ISRO eyes mission to Mars

Bangalore, April 11 (IANS) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is open to launch a mission to Mars if the government gives a green signal, a top official of the space agency said here Wednesday.

“We can undertake a mission to Mars within five years of the government’s approval. If the project is given the go-ahead now, we will be in a position to launch the mission to the red planet by 2012,” ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters.

Nair, however, hastened to add that the proposal for such a mission was under study by the space agency on the basis of a brief report prepared by the Indian scientific community.

“Our scientific community has come out with an outline of a mission to Mars. If the proposal is interesting, we will pursue it,” Nair said.

Nair’s observation on ISRO’s capability to reach Mars comes in the backdrop of China’s decision to launch a joint mission to the planet with Russia in 2009

An Affair of the Head - Love is a Drug ?

By Neely Tucker Washington Post Staff Writer
They say that love is actually all about brain chemistry. In that case, will you be dopamine? Better known by its street name, romantic love. Also, norepinephrine. Street name, infatuation.

"Love is a drug," says Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University and author of "Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love." "The ventral tegmental area is a clump of cells that make dopamine, a natural stimulant, and sends it out to many brain regions" when one is in love. "It's the same region affected when you feel the rush of cocaine."

Passion! Sex! Narcotics!

Why do we suspect this isn't going to end well?

Because these things are hard-wired not to last, all of them. Short shelf lives. The passion you fulfill is the passion you kill. The most wonderful, soaring feeling known to all mankind . . . amounts to no more than a narcotic high, a temporal state of mania.

"Being in love, having a crush on someone is wonderful . . . but our bodies can't be in that state all the time," says Pamela C. Regan, a professor of psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and author of "Mind Games: A Primer on Love, Sex and Marriage." "Your body would fizzle out. As a species, we'd die."

With St.Valentines Day coming up this article made me laugh, and I think it's appropriate to know how some people in the scientific community have it all figured out.

THE PROMISE OF DOLPHIN-ASSISTED THERAPY

Author:Wolff, Robert

Deena Hoagland understands the impact a dolphin can have on a human life. Her son, Joe, was left partially paralyzed and visually impaired after having a stroke at the age of three during open-heart surgery.

Deena learned about Dolphins Plus, a nearby research center specializing in dolphin communication. Wanting to get Joe into the water, and intrigued by the prospect of exposing him to dolphins, Deena secured permission from Dolphins Plus owner, Lloyd Borguss, to bring Joe to the center.

It was at Dolphins Plus that Joe first encountered Fonzie, an Atlantic-bottlenosed dolphin. Meeting Fonzie prompted Joe to smile and laugh for the first time since his stroke. Before long, Joe was not only walking, he was bringing Fonzie buckets of fish. After 22 months of interacting with the dolphin, and participating in swim therapy and physical therapy, Joe was close to a full recovery. Now, 11 years later, Joe and Fonzie remain the best of friends.

What Is It About Dolphins?

Researchers have found, for example, that dolphin-assisted therapy aids in reducing stress and increasing relaxation, alleviating depression, boosting production of infection fighting T-cells, stimulating production of endorphins and hormones, enhancing recovery, and reducing pain.

One of the more popular theories is that the dolphin's use of sonar and echolocation produces changes in a person's body tissue and cell structure. Similar to the effect of music therapy, some researchers have suggested that the sounds dolphins emit through their whistles and clicks help produce these changes. Indeed, some individuals swimming with dolphins have reported actually sensing that they were being scanned. They say the echolocation resonated in their bones as they felt it pass through their bodies, producing a tingling sensation.

Another theory is that dolphins are uniquely sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities and seek to help them through playful expressions of concern. This is sometimes referred to as a "secret language" shared when dolphins and people with disabilities "communicate." Dr. Smith goes so far as to suggest that dolphins communicate acoustically with a variety of movements and attend to the body cues of individuals; in particular, individuals with autism, thereby seemingly understanding their thoughts and actions.

to read the rest of this fascinating article ..here....