Article:
Update: 6:55 p.m.

 The six people killed in Wednesday's collapse of two Center City buildings were identified by the city this afternoon along with the other 13 people injured.

 Those who died in the collapse are Kimberly Finnegan, Borbor Davis, Juanita Harmin, Mary Simpson, Anne Bryan and Roseline Conteh. All were killed inside the Salvation Army store at the corner of 22nd and Market streets.

 The 13 people pulled alive from the rubble are Susan Randall, Betty Brown, Shirley Ball, Linda Bell, Jennifer Reynolds, Nadine White, Margarita Agosta, Richard Stasiorowski, Rosemary Kreutzberg, Rodney Geddis, Felicia Hill, Daniel Johnson and Myra Plekan.

 Kimberly J. Finnegan, of Bucks County, was first identified earlier this afternoon by a memorial at the Market Street site that included several photographs of the 35-year-old. She reportedly began her first shift of work at the thrift shop on the corner of 22nd and Market streets that morning.

 Finnegan's body was pulled from the rubble Wednesday at about 2 p.m., about three hours after a massive wall separating an adjacent four-story building on Market St. came crumbling down on the store during a permitted demolition project.

 Borbor Davis, 68, of Upper Darby, was last seen working inside the store's basement, the Inquirer reported.

 Anne Bryan, 24, was a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the school and her family said in a statement. Her mother is Philadelphia City Treasurer Nancy Winkler, according to the city.

 Her family said in the statement that "Anne was a brilliant and caring young woman just entering the prime of her life."

 Bryan was shopping at the thrift store when it was crushed in the massive construction accident.

 The bodies of all six killed were recovered in the store.

 Philadelphia Mayor Nutter this morning pledged a "wide-ranging" investigation into the collapse that left five women and one man dead, and injured more than a dozen others.

 Nutter lauded the efforts of several citizen heroes who rushed into the cloud of dust and debris moments after the collapse to help pull people from the disaster.

 "Reports yesterday identified a number of individuals who took quick action, including Jordan McLauglin, Ray Kauffman, Bill Roam, Patrick Glynn and Brian Mullins. On behalf of the City, I want to thank them for their quick thinking and courage," Nutter said.

 Questions remain about the inspection and permitting for the demolition that is believed to have triggered the buildings' collapse.

 The search-and rescue operation came to an end Thursday afternoon, fire officials said. By 4 p.m., the former thrift store was completely torn down. Part of the neighboring four-story building still stood, though crews knocked down part of that building's walls and walls of the donation center at the back of the thrift store.

 Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Carlton Williams said that no one from his department had been required to visit the site since an inspector visited on May 14. That inspector was responding to a complaint about ongoing demolition at a neighboring property that was being razed.

 The adjacent four-story building at 2136 Market Street - which toppled Wednesday - was in line for demolition but was still standing when the inspector was there. Williams said the inspector found no violations concerning the razed buildings, and in checking on 2136 found it was still fully intact.

 Williams said the city requires that a site be inspected prior to demolition, then again when the process begins to disturb the ground. Apparently, inspections aren't mandated by the city at the start or even mid-point of demolition.

 John Dougherty, head of Local 98 of the electrical workers' union in Philadelphia, said his group had been concerned in recent years with similar demolition sites and the city's process. He called the collapse, "a sad metaphor" for the city's oversight of the construction process.

 "This isn't a union/nonunion issue," Dougherty said. "It's a human/nonhuman issue. I used to scream at the top of my lungs that we're losing taxes. Now we're losing people."

 City officials meanwhile were busy grappling with the Wednesday's tragic events. Piles and piles of debris remained this morning, and surrounding roads were still blocked, disrupting rush-hour traffic. Roads between Chestnut and Arch Streets were also closed.

 The collapse occurred as shoppers filled the Salvation Army thrift store, unaware that an excavation crew ripping down walls at the gutted building next door was reportedly about to yank a beam with heavy machinery.

 Block and brick toppled without warning like a Lego set smacked by an angry child, Wood framing snapped like kindling. Tons of debris fell on the store, where some shoppers were browsing, at 10:40 a.m.

 Bystanders rushed to help, as the initial call to dispatch came in: Something collapsed. You can't see 20 feet ... We have a possible seven civilians trapped.

 Rescue and emergency crews worked at the collapse site at 21st and Market Streets into the night, helping usher 13 people to three area hospitals and ultimately recovering six bodies.

 Then, to the stunned delight of hundreds gathered at the scene, a 14th survivor was pulled from the wreckage - 61-year-old Myra Plekam. Her rescue came just before midnight - more than 13 hours after the collapse. Plekam was awake and talking to rescuers, before she was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

 "That person being pulled out alive is what heavy rescue is all about," Fire Commissioner LLoyd Ayers said.

 City officials said they have not yet determined what went wrong.

 Yesterday's events unfolded as workers for Griffin Campbell Construction at 1236 and 1238 Market Street were demolishing what was a commercial storefront that shared a wall with a four-story building. The Salvation Army story is next door and shared a wall.

 Those who live, work and shop in the area had watched with trepidation as workers used heavy machinery on the walls, wondering how it was possible to demolish a building while it was still attached to the functioning, and thriving, Salvation Army building.

 David Steinbrink, a marketing executive, was at a business meeting directly across the street from the site. He left the meeting and was standing outside, watching the demolition just before the collapse.

 "As I stood there and watched, I wondered how he was going to demolish the building without damaging or having debris fall onto the attached Salvation Army building," Steinbrink said in an email. "I guess I was right."

 Steinbrink said the operator of the equipment, "was knocking walls and floors down by swinging the large bucket against whatever was left standing."

 Indeed, the tragedy began with sounds of the buildings crashing down at 10:43 a.m., which one witness described as "a freight train," when demolition of a four-story structure attached to the Salvation Army thrift shop at 2140 Market Street went horribly wrong.

 Twelve people were initially taken to city hospitals after firefighters arrived at 10:45 a.m. A 66-year-old woman was rescued about two hours later.

 The building undergoing “active demolition” had up-to-date permits for the work, said L&I's Williams. Griffin Campbell Construction received permits for the work in February.

 Griffin T. Campbell, owner of the company, has a criminal record, according to accounts in the Inquirer and Daily News. His crew was working for the property owner, identified as STB Investments of New York City. STB's principal is Richard Basciano, once dubbed "the undisputed king of Times Square porn."

 An attorney representing STB issued a statement late last night.

 ”Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people affected by this tragic event. Please know that we are committed to working with the City of Philadelphia and other authorities to determine what happened today,” said the statement released by F. Warren Jacoby, of the Cozen O'Connor law firm.

 The collapse raised numerous questions about the permits that were granted for the demolition and any inspections that were carried out by the city.

 'This obviously could have been so much worse," Nutter said. He defended Williams, the L&I commissioner, when Williams could not answer any additional questions about the demolition permits and if inspections had been made at the work site.

 The mayor also said it was not unusual for demolition work to occur directly next to open commercial properties or residential homes.

 "There are demolitions taking place on a daily basis," Nutter said. "So it's not unusual that there would be people in a store or building next to where a demolition is taking place.

 The tragedy shook witnesses.

 Marc Newell was doing landscaping work on 22nd Street when he heard an "unbelievable rumble."

 The noise "was like a freight train," Newall said, adding it was immediately clear that people were trapped inside.

 "You could hear the moaning," he said.

 Some witnesses to the collapse were visibly distraught.

 "The whole building just collapsed and people were stuck in there," said one woman, who was taken from the scene sobbing.

 Brian Mullins, 23, was unloading paint at the nearby Mutter Museum when he heard the building fall. He and his coworkers ran toward the building, and pulled six people from the rubble, he said. At least two others remained inside when rescue crews arrived, Mullins said.

 One woman was laying under a fallen wall.

 "I just wanted to get people out," he said.

 He said he tried to keep the people inside the building calm amid chaos in the moments after the collapse.

 "The dust was so thick you couldn't see in front of your face," he said. ||||| A building that was being torn down collapsed with a thunderous boom Wednesday, raining bricks on a neighboring thrift store, killing a woman and injuring at least 13 other people in an accident that witnesses said was bound to happen.

 Rescue personnel search the scene of a building collapse in downtown Philadelphia Wednesday June 5, 2013. A four-story building being demolished collapsed Wednesday on the edge of downtown, injuring... (Associated Press)

 Emergency personnel respond to a building collapse in downtown Philadelphia, where the city fire commissioner says as many as eight to 10 people are believed trapped in the rubble, Wednesday, June 5,... (Associated Press)

 Emergency personnel respond to a building collapse in downtown Philadelphia, where the city fire commissioner says as many as eight to 10 people are believed trapped in the rubble, Wednesday, June 5,... (Associated Press)

 Rescue personnel search the scene of a building collapse in downtown Philadelphia Wednesday June 5, 2013. A four-story building being demolished collapsed Wednesday on the edge of downtown, injuring... (Associated Press)

 Rescue personnel search the scene of a building collapse in downtown Philadelphia Wednesday June 5, 2013. A four-story building being demolished collapsed Wednesday on the edge of downtown, injuring... (Associated Press)

 The woman who died was 35 years old, the mayor said, but no other information about her was released.

 Rescuers pulled another woman, trapped amid the rubble of a Salvation Army thrift store, after they heard her voice, city fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said, and the search for survivors continued hours after the 10:45 a.m. collapse on the edge of downtown.

 Rescuers were using buckets and bare hands to move the rubble to search for survivors.

 "I was standing there looking out my window, watching the men at work on the building, and the next thing I know I heard something go kaboom," Veronica Haynes said.

 Roofer Patrick Glynn said he had been watching workers take down the building over the past few weeks, and he said he suspected a collapse was inevitable because of the methods the workers were using to tear it down.

 Carlton Williams of the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections said there were no existing violations on the building, and the demolition company had proper permits for the work. ||||| Story highlights A woman is pulled out alive

 An active search and rescue operation continues on site

 Of the 13 treated at hospitals after the incident, five are released

 The building was being demolished when it collapsed, authorities say

 A vacant building being demolished collapsed onto a thrift store in Philadelphia early Wednesday, killing six people and trapping more than a dozen under rubble, officials said.

 Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said late Wednesday night the deceased were five women and a man, but did not release additional information.

 Soon after he spoke, a 61-year-old woman buried under the debris was pulled out alive and taken to a local hospital, said Michael Reznik, the public safety director for the city said.

 Search and rescue crews continued to search for victims into the night.

 "We do not know how many people were actually in the store at that time and so active search and rescue continues," the mayor said.

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 "We're taking away the debris. We still have an area to be examined, and we are hopeful that we have actually gotten out everyone who was in the building, but at this moment, we do not know for sure."

 Dogs have aided in the effort, which is expected to last at least into Thursday, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told reporters.

 He described the operation as tedious.

 Of the 13 people injured and taken to area hospitals, five had been released as of Wednesday afternoon.

 The building collapsed onto the Salvation Army Thrift Store next door with an ominous rumble, witnesses said.

 "You felt it shake," Jordan McLaughlin told CNN affiliate KYW . "There was people that actually fell over. People started screaming, they ran across the street. There was people inside the building, you heard them scream."

 He said he helped two people out of the building. Other bystanders, including construction workers, helped four or five others out in the moments after the collapse.

 Patrick Glynn said he and others moved rocks and debris to get at people stuck in the rubble.

 "I knew that was going to collapse some time soon, and it did today," he told CNN affiliate WPVI.

 "For weeks they've been standing on the edge, knocking bricks off, pieces of, you could just see it was ready to go at any time. I knew it was going to happen. I seen it. I said it 10 times. Ask these guys. Every day, I said, 'It's gonna collapse, it's gonna collapse.'"

 Another witness, Ari Barker, said he was in his office across the street when he heard "a rumbling, a very unusual sound." He rushed to the window to see a plume of dust rising from the debris.

 Kate Slyman said she felt the ground rumbling as the building collapsed.

 "The first thing that came to my mind was a terrorist attack," she said.

 Police described the collapse as an "industrial accident." The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been told it was an accident at a demolition site, and it has investigators on the way, spokeswoman Leni Fortson said.

 There were no known violations at the site.

 "No violations, no complaints that we're aware of, and all permits were valid," Nutter said.

 The Salvation Army issued a statement saying it had sent a disaster response team to the site and asking that the public pray for its employees, customers and others involved in the collapse.

 The collapse occurred in a heavily traveled area of the Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood. The nearby Mutter Museum is a popular tourist destination that houses medical oddities.

 The museum said on Facebook that it would be closed until further notice. While its building was undamaged, the museum said police were using its facilities as a staging area for the rescue operation. |||||Summary:

– Five more bodies have been pulled from the rubble of today's building collapse in downtown Philadelphia, bringing the death toll to six, reports AP. The collapse happened when a building under demolition unexpectedly came crashing down this morning, destroying an adjoining Salvation Army thrift shop and crushing some who were browsing in the store, reports the Inquirer. Another 14 people were injured, including one woman who was found 12 hours after the collapse. It's still not clear what caused the collapse, or what stage the demolition process was at when it occurred, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Police used the term "industrial accident," and an OSHA spokesperson says the agency was told it was an accident at a demolition site, reports CNN. "There are demolitions taking place on a daily basis," says Mayor Michael Nutter. "So it's not unusual that there would be people in a store or building next to where a demolition is taking place." The buildings were located in a heavily-trafficked part of the city, near the popular Mutter Museum.


Here is a news article: Should the campus police at the University of Central Florida ever need a grenade launcher, one sits waiting in the department’s armory. Repurposed to fire tear-gas canisters, the weapon was used several years ago for training exercises, according to Richard Beary, the university’s chief of police. It hasn’t left storage since.

 At Central Florida, which has an enrollment of nearly 60,000 and a Division I football team, the device was acquired, a police spokeswoman said, for “security and crowd control.” But the university’s police force isn’t the only one to have come upon a grenade launcher. Hinds Community College—located in western Mississippi, with a student population of 11,000—had one too. (Campus police officers at Hinds declined to comment. A woman who worked for the department but declined to identify herself said that the launcher had been repurposed to shoot flares but that the college no longer possessed it.)

 Both institutions received their launchers from the same source: the Department of Defense. At least 117 colleges have acquired equipment from the department through a federal program, known as the 1033 program, that transfers military surplus to law-enforcement agencies across the country, according to records The Chronicle received after filing Freedom of Information requests with state governments (see table of equipment).

 Campus police departments have used the program to obtain military equipment as mundane as men’s trousers (Yale University) and as serious as a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle (Ohio State University). Along with the grenade launcher, Central Florida acquired 23 M-16 assault rifles from the Department of Defense.

 Ask participants in the program, and they’ll say it provides departments, particularly those with limited budgets like campus police forces, with necessary gear at very little cost (colleges pay only for shipping). Responsible departments, advocates say, develop plans for specific instances in which the equipment will be used—crowd-control situations, say, or active-shooter incidents like the Virginia Tech massacre. Outside of those cases, community members are unlikely to know that the gear even exists.

 But on campus and off, there are detractors. Some argue that the procurement of tactical gear doesn’t help with the types of crimes that occur more frequently on college campuses, like alcohol-related incidents and sexual assault. Others worry that military equipment is an especially poor fit for college campuses, fearing that it may have a chilling effect on free expression.

 The 1033 program has received heightened scrutiny in the wake of protests in Ferguson, Mo. After the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, reporters and phone-wielding protesters captured images of police officers armed with military-grade guns, camouflage, and armored vehicles. Observers characterized the police response as heavy-handed and criticized officers for improperly using their weaponry.

 In Washington renewed attention to the transfer of military weapons has led some lawmakers to call for a review of the 1033 program. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri who heads the oversight subcommittee for the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, led a hearing on Tuesday to consider revisions in the program. She suggested that local police departments that enjoy cost savings from free military equipment be required to receive 200 hours of training.

 “If we’re gonna give you money, we’re going to make you jump through a few hoops first,” she said.

 Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, told the committee that if the 1033 program is to be continued, it should be restructured to focus on “protecting and serving citizens.”

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 Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has said he plans to review the 1033 program before the Senate considers reauthorizing the annual military-spending bill. President Obama has also called for a review.

 Ms. McCaskill, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Obama joined Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, and Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, in questioning the program. In an announcement that he would formally draft a bill in September imposing limits on the transfer of certain equipment—including armored vehicles and large-caliber weapons—Mr. Johnson mocked Ohio State’s procurement of its heavy-duty vehicle, known as an MRAP, through the 1033 program.

 "Apparently, college kids are getting too rowdy," Mr. Johnson said.

 Significant Savings

 The scrutiny may be increasing now, but the 1033 program has been available to colleges for quite some time. In 1990, Congress passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that allowed for the transfer of excess Department of Defense equipment to federal and state agencies if gear was deemed “suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities.” In 1996 the law was reauthorized, with Section 1033 allowing for the transfer of equipment for terrorism-related purposes as well.

 Now more than 8,000 federal and state law-enforcement agencies—many campus police departments among them—are eligible to participate. Participating agencies don’t buy equipment; they are given it. They are prohibited from reselling or leasing the gear, and required to provide updates on the location of “tactical” gear, like armored vehicles and weaponry. When a police department decides a piece of equipment has outlived its usefulness, it is returned to the government.

 After the buildup and winding down of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the amount of surplus equipment available to law-enforcement agencies increased drastically. At colleges, where terrorist attacks and shootouts with drug cartels are virtually unheard of, the active-shooter scenario became the primary justification for colleges to acquire tactical gear.

 Central Florida got eight of its M-16 assault rifles in 2011, and 15 more were transferred to the department in February of the following year. At campus police departments, much like their counterparts at the local, state, and federal level, the most popular weapon procured through the 1033 program is the M-16 assault rifle.

 At least 60 institutions have acquired M-16s through the program. Arizona State University holds the most, with 70 in its arsenal, followed by Florida International University and the University of Maryland with 50 M-16s each. Central Florida received its grenade launcher in 2008; Hinds acquired its in 2006.

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 Gear through the 1033 program is free to participating departments, with receiving agencies having to pay only delivery and maintenance costs. The University of Louisiana at Monroe paid $507.43 for 12 M-16 rifles; the University of Alabama at Huntsville paid $220.40 for the transfer and shipping of five M-16s.

 “For me, this is a cost savings for taxpayers,” said Jen Day Shaw, associate vice president and dean of students at the University of Florida and chair of the Campus Safety Knowledge Community, a forum for members of Naspa: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. When police departments “have the ability to get equipment that will help them do their jobs at a greatly reduced price,” Ms. Shaw said, “it is a benefit for the whole campus.”

 “It is a force multiplier for us,” said David Perry, chief of police at Florida State University and president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. “Typically, we are not staffed at optimum levels. We are not given budgets comparable to some large cities and municipalities, so we need to find ways to make it reach.”

 Indeed, many police departments use the 1033 program to acquire basic supplies along with tactical equipment. “Aside from body armor and weapons,” Mr. Perry said, “there is furniture, hand sanitizers, bandages. There are all types of equipment, materials, and supplies we need to support our overall mission.”

 'Better to Be Prepared'

 At Central Florida, Chief Beary said, M-16 rifles are stored in vehicles for emergencies, like the one his officers responded to at midnight on March 18, 2013. Answering a call for a pulled fire alarm, officers eventually raided the dormitory room of James Seevakumaran, 30, and found a handgun, an assault rifle, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and four homemade bombs. Mr. Seevakumaran was also in the room, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The police said the would-be gunman had intended to force students into the hall with the fire alarm, where he would be waiting with his weapons.

 “What was once the unthinkable has become the inevitable,” Mr. Beary said. “These bad guys have plans and are heavily armed, and law enforcement needs to be able to keep up with them. In order to do that, police officers need to be highly trained, well equipped, and ready to respond to any scenario.”

 Michael Qualls, an associate professor of criminal justice at Fort Valley State University, in Georgia, agrees. A retired Army officer, Mr. Qualls worked for several campus police departments before he began teaching. “If we continue on with the 1033 program, as those items become obsolete at the military level and if they become available, why not get ’em?” Mr. Qualls said. “It’s better to be prepared than not prepared.”

 But seeing that much firepower on college campuses is worrisome to some observers like Peter Kraska, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Justice Studies. Mr. Kraska has studied police militarization since the late 1980s.

 “The typical college-campus chief of police might say, ‘Look, we’ve had serious incidents occur around the country on college campuses,’” said Mr. Kraska. “The flaw in that thinking is that they are not going to be able to respond, even if they have all of that stuff. Those incidents are usually over very, very quickly”—25 minutes, tops. Longer than that, Mr. Kraska said, and the campus police will be joined by local and state law-enforcement officials, who will have greater capability and firepower.

 For Mary Anne Franks, an associate professor of law at the University of Miami, the possibility that an extraordinary event could occur doesn’t justify the procurement of assault rifles and armored vehicles. The real danger Ferguson residents faced came not from a terrorist attack, she said, but from police officers armed with this sort of equipment.

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 “Mostly, I’m wondering why,” she said. “As much as one might wonder about why major cities are getting this type of equipment—which I think we should wonder about and ask questions about—it seems even stranger to talk about it happening in voluntary communities that don’t experience much violent crime.”

 Ms. Franks raised another concern: As students become aware of the military gear some police departments possess, she said, that may curtail their willingness to express themselves and protest.

 “It’s not just the question of what happens in any one particular incident, but the tone it sets about what an environment needs to be,” Ms. Franks said. “This presumption of danger—this presumption of hostility—is really toxic in many ways and avoids the problems that the community might actually be suffering from.”

 'A Profound Cultural Impact'

 To alleviate some of the apprehension surrounding the use of military weapons on a college campus, said Linda J. Stump, the University of Florida’s police chief, transparency is key. The University of Florida police department acquired an armored truck in 2007 under the 1033 program. Ms. Stump said the vehicle would be deployed only during an active-shooter situation and never for a civil disturbance.

 Campus police officers are professionals, with processes in place to maintain their training levels, she said, and communities will be better served if departments explain that.

 Administrative oversight and communication are also necessary, said Mr. Perry of Florida State. Administrators outside the police department should be briefed not only on what type of equipment is being acquired but also on the circumstances under which such gear would be used.

 When the Florida State police department acquired a Humvee through the 1033 program, Mr. Perry said, he briefed administrators on the instances in which the vehicle would be used—in active-shooter scenarios, for example, but also during a hurricane or at events for community outreach.

 When Ms. Stump talks about the value of transparency, she’s also tackling the issue of training: Are college police officers experienced enough to handle assault rifles and other military gear?

 Yes, as long as they’ve had the training required for departmental accreditation, said Mr. Perry.

 To earn accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, for example, an organization must show proof that officers have attended training to use any new weapon, vehicle, or tool they acquire, Mr. Perry said. Training must be proctored by third-party instructors who know how to use the gear proficiently. Neither the Department of Defense nor the association administers the training. The Department of Defense does not require any training to obtain or keep the gear.

 “At a nonaccredited school, there is not an expectation for formalized policies and procedures,” Mr. Perry said. The association’s website lists 40 accredited college departments. Another group, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, has accredited 70 college police departments, according to its website.

 The University of Virginia’s police department purchased 12 M-16 rifles through the 1033 program, and the university converted them to patrol rifles—guns that cannot be fired automatically. Officers who are issued patrol rifles receive three levels of training, said Mike Coleman, a captain in the department. Training sessions cover marksmanship, safety, decision making, and threat identification. The police department at the University of Virginia is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, as is the University of Florida.

 “The public is not aware of much of the training that university police officers receive,” Mr. Coleman said. “Our department not only attends the same police academy that municipal officers attend; they teach at that academy.”

 Professors like Mr. Kraska remain concerned about how the 1033 program could affect campuses.

 “It can have a profound cultural impact on a small police department when you start adding weaponry, battle-dress uniforms, all the advanced military technologies,” he said. “That small agency can go rapidly from one of protecting and serving to one of viewing the community as the enemy, and a potential threat.”

 Lance Lambert and Max Lewontin contributed to this article. ||||| Should the campus police at the University of Central Florida ever need a grenade launcher, one sits waiting in the department’s armory. Repurposed to fire tear-gas canisters, the weapon was used several years ago for training exercises, according to Richard Beary, the university’s chief of police. It hasn’t left storage since.

 At Central Florida, which has an enrollment of nearly 60,000 and a Division I football team, the device was acquired, a police spokeswoman said, for “security and crowd control.” But the university’s police force isn’t the only one to have come upon a grenade launcher. Hinds Community College—located in western Mississippi, with a student population of 11,000—had one too. (Campus police officers at Hinds declined to comment. A woman who worked for the department but declined to identify herself said that the launcher had been repurposed to shoot flares but that the college no longer possessed it.)

 Both institutions received their launchers from the same source: the Department of Defense. At least 117 colleges have acquired equipment from the department through a federal program, known as the 1033 program, that transfers military surplus to law-enforcement agencies across the country, according to records The Chronicle received after filing Freedom of Information requests with state governments (see table of equipment).

 Campus police departments have used the program to obtain military equipment as mundane as men’s trousers (Yale University) and as serious as a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle (Ohio State University). Along with the grenade launcher, Central Florida acquired 23 M-16 assault rifles from the Department of Defense.

 Ask participants in the program, and they’ll say it provides departments, particularly those with limited budgets like campus police forces, with necessary gear at very little cost (colleges pay only for shipping). Responsible departments, advocates say, develop plans for specific instances in which the equipment will be used—crowd-control situations, say, or active-shooter incidents like the Virginia Tech massacre. Outside of those cases, community members are unlikely to know that the gear even exists.

 But on campus and off, there are detractors. Some argue that the procurement of tactical gear doesn’t help with the types of crimes that occur more frequently on college campuses, like alcohol-related incidents and sexual assault. Others worry that military equipment is an especially poor fit for college campuses, fearing that it may have a chilling effect on free expression.

 The 1033 program has received heightened scrutiny in the wake of protests in Ferguson, Mo. After the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, reporters and phone-wielding protesters captured images of police officers armed with military-grade guns, camouflage, and armored vehicles. Observers characterized the police response as heavy-handed and criticized officers for improperly using their weaponry.

 In Washington renewed attention to the transfer of military weapons has led some lawmakers to call for a review of the 1033 program. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri who heads the oversight subcommittee for the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, led a hearing on Tuesday to consider revisions in the program. She suggested that local police departments that enjoy cost savings from free military equipment be required to receive 200 hours of training.

 “If we’re gonna give you money, we’re going to make you jump through a few hoops first,” she said.

 Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, told the committee that if the 1033 program is to be continued, it should be restructured to focus on “protecting and serving citizens.”

 Advertisement

 Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has said he plans to review the 1033 program before the Senate considers reauthorizing the annual military-spending bill. President Obama has also called for a review.

 Ms. McCaskill, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Obama joined Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, and Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, in questioning the program. In an announcement that he would formally draft a bill in September imposing limits on the transfer of certain equipment—including armored vehicles and large-caliber weapons—Mr. Johnson mocked Ohio State’s procurement of its heavy-duty vehicle, known as an MRAP, through the 1033 program.

 "Apparently, college kids are getting too rowdy," Mr. Johnson said.

 Significant Savings

 The scrutiny may be increasing now, but the 1033 program has been available to colleges for quite some time. In 1990, Congress passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that allowed for the transfer of excess Department of Defense equipment to federal and state agencies if gear was deemed “suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities.” In 1996 the law was reauthorized, with Section 1033 allowing for the transfer of equipment for terrorism-related purposes as well.

 Now more than 8,000 federal and state law-enforcement agencies—many campus police departments among them—are eligible to participate. Participating agencies don’t buy equipment; they are given it. They are prohibited from reselling or leasing the gear, and required to provide updates on the location of “tactical” gear, like armored vehicles and weaponry. When a police department decides a piece of equipment has outlived its usefulness, it is returned to the government.

 After the buildup and winding down of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the amount of surplus equipment available to law-enforcement agencies increased drastically. At colleges, where terrorist attacks and shootouts with drug cartels are virtually unheard of, the active-shooter scenario became the primary justification for colleges to acquire tactical gear.

 Central Florida got eight of its M-16 assault rifles in 2011, and 15 more were transferred to the department in February of the following year. At campus police departments, much like their counterparts at the local, state, and federal level, the most popular weapon procured through the 1033 program is the M-16 assault rifle.

 At least 60 institutions have acquired M-16s through the program. Arizona State University holds the most, with 70 in its arsenal, followed by Florida International University and the University of Maryland with 50 M-16s each. Central Florida received its grenade launcher in 2008; Hinds acquired its in 2006.

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 Gear through the 1033 program is free to participating departments, with receiving agencies having to pay only delivery and maintenance costs. The University of Louisiana at Monroe paid $507.43 for 12 M-16 rifles; the University of Alabama at Huntsville paid $220.40 for the transfer and shipping of five M-16s.

 “For me, this is a cost savings for taxpayers,” said Jen Day Shaw, associate vice president and dean of students at the University of Florida and chair of the Campus Safety Knowledge Community, a forum for members of Naspa: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. When police departments “have the ability to get equipment that will help them do their jobs at a greatly reduced price,” Ms. Shaw said, “it is a benefit for the whole campus.”

 “It is a force multiplier for us,” said David Perry, chief of police at Florida State University and president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. “Typically, we are not staffed at optimum levels. We are not given budgets comparable to some large cities and municipalities, so we need to find ways to make it reach.”

 Indeed, many police departments use the 1033 program to acquire basic supplies along with tactical equipment. “Aside from body armor and weapons,” Mr. Perry said, “there is furniture, hand sanitizers, bandages. There are all types of equipment, materials, and supplies we need to support our overall mission.”

 'Better to Be Prepared'

 At Central Florida, Chief Beary said, M-16 rifles are stored in vehicles for emergencies, like the one his officers responded to at midnight on March 18, 2013. Answering a call for a pulled fire alarm, officers eventually raided the dormitory room of James Seevakumaran, 30, and found a handgun, an assault rifle, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and four homemade bombs. Mr. Seevakumaran was also in the room, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The police said the would-be gunman had intended to force students into the hall with the fire alarm, where he would be waiting with his weapons.

 “What was once the unthinkable has become the inevitable,” Mr. Beary said. “These bad guys have plans and are heavily armed, and law enforcement needs to be able to keep up with them. In order to do that, police officers need to be highly trained, well equipped, and ready to respond to any scenario.”

 Michael Qualls, an associate professor of criminal justice at Fort Valley State University, in Georgia, agrees. A retired Army officer, Mr. Qualls worked for several campus police departments before he began teaching. “If we continue on with the 1033 program, as those items become obsolete at the military level and if they become available, why not get ’em?” Mr. Qualls said. “It’s better to be prepared than not prepared.”

 But seeing that much firepower on college campuses is worrisome to some observers like Peter Kraska, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Justice Studies. Mr. Kraska has studied police militarization since the late 1980s.

 “The typical college-campus chief of police might say, ‘Look, we’ve had serious incidents occur around the country on college campuses,’” said Mr. Kraska. “The flaw in that thinking is that they are not going to be able to respond, even if they have all of that stuff. Those incidents are usually over very, very quickly”—25 minutes, tops. Longer than that, Mr. Kraska said, and the campus police will be joined by local and state law-enforcement officials, who will have greater capability and firepower.

 For Mary Anne Franks, an associate professor of law at the University of Miami, the possibility that an extraordinary event could occur doesn’t justify the procurement of assault rifles and armored vehicles. The real danger Ferguson residents faced came not from a terrorist attack, she said, but from police officers armed with this sort of equipment.

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 “Mostly, I’m wondering why,” she said. “As much as one might wonder about why major cities are getting this type of equipment—which I think we should wonder about and ask questions about—it seems even stranger to talk about it happening in voluntary communities that don’t experience much violent crime.”

 Ms. Franks raised another concern: As students become aware of the military gear some police departments possess, she said, that may curtail their willingness to express themselves and protest.

 “It’s not just the question of what happens in any one particular incident, but the tone it sets about what an environment needs to be,” Ms. Franks said. “This presumption of danger—this presumption of hostility—is really toxic in many ways and avoids the problems that the community might actually be suffering from.”

 'A Profound Cultural Impact'

 To alleviate some of the apprehension surrounding the use of military weapons on a college campus, said Linda J. Stump, the University of Florida’s police chief, transparency is key. The University of Florida police department acquired an armored truck in 2007 under the 1033 program. Ms. Stump said the vehicle would be deployed only during an active-shooter situation and never for a civil disturbance.

 Campus police officers are professionals, with processes in place to maintain their training levels, she said, and communities will be better served if departments explain that.

 Administrative oversight and communication are also necessary, said Mr. Perry of Florida State. Administrators outside the police department should be briefed not only on what type of equipment is being acquired but also on the circumstances under which such gear would be used.

 When the Florida State police department acquired a Humvee through the 1033 program, Mr. Perry said, he briefed administrators on the instances in which the vehicle would be used—in active-shooter scenarios, for example, but also during a hurricane or at events for community outreach.

 When Ms. Stump talks about the value of transparency, she’s also tackling the issue of training: Are college police officers experienced enough to handle assault rifles and other military gear?

 Yes, as long as they’ve had the training required for departmental accreditation, said Mr. Perry.

 To earn accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, for example, an organization must show proof that officers have attended training to use any new weapon, vehicle, or tool they acquire, Mr. Perry said. Training must be proctored by third-party instructors who know how to use the gear proficiently. Neither the Department of Defense nor the association administers the training. The Department of Defense does not require any training to obtain or keep the gear.

 “At a nonaccredited school, there is not an expectation for formalized policies and procedures,” Mr. Perry said. The association’s website lists 40 accredited college departments. Another group, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, has accredited 70 college police departments, according to its website.

 The University of Virginia’s police department purchased 12 M-16 rifles through the 1033 program, and the university converted them to patrol rifles—guns that cannot be fired automatically. Officers who are issued patrol rifles receive three levels of training, said Mike Coleman, a captain in the department. Training sessions cover marksmanship, safety, decision making, and threat identification. The police department at the University of Virginia is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, as is the University of Florida.

 “The public is not aware of much of the training that university police officers receive,” Mr. Coleman said. “Our department not only attends the same police academy that municipal officers attend; they teach at that academy.”

 Professors like Mr. Kraska remain concerned about how the 1033 program could affect campuses.

 “It can have a profound cultural impact on a small police department when you start adding weaponry, battle-dress uniforms, all the advanced military technologies,” he said. “That small agency can go rapidly from one of protecting and serving to one of viewing the community as the enemy, and a potential threat.”

 Lance Lambert and Max Lewontin contributed to this article. |||||
A summary of this is?

– It's not just municipal police forces that have obtained military-style weaponry through a federal program: Modified grenade launchers and M-16 rifles are on college campuses, too, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. The publication finds that 117 colleges have received equipment thanks to a federal system called the 1033 program. The program, which lawmakers and President Obama are reassessing following events in Ferguson, Mo., provides the equipment to colleges for free; the educational institutions just have to pay the shipping costs, the Chronicle notes. The University of Central Florida has a modified grenade launcher intended to shoot tear-gas canisters; Hinds Community College, in Mississippi, also has a grenade launcher. At least 60 schools have M-16 assault rifles, and Ohio State has an armored vehicle. The 1033 program "is a force multiplier for us," says the head of both Florida State's police and an international campus police group, citing understaffing. "We are not given budgets comparable to some large cities and municipalities, so we need to find ways to make it reach." But other campus figures question the system; click for the Chronicle's full report.


Article:

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A fatberg has been found in Baltimore sewers, and it is being blamed for a couple recent sewer overflows.

 The fatberg, “a congealed lump of fat” that contains items that do not break down in sewer systems, is in a sewer main between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles St.

 The fatberg is has caused two severe overflows in the past two weeks, including one on September 21 that discharged nearly 1.2 million gallons into the Jones Falls at North Charles and West Lanvale Streets.

 Baltimore City Department of Public Works engineers went into the sewer to find what was causing the sewer overflows, and found the fatberg.

 Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook ||||| A massive lump of congealed fat, wet wipes and other detritus — dubbed the “fatberg” — is growing underneath the streets of Baltimore.

 The Baltimore Department of Public Works said Monday it discovered the fatberg earlier this month in a sewer main between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles Street. So far the fatberg has been responsible for a dry weather sewer overflow on Sept. 21 that discharged around 1.2 million gallons of sewage into the Jones Falls, the department said.

 A similar fatberg estimated to weigh more than 140 tons was also recently discovered in London’s sewer system and is expected to take weeks to destroy. Baltimore’s fatberg, however, has been mostly scraped off and sent to the landfill on Quarantine Road.

 Department of Public Works Congealed fats, oils and grease have blocked a sewer main between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles Street. Congealed fats, oils and grease have blocked a sewer main between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles Street. (Department of Public Works)

 When engineers decided to explore the sewer to determine the cause of multiple sewer overflows in the area, they discovered the fatberg, DPW said. The walls of a 100-year-old, 24-inch wide pipe were caked with congealed fats, oils and grease. Up to 85 percent of the pipe was clogged with the congealed fat, blocking the flow of sewage.Raymond said there were other, smaller fatbergs throughout the city’s pipes, but none as large as the one under Penn Station.

 Raymond said the city has a fats, oils and grease — known as FOG — prevention program targeting restaurants and other food service establishments. When the substances go down a pipe, they congeal, harden and often attach to other items that don’t break down in the sewer, such as wet wipes.

 Plus, Raymond added, FOG can block up a homeowner’s pipes, causing an expensive call to a plumber.

 cwells@baltsun.com

 twitter.com/cwellssun ||||| BALTIMORE (WBFF)-- The Baltimore Department of Public Works reports a massive sanitary overflow due to a "fatberg." They describe it as a congealed lump of fat, along with wet wipes and other items that do not break down in sewer systems.

 Officials say the massive plug of grease has been growing, far below the surface, in a midtown sewer main between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles Street, which includes the Charles Theater.

 Nearly 1.2 million gallons of sewage overflowed on Sept. 21 which discharged into the Jones Falls at North Charles and West Lanvale Streets. It was the second time in as many weeks that the fatberg created a sewer overflow.

 Engineers for the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) decided to explore the sewer in that area to determine the cause of the recent dry-weather overflows. Overflows of the sanitary sewer in that area have become common following heavy rains.

 They sent a machine with a closed-circuit television camera into the sewer, and soon discovered the walls of the sewer pipe were caked with congealed fats, oils, and grease (FOG). Unfortunately, as they were working in the pipe a backup occurred and led to a sewer overflow.

 The buildup of FOG inside the pipe was so thick that it slowed sewer water moving through that area. Engineers estimate that 85 percent of the pipe, which is 24 inches across and more than 100 years old, was blocked. This resulted in sanitary sewer overflows happening underground, in a structured overflow that was designed more than 100 years ago as a sort of pressure-release valve in the event the sewers backed up.

 The overflow is diverted into the stormwater system and then into the Jones Falls. The structured overflow, in the 1700 block of Charles Street, and the City says a handful of others like it will be closed once a project to eliminate a restriction at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant is completed in late 2020.

 The City’s sewers are being repaired and replaced to avoid infiltration of stormwater. This work will be done as the capacity of Baltimore’s sewer collection and treatment systems are upgraded under the City’s sewer system consent decree. Any repairs or replacement of the sewer pipe that crosses Charles Street at Lanvale Street will be determined once the FOG has been entirely removed.

 DPW has a FOG program in effect which includes monitoring of food service establishments that discharge, or have the potential to discharge FOG-laden wastewater. These establishments must have a valid wastewater discharge permit and have functioning grease control devices, among other requirements, in order to be in compliance with the FOG program.

 Can the Grease, Trash the Wipes

 Private residences are not subject to the same regulations as food service establishments but should still take steps to keep fats, oils and grease and non-flushable items out of the sewer system and prevent costly overflows. Here are a few simple tips to remember:

 • Do not put FOG down the drain.

 • During food preparation and cleanup, pour unused grease from the “pan to the can.” Once it solidifies in an empty can, put it in the trash.

 • Do not flush “flushable” wipes; put them in the trash instead. Wet wipes don’t break down in water and create sewer blockages.

 • The only items that should be considered flushable are poo, pee, and toilet paper.

 For additional information and other tips on protecting your pipes, visit publicworks.baltimorecity.gov. |||||
What is a summary?

– Not content to let those tea-sippers across the pond hog the spotlight, Baltimore just announced its very own "fatberg." CBS Baltimore reports the "congealed lump of fat" was found between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles Street. The fatberg is comprised of fats, oils, and grease that hardened and collected other things that don't break down in the sewer, such as wet wipes, according to the Baltimore Sun. Authorities say it was blocking up to 85% of a 2-foot-wide, 100-year-old pipe. London recently made international news when a fatberg weighing more than 140 tons was discovered lurking in its sewer. Authorities found the fatberg while looking for the source of two sewer overflows in recent weeks, including one on Sept. 21 that sent 1.2 million gallons of sewage into the Jones Falls. While the main fatberg has already been largely broken apart and shipped to a landfill, authorities found a number of smaller fatbergs throughout Baltimore's sewer system. Restaurants and residents alike are advised to avoid putting fats, oils, grease, and wet wipes (even if they're technically "flushable") into the sewer system. "The only items that should be considered flushable are poo, pee, and toilet paper," WBFF states. (Part of London's fatberg may find an unusual home.)


Write a summary based on this article:

Kisspeptin The molecule of puberty

 and sexual fertility Paul May

 University of Bristol Molecule of the Month September 2010

 Also available: JSMol version.

 Surely nothing to do with Gene Simmons and Co.?

 No, not the rock band Kiss, although it has similarities it that it also sends teenagers wild. Kisspeptin is a protein that when released from the brain triggers the cascade of biochemical changes that leads to puberty, turning children into adults. Puberty is still one of the great unsolved mysteries in biology. Scientists have known for years that puberty begins when a child's brain releases hormones that cascade through the body leading to the maturing of testes in boys and ovaries in girls. However, the exact nature of the hormones wasn't fully understood until a few years ago, when kisspeptin was discovered. Adolescents who lack a functioning kisspeptin system fail to achieve puberty. We now know that, almost literally, ‘puberty begins with a kiss’!

 It started with a kiss...

 Kisspeptins are actually a group of proteins with similar structure, and are products of the KiSS-1 gene. This gene was discovered in 1996 [Lee et al., 2006] when scientists were searching for a gene that prevents cancer from spreading. This groundbreaking work took place in research labs in the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, the location also famous for the Hershey's chocolate factory. Since Hershey's most popular product is a chocolate confectionary called a Hershey's Kiss (photo, right), the discoverers' of the gene named it KiSS-1 after this chocolate. However, the nomenclature also has a scientific grounding as the inclusion of SS in the name also indicates that the gene is a suppressor sequence, i.e. it prevents some biological process from occurring (such as cancer spreading). Kisspeptin was first given the name metastin, because it was thought to play a role in tumor metastasis, but later named kisspeptin after its gene pecursor. The receptor for kisspeptin in the brain was identified only recently and was given the rather less whimsical name GPR54 (G-Protein Coupled Receptor 54).

 The KiSS-1 gene is found on the long-arm of chromosome 1. The protein it makes is a peptide containing 145 amino-acids, which are then cleaved into smaller, 54-amino-acid chunks. These may also be further truncated down to 14, 13 or even 10 amino-acids fragments with carboxylic acid terminations. These N-terminally truncated peptides are known as the family of kisspeptins. Kisspeptin-10 is shown below.

 ...never thought it would come to this

 A single injection of kisspeptin in animals has been found to stimulate a huge increase in the secretion of gonadotropins (hormones that stimulate the production of testosterone in men and estradiol in women). Repeated injections into immature rats has been shown to advance the age of puberty.

 Very recently, a group of Japanese scientists delivered an antibody directed against kisspeptin into the brain of female rats. This stopped the rats' reproductive cycle demonstrating that inhibiting the effect of kisspeptin, even after puberty, still blocks reproductive function. Therefore, as well as being vital to initiate puberty, kisspeptin is necessary for reproductive function to continue later in life. Later, Spanish scientists discovered that administering kisspeptin in food-restricted rats still stimulated the release of gonadotropins. This is a remarkable discovery, since normally when a mammal is facing starvation its reproductive system becomes dormant to conserve the body's stored food supply. Kisspeptin injections over-ride this defence mechanism, and can kick-start normally dormant reproductive systems.

 It has also been discovered that kisspeptin plays a role in seasonal-breeding animals. Many mammals only become fertile during the annual breeding season, and this is controlled by the duration of daylight per day. During short winter days, these anmials have a reduced amount of kisspeptin in certain parts of the brain, and sexual activity is switched off (or greatly reduced). But in the long summer days, kisspeptin amounts increase, stimulating the animals to breed. Artificially injecting animals (such as ewes) with kisspeptin during the winter months causes ovulation even in the non-breeding season [Dhilo 2008]. This has implications for farmers, who may soon be able to choose when their livestock reproduce rather than be restricted by the natural annual cycle.

 The kiss of life?

 Because of its link with the KiSS-1 gene, kisspeptin has been suggested as a possible treatment for some forms of cancer. In particular, when breast and prostate cancers develop, they are nurtured by the sex hormones oestrogen and testosterone. If the production of these hormones could be switched off the tumours should shrivel and die. One way to do this might be to block the kisspeptin-receptor in the brain. Scientists are now actively looking for molecules that can block this receptor.

 Kisspeptin's role in switching-on sexual hormones could be vital in controlling the timing of puberty when this goes wrong. There are a number of conditions where children that reach puberty much too early (five or six years old) could possibly be treated by simply taking pills containing kispeptin derivatives. Conversely, for young people in which puberty does not begin as normal in their teenage years, it may be possible to administer kisspeptin to kick-start the process.

 It has recently been found that kisspeptin can restart the female reproductive system in women who have stopped ovulating due to an imbalance in their sex hormones. Kisspeptin is therefore a potential basis for a new infertility treatment.

 References

 W.S. Dhillo, J. Neuroendocrin . 20 (2008) 963 - a good review paper.

 . (2008) 963 - a good review paper. J.H. Lee, M.E. Miele, D.J. Hicks, et al . "KiSS-1, a novel human malignant melanoma metastasis-suppressor gene.", J. Natl. Cancer Inst . 88 (1996) 1731–7.

 . "KiSS-1, a novel human malignant melanoma metastasis-suppressor gene.", . (1996) 1731–7. Sciencewatch - lots of references here to the current scientific literature.

 Wikipedia

 kisspeptin.com

 kisspeptin.org

 Women's health

 Back to Molecule of the Month page. [DOI:10.6084/m9.figshare.5255167] ||||| The hormone kisspeptin can enhance activity in brain regions associated with sexual arousal and romantic love, according to new research.

 The scientists behind the early-stage study, from Imperial College London, are now keen to explore whether kisspeptin could play a part in treating some psychosexual disorders - sexual problems which are psychological in origin, and commonly occur in patients with infertility. The work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council.

 Kisspeptin is a naturally occurring hormone that stimulates the release of other reproductive hormones inside the body. The study involved a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which 29 healthy heterosexual young men were given either an injection of kisspeptin or placebo. In an MRI scanner the men were shown a variety of images, including sexual and non-sexual romantic pictures of couples, whilst researchers scanned their brains to see how kisspeptin affected the brain's responses.

 Ultimately, we are keen to look into whether kisspeptin could be an effective treatment for psychosexual disorders, and potentially help countless couples who struggle to conceive. – Professor Waljit Dhillo Department of Medicine

 The researchers found that after the injection of kisspeptin, when the volunteers were shown sexual or romantic images of couples, there was enhanced activity in structures in the brain typically activated by sexual arousal and romance.

 The team believe this shows kisspeptin boosts behavioural circuits associated with sex and love. They are particularly interested in how kisspeptin might be able to help people with psychosexual disorders and related problems with conceiving a baby.

 NIHR Research Professor Waljit Dhillo, the lead author of the research from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, said: "Most of the research and treatment methods for infertility to date have focussed on the biological factors that may make it difficult for a couple to conceive naturally. These of course play a huge part in reproduction, but the role that the brain and emotional processing play in this process is also very important, and only partially understood."

 As the research is at an early stage, the team of researchers now want to do a follow on study to analyse the effects of kisspeptin in a larger group, including women as well as men.

 Professor Dhillo added: "Our initial findings are novel and exciting as they indicate that kisspeptin plays a role in stimulating some of the emotions and responses that lead to sex and reproduction. Ultimately, we are keen to look into whether kisspeptin could be an effective treatment for psychosexual disorders, and potentially help countless couples who struggle to conceive."

 Volunteers in the study underwent MRI scans at the Imanova Centre for Imaging Sciences and were shown sexual and non-sexual romantic, negative, and neutral-themed images, and images of happy, fearful and neutral emotional faces. Kisspeptin did not appear to alter emotional brain activity in response to neutral, happy or fearful-themed images. However, when volunteers were shown negative images, kisspeptin did enhance activity in brain structures important in regulating negative moods, and study participants reported a reduction in negative mood in a post-scan questionnaires. As a result, the team are also interested in investigating the possibility that kisspeptin might be used for treating depression.

 Left image: Orange highlights illustrate the enhanced activity in the brain when the subjects had the kisspeptin injection and looked at sexual images. These areas of the brain have often been associated with processing of sexual, emotional and rewarding stimuli.

 Right image: Orange highlights show areas of the brain that were more responsive to couple-bonding images when the subjects had the kisspeptin injection.These areas of the brain have often been associated with memory and processing of romantic, emotional and rewarding stimuli.

 Dr Alexander Comninos, first author of the study from the Department of Medicine at Imperial, said "'Our study shows that kisspeptin boosts sexual and romantic brain activity as well as decreasing negative mood. This raises the interesting possibility that kisspeptin may have uses in treating psychosexual disorders and depression which are major health problems which often occur together, but further studies would be needed to investigate this."

 "Kisspeptin Modulates Sexual and Emotional Brain Processing in Humans" by Waljit S Dhillo et al is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

 See the press release of this article ||||| In this study, we demonstrate that the reproductive hormone kisspeptin enhances limbic brain activity specifically in response to sexual and bonding stimuli and that these responses correlate with psychometric measures of sexual and emotional processing. Sexual and emotional responses are fundamental drivers of human behavior, and the links among sex, bonding, and reproduction ultimately ensure the survival of most mammalian species (20). However, the pathways involved are multiple, complex, relatively poorly understood, and involve reproductive and metabolic hormones, pheromones, neuronal networks, peripheral organs, and various sensory signals, among others. Our data suggest a potential role for kisspeptin as an important neuromodulator, linking sexual and emotional brain processing with the reproductive axis.

 Visually evoked sexual arousal is a frequent occurrence in men, and brain activity associated with visual sexual stimuli have been explored in several previous studies. These studies have examined a wide range of brain structures in response to sexual-themed images and revealed a processing network involving structures including the hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus, cingulate, insula, precentral gyrus, and occipital cortex (13–15, 21–28). Furthermore, activations in structures including the thalamus and cingulate correlate with physiological sexual arousal (as assessed by penile tumescence) (13). The involvement of these structures therefore suggests cognitive (cingulate, thalamus), emotional (amygdala, insula), motivational (precentral gyrus), and physiological (thalamus) components to sexual arousal from the appraisal of a stimulus as sexual through to the autonomic activation in readiness for sexual behavior (13, 27, 28).

 Kisspeptin sits at the apex of the reproductive axis, above gonadal hormones such as testosterone that are known to be involved in sexual and emotional processing (29). Kisspeptin signaling is also essential in the “timing” of reproduction, from regulating gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulsatility, oestrous cyclicity, and sexual development to aging (30). In our study, kisspeptin enhanced activity in key limbic and paralimbic structures when heterosexual young men viewed sexual images. These included the anterior and posterior cingulate as well as the left amygdala, consistent with areas of activation observed in the above studies (13–15, 21–28) and with regions expressing kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptors (4–10). Therefore, we demonstrate that kisspeptin administration enhances activation in key established areas of the sexual-processing network.

 It is interesting that, although kisspeptin enhanced activity in both the right and left amygdala, this only reached statistical significance on the left. Although the right amygdala often shows greater enhancement during image-related emotion stimulation (31, 32), the left amygdala is more often engaged in sexual (14) and emotional processing in men (33), and so in this study, kisspeptin may be preferentially acting on the left amygdala in keeping with these studies. Future studies may seek to examine whether there is a lateralization of kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptor expression in the amygdala to address this further.

 We then proceeded to correlate modulations in brain activity with our psychometric data to provide functional relevance. Interestingly, kisspeptin’s enhancement of several structures of the sexual-processing network (including the cingulate, putamen, and globus pallidus) correlated with reduced sexual aversion, suggesting a role for kisspeptin in sexual disinhibition.

 Drive and reward traits are primary components of BAS, which has key functions in bringing the individual together with biological rewards such as sex and food (34, 35). Furthermore, previous studies have shown that these traits predict fMRI responses to appetizing foods (36) and sexual images (37). The neural substrate of the BAS comprises structures belonging to the mesolimbic reward and fronto-striatal-amygdala-midbrain networks (36, 37). Intriguingly, in our study, kisspeptin activated key components related to these networks (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and cingulate) more in participants with lower baseline drive and reward traits in response to viewing sexual images. It is interesting to speculate as to a functional reason for this. Kisspeptin was able to enhance activity in components of this reward circuitry more in participants who were less reward responsive. This could serve as a functional mechanism for enhancing reward-system activity during sexual arousal (in those generally less responsive to reward), so as to drive a desire for reproduction in these individuals.

 Collectively, these data suggest that kisspeptin not only enhances activation in established structures of sexual arousal, but that this activation correlates with behavioral measures of reward, drive, and sexual aversion. Consistent with the expression pattern of kisspeptin and its cognate receptor in these regions (4–10), we provide evidence for kisspeptin as a neuroendocrine modulator of the human brain sexual-processing network.

 In addition to sexual stimulation, an important precursor to reproduction is the desire to bond with a partner. Studies of bonding have examined different types: romantic love, maternal love, and unconditional love. Studies of romantic love demonstrate activations in dopamine-rich and basal ganglia structures such as the putamen, thalamus, and globus pallidus (17, 38, 39), which are associated with reward (40), pair-bonding (41), and euphoria (16). In addition, activations are commonly seen in areas associated with mental associations (e.g., hippocampus and thalamus) and emotional areas also implicated in sexual processing (e.g., cingulate and amygdala) (17, 38, 39, 42). There is substantial overlap with the processing networks in maternal love, including the cingulate, globus pallidus, amygdala, and dopaminergic brain areas (43). Activations are also observed in reward and dopamine-rich areas (e.g., globus pallidus and cingulate) in unconditional love (44). Taken together, these studies suggest a common subcortical dopaminergic reward-related brain system as well as higher-order cortical cognitive centers driving love and bonding.

 In the current study, kisspeptin modulated the response to bonding images in regions similar to those seen with sexual images, including the anterior and posterior cingulate and amygdala, with the addition of activation in the thalamus and globus pallidus. These activations by kisspeptin match regions implicated in romantic love, maternal love, and even unconditional love in the aforementioned studies as well as being sites of kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptor expression (4–10). Furthermore, we observed that kisspeptin’s enhanced activation of the amygdala in response to bonding images correlated with improvements in positive mood. Taken together, these data demonstrate that kisspeptin enhanced activity in key “romance and bonding” structures in response to viewing couple-bonding images and that this correlated with improved positive mood. We therefore provide evidence in humans of a role for kisspeptin in the processing of sexual and bonding stimuli, both of which are critical in driving reproduction at a behavioral level.

 Consistent with the correlation between kisspeptin’s enhancement of amygdala activity and improvements in positive mood in humans above, recent rodent data suggest antidepressant-like effects for kisspeptin via the serotonergic system (45). In our study, kisspeptin enhanced prefrontal activity in response to negative images; a region expressing kisspeptin receptors (9). This is consistent with studies of negative-evoked stimuli, demonstrating predominant activation in prefrontal regions commonly implicated in response inhibition and self-control. Greater activity in these regions assists internalized representations of safety to minimize fear and anxiety to negative stimuli (19). In keeping with this, we observed that kisspeptin administration elicited a reduction in negative mood, providing human evidence of an antidepressant-like effect for kisspeptin, a finding with clear clinical implications.

 The hippocampus is heavily involved in producing emotions. In our study, sexual- and bonding-themed stimuli resulted in positive increases in activity in the hippocampus (i.e., increases in mean percentage of blood-oxygen-level–dependent [BOLD] signal change) in line with previous studies (25, 46). In other words, the images were able to stimulate hippocampal activity. However, there was no significant difference in this increased activity between kisspeptin and vehicle administration. Overall, these data suggest that kisspeptin may have a greater effect on other limbic structures involved in emotional processing, such as the amygdala, cingulate, thalamus, and globus pallidus rather than the hippocampus.

 It is salient to note that the effects of kisspeptin on the limbic system were confined to sexual and couple-bonding images, with no limbic effects in response to negative-, neutral-, happy-, or fearful-themed images. In addition, kisspeptin had no effect on brain activity during a battery of nonlimbic tasks (visual, auditory, motor, language, calculation). These data highlight that kisspeptin acts specifically to enhance limbic activity only to sexual and couple-bonding stimulation in our study, which is particularly pertinent given its established role as a potent reproductive hormone (1–3). It is also noteworthy that kisspeptin administration had no effect in the current study on other relevant hormones that could affect limbic activity, including testosterone, oxytocin, and cortisol as well as attention and anxiety. Furthermore, previous studies demonstrate that kisspeptin administration has no effect on other endocrine hormones, including growth hormone, prolactin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone in humans (47).

 It is important to consider the physiological implications of our findings using the experimental paradigm employed in this study. Physiologically, kisspeptin is predominantly synthesized and secreted from kisspeptin neurones in the infundibular nucleus of the hypothalamus in humans (48) and the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) in rodents (49). This kisspeptin then activates kisspeptin receptors on GnRH neurones, stimulating pulsatile GnRH release into the hypophyseal-portal circulation and downstream reproductive hormones. This secretion does appear to be pulsatile in rodents (49), and work in monkeys demonstrates pulsatile kisspeptin secretion (every 30 to 90 minutes) into the hypophyseal-pituitary circulation (50). In this study, kisspeptin was administered peripherally, as it is obviously not possible to administer it into the hypothalamus in humans, and we acknowledge that this differs from physiological kisspeptin release. However, the levels of kisspeptin achieved in this study are similar to those observed physiologically in normal pregnancy (51, 52). In addition, the kisspeptin levels observed in this study were similar to the kisspeptin levels achieved in previous studies in which peripheral kisspeptin administration stimulated oocyte maturation in in vitro fertilization protocols (53) and restored luteinizing hormone (LH) pulsatility in women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea (54). Furthermore, our study and others have demonstrated that peripheral kisspeptin administration does not result in downregulation of the reproductive axis in the time frame used in this study in healthy men (54–57). As such, while our protocol does not precisely mimic normal physiology, in the current study, we administered doses of kisspeptin that have previously been shown to have physiological and sustained reproductive effects.

 Another important point to consider is whether peripherally administered kisspeptin can get into the brain. Peripheral kisspeptin can access GnRH neurones via their dendritic terminals in the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) outside the blood-brain barrier (58, 59). To examine other brain areas, we administered radiolabeled kisspeptin peripherally to male mice and demonstrated that it can access the brain, including limbic structures (Supplemental Figure 6). Although this study was performed in mice, it suggests that peripheral kisspeptin can cross the blood-brain barrier and directly access brain regions expressing kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptors (4–10). Future work will no doubt examine the neuronal pathways involved, expanding on established interactions among kisspeptin (6), GABA (60), and nitric oxide (61) pathways.

 In conclusion, we implicate kisspeptin as a modulator of reproductive hormones, limbic brain activity, and behavior. This is supported by the findings of kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptor expression in limbic and paralimbic structures (4–10). We demonstrate that kisspeptin administration enhances limbic responses to sexual and bonding stimuli and that this activity correlates with reward measures, improved positive mood, and reduced sexual aversion. In addition, kisspeptin attenuates negative mood. This suggests that kisspeptin, in addition to its established role in the reproductive hormonal cascade, can also influence related sexual and emotional brain processing, thereby providing integration among reproduction, sexual responses, and bonding. These findings have important ramifications for our understanding of reproductive biology. Delineation of the precise neuronal networks by which kisspeptin exerts these effects will be an exciting field of future study, and recent advances in the use of optogenetics to stimulate endogenous kisspeptin neurones may serve as useful tools (49). Furthermore, in rodents, the kisspeptin receptor is necessary for male olfactory partner preference (62), with limbic kisspeptin neurones integrating into olfactory and reproductive circuits (6). This suggests that in humans, kisspeptin-olfactory processing may provide another area of future study.

 We observed that kisspeptin’s enhancement of brain activity correlated with improvements in positive mood and reduced sexual aversion while kisspeptin also reduced negative mood. Therefore, this raises interesting directions for the pharmacological use of kisspeptin in disorders of sexual and emotional processing. For example, studies of kisspeptin administration in patients with depression and psychosexual disorders may prove fruitful as well as informing current work to develop kisspeptin as a potential therapeutic for common reproductive disorders, including male hypogonadism (56), hypothalamic amenorrhoea (54), and hyperprolactinaemia (63), and as a trigger for ovulation in in vitro fertilization (53). Therefore, our data also have important clinical relevance given the continued development of kisspeptin as a potential therapeutic. ||||| Mental Viagra’ is on the horizon after scientists discovered that a hormone which surges during puberty can activate lust signals in the brain.

 The hormone kisspeptin essentially switches on the desire to reproduce and is linked to feeling sexy, romantic and turned on. It is thought to be responsible for the voracious sexual appetite of young people.

 Now scientists at Imperial College London have found that an injection of kisspeptin can trigger chemicals in the brain which occur when people feel amorous and aroused.

 They believe that pills containing the hormone could one day be used to treat sexual problems which are psychological – rather than physical.

 It could even help couples recapture the spark in a failing relationship. ||||| The British have a long history of censoring sex. In 1580, politician William Lambarde drafted the first bill to ban "licentious" and "hurtful... books, pamphlets, ditties, songs, and other works that promote the art of lascivious ungodly love". Last week, the UK government decided to have another crack at censorship, formally announcing that age verification for all online pornographic content will be mandatory from April 2018.

 It is unclear at this point what this mandatory check will entail, but it's expected that you will need to submit your credit card details to a site before being allowed to access adult content (credit cards can’t be issued to under-18s).

 The appointed regulator will almost certainly be the British Board of Film Classification who will have the authority to levy fines of up to £250,000 or shut down sites that do not comply. These measures are being directly linked to research conducted by the NSPCC, the Children’s Commissioner and the University of Middlesex in 2016, which surveyed more than 1,000 11 to 16-year-olds about viewing online pornography and found over half had accessed it.

 Digital minister Matt Hancock said age verification "means that while we can enjoy the freedom of the web, the UK will have the most robust internet child protection measures of any country in the world". And who can argue with that? No sane adult would think that it’s a good idea for children to watch hardcore pornography. And because we all agree kids should be watching Peppa Pig rather than The Poonies, the act has been waved through virtually unchallenged.

 So, let’s put the issue of hardcore pornography to one side, because surely we are all in agreement. I’m asking you to look at the bigger picture. It’s not just children who will be censored and it’s not just Pornhub and Redtube which will be forced to age check UK viewers. This act will potentially censor any UK site that carries adult content, which is broadly defined by the BBFC as "that it was produced solely or principally for the purposes of sexual arousal".

 I am a UK academic and research the history of sexuality. I curate the online research project www.thewhoresofyore.com, where academics, activists, artists and sex workers contribute articles on all aspects of sexuality in the hope of joining up conversations around sex that affect everyone. The site also archives many historical images; from the erotic brothel frescoes of Pompeii to early Victorian daguerreotypes of couples having sex. And yet, I do not consider myself to be a porn baron. These are fascinating and important historical documents that can teach us a great deal about our own attitudes to sex and beauty.

 The site clearly signposts the content and asks viewers to click to confirm they are over 18, but under the Digital Economy Act this will not be enough. Although the site is not for profit and educational in purpose, some of the historical artefacts fit the definition of "pornographic’" and are thereby liable to fall foul of the new laws.

 Thank you for your work in disproving that human, namely female sexuality is just some modern moral shortcoming. — Tiffany (@duafe) July 21, 2016

 And I’m not the only one; erotic artists, photographers, nude models, writers, sex shops, sex education sites, burlesque sites, BDSM sites, archivists of vintage erotica, and (of course) anyone in the adult industry who markets their business with a website, can all be termed pornographic and forced to buy expensive software to screen their users or risk being shut down or fined. I have contacted the BBFC to ask if my research will be criminalised and blocked, but was told "work in this area has not yet begun and so we are not in a position to advice [sic] you on your website". No one is able to tell me what software will need to be purchased if I am to collect viewers' credit card details, how I would keep them safe, or how much this would all cost. The BBFC suggested I contact my MP for further details. But, she doesn’t know either.

 The thing I love most about @WhoresofYore: they beautifully show that humans have always been wonderfully sexual. https://t.co/Mb4Ma4uifv — Tagg (@taggianto) July 21, 2016

 Before we even get into the ethical issues around adults having to enter their credit card details into a government database in order to look at legal content, we need to ask: will this work? Will blocking research projects like mine make children any safer? Well, no. The laws will have no power over social media sites such as Twitter, Snapchat and Periscope which allow users to share pornographic images. Messenger apps will still allow users to sext, as well as stream, send and receiving pornographic images and videos. Any tech savvy teenager knows that Virtual Private Network (VPN) software will circumvent UK age verification restrictions, and the less tech savvy can always steal their parents' credit card details.

 The proposed censorship is unworkable and many sites containing nudity will be caught in the crossfire. If we want to keep our children "safe" from online pornography, we need to do something we British aren’t very good at doing; we need to talk openly and honestly about sex and porn. This is a conversation I hope projects like mine can help facilitate. Last year, Pornhub (the biggest porn site in the world) revealed ten years of user data. In 2016, Brits visited Pornhub over 111 million times and 20 per cent of those UK viewers are women. We are watching porn and we need to be open about this. We need to talk to each other and we need to talk to our kids. If you’re relying on government censorship to get you out of that tricky conversation, you are letting your children down.

 The NSPCC report into children watching online pornography directly asked the participants about the effectiveness of age verification, and said the children "pointed out its limitations". When asked what intervention would most benefit them, this was the overwhelming response: "Whether provided in the classroom, or digitally, young people wanted to be able to find out about sex and relationships and about pornography in ways that were safe, private and credible." I suggest we listen to the very people we are trying to protect and educate, rather than eliminate.

 Dr Kate Lister researches the history of sexuality at Leeds Trinity University |||||

– Kisspeptin, a naturally occurring hormone that kicks off puberty and is thought to fuel what the Telegraph describes as the "voracious sexual appetites of young people," could well be a sort of "mental Viagra" for people with psychosexual disorders—that is, disorders that are psychological as opposed to physical. And because these disorders can occur in patients who are infertile, researchers from Imperial College London report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that kisspeptin could even play a role in helping couples struggling to conceive. The early-stage study began to lay the groundwork for that theory by testing how kisspeptin affects the brain's responses to sexual situations. To achieve this, researchers injected kisspeptin or a placebo into 29 healthy young men, explains a press release. When shown arousing images, MRI scans of the kisspeptin group revealed enhanced activity in brain regions associated with arousal compared to the placebo group. There was no such activity observed when non-sexual romantic images were shown. The lead author notes that most research and treatments for infertility focus on important biological factors, but that emotional processing is also key and "only partially understood." Next up, they plan to expand the study's size and include women. Bonus trivia: Kisspeptin's name comes from Hershey, Pa., which is home to both Hershey’s Kisses and the lab that in 1996 discovered the KiSS-1 gene that encodes kisspeptins, reports the New Statesman. (After the most extreme tragedy, this couple is pregnant with twins.)