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Category: biotech/medical – Page 195

Hydraulic brain: Body motion linked to fluid movement in the brain

The brain is more mechanically connected to the body than previously appreciated, scientists report in Nature Neuroscience. Through a study using mice and simulations, the team found a potential biological mechanism underlying why exercise is thought to benefit brain health: abdominal contractions compress blood vessels connected to the spinal cord and the brain, enabling the organ to gently move within the skull. This swaying facilitates the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid to flow over the brain, potentially washing away neural waste that could cause problems for brain function.

According to Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics, of neurosurgery, of biology and of biomedical engineering at Penn State, the work builds on previous studies detailing how sleep and neuron loss can influence how and when cerebrospinal fluid flushes through the brain.

“Our research explains how just moving around might serve as an important physiological mechanism promoting brain health,” said Drew, corresponding author on the paper. “In this study, we found that when the abdominal muscles contract, they push blood from the abdomen into the spinal cord, just like in a hydraulic system, applying pressure to the brain and making it move.

Frontiers: Introduction:

Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is marked by beta-amyloid plaque accumulation and cognitive decline. The limited efficacy and significant side effects of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody therapies have prompted exploration into innovative treatments like focused ultrasound therapy. Focused ultrasound shows promise as a non-invasive technique for disrupting the blood–brain barrier, potentially enhancing drug delivery directly to the brain and improving the penetration of existing therapeutic agents.

The fake disease that fooled the internet, and what it says about all of us

Until a few years ago, no one had heard of bixonimania. Then, in 2024, a group of scientists posted findings online announcing the condition, which they claimed affected the eyes after computer use. However, the scientists had made it up—not just the work, but the authors’ names, affiliations, locations and funding, which was the University of Fellowship of the Ring and the Galactic Triad.

Large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini treated it as real anyway, and in doing so, helped turn a fictional disease into a legitimate-sounding health concern.

Bixonimania is not an isolated case. Being deceived—whether you are a person or an AI model—is concerningly common, in science and beyond. Whether we’re talking about AI hallucinations, state-backed disinformation or just everyday lies, humans have a remarkable knack for naivety, owing to our biases and increasing need to outsource learning to others. These are problems we—individually and collectively—urgently need to better understand and overcome.

New deadly disease outbreak map flags ‘highly vulnerable’ regions around the world

New global modeling shows that about 9.3% of the world’s land area is highly vulnerable to the risk of dangerous disease outbreaks.

These hotspots are concentrated in Latin America and Oceania, where communities already face pressure from climate change and land development.

The research also identifies the countries most vulnerable to outbreaks – and the least equipped to detect and contain them.

Phosphoinositide Depletion and Compensatory Phospho-Signaling in Angiotensin II-Induced Heart Disease

Westhoff & colleagues found that PTEN inhibition reduces cardiac fibrosis caused by the high blood pressure hormone AngII. Learn how to fight fibrosis from hypertension at.

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New Insight into Bone Immunity in Marrow Cavity and Cancellous Bone Microenvironments and Their Regulation

Bone immunity represents a dynamic interface where skeletal homeostasis intersects with systemic immune regulation. We synthesize emerging paradigms by contrasting two functionally distinct microenvironments: the marrow cavity, a hematopoietic and immune cell reservoir, and cancellous bone, a metabolically active hub orchestrating osteoimmune interactions. The marrow cavity not only generates innate and adaptive immune cells but also preserves long-term immune memory through stromal-derived chemokines and survival factors, while cancellous bone regulates bone remodeling via macrophage-osteoclast crosstalk and cytokine gradients. Breakthroughs in lymphatic vasculature identification challenge traditional views, revealing cortical and lymphatic networks in cancellous bone that mediate immune surveillance and pathological processes such as cancer metastasis.

🧠 The Emotional Brain Under Stress: How the Amygdala Connects Chronic Stress to Chronic Disease

We often think of stress as something that just “gets on our nerves,” but what if it’s actually reshaping our brain — and our long-term health?A recent scientific review published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy by Juhyun Song (2023) highlights a fascinating and urgent connection between the brain’s emotional hub — the amygdala — and our rising burden of metabolic diseases, dementia, and mental health disorders. This tiny almond-shaped structure deep in our brain does more than generate fear or

Fluorescent probe lights up centrioles and cilia in living cells across species

Scientists at EPFL have developed CenSpark, a fluorescent probe that makes centrioles and cilia visible inside living cells, helping researchers study cell division, development, and immunity like never before.

Inside every human cell lies a world of microscopic structures that control movement, division, and communication. Among them are centrioles and cilia, crucial components of cell signaling, motility, and division.

Centrioles organize cellular architecture and guide cell division, while cilia act as sensory and motile antennae. Defects in their formation or function are associated with a wide range of diseases, including ciliopathies and cancer.

Bile Acids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: From Pathophysiology to Treatment

💡Check out this Highly Cited Paper: 🧬 by Bai, S. H., et al. (2024). Biomedicines, 12(12), 2910.

📖Read the full text: https://brnw.ch/21x1SkJ 🔍 Key highlights This review explores the role of bile acids in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease and highlights their potential as therapeutic targets. It discusses emerging treatments, including bile acid receptor agonists, dietary interventions, probiotics, and stem cell therapies, which may reduce disease activity and improve patient outcomes.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition that affects about 7 million people worldwide, and new therapies are needed. Understanding the complex roles that bile acids (BAs) play in IBD may lead to the development of novel IBD treatments independent of direct immunosuppression. This review discusses the latest discoveries in the roles BAs play in IBD pathogenesis and explores how these discoveries offer promising new therapeutic targets to treat IBD and improve patient outcomes. Several therapies discussed include specific BA receptor (BAR) agonists, dietary therapies, supplements, probiotics, and mesenchymal stem cell therapies that have all been shown to decrease IBD disease activity.

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