“Discovery could lead to treatments for muscular dystrophy and ALS.”
Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles in mice that may provide new insight into the debilitating and fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
“Critical communication occurs at the point where nerves and muscles ‘talk’ to each other. When this communication between nerves and muscles is disrupted, muscles do not work properly,” said Michael Garcia, associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and the Bond Life Sciences Center. “In this study, we found that delivery of ‘the words’ a nerve uses to communicate with muscles was disrupted before they arrived at the nerve ending.”
This would be similar to the idea of someone opening their mouth to talk, but nothing comes out. The words are not there to come out, so no communication is transmitted to the other person.
SMA is caused by a protein deficiency present in all cells, including motor neurons. According to Garcia, this discovery also may shed light on other diseases involving motor neurons, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), and dysfunctions of the synapses, such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
SMA is characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles. While a person’s intellect is unaffected, this progressive disease slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, stand, sit, and eventually move at all. Currently, no cure or effective treatment exists for SMA.
“Moving involves an intricate system of communication between the brain, peripheral nerves, and muscles,” Garcia said. “Motor neurons facilitate this communication through a complex series of chemical signals. If the communication system breaks down, the motor neuron will stop working and muscle activity ceases. By learning where the system breaks down, perhaps we can target treatments that prevent the break down in the system.”
Results from this study are reported in the September 2011 issue of ACTA Neuropathology in a paper titled, “The spinal muscular atrophy mouse model, SMAD7, displays altered axonal transport without global neurofilament alterations.”
Garcia co-authored the report with Jeffrey M. Dale, Devin M. Barry, Virginia Garcia, Ferrill Rose, Jr. and Christian Lorson, all from the University of Missouri.
“Tulsidas humbly asks to have trust in Rama, to take strength in Rama, and to have complete faith in Rama’s holy name, the remembrance of which brings auspiciousness, well-being and fortunes.” (Dohavali, 38)
How can the poet’s teachings be interpreted otherwise? The Vedas, which are the original spiritual tradition of India dating back since time immemorial, provide different roadmaps towards ultimate salvation, the emancipation of the soul. Though religions today are often associated with dogmas, sectarian principles and sentimentalist traditions, the process of genuine self-realization can be described in scientific terms. Therefore the original Vedas never touch on different factions, for the concept of “
Though the specific practices implemented from a spiritual education can be many, the Vedas place them into three primary groups. One method is to follow fruitive activity and sacrifice the results to the object of worship, the Supreme Lord. The individual soul’s ultimate characteristic is to be a lover of God, and God’s position is to be loved. He too is spirit, but the quantitative presence of His features is much larger. He is the big soul, or Supersoul, while we are individual souls. In karma-yoga, the results of actions that normally benefit the body of the individual soul are sacrificed for the benefit of the Supreme Lord. Detachment steadily increases and the worker ideally realizes that their business is to serve God and no one else.
The third pathway is actually the culmination of every other system of maintenance. Bhakti-yoga is all-inclusive, as yoga is meant to result in pure love for God. For those who are already on the platform of pure love for Godhead, there is no need to explicitly practice any other type of yoga. Goswami Tulsidas was a proponent of bhakti-yoga, as he was practicing it all the time. What’s so wonderful about loving God is that when you act out your love, you don’t even consider that you are doing yoga. Since it is the dharma of the soul to be a lover of God, when activities are driven by this characteristic, there is no consideration given to the type of engagement adopted or the meaning behind it. In the spiritual world, where the influence of maya is absent, there is no such thing as bhakti, karma, or jnana. Everyone loves God, so there is no divergent behavior that can introduce distinctions. Darkness is there when light is absent, but if we had constant full illumination, we could never properly understand darkness. Similarly, when there is only love for God, there is no consideration given to self-realization, matter, or spirit.
Tulsidas knows that the Lord grants the wishes of those who have no desire to serve Him. If even the people driven by desires in karma, or fruitive activity, get the benefits or punishments that are due them, we can just imagine how much more seriously the desires of the devotees are taken. Tulsidas was very famous during his time, as his 
The poet also asks that Shri Rama be his strength. Again, depending on the body type, different objects serve as fuel. The strength for the tiger is the animal flesh that it eats. For the teacher, his strength is the knowledge he acquires, for without it he couldn’t teach others. The source of strength is what sustains us, so by asking that Rama, through His name, be his only strength, Tulsidas doesn’t want to ever consider anything else as being the source of his existence, his reason for living. He wants that if he has to live, the source of his life breath, what gets him out of bed every morning, should be Rama and His name.
The holy name of Rama transcends the boundaries of thought and endeavor because it is a direct representation of the Supreme Lord. We may chant the name of our beloved or the name of a particular object, but doing so will not bring us their association. But since God is absolute, His name is as powerful as His personal presence. This secret was well known to Tulsidas, and since he was deserving of so much, he made sure to ask his beloved Rama for the only worthwhile benediction. Just as the poet’s wish was to only have reliance on the holy name, our wish is to only have faith, reliance and strength in the poet’s wonderful works, for through them the power of bhakti and the benevolence of its beneficiary are revealed.
“When the Lord was on the lap of His mother, He would at once stop crying as soon as the ladies surrounding Him chanted the holy names and clapped their hands. This peculiar incident was observed by the neighbors with awe and veneration.” (Shrila 
What is Vaikuntha? An area free of anxiety is the definition of the word, but the proper noun specifically refers to the spiritual land inhabited by the personal form of the Lord. God is one, but depending on how His mercy is viewed and utilized, the understanding from the target individual’s perspective can vary. At the very bottom of the ladder of understanding, there is no direct perception of God. Rather, the results of spiritual action are taken to be the causes themselves. For instance, we’ll see the sun rising and setting and the clouds pouring rain down onto land and take such forces to be the beginning and end. Or worse, we’ll think that we can manipulate these gifts of nature to increase our own position. Once a satisfactory ascendency is reached, we’ll declare ourselves to be supreme.
Again, this understanding comes from how the reflection of God’s potencies are realized. In this understanding there is no knowledge of the Personality of Godhead, nor what He looks like, nor what His relationship to the living entities is. With the Vedas, the authorized scriptural tradition emanating from India, there is much more evidence provided about God and His energies. In the Vedas the potency of the Supreme Spirit is reflected almost completely, without any degradation in signal. If we relay a specific network connection across many hops, there will be a delay and an increased chance of packet loss. This is why if we’re connecting to a website hosted across the globe, there is increased latency in the connection.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s advent was one of those special occasions. In previous eras, Krishna came to deal with miscreants and evil elements. The saintly class of men will always be around in society, though their level of prominence may vary. Even if the saints are well represented, there will always be evil elements looking to diminish their influence. If the saintly class faces too much harassment, Krishna comes to the scene to do away with the inhibitors. By providing such protection, the principles of real religion are maintained.
The word hari can mean “lion”, “monkey”, or “one who removes distresses”. It is one of Krishna’s most famous names because of His ability to remove distresses from His devotees. Lord Chaitanya and His associates, like His elder spiritual brother Lord Nityananda, would make the exclamation, “Haribol”, famous through their preaching. This simple expression begs others to chant the names of Hari, just as the mothers caring for young Nimai did.
For His behavior, for His characteristics, for His ability to be pleased only by hearing Krishna’s names, Lord Chaitanya garnered respect right from the time of His birth. He would go on to spread the glories of Krishna-kirtana throughout India. The best way to honor Him is to regularly chant Krishna’s names in the same way that the residents of Navadvipa did in His youth. Lord Chaitanya begs everyone to find their constitutional position as servant of God. He sheds tears of sadness seeing the condition of the fallen souls in the Kali Yuga, and He bursts with affection when He sees anyone sincerely singing the glories of the beloved Hari.
