Knowledges in Other
Choose your interests from a vast range of topics
Life after death
Can the Dead Think? Can a dead brain think and react to external stimuli? Until now, this possibility had been the realm of science fiction and horror movies. However, a recent peer-reviewed study has shown that brains which had been preserved in formaldehyde and alcohol for as long as twenty years after they had been removed from their body, still reacted to external stimuli in much the same way a living brain would. What’s more, these pickled brains showed cerebral activity nearly identical to that of living brains in the area of the brain most associated with personality, a sense of self, and core memories, which suggests the perseverance of some residue of the person deep inside a disembodied brain. Science vs. Popular Culture The idea that a severed brain floating in a specimen jar could still think and act has been a mainstay of Futurama, which features President Nixon and other celebrities leading a sort of afterlife in large mobile glass jars. It has also been the foundation of the current zombie craze in movies, television, and books, all of which are based on the idea that the unusually hungry undead are animated by a brain which has someone maintained at least a little activity following the demise of its owner. In the entertainment universe, there is no consensus on how a dead brain could still make its corpse body lumber about in search of human prey. Some movies such as Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, left the question completely unanswered, though the fact that those who had been bitten by a zombie came back to life as flesh-eating zombies suggested some sort of infectious agent. In the Walking Dead, the zombies are said to be animated as a result of some sort of infection, but the process or nature of the pathogen is never clearly explained. The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks, was the first book to take a “serious” look at how zombie brains might continue to operate, despite the death of the body. According to ZSG, zombie brains had been infected by a virus which preserved the brain and slowed decay, and as a result made away with the need for food, for oxygen, and all of the other things that living brains need. The theory put forth in ZSG seems preposterous and not possible in real life. After all, the brain – like all of our other organs – needs oxygen and nutrients to survive or it begins to break down and decompose. But what if decomposition could be stopped or slowed down, such as when a brain is placed in a preserving solution? The Research Until now, the prevailing wisdom is that even though the visible structures of the dead brain might be preserved by immersing it in alcohol or formaldehyde, the underlying environment was so different from the conditions of life that no brain function could be possible. Except that no one had bothered to test that assumption, at least until now. Starting from the observation that the structure of organs dictates their functions, a team of neurosurgeons set out to ask: if the structure of the brain remains intact, will its function survive? The researchers took a number of brains and parts of brains which had been preserved in embalming fluid, for as long as twenty years, and subjected them to a number of stimuli ranging from electromagnetic, chemical and light. They then measured the brain’s reaction using essentially the same equipment that would be used to measure brain activity in a living brain. The Results The results were both shocking and disturbing. All of the dead brains that were tested, showed reactions nearly identical to the types of reactions that occurred in living brains when the living brains were exposed to the same kind of stimuli. Despite the fact that the dead brains had been without nutrients, without oxygen, and in some cases had been dissected, they continued to function at least on a basic level. What’s more, the activity elicited by these stimuli took place in areas of the brain that were associated with memory, with selfhood, and with personality. The results led the researchers to make to understated but striking conclusions: The precise point beyond which the brain is no longer “living,” a threshold which remains unidentified, is perhaps less definite than has been historically assumed. [T]he post-mortem brain which displays subtle cortical oscillations, particularly within the theta and gamma bands as demonstrated here, could express some capacity for cognitive activation. (Cognitive = thinking.) What Does This All Mean? The study’s results are too new to fully map out all of the implications, but they hint at the survival of some sort of consciousness after death, at least until the brain decays to the point where its structures are no longer intact. Usually, the brain begins to irreversibly decay the moment that a person dies, but in cases where the brain has been preserved, as in the case of specimens in a jar or perhaps even in cryogenic sleep, it is possible that the brain – and perhaps its consciousness – persists. This is both fascinating and horrifying. Have we condemned thousands of brain specimens floating in jars in university labs throughout the world to a kind of half death? Could they be self-aware? Do they dream? Are they trapped forever in between life and death? Could this lead to a way to cheat death, like on Futurama, or does it mean that zombies are possible after all? If some consciousness survives, what does this mean for Einstein’s Brain whose beautiful brain has been preserved for decades in a glass jar? Has he been whiling away the years working on a universal theory of relativity all this time? What would a brain completely devoid of sensory input do? Experiences with people put in isolation chambers suggest that they would start to hallucinate and dream. Perhaps you the reader are floating in a jar, and this article is your own invention, your brain’s way of telling you that all of what you see is just an illusion. Imagine if we could learn to contact and communicate with the brains of the dead? Perhaps they could unlock secrets for us, even solve their murders by telling us who did it, or allow us to eventually re-animate them completely. Perhaps this will lead to a new service offered by funeral homes: preserving the brains of your loved ones and hooking them up to virtual reality so they can continue to enjoy their afterlife. Of course, our meddling with the processes of death might just unleash a zombie apocalypse.
Mohit Gedar
Ashish Nayak
Social Media
Some Basics Questions Answered about Social Media
Bhaanuj Sharma
English premier leauge 2017-18 transfers
The attatchment below includes English premier leauge 2017-18 transfers. The topics included in the documents attatched below are PAST TREND, INFERENCES, ANALYSIS, TOP 10 TRANSFERS FOR THIS SEASON, GRAPHS, PIE CHARTS, ETC.
Tanuj Gupta
hydrologic design
hydrology material.
sneha pancholi
geography class 6th
geography ncert.
satalite communication
satalite comm
Bearings
Bearing in Civil Engineering
Simran Kaur Sidhu
General bio
biology
How To Do Good In School ?
Eight Tips On How To Do Good In School Below the average, average people and super genius mega minds...nah, it's not about that, well yeah, a part of success is about that but, one still has a long way to go before having the time of his life. And everything starts at home...after that it's school so let's get down to business. Here are eight tips on how to do good in school. 1. Jot 'Em Down This step is somewhat a must. However, if you consider yourself a super computer robot, you can skip number one and get down to number two...you're still reading so you don't think that you're a mega mind. That's good because it's never great to be too confident with yourself. Number one is writing them all down. It never hurts to write all of the things you need to do. Write them in a small notebook, a tickler or something, or jot them down in a piece of paper and post it on your refrigerator door or on your own bulletin if you have one. And don't forget to write when you need to do or accomplish these things or in other words, your deadlines. 2. Prioritize Imagine that you're a juggler. Now, you're juggling balls. These balls are made of various materials. Rubber, plastic, glass, and crystals. The balls that you're juggling got too many and you can't handle them all. Some balls MUST fall or the whole act will be a disaster. And that's when the word "prioritize" comes in. You have to let the rubber balls fall. Why? Because if you don't do this, say you refuse to let a ball or two fall, they'll all slip out of your hands. If you let the wrong ball fall, well, you're a wreck. That's why you have to set your priorities. Which in your to-do list is the most important and which things can be left out or can be given little attention. 3. Get To Work Don't just get stuck with listing and prioritizing. Do them of course. Sometimes people tend to get discouraged when they look at the things they need to do and find that they're just so many! Well, nothing's gonna happen if you just sit around, stare at the things you got to do and think how much energy you need to exert to finish all those. Get on your feet. You'll be done without even knowing it. 4. Study Habits I'm pretty sure this is not new to you. Nevertheless, it's still very important, maybe the most important, so you can't just set this aside. Study your lessons everyday for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. This prevents cramming during exam weeks which you know isn't very helpful. And don't make your hectic schedule an excuse for not studying. Remember, if there's a will, there's a way. 5. Be A "Neat Freak" I know this is hard but...you have to be organized. This may be the hardest part of being a student and at the same time of being a kid or a teenager. Because they're very restless and energetic and tend to just pile things up. But if you already did number one and number two, you're already started in being an organized person! Give everything a proper place. Put your books and notebooks in one corner or a suitable place. Compile your test papers, certificates and other paper works from school. Place them in a folder, clear book, an envelope or a file case. You'll never know when you'll need them. Other materials which are reusable like envelopes, folders, colored papers and a lot more, keep them all together, may be in a case or a shoebox, it's up to you. Colors, pencils, paper clips and other materials of the same kind, separate them also, it's still up to you as long as it's organized. Educational materials, if you have, it's good to compile them too. Maybe you're asking, why do I need to do all these? When your things and surroundings are organized, you tend to think clear. That's why organized people have organized minds. Lastly, the night before going to school, put everything you'll be needing for school inside your bag. Get your uniform or whatever it is that you're wearing for school ready. And don't forget to set your alarm clock. 6. Go For The Extra Mile You don't just do things for compliance. You don't want to waste your efforts. Since you started to do things, give them your best shot. Do your best and that will be enough to go for the extra mile. You'll never know when an opportunity comes so always give it your all. 7. Be Humble Now that you're a step ahead of your peers, don't be over confident, like the one stated at the first number. Don't be conceited because you didn't accomplish everything on your own. The higher you get, the harder you'll fall so always keep your feet on the ground. And being humble also gains you great friends. 8. Just Keep Going You did it for the first time, you got to do it for the second, third, fourth, and so on...time. Be consistent for this will be the foundation of your success. Don't stop until you reach your goal. And when you reach your goal, reward yourself then look again for another goal. And when failure finds its way through your efforts, keep moving forward. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just keep going. ARTICLE by- Mohit Gedar
Aman Jain