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Sweet reset: How sugar tastings help the brain quiet old memories

Memories must be flexible so animals can adapt when the world changes. FMI neuroscientists have found that in fruit flies, simply tasting a sugar reward again can weaken all previous associated memories. This process may inspire new ways to safely update harmful or unwanted memories. The paper is published in the journal Current Biology.

Memories help animals survive by guiding them on what to look for and what to avoid, such as remembering the smell of food or the warning signs of danger. But in a constantly changing world, those memories must also remain flexible. If a reward or threat no longer has the same meaning, the brain needs ways to update what it has learned without completely forgetting the past.

Frozen on the ice: The brain science behind perfect Olympic timing

Olympic skiers, bobsledders and speed skaters all have to master one critical moment: when to start. As athletes prepare for the upcoming Winter Olympics, that split second is in the spotlight because when everyone is fast, strong and skilled, a moment of hesitation can separate gold from silver. Research from Carnegie Mellon University helps explain why that split-second pause happens and how the brain controls it, offering insight not only into elite athletic performance, but also how people make everyday decisions when the outcome isn’t clear.

Eric Yttri, associate professor of biological sciences, wanted to study how the brain decides when to act and when to wait, especially when the outcome is uncertain. He said to think about the moment the puck drops at a heated rivalry hockey game.

“Move too early, you get ejected from the faceoff. Move too late, and the puck is already gone. Having that sort of fine control on your ability to delay your action is really key,” Yttri said. “It’s a sword that cuts both ways.”

4D-printed vascular stent deploys at body temperature, eliminating external heating

Next-generation vascular stents can make cardiovascular therapies minimally invasive and vascular treatments safe and less burdensome. In a new advancement, researchers from Japan and China have successfully proposed a novel adaptive 4D-printed vascular stent based on shape-memory polymer composite. The stent exhibits mechanical flexibility, radial strength, biomechanical compliance, and cytocompatibility in in vitro and in vivo experiments, making them promising for future clinical applications.

Cardiovascular diseases constitute a major global health concern. Various complications that affect normal blood flow in arteries and veins, such as stroke, blood clot formation in veins, blood vessel rupture, and coronary artery disease, often require vascular treatments. However, existing vascular stent devices often require complex, invasive deployment procedures, making it necessary to explore novel materials and manufacturing technologies that could enable such medical devices to work more naturally with the human body.

Moreover, the development of patient-specific, adaptively deployable vascular stents is crucial to further advance minimally invasive cardiovascular therapies and make vascular treatments safe and less burdensome for both patients and health care providers.

Study finds ADHD symptoms linked to higher internet addiction risk in college students

A cross-sectional study of Chinese college students found ADHD symptoms were associated with internet addiction, with insomnia and executive dysfunction acting as mediating factors. Moderate and high physical activity levels were also linked with lower internet addiction symptoms, although causality cannot be inferred.

Human MASLD is a diurnal disease driven by multisystem insulin resistance and reduced insulin availability at night

Human MASLD is a diurnal disease!

Circadian rhythm controls hepatic lipid and glucose metabolism, but it is not known if diurnal patterns exist in functional processes governing intrahepatic lipid accumulation in humans.

By studying metabolism across day and night in human participants, the researchers show that metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a nighttime disease driven by upregulated hepatic and peripheral insulin resistance with lower plasma insulin levels at night, secondary to reduced insulin secretion and elevated insulin clearance.

These daily patterns persist after weight loss, suggesting that nighttime metabolic dysfunction is a key driver of liver fat accumulation. sciencenewshighlights ScienceMission https://sciencemission.com/MASLD-is-a-diurnal-disease

By studying metabolism across day and night in human participants, Marjot et al. show that MASLD is a nighttime disease driven by poor insulin action and low insulin levels. These daily patterns persist after weight loss, suggesting that nighttime metabolic dysfunction is a key driver of liver fat accumulation.

Biodegradable PCB targets short-lifetime electronics

Researchers at the University of Glasgow have developed an almost entirely biodegradable PCB using zinc conductors and bio-derived substrate materials. The work aims to reduce the environmental impact of electronic waste by replacing conventional copper-based PCBs in applications designed for short operational lifetimes.

For eeNews Europe readers, the research is relevant as it explores alternative PCB materials and manufacturing methods that could be applied to disposable and low-duty-cycle electronics, including sensing and IoT-related devices.

The approach differs from conventional PCB fabrication, which typically involves etching copper from a full sheet. Instead, the researchers use what they describe as a growth and transfer additive manufacturing process, depositing conductive material only where tracks are required. According to the team, this reduces metal usage and avoids the use of harsh chemical etchants.

Blocking PTP1B protein may slow memory loss in Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is often measured in statistics: millions affected worldwide, cases rising sharply, costs climbing into the trillions. For families, the disease is experienced far more intimately. “It’s a slow bereavement,” says Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Nicholas Tonks, whose mother lived with Alzheimer’s. “You lose the person piece by piece.”

There’s a lot of discussion about how the neurodegenerative disorder may be caused by a buildup of “plaque” in the brain. When someone refers to this plaque, they’re talking about amyloid-β (Aβ), a peptide that occurs naturally but can accumulate and come together. This is known to promote Alzheimer’s disease development.

Now, Tonks, graduate student Yuxin Cen, and postdoctoral fellow Steven Ribeiro Alves have discovered that inhibiting a protein called PTP1B improves learning and memory in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It’s time to think about human reproduction in space, scientists urge

There are currently no widely accepted, industry-wide standards for managing reproductive health risks in space, the study notes. The researchers highlight unresolved questions around preventing inadvertent early pregnancy during missions, understanding the fertility impacts of microgravity and radiation, and setting ethical boundaries for any future reproduction-related research beyond Earth.

“If reproduction is ever to occur beyond Earth,” the study notes, “it must do so with a clear commitment to safety, transparency and ethical integrity.”

This research is described in a paper published Feb. 3 in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online.

How DNA and life experiences leave distinct marks on the human immune system

Using single-cell epigenomic profiling of immune cells from 110 individuals, researchers show that genetic variation and environmental exposures shape the human immune system through distinct DNA methylation mechanisms. Genetic effects concentrate within gene bodies of memory cells, while environmental exposures primarily remodel regulatory regions in naive immune cells.

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