‫Killing of the Ethiopian refugees in Saudi‬‎ - YouTube

‫إثيوبية منفوحة ١٤٣٥/١٦ يوم السبت‬‎ - YouTube: ""

Scientists Study Long Term Impact of Roadside Bombings On Canadian Afghan Veterans’ Brains | Ottawa Citizen

his article is from the Canadian Press:

CALGARY — The long-term impact of roadside bombings on the brains of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan is the focus of two research projects underway in Western Canada.

“In recent years, encounters with improvised explosive devices or IEDs in Afghanistan have inflicted traumatic brain injury on a number of Canadian soldiers,” said Dr. Robert Thirsk, a former Canadian astronaut who is now a vice-president with the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

“The impact of these blasts may not be immediately apparent. Months after the event the soldiers can suffer from the neurological problems and the mental disorders like anxiety that we’re reading about in the newspapers. These weapons may be improvised, but our response to them needs to be strategic.”

Dr. Yu Tian Wang of the Brain Research Center at the University of British Columbia is looking at the biological changes that occur in the brain at the cellular level following an injury by an explosive device.
Wang is studying whether a drug can reduce the death and dysfunction of brain cells following injury.

“We know that during traumatic brain injuries some synaptic connections become weakened and the information from one neuron to another is slowed down,” Wang said. “Now we know the underlying reason is due to a particular memory surface protein being reduced.”

Wang said an injection of peptides could provide protection to brain cells before a blast and possibly help repair damage if given immediately after an explosion.

“Obviously if you give it before, it’s best. If you give it early, the rescue is more dramatic.” Wang said. “We’re testing now to see if it works after injuries and how long after injury it can be given.”

In another project, Dr. Ibolja Cernak from the University of Alberta is researching the link between damage to the cerebellum — the motor control centre at the back of the brain — and the chronic balance, memory and behavioural problems that are brought on by blasts.

It’s hoped the research may lead to new therapies and can identify soldiers who are at the greatest risk for developing neurological and mental disorders associated with blast exposure.
“Very often, the soldiers are exposed to multiple low-intensity blasts. They just shrug with their shoulders, but the problem with that is low- intensity blast exposures very often can cause damage in accumulated ways and cause degeneration in the brain,” said Cernak, who holds the Canadian Military and Veterans chair in clinical rehabilitation at the University of Alberta.

Cernak is exposing mice to repeated blasts to determine the actual degeneration. She said blast-induced concussions are much different than would been seen in something such as a hockey injury.
It’s possible soldiers are feeling effects just by being present during training exercises where explosions and artillery are being tested. Often soldiers do not even realize they’ve being affected, Cernak said.

“In low-intensity blasts they often just feel a pressure change like a wind on the face and that’s it. There are so many blasts during a bomb deployment

Bomb Blast in Ethiopia Kills 4 | East Africa News

A bomb blast is reported to have killed four people in Segno Gebeya, western Ethiopia.

According to government spokesman Shimeles Kamal, the explosion occurred inside a minibus traveling in the region bordering Sudan on Tuesday night.

Officials say the incident is under investigation.

A series of attacks on many East African countries in the past few months have revealed the security vulnerability of these nations to terrorist groups.

According to a report in the Mail and Guardian, Ethiopian security officials had put the the country on high security alert after gathering evidence of an impending attack by Islamist terrorist group Al Shabab.

In the joint statement by the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and the Federal Police, the public were advised to report any suspicious activities to the Police. Hotel staff and landlords were also cautioned to verify the identity of anyone who visits their properties.

There is contention among pundits if the bomb blast came before or after the warning by Ethiopian officials.

It is also currently unclear if the attack was carried out by Al Shabab since no one has owned up to it.

Al Shabab have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on East African nations recently, rationalizing them as their way of pressuring these nations to withdraw their troops from the African Union’s (AU) AMISOM peace keeping mission.

While it may seem Ethiopia has been spared from deadly attacks as the one on the Westgate mall in Nairobi in September. The Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service recently revealed that they have thwarted several terrorists plots in the past few months.

Source: Reut