Scientists still don’t know how microplastics impact human health, but they do have ideas for stopping their spread.
Category: health – Page 5
A research team led by Prof. Jiang Changlong from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed an innovative dual-mode sensing platform using upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). This platform integrates fluorescence and colorimetric methods, offering a highly sensitive and low-detection-limit solution for bilirubin detection in complex biological samples.
The findings, published in Analytical Chemistry, offer a new technological approach for the early diagnosis of jaundice.
Jaundice is a critical health issue in neonates, affecting 60% of newborns and contributing to early neonatal mortality. Elevated free bilirubin levels indicate jaundice, with healthy levels ranging from 1.7 μM to 10.2 μM in healthy individuals. Concentrations below 32 μM typically don’t show classic symptoms. Rapid and accurate detection of bilirubin in neonates is critical.
Microplastics have been found almost everywhere that scientists have looked for them. Now, according to research published in Environment & Health, these bits of plastic—from 1 to 62 micrometers long—are present in the filtered solutions used for medical intravenous (IV) infusions. The researchers estimate that thousands of plastic particles could be delivered directly to a person’s bloodstream from a single 8.4-ounce (250-milliliter) bag of infusion fluid.
In clinical settings, IV infusions are packaged in individual plastic pouches and deliver water, electrolytes, nutrients or medicine to patients. The base of these infusions is a saline solution that contains filtered water and enough salt to match the content of human blood. Research from the 1970s suggests IV fluid bags can contain solid particles, but few scientists have followed up on what those particles are made of.
Researchers Liwu Zhang, Ventsislav Kolev Valev and colleagues suspected that these particles could be microplastics that—upon infusion —would enter the recipient’s bloodstream and potentially cause negative health effects. So, they set out to analyze the types and amounts of particles in commercial IV fluid bags.
Billions of people may be continuously running AI inference for their waking hours in the near future. Satisfying this demand requires relentless focus on efficiency to reduce the required quantities of two key inputs: energy and capital. The constraints on these inputs in conjunction with the slowing and/or stagnation of both Moore’s Law and Dennard Scaling has left hardware architects no choice but to pursue Domain Specific Architectures (DSAs) — architectures tailored to the task at hand.
The current dominance of GPUs in modern deep learning is largely accidental — it was pure serendipity that the computational workload of graphics and deep learning were similar. Remnants of their graphical heritage still persist in GPU architectures today. What would AI inference hardware look like if it was redesigned carte blanche? By working backwards from the AI inference workload, we can determine some optimal properties these DSAs should have. Furthermore, we will attempt to predict the direction the inference paradigm will shift over time — a crucial exercise for hardware architects and engineers alike to ensure return on investment.
National Institutes of Health researchers have mapped how individual neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex receive brain-wide presynaptic inputs that encode behavioral states, refining our understanding of cortical activity.
Neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex process different types of sensory information and exhibit distinct activity patterns, yet the cause of these differences has remained unclear. Previous research emphasized the role of motor cortical regions in movement-related processing, but also recognized that the thalamus plays a role beyond sensory relay.
Using high-resolution single-cell mapping to trace neuronal connectivity, the team revealed that thalamic input is the primary driver for movement-correlated neurons, while motor cortical input plays a smaller role.
No evidence for ‘wind turbine syndrome’ claims: Windmill noise is no more stressful than traffic sounds, study suggests
Posted in biotech/medical, health, neuroscience | Leave a Comment on No evidence for ‘wind turbine syndrome’ claims: Windmill noise is no more stressful than traffic sounds, study suggests
A team of cognitive neuroscientists and acoustic engineers at Adam Mickiewicz University, in Poland, has found no evidence that wind turbine noise causes mental impairment. In their study, published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communication, the group conducted experiments exposing human volunteers to various noises and measured a range of impacts.
Over the past several years, several groups and individuals around the world, most particularly in the U.S., have conceived of the idea of something called “wind turbine syndrome”—a theory that suggests noise from windmills can cause mental illness, or other health problems such as cancer. To date, such claims have not been backed up by research or any other type of proof. In this new effort, the research team in Poland sought to find out if there is any merit to the theory.
The researchers recruited 45 students at a local university who listened to various noises while wearing devices that measured their brainwaves. The researchers intentionally chose young volunteers because prior research has shown they are more sensitive to noise than older people.
Scientists Have Discovered Shocking Amounts of Microplastics in the Brain — And It Could Be Increasing Our Risk of Dementia
Posted in biotech/medical, health, neuroscience | Leave a Comment on Scientists Have Discovered Shocking Amounts of Microplastics in the Brain — And It Could Be Increasing Our Risk of Dementia
The brain has higher concentrations of plastic particles compared to other organs, with increased levels found in dementia patients.
In a comprehensive commentary published in Brain Medicine, researchers highlight alarming new evidence of microplastic accumulation in human brain tissue, offering critical insights into potential health implications and prevention strategies. This commentary examines findings from a groundbreaking Nature Medicine article by Nihart et al. (2025) on the bioaccumulation of microplastics in the brains of deceased individuals.
The research reveals that human brains contain approximately a spoonful of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs), with levels three to five times higher in individuals with documented dementia diagnoses. Even more concerning, brain tissue exhibited MNP concentrations seven to thirty times higher than those found in other organs, such as the liver or kidneys.
A story about traveling through time, literally.
When we fly, we often cross time zones, sometimes even when we drive. Imagine for a moment that this is a continuous process. Even as you walk, your zone moves just a little from one moment to another.
S assume that your personal noon is when the sun is highest. You can create the time for your own body with this calculator. ” + Give it a try. If you have an iPhone, open the included compass app to get the longitude and latitude required to set this personal clock. You can also use Google Earth with your browser to find your location and the lat and long in the bottom right.
Personal solar time and sun elevation timeline.
http://folkstone.ca/Heliox/3DForceModels/Personal-Time-2.html.
Once upon a time there was enough technology that everybody had their own personal time zone to maximize their health and enjoyment. Yes, it seemed odd for a while that time was now considered time and location, but it did not take long to get used to everybody living in a different time zone. Sounds confusing when we are used to large time zones, but you know, so was coordinated time at one point. Just a little different way of doing things that keeps us healthier and happier.
Scientists Develop Hydrogel That Heals Wounds in Just 24 Hours! Researchers at UCLA have created a groundbreaking human skin-like hydrogel that repairs wounds 90% in just 12 hours and fully heals them within 24 hours! ✔This futuristic material mimics real skin, speeding up tissue regeneration like never before. While still in testing, this could revolutionize wound care, making slow healing a thing of the past. #wounds #superskin #skin #Health #healthylifestyle
Deterioration of the hippocampus precedes and leads to memory impairment in late adulthood (1, 2). Strategies to fight hippocampal loss and protect against the development of memory impairment has become an important topic in recent years from both scientific and public health perspectives. Physical activity, such as aerobic exercise, has emerged as a promising low-cost treatment to improve neurocognitive function that is accessible to most adults and is not plagued by intolerable side effects often found with pharmaceutical treatments (3). Exercise enhances learning and improves retention, which is accompanied by increased cell proliferation and survival in the hippocampus of rodents (4– 6); effects that are mediated, in part, by increased production and secretion of BDNF and its receptor tyrosine kinase trkB (7, 8).
Aerobic exercise training increases gray and white matter volume in the prefrontal cortex (9) of older adults and increases the functioning of key nodes in the executive control network (10, 11). Greater amounts of physical activity are associated with sparing of prefrontal and temporal brain regions over a 9-y period, which reduces the risk for cognitive impairment (12). Further, hippocampal and medial temporal lobe volumes are larger in higher-fit older adults (13, 14), and larger hippocampal volumes mediate improvements in spatial memory (13). Exercise training increases cerebral blood volume (15) and perfusion of the hippocampus (16), but the extent to which exercise can modify the size of the hippocampus in late adulthood remains unknown.
To evaluate whether exercise training increases the size of the hippocampus and improves spatial memory, we designed a single-blind, randomized controlled trial in which adults were randomly assigned to receive either moderate-intensity aerobic exercise 3D/wk or stretching and toning exercises that served as a control. We predicted that 1 y of moderate-intensity exercise would increase the size of the hippocampus and that change in hippocampal volume would be associated with increased serum BDNF and improved memory function.