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Post-prandial hyperlipidaemia impairs systemic vascular function and dynamic cerebral autoregulation in young and old male adults

Dietary fat is an important part of our diet. It provides us with a concentrated source of energy, transports vitamins and when stored in the body, protects our organs and helps keep us warm. The two main types of fat that we consume are saturated and unsaturated (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), which are differentiated by their chemical composition.

But these fats have different effects on our body. For example, it is well established that eating a meal that is high in saturated fat, such as that self-indulgent Friday night takeaway pizza, can be bad for our blood vessels and heart health. And these effects are not simply confined to the heart.

The brain has limited energy stores, which means it is heavily reliant on a continuous supply of blood delivering oxygen and glucose to maintain normal function.

One of the ways the body maintains this supply is through a process known as “dynamic cerebral autoregulation”. This process ensures that blood flow to the brain remains stable despite everyday changes in blood pressure, such as standing up and exercising. It’s like having shock absorbers that help keep our brains cool under pressure.

But when this process is impaired, those swings in blood pressure become harder to manage. That can mean brief episodes of too little or too much blood reaching the brain. Over time, this increases the risk of developing conditions like stroke and dementia.

Continue reading “Post-prandial hyperlipidaemia impairs systemic vascular function and dynamic cerebral autoregulation in young and old male adults” | >

High-level visual representations in the human brain are aligned with large language models

Doerig, Kietzmann and colleagues show that the brain’s response to visual scenes can be modelled using language-based AI representations. By linking brain activity to caption-based embeddings from large language models, the study reveals a way to quantify complex visual understanding.

Protecting the biomolecules with simple peptides

In biology, cells often respond to stress by creating protective compartments through a process known as phase separation. These compartments stabilize vulnerable proteins and can dissolve again when conditions improve. The research team applied this principle to design adaptable peptide-based materials that mimic this process—offering a simple and effective alternative to conventional methods for biomolecular stabilization, which often require complex formulations and cold-chain logistics.

Key findings from the study include:

A new study reveals that extremely simple peptides can mimic a biological process that protects sensitive proteins from environmental stress. The findings, published in Nature Materials, offer a promising new approach to stabilizing biomolecules like vaccines and therapeutic proteins—potentially without the need for refrigeration.

The interdisciplinary study demonstrates how short peptides—just three amino acids long—can undergo liquid–liquid phase separation through a drying process that enables the peptides to encapsulate proteins, protect them, and release them intact upon rehydration.

“Inspired by how organisms like tardigrades survive extreme dehydration, we asked whether we could replicate nature’s strategy using minimal synthetic materials,” said the atuhor. “To our surprise, we found that simple tripeptides could form dynamic, reversible structures that protect proteins under stress. This opens up new possibilities for protein preservation.”

The Fermi Paradox & The Hivemind Dilemma

Are we alone, or just looking for the wrong kind of aliens? Discover how the path to hive minds and distributed consciousness might answer the Fermi Paradox — and pose new dilemmas of their own.

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Credits:
The Fermi Paradox & The Hivemind Dilemma.
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Editor: Lukas Konecny.
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Chapters.
0:00 Intro.
1:25 What is a Hivemind?
3:48 Why Build a Hivemind?
9:51 The Hivemind Dilemma: Cognitive Horizon Limits.
14:56 FTL and the Limits of Superminds.
18:33 Asimov, Seldon, Gaia, Galaxia, and the Fallacy of Galactic Planning.
24:46 Galactic Civilizations & Fragmented Minds.
26:56 The Competition of Minds.

Physicists make critical energy breakthrough after unearthing long-forgotten experiment: ‘Our replication leaves no doubt’

Unlike more complex, high-energy fusion experiments such as those at the National Ignition Facility, this test was performed at a much lower energy level. That makes it a game changer for smaller labs and opens the door to more accessible fusion experimentation.

What the researchers learned is a notable contribution to ongoing fusion studies. If scientists can successfully scale fusion energy, it could power entire cities more affordably than conventional power while helping stabilize the grid. Fusion doesn’t generate heat-trapping pollution either, meaning cleaner air and healthier communities.

While fusion isn’t powering our homes just yet, such developments move us closer to a cleaner, more affordable energy future — especially with successes such as the 2022 ignition breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Lithium loss ignites Alzheimer’s, but lithium compound can reverse disease in mice

What is the earliest spark that ignites the memory-robbing march of Alzheimer’s disease? Why do some people with Alzheimer’s-like changes in the brain never go on to develop dementia? These questions have bedeviled neuroscientists for decades.

Now, a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School may have found an answer: deficiency in the brain.

The work, published in Nature, shows for the first time that lithium occurs naturally in the brain, shields it from neurodegeneration, and maintains the normal function of all major brain cell types.

Scientists say it may be possible to protect aging brains from Alzheimer’s with an old remedy — lithium

In a major new finding almost a decade in the making, researchers at Harvard Medical School say they’ve found a key that may unlock many of the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and brain aging — the humble metal lithium.

Lithium is best known to medicine as a mood stabilizer given to people who have bipolar disorder and depression. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1970, but it was used by doctors to treat mood disorders for nearly a century beforehand.

Now, for the first time, researchers have shown that lithium is naturally present in the body in tiny amounts and that cells require it to function normally — much like vitamin C or iron. It also appears to play a critical role in maintaining brain health.

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