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The retina places a large energy demand on the body, in part due to the activity of photoreceptors. These specialized cells are responsible for receiving light and transmitting visual information to the brain. Photoreceptor death is the cause of vision loss in many retinal diseases, and there are no effective therapies that improve their survival. In a paper, researchers studied the dependence of photoreceptors on glutamine. Their results indicate that maintaining the balance of amino acids in these cells is important for photoreceptor health. The energy requirements of photoreceptors make them vulnerable to small changes in metabolism. Glutamine feeds into...

Infants form memories, but may not be able to recall them later.

Approximately one in five people on Earth lives with chronic pain. And the vast majority—up to two-thirds—are women. New research from Aalborg University sheds light on a possible cause: sleep. A new study shows that disturbed sleep increases the body's sensitivity to pain, and that women react more strongly than men. According to the researchers, this opens up a new and often overlooked approach to both the understanding and treatment of chronic pain. "For many years, we've relied on stronger and more targeted medicine. But perhaps the solution is far simpler. It seems that sleep plays a greater role in...

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Muskogee police shot and killed a man they said pointed a rifle at a code enforcement officer. Heather Blackwelder heard the gunfire outside her home in the Walnut Creek Neighborhood near Country Club Rd and Augusta Ave. “That’s when I saw the Muskogee PD out front and their Bearcat with rifles pointed at my neighbor’s house,” said Blackwelder. Officers responded to the home near 600 Christy Drive after a call about a man pointing a rifle at a code enforcement officer, then going back into his home. Police identified the man as Clayton Bailey, 34. They said...

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the man who led the Russia investigation into President Donald Trump, has reportedly lived in a memory-care facility for years. Muller, 80, served as the sixth director of the FBI from 2001 until 2013 and the special counsel overseeing the federal government's multi-year investigation into Russia's ties to the 2016 Trump campaign. The probe found that neither Trump nor members of his campaign team coordinated with the Russians on their interference. It did not conclude whether Trump obstructed the investigation, citing DOJ policy not to indict sitting presidents. Mueller's investigation dominated years of news coverage,...

MILAN (AP) — Italy cleared the way Wednesday to build the world’s largest suspension bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily in a massive 13.5 billion euro ($15.5 billion) infrastructure project that has been long delayed by debates over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact and the specter of mafia interference. The Strait of Messina Bridge will be “the biggest infrastructure project in the West,” Transport Minister Matteo Salvini told a news conference in Rome, after an interministerial committee with oversight of strategic public investments approved the project. Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the bridge “will be an engineering symbol...

In the popular Japanese anime One Piece, black flags bearing a skull with a straw hat are carried by a rowdy crew of pirates who have made it their mission to challenge a draconian regime and fight for freedom. But in July, these emblems started popping up across Indonesia – along doorways, on the backs of cars, and painted on walls. For many, it was a response to Indonesian leader Prabowo Subianto's call for Indonesians to fly their national red and white flag ahead of the country's Independence Day on 17 August. Instead, many chose to raise these pirate flags...

Newman on Capital Punishment: Consistency is Key in Catholic Doctrine - by Edward FeserIt was announced last week that Pope Leo XIV will be declaring St. John Henry Newman to be a Doctor of the Church. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, the Church proclaims someone to be a Doctor on account of “eminent learning” and “a high degree of sanctity.” This combination makes a Doctor an exemplary guide to matters of faith and morals. To be sure, the Doctors are not infallible. Their authority is not as great as that of scripture, the consensus of the Church Fathers, or the...

A 47-year-old Moroccan man has been arrested in Paris for lighting a cigarette using the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirmed the arrest calling the act “indecent and pathetic.” He stated that the man has been identified and taken into custody and admitted to lighting his cigarette from the sacred flame. “I am filing a case immediately with the Paris state prosecutors so that this man will be found and sanctions imposed to make an example of him,” Patricia Miralles, the minister for veterans and remembrance,...

The iconic American sports car, Corvette, has made its official debut in Singapore, following a glitzy launch event held at Ion Orchard on July 28. More famously known as the Chevrolet Corvette, the event also marked the introduction of Corvette as a standalone brand in its own right. The brand will be represented by Alpine Motors, which was previously the distributor of Opel cars in Singapore, and it marks the first time that the Corvette is available for sale here through official channels in right-hand-drive form. The latest iteration of one of America's most famous sports cars is dubbed the...

When Bill Clinton looked out of the private plane window as it came to land in Africa, he likely had no idea how much the 2002 trip would change his life. The tour was to launch his new nonprofit AIDS initiative, taking in five countries and even spending the day with former South African president Nelson Mandela. But those aspects of the trip have long been forgotten as the ex-president, Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker and others were flying as guests of Jeffrey Epstein about the infamous jet later to be known as The Lolita Express. Devious Epstein, later exposed as...

Fraser Bohm, the accused driver of a vehicle who crashed into four Pepperdine University students on Pacific Coast Highway in October 2023, has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of the four sorority sisters. Bohm appeared in a Los Angeles County courtroom on Wednesday to hear his charges, alongside his new attorney who was most recently the legal representative in one of the highest profile murder cases in recent memory. Bohm, of Malibu, has hired Alan Jackson, who just recently secured a not-guilty verdict in the Massachusetts murder trial of Karen Read, according to Court TV. Jackson has also represented...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday (Aug 6), in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that begins on Aug 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India's relationship with the US faces its most serious...

Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million superyacht Launchpad burned more than 528,000 gallons (2 million liters) of diesel in nine months, releasing over 5,300 tons of carbon emissions, before docking this week at France’s La Ciotat shipyard for maintenance. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has faced growing criticism over the environmental impact of his 387-foot Feadship superyacht as it toured destinations from the South Pacific to Europe. It will now undergo servicing at one of the world’s top superyacht facilities, the same yard that previously handled Jeff Bezos’ yacht Koru. Months of travel draw scrutiny The yacht’s journey has drawn attention not only...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Your Guess Is As Good As Ours! PACIFIC OCEAN (June 7, 2023) Comedian and contortionist Jonathan Burns performs for U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a visit sponsored by Navy Entertainment. Nimitz is in U.S. 7th Fleet conducting routine operations. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Hannah Kantner) Canteen Mission StatementShowing support...

Demanding solicitors’ exams are “discriminatory” and risk leading to a “lack of diversity” across the industry, lawyers have warned. A petition signed by hundreds of trainee lawyers has called for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) to be made easier over concerns the tests are “disproportionately challenging” and favour “certain backgrounds and learning styles”. In an appeal to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the lawyers said that low pass rates among ethnic minority candidates “will undoubtedly lead to a lack of diversity within the profession”. Critics of the SQE have pointed to figures from the SRA showing that white candidates have...

Migrants attempting to land on a beach in Spain were tackled to the ground by locals and tourists before being taken into custody by police. Footage showed 13 men diving off a boat and swimming to the shore, where some were physically restrained by beachgoers in a tourist town in Andalusia, in the south of the country. The incident took place at Sotillo beach in Castell de Ferro on Sunday afternoon. Footage recorded on phones by witnesses showed a motorboat approaching the packed beach at high speed. The men, reportedly of North African origin, started diving into the water and...

The singer invited the band to perform ‘Buddy Holly’ and ‘Say It Ain’t So.’Olivia Rodrigo surprised the Lollapalooza crowd during her headlining set by inviting rock and roll giants Weezer on stage to perform a few classic tracks. Toward the end of her performance, she invited the band to join her on-stage, noting that Weezer was the first band she ever saw live. “You always remember your first concert. It’s a very, very special moment,” Rodrigo said. “I remember my first concert. It was a very memorable night. I watched this incredible band and I am so over the...

The group followed ‘Surfin’ Safari’ with the first song Brian Wilson ever wrote.The Beach Boys caught a wave and rode it into the US Top 10 for the first time in May 1963, when “Surfin’ U.S.A.” reached No.3. After an earlier Top 20 single with “Surfin’ Safari,” Brian Wilson’s adaptation of Chuck Berry’s melody really established the group as nationwide names. But the choice of follow-up single was going to be crucial. By August, following some singles co-written with Mike Love, it was time for Brian to get his initial credit as a solo writer, and for the first time...

They didn’t just lie. They hid the paper trail—until now. They didn’t just bury the truth. They sealed it in burn bags and locked it away inside FBI headquarters—marked for destruction before detection. But one man asked the right questions, found the right room, and uncovered the evidence before it went up in smoke. That’s right. The most consequential political scandal of a generation—the Russia Hoax—consumed the Democrat party, Never Trumpers, and the legacy media. Its narrative became a creed for the political left, even after it was debunked and discredited. Yet it lingers still, a scaffold upon which they...