The results support yoga as a powerful therapy, but more broadly, reinforce the fact that our very genes are affected by our activities and moods. Pacific Standard writes:
Newly published research from Norway suggests that a yoga program rapidly produces internal changes on a genetic level. The results help explain the well-documented health benefits of this ancient practice.
“These data suggest that previously reported effects of yoga practices have an integral physiological component at the molecular level, which is initiated immediately,” writes a research team led by Fahri Saatcioglu of the University of Oslo.
The experiment featured 10 participants who attended a yoga retreat in Germany. For two days, participants spent two hours practicing a comprehensive yoga program and meditation. For the next two days, they spent that same time period going on a nature walk and then listening to jazz or classical music.
Immediately before and after each of the four sessions, the researchers drew blood from each participant. They then isolated and analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which play a key role in the body’s immune system. The researchers found that the nature walk and music-driven relaxation changed the expression of 38 genes in these circulating immune cells. In comparison, the yoga produced changes in 111.
The researchers note that yoga’s impact was far more widespread, which indicates the practice “may have additional effects over exercise plus simple relaxation in inducing health benefits through differential changes at the molecular level.”
When a subsidiary of Mark Zuckerberg’s new political group started airing ads for expanded oil drilling and the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, CREDO Action decided to post an ad of their own calling Zuckerberg out — on Facebook.
This morning, Facebook rejected CREDO’s Facebook ad (pictured right). According to CREDO Action, Facebook initially informed them they rejected the ad because it used Facebook trademarks — specifically, Zuckerberg’s image. Though the image used was fully licensed for creative commons use, a Facebook representative told ThinkProgress that any images of Zuckerberg are off-limits, as he is part of the Facebook brand. The rules governing Facebook brand usage specify “trademarks, names, domain names, logos” but does not explicitly restrict images of Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg’s group, FWD.US, is ostensibly focused on passing comprehensive immigration reform, with long-term goals of expanding scientific research and reforming education. However, the group soon started funding ads promoting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and constructing the Keystone XL pipeline. In the past, Zuckerberg has called for reducing fossil fuel usage in favor of more clean energy sources. FWD.US defended the ads as a way to shore up vulnerable Republican lawmakers who support immigration reform.
CREDO recently protested outside Zuckerberg’s recent fundraiser with Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), and decided to launch a Facebook advertising campaign “to make the connection about how political Mark Zuckerberg has become,” as CREDO told Politico. They’re not the only group taking to Facebook to challenge Zuckerberg’s political causes; the Sierra Club also asked members to share a graphic saying, “Zuckerberg promoting dirty fuels? DISLIKE.”
Mozilla has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a company that sells spyware allegedly disguised as the Firefox browser to governments. The action follows a report by Citizen Lab, which identifies 36 countries (including the US) hosting command and control servers for FinFisher, a type of surveillance software. Also known as FinSpy, the software is sold by UK-based Gamma International to governments, which use it in criminal investigations and allegedly for spying on dissidents.
Mozilla revealed yesterday in its blog that it has sent the cease and desist letter to Gamma "demanding that these illegal practices stop immediately." Gamma's software is "designed to trick people into thinking it's Mozilla Firefox," Mozilla noted. (Mozilla declined to provide a copy of the cease and desist letter to Ars.)
The spyware doesn't infect Firefox itself, so a victim's browser isn't at risk. But the spyware "uses our brand and trademarks to lie and mislead as one of its methods for avoiding detection and deletion" and is "used by Gamma’s customers to violate citizens’ human rights and online privacy," Mozilla said. Mozilla continues:
Through the work of the Citizen Lab research team, we believe Gamma’s spyware tries to give users the false impression that, as a program installed on their computer or mobile device, it’s related to Mozilla and Firefox, and is thus trustworthy both technically and in its content. This is accomplished in two ways:
1. When a user examines the installed spyware on his/her machine by viewing its properties, Gamma misrepresents its program as “Firefox.exe” and includes the properties associated with Firefox along with a version number and copyright and trademark claims attributed to “Firefox and Mozilla Developers.”
2. For an expert user who examines the underlying code of the installed spyware, Gamma includes verbatim the assembly manifest from Firefox software.
The Citizen Lab research team has provided us with samples from the following three instances that demonstrate how this misuse of our brand, trademarks and public trust is a designed feature of Gamma’s spyware products and not unique to a single customer’s deployment:
A spyware attack in Bahrain aimed at pro-democracy activists;
The recent discovery of Gamma’s spyware apparently in use amidst Malaysia’s upcoming General Elections; and
A promotional demo produced by Gamma.
Each sample demonstrates the exact same pattern of falsely designating the installed spyware as originating from Mozilla. Gamma’s own brochures and promotional videos tout one of the essential features of its surveillance software is that it can be covertly deployed on the person’s system and remain undetected.
The Citizen Lab report provides pictorial evidence of the impersonation:
FinFisher doesn't just masquerade as Firefox. The Citizen Lab report says it has also been used to target Malay language speakers by "masquerading as a document discussing Malaysia’s upcoming 2013 General Elections."
The countries where Citizen Lab identified FinFisher command-and-control servers are Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
We've asked Gamma if the company has a response to Mozilla's cease and desist letter but haven't heard back yet.
