BlackHoleNews.net
Space, UFO and Science Digest

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell Claims Alien Cover-up

Dr. Edgar Mitchell is a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission and he was the sixth man to walk on the Moon. Dr. Mitchell also insists that aliens have visited Earth and that governments are actively covering it up. "I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real," Dr Mitchell said. "It's been well covered up by all our governments for the last 60 years or so, but slowly it's leaked out and some of us have been privileged to have been briefed on some of it. "I've been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes - we have been visited. Reading the papers recently, it's been happening quite a bit." Dr Mitchell, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics claimed Roswell was real and similar alien visits continue to be investigated. He told the astonished Kerrang! radio host Nick Margerrison: "This is really starting to open up. I think we're headed for real disclosure and some serious organisations are moving in that direction." NASA issued a quick denial. In a statement, a spokesman said: "NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover up about alien life on this planet or anywhere in the universe. "Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinions on this issue." If Dr. Mitchell is correct about a cover-up than this is exactly the type of denial one would expect NASA to make. You can listen to the interview with Dr. Mitchell where he discusses the UFO phenomena here. Permalink | Recent Headlines | News Feeds Read more…

High Doses Of Lithium-like Drugs May Impair Neuronal Function

21.12.2006 20:01 Science - Source: ScienceDaily Headlines

Science Daily — New laboratory research suggests that lithium and other drugs that inhibit a particular enzyme, GSK-3 beta, should be used with caution in treating Alzheimer's disease because too high a dose can impair, rather than enhance, neuronal function.

Lithium is currently in clinical trials for treating Alzheimer's. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in producing other GSK-3 beta inhibitors for the disease because these drugs are relatively easy to make and lithium has been shown to be safe in low doses in treating people with manic-depressive illness, said Dr. William D. Snider, professor of neurology, cell and molecular physiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Medicine.

"People might think that if you make the inhibitor stronger and stronger, that would be better. Our in-vitro experiments show that you will have to be careful with how you use GSK-3 beta inhibitors, because if you use too much, it will interfere with and possibly kill neurons," said Snider, who also is director of UNC's Neuroscience Center

The results, published online Thursday (Dec. 21) in the journal Neuron, were surprising because GSK-3 beta inhibitors have been shown at some doses to improve neuronal function. "It's known that when GSK-3 beta is inactivated that tends to allow the processes inside the cell it regulates to function normally," Snider said.

But when the researchers strongly inhibited GSK-3 beta in mouse neurons in cell culture, the growth of axons, which carry messages between nerve cells, was markedly reduced.

The researchers inhibited GSK-3 beta using RNA silencing. "RNA silencing allows you to specifically knock down the level of a particular protein inside the cell," Snider said.

In a second set of experiments, the researchers treated mouse neurons with a low dose and a high dose of a GSK-3 beta inhibitor similar to lithium. The high dose impaired neuronal function, while the low dose improved it.

Snider's group plans to further investigate the effect of inhibiting GSK-3 beta in a whole-mouse model. "We will take a conditional mutagenesis approach in mice to knock out the GSK-3 beta in the nervous system," Snider said. "We'll be able to find out if we get the same effect in the whole animal that we got using RNA silencing in the culture dish."

The researchers will also work to understand how GSK-3 operates in relation to a protein called Tau, which is implicated in Alzheimer's.

In addition to Snider, other authors are lead author Dr. Woo-Yang Kim, Drs. Jiang Zhou and Yan-Min Wang, all of UNC's Neuroscience Center; Drs. Eva Anton and Yukako Yokota, both of the Neuroscience Center and UNC's department of cell and molecular physiology; Dr. Feng-Quan Zhou of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Drs. Takeshi Yoshimura and Kozo Kaibuchi of Nagoya University, Japan; and Dr. James R. Woodgett of Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto.

The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.