Author: Benny Powers

Dancing Therapy Helps Children with Mental Illness

- Benny Powers

A research project in Sweden, the first of it’s kind, has shown that dance therapy is effective in treating AD/HD in boys and depression in girls. For sullen teenagers who often refuse or are unable to talk about what is troubling them, dance therapy helps to loosen them up and shake off their mental shackles.

Boys affected with AD/HD start out with frenetic, high energy dancing, and then move on to slower, more methodical exercises which require them to pay attention and mimic.

Depressed and self-destructive teenage girls learn self-esteem, setting limits and saying ‘no’ through flamenco dancing.

The researchers are hoping that other countries will introduce dance therapy as a compliment to traditional psychotherapy.

New HIV Drug in Trials

- Benny Powers

A new class of HIV drug is in trial in the United States. Doctors have noticed that patients on a retroviral “cocktail” often develop resistance to the drugs. This new class of drugs attacks the virus in a novel way, and researchers are hoping that it will be an effective weapon against HIV.

HIV Virus DiagramThe drug, called PA-457, attacks the virus’ ability to produce capsid protein. The capsid is a conical membrane which protects the viral RNA genetic material.

Bionic Hand Controlled By Thought

- Benny Powers 3 Comments

The Japanese are developing a bionic hand that is controlled by the brain, the same way that a normal hand is controlled.

The researchers mapped the brainwave patterns of a person making “rock”, “paper” and “scissors” shapes with their hand, and then programmed those patterns into the robotic prosthesis.

Before the technology can be deployed on a wide basis, there must be more breakthroughs, particularily in the areo of brain/hardware interface.

The Poop-Powered Generator of the Future?

- Benny Powers 1 Comment

Scientist at Ghent University in Belgium and University of Queensland in Australia are working on a prototype device that generates electricity from the solid waste that we humans produce every day.

The process works by harnessing the energy that waste-eating bacteria make and turning it into electricity.

Not surprisingly, the researchers are hoping to use the technology to power water treatment plants, but they say a domestic power plant is also possible in the future

Amnesty International Invites Webmasters to Defeat Censorship

- Benny Powers 5 Comments

Worldwide human rights group, Amnesty International has begun a project called irrepressable.info to monitor and circumvent internet censorship.

The website gives visitors the opportunity to place a small box on their own sites which contains a snippet of censored information.

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