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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
The mutualistic relationship between the acacia plant and a certain species of ant is fascinating: the plant produces an addictive chemical substance that attracts a certain species of ant, and the ant survives off this substance while providing protective benefits for the plant. As another example of the amazing ways in which plants leverage chemicals to their advantage, tomato plants that are overeaten by caterpillars have the ability to produce chemicals that induce cannibalism in caterpillars. How do plants know to respond in these ways? How do they know which chemicals to produce and when to produce them in order to protect themselves in these ingenious ways? According to Dr. Frantisek Baluska from the Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany at the University of Bonn in Germany, the answer is that plants have a rich mental life that is far more complex than previously thought. Although there is a growing body of research that suggests a form of true plant cognition, mainstream science still largely reserves words such as 'sentient', 'intelligent', and 'problem-solving' for humans only. But Dr. Baluska argues that plants are masters of chemistry and that this mastery indicates the presence of complex cognitive mechanisms similar to those found in the human nervous system. Dr. Baluska discusses a range of topics—all of which are the perfect mix of intriguing and informative, leading you into the world of the masters of chemistry. Tune in and visit https://www.thethirdwayofevolution.com/people/view/frantisek-baluska for more.
McKeown was a chronic asthmatic who suffered from regular wheezing and coughing for more than twenty years before he discovered the Buteyko Method. After mastering the method, he has been completely free of symptoms, as well as medication, since the late 90s. Today, McKeown is a qualified practitioner after training with Professor Buteyko, the originator of the method.
McKeown talks about his background and how his own struggles with issues such as asthma, constant stuffy nose, and mouth breathing motivated him to find a solution. As he explains, having these issues can seriously impact the quality of our sleep, and as such McKeown used to wake up very tired often, before discovering Buteyko.
Further, the Buteyko practitioner delves into the various techniques people can use to decongest their noses, to allow clearer breathing through the nose. The nose, in fact, is so important, that it is responsible for over 30 functions in the human body, so it's clear that we want to keep it clear! As McKeown explains, nasal issues that prevent quality nasal breathing can contribute to so many problems from dry mouth/inflammation, to learning difficulties, reduced IQ, decreased productivity, and much more.
The breathing expert talks about blood vessels and how breathing affects carbon dioxide levels. Blood circulation and breath are directly connected. Anxiety, depression, and high stress can greatly benefit from slower, fuller breathing. McKeown's book, Close Your Mouth, is a respected self-help book that offers an easy to follow, complete instruction set for the Buteyko Method, to help combat asthma, nasal congestion, and snoring. And the proof is in the results, as multiple clinical trials have proven that the Buteyko Method is highly effective and provides a true remedy for the reversal of asthma, resulting in 70% less coughing and wheezing, and an astounding 90% reduction in the need for reliever medication, and a remarkable 50% reduced need for preventer medication.
McKeown talks about how he works with clients to help them develop an exercise plan that works for them. He can measure their breathing during their first visit and ascertain how they will be able to function in various exercises and periods of physical exertion. Through the Buteyko method, many people have found relief from their nagging, lifelong problems, and McKeown is helping to spread the word to the world, to help people find real solutions to their debilitating health issues.
Gene Monterastelli, the founder of Tapping Q&A (tappingqanda.com), provides an overview of tapping as a therapy option to help people overcome obstacles in their lives.
Monterastelli earned his degree from the Catholic University of America. His vast experience in various therapeutic techniques includes hypnotism, guided imagery, NLP, parts work, as well as meridian based tapping protocols such as EFT.
Monterastelli talks about his background. He discusses how social anxiety led him to discover tapping. Monterastelli's road to recovery and healing from his anxiety issues were aided by this interesting therapeutic technique and he decided to share his knowledge with others in his eBook. His popular audiobook, Recovering Self: A Healing Manifesto is available for everyone, at no cost. Monterastelli recounts how his social anxiety had gotten so bad before he discovered the power of tapping, that he couldn't even call out his stop on airport shuttle buses, or help friends with favors that required a simple phone call to someone. In short, his life was in need of a solution, and he found it through tapping.
Monterastelli talks about studies regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture and how it has been proven to be a useful tool in pain management and also in battling depression and phobias. He discusses the early work of tapping therapy founder, Dr. Roger Callahan, who first decided to take the concept of acupuncture and adapt it to a form of healing using only hands and fingers to tap meridian points, abandoning the needles, to provide benefits to more people. However, the algorithms of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) are rather complex, and thus one of Callahan's students, a man by the name of Gary Craig, simplified the technique even more and thus became the founder of what we know today as EFT Tapping Therapy.
Monterastelli talks about the tool-sets that people can utilize within the context of this therapy. He talks about the basic tenets of tapping that include tuning in to your issue (physical pain or emotion) and then tapping points. By moving from tapping point to tapping point, and talking through the problem, you can then conquer the problem. Monterastelli talks about trauma and how much tapping could be necessary to find relief and to recover. He talks about the many and various issues that tapping can be utilized to combat.
The tapping expert discusses how tapping can be used in a clinical setting. He outlines how simply being present is important in the process. And he goes into detail about some of the kinds of issues that people can tackle by utilizing tapping. Monterastelli works with clients across the globe, one-on-one over the phone as well as through Skype. Some of the main areas he provides his expertise on are as follows: stress, limiting beliefs, anxiety, smoking, learning disabilities, pain management, and even relationship issues.
During his work as a doctoral student, Roman Teslyuk noticed that there was something missing in the world of geological research and mineral exploration: objective, big data analytics. In its place were less objective forms of localized analysis that were failing to take advantage of the massive amounts of archived data gathered from past research in the field. With the goal of advancing mineral exploration by leveraging all of the available data, Teslyuk founded Earth AI, a company that's focused on locating deposits of technology metals that are crucial components of growth in the high-tech industry, such as copper, zinc, nickel, lithium, and vanadium.
With the use of a geological AI training system that learns from geochemical, magnetic, radiometric and multi-spectral remote sensing data from previously explored regions, the AI system generalizes all of the data and develops predictions for which locations have the highest likelihood of metal deposits. It takes the Earth AI team just two weeks to cover 100 square miles of land; traditionally, it would take the same amount of people months to search different locations based only on signs of mineralization—a much more expensive and less efficient method. Earth AI's technology currently boasts a success rate that's 50 times greater than the industry's. Tune in for all the details, and visit earth-ai.com to learn more.
When businesses have high volumes of contracts that need to be negotiated on a regular basis, they usually do one of two things: hire a big law firm to do it for them or use their in-house legal team. However, there are several drawbacks to both of these options. For example, when a company leaves it to a big law firm to handle, they spend more money, lose visibility on the process, and never build long-term relationships with the lawyers who do the work for them. And when these contracts are dealt with on an in-house basis, time and attention are taken away from other, more pressing and high-value tasks within the business.
According to Lane Lillquist, co-founder of InCloudCounsel, there's a third, far superior solution that incorporates machine learning and not only provides a consistent stream of work for the attorneys who work for InCloudCounsel, but provides businesses with a personalized team of experts dedicated to the proper, efficient, and low-cost execution of their contract negotiations. In addition to discussing the ins and outs of how the service works, Lillquist talks about document abstracting, which is a process that is powered by machine learning and capable of scanning hundreds of pages of documents for answers to specific questions.
Learn more by visiting https://www.incloudcounsel.com/.
Meghna Thacker is a trusted doctor, thyroid expert, and celebrated author. Her book, Seven Steps to Heal Your Thyroid: A proven plan to Increase Energy, Elevate Mood & Optimize Weight is a must-read for anyone who wants to achieve better health and wellness. In this informative, interesting podcast, Dr. Thacker shares her vast knowledge of thyroid health and wellness.
Dr. Thacker has long been a passionate healer, particularly focused on thyroid disease, motivated by her own struggles with this frustrating, troublesome condition. Her book, Seven Steps to Heal your Thyroid, provides pertinent information to help everyone who suffers from thyroid issues—to increase their energy, elevate their mood, and achieve/maintain a healthy weight.
Dr. Thacker is a respected, licensed Naturopathic Physician in Arizona. She graduated from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine after successful completion of her bachelor's in Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery from Mumbai, India.
Dr. Thacker talks about her personal history battling Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism, gaining weight, losing her hair, and being frustrated with multiple symptoms when she was growing up in India. She talks about her experiences early on, medications, and the various effects of thyroid conditions. Dr. Thacker explains that it is important to find a doctor who truly understands thyroid issues because blood tests might show normal range results, but people are still suffering, thus you need a doctor who will dig deeper, to test and find a solution to the problem. The thyroid doctor talks about specific cases and patients, and how she worked to find an answer to each person's unique situation.
The thyroid naturopathic doctor talks about diet, supplements, botanical medicines, and micronutrient analyses that provide detailed information. Understanding things on the cellular level allows physicians to better strategize on appropriate treatment. And she explains thyroid balance and how the body detoxifies.
Dr. Thacker's holistic practice focuses heavily on helping women balance their hormones and treat their thyroid disorders naturally.
Rana Gujral, an investor, noted speaker, and CEO of Behavioral Signals, delivers an interesting overview of the current state of AI regarding communication and user experience.
Gujral has a proven track record in enterprise software, business building, and strategy, as well as emerging markets. Gujral's successful past accomplishments include his tenure as founder and CEO of TiZE Inc., a groundbreaking SaaS platform. Gujral was an essential member of the team for Cricut Inc. where he worked to build an innovative product for their DIY community which brought them to profitability within just 2 years. And earlier, Gujral held leadership positions with Logitech S.A. and Kronos Inc.
Gujral discusses the AI that they are developing which, remarkably, understands the emotional context of what we speak. Gujral and his predecessors have long pondered the question: can you truly have artificial intelligence machines without emotions? Gujral states that this emotional element is a critical piece of voice interactions. With voice recognition accuracy now reaching its necessary apex, emotion and interaction is the next great frontier. Communicating intent is crucial. It's not just what is being said, but how someone is saying it; context and emotion are the missing links that Gujral's company is innovatively bringing into the mix. Gujral states that we gather more emotional context from hearing someone speak, much more than viewing facial expressions even.
The technology expert and entrepreneur talks about various business use cases and how technology is enhancing our communication. He explains how agents can speak with clients and enhance their experience by utilizing the technology, as it provides helpful input that improves communication. For example, the tech can provide input about the call in real time that may provide a range of information from, 'you need to speak faster,' 'you sound angry, you should change your tone,' or 'the client sounds upset,' etc., real-time information that can help improve the communication and thus enhance the experience for all parties involved.
Gujral acknowledges that it is an exciting time for AI in general. AI is here and taking a more prominent role in all business transactions, and successful, forward-thinking companies are integrating AI technologies into their technology stacks, for improved communication, efficiency, and success.
Ethan Siegel, astrophysicist, author, science communicator, and educator, as well as a senior contributor for Forbes and other publications, delivers an insightful and thorough overview of space/time, black holes, and the physics that seeks to explain it all.
Siegel is an award-winning science writer and founder of the popular blog, Starts With A Bang. And he has two books currently available, Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive, and Beyond the Galaxy: How humanity looked beyond our Milky Way and discovered the entire Universe.
Siegel discusses the recent black hole photograph, obtained by using Event Horizon Telescope observations of the center of the galaxy M87, that created a buzz around the world. As Siegel states, nothing will be the same in physics afterward. He underscores the importance of this image. He states that the goal in science is to test and try to disprove, in order to cement theories. And Siegel explains, in great detail, how this image establishes the accuracy of Einstein's theory of relativity and other scientific ideas. Siegel explains Newton's theories and describes gravitational principles in regard to what we now understand about black holes.
The astrophysicist discusses the space-time continuum. He goes into detail about how space is being dragged faster than the speed of light in an event horizon, in regard to the acceleration of matter and differences of temperature. And he explains the fabric of space-time, in regard to what is happening in the event horizon, detailing information about the rotation of a black hole with an outer event horizon and an inner event horizon. Siegel explains the significance of these discoveries that again underscore the importance of the recent black hole photograph that Siegel states is one of the most consequential
moments in the science of the last decade.
Fine and gross motor skills, visual perceptual skills, and self-regulatory skills all play an important role in a young person's ability to participate in learning, playing, and socializing, but as an occupational therapist working with children, adolescents, and young adults, Lindsey Biel focuses on what she says underlies all of these skills and serves as the foundation for them: sensory processing. She provides the listener with an image of a paper plate that holds a hot dog, then a handful of chips, followed by some coleslaw; it isn't until it's asked to hold just a little bit of potato salad that the whole plate falls apart. "Teachers and parents need to figure out how much you can put on a person's paper plate before they fall apart, and as a therapist, I need to start building a stronger paper plate," says Biel. She goes on to explain how she goes about doing that, which is a process that always begins with a thorough assessment of the individual's strengths and challenges.
Biel explains that sensory sensitivities exist on a continuum, with what most people would consider "pet peeves" on one end and extreme, disabling sensitivities on the other. She also discusses the relationship between sensory sensitivities and autism, examples of the range of sensitivities people can experience, a growing body of science that points to the potential causes of sensory sensitivities, and how stress impacts an individual's already compromised ability to self-regulate.
Having been in the field for over 20 years and authored two books, Raising a Sensory Child and Sensory Processing Challenges: Effective Clinical Work with Kids & Teens, Biel is a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
Visit sensorysmarts.com for a downloadable sensory checklist, information on strategies for sensory difficulties, webcasts, and magazine articles, and check out Amazon or your local bookstore for her books.
According to Hakan Svedhem, the European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is a beast of a spacecraft, weighing in at 3.7 tons, but on board, you'll find very sensitive instruments, capable of detecting one molecule of methane out of 10 billion molecules of carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere. In addition to these sensitive pieces of technology referred to as spectrometers, you'll find a camera capable of generating 3D landscape images, and an instrument that can detect the presence of water molecules a meter deep in the surface of Mars.
Svedhem is a project scientist on the ExoMars mission and he joins the podcast to discuss a variety of topics, including how cosmic rays aid in the detection and quantification of water molecules, conflicting reports as to whether or not methane has been detected in the Martian atmosphere in the past, and if so, the significance of that finding, global dust storms and temperature fluctuation on Mars, and a bit about the launch of the ESA's Mars rover slated for 2021. Learn more about this and all the other projects going on within the ESA by visiting https://www.esa.int/ESA.
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