Dementia and destiny

Geometry and Destiny

SUMMARY The recognition that the cosmological constant may be non-zero forces us to re-evaluate standard notions about the connection between geometry and the fate of our Universe. An open Universe can recollapse, and a closed Universe can expand forever. As a corollary, we point out that there is no set of cosmological observations we can perform that will unambiguously allow us to determine w...

Ayahuasca and human destiny.

In this essay, the author shares his personal reflections gleaned from a lifetime of research with ayahuasca, and speculates on the societal, political, planetary, and evolutionary implications of humanity's aeons-old symbiosis with this shamanic plant. The thesis is developed that at this critical historical juncture, ayahuasca has developed a strategy to broadcast its message to a wider world...

Providence, Freedom, and Human Destiny

Why genes aren't destiny.

The remote, snow-swept expanses of northern Sweden are an unlikely place to begin a story about cutting-edge genetic science. The kingdom's northernmost county, Norrbotten, is nearly free of human life; an average of just six people live in each square mile. And yet this tiny population can reveal a lot about how genes work in our everyday lives. Norrbotten is so isolated that in the 19th centu...

Polarity Is Destiny

The GTPase Cdc42 specifies polarity in various biological processes. Kesavan et al. (2009) now demonstrate that Cdc42 also regulates epithelial cell polarity in the developing mouse pancreas, where it is required for tubule formation and maintenance. Furthermore, the polarization of epithelial tissue influences the differentiation of pancreatic progenitor cells, linking cell polarity to cell sp...