week left in the year, officials predict only 981,000 babies will have been born -- a dip of 25,000 from 2015. The death count, meanwhile, is around 1.3 million.

Japan's fertility crisis has been many years in the making. As older generations start to die off without younger generations starting families behind them, economists say Japan shows all the signs of a "demographic time bomb."

Without any intervention, Japan's economy will only continue to shrink.

"We will continue to put efforts into support for child-rearing," welfare minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki told The Japan Times.

Japan's fertility rate is among the lowest in the world, at just 1.4 births per woman. Sociologists have found populations stay steady when a country has at least 2.1 births per woman. Beneath that threshold, and countries are likely to see their populations start to decline, which Japan has.

Other countries face similar problems, including the US, Denmark, China, and Singapore -- with fertility rates of 1.87, 1.73, 1.6, and 0.81, respectively -- although Japan's case may be the most severe.

A 2016 study conducted by a Japanese research firm found that nearly 70% of unmarried Japanese men and 60% of unmarried Japanese women weren't in relationships. This is despite most people claiming they do want to get married eventually.

Japan has gone to some great lengths to boost its fertility rate to the goal of 1.8 births per woman by 2025, as set by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

For instance, the country is letting men play with dolls to get accustomed to fatherhood. And the government is organising speed-dating events to help young people meet.

In the meantime, the time bomb has forced Japan to recognise the importance of innovation more than ever -- specifically, with robotics technology. Without strapping young humans to do the work, machines may be the next best thing.

Star Citizen
1 hr ·
Our Free Fly has officially begun! For the next 48 hours you can try Star Citizen by entering the code WELCOME2SC.
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/promotions/welcome-to-sc

We are happy to announce that we accepted a settlement with the insurance on Thursday and on the hunt for a house come middle of January. The turbo fell through as old mate blew the entire cost out. I may look for an 1985 GSXR 750 once we move as I can't accommodate at this place.

Michael's death not suspicious: UK police

Pop superstar George Michael's death at the age of 53 is being treated by UK police as "unexplained but not suspicious".

The 53-year-old, who rose to fame as a member of Wham! and had numerous chart-topping hits including Last Christmas, died peacefully at home, his publicist said.

Thames Valley Police said they were called to a property in Goring-on-Thames shortly before 2pm, adding: "Sadly, a 53-year-old man was confirmed deceased at the scene.

"At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course. There will be no further updates from Thames Valley Police until the post-mortem has taken place."

Pop star George Michael passed away, aged 53, in Oxfordshire, England on Dec. 25, 2016, his publicist confirmed. Winner of two Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, the British pop icon sold over 100 million copies worldwide and delivered unforgettable hits such as "Careless Whisper," "One More Try" and "Father Figure." We take a look at the key moments from his life and career.

Health scares dogged the last decade of Michael's life.
Last year he publicly denied new allegations about drug-taking, describing them as ''highly inaccurate''.

The star nearly died from pneumonia in late 2011. After receiving treatment in a Vienna hospital, Michael made a tearful appearance outside his London home just before Christmas and said it had been ''touch and go'' whether he lived.