In what could be a major breakthrough, scientists from the United States have been able to wake a man from a near vegetative state, and he can now talk to his family, watch TV and chew.
The 38-year-old from Ohio had been in a coma like state for 6 years, after being mugged and bashed, but when neuroscientists from New York and News Jersey used a pacemaker and two electrodes to send impulses into a part of the brain regulating consciousness, the mans quality of life was dramatically improved.
Unable to chew or swallow, the Cleveland patient, who has been identified only as an artist with two brothers, was fed by tube and could communicate solely through slight movements of his eyes and fingers.
Although he still does not initiate conversation, the surgery has allowed him to respond to questions with answers of up to three words. Several weeks ago, he recited the first half of the U.S. oath of allegiance without help.
The patient has also regained some movement in his limbs.
Electrodes were inserted into his thalamus, the region believed to be key in consciousness, to boost its speech and movement signals.
His mother said: “My son, as well as the entire family, had little hope of further recovery. Now he can eat, express himself and let us know if he is in pain.
“He can cry and he can laugh and, most importantly, he can say, ‘Mommy’ and ‘Pop’ and he can say, ‘I love you Mommy’. I still cry every time I see my son but it is tears of joy.”
The story is detailed HERE in the journal of Nature.
See related story on Jan Grzebski who suddenly woke up from a 19 year coma earlier this year.
Go on, tell the world! Bookmark this story.
The meaning of sex: It’s lust stupid! Or is it?
August 2, 2007
You’re all crazy!
Ask yourself this highly philosophical question…
Why do we have sex?
Is it for the procreation of the species? Is it because everyone else is doing it?
Or is it because ‘it feels goooood?
Well someone has taken the time to get to the bottom of this; researchers from the University of Texas and elsewhere in the US have had sex on the brain for quite some time now.
Teams of Psychologists have come up with some new studies on sexual behaviour, finding that the ‘hormone pumping’ young get their freak on for all the same reasons… “I was attracted to the person, ” But when it came to the older demorgaphics they do it ”for all sorts of reasons”.
In a compilation from 237 reasons for sex, answers ranged from “The person smelled nice” to “I wanted to burn calories”, “I wanted to get out of doing something, and “‘I wanted to give someone else an STD”.
How can a woman get a man to take off his clothes? Ask him.
In all the list compiled from questions asked of hundreds of people, which was then given to college aged students, and that study concluded that ’20 of the top 25 reasons given for having sex were the same for men and women.’
Wacky reasons young people had sex included, “someone offered me money to do it,” “I felt sorry for the person,” “I wanted to punish myself” and, “Because of a bet.”
The findings can be found in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior, published by the International Academy of Sex Research.
More interesting reading on this crazy topic from the New York Times.
And won’t someone feel sorry for me….?
Other hilarious reasons for having sex include;
13. I wanted to improve my sexual skills. 34. I was curious about my sexual abilities. 41. The person was a good dancer. . 65. I wanted to relieve ‘‘blue balls.’’ 90. I wanted to gain access to that person’s friend. 110. The person had too much to drink and I was able to take advantage of them. 119. The person was famous and I wanted to be able to say I had sex with him/her. 181. I felt like it was my duty. 7. I was ‘‘horny.’’
See the full ’periodic table of why we have sex’ list HERE!
Or you can read the entire 31 page journal report HERE!
Or just talk about the list, here. Like right here.
Go on, tell the world! Bookmark this story.
“Harry who?”
In the classic 1999 movie Office Space there is a character named Michael Bolton, a situation with hilarious consequences.
But in real life it sure would suck sharing the same name with someone well known.
Particularly if that someone is a fictional character, a character so popular that you couldn’t escape being asked the same question by almost everyone you met.
It might even be so bad that you might want to consider changing your name, if it wasn’t for the fact that you had your name first, years before a certain wealthy British author was even conceived!
In this case it’s a man sharing the same name as boy wizard Harry Potter.
Each time a new Harry Potter book or movie comes out, Florida resident Harry Potter gets phone calls from children, interview requests from TV networks and autograph requests.
“The kids want to know if I’m Harry Potter,” he said with a chuckle. “I tell them I’ve been Harry Potter for darn near 80 years!”
The real Harry Potter said he has not had time to read any of the J.K. Rowling books or see the hit movies. But the retired U.S. Defense Department employee gets his fun out of Pottermania.
“When Harry talks to the kids, they’ll ask about the owl and he’ll say, ‘Oh, he came by and brought the mail,’” said his wife, Jan. “Then, when they’re done, the mothers come on and say thank you for talking to the kids. He gets a big kick out of it.”
But meeting a real Harry Potter can be a little puzzling for the kids.
“They look at you, give you the once-over,” he said, laughing. “They can’t relate the one in the book to the one they see here. I guess I could buy me a pair of Harry Potter glasses.”
I wonder what he thinks of the petition to save Harry Potter?
Meanwhile, in Harry Potter related crazy news…
A headmistress at a school in England is in big trouble with the pupils.
At a end of school semester assembly 400 children aged under 12 were shocked as Carolyn Banfield took the latest Harry Book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, and read from the last page.
Parents and kids alike are now outraged, as many had intended to read what is expected to be the last in the series of books to have swept the world.
Louie Swift, nine, said: “I don’t know why she read it. She’s not usually a spoilsport. She didn’t even mention she had the book.
“She just picked it up and started reading it to us.”
Jordan Ashton, ten, complained: “It has spoiled the book for me.”
The parent of an 8-year-old was fuming when she talked to the tabloid.
”He’s read the last three books but there’s no point reading this one now.”
Another mother, who declined to be named, said: “It’s appalling. My son was going to read a book instead of playing on his computer and I was going to have some peace and quiet. “
Those poor kids, they’ll be scared for life!
Oh, the humanity.
No word as to the motivation of reading the final page to the kiddies, but I suspect she had one of two reasons.
1- She wanted to be seen as ‘cool’ by all the kids, which has clearly backfired, in spectacular fashion.
OR
2- She wanted all those kids to have a miserable holiday break, forcing them to go outside and get exercise in the dreaded outdoors.
What an evil woman…..
Sounds like something out of a Harry Potter novel!
Maybe the kids could occupy themselves with the craziness of the Potter Puppet Pals !
Evidence for Princess Diana death conspiracy?
August 1, 2007
Welcome to The Crazy News Blog!
Too crazy to be true?
New evidence emerges 10 years after the death of a Princess.
“There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge”
That’s what Queen Elizabeth told Paul Burrell the butler of late Princess Diana of Wales who died 10 years ago this month.
What on earth did that statement mean?
It’s a quote that arose in news reports back in 2002 and it stirred up the already speculative conspiracy theories that have circulated since much of the world mourned one of the most high profile figures in history.
And now, the conspiracy theorists may have fresh meat to add to the speculation that Diana did not die in a tragic accident, but was murdered.
According to the London tabloid, The Daily Express, French fire-fighter Christophe Pelat claims to have evidence linking the Diana car accident in a Paris tunnel in 1997 to a paparazzi photographer who was believed to have been driving the mystery car that collided with Diana’s Mercedes before it crashed.
Pelat claims that he found the burnt body of James Andanson with a gunshot wound to the head. According to the report in the Daily Express, Andanson was an informer to MI6, the UK’s special intelligence agency, and he followed the Princesses “every move” in the day’s before her death.
Diana died along with her lover Dodi Al Fayed and their chauffeur Henri Paul August 31, 1997.
OR
Click here to see the latest amazing news from The Crazy News Blog.
