Research explores how the gut microbiota impacts critical areas of adolescent development, including mental health, metabolism, and skeletal growth. It suggests that understanding these interactions could lead to microbiome-based treatments for optimal growth and maturation.
Video games could give ophthalmologists an easy window not into the soul, but into eye health and the eye-brain-body connection — the three-way reciprocal communication that influences our actions.
“Infusing science into games is like sneaking broccoli into ice cream,” said Khizer Khaderi, MD, a clinical associate professor of ophthalmology. “It removes the resistance to do something that may not be viewed as fun, such as eating vegetables.” Or in this case, evaluating your vision health.
In a Stanford Medicine-led study, researchers employed video games to evaluate participants’ field of vision and visual stamina, their ability to distinguish contrast, and other factors that can indicate common eye diseases.
What do you think? China is doing it. The West is going to have to keep up. Have you seen the Netflix series Altered Carbon? It’s like that.
A U.S. Army video shows its concept of the soldier of the future. At first glance, it looks like it will only be a better-equipped soldier.
Researchers who previously developed the first 3D human cell culture models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that displays two major hallmarks of the condition—the generation of amyloid beta deposits followed by tau tangles—have now used their model to investigate whether the exercise-induced muscle hormone irisin affects amyloid beta pathology.
As reported in the journal Neuron, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)–led team has uncovered promising results suggesting that irisin-based therapies might help combat AD.
Physical exercise has been shown to reduce amyloid beta deposits in various mouse models of AD, but the mechanisms involved have remained a mystery.
Summary: Researchers delved deep into the mysteries of synchronization in complex systems, uncovering how certain elements effortlessly fall into or out of sync. This dance of coordination can be observed from humans clapping in rhythm to the synchronicity of heart cells.
By studying “walks” through networks, the team discovered the role of convergent walks in diminishing the quality of synchronization. These findings could revolutionize our understanding of everything from power grid stability to brain functions and social media dynamics.
Summary: New research unveils a probable unique human ability to recognize and remember sequential information. Despite being our closest relatives, bonobos struggle to learn the order of stimuli in the same manner as humans.
This discovery contributes to understanding the cognitive distinctions between humans and other animals, explaining why only humans possess certain cultural abilities like language and advanced planning. This sequential memory might be the foundational block behind many uniquely human behaviors and capabilities.
Summary: Neuroscientists have unveiled a new hybrid cell, straddling the line between the well-known neurons and glial cells in the brain.
Previously, glial cells, especially astrocytes, were believed to merely support neuron functions. However, recent research highlights the ability of these cells to release neurotransmitters and directly influence neural circuits.
This groundbreaking discovery challenges traditional beliefs about brain cell functionality and paves the way for novel therapeutic strategies.
If you want to read a long and complex article on EMF and oxidative stress, here’s one. And when I did a Google search on my Pixel 6 that has generative results, the result said it affected the blood brain barrier but I think it combined several websites as a source and summarized them. I’ll post a screenshot.
Free radicals are reactive molecules produced during the conversion of foods into energy through oxygen. The formation of free radicals is an oxidation reaction that occurs on an oxygen basis. [27]. Since oxygen is essential for survival, the formation of free radicals cannot be avoided. However, factors including ionizing and non-ionizing radiation alter the transcription and translation of genes such as JUN, HSP 70 and MYC, via the epidermal growth factor receptor EGFR-ras, leading to the generation of ROS [28,29] and resulting in the overproduction of ROS in tissues [30].
The Fenton reaction is a catalytic process that converts hydrogen peroxide, a product of mitochondrial oxidative respiration, into a highly toxic hydroxyl free radical. Some studies have suggested that EMF is another mechanism through the Fenton reaction, suggesting that it promotes free radical activity in cells [31,32]. Although some researchers have reported that ROS perform beneficial function, a high degree of ROS production may cause cellular damage, resulting in a range of diseases. These radicals react with various biomolecules, including DNA ( Fig. 1 ). Namely, the energy of free radicals is not enough, and for this reason they behave like robbers who seize energy from other cells and rob a person to satisfy themselves [33]. Many studies have suggested that EMF may trigger the formation of reactive oxygen species in exposed cells in vitro [34,35,36,37] and in vivo [7, 31,38]. The initial stage of the ROS production in the presence of RF is controlled by the NADPH oxidase enzyme located in the plasma membrane. Consequently, ROS activate matrix metalloproteases, thereby initiating intracellular signaling cascades to warn the nucleus of the presence of external stimulation. These changes in transcription and protein expression are observed after RF exposure [39]. Kazemi et al. investigated the effect of exposure to 900-MHz on the induction of oxidative stress and the level of intracellular ROS in human mononuclear cells. Excessive elevation in ROS levels is an important cause of oxidative damage in lipids and proteins and nucleic acids. It therefore causes changes in enzyme activity and gene expression, eventually leading to various diseases, including sleep disorder, arthrosclerosis, loss of appetite, diabetes, dizziness, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, nausea and stroke [40,41,42]. In addition, degradation of the pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance due to an uncontrolled increase in ROS may also result in lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation is the process in which cell membranes are rapidly destroyed due to the oxidation of components of phospholipids containing unsaturated fatty acids. By continuing this reaction, lipid peroxides (-C0, H) accumulate in the membrane, and transform polyunsaturated fatty acids into biologically active substances [43]. Consequently, lipid peroxidation leads to significant damage in the cells, such as disturbances in membrane transport, structural changes, cell membrane fluidity, damage to protein receptors in membrane structures, and changes in the activity of cell membrane enzymes [44]. Hoyto et al. demonstrated significant induction of lipid peroxidation after exposure to EMF in the mouse SH-SY5Y cell and L929 fibroblast cells [45]. Epidemiological studies have also suggested that oxidative damage to lipids in blood vessel walls may be a significant contributor to the development of atherosclerosis [46,47,48].
A new study explores the field of biological brain modeling, determining the brain’s structure is similar to a computer.
The brain has been designated as one of the most complex organs of the human body, comprised of features including intelligence, an interpreter of the senses, an initiator of body movement, and a controller of behavior, according to the National Institute of Health.
Now, a recent study discovered that a living model of this three-pound organ sheds light on the mechanisms of how humans understand and experience the world.
Summary: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) in carpenter ants isn’t just a protective boundary, but actively shapes ant behavior.
The BBB produces an enzyme called Juvenile hormone esterase (Jhe) that degrades the Juvenile Hormone (JH3), which promotes foraging behavior. The presence and degradation of JH3 by the BBB helps determine whether an ant becomes a forager or soldier.
Interestingly, similar mechanisms might influence mouse behavior, hinting at broader implications beyond ants.
