http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/hunte...vention-of

EXCERPT: Latest analysis of prehistoric bones show there is no anatomical reason why a person born today could not develop the skeletal strength of a prehistoric forager or a modern orangutan. Findings support the idea that activity throughout life is the key to building bone strength and preventing osteoporosis risk in later years, say researchers. New research across thousands of years of human evolution shows that our skeletons have become much lighter and more fragile since the invention of agriculture - a result of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles as we shifted from foraging to farming....

I've noticed a few discussions on this very problem on a number of forums but none really get to the bottom of the problem.  Some people speculate a persons replacement heatsink didn't have the right amount of thermal paste, others suggest all manner of other potentials.

I've been observing this problem for a while, it's been since a few changes in AMD driver updates and a BIOS update.  I think I've finally got to work out where the problem is.  Asus's motherboard tends to try to optimize everything to run at it's fastest, unfortunate when it boosts everything to do that, it both increases heat and destabilises the computer as a whole. 

I'd been humming and harring for a while wondering about which setting to try and I'm pretty sure that I've worked out the solution for this particular CPU and Motherboard combo.

Firstly make sure that you have the most recent BIOS firmware for the motherboard installed.
In the settings of the BIOS there is a DIGI+ VRM setting (Digital Voltage Regulation Module)
The important one here is the CPU Load-Line Calibration, It defaults to [Auto] however it's best to reduce it to [Regular] this will reduce your upper clock speeds but reduce your heat Package/VRM temps and voltage usage.

This will reduce the crashes caused by the Package/VRM temp's spiking from all cores dumping too much heat.

http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-...story.html

EXCERPT: Adherents of Tibetan Buddhism believe the Dalai Lama, the religion’s highest spiritual authority, has been reincarnated in an unbroken line for centuries. But the current Dalai Lama says he may be the last.

In an interview with the BBC this week, the 79-year-old Nobel Peace Prize recipient said that he may not reincarnate after he dies.

"There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won't come next, who will disgrace himself or herself,” he said. “That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama."

But what does reincarnation mean, and why would the Dalai Lama not want to have a successor? [...] Almost certainly to prevent the Chinese government from inserting itself into the process for political ends....

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publicatio...of-leibniz

EXCERPT: [...] Leibniz is one of the most impressive figures in the history of modern science, mathematics, and philosophy. It seems impossible that one individual could accomplish all that he did. [...] The motivating force of Leibniz’s life’s work was his optimism, which grew out of his philosophical and theological convictions. It is perhaps best understood as the optimism of a scientist who believed not only that science was going to get the truth but also that the truth was something worth getting for its practical and moral benefits.

[...] Notwithstanding all his other accomplishments, what Leibniz became most famous for in the popular imagination after his death was his claim that this world was the best of all that are possible. The statement would surely not have become as well known as it did were it not for Voltaire’s mockery of it in Candide, and one may be inclined to agree with Voltaire that Leibniz’s point deserves ridicule. But Leibniz was being neither flippant nor blindly optimistic; rather, his optimism deserves careful analysis, as it helps shed light on his understanding of science and its moral implications.

The statement originates in the only book Leibniz published during his lifetime, a volume that explores the vexing question of how God can be good and just and all-powerful if evil and injustice and suffering exist. (We now call this the problem of “theodicy,” after the title Leibniz gave this little volume.) In the book, Leibniz defines “world” as “the whole succession and the whole agglomeration of all existent things, lest it be said that several worlds could have existed in different times and different places. For they must needs be reckoned all together as one world or, if you will, as one Universe.” In this world, everything is dependent on something else for its existence — so that in order for the whole world to exist, a first cause must have brought it into being. But an infinite number of worlds were “equally possible,” so that in creating this world, the first cause must have been able to consider all other possible worlds. This first cause, being “infinite in all ways” — including in power, wisdom, and goodness — must have chosen the best of all possible worlds.

It is a point of interpretive controversy how close to perfection Leibniz believed the best world comes. While most think that Leibniz considered it to be good in absolute terms, both metaphysically and morally, at least one commentator, Matthew Stewart in The Courtier and the Heretic (2006), considers Leibniz to be “in fact one of history’s great pessimists,” who recognized the vanity of striving for progress in this world that is ultimately indifferent to our desires. Truth — the noble aim of philosophy and the sciences — remained ineffective in politics, and Leibniz understood, according to Stewart, that some measure of deception, both in politics and in theology, seemed necessary for achieving good. If theology demands the conclusion that this is the best of all possible worlds, the harsh reality of political life makes clear that “best” would simply mean that the other worlds would have been even worse than this one. But this cynical view of Leibniz’s optimism requires not only an excessively imaginative and tortuous reading of some of his most important works; it would also seem to be undermined by the dedication Leibniz brought to several other efforts, including especially his project to advance all the sciences, which we will return to shortly. A proper understanding of this project reveals that Leibniz’s philosophical and theological optimism in fact shaped his vision of advancing the sciences, and that his political and ecumenical work was often aimed at furthering that end.

Leibniz made clear that he did not mean that the best world is composed only of the best parts, just as “the part of a beautiful thing is not always beautiful.” While some aspects of the world may not seem good in themselves, they are part of a whole that is better than all the alternatives. No part could in fact have been other than it is, neither better nor worse, since then the world would no longer be as it is, and this world is the best, having been chosen by an infinitely wise God.

For instance, as Leibniz explains, “it is true that one may imagine possible worlds without sin and without unhappiness, and one could make some like Utopian ... romances: but these same worlds again would be very inferior to ours in goodness,” because humans, being free to act, are able to choose between good or evil, and “there is no rational creature without some organic body, and there is no created spirit entirely detached from matter,” subject to pain and decay. To be free and to be both spirit and matter is good, even if this condition allows for evil and unhappiness. For sometimes “an evil brings forth a good,” and it is a false maxim “that the happiness of rational creatures is the sole aim of God.” God’s creation is immense, and human beings make up only a tiny part of it, spatially and temporally; what makes us unhappy may well contribute to the good of the whole or to other creatures. Those who nevertheless criticize God’s creation, Leibniz writes in Theodicy, should receive the following answer:

"You have known the world only since the day before yesterday, you see scarce farther than your nose, and you carp at the world. Wait until you know more of the world and consider therein especially the parts which present a complete whole (as do organic bodies); and you will find there a contrivance and a beauty transcending all imagination. Let us thence draw conclusions as to the wisdom and the goodness of the author of things, even in things that we know not. We find in the universe some things which are not pleasing to us; but let us be aware that it is not made for us alone. It is nevertheless made for us if we are wise: it will serve us if we use it for our service; we shall be happy in it if we wish to be."

Some have objected that if this is the best possible world then it would already be paradise and there would be no reason to hope for a better world after this, and the grace of God for salvation would be obsolete. But this is to misunderstand Leibniz’s position. He strongly affirms the orthodox doctrines that sin is real and that grace is needed for redemption. A given day or age is not necessarily the best possible, nor is our life on earth. While the world as a whole is the best possible, improvement of individual parts is in fact at the heart of Leibniz’s concern. In the sciences, in philosophy and theology, and in politics, he always aimed to improve the human condition....

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...122314.php

RELEASE: Scientists have discovered the oldest recorded stone tool ever to be found in Turkey, revealing that humans passed through the gateway from Asia to Europe much earlier than previously thought, approximately 1.2 million years ago.

According to research published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, the chance find of a humanly-worked quartzite flake, in ancient deposits of the river Gediz, in western Turkey, provides a major new insight into when and how early humans dispersed out of Africa and Asia.

Researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London, together with an international team from the UK, Turkey and the Netherlands, used high-precision equipment to date the deposits of the ancient river meander, giving the first accurate timeframe for when humans occupied the area.

Professor Danielle Schreve, from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, said: "This discovery is critical for establishing the timing and route of early human dispersal into Europe. Our research suggests that the flake is the earliest securely-dated artefact from Turkey ever recorded and was dropped on the floodplain by an early hominin well over a million years ago."

The researchers used high-precision radioisotopic dating and palaeomagnetic measurements from lava flows, which both pre-date and post-date the meander, to establish that early humans were present in the area between approximately 1.24 million and 1.17 million years ago. Previously, the oldest hominin fossils in western Turkey were recovered in 2007 at Koçabas, but the dating of these and other stone tool finds were uncertain.

"The flake was an incredibly exciting find", Professor Schreve said. "I had been studying the sediments in the meander bend and my eye was drawn to a pinkish stone on the surface. When I turned it over for a better look, the features of a humanly-struck artefact were immediately apparent.

"By working together with geologists and dating specialists, we have been able to put a secure chronology to this find and shed new light on the behaviour of our most distant ancestors."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...122314.php

RELEASE: A new research paper suggests a relation between the density of both cheque-cashing places and alcohol outlets in a given neighbourhood and the risk of premature death in people ages 20-59 years.

The relation was stronger in men than in women, according to Dr. Flora Matheson and Dr. Joel Ray of the Centre for Research on Inner City Health of St. Michael's Hospital.

In a paper published in the journal BMJ Open, the findings suggest that the strategic placement of cheque-cashing places and alcohol outlets in certain areas may provide local residents with ready access to quick cash and-or the purchase of alcohol. Dr. Matheson, a medical sociologist and research scientist, said this is particularly true at the holiday season, when banks may be closed, people need money quickly and alcohol sales go up dramatically.

The authors do not say that cheque-cashing or alcohol outlets directly play a role in premature deaths.

Their survey of Toronto's 140 neighbourhoods found that men had a 1.25 times greater risk of premature death in areas with high densities of cheque cashing places. They had a 1.36 times greater risk of premature death in areas with high densities of alcohol outlets - alcohol and beer stores and on-premise licensed facilities such as bars. The premature mortality rate was 96.3 for every 10,000 males and 55.9 for every 10,000 females ages 20-59 years.

The researchers looked at people ages 20-59 only, so as to eliminate causes of premature death traditionally related to newborns, children and seniors. Intentional self-harm, accidental poisoning and liver disease are among the top five causes of premature death among men ages 20-59, and many of these deaths are highly preventable, they said.

A substantial amount of research has been conducted on the relation between neighbourhoods and residents' health. Neighbourhood disadvantage is associated with poor psychological and physical health. However, the current study already factors in neighbourhood income and crime rates.

The researchers noted that alcohol and cheque-cashing industries are often government-regulated, but individuals freely chose to use these facilities. While there is some compelling evidence around limiting the number of alcohol outlets and hours of operation, less is known about cheque-cashing places. They said this is the first study to examine the relation between cheque-cashing places and premature death.

One approach might be to offer money management services for people at risk of alcohol overuse, in whom addiction overwhelms all aspects of their lives, Dr. Matheson said. Since cheque-cashing places are often located where customers abound and where mental illness and self-neglect are more prevalent, people in those neighbourhoods may need better support in formal banking, budget management and addiction counseling.

"Moreover, physicians, nurses, addiction counselors and social workers who help people with alcohol problems might use an individual's neighbourhood as an indicator of their risk for health decline and even recommend relocation to an area with few CCPs and alcohol outlets," said Dr. Ray, a physician and researcher. "Residential relocation has been associated with a greater cessation of injection drug use."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...122314.php

RELEASE: Human echolocation operates as a viable "sense," working in tandem with other senses to deliver information to people with visual impairment, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Ironically, the proof for the vision-like qualities of echolocation came from blind echolocators wrongly judging how heavy objects of different sizes felt.

The experiment, conducted by psychological scientist Gavin Buckingham of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and his colleagues at the Brain and Mind Institute at Western University in Canada, demonstrated that echolocators experience a "size-weight illusion" when they use their echolocation to get a sense of how big objects are, in just the same way as sighted people do when using their normal vision.

"Some blind people use echolocation to assess their environment and find their way around," said Buckingham. "They will either snap their fingers or click their tongue to bounce sound waves off objects, a skill often associated with bats, which use echolocation when flying. However, we don't yet understand how much echolocation in humans has in common with how a sighted individual would use their vision."

The researchers had three groups taking part in the experiment: blind echolocators, blind non-echolocators, and control subjects with no visual impairment. All three groups were asked to judge the weight of three cubes which were identical in weight but differed in size.

"The blind group who did not echolocate experienced no illusion, correctly judging the boxes as weighing the same amount as one another because they had no indication of how big each box was," said Buckingham. "The sighted group, where each member was able to see how big each box was, overwhelmingly succumbed to the 'size-weight illusion' and experienced the smaller box as feeling a lot heavier than the largest one."

"We were interested to discover that echolocators, who only experienced the size of the box through echolocation, also experienced this illusion," Buckingham added. "This showed that echolocation was able to influence their sense of how heavy something felt. This resembles how visual assessment influenced how heavy the boxes felt in the sighted group."

The findings are consistent with earlier work showing that blind echolocators use "visual" regions of their brain when listening to their own echoes. This new work shows that echolocation is not just a functional tool to help visually-impaired individuals navigate their environment, but actually has the potential to be a complete sensory replacement for vision.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...122314.php

RELEASE: One of the great recent discoveries in modern biology was that the human body contains 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells. But much of that bacteria is still a puzzle to scientists.

It is estimated by scientists that roughly half of bacteria living in human bodies is difficult to replicate for scientific research -- which is why biologists call it "microbial dark matter." Scientists, however, have long been determined to learn more about these uncultivable bacteria, because they may contribute to the development of certain debilitating and chronic diseases.

For decades, one bacteria group that has posed a particular challenge for researchers is the Candidate Phylum TM7, which has been thought to cause inflammatory mucosal diseases because it is so prevalent in people with periodontitis, an infection of the gums.

Now, a landmark discovery by scientists at the UCLA School of Dentistry, the J. Craig Venter Institute and the University of Washington School of Dentistry has revealed insights into TM7's resistance to scientific study and to its role in the progression of periodontitis and other diseases. Their findings shed new light on the biological, ecological and medical importance of TM7, and could lead to better understanding of other elusive bacteria.

The team's findings are published online in the December issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"I consider this the most exciting discovery in my 30-year career," said Dr. Wenyuan Shi, a UCLA professor of oral biology. "This study provides the roadmap for us to make every uncultivable bacterium cultivable."

The researchers cultivated a specific type of TM7 called TM7x, a version of TM7 found in people's mouths, and found the first known proof of a signaling interaction between the bacterium and an infectious agent called Actinomyces odontolyticus, or XH001, which causes mucosal inflammation.

"Once the team grew and sequenced TM7x, we could finally piece together how it makes a living in the human body," said Dr. Jeff McLean, acting associate professor at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. "This may be the first example of a parasitic long-term attachment between two different bacteria -- where one species lives on the surface of another species gaining essential nutrients and then decides to thank its host by attacking it."

To prove that TM7x needs XH001 to grow and survive, the team attempted to mix isolated TM7x cells with other strains of bacteria. Only XH001 was able to establish a physical association with TM7x, which led researchers to believe that TM7x and XH001 might have evolved together during their establishment in the mouth.

What makes TM7x even more intriguing are its potential roles in chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, vaginal diseases and periodontitis. The co-cultures collected in this study allowed researchers to examine, for the first time ever, the degree to which TM7x helps cause these conditions.

"Uncultivable bacteria presents a fascinating 'final frontier' for dental microbiologists and are a high priority for the NIDCR research portfolio," said Dr. R. Dwayne Lunsford, director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research's microbiology program. "This study provides a near-perfect case of how co-cultivation strategies and a thorough appreciation for interspecies signaling can facilitate the recovery of these elusive organisms. Although culture-independent studies can give us a snapshot of microbial diversity at a particular site, in order to truly understand physiology and virulence of an isolate, we must ultimately be able to grow and manipulate these bacteria in the lab."

It was previously known that XH001 induces inflammation. But by infecting bone marrow cells with XH001 alone and then with the TM7x/XH001 co-culture, the researchers also found that inflammation was greatly reduced when TM7x was physically attached to XH001. This is the only known study that has provided evidence of this relationship between TM7 and XH001.

The researchers plan to further study the unique relationship between TM7X and XH001 and how they jointly cause mucosal disease. Their findings could have implications for potential treatment and therapeutics.