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Könz Molo - Suspended house, Lugano 2007. Via, photos © Walter Mair.
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Age-related degenerations in brain structure are associated with balance disturbances and cognitive impairments. However, neuroplasticity is known to be preserved throughout lifespan and physical training studies with seniors could reveal volume increases in the hippocampus (HC), a region crucial for memory consolidation, learning and navigation in space, which were related to improvements in aerobic fitness. Moreover, a positive correlation between left HC volume and balance performance was observed. Dancing seems a promising intervention for both improving balance and brain structure in the elderly. It combines aerobic fitness, sensorimotor skills and cognitive demands while at the same time the risk of injuries is low. Hence, the present investigation compared the effects of an 18-month dancing intervention and traditional health fitness training on volumes of hippocampal subfields and balance abilities. Before and after intervention, balance was evaluated using the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and HC volumes were derived from magnetic resonance images (3T, MP-RAGE).Fourteen members of the dance (67.21 ± 3.78 years, 7 females), and 12 members of the fitness group (68.67 ± 2.57 years, 5 females) completed the whole study. Both groups revealed hippocampal volume increases mainly in the left HC (CA1, CA2, subiculum). The dancers showed additional increases in the left dentate gyrus (DG) and the right subiculum. Moreover, only the dancers achieved a significant increase …
Goose Creek Tower Phillip Weidner
What started as a 40′×40′ foot log cabin has grown into an extraordinary architectural marvel. Phillip Weidner, an attorney in Anchorage, Alaska, has been building his ‘Goose Creek Tower’ in the mountainous landscape of Talkeetna for years. the eccentric MIT alumni and self-described ‘frustrated architect’ has constructed this private home as a series of stacked houses amassed one on top of the other, gradually becoming smaller as they stretch towards the sky. Seemingly teetering and haphazardly placed, these individual dwellings have been piled into what appears to be an impossible structural feat, with small staircases and ladders inside leading from floor to floor. at the top, 360-degree views of the surrounding wilderness can be observed for up 300 miles, he estimates, while at the basement level, a hidden escape tunnel leads to a safe room. weidner says ‘the Goose Creek Tower’ has finally topped out at 185 feet — he would have kept going, but federal air space starts at 200 feet.
