HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ken@iat.holonet.net (Ken Easlon)
Subject: Re: "Falling" Asleep
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access BBS: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 01:15:20 GMT


In article <BzF4sA.Jyx@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk> ,
jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin) writes:

>geb@cs.pitt.edu (Gordon Banks) wrote: 
>> RGINZBERG@eagle.wesleyan.edu (Ruth Ginzberg) writes: 
>>> Does anyone know what causes the sensation (when just falling asleep) 
>>> of sudden literal falling, followed by a startle reaction that wakes 
>>> you right up? 

>what the heck is it FOR?  Anything this widespread ought to have some 
>physiological function and evolutionary rationale, surely? 

I think it's associated with the disconnection of gravity sensors in the
sleep state.

This is offered from a strictly subjective point of view, and may not have
any neuro-biological basis, but when I'm asleep I tend to maintain a
certain amount of body awareness.  For example, if I'm sleeping on my side
with one knee cocked, I am more likely to have dreams about climbing stairs
or some similar activity requiring the same body position.

But even though I have a limited amount of body awareness, I have no sense
of gravity tugging on my body.  I have a sense of "down" in the direction
of my feet (which places the dream ground at a 90 degree angle to waking
ground, since I dream I'm vertical when in fact I'm horizontal), but in my
dreams I don't feel the pressure of the earth against my feet, or the
effort of holding myself erect.

I suspect this gravity disconnect is necessary for dreaming about activity,
otherwise we'd probably only have dreams of lying down.

As to the occasional falling sensation when falling asleep, perhaps
sometimes the gravity disconnect occurs before we're fully asleep.  On
these occasions perhaps we feel the absence of gravity before we've
completely abandoned our gravitational responsibilities.

--
Ken Easlon                | "...somebody spoke and I went into a dream..."
ken@holonet.net           |    -Paul McCartney
Pleasantly Unaffiliated   |
From: lew@ief.spb.su (Vladimir F. Lewchenko)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Help me to find E-mail address of Inst. Genet. in Univ. of Lund - Sweden
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 92 21:40:28 +0300
Distribution: world
Organization: Inst. of Evolutionary Physiology & Biochemistry, St.Petersburg
Reply-To: lew@ief.spb.su
Keywords: help address


Help me to find E-mail address:
Institute of Genetics, University of Lund,
Solvegatan, 29, 22362, Lund, Sweeden
Thank you in good time: Dr. Levchenko
From: lew@ief.spb.su (Vladimir F. Lewchenko)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Help me to find E-mail address in Sweden
Keywords: address
Date: 19 Dec 92 19:13:45 GMT
Reply-To: lew@ief.spb.su
Organization: Inst. of Evolutionary Physiology & Biochemistry, St.Petersburg

Help me to find E-mail address:
Institute of Genetics, University of Lund,
Solvegatan, 29, 22362, Lund, Sweeden
Thank you in good time
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: grmd@lrts1.demon.co.uk ("Gareth R. M. Davies")
Subject: Krebs cycle
Distribution: world
Organization: Lotwillow Ltd.
Reply-To: grmd@lrts1.demon.co.uk
X-Mailer: Simple NEWS 1.90 (ka9q DIS 1.19)
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 00:29:53 +0000

Please can somebody give me an explanation of the Krebs (TCA)
cycle, and where it occurs.  I understand it occurs in the
mitochondria and may be connected with aerobic respiration in
cells.  Any easily readable references would also be helpful.
If you prefer to send to me directly, my email address is
    grmd@lrts1.demon.co.uk
-- 
Gareth R. M. Davies                    Work tel. +44 753 696777 x2613
Home tel. +44 344 21729                Work fax. +44 753 696254


Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: Hanna Tuomisto <hantuo@utu.fi>
Subject: Re: Evolution of the human brain's cognitive capacity
Organization: University of Turku
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1a2
     <1992Dec25.011901.22049@u.washington.edu> <BztI7q.1oM@newcastle.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 92 15:39:31 GMT

w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:

>darice@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au (Fred Rice) writes:
>
>>I was wondering, is there an evolutionary explanation for the great
>>capacities humans have to think?  I'm thinking about things like our
>>ability to do advanced mathematics, for instance.  There is no
>>evolutionary survival advantage in being able to solve differential
>>equations, for instance.  If this is the case, then *why*, in
>>evolutionary terms, can we do such things?
>
>Maybe you should rephrase the question "What are the forces which have
>pushed/pulled human intelligence up to the level where it has given
>humans the ability to do such abstract things as differential 
>equations?"

Human evolution is a complex process that includes the development of
also other weird characteristics than the big brain, for instance upward
gait and nakedness. To me it seems that by far the most coherent
explanation is that during the time their brain started to evolve larger,
our ancestors were living at the seashore. It is rather typical for sea
mammals that the size of their brains is larger in relation to body size
than with terrestrial mammals of the same weight. I doubt that dolphins
could solve differentials, but they are the only animals that have as big
brains as we do, and they are also known to be rather smart.
There are at least two reasons why a mammal that turns (partly) aquatic
would develop a large brain. First, neoteny is a typical characteristic
of aquatic mammals, and this results kind of automatically in larger
brains, because the foetus always has relatively larger brains than the
adult. Second, seafood is rich in some fatty substances that are
essential as building blocks of the brain, while these substances are
rather scarce in the food available in terrestrial environments. In
savannah or forest, therefore, an exessively big brain is an
energetically expensive luxury that would be selected against, while in a
marine environment it would not be such a burden and could grow beyond
the limits of immediate need.
The climate changes have certainly played their part in initiating the
process by driving the future humans away from the shrinking rain
forests. But it was the life at sea that caused the radical anatomical
and physiological changes that make us so different from the rest of the
primates. The evidence for this hypothesis is summarized in two books by
E. Morgan: The Aquatic Ape (1982 or thereabouts) and The Scars of
Evolution (1990).
I have been wondering why this theory is so seldom mentioned in
speculations about our evolution. If any of the experts who have been
contributing to this discussion could give me an answer, I would be very
pleased indeed.

Hanna Tuomisto
hantuo@utu.fi
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: spears@bobcat.lmc.edu (Gene Spears)
Subject: Re: dinosaur tongues
Organization: Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, NC
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 15:22:10 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.075442.8988@leland.Stanford.EDU> ledwards@leland.Stanford.EDU (Laurence James Edwards) writes:

>Hey, anybody know if any dinosaurs are thought to have forked tongues
>like the Komodo dragon?

>Just curious.

>Larry Edwards

Seems unlikely.  

1) lizards aren't closely related to dinosaurs.  No forked bird or croc 
tongues.

2) most lizards don't have forked tongues.  Varanids and the related 
Helodermatids (Gila Monster, et al.) are the only ones that I can think of.  
The presence of a forked tongue in varanids & some fossils are pretty strong 
evidence that snakes evolved from this group.

3) forked tongues are usually associated with Jacobson's organ - a 
chemosensory pit on the roof of the mouth.  I've never heard of dinosaur 
skulls with such a pit, though I'm not sure it's presence or absence can be 
determined by bony remains.

Gene Spears
spears@bobcat.lmc.edu
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: ken@iat.holonet.net (Ken Easlon)
Subject: Re: MRNA
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access BBS: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 02:40:54 GMT



Regarding my earlier posts concerning the data transmission rate from the
nucleus of a typical eukaryotic cell via mRNA:  my best guess at this point
is somewhere between 300 and 1200 baud.   

The next question (which should have an answer in host of textbooks, but
unfortunately none which I've been able to lay my hands on): What is the
weight of a typical eukaryotic cell, or alternately, what is the total
number of cells in the human body?

--
Ken Easlon
ken@holonet.net
From: mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu (Michael Levin)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: why (evolutionarily) are zebras striped?
Date: 1 Jan 93 01:40:14 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc3.1992Dec31.204015.18922
Distribution: usa
Organization: Harvard University Science Center


    Does anyone have any ideas why zebras are striped? Surely in the
sense of camouflage, those yellowish african plains call for a
monotone antelope-like color. Why are they striped? Please reply to
mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu. 

Mike Levin
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: mls@panix.com (Michael Siemon)
Subject: Re: Gould versus Dawkins
Summary: note
Organization: Panix Public Access Internet & Unix, NYC
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1993 22:30:10 GMT

In article <1993Jan2.065434.23370@news.media.mit.edu> minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky) writes:

>I don't think this makes sense, at least for anyone who has read
>Dawkins' book, The Extended Phenotype -- because Dawkins would be the
>first to agree that it is not at all a matter of "simple summations".

I would note that _The Extended Phenotype_ opens with a preface in
which Dawkins is at pains to deny/disclaim meaning what many readers
(both careful and careless, biologically educated and generalists)
have read _The Selfish Gene_ to mean (and which is the target of
Gould's animus in the review.)  Given the crude way in which one
sees Dawkins clever phrases used on the net, I am with Gould in my
animus, even though much of TEP (and indeed TSG, when rendered of
its rather high polemic content) has interesting and intelligent
things to say.  I think that Dawkins is either disingenuous or a
totally negligent author.
-- 
Michael L. Siemon	"We honour founders of these starving cities
mls@panix.com		 Whose honour is the image of our sorrow ...
			 They built by rivers and at night the water
			 Running past the windows comforted their sorrow."
From: GC.GGG@forsythe.stanford.edu (Gwyn Gordon)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT
Date: 29 Dec 1992 14:49:23 -0800
Organization: Stanford University
NNTP-Posting-Host: morrow.stanford.edu


***FUNDING OPPORTUNITY***

Research Expeditions International is accepting applications for
funding for research projects scheduled for 1994.

Research Expeditions International specializes in Participatory
Research, in which well-educated lay people provide funding and
volunteer as the on-site work force. Studies best suited for
Participatory Research involve data collection or unskilled labor
which is easily taught to one or several groups of adults.
Preference will be given to studies in the following areas: animal
behavior; archaeological excavation; and tourist impact on culture,
economy and ecology. Studies in other fields will certainly be
considered if appropriate.

Applications for the 1994 season are due February 1, 1993.

For informational materials and application, contact:

Gwyn Gordon
gwyn.gordon@forsythe.stanford.edu
415-494-2515
806 Los Robles Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: woods hole (hemant chikarmane (hemant@mbl.edu))
Subject: Re: WINOGRADSKY COLUMN
Organization: marine biological lab
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 92 22:54:21 GMT

In article <BzH02r.7vA@ddsw1.mcs.com>, arf@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Jack Schmidling) writes:
>  
>          Winogradsky Column (Or something like that)
>  
>  Several months ago Hemant Chikarmane of Woods Hole described 
>  a fascinating sounding project for all us Mr Wizzards.
>  
>  I followed the instructions to the letter (more or less) and 
>  got exactly what I put in plus a little algae and a few 
>  emergent blades of grass.
>  
>  I seem to have lost his email address and want my money
>   back :)    Besides it is tying up a very useful graduated 
>  cylinder.
>  
>  Are you around Hermant?  Has anyone else had problems 
>  getting this going?
>  
>  js

   Yes I am still alive!  And I can certainly help you.

Some thoughts:

	1.  Try a different soil or mud sample.  Stuff from marshes (smell H2S)
     works best.  Make sure that there is plenty of decaying organic matter.
     It is possible that the soil/mud you used did not have sufficient 
     photosynthetic bacteria.

2.  Make sure the column does not dry out.  There should always be about
    3-5 cm of water above the level of the mud.

3.  Use at least a 60 W bulb to illuminate the sides of the cylinder, or keep
    in bright sunlight.

4.  A warm area (~30 C) would also help.

5.  Is there too much chlorine in your water supply?  Try adding a few
    crystals of sodium thiosulfate (photographic hypo) to get rid of chlorine.


This experiment has been done by several students over many years, and one
of them kept it going for more than a year.  Good luck.


Hemant Chikarmane                 email:  hemant@mbl.edu
Marine Biological Laboratory      Phone: (508) 548 3705
Woods Hole  MA  02543             Fax:  (508) 540-6902

**** Experience Fahrvergnugen - Drive a Macintosh ! ****




Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: rosch@cpdw.enet.dec.com (Ray Rosch)
Subject: 12 step programs
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 15:31:01 GMT


Just what are 12-step programs?  I've seen the term a lot lately and have no 
idea what they are.

*
*	Opinions do not represent my employer
*
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: jpk@Ingres.COM (Jon Krueger)
Subject: Re: ADD
Reply-To: jpk@Ingres.COM (Jon Krueger)
Organization: Ask Computer Systems Inc., Ingres Division, Alameda CA 94501
Date: 30 Dec 92 00:31:58 GMT

Mark D. Kline writes:
> Perhaps little is known because long term adverse consequences are
> little.  If long term adverse consequences were common or severe, we
> would probably know, given the massive exposure to Ritalin among
> children thought to have ADHD.  There are many people who have been
> on Ritalin for many years without apparent ill effects.

Our knowledge of effects of low level doses of (or exposure to) a
substance over long periods is seldom a function of the severity of
the effects or how common they are.  How blatant they are, and how
distinguishable from other phenomena endemic to the population, are
better predictors of how much we're likely to know about the effects.

> I don't think its appropriate for a classroom teacher to be giving
> advice on prescription medications on sci.psychology.

I don't think it's appropriate for a medical doctor to be giving
advice on pharmacology, behavior, or behavioral pharmacology.  His
training in them is minimal and his knowledge usually reflects it.

-- Jon
--
Jon Krueger  jpk@ingres.com  
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: mdkline@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Mark D. Kline)
Subject: Re: ADD
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 09:45:06 EST

In article <00725690663@elgamy.jpunix.com> elg@elgamy.jpunix.com (Eric Lee Green) writes:
>I have been giving that exact same advice for the last six years. I have
>been a classroom teacher for exactly four months now. 'Nuff said. As a
>private citizen I will tell people flat out that they should not take
>Valium unless all other approaches have failed. I see no reason why, as a
>private citizen, I should not say the same about Ritalin. Drugs should be a
>last resort, not a first resort. The only place where I would say "drug
>first, talk later" would be for major depression or psychosis, where
>there's plenty of controlled studies showing that drug therapy is the
>safest and most effective treatment.


>However, that's as a private citizen. As a teacher, I make no attempt to
>tell the parents of my students whether they should drug their kids or not.

This way of speaking makes medication sound positively evil; nobody wants
to "drug" their child.   The question is, do medications have a favorable
risk benefit ratio for a particular child?   To be on drugs or not to
be on drugs is not the real issue - the real issue is what is best for
a child's well being.  Taking prescription drugs in and of itself is
not a bad thing - is it?

Citizens have every right to opinions, no matter how they are formed or
on what they are based.  Citizens have every right to voice their
opinions.  However, you won't catch me giving my personal layman's
opinion as advice on educational matters on newsgroups devoted to such
topics.



>Thus Xanax is the world's best-selling drug for mild anxiety attacks, while
>cognitive behavioral interventions with equal or better results are applied
>only when a patient accidentally comes across a psychologist familiar with
>such interventions.

This is apples and oranges.  It is not bad that drugs make money for drug
companies.  School textbooks make money for publishing houses.
It is bad if drugs are overprescribed or misprescribed.  

>Which isn't to say that behavioral techniques are necessarily as effective
>as Ritalin for treatment of ADHD. As far as I know, there have been no
>studies comparing the effects of a well-designed behavior modification
>system with the effects of Ritalin where ADHD is concerned. Current state
>of the art in applied behavior analysis is very tedious and time-consuming,

No doubt economic considerations shape the research agenda...

>From what I've read, Ritalin doesn't produce permenant stunting of growth.
>I.e., it doesn't cause the growth plates to harden. Still, I'd suggest that
>you read any decent recent text on adolescent psychology for a discussion
>of the relationship between physical development and emotional health. It

It is certainly true that adolescents who are late bloomers are at a
psychological disadvantage to their peers who have more hair in the
armpits at age 15.  It is not clear that Ritalin treatment delays 
puberty onset or course or growth in height.


Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: ruegg@med.unc.edu (Robert G. Ruegg)
Subject: Re: ADD
Organization: UNC-CH School of Medicine
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 04:33:22 GMT

The problem is not so much that we do not know how ritalin works, as that
we don't know how ADD works. We know that ritalin releases dopamine and
norepinephrine from nerve endings that contain them. These are generally
regarded as excitatory neurotransmitters. They generally carry messages of
an alerting or arousing nature.  I would guess ritalin works by alerting or
arousing.  The brain waves of kids with ADD have features of not being as
alert as most people's are.  You can imagine that it might be hard to pay
attention if your brain is less alert. It might even be depressing,
especially if you saw people around you paying attention and being alert
effortlessly while you have to fight to do the same. Ritalin also works
for narcolepsy, a condition of frequently and involuntarily falling
asleep. I believe there is some evidence that ADD and narcolepsy might
tend to run in the same families. 

In any case, if ADD results from brain underarousal, ritalin would be a
logical treatment. Many people with ADD get addicted to adrenalin
releasing experiences - thrill-seeking. I would suppose they are trying to
arouse themselves.  

Depression is a separate disease. If it occurs with ADD it should be
treated with antidepressants.  Some antidepressants have arousal as a side
effect and therefore also treat ADD. Desipramine is one.

Well, enough for tonight . I hope this is helpful.
Bye
Bob (ruegg@med.unc.edu)


Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: eer@world.std.com (Eugene E Rosen)
Subject: Anorexia
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 02:42:06 GMT

My 21 yr. old cousin (female) recently had to drop out of her college studies at the request of the psychologist.  The psychologist felt that Sandra was dangerously underweight and suffering from anorexia.
Sandra is currently is a nine week treatment center for those suffering from eating disorders.  I am posting this message in order that I might pass on relevant information regarding etiology, prognosis and suggested reading materials to Sandra's parents.  I am using a pseudonym for my cousin in order to strictly respect her and her parents confidentiality.
A particular question that I would like to pose is why this malady strikes particular inidividuals while others who appear to be similar clinically remain free of this syndrome.
Thanks to all of you in advance for your contributions.

Eugene Rosen

-- 
Eugene E. Rosen                                           GENIE: erosen
22 Riverside Road                                       COMPUSERVE:74066,3444
Sandy Hook, Ct. 06482-1213                              AOL: Gene Rosen
From: bi757@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ed Stutsman)
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
Subject: euro-Linguistic Programming (FAQ)
Date: 23 Dec 1992 19:46:18 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Please send, email, this post with the FAQ.
Thanks!
-- 
    \ GEnie   E.Stutsman
     \ CIS    76066,1204

Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: brownt@seq.uncwil.edu (brown todd francis)
Subject: Re: biofeedback hardware
Keywords: biofeedback
Organization: Univ. of North Carolina @ Wilmington
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 15:17:37 GMT

szikopou@alfred.carleton.ca (Steven Zikopoulos) writes:

>Just wondering if anyone knows if a software/hardware package is
>available that allows one to perform biofeedback on a Macintosh.

>Steven Zikopoulos
>e-mail:szikopou@ccs.carleton.ca
>thanks


Actually, the top of the line biofeedback device and be run on
a Mac Classic with 2 Megs of RAM and a couple spare Megs of disk -
total system cost less than the price of an extremely used Honda
Accord.

I am talking about the IBVA:  the Interactive Brainwave Visual
Analyzer.  The principle behind IBVA is simple, a small velcro
headband holds adhesive 'trodes close to the skin, picks up EEG
signals and radio xmits to a receiver connected to the serial port
on a Macintosh.  Mac software then filters the EEG input stream
to detect changes in brain-wave states and displays a 3D graphic
for FFT data visualization:  alpha, beta, theta, delta.  "Brain 
Switch" options tie changes in brain-wave states to an output
stream for controlling animation, Mac sound synthesis, MIDI events
and even an RS422 controller data stream.

This means, dear Mondoids, that for less than $1000, you can wire
your head into your personal computer.

							  Source:  Mondo 2000 '92 Issue 7


For more info on the IBVA, write:

PSYCHIC LAB INC.
280 PARK AVE SOUTH, SUITE 7G
NEW YORK NY 10010 
USA

Vox: (212)353-1669
Fax: (212)979-5624

Or get the direct scoop:

META SOUND ENGINEERING
5-26-10-301, NISHIGOTANDA,
SHINAGAWA TOKYO 141 JAPAN
81 3 3493 7449

Newsgroups: sci.psychology
From: Emilio Eduardo Filippi <efilippi@lascar.puc.cl>
Subject: Help on dynamic brief psychotherapy???
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A7628F8387011E6E@filippi.puc.cl>
X-Xxdate: Sat, 26 Dec 92 02:38:59 GMT
Organization: Privado
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d9
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 01:41:22 GMT

Hi,
Im writing my thesis on time management( treatment length, sesions
frecuency) in dynamic brief psychotherapy. I would like to ask some help,
any information is useful to me.
Thank you
Emilio Filippi
efilippi@lascar.puc.cl
From: ez003338@othello.ucdavis.edu (Tara)
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
Subject: Psych Grad Programs
Date: 30 Dec 92 03:54:15 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3

Hello!

I'm looking for information about various graduate programs in psychology.
I'm particularly interested in learning about the psych grad programs at
different universities in California, including the UC and CS schools, but
any info at all will be appreciated.

Thank you!

Tara