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Chronic Exposure to Microplastics Induces Blood–Brain Barrier Impairment, Oxidative Stress, and Neuronal Damage in Rats

The widespread prevalence of plastics and in particular, microplastics (MPs) raises concerns about their potential toxic effects. MPs, defined as particles smaller than 5 mm, are distributed throughout ecosystem and can enter the human body through the food chain. There is a lack of knowledge regarding MP potential harmful effects on the mammal’s body, especially the brain. This study aimed to examine the impact of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) MPs (< 30 μm) on blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity, oxidative stress, and neuronal health. Male rats were exposed to LDPE MPs via oral administration for 3 and 6 weeks. The results revealed no significant changes in brain water content across groups. However, BBB integrity was significantly compromised after both 3 and 6 weeks of exposure. Oxidative stress increased in MP-treated groups, evidenced by decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and elevated malondialdehyde (MDA). Additionally, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels significantly declined in the 6-week group. Histological analysis indicated neuronal damage and death in both treatment durations. These findings demonstrate that chronic exposure to LDPE MPs impairs BBB integrity, increases oxidative stress, and induces neuronal damage in rats. The results highlight the neurotoxic potential of MPs and emphasize the need for further research to address their possible health risks.

Did Elon Musk Just KILL the Model Y L in America?

Questions to inspire discussion.

🤖 Q: What is Tesla’s vision for autonomous vehicles? A: Tesla is prioritizing a robo taxi future with Cybercab and potentially Robovan, likely to focus on producing robo vehicles over traditional cars in the near future.

📊 Q: How does the Model Y L fit into Tesla’s robotaxi plans? A: The Model Y L would be a good fit for the robo taxi network, offering a bigger car with more versatility that people want, even if they don’t need the space, and would be a hot seller in the US market.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Progress.

🚀 Q: How close is Tesla to achieving full self-driving? A: With version 14 of FSD almost complete and version 15 likely to be the final needed version within a year, Tesla is expected to fully commit to the robo taxi future.

🏢 Q: How has Tesla’s leadership approached the robotaxi strategy? A: Tesla’s executives previously resisted Elon Musk’s push to bet the company on robo taxis, but are now likely to fully commit given the progress in FSD development.

Continue reading “Did Elon Musk Just KILL the Model Y L in America?” | >

What happened before the Big Bang? Computational method may provide answers

We’re often told it is “unscientific” or “meaningless” to ask what happened before the Big Bang. But a new paper by FQxI cosmologist Eugene Lim, of King’s College London, UK, and astrophysicists Katy Clough, of Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Josu Aurrekoetxea, at Oxford University, UK, published in Living Reviews in Relativity, proposes a way forward: using complex computer simulations to numerically (rather than exactly) solve Einstein’s equations for gravity in extreme situations.

Dark matter in gas giants could collapse into detectable black holes, model suggests

More than 5,000 planets have been discovered beyond our solar system, allowing scientists to explore planetary evolution and consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Now, a UC Riverside study published in Physical Review D suggests that exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, could also serve as tools to investigate dark matter.

Brightest-ever fast radio burst allows researchers to identify its origin

An international team of astronomers has observed one of the brightest fast radio bursts (FRBs) ever detected—and pinpointed its location in a nearby galaxy (NGC 4141). FRB 20250316A has been nicknamed RBFLOAT, which stands for Radio Brightest FLash Of All Time. The finding and the discovery of the location surprised the team and revealed new insight into FRBs, which are one of astrophysics’ biggest mysteries.

Wrinkles in atomically thin materials unlock ultraefficient electronics

Wrinkles can be an asset—especially for next-generation electronics. Rice University scientists have discovered that tiny creases in two-dimensional materials can control electrons’ spin with record precision, opening the path to ultracompact, energy-efficient electronic devices.

Symmetry-based Floquet optical selection rules help explain light-induced sidebands

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD), in collaboration with international partners, have developed momentum-resolved Floquet optical selection rules. They show how these symmetry-based rules determine the spectral weight distributions of photon-dressed sidebands in time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TrARPES) experiments across different pump-probe configurations. This fundamental work has now been published in Science Advances.

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