Researchers discover workings of brain's 'GPS system'

Mar. 6, 2013 ? Just as a global posi?tion?ing sys?tem (GPS) helps find your loca?tion, the brain has an inter?nal sys?tem for help?ing deter?mine the body's loca?tion as it moves through its surroundings.

A new study from researchers at Prince?ton Uni?ver?sity pro?vides evi?dence for how the brain per?forms this feat. The study, pub?lished in the jour?nal Nature, indi?cates that cer?tain position-tracking neu?rons -- called grid cells -- ramp their activ?ity up and down by work?ing together in a col?lec?tive way to deter?mine loca?tion, rather than each cell act?ing on its own as was pro?posed by a com?pet?ing theory.

Grid cells are neu?rons that become elec?tri?cally active, or "fire," as ani?mals travel in an envi?ron?ment. First dis?cov?ered in the mid-2000s, each cell fires when the body moves to spe?cific loca?tions, for exam?ple in a room. Amaz?ingly, these loca?tions are arranged in a hexag?o?nal pat?tern like spaces on a Chi?nese checker board.

"Together, the grid cells form a rep?re?sen?ta?tion of space," said David Tank, Princeton's Henry L. Hill?man Pro?fes?sor in Mol?e?c?u?lar Biol?ogy and leader of the study. "Our research focused on the mech?a?nisms at work in the neural sys?tem that forms these hexag?o?nal pat?terns," he said. The first author on the paper was grad?u?ate stu?dent Cristina Dom?nisoru, who con?ducted the exper?i?ments together with post?doc?toral researcher Amina Kinkhabwala.

Dom?nisoru mea?sured the elec?tri?cal sig?nals inside indi?vid?ual grid cells in mouse brains while the ani?mals tra?versed a computer-generated vir?tual envi?ron?ment, devel?oped pre?vi?ously in the Tank lab. The ani?mals moved on a mouse-sized tread?mill while watch?ing a video screen in a set-up that is sim?i?lar to video-game vir?tual real?ity sys?tems used by humans.

She found that the cell's elec?tri?cal activ?ity, mea?sured as the dif?fer?ence in volt?age between the inside and out?side of the cell, started low and then ramped up, grow?ing larger as the mouse reached each point on the hexag?o?nal grid and then falling off as the mouse moved away from that point.

This ramp?ing pat?tern cor?re?sponded with a pro?posed mech?a?nism of neural com?pu?ta?tion called an attrac?tor net?work. The brain is made up of vast num?bers of neu?rons con?nected together into net?works, and the attrac?tor net?work is a the?o?ret?i?cal model of how pat?terns of con?nected neu?rons can give rise to brain activ?ity by col?lec?tively work?ing together. The attrac?tor net?work the?ory was first pro?posed 30 years ago by John Hop?field, Princeton's Howard A. Prior Pro?fes?sor in the Life Sci?ences, Emeritus.

The team found that their mea?sure?ments of grid cell activ?ity cor?re?sponded with the attrac?tor net?work model but not a com?pet?ing the?ory, the oscil?la?tory inter?fer?ence model. This com?pet?ing the?ory pro?posed that grid cells use rhyth?mic activ?ity pat?terns, or oscil?la?tions, which can be thought of as many fast clocks tick?ing in syn?chrony, to cal?cu?late where ani?mals are located. Although the Prince?ton researchers detected rhyth?mic activ?ity inside most neu?rons, the activ?ity pat?terns did not appear to par?tic?i?pate in posi?tion calculations.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Princeton University. The original article was written by Cather?ine Zan?donella.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Cristina Domnisoru, Amina A. Kinkhabwala, David W. Tank. Membrane potential dynamics of grid cells. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature11973

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/t6AmDh0M7S8/130307110720.htm

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W.Va. House committee votes to weaken EPA standard

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- After a contentious public hearing pitting the coal industry against environmental advocates, the West Virginia House Judiciary Committee, in a near unanimous voice vote, advanced legislation that would weaken the state's selenium regulations.

The bill would authorize the state Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a study to determine state-specific guidelines for how much selenium is acceptable in state waters.

If sites are found to have exceeded selenium guidelines, that would no longer be treated as a punishable violation, but would instead trigger additional monitoring.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets the guidelines for how much selenium is permissible and any change in the state's standards would have to be approved by the agency. If West Virginia changed its standards and the EPA rejected the change, it could lead to litigation.

The EPA has been revising its selenium standards since 2004. An agency spokesman said officials expect to finalize them by the end of this year.

The bill's sponsors contend that the federal regulations are overly restrictive and that selenium has not been proved harmful in West Virginia waterways. They say that West Virginia's fast-moving streams can tolerate higher selenium levels than slow moving rivers and stagnant lakes.

"Our state is better equipped to handle this," said Del. Justin Marcum, D-Mingo, one of the bill's sponsors. "Not a bunch of outsiders coming in telling us how to manage our coal industry."

Del. Clif Moore, D-McDowell, criticized the bill's opponents for impeding economic growth in southern West Virginia and urged the bill's passage.

"I wonder what all these do-gooders were doing a few years ago when McDowell County was literally dying on the economic vine," Moore said.

Selenium is a naturally occurring element that mountaintop removal mining releases into waterways. Studies have found it's harmful to aquatic life, and high-level exposure in humans can damage the kidneys, liver, and central nervous and circulatory systems.

Both supporters and opponents of the bill cited a 2010 study by the state Department of Environmental Protection on selenium's impact on selected fish populations in West Virginia.

Dianne Bady, founder and director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Council, displayed pictures of fish, documented in the study, with massive under-bites and crooked spines and accused the bill's authors of dishonesty and misreading the research.

"House Bill 2579 states the purpose of this bill is to protect state waters," Bady said. "This is a dishonest statement. In reality the purpose of this bill is to allow mountaintop removal companies to pollute West Virginia streams with levels of selenium that are known by the best scientific evidence at this time to cause serious harm to fish and other aquatic life."

Jason Bostic, vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said there are four different kinds of selenium and they all have different effects, which are difficult to document.

"For selenium to have an adverse impact it must accumulate in the tissue. Mere exposure to selenium in water is not enough to be able to cause a problem," Bostic said. "Despite searching for an impact, none can be found in West Virginia streams."

Bostic said that the deformities found in the 2010 study are statistically insignificant and have not been verified by subsequent research

The 2010 study found that deformities in fish populations in West Virginia waters were "associated with waterborne selenium exposure."

Randy Huffman, the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, acknowledged that the study found fish deformities attributable to selenium, but said that more study was needed.

"We drew some conclusions," Huffman said of the 2010 report. "To caveat that, there is not enough in this study for us to make any conclusive statements."

The bill's supporters pointed to the fact that the EPA selenium regulation placed on streams near coal mines is 10 times stricter than the regulation placed on drinking water. EPA has not commented on how it arrived at its standards, but Tom Clarke, an Environmental Protection department spokesman, said that the distinction is probably due to the differences between aquatic life and humans.

"People are larger and much more complex organisms than some of the organisms living in our streams and therefore are capable of absorbing and ingesting higher concentrations of selenium without being harmed," Clarke said last week. "And another thing is how much water you drink a day is different than a tadpole that is constantly exposed over its whole body."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/w-va-house-committee-votes-163418361.html

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Next wave of female UFC fighters have high hopes for the future of their division

When Ronda Rousey was named the first female member of the UFC, a common worry was that the UFC was building a division just around her. But a week and a half after the UFC women's bantamweight belt was contested for the first time, the new division is starting to take shape. Miesha Tate will fight Cat Zingano at "The Ultimate Fighter" finale in what is expected to be the title eliminator for the next shot at Ronda Rousey, and Sara McMann will fight Sheila Gaff on April 27.

The fighters say that the proof of the UFC's commitment to women's MMA is in the pudding.

"Dana seems pretty excited and pretty gung-ho about it. I look at the girls he's picked so far, and they're all legit," Zingano said to Cagewriter. "The women [UFC president Dana White has] chosen are good representatives of what we're trying to do right now. The UFC creating the division is going to mean even more great women will come out of the woodwork."

White has the same hopes.

"There's women who do other martial arts, and the fact that you can come here now, and actually make a living and make money and become a professional athlete, I think is going to have a huge impact on the sport. If you look at how much the men have evolved, and you see all these women out here who are really talented, I think it's really gonna blow up," White said after UFC 157.

McMann pointed out that even if the division does revolve around Rousey, her opponents have the opportunity to steal the spotlight from the champ.

"They kind of have to be committed to other people. They have to be committed at least so that she has marketable opponents. Even if it is the Ronda show. Everybody has a chance to make it their own show. The males are given that, too. When a new champion is crowned, they're given that, but they're not given that until they've earned it.

With now 11 female fighters on the UFC roster, there are plenty of women who will want to grab that spotlight.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/next-wave-female-ufc-fighters-high-hopes-future-194401152--mma.html

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Andy Gibb remembered on his 55th birthday

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY

Getting to 55 is not exactly a Guinness Book of World Records-style achievement, but sadly, singer Andy Gibb never made it that far. The younger brother of BeeGees Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb would have turned 55 Tuesday, but he passed away 25 years ago, on March 10, 1988. He had been 30 years old for just five days.

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Andy Gibb in 1978, when he was just 20.

Gibb's death came as a shock. -- so young, so handsome, so talented. While he had a history of drug abuse which was certainly hard on his body, the cause of death was not an overdose but an inflammation of the heart possibly caused by a virus.

Gibb left the world too soon, but he left behind a body of work that will be long remembered. Brother Barry helped out with "I Want to Be Your Everything," writing the song and providing backup vocals.

It was followed by another No.1 hit, "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water," co-written by Andy and Barry. The only thing that could knock the tune out of the top spot was another Gibb song, the BeeGees' "Night Fever."

?

And "Shadow Dancing" was both Gibb's third No.1 hit and the title of his 1978 album. The song continues to influence musicians today -- electronic musician Skrillex sampled it in 2010. And it was a family affair -- all four brothers Gibb contributed to writing it.

How do you remember Andy Gibb? What was his best song? Vote in our poll, and tell us on Facebook.

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/03/05/17195363-andy-gibb-remembered-on-his-55th-birthday?lite

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British "Batman" turns out to be Stan the delivery man

LONDON (Reuters) - It wasn't Batman, it was a joker. A day after making headlines around the world for handing over a suspect to police dressed as Batman, the identity of Britain's mysterious caped crusader has been revealed as Stan, a takeaway food delivery man.

Police in Bradford, northern England, were baffled when a portly figure in an ill-fitting Batman costume brought them a 27-year-old man wanted for burglary in the early hours of February 25 before disappearing into the night.

They released closed-circuit television footage of the incident on Monday and after much speculation, the masked hero disclosed his true identity to media on Tuesday. He was not Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne, but driver Stan Worby, 39.

He also said he had not brought the man in as part of any crime-fighting crusade. He had simply agreed to accompany a friend to the police station to offer him moral support, and had decided to wear the Batman suit as a practical joke.

"Obviously it was done as a joke," he told ITV's Daybreak programme, saying he was "gobsmacked" by the attention.

Worby said he had been to London's Wembley Stadium earlier in the day to watch local team Bradford City play in the English Capital One (League) Cup football final and had worn fancy dress for the occasion.

While there, Worby was contacted by his friend and agreed to take him in on his return from London.

"Obviously he wanted to get straight down there and I wanted my bed as it was half (past) one in the morning," Worby said.

He also insisted the pictures which showed he perhaps lacked the body of a superhero were unfair.

"I've got my full tracksuit underneath," he explained.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-batman-turns-stan-delivery-man-152852231--sow.html

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WiFi Alliance absorbs WiGig, reinforces commitment to 60GHz wireless

Just a little over two months since the WiFi Alliance and the Wireless Gigabit Alliance made their engagement plans known, the two groups are finally in marital bliss. They've long worked together on developing and building the 60GHz wireless standard, but decided it was best to make the partnership official in order to get the most out of their collaboration. Long-term plans include expanding WiGig's capabilities and implementing a baseline interoperability certification program by early 2014. This united effort could point to quite a growth spurt; ABI Research forecasts that there'll be annual shipments of 1.8 billion devices with both WiFi and WiGig support by 2016. Though there are no new product announcements at the moment, it looks like the newly unified WiFi Alliance will have plenty to work on over the coming years.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Kf3inu1yXG8/

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PFT: Flacco's cap number low in '13? |? 'Fitting' deal

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The dust has settled on the franchise-tag designation period.? Unlike last year, when 21 tags flew, only three were applied in 2013.

So what gives?

The easy explanation is that this year?s crop of players eligible for the tag wasn?t as good as last year?s.? But it?s likely more complicated than that.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco would have been this year?s Drew Brees, if the Ravens had been willing or able to carry his exclusive franchise tender, like the Saints did last year with Brees.? These deals get done on a deadline basis, and for the Ravens the real deadline was having to choose between two equally bad evils:? more than $19 million under the exclusive tag or nearly $15 million under the non-exclusive tag, along with an opportunity for the Browns to try to steal the Super Bowl MVP.

The Titans got cold feet regarding the possibility of using the franchise tag on tight end Jared Cook. or he would have been No. 9.? If he?d signed the offer and if he?d then won the inevitable grievance arguing that he?s a receiver, the Titans would have been paying Cook more in 2013 than they?ll be paying Chris Johnson.

The Titans could have instead used the tag on kicker Rob Bironas.? Last year, the tag was applied to six punter/kickers.? But with the market for kickers and punters expected to be soft this year, teams other than the Colts apparently opted not to invest nearly $3 million in a veteran, given that low-cost options like Blair Walsh and Greg Zeuerlein were floating in last year?s draft pool.

The biggest factor for the lack of tags could have been the salary cap.? Even though the franchise tenders are now based on the five-year average cap percentage consumed by the five highest-paid players at each position, it becomes more difficult to give one large chunk of cap space to one player at a time when the total cap grew by only 0.5 percent in 2012 and 1.9 percent in 2013.? For too many teams, the upward pressure of salary increases coupled with a relatively static total spending limit has made eight-figure salaries for non-superstar players a luxury that no longer can be afforded.

It should be no surprise, for example, that the Patriots didn?t use it.? At a time when quarterback Tom Brady?s cap number will be $13.8 million, how could they justify tying up $10.8 million in cornerback Aqib Talib or $9.8 million in tackle Sebastian Vollmer or $11.4 million in receiver Wes Welker?

The next question is whether the one-year franchise tenders will become long-term deals.? Teams have until July 15 to make that transformation.

If not, the players who have received the franchise tenders but who won?t be signing them any time soon need to worry about something that hasn?t happened in eight years:? A team rescinding the tag.

Chiefs left tackle Branden Albert should be specifically concerned about that.? After all, his new head coach, Andy Reid, did it twice in Philly, to defensive tackle Corey Simon in 2005 and to linebacker Jeremiah Trotter three years earlier.? If/when the Chiefs take left tackle Luke Joeckel with the first pick in the 2013 draft, Albert may want to quickly put pen to paper for his $9.828 million salary, or the chance to do so may permanently evaporate.

Then, he would end up on the open market in May, long after the big money has flowed for the year.

Given the new realities of a cap-strapped NFL, that?s a real concern that every franchise player should now have.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/04/flaccos-cap-numbers-stay-low-in-2013-and-2014/related/

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Holy smokes! "Batman" nabs suspect for British police

LONDON (Reuters) - A mystery man dressed as Batman demonstrated the same crime-fighting skills as the caped crusader when he handed over a suspect wanted for burglary in Britain.

Closed-circuit television footage showed a portly figure wearing an ill-fitting costume including gloves, cape and mask, bringing a 27-year-old man to a police station in Bradford in northern England.

The suspect was arrested and charged with handling stolen goods and fraud-related offences, said the force. But the costumed crime-fighter disappeared into the night without leaving his name.

"The person who brought the wanted man into the station was dressed in a full Batman outfit," said a spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police. "His identity, however, remains unknown."

The suspect was handed over in the early hours of February 25, said police who released photos of the footage on Monday.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holy-smokes-batman-nabs-suspect-british-police-122523102.html

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Baby Bump Update | the candace

Breaking blog rules (still): I know, I know. It?s illegal to post in the past, but I?ve fallen behind (and can hardly get up these days). ?I?m large and in charge and so please forgive me.

Now that it?s finally official ? I?m growing a human ? I?m sure you?can?t wait?to be inundated with all things baby. ?Should we let the nonsense and self-indulgence begin?

Main scoop:?We hustled around visiting family and friends in Minnesota (we even squeezed in a baby shower!) and then drove straight from the airport right into a hectic work week. (After surviving a blizzard that closed down the Denver airport for a few hours.) Although lovely, everything about this week was ridiculously tiring.

Speaking of the shower, we got loads of adorable baby girl clothes (how can you resist?), but my sister-in-law snuck in this awesome outfit just for me. I LOVE IT. I?m telling you, stripes and baby bumps go together like my MIL?s homemade hot chocolate and whip cream.

The Science:?Baby Center recap ? 33 weeks.?She?s way longer than a footlong sub sandwich (can you tell I?m hungry?), clocking in around 17 inches according to Baby Center. Even when she?s twisting up my insides with her Harlem Shake, I still love to feel her move and watch her. She fills me up with so much love and heartburn.

Body morphing:?Weight gain is back up to 15lbs. I?m really feeling this extra weight in my back and legs, mostly because I?m on my feet all day. My toes have been cramping again in the evenings but haven?t turned into full blown leg cramps thankfully.

Sexy stuff!?Of course I battled poo troubles while travelling back to Minnesota. The doc warned to stay extra hydrated but it?s so hard when you are a nervous lady and hustling from car to shuttle to plane to car to a different house each night.

Food drama:?I made myself sick one night in Minnesota, eating too much too late and guzzling too much coffee. I had to sleep on my MIL?s couch, propped up with pillows and Tums, after spending time hurling in the bathroom. I realize I should know better but my nerves and poo drama encouraged me to make poor choices.

Exercising??My only exercise this week was hanging out at the baggage claim, finding restrooms and getting nervous for my baby shower.

To Dos:?Now that my stint in retail is over, I get to focus only on baby butts and coaching my track kids. I?m so lucky. I?m looking forward to enjoying a slower pace before this little angel squirts out of my uterus and things get rowdy up in here again.

And randomly:?We only have one more week of our birthing class. The class is (mostly) helpful and I was hoping to meet a few local mommy friends at the same time. But I?m a snob. Can I vent for a second? You see, Hubs and I managed to make it to class on time, despite our frantic day/week. But not this one couple?

We waited for them. I?m mean, it?s the right thing to do. (Is it?) Plus, it?s no big deal for a pregnant lady like myself whose EFFIN back hurts. A pregnant lady who has an early morning and long day of travel ahead of her the very next day. ?A pregnant lady who thinks a class from 6.30 to 9.30pm is already way past her bedtime. A pregnant lady that has been away from home and on her feet for twelve hours already. A pregnant lady who hasn?t been home all week, in fact. A pregnant lady who is constipated.

After 20 minutes, we decided to go ahead and get started by reviewing a few things. I?m thankful for the exercise, I didn?t realize how much I had forgotten. I started to relax and settle in. Then guess who shows up, slurping their pop and chowing down on their McDonalds? Yep. Do you know how good McDonalds smells when you?ve snarfed down a crappy dinner of randomness because you have no decent food in the house, haven?t bothered to grocery shop since you?ll be gone for a week and WERE TRYING TO MAKE IT TO CLASS ON TIME? Do you know how loud rustling for rogue fries is? Do you know how much I love fries? Do you know waiting 25 minutes for almost anything makes me angry?

So, we started the review OVER for their benefit. Guess who pays no attention to the instructor anyway, talking and joking and cuddling with each other? Yeah, these guys. It was INFURIATING. The fact that the dude wears too much cologne and the girl talks in a whiny baby voice to him (which he can barely hear and constantly asks her to repeat) has no real impact but irks the crap out of me anyway.

Speaking of being late (hypocrite?much?), this post is a few days overdue (just like a good friend of mine). Let?s hope we both get back on schedule. You can do it, Emily!!!

Source: http://thecandace.com/2013/03/03/baby-bump-update-18/

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Baby born after mom killed has died | PIX 11

The newborn baby delivered 2 months before its due date after his parents were killed in a horrific Brooklyn hit and run, has died.

A community leader and neighbor of the couple confirmed the death of the baby Monday morning. The infant, he said, succumbed to his injuries at Bellevue Hospital just after 5:30 a.m.

The? baby boy weighed about three pounds and suffered serious brain and other internal injuries.

Cops are still searching for the driver of the BMW who crashed into the livery the couple were riding in Sunday? morning.

The couple, identified as Nathan and Raizi Glauber were both just 21 years old and so excited to be starting a family. She was seven months pregnant.

?They were one soul. This is a terrible tragedy,? said?Sarah Gluck, one of the victim?s first cousin.

Now it seems the entire Satmar community of Williamsburg is in mourning after the young family?s death.

They will killed as they rushed to a Cobble Hill hospital because she was having early labor pains.

Police say the Glaubers were riding in the back of a 2008 Toyota Camry livery cab heading west on Wilson Street when they collided with a 2010 gray BMW Sedan heading north on Kent Avenue.

The pregnant woman was thrown from the cab and landed under a nearby parked tractor trailer.

She was rushed to Bellevue where doctors performed an emergency c section on the dying mother.? Nathan Glauber died at Beth Israel hospital at roughly the same time.

Source: http://pix11.com/2013/03/04/baby-of-expectant-brooklyn-couple-killed-in-crash-dies/

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