Key to immune function found

THE WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE

Share on print The protein, A1, is crucial to the survival of many immune cells, according to the research, which will help scientists understand more about diseases of the immune system.  Image: Eraxion/iStockphoto An international team of researchers has discovered that many of the body’s infection-fighting immune cells require a cell survival protein, called A1, to develop and function. Their finding could lead to a better understanding of conditions including leukaemia, allergy and autoimmunity. The team discovered that without A1, immune cells called lymphocytes and granulocytes could not develop, or could not respond appropriately to infectious stimuli. A1 is part of the Bcl-2 protein family, which controls the survival of cells. The research team developed a method of depleting A1 from immune cells, allowing them to study the development and function of immune cells lacking A1. The findings were published online last month in the journal Blood. The research was jointly led by Dr Marco Herold, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Molecular Genetics of Cancer division, and Dr Andreas Villunger of Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, a former postdoctoral researcher at the institute. Dr Herold, who began the research while at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, said the discovery had surprised many scientists working in the area.  “For more than a decade, we have known that cell survival proteins such as Bcl-2 are important for immune cell development and function,” he said. “A1 proved more difficult to work with than other, closely related, proteins so many researchers ignored it. Our work has shown that A1 has many important roles in the immune system.” Ms Eleonora Ottina, a student visiting the institute from the Molecular Cell Biology and Oncology post-graduate program at Innsbruck Medical University, said the discovery had opened the door to several new fields of research into human disease.  “It is well known that conditions including leukaemia, allergy, and autoimmune conditions, such as lupus, can be caused by the survival of defective or unwanted immune cells, which should normally die,” she said. “Our research has shown that A1 is important for immune cell development and survival, and has given us the tools to deplete cells of A1 protein. We are now working to determine whether the presence of A1 in cells is necessary for the development of leukaemia, autoimmunity or allergy. If it is, depleting or functionally blocking A1 could be a new treatment for these diseases.” The research was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Tiroler Krebshilfe and the German Research Council. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Chanting Om

“The devotees directly fix their minds on the Person of the Absolute Truth. But one who is unable to accommodate such personal features of the Absolute is disciplined in impersonality to train the mind to make further progress.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.17 Purport) So you’re having trouble accepting the fact that the Supreme Absolute Truth can be a personality with an exquisitely beautiful form. If it’s just too much to believe that the person the rest of the world refers to as God can have two hands that hold a flute, a peacock feather in His hair, and the most enchanting smile anyone has ever seen, the defiance is still no justification for rejecting spiritual life altogether. Rather, there are gradual steps available to accommodate any person along the train of purification of consciousness. The sacred syllable om is the trusted source for spiritual contact for one who has yet to taste the sweet nectar of Krishna’s association. The taste can only come through contact within the proper mood. On my way to work I can see a pizza pie in a shop every day for years on end, but unless I actually buy a slice and eat the dish I won’t know how good it tastes. In a similar manner, giving a passing glance to Krishna, hearing His name without attention, or just reading about some of His activities without the requisite attitude will not elicit the proper emotional response within the recipient. So many personalities are purported to be God, so healthy skepticism in this regard is generally a good thing. After all, why would I want to believe what someone else tells me just on blind faith? I have a value to add to society with my ability to work, so why should I waste any effort doing something whose validity I’m not entirely confident of? If there is hesitancy with believing in Krishna’s divinity, there is still His impersonal feature which can be contemplated upon. In the state of ignorance there is also worship, but the object of attention is the external energy, which is known as maya. “That which is not” is the way to define the Supreme Lord’s illusory energy. You look in the mirror and check out your hair and assess whether or not you look good, but you’re not seeing who you really are. That picture in the mirror changes at every second, and over the course of many years those changes are easier to notice. Yet you are the same person today that you were when you emerged from the womb. In between that time there was no exit from your current form followed by a reentry. The identifying aspect within you is known as the soul. That energy which you think represents you but really doesn’t is known as maya. In the basic scientific analysis, there is the understanding that all individual forces of life are spirit and not this illusory energy. But to understand these facts is difficult even when learning them from authorized sources. Therefore there are techniques that can be used to keep that realization within your mind, allowing you to act off of it. After all, knowing such valuable pieces of information should influence the way you behave. If I do eat that slice of pizza that I’ve been seeing for so long, it may not be important to me what the ingredients are. What does it matter to me what goes into the dish if I’m only interested in tasting it? But knowledge of spirit and matter is helpful because it can positively influence behavior in all areas. Every kind of misery is due to ignorance of these laws of the spiritual science, and so when that ignorance is slashed away by the sword of knowledge, you can automatically find a pleasurable condition in situations that were previously only conducive to pain and heartache. “In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has achieved this enjoys the self within himself in due course of time.”  (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.38) A primary source of distress is death, which has an accompanying negative force known as fear. Just as the ripened fruit has no other fear than to fall, the mature human being has no other worry than eventual death. Under the system of transcendental knowledge, the fear relating to the exit from the body is unfounded, as the vibrant spiritual force cannot be killed. This is the most difficult fact to realize and remember on an ongoing basis because once the soul does exit the body, we are no longer privy to its location. While it is within the moving form, we can tell that the spirit is present based on the autonomous functions of the living being. “After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets.”  (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.13) One way to understand these higher truths and use them to your benefit is to chant the sacred syllable om.Om is the sound vibration representation of the Absolute Truth. Know that spirit is not affected by duality. Spirit is neither up nor down; neither hot nor cold. Spirit is pure truth; it is unchanging. Since every living being is spirit, there is an aggregate total which is called Brahman in the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India. Om directly addresses Brahman, and through chanting that sound one can hopefully remain aware of their true nature as spirit. Accompanying the chanting of om are several important restrictions. The aim is to understand that you are spirit and not matter, so obviously you have to get rid of the prior behavior that was based off your misunderstanding. If you used to drink heavily to become intoxicated to escape the influence of the senses, you will no longer do that if you know that drinking is bad for you. That is just one type of behavior based on illusion, the association with the body, so we can imagine just how many other activities there are that further strengthen the bond to the temporary form and its relationships. So within the routine of connecting with Brahman, there are restrictions on the most sinful behaviors. This guiding principle is known as vairagya, or renunciation. If there is a serious desire to chant om and understand the Absolute Truth, then the more renunciation the better. The more distractions you can take away , the better chance you will have for staying Brahman realized. This path of spiritual life is considered very difficult due to the present circumstances in society. Dharma is the occupational duty of the living entity that helps keep them Brahman realized, but in the current age of quarrel and hypocrisy there is so much cheating that dharma is difficult to decipher. Rather than accept the true principles of religion from the beginning of life, there is constant competition between factions who each essentially make up their own meaning to life and how to fulfill it. “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.”  (Lord Krishna, Bg. 18.54) The path of personal worship is superior in both ease of implementation and end reward. Brahman has a source, as it is just the spiritual light beaming off of the incredibly effulgent Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the cherished end for the truly wise, who are able to accept that a person is behind these intricate concepts such as Brahman and maya. Though it may be difficult to accept His existence due to the defiant attitude solidified through many births in a temporary land, the association in the proper mood is what reveals the truth to His existence. The practice of the principles of spiritual life aimed at understanding Brahman can get one properly situated to understand and relish the Supreme Lord’s personal features. And who isn’t attracted by attractiveness? Krishna is the most beautiful, and this beauty is present in all aspects that directly represent Him. His name is one of these non-different aspects, so just bychanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, you can get the same benefit of chanting om and much more. The personality traits, features and pastimes accompany the name of Krishna, and with those additional aspects you get many more items of contemplation. You can also offer service to a personality, whereas with an impersonal force all you can do is meditate. The service to Krishna comes in the form of chanting His names, visiting places of relevance to Him, reading books about Him, and associating with others who are devoted to Him. The entire collection of available activities is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. It is the easiest discipline to implement but the most difficult to accept with conviction. The humble attitude in surrender is required to feel the bliss of Krishna’s association, and the more that attitude strengthens, the more pleasure there is for the devotee. The impersonal force of Brahman is simultaneously understood by Krishna’s servant, who learns to not only see Brahman everywhere but to also appreciate its influence and how the illusory energy of maya can play such wonderful tricks. Om itself is a wonderful benediction, as it allows any person to make progress along the proper spiritual path, irrespective of their initial inclination. In Closing: On worshiping personal form you’re not keen, As never to you has a blue god with flute been seen. Though not ideal, this obstinacy can still be okay, For to understand God there are many different ways. With firm faith the sacred syllable om you can say, Thus understand impersonal Brahman you may. But know that this path has many a restriction, To know Brahman and worship matter a contradiction. On the other hand, if you follow bhakti’s course, You can know Krishna, Brahman’s original source. Process of chanting om from Him has come, Thus in benevolence He is number one. In the proper mood chant Krishna’s names instead, The soul with much needed spiritual nectar to be fed.

Dream Nature

Mindblowing Macro Photography !

Try to See a Possibility in Every Situation

There was a multi-national company making shoes. In order to assess the level of demand for their shoes, the Director of the company deputed a manager to a country in Africa. The manager cut short his tour with a report, `We cannot sell any shoes in that country!' When asked for an explanation, he said, `People walk bare footed; No one wears shoes there. Hence no potential.'

The Director was not a man to accept `No' for an answer. So he sent another man to study the situation. On his return, jumping with great joy, he declared, `There is a huge market for our shoes in that country!'

`How is that?' asked the Director.

`People walk bare footed; no one wears shoes in the whole country! Hence huge potential for our product' was the reply.

This is what we have to learn from the above story. Every person's experience is different in situations like work, trade, home But, all experiences can be categorized into two types  good and bad. Whatever the experience, if a lesson can be learnt from it, it is a good one!

   Thomas Alva Edison, invented the electric bulb, did not succeed in his very first attempt. He invented it only after almost one thousand failures. Someone once asked him, `You made one thousand experiments. Out of them, 999 failed and only one succeeded. Isn't it?

For that, his reply was, `How can you say that I did not find out anything during 999 experiments? To invent one working bulb, I learnt how not to make 999 non-working ones!'

In every situation, see a possibility; like the manager saw the possibility of selling shoes in a place where people were not wearing shoes.

Borobudur

In the 19th century, Dutch occupiers of Indonesia found a massive ancient ruin deep in the jungles of Java. What they discovered was the complex of Borobudur, a gigantic structure built with nearly 2 million cubic feet (55,000 m³) of stones. The temple has nearly 2,700 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
Until today, no one knows for sure when and why it was built, nor the reason for its complete abandonment hundreds of years ago. Some scholars believe that Borobudur is actually a giant textbook of Buddhism, as its bas reliefs tell the story of the life of Buddha and the principles of his teachings. To "read," a pilgrim must make his way through nine platforms and walk a distance of over 2 miles.

There is no definite written record of who built Borobudur or why it was built. It was likely founded as a religious site in the 8th century at the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in central Java. The construction is thought to have taken a period of 75 years, and completed in about 825 A.D.

The haphazard jumble of Hinduism and Buddhism from this period in Java's history can be baffling for visitors. Together with the records of many royal marriages between Hindu and Buddhist nobles, many Hindu and Buddhist monuments were constructed in the region at this time. For example, Borobudur and the nearby Hindu Prambanan temple complex were more or less contemporaneous. This, together with many records of royal marriages between Hindu and Buddhist nobles, has led academics to believe that there was little serious conflict concerning religion in central Java at this time.

Borobudur lay abandoned and hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and thick jungle growth. Nobody knows for sure why it was abandoned, although the popular theories are that the local population just became disinterested when there were mass conversions to Islam in the 15th century, or they were simply driven away by a large volcanic eruption. It was never forgotten entirely though, with local folklore ensuring that stories of the great monument lived on.

The Borobodur Temple complex is one of the greatest monuments in the world. It is of uncertain age, but thought to have been built between the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth century A.D. For about a century and a half it was the spiritual centre of Buddhism in Java, then it was lost until its rediscovery in the eighteenth century.

The structure, composed of 55,000 square meters of lava-rock is erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of six rectangular storeys, three circular terraces and a central stupa forming the summit. The whole structure is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha.

One of the ninety-two Dhyani Buddha statues enclosed in stupas

For each direction there are ninety-two Dhyani Buddha statues and 1,460 relief scenes. The lowest level has 160 reliefs depicting cause and effect; the middle level contains various stories of the Buddha's life from the Jataka Tales; the highest level has no reliefs or decorations whatsoever but has a balcony, square in shape with round walls: a circle without beginning or end. Here is the place of the ninety-two Vajrasattvas or Dhyani Buddhas tucked into small stupas. Each of these statues has a mudra (hand gesture) indicating one of the five directions: east, with the mudra of calling the earth to witness; south, with the hand position of blessing; west, with the gesture of meditation; north, the mudra of fearlessness; and the centre with the gesture of teaching.

Devotional practice of circumambulate around the galleries and terraces.

Besides being the highest symbol of Buddhism, the Borobodur stupa is also a replica of the universe. It symbolises the micro-cosmos, which is divided into three levels, in which man's world of desire is influenced by negative impulses; the middle level, the world in which man has control of his negative impulses and uses his positive impulses; the highest level, in which the world of man is no longer bounded by physical and worldly ancient desire.

It is devotional practice to circumambulate around the galleries and terraces always turning to the left and keeping the edifice to the right while either chanting or meditating. In total, Borobodur represents the ten levels of a Bodhisattva's life which he or she must develop to become a Buddha or an awakened one.