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Scientific studies continue to show us how exercise can bring a range of cognitive benefits, from limiting the risk of Alzheimer’s to giving an immediate boost to our learning capabilities. Researchers working in this area at the University of South Australia have turned their attention to neuroplasticity, finding two styles of workout in particular that give this key brain function the biggest boost.

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to rewire the neural connections as we go through life, whether that be in response to certain experiences, building memories, learning new skills or adapting to new environments. In this way, it is seen as critical to the development of a healthy brain from infancy all the way through to adulthood, and the authors of this new study set out to dig into how exercise can influence these vital pathways.

“We already know that engaging in regular aerobic exercise is good for the brain, improving memory, attention and learning,” says co-author Dr Ashleigh Smith. “However, we need to understand why it is so beneficial and what the best exercise, intensity and duration is.”

University of Bayreuth researchers, together with scientists from Italy and China, have for the first time systematically investigated under which conditions, and to what extent, sulphur-containing arsenic compounds are formed in rice-growing soils. To date, these thioarsenates have not been taken into account in assessments of the health effects of rice consumption. In the journal Nature Geoscience the scientists present their results and identify the urgent need for research with a view to protecting consumers from health risks.

A new measuring method for thioarsenates

The research team, headed by the Bayreuth environmental geochemist Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich, has developed a measuring method by means of which thioarsenates in soils can be reliably detected. Up to now, the methods routinely used to monitor in rice fields have not been sufficient for this purpose. This is because they are not able to identify sulphur-containing arsenic compounds as such, or to distinguish them from oxygen-containing arsenic compounds. This shortcoming is highly problematic in terms of possible . At least one organic sulphur-containing arsenic compound discovered in rice fields is already known to be carcinogenic. This makes it all the more important to specifically detect organic sulphur-containing arsenic compounds, and to examine them for their toxicity. Presumably, these compounds have been confused with non-toxic organic oxygenated arsenic compounds up to now due to inadequate measurement procedures.

Santa Cruz, CA February 7, 2020 —Research into the novel Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus, the deadly “coronavirus” that has forced the Chinese government to quarantine more than 50 million people in the country’s dense industrial heartland, will be facilitated by the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute. The Genomics Institute’s Genome Browser team has posted the complete biomolecular code of the virus for researchers all over the world to use.

“When we display coronavirus data in the UCSC Genome Browser, it lets researchers look at the virus’ structure and more importantly work with it so they can research how they want to attack it,” said UCSC Genome Browser Engineer Hiram Clawson.

Samples of the virus have been processed in labs all over the world, and the raw information about its genetic code has been sent to the worldwide repository of genomic information at the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Bioinformatics (NCBI) in Bethesda, Maryland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXo5BVdzZQE&t=1s