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Category: neuroscience – Page 194

With more than 1,000 nerve endings, human skin is the brain’s largest sensory connection to the outside world, providing a wealth of feedback through touch, temperature and pressure. While these complex features make skin a vital organ, they also make it a challenge to replicate.

By utilizing nanoengineered hydrogels that exhibit tunable electronic and thermal biosensing capabilities, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a 3D-printed electronic skin (E-skin) that can flex, stretch and sense like human skin.

“The ability to replicate the sense of touch and integrate it into various technologies opens up new possibilities for human-machine interaction and advanced sensory experiences,” said Dr. Akhilesh Gaharwar, professor and director of research for the Department of Biomedical Engineering. “It can potentially revolutionize industries and improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.”

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Title: Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro-and educational sciences See… https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-021-00089-5 Abstract: Metacognition comprises both the ability to be aware of one’s cognitive processes (metacognitive knowledge) and to regulate them (metacognitive control)…

Fleur, D.S., Bredeweg, B. & van den Bos, W. Metacognition: ideas and insights from neuro-and educational sciences. npj Sci. Learn. 6, 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00089-5

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Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have unveiled a revolutionary method to study the microscopic structures of the human brain. The study, led by Benjamin Creekmore in the labs of Yi-Wei Chang and Edward Lee, promises to enhance our understanding of various brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.

Cryo-electron tomography takes center stage

Traditionally, scientists have utilized electron microscopy to explore and comprehend the intricate details of cellular structures within the brain. However, this method has been fraught with challenges, such as the alteration of cell structures due to the addition of chemicals and physical tissue cutting.

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Even if they were dozens of light-years away, two colliding neutron stars could create a powerful enough explosion to wipe out life on Earth.

At least, that’s according to a recent paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, in which a team of researchers concluded that a kilonova could pose a major threat to Earth-like planets, even at formidable interstellar distances.

A kilonova is usually the result of a collision involving two neutron stars within a binary system, or when a neutron star and a black hole merge. These collisions release brain-melting amounts of electromagnetic radiation in the form of gamma-ray bursts.

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A new Northwestern Medicine study has found the immune system in the blood of Alzheimer’s patients is epigenetically altered. That means the patients’ behavior or environment has caused changes that affect the way their genes work.

Many of these altered are the same ones that increase an individual’s risk for Alzheimer’s. Northwestern scientists theorize the cause could be a previous viral infection, or other lifestyle factors and behaviors.

“It is possible that these findings implicate the peripheral immune response in Alzheimer’s disease risk,” said lead investigator David Gate, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We haven’t yet untangled whether these changes are reflective of or whether they precipitate the disease.”

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Summary: A new study illuminated how fruit flies navigate by revealing the communication between their internal compass and steering brain regions. This study shows that three distinct neuron groups translate directional signals into corrective actions, allowing fruit flies to adjust their course effectively.

These findings not only deepen our understanding of navigation in simpler organisms but also lay the groundwork for future research into the neural basis of behavior in more complex species, including humans.

By exploring the intricacies of fruit fly brains, scientists have uncovered fundamental principles of cognitive processing and behavior adjustment, offering insights into how internal cognitive states like direction sense are converted into tangible actions.

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Could cannabis use lead to anxiety disorders? This is what a recent study published in EClinicalMedicine hopes to address as a team of researchers led by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute examine the connection between cannabis use and anxiety disorders by patients who have had emergency department visits. While this study was limited to Canada, it holds the potential to help researchers, legislators, and the public better understand the long-term risks of cannabis on mental health disorders throughout the world.

For the study, the researchers analyzed health records from 2008 to 2019 for 12,099,144 individuals between 10 and 105 years of age across Ontario, Canada who had no prior history of being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder from any hospital visit and compared this to the general population. In the end, the researchers found that 27.5 percent of individuals who visited a hospital for cannabis use were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder within three years of their hospital visit, whereas only 5.6 percent of the general population experienced the same. Additionally, they found that individuals who visited a hospital for cannabis use also visited a hospital for an anxiety disorder within three years of the initial hospital visit, whereas only 1.2 percent of the general population experienced the same.

“Our results suggest that individuals requiring emergency department treatment for cannabis use were both at substantially increased risk of developing a new anxiety disorder and experiencing worsening symptoms for already existing anxiety disorders,” said Dr. Daniel Myran, who is a Faculty of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa and lead author of the study.

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