the sickle - like mandibles of the ant. by rapidly oscillating her hind end, this ant cuts out a crescent of leaf with vibrating mandibles in much the same manner as an electric carving knife. this technique facilitates the cutting of the leaf. yet, it is known that such vibrations serve another purpose as well. seeing a leaf - cutting ant attracts others to the same place because many other plants in the regions where attas live are poisonous. the testing of each leaf by an ant being such a risky procedure, they always go to locations where others have successfully completed their tasks. weaver ants live in the trees building themselves nests out of leaves. by combining the leaves, they are able to form nests over a few trees, thus supporting a much larger population. the stages of building are interesting. first, workers individually seek locations in the colony territory that are suitable for expansion. when they find a suitable branch, they disperse over the leaves of the branch and start pulling in the leaves from the sides. when an ant succeeds in bending a portion of a leaf, the workers close by also move towards it and start pulling the leaf together. if the leaf is wider than the size of the ant, or if it is necessary to pull two leaves together, the workers make suspension bridges between the points to be joined. later on, some of the ants in the chain climb on the backs of the ants beside them, thus shortening the chain, and the joining of the ends of the leaf is achieved. when the leaf takes a tent - like shape, some of the ants keep holding the leaf with their legs and mandibles and others go back to the old nest and carry specially raised larvae to this region. workers rub the larvae back and forth over the joints of the leaf, using them as a source of silk. with the silk secreted from an opening right below the mouths of the larvae, the leaves are fastened at the required locations. that is, the larvae are used as sewing machines. 27 the silk glands of these spinning larvae are much larger, but they may be carried easily because they are smaller in size. the larvae give all their silk for the needs of the colonies instead of using them for themselves. instead of producing silk slowly from their silk glands, they expel a broad thread of silk, and they do not even try to build their own cocoons. in the remaining portion of their lives, worker ants will do everything the larvae have to do for them. as is evident, these larvae live only as


now known that the abundant saliva they secrete while chewing accomplishes this transformation. 29 the ants we speak of here have not, of course, had any education in chemistry. neither can they anticipate that their saliva will transform the seeds they collect randomly into sugar that they can eat. yet, the lives of these ants depend on a series of chemical transformations that they do not know about and cannot know about. when even men do not know of such a transformation process taking place in the bodies of the ants – and they have just learned the details in the last few years – how have the ants managed to be fed by this method for millenniums? many types of ants are fed with the digestive wastes of aphids called " honey ". this substance in fact bears no relation to real honey. however, the digestive waste of aphids, which have fed on plant sap, is given this name because it contains a high proportion of sugar. thus, the workers of this species, called honey ants, collect honey from aphids, coccidae, and flowers. the ants ' method of collecting honey from the aphid is very interesting. the ant approaches the aphid and starts shoving its belly. the aphid gives a drop of digestive waste to the ant. the ant starts shoving the belly of the aphid more and more to get more honey and sucks the liquid that comes out. then how do they utilize this sugared food and what good is this food for them later on? there is a great division of labour among honey ants in this phase. some ants are used as " jars " to keep the nectar collected by other workers! … in every nest, there is one queen, workers and also honey carriers. the colonies of these ants are usually located near the dwarf oak trees the workers can extract nectars from. after the workers carry the nectar, once having swallowed it, to their nests, they take it out of their mouths and pour it into the mouths of young workers who will keep the honey. these workers, nicknamed honeypots, use their own bodies to store the sweet liquid food the colony often needs to get through hard times in the desert. they are fed until they swell up to the size of blueberries. then they dangle like amber globes from the ceilings of their chambers until called upon to regurgitate nectar to hungry sisters. 30 while attached to this ceiling, they look like a small and translucent bunch of grapes. if any of them falls down, the workers return it


amber globes from the ceilings of their chambers until called upon to regurgitate nectar to hungry sisters. 30 while attached to this ceiling, they look like a small and translucent bunch of grapes. if any of them falls down, the workers return it to its previous position right away. honey in the honey pots weighs almost 8 times as much as an ant. in winter, or in the arid season, ordinary workers visit the honey pots to meet their daily food demands. the worker ant places its mouth on to the " pot ' s " and the pot exudes a small drop of honey from its store by contracting its muscles. the workers consume this honey of high nutritional value as food in adverse seasons. it is an interesting and awe - inspiring situation for a living being to reach a weight 8 times its own, having decided to serve as a honey pot, and to be able to live hanging from its feet without any harm coming to it. why have they felt the need to accept such a difficult and dangerous position? have they thought about this unique storage technique themselves and controlled their bodily developments accordingly? just think, while a man cannot even control the slightest development in his body, how can an ant, who does not even have a brain in the real sense, do this on its own? honey ants display behavior that the evolution theory cannot explain. it is totally illogical to maintain that they have developed the honey storage method and the organs required for it by chance. in fact, in scientific sources, we meet many realistic statements on this and similar subjects. take, for instance, the explanation of prof. etienne rabaud, director of the institute of biology of the paris university : these explanations given by professor rabaud show us clearly a conclusion that anyone may arrive at by thinking with his conscience for just a very short time. a sole creator who is the real source of knowledge and intellect has created all living beings with their faultless organs and perfect behaviour. this truth has been expressed in the qur ' an as follows : he is allah, the creator, the maker, the giver of forms. to him belong the most beautiful names : everything in the heavens and earth glorifies him. he is the almighty, the all - wise. ( surat al - hashr, 24 ) wood ants are famous for the hills they build from pine needles and thin branches on top of their underground nests. the nest is usually founded around a tree log. the portion of the nest above ground, made up of twigs, leaf stems, and pine


wood ants are famous for the hills they build from pine needles and thin branches on top of their underground nests. the nest is usually founded around a tree log. the portion of the nest above ground, made up of twigs, leaf stems, and pine needles, is the roof of the nest. this roof may reach up to 2 metres in height, it prevents seepage of rain inside and regulates the temperature of the nest in very hot or very cold weather. 32 wood ants, like the others, are also very hard working. they keep re - decorating their nests continuously. they transfer the original surface layer to the lower layers in stages and they bring up material from the lower layers to replace the upper level. an interesting observation was made of the changes the ants make in the nest. blue dye was sprayed on top of the hill of the nest and in four days it was observed that the top of the hill was again brown. blue particles were found 8 - 10 cms below the surface. within one month these particles went down to a depth of 40 cm. subsequently, these blue particles have reached the surface once again. well, do these ants perform this continuous transportation process just for the sake of doing it? no. researchers explain why wood ants engage in this perpetual act as follows : the perpetual motion dries the humid substances inside at the surface and prevents the formation of fungi. otherwise, the ants would have a nest occupied by harmful fungi. in such a situation there are two possibilities. one is that very long ago the ants, by their own research, discovered the fact that fungi develop in a humid environment, ( something which man discovered as a result of long term scientific research ) and developed the most rational method to eliminate this problem! the other possibility is that the conception and implementation of this perfect process can only be through inspiration by a supreme intellect. the impossibility of the first case is obvious. the one who has inspired the ants to protect themselves from the fungi and shown them how to do so is, of course, the almighty allah. different reproduction methods of wood ants the males and queens of wood ants are winged. however, they do not fly by a nuptial flight as other small ant species do. mating is realized on the surface of the nest or some place nearby. after mating, the queen picks off its wings and does one of the following three things : 1. she returns to the nest where she has previously lived as a larva and leaves her eggs there. 2. sometimes she leaves the nest with workers carrying


after mating, the queen picks off its wings and does one of the following three things : 1. she returns to the nest where she has previously lived as a larva and leaves her eggs there. 2. sometimes she leaves the nest with workers carrying her and looks for a new place to build a nest. 3. if she leaves on her own, she enters the nest of smaller related species, like the black ant formica fusca, and replaces the queen there. the queen leaves her eggs to be looked after by the fusca workers in there. for a while there are both guest workers and host workers in the nest. however, since the hosts do not have a queen, after a while the workers die and the wood queens acquire an established nest without doing anything. 33 he to whom the kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs. he does not have a son and he has no partner in the kingdom. he created everything and determined it most exactly. ( surat al - furqan, 2 ) in the tactics of queen wood ants discussed in section 3, a clear consciousness is observed. however, it is obvious that such consciousness may not belong to the ant itself. the queen ant has never seen any place other than the few square metres within her nest. she goes inside a colony which she has never seen or has not known of before, and knows who she should eliminate in that colony. she achieves this by overcoming all obstacles. all these factors prove beyond doubt that the queen ant is acting under inspiration. the above mentioned phenomena are clear proof of the power and sovereignty of allah over all living creatures. one of the most feared animals of the forests is the legionary ant the reason for the name " army " being given to this ant community is their acting u. nder a true military discipline. legionary ants are carnivores and they eat up everything in sight. each ant is 6 to 12 millimetres long, but their incredible number and discipline make up for the disadvantage of their small size. direct sunlight may kill the legionary ants in a short time. therefore they travel either at night or in the shade. due to their sensitivity to light, they dig long tunnels while advancing. most of the ants run in these tunnels without going outside. this does not decrease their speed, because they can dig the tunnels very fast with their strong mandibles. thus, running is both fast and secret. legionaries move as very large armies, going over all obstructions except fire and water, although they are totally blind


their speed, because they can dig the tunnels very fast with their strong mandibles. thus, running is both fast and secret. legionaries move as very large armies, going over all obstructions except fire and water, although they are totally blind. 34 legionary ants tear their prey apart where they find it and carry small pieces of it to their temporary nests. quite a lot of food is needed for a legionary ant colony. the approximate daily need of a medium size colony, consisting of 80, 000 adult ants and 30, 000 larvae, is about half a gallon ( 2. 27 litres ) of animal product food. 35 since legionary ants do not have a fixed nest, they are always moving. the movements and migrations of the colonies depend on the production cycle. the queen produces approximately 25 - 35, 000 eggs during two days each month. a few days before the laying of the eggs, the colony halts and gathers in a wide area. the ants hang on to each other by their hook shaped legs and form a temporary nest. the empty space in the middle acts as a chamber ready for the queen and the new generation. here, naturally, the legs and joints of the ants at the very top are subject to excessive loading. yet, since they are built to endure weights several hundred times more than their own weights, they can hold the whole colony without much problem. 36 to hunt most efficiently, the ants time their movements to the needs of a developing brood, alternating between sedentary and nomadic phases. during the resting period of about 20 days, the fat, immobile queen produces 50, 000 to 100, 000 eggs while other offspring lie in the quiescent pupal stage. on most days, workers, foraging only for themselves and the queen, make short raids from the nest in a rosette pattern. on each raid they vary their direction by an average of 123 degrees, thus avoiding recombing the same ground. 37 ants can unerringly calculate the 123° by themselves, something which man cannot calculate without an instrument. this would appear to indicate a thorough knowledge of mathematics. yet ants do not know math, they cannot even count. so this shows that what they do is done by special inspiration, and not consciously. when the first larvae hatch, workers collect food and, in the meantime, the community stays stationary. pieces of food are fed directly to the larvae. the queen ' s being ready for laying again usually coincides with earlier larvae ' s transition into the pupa stage. in


, workers collect food and, in the meantime, the community stays stationary. pieces of food are fed directly to the larvae. the queen ' s being ready for laying again usually coincides with earlier larvae ' s transition into the pupa stage. in this stage, the community stops once again. the coinciding of the laying of eggs by the queen and the larvae going into the pupa stage indicates a conscious planning since it decreases the time for which the army stops. the development of larvae prompts the older ants to start a new migration cycle. this is how it works : larvae give out a secretion when they are licked and cleaned by the workers. research has shown that this fluid is effective in the decision to migrate. 38 it would be a weakness of logic to claim that larvae which have not even gained the identity of an ant yet, have thought of secreting such a fluid and have directed the whole colony towards fulfilling their needs. the only thing that a smart observer can spot is the existence of a supreme creator and his information and sovereignty that are all around us. velvet ants, which lead their lives in deserts, have excessively hairy bodies. their natural coat serves as a heat - isolating layer. it preserves the heat in during the cold nights of the desert, and protects them from the heat during the day. male velvet ants, because of their wings, are able to avoid the heat of the sand by flying. yet female velvet ants have to walk around on hot sand, because they have no wings. they need this coat to be protected from the heat coming from ground as well as from the sun. then, what is the explanation for the insect having such a " coat " to protect it from adverse weather conditions? it is impossible to claim that the animal has acquired it by adapting to nature as part of the process of evolution, because this would lead to many questions remaining unanswered : did the female velvet ants die due to high temperatures before having such a coat? if this was the case, how did they wait for generations to have a coat " by coincidence "? through what kind of a coincidence did they get this body? these questions are, of course, without answers, because these insects could not have obtained their " coats " that protect them from the heat by the mechanisms evolutionists keep suggesting, because these ants cannot live without this coat, and they have no time to wait for mutations which occur very seldom - and which are all harmful. it is clear that the animals have been designed from the outset to


by the mechanisms evolutionists keep suggesting, because these ants cannot live without this coat, and they have no time to wait for mutations which occur very seldom - and which are all harmful. it is clear that the animals have been designed from the outset to withstand the climate they live in. female velvet ants look for any type of insect nest or bee hive that they can use after leaving their place of mating. when they do, they go inside the nest. they are equipped to fend off any eviction attempts and eventually they stay on in the nest, because the velvet ants have strong arms and a shield which allow them to go inside even bee hives. their outer shells are exceptionally thick and hard. zoologists claim that they have difficulty in piercing the chest of the velvet ant with a steel pin. 39 once inside, the velvet queen ant, which has all kinds of equipment with which to settle in the bee hives, starts feeding on the honey stock. also, it leaves its eggs in the pupa cells of the bees or their cocoons. the ant larvae that hatch, feed on host pupae and later on they become pupae also. bees leave the nest at the end of summer. velvet ants spend the winter in this nest as pupae. according to one record, in a bee nest, there have been found 76 velvet ants and only two bees. 40 this example shows how effective and successful the female velvet ant is in dealing with the female bee. the queen velvet ant, using subtle tactics, captures the nest from within and gains control of the nest herself. what can be said here is that the velvet ant knows the bees very well and, moreover, knows very well how to deceive them, too. then can it be anybody other than the creator of the bee who inspires her with the physical characteristics of the bee, its life style and nest structure? the only logical explanation is the acceptance of the existence of a sole creator who has created ants, bees and, in fact, all living beings. fire ants are red insects of diminutive size. yet they can achieve great things in spite of their smallness. the queens of these ants, which have 20 varieties in america alone, may produce as many as 5, 000 eggs a day. while many ant species colonies have a few hundred workers, the colonies of this species have about half a million workers. a single mated fire ant queen can produce a colony of 240, 000 workers. 41 fire ant workers very aggressively attack their prey with poisonous needles. it


species colonies have a few hundred workers, the colonies of this species have about half a million workers. a single mated fire ant queen can produce a colony of 240, 000 workers. 41 fire ant workers very aggressively attack their prey with poisonous needles. it has been recorded that young fire ants have injured or even killed reptiles or baby deer. also these aggressive ants may cause power failures by tearing up electricity cables. for a while they invaded south america and caused frightening damage. the journals and magazines of that year tell us that these ants have chewed through electrical cables and caused power cuts ; they have caused damage to crops worth billions of dollars ; they have caused motorways to collapse and have stung people, causing allergic shocks that have rendered them helpless. they have done all this with their powerful mandibles, even digging tunnels under roads causing motorways, roads to collapse and also causing other kinds of havoc in the environment. protection from germs american experts have tried various methods to prevent the above - mentioned damage done by fire ants. they considered spreading a contagious disease inside the colony by injecting germs into the flies the ants eat. yet, astonishingly, it was seen that such flies with germs in no way hurt the ants. in the analysis it was found out that the ants have one of the most interesting defence systems in the world of living beings : a structure in their throats which protect them from germs … because of this structure, the bacteria in anything that the ants eat were held at the throat without entering into the body. but we have not come to the end of the protection systems of the fire ants that are the product of a superior intellect. they also spurt an anti - microbial fluid produced in their venom sacs around the nest and on the larvae. thus, they achieve total disinfection of the nest and the larvae. 42 these ants, equipped as they are with an extraordinary defence system, are certainly not aware of it. can any person with a conscience claim that such a system has evolved by chance? neither may it be claimed that the ants have founded such a system on their own. then who is it that placed this filter in the throats of the ants, and who inspired them to produce an anti - microbial fluid? without doubt, the creator of such characteristics as man, ants and random luck cannot produce is allah, who is all - knowing. hard working ants the defense specialist fire ants are also highly skilled and hard working. they may build hills 30 cm high


? without doubt, the creator of such characteristics as man, ants and random luck cannot produce is allah, who is all - knowing. hard working ants the defense specialist fire ants are also highly skilled and hard working. they may build hills 30 cm high and 60 cm wide, or they can dig labyrinthine tunnels that can go 1. 5 m deep under ground. in certain areas, fire ants have built small hills numbering up to 350. the capacity of such small beings to set up such huge nests, of course, depends on their industriousness. then what is the power that makes the ants one of the most industrious living beings in the world? it is truly astonishing that they work all day long without stopping or resting, and build nests dispersed over vast areas. not a single one says, " i worked too hard today, let me rest a bit, " or " i don ' t want to work today. let me sit in a corner. " this is a subject that must be carefully considered. it must not be forgotten that there are times when human beings give in to exhaustion, even when they know they have to conclude a task, and there are times when they do not apply their will, because they are tired or they feel lazy. yet ants display great effort and the will to bring any job they start to fruition. he who gives the ants this will and resolve, that is even stronger than that of man ' s, is of course the sole master of all beings – allah. master of tactic who can penetrate defence systems the most frightening enemy of fire ants is solenopsis davgeri, which is a parasitic ant species. this living being which can penetrate their multi - leveled defence system, which even man has difficulty in understanding, is yet another ant species. it is not known how this parasite ant can " seep into " the nest of the fire ant. yet once it is in, the parasite ant immediately attacks the queen and clamps on to her antenna, legs or thorax. while the worker ants normally have to destroy any aggressor, why they do nothing against this particular creature seems hard to explain. yet there is a simple answer. in itself attaching to her throat, the parasite mimics the queen ' s pheromones. subsequently, the workers devote their efforts to feeding the parasites, half a dozen of which might yoke the queen, because they think that this parasite imitating her pheromones, is their queen. their queen on the other


30 and 38. 3 degrees. these cooling breaks make it possible for the ant to look for food in burning heat, albeit intermittently. in high temperatures, if the ant cannot find a cool place within a few seconds, it is going to die from heat. in fact, in sand temperatures of over 52. 2 degrees, they take such a risk every time they leave their nests. then how have desert ants escaped this inevitable end? since they do not measure the temperature with a thermometre, we can safely say that they came into existence knowing what to do at what temperature – and knowing these things from the very first time they left the nest. yes, the desert ant has been created and equipped with special features to live in the desert. allah, who has created a sharp mandible for leaf cutter ants has inspired in the desert ants the knowledge of how to protect themselves. 19 national geographic, july 1995, p. 100. 20 bert holldobler - edward o. wilson, the ants, harvard university press, 1990, p. 597 - 598. 21 the insects, peter farb and the editors of time - life books, p. 164. 22 national geographic, july 1995, p. 104. 23 national geographic, july 1995, p. 100. 24 national geographic, july 1995, p. 104. 25 national geographic, july 1995, p. 100. 26 national geographic, july 1995, p. 104. 27 harun yahya, for men of understanding, ta - ha publishers, 1999, p. 148 - 149 28 bert holldobler - edward o. wilson, the ants, harvard university press, 1990, p. 626. 29 the insects, peter farb and the editors of time - life books, p. 163. 30 national geographic, june 1984, p. 803. 31 bilim ve teknik dergisi ( journal of science and technics ), june 1978, no : 127, p. 44. 32 national geographic, june 1984, p. 813. 33 bert holldobler - edward o. wilson, the ants, harvard university press, 1990, p. 176 - 177, 450. 34 the insects, peter farb and the editors of time - life books, p. 164. 35 encyclopaedia of animals, maurice - robert burton, c. p. b. c publishing ltd., p. 14. 36 national geographic, june 1984, p. 797. 37 national


an introduction to haunted scotland by richard jones a variety of ghosts are to be found in the houses, castle, inns, moors, lochs and ruins of haunted scotland. a divided nation scotland has always been a divided nation and its history is spattered with the blood of countless conflicts, many of them fought between the highlanders and the lowlanders. only very occasionally did the two sink their differences to unite against a common enemy, as successive english kings strove to invade and conquer. these english invaders met with an indomitable fighting spirit, as the likes of william wallace and robert the bruce inspired their kinsmen to stand firm against their english adversaries. bruce ’ s daughter, marjorie, would marry walter, high steward of scotland, whose title created the long, and ill - fated, stuart line from which came mary queen of scots, whose tragic reign ended with her forced abdication and subsequent execution in england. uniting of the scottish and english thrones it was her son, james v1 of scotland, who succeeded elizabeth 1st in 1603 and, as james 1st of england, united the two nations. scotland ' s independence is lost although the scots kept their own government for another hundred years, this last vestige of independence was lost when, in 1707, despite the protests of most of the people, the scottish parliament signed away its independence and scotland joined the united kingdom. the old and young pretenders it was the dissatisfaction with the union, coupled with a fervent desire to choose their own destiny, which rallied the highlanders to the stuart cause in the 1715 and 1745 uprisings as the " old " and " young " pretenders attempted to seize the throne from the hated hanoverian ’ s. the battle of culloden but their hopes were shattered at the battle of culloden on april 16th 1746, when the english army inflicted a decisive defeat upon bonnie prince charlie and thereafter independence would exist only in men ’ s dreams and imaginations. unsurprisingly, given the horrendous bloodshed and loss of life at culloden, the ghosts of several of the combatants are still said to roam the battlefield and it is, without doubt, one of haunted scotland ' s most poignant locations. the haunted castles of scotland but vestiges of scotland ' s stormy past are to be found all over the country and nowhere is it more apparent than in the haunted, ruined castles of scotland. these ruined fortresses - silent reminders of old and bitter conflicts - stud the scottish landscape. from the gentle farmlands


stormy past are to be found all over the country and nowhere is it more apparent than in the haunted, ruined castles of scotland. these ruined fortresses - silent reminders of old and bitter conflicts - stud the scottish landscape. from the gentle farmlands of the central lowlands to wild empty lands of europe ’ s last great wilderness in the country ’ s northwest, scotland ' s abandoned castles stand as sullen witnesses to centuries of conflict and bloodshed, and the ghosts that wander their timeworn corridors and historic rooms are perpetual reminders of a violent and stormy past. behind the sombre walls of these impressive bastions, kings and queens, lairds and ladies, highlanders and lowlanders, the famous and the long forgotten, continue to inhabit an ethereal domain where old feuds and differences have never died, and where dastardly deeds and ancient discords occasionally cross the centuries to baffle and astonish those who happen to stumble upon their ghostly re - enactments. haunted scottish inns equally as impressive, though with less blood - thirsty pasts, are the haunted inns of scotland. the majority of scottish inns date from the era of the stagecoach, when the opening of new routes across the countryside and on into the highlands led to an increased level of travel. to accommodate this new clientele, a plethora of wayside hostelries sprang up - many of them resulting from a government - sponsored inn - building initiative that was unique to scotland. lairds too got in on the act, and built inns on their estates, the size and grandeur of which were often intended to advertise their personal wealth and status. as a consequence, scotland offers a vast selection of old inns and the ghosts that wander them are, to say the least, intriguing. from the ghost of robert burns ' mistress at the globe inn in dumfries, to the poignant shade of the shivering blue boy who haunts the coylett inn on the tranquil shores of loch ech, they are a varied and tantalizing bunch, whose stories – be they happy or sad – often touch upon the lives of some of the more famous figures of scottish history. a mystical, mysterious and mythical landscape in addition to its spectral landscape, scotland also possesses an ethereal landscape that is home to an array of heroes, giants, earth goddesses, fearsome monsters and the wee folk, or fairies. the sacred island of iona no more is this more apparent than on the island of iona, once one of the holiest


that is home to an array of heroes, giants, earth goddesses, fearsome monsters and the wee folk, or fairies. the sacred island of iona no more is this more apparent than on the island of iona, once one of the holiest places in christian britain, and even today a place that seems imbued with an aura of pure spirituality. but scotland was a sacred place long before the coming of christianity. standing stones and mystical places some of the most remarkable standing stones and burial cairns in britain are to be found scattered across its lonely moors, or standing silently in tranquil glens. indeed so rich is scotland in prehistoric remnants that to stand by its holy wells, or gaze across surrounding countryside from the lofty heights of ancient crags. is to feel yourself standing amongst the gods, where anything and everything seems possible. it is this combination of brutal history and otherworldly enchantment that have made scotland a land of legend. one moment you can be gazing into the serene waters of a tranquil loch, or sitting amidst brooding hills pondering a tale of ancient magic, the next you can be crossing a field where thousands once died in a long ago bloody battle or brutal massacre. famous and legendary scottish figures added to this rich brew of history and mystery are such famous and legendary figures as william wallace, robert the bruce and bonnie prince charlie, from which storytellers down the ages have woven a rich tapestry of inspired folklore and legend. haunted scotland will not disappoint there can be no doubt that the sheer and abundant variety of scotland ' s scenic delights can inspire feelings of awe, wonderment and sheer enchantment. these, when coupled with the possibility of encountering the ghosts that inhabit the ethereal plain of haunted scotland, ensure that few who come here in search of mystical and mysterious experiences leave disappointed. indeed, how can it be otherwise in a land whose history is, literally, written in blood?


researchers finally know why people with diabetes are more likely to get alzheimer ' s disease. that alone would be big news. the huge news is that we now know what we have to do to break the link. did you miss the growing number of reports in the past few years about how those of us who have diabetes are more likely to get alzheimer ' s as we age? i can understand, because until last year i ignored the evidence myself. we have enough on our plate already without worrying about a possible complication many years down the road that until now nobody knew how to prevent anyway. lately many of our diabetes journals are reporting the link. for example, the january 2009 issue of diabetes care reported the french three - city study of " metabolic syndrome and risk for incident alzheimer ' s disease or vascular dementia. " the january 2009 issue of diabetes reported the results of a study of twins, finding that, " diabetes increases the risk of alzheimer disease and vascular dementia. " cerebral blood volume in a person with diabetes ( warmer colors = more activity ) courtesy : taub institute but now researchers at the taub institute for research on alzheimer ' s disease and the aging brain at columbia university medical center have some great news for all of us. their study, " the brain in the age of old : the hippocampal formation is targeted differentially by diseases of late life, " just appeared in the december issue of annals of neurology. this study was built upon an extensive, ongoing epidemiological imaging study that evaluated 240 healthy elders in manhattan. only the abstract of the study is free online. but recently a spokesperson for the authors sent me the full - text of the study under embargo. the key for everyone to prevent alzheimer ' s is to control blood glucose levels, the study concludes. " maintaining glucose control, even in the absence of disease, should be strongly recommended to preserve cognitive health " is the way that lead author scott small, m. d., associate professor of neurology at columbia university medical center, phrases it in the study. that ' s such good news for us because that ' s exactly what we have to do anyway to control diabetes! the study emphasizes physical exercise. " by improving glucose metabolism, " it says, " physical exercise also reduces blood glucose. " that ' s the point that the new york times picked up on in its review of the study. the times even quoted my friend sheri colberg, ph. d., whose new book, diabetic athlete ' s handbook,


dengue fever is a disease spread by the aedes aegypti mosquito and caused by one of four dengue viruses that are closely related. the viruses that cause dengue fever are related to those that cause yellow fever and west nile virus infection. every year, it is estimated that at least 100 million cases of dengue fever occur across the globe. tropical regions remain heavily affected. areas that have the greatest risk of infection include : - sub - saharan africa - central america - the caribbean ( except the cayman islands and cuba ) - pacific islands - south america ( except argentina, chile, and paraguay ) - southeast asia - southern china - northern parts of australia very few cases occur in the united states. most of the cases that are diagnosed occur in individuals who contracted the disease while traveling abroad. however, risk of infection is increasing for residents of texas that live in areas that share a border with mexico. additionally, cases have been on the rise in the southern united states. as recently as 2009, an outbreak of dengue fever was identified in key west, florida. dengue fever is transmitted via the bite of a mosquito harboring the dengue virus. person - to - person transmission does not occur. if you contract dengue fever, symptoms usually begin about four to seven days after the initial infection. in many cases, symptoms will be mild. they may be mistaken for symptoms of the flu or another infection. young children and people who have never experienced infection may have a milder illness than older children and adults. symptoms generally last for about 10 days and can include : - sudden, high fever - severe headache - swollen lymph glands - severe joint pain and muscle pain - skin rash ( appearing between two and five days after the initial fever ) - mild to severe nausea - mild to severe vomiting - mild bleeding from the nose or gums - mild bruising on the skin - febrile convulsions a small percentage of individuals who have dengue fever can develop a more serious form of disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever. dengue hemorrhagic fever the risk factors for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever include : - having antibodies to dengue virus from a previous infection - being under the age of 12 - being female - caucasian race - weakened immune system this rare form of the disease is characterized by : - high fever - damage to the lymphatic system - damage to blood vessels - bleeding from the nose - bleeding from the gums - liver enlargement - circ


- weakened immune system this rare form of the disease is characterized by : - high fever - damage to the lymphatic system - damage to blood vessels - bleeding from the nose - bleeding from the gums - liver enlargement - circulatory system failure the symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever can trigger dengue shock syndrome. dengue shock syndrome is severe, and can lead to massive bleeding and even death. doctors use blood tests to check for viral antibodies or the presence of infection. if you experience dengue symptoms after traveling outside the country, you should see a healthcare provider to check if you are infected. there is no medication or treatment specifically for dengue infection. if you believe you may be infected with dengue, you should use over - the - counter pain relievers to reduce your fever, headache, and joint pain. however, aspirin and ibuprofen can cause more bleeding and should be avoided. your doctor should perform a medical exam, and you should rest and drink plenty of fluids. if you feel worse after the first 24 hours of illness — once your fever has gone down — you should be taken to the hospital as soon as possible to check for complications. there is no vaccine to prevent dengue fever. the best method of protection is to avoid mosquito bites and to reduce the mosquito population. when in a high - risk area, you should : - avoid heavily populated residential areas. - use mosquito repellent indoors and outdoors. - wear long - sleeved shirts and pants tucked into socks. - use air conditioning instead of opening windows. - ensure that window and door screens are secure, and any holes repaired. - use mosquito nets if sleeping areas are not screened. reducing the mosquito population involves getting rid of mosquito breeding areas. these areas include any place that still water can collect, such as birdbaths, pet dishes, empty planters / flower pots / cans or any empty vessel. these areas should be checked, emptied, or changed regularly. if a family member is already ill, it is important to protect yourself and other family members from mosquito bites. to help prevent the disease from spreading, consult a physician anytime you experience symptoms of dengue fever.


has rover been limping around your house lately? is he having trouble making it up the stairs? does he seem sluggish and reluctant to stand up? if so, your pet may be suffering from hip dysplasia, which affects the connection between the ball and socket of the hip joint. even if your pet is free of these symptoms, he may still develop the disease. this issue of pet planet will help you identify signs of hip dysplasia and teach you how to care for your ailing friend. what is hip dysplasia? in basic terms, hip dysplasia means " badly formed hip. " in unaffected animals, the ball at the end of the leg bone fits smoothly into a pocket in the hip, just as pieces of a puzzle fit together. in affected dogs, the " pieces " don ’ t come together as well. the ball may roll around loosely in the socket, making for a rather uncomfortable fit. this looseness is what may cause your pet to limp or seem pained during certain activities. who gets it? the joint disease is common in large dogs ; about 50 percent of some larger breeds are affected. less commonly, the disease also can occur in medium - sized breeds and even in small breeds. it primarily strikes purebreds, but it can develop in mixed breeds, particularly when both parents are prone to the disease. dogs with a higher incidence of hip dysplasia are german shepherds, labrador retrievers, rottweillers, great danes, golden retrievers, doberman pinschers, mastiffs, and st. bernards. greyhounds and borzois have a lower incidence. cats may develop dysplasia, but they rarely have severe symptoms because they weigh less and put less strain on their joints. how can you screen for hip dysplasia? because dysplasia is passed down from dogs to their puppies, breeding symptom - free dogs is important. you should look back three or four generations to check for carriers in the bloodline. the orthopedic foundation for animals ( www. offa. org ), a nonprofit organization that consults with breeders and purebred dog owners, will review dogs ’ hip x rays and provide ofa certification for dogs that have normal hips. if you have questions about ofa certification, your veterinarian can give you more information. breeding two animals with excellent hips still won ’ t guarantee that all of the puppies will be free of hip dyspl


dogs that have normal hips. if you have questions about ofa certification, your veterinarian can give you more information. breeding two animals with excellent hips still won ’ t guarantee that all of the puppies will be free of hip dysplasia, but you ’ ll have a better chance of getting a dysplasia - free pup than if you breed two animals with fair or poor hips. when do signs show up? dogs of all ages are subject to the symptoms of hip dysplasia, but in most cases, they don ’ t begin to show up until the middle or later years. if you want to check your pet for hip dysplasia at a younger age, schedule an x ray and physical with your veterinarian. if you are able to nip the problem in the bud at an early stage, you will prevent your dog from experiencing even greater problems down the road. dogs that show physical symptoms may walk or run with an altered gait, often resisting movements that require full extension or flexion of their hind legs. many times, they run with a " bunny hopping " gait because their legs are stiff and painful after exercise or first thing in the morning. dysplasia also may cause arthritis, which affects movement in affected dogs. some pets will warm up nicely after they ’ ve been moving for a while. other dogs ’ gait will worsen with exercise, and they may resist extended activity. as dysplasia progresses, dogs may lose muscle tone and even need help getting up. many owners attribute the changes to normal aging, but once their pets are treated for dysplasia, owners may be shocked to see more normal, pain - free movement. what can be done to prevent hip dysplasia? because hip dysplasia has a genetic basis, you can ’ t determine whether your puppy will get dysplasia by how you raise him, but you may influence when he begins to develop symptoms. if your pup has genes for hip dysplasia, it ’ s a good idea to prevent overly rapid growth while rover is an adolescent because the additional weight puts strain on the hip, further loosening the ball - and - socket fit. if your young furry friend is at the high end of the weight scale or is a large breed, you should begin feeding him an adult dog food or a puppy food specifically developed for bigger dogs. dysplasia also may be aggravated by rough play, jumping, climbing stairs, sliding on slick floors,


the weight scale or is a large breed, you should begin feeding him an adult dog food or a puppy food specifically developed for bigger dogs. dysplasia also may be aggravated by rough play, jumping, climbing stairs, sliding on slick floors, calcium supplementation ( which can increase the rate of bone formation ), or forced running for any distance, especially on hard surfaces. you can keep your canine buddy ’ s joints healthy by avoiding these situations as much as possible. how do you treat a pet with hip dysplasia? dogs with hip dysplasia may be treated surgically or nonsurgically, depending on your veterinarian ’ s recommendations and the severity of the problem. nonsurgical treatment to improve mobility and reduce pain includes the use of drugs like aspirin, phenylbutazone, nsaids ( nonsteroidal anti - inflammatories ), and steroids. these drugs should be administered only under the supervision of your veterinarian. your veterinarian also might ask you to restrict your pet ’ s exercise. an ideal exercise for dysplastic dogs is swimming, which doesn ’ t stress their aching joints. surgery can correct current problems and / or keep the condition from progressing. several surgical procedures are common ; your veterinarian will recommend one depending on your dog ’ s age and the state of his joints. triple pelvic osteotomy ( tpo ) often is used for dogs younger than 10 months that show signs of dysplasia on x rays but that haven ’ t yet developed symptoms. surgeons will break the pelvic bone and realign the ball and socket correctly. as the bones heal, they will begin to fit together normally. total hip replacement is another option. this procedure involves removing the bad hip and replacing it with a prosthesis. in order to qualify for this procedure, your dog must be full - grown and weigh at least 35 pounds. your veterinarian also may recommend other surgical options. if you suspect your dog may have hip dysplasia, arrange for an x ray and physical exam. if your pet is diagnosed with the disease, she ( or he ) should be spayed ( or neutered ) so the disease isn ’ t passed on. you should also notify your dog ’ s breeder so that he can take steps to improve his breeding program. with help from you and your veterinarian, your dog can live a long and happy life with hip dysplasia


what is ayurveda? ayurveda, a natural system of medicine, originated in india more than 5, 000 years ago. the term ayurveda is derived from the sanskrit words ayur ( life ) and veda ( science or knowledge ). thus, ayurveda translates to knowledge of life. based on the idea that disease is due to an imbalance or stress in the individual ' s consciousness, ayurveda encourages certain lifestyle interventions and natural therapies to regain a balance between the body, mind, and the environment. ayurveda treatment begins with an internal purification process, followed by a special diet, herbal remedies, massage therapy, yoga, and meditation. studies have shown reductions in blood pressure, cholesterol, and reaction to stress in people who practiced ayurvedic methods. the concepts of universal interconnectedness, the body ' s constitution ( prakriti ), and life forces ( doshas ) are the primary basis of ayurvedic medicine. goals of treatment aid the patient by eliminating impurities, reducing symptoms, increasing resistance to disease, reducing worry, and increasing harmony in life. herbs and other plants, including oils and common spices, are used extensively in ayurvedic treatment. in india, ayurveda is considered a form of medical care, equal to conventional western and homeopathic medicine. practitioners of ayurveda in india undergo state - recognized, institutionalized training. currently, ayurvedic practitioners are not licensed in the united states, and there is no national standard for ayurvedic training or certification. however, ayurvedic schools have gained approval as educational institutions in some states. ayurveda can have positive effects when used as a complementary therapy in combination with standard, conventional medical care. many ayurvedic materials have not been thoroughly studied in either western or indian research. some of the products used in ayurvedic medicine contain herbs, metals, minerals, or other materials that may be harmful if used improperly or without the direction of a trained practitioner. ayurvedic medications are regulated as dietary supplements rather than as drugs in the united states, so they are not required to meet the safety and efficacy standards for conventional medicines. these medicines can interact, or work against, the effects of western medicines. you should investigate the training and background ot ayurvedic practitioners whom you intend to use. you should discuss any a


most of our learning is non - conscious. schools make use of displays to communicate information to children. this kind of information immersion is used to good effect by advertisers. just think how easily children learn a tune or pop - song. at this stage we are making no conscious attempt to memorise facts and will not attempt to do so. nevertheless your child will by now have made certain discoveries about the rods independently. these unconscious discoveries will have occurred while he / she was ' playing ' with the rods. at the risk of becoming a bore i will repeat the mantra that play is an absolutely fundamental prerequisite for success. it is the source of rich experience that children will draw upon increasingly as new concepts are introduced. by now your child will have discovered that : - rods of the same color are also equal in length. - rods of equal length are the same color. - rods of different colors have different lengths. - it is possible to make equal lengths by puttingcertain rods end to end. your child will also have begun to acquire an unconscious understanding of number bonds to 10. to ' know ' that blue is the same length as pink and yellow placed end to end is to ' know ' that b = p + y or that 9 = 4 + 5 thus your child will also have begun to acquire an unconscious understanding of number bonds without even realising it! at a later stage of the program when they are asked what two numbers make ten children will be able to visualise the pattern for 10. fingers will definitely not be needed. if you observe children you may find them beginning to try and organise their work. the pattern below reveals an understanding of the commutative property of addition. researcher paul torrance tested 182 students, aged 10 - 21, half of whom were sighted and half of whom were blind. using words to stimulate their imaginations he tested their response and found that the blind learners scored significantly higher in creative imagery. in the next post we look at an interesting and powerful arrangement of the rods you may well have seen your child construct. the program is available at www. helpyourchildsucceed. com


you know what they say about success having a thousand fathers. those who sired the original ford mustang would certainly liven up any cocktail hour with their brains and ego. the folk legend creator of ford ' s sporty compact is lee iacocca, who more accurately deserves credit for believing that people would buy it ; hal sperlich was dearborn ' s interpreter of youthful trends. meanwhile, ford ' s global director of racing, jacque passino, was also redirecting the company ' s image. all were irreplaceable in the mustang ' s gestation. but the guy who did the most to make the mustang a functional, profitable reality was donald frey. starting around 1960, when the ford motor company was embarking on its total performance reinvention, frey was best known around the management suite as a scientifically trained engineer with a stout academic bent. in a different life, he might have been a concert pianist or even a theology professor, since he was bestowed with generational knowledge within his family. instead, frey was a second - generation prodigy in metallurgy. his father had been so tasked in the top management of a john deere factory in st. louis, where frey was born in 1923, and later went on to allis - chalmers. frey was a michigan state undergrad when world war ii broke out, and had also been working at packard, in the department that was assembling rolls - royce merlin aero engines under license. following army service, he obtained baccalaureate, master ' s and doctoral degrees in metallurgy from the university of michigan, where he then became a teaching fellow. he had to make ends meet by working summers in a steel mill. then, in 1951, ford hired him as an analyst in its research laboratories. by 1957, he was named chief engineer for passenger - car design. that was when the roof fell in. the new edsel was quickly condemned as a flop. before long, ford president robert mcnamara left the company to become john f. kennedy ' s secretary of defense. a new power center in the company began to coalesce around iacocca, who by then was head of the ford division. he established a somewhat covert, ad hoc group to brainstorm the brand ' s future direction, named the fairlane committee - - not after the car, but instead for the dearborn motel where the crew met clandestinely. one member of that group was frey. shortly thereafter, ford rolled out a lithe two - seat concept called the


, named the fairlane committee - - not after the car, but instead for the dearborn motel where the crew met clandestinely. one member of that group was frey. shortly thereafter, ford rolled out a lithe two - seat concept called the mustang i, a mid - engine two - seater with v - 4 power borrowed from the cardinal, a front - drive world car championed by iacocca ' s predecessor, mcnamara. iacocca wrung the cardinal ' s neck, dismissing it as contradictory to total performance. the mustang i never saw showroom daylight, though it did become a template of sorts for the all - conquering gt endurance racer. on the ground, however, ford had just shrugged off the lingering debt load associated with the edsel debacle, and had committed to spending a quarter - billion dollars on revamping its already - approved 1965 models. no money was left for ford to take a flyer on any kind of radical halo car. chevrolet had already shown the corvair, and henry ford ii had gunned down four straight sporty car proposals. iacocca tried again in 1962 ; this time, ford ii gave the project his blessing, and a paltry budget of $ 40 million. working within those restrictions was where frey, who by then was in charge of ford division product planning, truly shone. it was frey who determined that the production mustang would be built on donor falcon technology, ensuring that both the cost and impossibly short development - cycle targets could actually be met. those goals assured, the styling team, led by gene bordinat and including john najjar ( who gave the car its name, after the world war ii fighter, not the horse ) had a freer hand to be creative. and lo, the mustang became reality, blowing ford ' s original break - even and sales projections into shrapnel. frey was promoted again and placed in charge of north america vehicle development, earning a piece in time magazine that called him " the thinker. " he left ford in 1968, advanced early home - video technology while later serving as chairman of bell & howell, and taught engineering at northwestern university in chicago for more than 20 years. thanks in great part to frey ' s intelligent grasp of product realities, the mustang became a franchise, a " forever " thing and genuine american touchstone. while a top ford executive, frey also gave the production go - ahead to other memorable advances, among them the original two - way doorgate for ford station wagons. the people


- hhmi news - scientists & research - janelia farm - science education - resources & publications browse all resources by typeanimation ( 3 ) book / manual ( 4 ) cd ( 1 ) classroom activity ( 12 ) college course ( 6 ) curriculum ( 11 ) game ( 1 ) kit ( 1 ) lab ( 9 ) lesson plan ( 5 ) publication ( 23 ) software ( 3 ) tutorial ( 5 ) video ( 24 ) website ( 47 ) wiki ( 2 ) by topicbiochemistry ( 14 ) biodiversity ( 3 ) bioengineering ( 3 ) bioethics ( 3 ) bioinformatics ( 8 ) biology ( 104 ) biotechnology ( 9 ) cell biology ( 3 ) chemistry ( 17 ) earth science ( 1 ) ecology ( 9 ) engineering ( 1 ) evolution ( 10 ) general science ( 15 ) genetics ( 29 ) genomics ( 13 ) immunology ( 2 ) infectious diseases ( 1 ) life science ( 65 ) mathematics ( 9 ) medicine ( 6 ) microarrays ( 5 ) microbiology ( 3 ) molecular biology ( 34 ) neuroscience ( 7 ) physics ( 5 ) plants ( 2 ) professional development ( 35 ) research methods ( 12 ) science communication ( 2 ) systems biology ( 1 ) by grade levelk - 16 ( 1 ) 4 - 8 ( 1 ) k - 5 ( 6 ) medical school ( 6 ) k - 3 ( 2 ) k - 8 ( 2 ) k - 12 ( 9 ) 6 - 8 ( 18 ) 9 - 12 ( 52 ) college ( 101 ) graduate ( 21 ) minute sketches, a tool for learning this article, from professor of biology paul heideman of the college of william and mary, describes how and why to create a “ minute sketch, ” a tool to improve science learning. a minute sketch is a simple drawing that captures an essential concept, event, or structure in less than a minute. using examples, the author explains the four steps in the minute - sketch process : identify an important concept or process ; write down the term and key words from the definition or explanation ; create or find symbols for each key word or event ; and combine the symbols in a sketch that captures the definition or concept. minute sketches involve motor or kinesthetic memory ; they provide a second way of learning that is independent of word learning but is far more permanent, as the sketches can be easily practiced and recalled. dr. heideman contends that the process forces users to learn topics, not just to memorize them, and helps them solve problems and make


independent of word learning but is far more permanent, as the sketches can be easily practiced and recalled. dr. heideman contends that the process forces users to learn topics, not just to memorize them, and helps them solve problems and make predictions. he also says that it trains students to think like scientists, who work by creating their own minute sketches — called models — that look like the figures, flow charts, and diagrams found in textbooks. minute sketches are most useful, he writes, when used in conjunction with folded lists, another resource available within this database. program director : margaret somosi saha, ph. d. award years : 1989, 1998, 2002, 2006 summary : the college of william and mary is a public research university in williamsburg, virginia. its hhmi - funded educational initiatives emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary and integrative approaches to education and research. they include : - the development of a biological mathematics program ( which includes substantial curricular changes and the addition of new faculty positions ), the strengthening of the interdisciplinary neuroscience major, and the establishment of a new undergraduate applied science minor. - the enhancement of both introductory biology and chemistry and upper - level immunology, molecular genetics, physiology, and neurophysiology laboratories through new equipment and expanded laboratory exercises. - the hhmi freshman research program in biology and chemistry and related sciences, which allows participating students to conduct independent research with a faculty mentor very early in their college careers — as freshmen. many of these students have the opportunity to continue their research during the following summer and throughout the next three years. - student participation in the national genomics research initiative ( ngri ), a national experiment in both research and education sponsored by hhmi ’ s science education alliance. through this initiative, groups of freshmen at selected colleges participate in an authentic research experience — integrated into an introductory laboratory course — on the genetics of phages or bacteriophages ( viruses that infect bacteria ). freshmen in the college of william and mary ’ s program discovered a new life form, a bacteriophage they named crimd. - the expansion of a summer fellowship program to include students at thomas nelson community college and three neighboring hbcu — hampton university, norfolk state university, and virginia state university. students in this program have the option of continuing their research project throughout the academic year and receive an hourly stipend and weekend transportation and carpooling. - partnerships with hampton university, norfolk state university, and virginia state university to enable faculty to work


students in this program have the option of continuing their research project throughout the academic year and receive an hourly stipend and weekend transportation and carpooling. - partnerships with hampton university, norfolk state university, and virginia state university to enable faculty to work together with research students at both the home campus and the college of william and mary. the objective and anticipated outcomes are to establish lasting collaborations that improve opportunities for publication and the development of ideas for competitive grant proposals, either independently or in collaboration with faculty from the college of william and mary. - the saturday and summer enrichment programs, which allow young children with high abilities to explore specialized areas of science, mathematics, and the arts and humanities. - the science training and research program ( star ), a four - week residential summer enrichment program that serves high - school juniors from disadvantaged backgrounds. the program, which offers core science and mathematics courses and an opportunity to visit research centers and laboratories, is designed to introduce students to the world of science, research, and technology. - a series of “ update courses ” tailored to help middle and high - school teachers develop both a knowledge base and practical experience with topics — such as microbiology and molecular biotechnology — that are the stated components of the standards of learning for the commonwealth of virginia. participants also help design teaching modules that help integrate the science topics into the classroom.


january 07, 2010 researchers reveal molecular origin of a spectrum of human axon guidance disorders scientists who searched across five continents for patients who have a rare eye movement disorder have finally identified its genetic root. in the process, they have found that specific mutations in this new disease gene can cause additional errors in neurodevelopment and neuronal survival, leading to the definition of a new series of neurological disorders that interfere with nerve cells ' ability to wire up properly. they now refer to these as the tubb3 syndromes. the study, which is published in the january 8, 2010, issue of the journal cell, reveals these syndromes can be caused by any one of eight mutations in the tubb3 gene, which encodes a structural protein in neurons. the collaborative effort was led by howard hughes medical institute ( hhmi ) investigator elizabeth engle of children ’ s hospital boston. “ the clinical and mri findings in these participants suggested that the primary error was in the guidance of axons, the long projections of neuronal cell bodies that connect one neuron to another or to a muscle. ” elizabeth c. engle engle, a physician trained in pediatrics, neurology, and neuropathology, has previously published pivotal studies identifying genes underlying other eye movement disorders. she found that these resulted from errors in the development of motor neurons or their long processes, called axons, that connect the eye muscles to the brain. in the new study, engle ’ s team focused on children born with congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles type 3 ( cfeom3 ), who have drooping eyelids and are unable to move their eyes fully. cfeom3 can be inherited as a dominant disorder. to begin the search for the cause of cfeom3, engle says, it was essential to find and characterize the families of patients with the rare disorder, and that required a major international effort. “ this paper includes 29 families who harbor tubb3 mutations, ” says engle, whose collaborative team compiled detailed family histories of study participants from the usa, europe, turkey, venezuela, and australia. “ we had a rare opportunity to collaborate with 36 clinicians around the world for this particular study, which was a key to its success. the clinical collaborators identified the families, enrolled participants in the study, and provided us with essential clinical data that permitted us to later correlate specific mutations with specific clinical findings. ” the clinical data revealed that while some children with cfeom3


. the clinical collaborators identified the families, enrolled participants in the study, and provided us with essential clinical data that permitted us to later correlate specific mutations with specific clinical findings. ” the clinical data revealed that while some children with cfeom3 are otherwise normal, others had social, behavioral or intellectual impairments, and some went on to develop nerve degeneration that resulted in weakness and numbness in their arms or legs. in addition, mri analysis showed that nerve bundles beyond those that help control eye movement had not formed correctly, particularly nerve bundles that connect the left and right sides of the brain. these mri findings correlated with developmental disabilities in affected individuals. engle ’ s lab had previously discovered that a region spanning about 50 genes at the tip of human chromosome 16 contained an unknown gene that caused cfeom3. in the current study, her group evaluated dna from these 29 affected families to pinpoint eight different mutations in the tubb3 gene as the culprit. “ what we found to be particularly remarkable was that multiple unrelated families could share the same mutation in the tubb3 gene, and the affected members in those families had similar clinical presentations, ” says engle. “ while some mutations caused isolated cfeom3, others caused cfeom3 with a peripheral axonal neuropathy, or cfeom3 with developmental disorders. thus, given a particular individual ’ s clinical presentation, we could often accurately predict the mutation he or she harbored. moreover, the clinical and mri findings in these participants suggested that the primary error was in the guidance of axons, the long projections of neuronal cell bodies that connect one neuron to another or to a muscle. ” tubb3 encodes a protein called βtubulin isotype iii. tubulins make up the intracellular scaffold known as the microtubule network. the specific βtubulin that is impaired in these human syndromes is found exclusively in nerve cells, where microtubules form tracks on which proteins are moved from the cell body out through long projections called axons. growing axons must navigate past neighboring neurons as they form connections with other cells. this requires that the microtubule track inside the axon, particularly at its leading tip, be continuously laid down, ripped up, and laid down again. with the gene identified as tubb3, engle ’ s group forged ahead with experiments in mice and yeast to try to determine why specific mutations in this particular βtubulin gene produced cfeom3 and associated


up, and laid down again. with the gene identified as tubb3, engle ’ s group forged ahead with experiments in mice and yeast to try to determine why specific mutations in this particular βtubulin gene produced cfeom3 and associated neurological symptoms. engle says first author max tischfield, a graduate student in her lab, was a driving force behind the tubb3 experiments that built on the study ’ s initial genetic steps. first, in a mouse model mimicking the most common human cfeom3 mutation, they observed that neuronal cell bodies were in the right place anatomically in the brains of embryonic mice but that those cells did a poor job of projecting axons to eye muscles or to other regions of the brain. “ similar to the human mri data, these mouse experiments supported a defect not of neuron migration, ” says engle, “ but of axon guidance ” - - the biochemical activities that allow nerve cells to wire up to the right target cells. “ the microtubule network must be dynamic to allow an axon to navigate through a three - dimensional space, ” explains tischfield. “ we found that the primary effect of tubb3 mutations was to alter those dynamic properties and compromise the ability of microtubules to grow or shrink. ” the clincher came when tischfield mutated the gene encoding yeast βtubulin in ways mimicking the eight tubb3 mutations the researchers had found in humans, studies greatly aided by collaboration with david pellman, an hhmi investigator at dana - farber cancer institute, and pellman ’ s former postdoctoral fellow mohan gupta, now an assistant professor at the university of chicago. the experiments demonstrated that all of the human mutations resulted in more stable yeast microtubules that were often stuck in persistent pausing states, rather than growing or shrinking as they did in normal cells. based on how several mutations were likely to alter the topography of the βtubulin protein, the team predicted that microtubule interactions with other proteins might be interrupted. among those potential disruptions were interactions with so - called kinesin motor proteins, which latch on to microtubules and ferry cargo in nerve cells. indeed, using time - lapse imaging of microtubules in yeast cells, tischfield showed that another subset of the mutations significantly diminished interactions with yeast kinesin motor proteins. these mutations all result in the degeneration of motor and sensory axon tracts in patients. “ what we saw in yeast was in agreement with the disease mouse


showed that another subset of the mutations significantly diminished interactions with yeast kinesin motor proteins. these mutations all result in the degeneration of motor and sensory axon tracts in patients. “ what we saw in yeast was in agreement with the disease mouse model and showed that we could faithfully measure the properties of neuronal microtubules using this simpler organism, ” says tischfield, noting that the overly stable mutant microtubules could indeed lack the fluidity necessary for proper axon growth and remodeling. “ these studies provided us with a way to explain the kind of defects we saw in humans. ” they also provide a potential link to cfeom1, an eye movement disorder closely related to cfeom3 that the lab previously showed to result from mutations in a kinesin called kif21a. engle believes that cfeom and the tubb3 syndromes can now serve as paradigms for human disorders of axon guidance. in addition, the team hopes that these findings will lead to improved care for affected individuals. “ we can now provide genetic testing and counseling for affected individuals. and the more we understand the specific disorders and disease spectrum, the easier it will be – over time - to develop targeted therapies for these disorders, ” engle says.


every minute of its existence, a living cell must assess and analyze myriad bits of information — everything from the temperature of its environment to the chemical makeup of its surroundings. sometimes, these inputs cause a cell to change how it functions, but other times, the information may not lead to a measurable change in the cell ’ s activity. now, howard hughes medical institute researchers have discovered how a single molecule in a cell can tune its response to different strengths of an input, an important advance in understanding how a whole cell varies its behavior in different situations. “ this signal processing ability is something that ’ s normally associated with collections of molecules or manmade devices, ” says hhmi investigator erin k. o ’ shea of harvard university, who led the new research, published january 25, 2013, in the journal science. “ here, the surprise is that we have one molecule that has evolved to do it. ” o ’ shea was recently named hhmi vice president and chief scientific officer, a position that she will begin full - time in july. “ this signal processing ability is something that ’ s normally associated with collections of molecules or manmade devices. ” erin k. o ' shea o ’ shea studies transcription factors, which control when genes in a cell are turned on or off. scientists know that cells manage transcription factors by moving them in and out of the cell ’ s nucleus, where genes are located. when the transcription factors are inside the nucleus, they can act on their associated genes — either as an on or off switch. o ’ shea has previously discovered that shuttling of some transcription factors in and out of the nucleus is controlled by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation — the addition or subtraction of phosphates to the transcription factors. o ’ shea ’ s lab group was studying msn2, a transcription factor in yeast cells that helps the cell respond appropriately to stress. in order to study msn2 ’ s response to stresses such as heat, uv light, or toxic chemicals, the researchers selectively controlled pka, the protein that adds phosphates to msn2. the response of transcription factors to phosphorylation and dephosphorylation is normally strength - dependent : if a stronger signal is delivered, this usually means a stronger response by the cell. consistent with that observation, when they delivered a strong, oscillating signal that completely inactivated pka, msn2 activity followed or “ tracked ” the pka signal. “ but when we applied a periodic weaker signal


response by the cell. consistent with that observation, when they delivered a strong, oscillating signal that completely inactivated pka, msn2 activity followed or “ tracked ” the pka signal. “ but when we applied a periodic weaker signal, it was pretty much entirely filtered out ; the cell just didn ’ t respond, ” says o ’ shea. “ we wanted to know how the cell could respond to a strong, periodic signal but not to a weaker, periodic signal. ” the team began studying the differences between the msn2 molecules in each case. they found that there are two different sites where the protein can have phosphates added or subtracted — one that slows the import of msn2 into the nucleus, and another that stimulates export. but the sites aren ’ t phosphorylated equally. when the signal is weak, the import sites are phosphorylated preferentially to the export sites and msn2 enters the nucleus only very slowly. as a result, during the time the weak pulse is being applied, not much msn2 enters the nucleus, effectively filtering out the weak signal. it is only when a stronger signal is delivered that pka is completely inactivated, msn2 is not phosphorylated at all, and it enters the nucleus rapidly, accumulates there and turns on genes. “ what this does is create a situation where depending on the strength of the input, it can create different patterns of gene activation, ” says o ’ shea. some genes are activated when msn2 spends a short period of time in the nucleus — which could happen by a weak pulse of pka. other genes, however, are only activated when msn2 bursts into the nucleus in stronger pulses, requiring more inactivation of pka. if the mechanism of signal filtering is shared by other transcription factors, o ’ shea says, it explains how a limited number of transcription factors can create incredibly complex patterns of genes. now that the scientists understand how the two distinct phosphorylation sites on msn2 function to control the nuclear import and export signals, they can use the information to design artificial transcription factors and have control over how fast they move in and out of the nucleus, effectively controlling how they respond to signals and control gene expression. “ these sites are very modular, ” says o ’ shea, “ so it ’ s really not hard to imagine cutting them out of one protein and adding them to another. ” her lab next plans to understand how widespread the


dr. katz was also james b. duke professor of neurobiology at duke university medical center. he received his b. a. degree in biology from the university of chicago and his ph. d. in neurobiology from the california institute of technology, where he worked with masakazu konishi. before moving to duke, he did postdoctoral work with torsten wiesel at the rockefeller university. dr. katz was a lucille p. markey foundation scholar, a mcknight foundation scholar, and a recipient of the young investigator award from the society for neuroscience and the charles judson herrick award from the american association of anatomists. he was a fellow of the american association for the advancement of science. research abstract summary : while humans interpret the world primarily through their well - developed visual and auditory senses, most other mammals use their acute sense of smell to detect predators, defend territory, recognize other individuals, and find food and mates. to accomplish these myriad functions, mammals are equipped with two distinct chemosensory organs : the main olfactory system, which detects airborne odors, and the vomeronasal system, which detects species - specific signals called pheromones. until his recent death, lawrence katz ' s lab used the mouse as a model to examine how olfactory signals important for basic, built - in behaviors are encoded by these two distinct systems, and how the neural circuits they activate elicit species - specific behaviors. view research abstract photo : jim wallace, duke university photography


skin and hair this site is provided for informational purposes only. the information here is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition, and should not replace the care and attention of qualified medical personnel. use the information on these pages at your own risk, and, as with any information pertaining to health, nutrition, mental health, or fitness, consult your physician before making any changes that might affect your overall health. and growing plants at high altitude some things grow with difficulty. some things grow better... for a while. some things don ' t grow at all. grew a garden one year. we live at 6000 ft, which is technically too high for traditional gardening. even so, some things still grow amazingly well. have an apple tree in our back yard. it grows very small apples, that ripen in september. they are less than 2 " around, and not really usable for much other than novelty. the tree only produces about 30 of them a year, so there is never enough of the tiny things to make more than one small pot of applesauce. people here grow very good crab apples, and turn them into very good jelly. chokecherries also grow well here, as do a particular strain of wild raspberry. currents survive and thrive also. many fruit bearing trees and bushes which should survive here, do not. found that in our garden, certain things grew very well - tomatoes never really got going well, but potatoes did quite well. a surprise since they had done poorly in the previous states we had lived in. in fact, all of the root crops we planted grew and produced well, as did the peas, and lettuce. spinach did not do so well. people grow gardens here in a greenhouse. and people who have greenhouses have big ones - they put them into old house foundations and build a greenhouse roof over that. the problems with growing things seem to be more a matter of soil and growing season than of altitude in particular. areas that are high altitude have poor soil. it may be sandy clay, alkaline, or hard clay. improving the soil can help, but is not the total solution. growing season is very short. you cannot really put anything out until mid - june. and by mid - september, the garden is pretty well finished. you can start a lot of plants indoors, but some do not do well when hardened off and transplanted, so it is not a solution for everything. plants simply grow smaller at higher altitudes. if you take a tex


garden is pretty well finished. you can start a lot of plants indoors, but some do not do well when hardened off and transplanted, so it is not a solution for everything. plants simply grow smaller at higher altitudes. if you take a texan prickly pear cactus and transplant it to wyoming, it will grow. but it will grow much smaller. it tends to have the same number of spines, but just grows small, like a little wrestler built cactus. many things are like that. higher altitude areas are often desert, you really have to water your garden. the problem with that is, in most deserts, there are a tremendously high number of dormant seeds in the soil, just waiting for their chance to grow at the least amount of water. those plants are genetically designed to grow rapidly whenever water is present. a tumbleweed plant that may grow no more than 2 ft tall in the wild will grow 8 to 10 feet tall in a garden. and they grow very fast. one day you ' ll go out and find a solid carpet of tumbleweed sprouts, so small you cannot yet even grab them to weed properly. two days later they ' ll be big enough to grab, but there are so many of them that getting them all is nearly impossible. they grow a long taproot, which is very tough to pull within just a short time, and the stalk goes woody pretty fast also. even a small garden plot can be very difficult to weed. and clearing it one year won ' t help, because through the fall and winter, new seeds blow in, and you start all over the next year. last factor at higher altitudes is wind. it can be very difficult to grow certain types of plants in high wind, especially those that would need trellising. trees need staked early on, and still end up growing straight only as long as you stake them. the lower trunk will end up straight, and the tops will have a nice graceful curve away from the wind! can interfere with pollination for certain types of trees, shrubs, and flowers also. because the wind blows so hard, if the blossoms are delicate, such as apple blossoms, they can be blown off before they are pollinated. we got a pretty good crop from our crab apple tree, though the fruits were spite of all that, gardening can be done. many people in the town i live in grow lovely irises, crocuses, and tulips in the spring ( ok, summer! ), and there are some nice


upvaas, or fasting, in hinduism is mainly observed for the fulfillment of a vow. upvas is also referred as ' vrats. ' but ' vrat ' has a wider meaning and it is not just curtailed to the fasting observed for material or other gains. each day in a week is dedicated to one or more of the gods in the hindu pantheon. a particular deity is appeased by the devotee on a particular day. thus monday is usually dedicated to lord shiva. upvass, or fasting, on mondays begins at sunrise and ends at sunset. on the day, food is only eaten after evening prayer. lord shiva and goddess parvati are worshipped on the day. of course, no worship begins without remembering lord ganesha. the fasting on mondays in the shravan month is considered even more auspicious. it is believed that those people who observe upvaas on monday will have their desires fulfilled and will be blessed with wisdom. in some areas, fasting on mondays is observed by unmarried women to get an ideal husband. the reason for fasting on a day is usually traced back to a particular incident in one of the hindu puranas or folk tradition. there are numerous myths associated with a particular fast. the stories vary from region to region and from community to community. somvar vrat, or monday fasting, dedicated to lord shiva too has numerous stories. among the several myths, three have gained popularity – the first is the story of a poor brahmin gaining wealth due to monday fasting, second is the story of a rich merchant begetting a son after long wait and the subsequent death of the son and his rebirth due to the grace of lord shiva and parvati and the third story is the most famous involving the game of dice played between shiva and parvati. any upvaas or vrat is directly or indirectly connected with some sort of material comfort. this is a sweet lure used by ancient saints to attract a devotee to the concept of brahman. the concept of brahman in sanatana dharma is not easily digestible to many people. and they are least bothered about brahman concept all they need is material comfort. for this many devotees are ready to go to any extend. they are ready to observe any harsh vow. ancient wise men used this tendency among the common people to spread the awareness of brahman. during each upvas there are occasional flashes when a person thinks beyond material comforts. this is a realization of bra


despite a growth in the number of hispanics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math ( stem ), recent studies show latinos are still underrepresented in these critical professions. to help reverse this situation, the u. s. army announced today its continued support of great minds in stem ( gmis ). gmis is a leader in promoting stem careers especially in underserved communities. as part of its efforts, the army will partner with gmis at the annual henaac conference, oct. 6 - 8 in orlando, fla., which provides hispanic youth with information and resources related to education and careers in stem. the u. s. bureau of labor statistics projects that employment in stem occupations will grow by more than 21 percent by 2018, more than double the growth of other occupations. because latinos are the fastest growing demographic group, projected to be 25 percent of the u. s. population by 2025, it is critical that hispanic students are prepared to contribute to the growing demand for a highly skilled stem workforce. organizations such as the army and great minds in stem provide students with information and resources that support academic achievement and career training. the army, for example, offers more than $ 270 million in merit - based rotc scholarships for youth to complete their college education. further, the u. s. military academy at west point – rated one of the nation ’ s top undergraduate engineering programs – provides free tuition to all cadets, who then are commissioned as second lieutenants in the army upon graduation. stem - related career opportunities in the army include civil, chemical and mechanical engineering careers with the u. s. army corps of engineers ( usace ) or working with the army ’ s research, development and engineering command ( rdecom ) to create break - through innovations for what soldiers wear, fire, fly or drive. both usace and rdecom also offer civilian career opportunities.


pythons are thought to be slithering around southern florida like crazy but so far a contest to catch them has produced a paltry 21 of the invasive snakes. the first week of the state ' s 2013 python challenge ended friday with fewer than two dozen burmese pythons received by the university of florida even though 777 people signed up. wildlife experts say burmese pythons are a threat to the everglades ecosystem and are looking to whittle down their population, thought to number in the thousands on state lands alone. burmese pythons, native to asia, are constrictors that can grow to 26 feet long and are known to be voracious predators of mammals, birds and reptiles. that diet makes it hard on the state ' s native predators such as foxes and bobcats. the non - venomous burmese pythons have been reported in extreme south florida since the 1980s, and now are established mainly within the bounds of everglades national park. the python - catching event runs through feb. 10. the person who kills the most burmese pythons by that date will receive a check for $ 1, 500. most popular stories - seo traffic lab celebrate wins at digital marketing event ' internet world 2013 ' in london - social media initiatives should follow customers ' lead - apple ceo : offshore units not a ' tax gimmick ' - u. s. senate accuses apple of large - scale tax avoidance - utep water recycling project wins venture titles - marketo makes a mint in ipo : stock shoots up more than 50 percent - bieber booed at billboard awards - crude oil up, gasoline down - austin startup compare metrics raises $ 3. 5 million for expansion - why so many top ' car guys ' are actually women


nowadays, whether it ’ s for a sandwich or a 10 - course tasting menu, many people don ’ t think twice about getting a bite to eat at a restaurant. in fact, nearly every street corner presents a new opportunity to enjoy a meal without the hassle of messing up our own kitchens. of course, it wasn ’ t always this way, and our ancestors survived quite well for millennia long before the birth of taco tuesdays. but the restaurant as we know it is nearly unrecognizable from the earliest eateries of ancient rome and china — and even a far cry from the first dining establishments in paris and new york. when romans didn ’ t feel like cooking, they could stop by their local thermopolium, a precursor to today ’ s fast food joints. there, deep stone bowls inlaid in l - shaped counters are believed to have held such delicacies as cheese baked with honey and herbs, savory lentil dishes and mulled wine. the ruins of pompeii feature many well - preserved examples of thermopolia, and experts think much of the population regularly patronized them ; indeed, the majority of homes in the town lacked cooking facilities. for all their convenience, thermopolia could apparently draw a rough crowd and were often the scenes of crimes. claudius once demanded their closure, and caligula had a man killed who dared sell food at a thermopolium during a mourning period for the emperor ’ s sister. the closest ancestor to today ’ s restaurant originated in hangzhou, a city in eastern china. beginning in 1123, hangzhou was the seat of the southern song dynasty, and it quickly became home to well over a million people. ( by contrast, london and paris counted just tens of thousands of inhabitants at the time. ) hangzhou ’ s flourishing economy and bustling population set the stage for a restaurant revolution. industrious cooks rolled up their sleeves in tents, taverns and tea shops along hangzhou ’ s broad imperial way, lined with street performers, rice wine vendors and cafes specializing in roast pork, noodle soup and other snacks. unlike at a thermopolium, where diners simply ate whatever was being served that day, patrons received menus from which to choose their meals. marco polo visited hangzhou and reported that delicacies like silkworm pie, bean curd soup and pork - stuffed dumplings were enjoyed by many a weary merchant or traveler. but what of the first american


when francis gary powers took off from peshawar, pakistan, in may 1960, there was no reason to think his flight above moscow would differ from any of the other missions conducted by the cia over the metropolis since 1956. powers ’ u - 2 spy plane flew at 80, 000 feet, an altitude believed to be out of reach of any soviet anti - aircraft threat. that belief was shattered over the city of sverdlosk when a surface - to - air missile hit the plane, forcing powers to eject before he could arm the self - destruct charge on the aircraft. in the wake of the crash, the united states initially claimed that the u - 2 was a weather plane, but the aircraft ’ s wreckage suggested otherwise. after a lengthy interrogation and show trial at the hands of the kgb, powers was sentenced to 10 years in a soviet prison for committing “ crimes against the soviet people. ” two years later, a prisoner swap was negotiated in which washington would free convicted soviet agent colonel rudolph abel in exchange for powers. abel ’ s 30 - year sentence was commuted by attorney general robert kennedy to enable the trade. at 8 : 52 a. m. on february 10, 1962, powers walked across the glienicke brucke from potsdam toward west berlin in a carefully orchestrated handover ; abel crossed in the opposite direction. while the deal was expected to ease tensions between the americans and soviets, the cuban missile crisis soon erased the memory of the diplomatic overture and brought the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear conflict. april 22, 1964 : greville wynne and konon molody by the time the soviets caught up with greville wynne outside of budapest in 1963, the agent had spent 25 years working for different organs of the british secret service. wynne was supposedly an exporter, but in reality he was a spy who scored one of the largest coups in cold war espionage. for years greville received secrets from soviet colonel oleg penkovsky, an intelligence officer who revealed information about russian ballistic missile programs to the west. the colonel ’ s disclosures proved vital during the height of the cuban missile crisis in october 1962 and may have helped avoid nuclear war. shortly thereafter, both wynne and penkovsky were arrested for their clandestine activities. penkovsky was sentenced to death but is believed to have taken his own life in may 1963 in a soviet prison, while wynne served 18 months before crossing the havel on the glienicke brucke. june 12, 1985 : marian zacharski and


to death but is believed to have taken his own life in may 1963 in a soviet prison, while wynne served 18 months before crossing the havel on the glienicke brucke. june 12, 1985 : marian zacharski and 25 american agents a polish - born spy, marian zacharski adopted the guise of a legitimate businessman in the united states in the late 1970s. the reportedly handsome and resourceful agent befriended william holden bell, an engineer at hughes aircraft. over the course of three years, zacharski persuaded bell to pass along plans for secret radar systems and some of the technology behind early stealth aircraft. zacharski ’ s tactics in recruiting bell were so impressive that they are still studied by the fbi decades later. in 1981 a u. s. federal judge sentenced zacharski to life in prison. four years later he wound up across the havel from 25 american agents ready to be traded for him. along with three other eastern bloc spies, zacharski traversed the bridge of spies into potsdam and east germany, eventually making his way back to his native country. after the fall of the communism in poland, zacharski found success in the private sector before unsuccessfully attempting to return to espionage. in 1994 he was tapped to head poland ’ s intelligence service, but was later removed due to international criticism of the pick. february 11, 1986 : anatoly shcharansky and karl koecher the last transaction at the “ bridge of spies ” arguably garnered more international attention than any other. a direct result of a 1985 meeting between president ronald reagan and soviet leader mikhail gorbachev, the swap involving anatoly shcharansky and karl koecher was years in the making. shcharansky had first run afoul of soviet authorities in 1973 when he was refused permission to emigrate to israel. five years later, after vocally criticizing moscow and joining an international dissident group, shcharansky was tried and convicted of spying for the united states ; he and president jimmy carter denied the charge. shcharansky was sentenced to 13 years of prison and hard labor. after almost a decade of negotiations, the soviets and americans agreed to a prisoner trade that would free the soviet jewish activist. as officials kept media at a distance from the glienicke, shcharansky traveled across the snow - covered bridge in a mercedes. the u. s. ambassador to west germany greeted him as he approached west berlin, saying, “ president reagan and others worked and prayed for


anne of denmark was the wife of james i, the first of the stuart monarchs. anne was born on october 14th, 1574 at skanderborg castle in denmark. she married james by proxy in august 1589 though the actual marriage took place in oslo on november 23rd, 1589. james thought of himself as an intellectual and academic. it is said that he found anne frivolous and less than academic. with little to bond them, james preferred the company of his favourites though he always ensured that anne lived the life as befitted a queen. anne shared her husband ' s view that monarchy should live the lifestyle of monarchy. she spent large sums of money on clothes and jewels. anne also ensured that her eldest son, henry, heir to the throne, was equally lavished with gifts and symbols of what james called ' magnificence '. anne spent large sums of money on somerset house ( her residence in london ) and re - named it denmark house. neither anne nor james had any real understanding of finance - both believed that if they needed something, they should have it. the early death of henry in 1612 meant that anne ' s second son, charles, became the heir to the throne. anne died on march 4th, 1619 aged 44. she was buried in westminster abbey.