Wednesday Science News Roundup #25

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

New CRISPR method efficiently corrects Duchenne muscular dystrophy defect in heart tissue – Scientists have developed a CRISPR gene-editing technique that can potentially correct a majority of the 3,000 mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by making a single cut at strategic points along the patient’s DNA, according to a new study. Science Daily

Magnetic brain stimulation alters negative emotion perception – A new study reports that processing of negative emotion can be strengthened or weakened by tuning the excitability of the right frontal part of the brain. Science Daily

Brain pacemaker study shows promise in slowing decline of Alzheimer’s – Researchers have studied how using an implant — likened to a pacemaker for the brain — could help Alzheimer’s patients to retain cognitive, behavioral and functional abilities longer while also improving quality of life. Science Daily

It’s a bad idea for a toad to swallow a bombardier beetle – Toad versus bombardier beetle is almost a fair fight. Toads are hugely bigger, can tongue-strike in an eyeblink and swallow all kinds of nasty stuff. But bombardier beetles can shoot hot steam and noxious chemicals from their back ends. Science News

A blood test could predict the risk of Alzheimer’s disease – A new blood test might reveal whether someone is at risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. Science News

Insane Numbers of Viruses Are Constantly Falling on Us From The Sky, Study Shows – If there are viruses on the ground and viruses in the water, one might expect there are viruses in the sky as well. Science Alert

Ingredient In McDonalds Fries Key To Curing Baldness, Researchers Find – You wouldn’t expect a McDonald’s Happy Meal to be a cure for anything, unless you’re chronically underweight. However, a new study has found that a key ingredient in making the meals might be better used to cure baldness. IFLScience

Woodpeckers Seemingly Avoid Brain Damage Despite The Build Up Of Abnormal Tau Proteins – As an animal that spends much of its time hammering its head against trees at a force of 1,200 g’s, it’s unsurprising that many sports companies have looked to the woodpecker’s biology to design better safety equipment and helmets for football players, in order to protect them against brain damage. IFLScience

New Data Shows TRAPPIST-1 Planets Are More Habitable Than We Ever Thought – You’ve probably been on the edge of your seat wondering what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system has been up to. Now we have four new studies that have probed the planets and its star, and found that they definitely bear further investigation in our search for extraterrestrial life. Science Alert

For The First Time Ever, Astronomers Have Detected Planets Outside Our Galaxy – In an incredible world first, astrophysicists have detected multiple planets in another galaxy, ranging from masses as small as the Moon to ones as great as Jupiter. Science Alert

Wednesday Science News Roundup #24

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Your brain reveals who your friends are – You may perceive the world the way your friends do, according to a new study finding that friends have similar neural responses to real-world stimuli and these similarities can be used to predict who your friends are. Science Daily

TBI is associated with increased dementia risk for decades after injury – Traumatic brain injuries increase the risk of a dementia diagnosis for more than 30 years after a trauma, though the risk of dementia decreases over time, according to a new study. Science Daily

Language is learned in brain circuits that predate humans – It has often been claimed that humans learn language using brain components that are specifically dedicated to this purpose. Now, new evidence strongly suggests that language is in fact learned in brain systems that are also used for many other purposes and even pre-existed humans. Science Daily

Life may have been possible in Earth’s earliest, most hellish eon – Maybe Earth’s early years weren’t so hellish after all. Science News

Here’s why so many saiga antelope mysteriously died in 2015 – Spring calving season for the saiga antelope of central Kazakhstan is a delight for the researchers who keep tabs on the critically endangered animals. During the day, thousands of newborn saigas lie quiet, hidden within a sea of waving grass. Mothers return twice daily to feed them. “If you come at dawn and dusk, it’s magical,” says E.J. Milner-Gulland, a conservation biologist at the University of Oxford who has studied saigas for 27 years. “You hear this mewing noise, and all the babies come rushing up to the females.” Science News

There’s a Scary Link Between Bad Sleep And The Onset of Alzheimer’s – Fragmented sleep, marked by repeated wake-ups during the night and a need to nap during the day, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. Science Alert

Earth Went Strangely Quiet About 2 Billion Years Ago And We Don’t Know Why – A new study has added evidence to the hypothesis that our planet experienced a lull in geology between 2.2 and 2.3 billion years ago, when not a lot went on as far as rock-forming processes go. Science Alert

The Eastern Cougar Is Declared Extinct After Not Being Seen For 80 Years – The eastern cougar is now officially extinct. IFLScience

Discoverer Of Gabon’s Strange Orange Crocodiles Thinks They’re Evolving Into A New Species – Just 10 years ago, an expedition of biologists came across a very strange group of cave-dwelling, bat-munching dwarf crocodiles living within Gabon’s Abanda cave system. IFLScience

More Evidence Has Been Found For A Link Between Sugar And Alzheimer’s – A new study provides more evidence for a link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, something that’s been hinted at before. IFLScience

Wednesday Science News Roundup #21

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Alzheimer’s drug turns back clock in powerhouse of cell – The experimental drug J147 is something of a modern elixir of life; it’s been shown to treat Alzheimer’s disease and reverse aging in mice and is almost ready for clinical trials in humans. Now, Salk scientists have solved the puzzle of what, exactly, J147 does. In a paper published January 7, 2018, in the journal Aging Cell, they report that the drug binds to a protein found in mitochondria, the energy-generating powerhouses of cells. In turn, they showed, it makes aging cells, mice and flies appear more youthful. Science Daily

At least 3 out of 5 people who try a cigarette become daily smokers – At least 61 per cent of people who try their first cigarette become, at least temporarily, daily smokers, suggests an analysis of survey data by Queen Mary University of London. Science Daily

This Common Painkiller Could Be Negatively Affecting Male Fertility – Male fertility could be at a tipping point. Last year, scientists discovered sperm counts in western countries had plummeted by 50 percent in 40 years, and while the reasons behind the decline are complex, many researchers say the phenomenon is due to men’s hormones being disrupted. Science Alert

Britain Now Generates Twice as Much Electricity From Wind as Coal, And That’s a Big Deal – Just six years ago, more than 40 percent of Britain’s electricity was generated by burning coal. Today, that figure is just 7 percent. Science Alert

These Birds of Prey Are Deliberately Setting Forests on Fire – It’s pretty hot in Australia right now. A brutal heatwave that’s incinerated temperature records threatens devastating bushfires – and to make matters worse, authorities have to contend with an ancient breed of flying arsonists that may as well be miniature dragons. Science Alert

Magic Mushrooms Could Treat Depression Without The Emotional Numbing Caused By Traditional Antidepressants – Magic mushrooms could hold the key to alleviating symptoms of depression, particularly in those who have not benefited from more traditional treatments, new research finds. IFLScience

Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer Pulls Plug On Alzheimer’s And Parkinson’s Drug Research – Pfizer, one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical giants, is going to ditch their research efforts into new drugs to fight against Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. IFLScience

Protein Linked To Alzheimer’s Seen Spreading Like An Infection – For the first time, researchers have observed tau proteins, one of the presumed causes of Alzheimer’s disease, spreading from neuron to neuron in a manner similar to how an infection might advance in tissue. IFLScience

White dwarf’s inner makeup is mapped for the first time – Astronomers have probed the inner life of a dead star. Tiny changes in a white dwarf’s brightness reveal that the stellar corpse has more oxygen in its core than expected, researchers report online January 8 in Nature. The finding could challenge theories of how stars live and die, and may have implications for measuring the expansion of the universe. Science News

CRISPR gene editor could spark immune reaction in people – Immune reactions against proteins commonly used as molecular scissors might make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing ineffective in people, a new study suggests. Science News

Wednesday Science News Roundup #19

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Scientists describe how solar system could have formed in bubble around giant star – Scientists have laid out a comprehensive theory for how our solar system could have formed in the wind-blown bubbles around a giant, long-dead star. The study addresses a nagging cosmic mystery about the abundance of two elements in our solar system compared to the rest of the galaxy. Science Daily

Memristors power quick-learning neural network – A new type of neural network made with memristors can dramatically improve the efficiency of teaching machines to think like humans. The network, called a reservoir computing system, could predict words before they are said during conversation, and help predict future outcomes based on the present. Science Daily

Specks in the brain attract Alzheimer’s plaque-forming protein – Globs of an inflammation protein beckon an Alzheimer’s protein and cause it to accumulate in the brain, a study in mice finds. The results, described in the Dec. 21/28 Nature, add new details to the relationship between brain inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. Science News

New Type Of Bizarre Quantum Material Discovered – Reports are flying around the Web that speak of the creation of a fabled quantum material that may have some relatively magical properties. Whenever anyone suggests that a new quantum material has been discovered, skepticism should be front and center. IFLScience

Physicists Have Created a Set of Conditions in Which Time Seems to Run in Reverse – While we all take for granted the fact that time’s arrow forever points towards the future, physicists have always had trouble showing why this is necessarily the case. Science Alert

Scientists Observe Bizarre ‘Double Whirlpools’ in The Ocean For The First Time – For the first time, scientists have recorded a bizarre phenomenon in fluid dynamics, which up until now had only ever been theoretically predicted, but never observed in the wild. Science Alert

Federal maps underestimate flood risk for tens of millions of people, scientists warn – NEW ORLEANS — National flood maps are underestimating the risk for tens of millions of people in the United States. That’s the conclusion of researchers presenting a new study December 11 at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting. Science News

Christmas Music Could Harm Your Mental Health – You might want to put the Christmas decorations down for a second and unwrap some presents, because there’s a new warning that Christmas music could be bad for your mental health. That’s right, if you’re in the mood to hum along to Mariah Carey’s Christmas jingles, it might be best to leave the high notes to her this year. IFLScience

Gay, lesbian and bisexual high schoolers report ‘tragically high’ suicide risk – High school students who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual are more likely to report planning or attempting suicide compared with their heterosexual peers, a new study finds. Science News

Why Left-Handers Are Less Likely To Believe In God But More likely To Believe In The Paranormal – What do left-handed people and those with schizophrenia have in common? It may not be the first thing that springs to mind, but it’s religion, or rather a lack thereof, according to a new study. IFLScience

Latest News in Brain Science

New Substance improves brain function of Alzheimer’s disease

Dated: 28 July 2017

Summary:

Alzheimer’s disease is at this moment an incurable disease and affects 50 million people worldwide. Amyloid beta, which are chunks of organic compounds, that is responsible for Alzheimers. These organic compounds, simply put, are leftovers from when the Amyloid precursor protein is broken down by two enzymes known as Beta-secretase 1 (BACE) and Gamma Secretase.

Recently, scientists from the Technical University of Munich discovered that a substance which inhibit the enzyme, BACE, improves the memory performance and restore normal function of nerve cells in animal models, and that the substance must be given as early as possible. A clinical trial is being planned with 1000 participant and the scientists are hoping that the discoveries found in animal models is also applicable in humans.

New drug found to provide longer relief for Parkinson’s disease sufferers

Dated: 31 July 2017

Summary:

Like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease is also an incurable disease. The only difference is that it comes on slowly over time and is manageable through drugs and surgery until the patients develop dementia. As of 2015, it affects 6.2 million people and caused 117,400 deaths globally ¹.

Currently, the drugs given to Parkinson’s sufferers are intended to help manage the condition rather than cure. Sufferers need to take multiple medication, multiple times a day.

Researchers at Binghamton University developed a new drug called D-512, which is currently in pre-clinical phase. The new drug has fewer side effects than current drugs such as ropinirole, and last longer when providing relief. The drug itself is also an antioxidant which is important since oxidative stress is a major cause of Parkinson’s disease.

Autistic people are less likely to be surprised by the unexpected

Dated: 31 July 2017

Summary:

Normal people tends to get surprised by the unexpected due to their expectations. However, researchers found that autistic people, especially those with more pronounced symptoms, were less surprised when dealing with sudden changes.

Paraphrasing Dr. Lawson, “When we are uncertain about our own beliefs, we are driven more by our senses rather than prior expectations. People with autism may be expecting more volatility and thus it may be the reason why they tend to suffer from sensory overload, and their enhanced perceptual functioning and context insensitivity.”

The study also found that the ability to form expectations was related to the severity of communication problem in autistic people.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5055577/. ↩︎