As we step into the new year, many uncertainties loom before us. For many, president-elect Trump holds a promise for a better future. Others fear this change. But even those who are hopeful surely see that bringing back industry will not be an easy, if at all a possible feat, that the economy will be difficult to revive, and that global instability is hitting unprecedented heights.
Something of importance has passed from the world with 2016, along with the many celebrities and public personas that have left us. It was a certain feeling that we knew our world and our realities.
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The coming year feels much more like unknown territory than ever before. Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s word of the year for 2016 was « surreal.  » With Brexit, Trump, the shocking terror attacks we have seen, and the many other incidents that took people by surprise, for better or worse, there is a sense that the very rules of the game that we had come to know, are changing.
This shift in our lives may seem scary, but it actually heralds a profound positive transformation. In Hebrew, the word “ mashber ” (crisis) also denotes the place of birth. It signifies that when things seem to be falling apart, it is a sign that something new wants to take their place. Now is exactly that time.
Evolution in the Works
Despite common thought, human evolution has not ended. In their book , The Ten Thousand Year Explosion , Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending wrote of how culture has increased human evolution: “Human evolution did not stop when anatomically modern humans appeared, or when they expanded out of Africa. It never stopped—and why would it?” They explain that culture is often defined as artistic expression, science, technology, morals and laws, for example; but can also be defined as shared, learned social behavior. From their perspective, humans are a species so dependent on culture and technology that cultural adaptation has replaced biological adaptation.
Over the decades, humans have gone through enormous incremental cultural changes at a constantly accelerating pace. Yet we now witness the end of an era. Something in our cultural development seems to have been slowing down and gradually coming to a halt. Human egoism, our desire to progress, conquer, and succeed – the very engine that has been driving us forward- has run its course.
We cannot develop further through the same form of competition. This is evident with the younger generations that have lost the motivation of their predecessors to succeed and advance in the career world. The pleasure derived from work is diminishing, as well as the desire to marry and have children. As our culture becomes a consumerism stricken addiction to smartphones, while depression , anxiety and loneliness are skyrocketing, there is a great loss of meaning in life. Many find refuge in drugs, so it is no wonder governments themselves are working to legalize them to avoid the chaos that a bored, misguided, and frustrated public would inflict upon society.
The Path Beneath Our Feet
The world is searching for a new path. However, it cannot be found on the same level we are on now. The truth of the ineffectiveness of all previous methods for achieving our common goals is being revealed with great intensity. We have been publicly acknowledging the grand failure of liberal democracy to achieve the equality, cohesion and harmony it promised to achieve in our societies. The failure of capitalism to provide opportunities for all is evident with the constantly growing economic gaps. The failure to achieve continued economic growth, while preserving our planet and ecosystem is bringing us to the brink of a climate catastrophe , and then there is the failure to achieve international cooperation to deal with the many security issues that are at hand… and the list goes on.
Much like the caterpillar that has eaten all it could and then cocoons itself in a dark and cramped space, where its old form disintegrates to become the nourishment and building blocks for an entirely new creature to emerge, so is humanity now experiencing the end of its egoistic developmental stage. The cocoon is dark and so too does our future seem uncertain, as our institutions break down. However, despite the gloom of the situation, the blueprints for our imminent, improved form already exist.
Within the amorphous soup of the self-digested caterpillar are certain highly organized groups of cells, known as “imaginal discs”, which survive the digestive process. These cells become the organs of the butterfly, a completely new creature. Humanity too, is on the brink of discovering a new form in its evolution. Yet, unlike the caterpillar, it must consciously achieve it.
In 2017 It’s Connection, or Else…
Evolutionary biologist, Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris, explains that there is a repeating pattern in evolution where aggressive competition leads to the threat of extinction, which is then avoided by the formation of cooperative alliances. In nature, new forms appear through the connection of molecules and organisms that did not connect in the same way before. To move forward, humanity must emulate nature and discover its new form, through new connections between its parts.
So far, we have seen attempts to form “unions”, such as the EU, that have proven false. These have been unities of banks, hegemonies of wealth and power, but none have successfully attempted to create actual unity between people. We have been sold a concept of unity that only serves the elites. Those who do not belong to the upper thousandth percentile went along with it, as they were conned to see the world through the warped brainwash of bought media. However, the natural process of development that humanity is undergoing will still have its way.
Just as the Russian attempt to force communism on their people didn’t last, America and every other nation in the world will not succeed, until they understand nature’s law of evolution through connection. The only way to repair the economy, politics, culture, education, families and everything else in our society that needs change is through the true healing of human relations.
Postponing this solution is dangerous, for when the stress between our behavior and the natural course of evolution becomes too great, we find ourselves in crisis that is hard to escape. A revolution comes along or a war, to somehow shift the order.
Education Is Key
To step onto the right track, we need to learn from societies that have managed to form the connection between people that is now necessary for humanity. For centuries, Jews have focused on education that would create thriving societies that contain mutual support, trust, and positive development. Often overlooked, Jewish wisdom is steeped in teachings of unity and love. Rabbi Nachman wrote, “The essence of life and existence, and correction of all of creation is in people of different opinions integrating together in love, unity and peace” Likutey Halachot (Assorted Rules).
The nation of Israel was originally founded in ancient Babylonian times, around the study of how to « love others as yourself ». Before they gathered around Abraham to receive this teaching, they were just ordinary Babylonians, living their simple, natural lives. Under Abraham they underwent a process that molded them into people who knew themselves and understood others; that knew how to treat each other, how to treat nature, animals, trees and the world around them.
Principles of how to relate correctly to others and to the world at large became unique attributes of this great ancient culture. They include learning how to avoid criticism of others, how to help others through example, without coercion, as is written: « do not judge your fellow man until you have been in his position » ( Pirkei Avot 2:5 ). Teachings were unique to each individual, as implied in the instruction to, « Train a child in the way he should go » ( Proverbs 22:6 ), bringing each individual to fulfill their potential in the best way possible for the benefit of the whole.
In our culture, we are not taught to rise above our self- centered nature; but the people of Israel were taught how to be connected « as one man with one heart », and to care for one another in mutual guaranty. It demanded practice, which began at a very young age and lasted throughout their lifetime. The entire nation underwent this process in the days of Abraham and later with Moses during the 40 years in the desert. Only when they were completely ready to unite as one nation, did they enter the land of Israel.
Before the destruction of the Temple, the people of Israel thrived in an atmosphere of mutual care; but even after the great exile, the foundations and practices they managed to maintain allowed them to survive even the most difficult hardships.
Though its original form was forgotten by most of the Jewish people, many have been calling to revive the method that is also referred to as « the internality of Torah », not only for the sake of Israel, but also for the sake of humanity. Rabbi Kook wrote, « The exile decreased our unique character and oppressed us, but it did not destroy even a fraction of our true qualities. All that we were is still with us, all that needs to be great though small, withered and worn out, shall grow and blossom once more » ( Orot p. 84).
This practical method of connection, which was never intended for the Jewish people alone, has been awaiting these very times to help humanity make the evolutionary leap it must make. The Jewish people were « chosen » to be a prototype, the imaginal discs that would open up a new form for humanity’s existence when the time was ripe.
The Year Ahead
As the world advances without real connection, it will reach a bursting point and will come to Israel in demand. Israel must begin to live up to its forgotten destiny and export its educational startup, and fast. I believe that the common threat of terrorism will be one major force that drives humanity to connect in the near future. However, the path to actualize positive change in the coming year and the ones to follow must come through education, and our willingness to grasp where our natural evolution is leading us.
Michael Laitman is a Professor of Ontology, a PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah, an MSc in Medical Bio-Cybernetics, and was the prime disciple of Kabbalist, Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag (the RABASH). He has written over 40 books, which have been translated into dozens of languages. Click Here to visit his author page.
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The research looked at six million adults living in Ontario, Canada between 2001 and 2012, and found that those living less than 50 metres (yards) from a busy road had a seven percent higher incidence of dementia.
The risk was four percent above normal for those living 50-100 metres from main roads and two percent higher among those 100-200 metres away.
There was no discernable elevated risk among people living more than 200 metres from a major route.
The study, led by Hong Chen from Public Health Ontario, found that long-term exposure to two common pollutants — nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulates — were associated with dementia but did not account for the full effect.
This suggested that other factors — such as noise or other pollutants — may play a contributing role.
The research did not establish any link between proximity to heavy traffic and other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease or multiple sclerosis.
According to the World Health Organization, 47.5 million people worldwide have dementia — a syndrome marked by deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities.
Some 7.7 million new cases of dementia are reported every year, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common cause and contributing to 60-70% of cases.
Other causes of dementia include stroke and hypertension.
Pollution has long been suspected as playing a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease but no clear link had been established until now.
« Our study suggests that busy roads could be a source of environmental stressors that could give rise to the onset of dementia, » Hong said.
« Increasing population growth and urbanisation has placed many people close to heavy traffic, and with widespread exposure to traffic and growing rates of dementia, even a modest effect from near-road exposure could pose a large public health burden. « 

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In 2009 a court ordered the state to create and implement an awareness programme for muthi market wildlife trade – but almost seven years on its still being conceptualised.
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Paris – A mysterious type of radio wave from deep space, discovered only a decade ago, has been traced to a precise source for the first time, astronomers said on Wednesday.
So-called fast radio bursts (FRBs) picked up in 2016 by a telescope in New Mexico likely emanated from a dwarf galaxy about three billion light years from Earth, the scientists reported in the journal Nature.
FRBs flash only for an micro-instant, and can emit as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun does in 10 000 years.
Exactly what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum remains the subject of intense debate.
The new discovery will not settle the issue, but it definitively eliminates several theories that had been in the running, scientists said.
There have been 18 fast radio bursts registered since 2007, but only one – observed in 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and dubbed FRB 121102 – recurred numerous times.
That prompted a team of scientists led by Shami Chatterjee of Cornell University to prepare in case it happened again.
The idea paid off: in 83 hours of observation over six months, the Karl G Jansky multi-antenna array of radio telescopes – more powerful that any to have spotted a FRB in the past – detected nine distinct pulses.
« We now know that this particular burst comes from a dwarf galaxy more than three billion light years from Earth, » Chatterjee said in a statement.
The discovery does not answer the core question of what produces these strange emanations that long escaped the notice of professional star-gazers.
« Still, even without a clear answer, the finding is a real game-changer, » said Heino Falcke, an astronomer at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands who was not involved in the research.
‘Not in our backyard’
Until recently, many experts speculated that FRBs are produced by cataclysmic events such as stars exploding into supernovas, or neutron stars collapsing into black holes.
While it is possible that these one-off scenarios also produce such bursts, all of them are inconsistent with multiple pulses such as those generated by FRB 121102.
The new data also dispels another widely discussed possibility, explained Shriharsh Tendulkar, a scientist at McGill University in Montreal.
« Before we knew the distance to any FRBs, several proposed explanations for their origins said they could be coming from within, or near, our own Milky Way, » he said.
Such a close source can now be ruled out – at least in this case.
« It’s not something in our backyard, » said co-author Casey Law, an astronomer at the University of California in Berkeley.
That still leaves plenty of room for speculation.
One of the top candidates, the astronomers suggested, is a neutron star – possibly a type known as a magnetar – surrounded by material ejected by a supernova explosion.
A neutron star – small but extremely dense – is formed by the gravitational collapse of a star not quite massive enough to produce a black hole when it explodes.
A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field.
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New guidelines turning conventional wisdom on its head may help prevent life-threatening peanut allergies in future generations of children.
The guidelines from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), published today, call for introducing peanuts early into the diets of infants in order to reduce the risk they will go on to develop that allergy.
“This update to the peanut guidelines offers a lot of promise,” allergist Dr. Stephen Tilles, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), said in a statement. “Peanut allergy has literally become an epidemic in recent years, and now we have a clear roadmap to prevent many new cases moving forward.”
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According to a 2013 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among children increased approximately 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.
The prevalence of peanut allergies specifically rose more than three-fold to 1.4 percent of children in 2010, from 0.4 percent in 1997, according to a study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
The advocacy group Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) says food allergies result in 200,000 emergency room visits each year. Outside of the hospital, food allergies are the leading cause of anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction that disrupts breathing and causes a sudden drop in blood pressure.
“Peanut allergy can be fatal , is usually lifelong and has no cure. Considering a dramatic increase in prevalence of peanut allergy over the past decades, affecting estimated 1-2 percent of infants and young children in the U. S., there is a dire need for prevention,” said Dr. Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn, an associate professor of pediatrics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a researcher at the Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute.
The new guidelines define high, moderate and low-risk infants for developing peanut allergy, and how to proceed with introduction based on that risk.
“If your child is determined to be high risk, the new guidelines recommend evaluation by an allergy specialist, which may involve peanut allergy testing, followed by trying peanut for the first time in the specialist’s office,” allergist Matthew Greenhawt, ACAAI Food Allergy Committee chair, and a co-author of the guidelines, said in a statement. “If a child is tested and found to have peanut sensitization, meaning they have a positive allergy test to peanut, from that positive test alone we still don’t know if they’re truly allergic. Peanut allergy is only diagnosed if there is both a positive test and a history of developing symptoms after eating peanut-containing foods.”
Having a peanut sensitivity doesn’t mean an infant has a peanut allergy, the authors stress. In fact, a recent study confirmed, “infants sensitized to peanuts showed the most benefit from early introduction of peanut-containing foods,” Greenhawt said.
Infants with a positive peanut skin test have small amounts of peanut fed to them the first time in the specialist’s office. From there, the family can decide with their doctor whether to proceed with giving the child peanut products or to completely avoid them.
Children considered moderate risk – those with mild to moderate eczema who have already started solid foods – do not need an evaluation, the recommendations state. These infants can have peanut-containing foods introduced at home by their parents starting around 6 months of age. Parents should consult with their child’s pediatrician if they have any questions about how to proceed.
Children with no eczema or egg allergy are considered low risk and can be introduced to peanut-containing foods according to the family’s preference, also around 6 months.
The new guidelines are based off the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study , first published in 2015 and considered to be groundbreaking by the medical community. Prior to that study, allergists recommended that young infants avoid consuming peanuts to prevent allergies. But the results of the LEAP study showed that early introduction of peanuts dramatically decreased the risk of developing a peanut allergy by 70 to 80 percent.
Nowak-Wegrzyn acknowledges that the new method may be anxiety-producing for worried parents, but emphasizes that it will play a key role in prevention.
“The stakes are too high,” she told CBS News. “We cannot cure peanut allergies once it’s there, so if there’s a chance to prevent it, it’s like Benjamin Franklin said, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’”

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Science fiction has long imagined a future in which humans are ousted from their jobs by machines.
For 34 staff at a Japanese insurance firm, that vision just became a reality.
Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance is laying off the employees and replacing them with an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can calculate insurance payouts.
The firm believes it will increase productivity by 30%.
It expects to save around 140m yen (£979,500 / $1.2m) a year in salaries after the 200m yen AI system is installed later this month.
Maintenance of the set-up is expected to cost about 15m yen annually.
Japan’s Mainichi reports that the system is based on IBM Japan Ltd’s Watson, which IBM calls a « cognitive technology that can think like a human ».
IBM says it can « analyze and interpret all of your data, including unstructured text, images, audio and video ».
Fukoku Mutual will use the AI to gather the information needed for policyholders’ payouts – by reading medical certificates, and data on surgeries or hospital stays.
According to The Mainichi, three other Japanese insurance companies are considering adopting AI systems for work like finding the optimal cover plan for customers.
A study by the World Economic Forum predicted last year that the rise of robots and AI will result in a net loss of 5.1 million jobs over the next five years in 15 leading countries.
The 15 economies covered by the survey account for approximately 65% of the world’s total workforce.
Japan kicks off AI supercomputer project
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