Good morning all, Our lab topics remain at the forefront of science news: this week, Japanese scientists announced a new stem cell therapy for treatment of spinal cord injuries. In lab this past week, we considered both stem cells as well as genes related to the spinal column - together, these are evidence that very basic studies of individual genes can often lead to useful results! And, we will talk more about this specific kind of stem cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) in an upcoming lab... https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/japan-approves-ips-cell-therapy-trial-for-spinal-cord-injury-65484 Have a great weekend - Dr. Nealen
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Split and continuous sleep in teens impact cognition and glucose levels differently -- ScienceDaily2/23/2019 Good morning, to all of you early birds - We all probably have trouble fitting everything into our busy schedules, and sometimes our sleep is shortchanged. Do you get enough sleep? Is one long bout of sleep better than two shorter bouts? Why do we need to sleep, anyway? These are just a few of the many interesting questions about sleep, and scientists are tackling them, one small step at a time. One recent study (link below) suggests that, if you can't get a full 9 hrs of overnight sleep, having an early nap followed by a relatively short overnight sleep may, in fact, not be so bad. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222101312.htm Have a great weekend - Dr. Nealen Good morning all, In our last lecture, we discussed the characteristics of neurons, and how they use electricity (specifically, changes in membrane potential) to send information to their targets. Many of our BIOL 240 lab sections this week explored this concept via EEGs (electroencephalograms), which are recordings of skin potentials that occur due to changes in brain electrical activity. I also mentioned in lecture that many of our pharmaceuticals are designed to chemically influence neural function. You may also know that electrical manipulation of the bran is not far behind. Scientists have known about the electrical properties of nervous tissue for many decades, and in recent years, we have been able to apply this knowledge to stimulate the brain. Rather than using electrodes to measure the electricity coming from the brain, what if we use them to apply electricity to it? As you would expect, we can cause neurons to become activated by passing electrical current over them. There are many different forms of neural stimulation possible, from very local applications to nearly whole-brain methods. Increasingly, we are getting better at using small-scale, focal stimulation to apply electricity at select locations, in order to change the function of circuits in that area. Below is a link to a recent report of one such use of this method. Think about all of the different aspects of our behavior, emotions, and performance that are controlled neurally. What if we could adjust them, with a battery? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/brain-electric-implants-treat-depression-closer-reality Have a great weekend - Dr. Nealen Good morning everyone, I'm sending along two links to one of the more-interesting pieces of science news this week: a medical device that diabetic patients could swallow and which would provide their injections of insulin internally. While not yet ready for human use, a device of this type could be a great aid to people who tire of, or are fearful of, giving themselves injections: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pills-needles-injection-medication http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/pills-armed-tiny-needles-could-inject-insulin-other-important-meds-directly-stomach Have a good weekend - Dr. Nealen Good morning everyone, I'm passing along here a reminder of the dangers of hypothermia and frostbite, which includes description of some of the physiological challenges extremely cold temperatures place on the body. Seems appropriate this week! https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/health/frostbite-hypothermia-cold-weather.html Just remember, Spring is only about 7 weeks away ;-) Dr. Nealen Good morning all, I'm passing along here a link to a recent news article about a a new, wearable device for assessing physiological condition. This type of instrument is only made possible through the application of advanced electronics and engineering to health issues, a trend that is only going to increase over time. While these devices are exciting and interesting, remember also that there is risk associated with their use, in the collection/banking of your personal health data, and the need to safeguard one's privacy. I will occasionally pass along articles of this type during the semester. My purpose in doing so is to help you to become more aware of current physiology and health topics, and also to help you assess how you obtain your science and health news. Those of us working in science obtain our scientific news, quite often, directly form the original sources: the people conducting the studies and reporting the results. They publish their findings in science journals, or present them at conferences. Most people do not obtain their news directly, but hear news via secondary sources, such as news releases from scientific organizations, or news stories from the major news outlets. These secondary reports often are then carried by tertiary outlets (smaller/other reporting sources). Along the way from source to audience, science news is normally distilled (a lot) - much of the detail is excluded or simplified, and the reports often are boiled-down to singular take-home messages, which may (or may not) be good representations of the original work. When you browse the links that I will forward, or when you access science and health news on your own, I'd encourage you to delve a little bit deeper into them, to read more than just the summaries, and to follow links back to original sources when possible. I'd also encourage you to think a little about the translation of news from source to consumer, and the reputability of the news outlets that you use. None of these news links that I send you will be represented on our course exams, but I do hope that the material in them makes its way into our physiology conversations. I'm sending this link to both my BIOL 240 lecture and lab sections, so my apologies if you receive this message twice. This first link is from the New York Times, which provides one of the best (e.g., best funded and most reliable) secondary sources of science and health news. They do limit access to only a handful of free articles each month, so I will use them sparingly. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/health/wearable-tech-sweat.html Have a great weekend - Dr. Nealen |
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