Free Republic

A discovery has highlighted lithium—a drug long used to treat bipolar disorder and depression—as a potential therapy for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This research reveals that lithium can restore brain function and alleviate behavioral symptoms in animal models of ASD caused by mutations in the Dyrk1a gene. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 2.8% of the global population, characterized by social deficits, repetitive behaviors, intellectual challenges, and anxiety. There are no definitive treatments or preventive measures. Among the many genetic risk factors for ASD, Dyrk1a mutations stand out as significant. One of the underlying mechanisms of ASD symptoms by Dyrk1a...

A stone box believed to have once held the bones of Jesus’ brother James is now on display in Atlanta, Georgia. If authentic, “The James Ossuary” is the only archaeological find directly attributed to Jesus’ family, according to Pullman Yards, the event venue displaying the object. The box is “considered the most significant item ever discovered from the time of Christ,” ... Etched into the 2,000-year-old limestone relic are the words, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” in ancient Aramaic, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.... “We’ve analyzed the likelihood of someone with this combination of names living in...

Obama on Christmas morning. Trump posted a photo of himself smiling at Obama on Inauguration Day in 2017 captioned: When you see the guy who said ‘you’ll never be president’ at your inauguration. Barack Obama repeatedly said Trump will never be president. In 2016 Obama trolled Trump and suggested he would never become president.

An NYU study using Fitbit data suggests that modest weekly physical activity may reduce atrial fibrillation risk by up to 65%, underscoring the heart health benefits of regular exercise. A new study reveals that adding an extra hour of physical activity each week can reduce the risk of developing the most common type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) by 11%. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the investigation focused on atrial fibrillation, a condition in which the heart’s upper two chambers beat rapidly and irregularly instead of at a consistent pace. If left untreated, this can lead to stroke, heart...

A dead body was found lodged in the wheel well of a United Airlines plane when it arrived in Maui, Hawaii, on Christmas Eve, officials said. Flt. 202 took off of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday around 9:49 a.m. and arrived at Kahului Airport about 2:12 p.m., according to the airline and data from FlightAware. The body was discovered in a landing-gear wheel well of the Boeing 787-10 — an area that can only be accessed from outside the plane, United Airlines told The Post.

President Biden will end his term next month leaving behind one of the biggest White House whodunits of all time as the public and politicos still wonder who brought cocaine into the most secure building in the world. Roughly 17 months after cocaine was discovered in a storage box near an entrance to the West Wing, the culprit remains a head-scratcher. And with the Secret Service closing the investigation in July 2023 after 11 days without interviewing a single suspect, security experts say it’s unlikely a culprit will ever be identified. “I don’t think that we are ever going to...

An investigation is underway after a body was discovered in the wheel well of an airplane that landed in Maui after taking off from Chicago. A statement from United Airlines to WGN News confirmed the body was located in the wheel well of the main landing gears of Flight 202. According to United’s website, flight 202 departed O’Hare Airport at 9:30 a.m. on Dec 24 and landing at Maui’s Kahului airport at 2:12 p.m. local time. “The wheel well was only accessible from outside of the aircraft. At this time, it is not clear how or when the person accessed...

After being shot in both legs by a Hamas sniper in Gaza, Israeli reservist and New York native Aaron Bours is among the many soldiers pioneering the use of cutting-edge rehabilitative technologies that have been a result of Israel’s war with Hamas.... .. Israel’s war in Gaza has spurred a wave of healthcare innovations that are reshaping both mental and physical recovery for soldiers and civilians. From surgical robots that remove bullets and shrapnel to 3D-printed prosthetics tailored for rapid deployment, to a battlefield burn treatment developed from pineapples, these technologies are redefining modern medicine and saving lives...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in “repair” money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about “anything.” Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they...

WASHINGTON — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria. While some GOP senators have indicated they are all-in on Trump’s picks, others have for now withheld support, especially on some of his more controversial nominees. The dynamic is injecting uncertainty into the process as Republicans prepare to take the Senate majority in January with a four-seat margin and as Trump...

The phrase “fake news” wasn’t invented yet. My friend Charlie and I would have preferred “pranks,” anyway. It was half a century ago, print was king, there were only three networks on TV, and people trusted one another enough that nobody at our neighborhood newspaper in the Bronx bothered to check the identity of readers who sent in letters to the editor.We counted on that, Charlie and I. We were kids in high school, fascinated by the media and evidently burdened with too much time on our hands. We regularly read each other the most angry and appalled reader letters...

People like trying to predict the future. Millions still consult their horoscope every day. As New Year’s approaches, publications will be filled with predictions for 2025. What’s amazing about human prophecies is how often they end up being incorrect. Many years ago, at the beginning of a new year, I asked an adult Sunday school class attended by about 60 people or so to write down a prediction of something that would take place that particular year. I too wrote something down. At the end of the year, I then asked everyone to review what they had written down to...

Did Abraham Keep the Same Commandments God Gave to Moses? Most religious teachers say that God’s commands given through Moses applied only to ancient Israel and are not for us today. But in drawing that conclusion, most of them overlook the full significance of what God said about Abraham’s obedience in Genesis 26:5, hundreds of years before God spoke to Moses and Israel at Mt. Sinai: “Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws” (NIV). The Hebrew words God uses here are especially important. As The Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains regarding this verse: “The...

President Biden has less than a month to go until his one-term presidency ends, and he is feeling reflective. He is voicing regrets about his decision not to sign his name to Covid relief checks and about his longtime reputation — once considered a virtue — of being the poorest lawmaker in Congress. And now, with a planned visit to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican next month, the president is signaling that he may have additional issues on his mind. The visit, White House officials said as they issued a readout on Mr. Biden’s call with the pope...

There is an oft-quoted remark from Vladimir Lenin, which in its English formulation usually reads something like: "There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” This is one of those aphorisms which has been exercised practically to death, but there are rare occasions where it perfectly fits the chaotic tempo of world events, and few cases fit the bill better than the fall of the Syrian Arab Republic and its embattled (former) President, Bashir Al-Assad. Syria was first plunged into Civil War by an escalating insurgency in 2012, and more than a decade of grueling...

Health providers in Canada have expressed concern in the weeks leading up to Christmas and the New Year that the country’s overburdened healthcare system could see a dangerous surge in the number of patients in emergency rooms, encouraging prospective patients to exhaust other available options before going to hospitals. The holidays approach following the publication of reports this month that wait times to see doctors in Canada, particularly specialists, are longer than even in the modern history of the country, and thousands of Canadians are dying on waitlists for life-saving medical interventions.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) posted a poll on X early Wednesday morning, asking users on the platform if failed House Speaker Mike Johnson should be reelected to serve another term as Speaker on January 3, 2025. Poll respondents, most of whom are likely Republican voters, overwhelmingly called for Johnson to be removed from leadership. This comes after Mike Johnson caved and made a backroom deal with Democrats late Friday on a government funding bill, which President Trump previously made several demands for. Trump’s orders were not followed after Johnson’s betrayal. ..... Snip..... Massie asked X users if members should vote...

It has been seven years since Sam Francis died. But the years since his death merely show the accuracy of his insights. Francis’s writing was marked not only by loyalty to the people from whom he came but by an unswerving devotion to telling the truth about the way the world really is, not the way he wished it to be. Francis knew that it was not “morning again in America” but far closer to midnight. Conservatives could not hope to achieve anything by defending elites, as conservatives have done since the French Revolution, since today’s elites are implacably hostile...

Happy International Pronouns Day! International Pronouns Day began in 2018 and takes place on the 3rd Wednesday of October each year. This day seeks to make “respecting, sharing and educating about personal pronouns commonplace,” with the goal of “transform[ing] society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities.” The founder of International Pronouns Day even gives guidance for how companies and organizations should engage with this day, stating that “[we want] large companies/organizations [to] focus on their internal practices and improvements.” One internal practice for cultivating pronoun inclusion is by sharing pronouns in your communications, like your email signature!

The 84-year-old, who was six when she played Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed's daughter, was orphaned at 15 and later lost a son to suicide, didn't even see the Christmas classic until she was 40. For most of each year, Karolyn Grimes leads the sort of quiet, family-centric life that one might expect any retired 84-year-old grandmother to lead — but come December, that all changes. Indeed, when The Hollywood Reporter connected with her by telephone last week, the Seattle resident was, for the 22nd time, being celebrated at a festival in Seneca Falls, New York, and she would soon...