Lifeboat Foundation

Images in Clinical Medicine from The New England Journal of Medicine — Exogenous Ochronosis from Skin-Lightening Cream.

It has been known for more than century that increases in neural activity in the brain drive changes in local blood flow, known as neurovascular coupling. The colloquial explanation for these increases in blood flow (referred to as functional hyperemia) in the brain is that they serve to supply the needs of metabolically active neurons. However, there is an large body of evidence that is inconsistent with this idea. In most cases, baseline blood flow is adequate to supply even elevated neural activity. Neurovascular coupling is irregular, absent, or inverted in many brain regions, behavioral states, and conditions. Increases in respiration can generate increases in brain oxygenation independently of flow changes. Simulations have shown that areas with low blood flow are inescapable and cannot be removed by functional hyperemia given the architecture of the cerebral vasculature. What physiological purpose might neurovascular coupling serve? Here, we discuss potential alternative functions of neurovascular coupling. It may serve supply oxygen for neuromodulator synthesis, to regulate cerebral temperature, signal to neurons, stabilize and optimize the cerebral vascular structure, deal with the non-Newtonian nature of blood, or drive the production and circulation of cerebrospinal fluid around and through the brain via arterial dilations. Understanding the ‘why’ of neurovascular coupling is an important goal that give insight into the pathologies caused by cerebrovascular disfunction.

Like all energy demanding organs, the brain is highly vascularized. When presented with a sensory stimulus or cognitive task, increases in neural activity in many brain regions are accompanied by local dilation of arterioles and other microvessels, increasing local blood flow, volume and oxygenation. The increase in blood flow in response to increased neural activity (known as functional hyperemia) is controlled by a multitude of different signaling pathways via neurovascular coupling (reviewed in [1,2]). These vascular changes can be monitored non-invasively in humans and other species, with techniques (like BOLD fMRI) that are cornerstones in modern neuroscience [3,4]. Chronic disruptions of neurovascular coupling have adverse health effects on the brain. Stress affects neurovascular coupling [5,6], and many neurodegenerative diseases are marked by vascular dysfunction [7].

As one of the few schools on Long Island offering the AP Capstone program in their curricula, Patchogue-Medford High School provides various STEM opportunities for its students.

From Brookhaven National Laboratory to Stony Brook University right at our fingertips, the possibilities are endless. For instance, on December 8 th, four AP Research students joined Dr. Gatz in spending the day at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to conduct the necessary experiments for their research papers.

Senior, Carlo Costigliola, and Junior, Isaac Varghese, have decided to focus their research on DNA barcoding. According to International Barcode of Life, “DNA barcoding is a method of specimen identification using short, standardized segments of DNA.”

In 1,868, Jean-Martin Charcot, a neurologist at the Hôpital de Salpétrière in France, first coined the disease “la sclérose en plaques,” which means multiple sclerosis (MS) — to distinguish it from another type of movement disorder later known as Parkinson’s disease.

Though described in 1,868, the cause of MS puzzled scientists for more than a century. This is until a 2022 breakthrough study finally enlightens us that the cause is, oddly, the seemingly innocent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common childhood virus that causes typical fever and sore throat.

Let’s see how one study single-handedly proves what we thought couldn’t be proved; how one study truly deserves to be called a breakthrough; and how thorough and near-perfect science is done.

The engineers believe that their method, referred to as superluminescent light projection, represents a breakthrough that could enable revolutionary technological advancements in a wide range of industrial, commercial, and scientific applications, including advances in nanotechnology.

Printing Infinitesimally Small Objects by Harnessing the Power of Light

As technologies continue to advance, scientists and engineers have developed an increasing need for objects printed at the nanoscale, meaning hundreds of times smaller than a human hair. This is especially true in extremely advanced nanotechnologies like power generation and sensing, as well as novel medical procedures that previously only existed in science fiction.

Instruments smaller than a human hair are being designed to eradicate antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fight cancer.

Dr. Ana Santos becomes emotional when describing what happened several years ago: Her grandfather and an uncle died of urinary tract infections and a good friend succumbed after an accidental cut got infected.

She was shocked. In an age of antibiotics, such misfortunes weren’t supposed to happen.

Bonn researchers identify protein that increases the formation of good brown and beige fat. Brown fat cells convert energy into heat — a key to eliminating unwanted fat deposits. In addition, they also protect against cardiovascular diseases. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Transdisciplinary Research Area “Life & Health” at the University of Bonn have now identified the protein EPAC1 as a new pharmacological target to increase brown fat mass and activity. The long-term aim is to find medicines that support weight loss. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

Obesity is defined as a pathological increase in white fat, and has become a major problem worldwide, with a greatly increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.

“Exercise and dieting are not enough to effectively and permanently shed the pounds,” says corresponding author Prof.

The various identities of cells, whether they are in the brain, heart, kidney, or any other tissue, are defined by the genes they expressed. In basic terms, the genes that are active in a cell are transcribed into RNA molecules that are then translated into proteins using tRNA molecules. In the genetic code, three base pair sequences of DNA, or codons, represent amino acids. These amino acids are moved into place by tRNA molecules, which have matching anticodons, to make proteins. There is redundancy in the genetic code as well, in which one amino acid can often be encoded by a few different codons.

Protein production varies considerably in different cells, and this is especially notable in cells that generate antibodies. These cells often have to spring into action and shift into high gear to generate many infection-fighting antibodies quickly. These antibody producers are B cells, and they often make significant metabolic adaptations when they’re needed.

This finding has important implications for cancer research, as HR is involved in many aspects of cancer biology.