A team led by Nobel Laureate Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, including scientists Drs. Xu Liu, Steve Ramirez, Pei-Ann Lin, Junghyup Suh, Michele Pignatelli, Roger L. Redondo and Tomas J. Ryan have reported in the journal Science that they have created a false memory in a mouse, a monumental discovery which sheds light on how such memories can form in human brains. 

For the full report click here to the story by James Gorman of the New York Times.

Dr. Tonegawa is the founder of the Picower institute for Learning and Memory, affiliated to the Riken-M.I.T. Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Note: July 29, 2017

Journalist Ann Curry's comments back in 2013 are as current and urgent as ever.

If anything, journalists are being challenged now more than ever. 

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New York City

Veteran broadcast journalist Ann Curry inspired and encouraged journalists to 'hang on.' She says while there is strain in the journalism industry there will also be opportuniity.

Photo by Lia Chang for AsianConnections.com

The  NBC network television reporter, anchor and international correspondent was the keynote presenter at the closing night gala of the Asian American Journalist Association's 23rd annual convention in New York City August 24, 2013.

The seven-time Emmy award-winner, wife and mother of two opened the gala with her passionate commentary about the state of journalism.

WPIX-TV's Arthur Chi'en introduced her to the audience. Here are excerpts of Curry's remarks (with more coverage of the convention to be posted soon):

Arthur: Let's get right into it. What is the state of journalism?

Ann: I think journalism is in a very interesting state of change. I say interesting because there is strain, and there is also opportunity.    People are very concerned about the future of journalism and yet did you know that enrollment in journalism schools is up? So there is this kind of awareness that there's an opportunity ahead.    Curry acknowledged the struggles of the journalism industry but said, "Rather than be afraid and close...

June 19, 2018

Los Angeles

A new day has dawned at the Los Angeles Times, the 136-year-old newspaper has a new owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Dr. Soon-Shiong is a biotech billionaire with a vision to revitalize the newspaper. He told the New York Times, "The newspaper is really important to bind the community." "It bound us in my world of South Africa, and it's really a voice for the people." 

(Photo credit: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Read about his interview to the New York Times "L.A. Times's New Owner Plans Big Moves. First Up, Relocating to the Suburbs."

Click here to the story about new owner Dr. Soon-Shiong by the Los Angeles Times writers Meg James and Andrea Chang. On Monday he announced that journalist Norman Pearlstine would become executive editor, a 50 year veteran in journalism, with an impressive career at Time Inc. magazines, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Forbes. 

 

TO LIE OR NOT TO LIE 

By Marilyn Tam

 

Scott Thompson, the four months old CEO of Yahoo, was forced to resign because he lied on his resume. Worse, he lied about his lying and was found out. He denied that he inserted an extra degree into his resume, and then he blamed the recruiting firm he worked with for doing so. The recruiting firm, wanting to maintain their reputation, showed that it was Mr. Thompson who lied. Net result is that Mr. Thompson now has much more time to contemplate the efficacy of lying. 

            The question is, what are we willing to tolerate in our leaders’ behavior and reflectively in our own? Lying is bad. We’ve been told that ever since we were little. Or have we? Haven’t we also been told, “don’t say that, it will make them feel bad”, and there are such things as “white lies”, as compared to I guess black lies, which are bad.

            So we have grown up with some sense of expediency in what we call lying. Why do people lie? Is it because there is a perception that one can get ahead faster by lying than by telling the truth? Why would someone who is already well credentialed and respected feel the need to embellish his or her story? Is it a basic human nature to try to appear more than we are?

            Insecurities and fear that we are not as good or confident...

Are You Truly Free?

By Marilyn Tam 


“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

      

      We are fortunate that we in the USA can enjoy basic freedom as a given. The things that bind us are more internal – the mental restrictions and “shoulds” that shape our thinking and our decisions subconsciously.

      These subconscious constraints confine us to a fixed set of expectations and view of the world.

       It locks us from truly being able to soar to our highest potential, inner peace and happiness. How can we break free? This is a three-step process. First by recognizing that we are prisoners of our beliefs.

Whatever we believe about ourselves and the world is what we are going to experience. If you are holding negative thoughts like, “I’m not good enough” or “Bad things happen to me”, then that is what you are going to create in at least some aspects of your life.

       No one consciously choose to hold limiting beliefs, and yet we all do to some extent. Our childhood conditioning, whether from family, school, other influential figures in our lives, or the mass media, often contain some negative programming. People’s intentions may have been good, but fear and limitation are commonly used to keep young, rambunctious and questioning children, and indeed all people, in...