854 posts · 453,338 views

Lunatic Labs is a startup company by a mechanical engineer. While working on our own little projects Loony Labs keeps everyone current with science-related news, or just random science thoughts.

Dr. Jekyll
854 posts

Sort by: Latest Post, Most Popular

View by: Condensed, Full

September 11, 2015
06:06 PM
5,679 views

Smart cells teach neurons damaged by Parkinson’s to heal themselves

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

As a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created smarter immune cells that produce and deliver a healing protein to the brain while also teaching neurons to begin making the protein for themselves.... Read more »

Zhao, Y., Haney, M., Gupta, R., Bohnsack, J., He, Z., Kabanov, A., & Batrakova, E. (2014) GDNF-Transfected Macrophages Produce Potent Neuroprotective Effects in Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model. PLoS ONE, 9(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106867

September 12, 2015
03:37 PM
5,672 views

Female mice sing for sex

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

They don’t use gondolas or croon like Sinatra. But scientists have known for a long time that male mice belt out something like love songs to females when the time seems right to them. What they didn’t know – until a University of Delaware researcher developed a sophisticated array of microphones and a sound analysis chamber – was that female mice were singing back.... Read more »

Neunuebel, J., Taylor, A., Arthur, B., & Egnor, S. (2015) Female mice ultrasonically interact with males during courtship displays. eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.06203

September 11, 2015
03:16 PM
5,613 views

An antibody that can attack HIV in new ways

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Proteins called broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are a promising key to the prevention of infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. bNAbs have been found in blood samples from some HIV patients whose immune systems can naturally control the infection. These antibodies may protect a patient’s healthy cells by recognizing a protein called the envelope spike, present on the surface of all HIV strains and inhibiting, or neutralizing, the effects of the virus. Now Caltech researchers hav........ Read more »

Scharf, L., Wang, H., Gao, H., Chen, S., McDowall, A., & Bjorkman, P. (2015) Broadly Neutralizing Antibody 8ANC195 Recognizes Closed and Open States of HIV-1 Env. Cell, 162(6), 1379-1390. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.08.035

September 13, 2015
02:51 PM
5,595 views

Diet beverage drinkers compensate by eating unhealthy food

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Want fries with that diet soda? You aren’t alone, and you may not be “saving” as many calories as you think by consuming diet drinks. A new study that examined the dietary habits of more than 22,000 U.S. adults found that diet-beverage consumers may compensate for the absence of calories in their drinks by noshing on extra food that is loaded with sugar, sodium, fat and cholesterol.... Read more »

An, R. (2015) Beverage Consumption in Relation to Discretionary Food Intake and Diet Quality among US Adults, 2003 to 2012. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2015.08.009

June 23, 2014
01:30 PM
1,375 views

The Iceman Cometh

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Are you so fat you can’t see your toes? Have you forgotten what toes even look like? Have you been mistaken for the infamous “Kool-aid man”? Want to shed the […]... Read more »

Lee, P., Smith, S., Linderman, J., Courville, A., Brychta, R., Dieckmann, W., Werner, C., Chen, K., & Celi, F. (2014) Temperature-acclimated brown adipose tissue modulates insulin sensitivity in humans. Diabetes. DOI: 10.2337/db14-0513

Liu, M., Bai, J., He, S., Villarreal, R., Hu, D., Zhang, C., Yang, X., Liang, H., Slaga, T., Yu, Y.... (2014) Grb10 Promotes Lipolysis and Thermogenesis by Phosphorylation-Dependent Feedback Inhibition of mTORC1. Cell Metabolism, 19(6), 967-980. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.03.018

May 8, 2014
03:00 PM
1,100 views

We can build it better: The First Semi-Synthetic Organism

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Normally I do one post a day, but I could NOT wait to share this. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have engineered a bacterium whose genetic material includes […]... Read more »

Malyshev Denis. (2014) A semi-synthetic organism with an expanded genetic alphabet. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature13314

June 2, 2014
02:41 PM
1,070 views

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Much like this posts namesake, the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind asked what if you could erase memories? Want to forget your ex, no problem. Better yet, what PTSD? I’m sure that […]... Read more »

Sadegh Nabavi, Rocky Fox, Christophe D. Proulx, John Y. Lin, Roger Y. Tsien, Roberto Malinow. (2014) Engineering a memory with LTD and LTP. Nature. info:/10.1038/nature13294

June 5, 2014
12:03 PM
1,056 views

The Surprisingly Magnetic Black Hole

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Black holes suck. Nothing can escape a black hole, not even light, which is why they are “black”. They are also an interesting bit of physics. Normally “classical” physics applies […]... Read more »

Zamaninasab, M., Clausen-Brown, E., Savolainen, T., & Tchekhovskoy, A. (2014) Dynamically important magnetic fields near accreting supermassive black holes. Nature, 510(7503), 126-128. DOI: 10.1038/nature13399

S. W. Hawking. (2014) Information Preservation and Weather Forecasting for Black Holes. Cornell University Library . arXiv: 1401.5761v1

August 26, 2014
01:27 PM
1,052 views

The Holographic Universe [we might Live in!]

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Are you feeling a little… flat? Well that might be because you are only in 2 dimensions. I know what you’re thinking, insane! Well first check the name of the business and second, check out the science. In fact, it may seem like a joke, but the math suggests that it could very well be true and with it could come a deeper understanding of the universe. Testing this hypothesis (which was first made in the late 90’s) has been harder to do than you might think, but that has now changed. We are........ Read more »

Cowen, R. (2013) Simulations back up theory that Universe is a hologram. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature.2013.14328

Li W, & Takayanagi T. (2011) Holography and entanglement in flat spacetime. Physical review letters, 106(14), 141301. PMID: 21561179

Piao, Y. (2007) Primordial perturbation spectra in a holographic phase of the Universe. Physical Review D, 76(4). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.76.043509

George F. Smoot. (2010) Go with the Flow, Average Holographic Universe. Int.J.Mod.Phys.D19:2247-2258,2010. arXiv: 1003.5952v1

July 10, 2014
01:59 PM
1,049 views

Don’t Listen to the Voices: Understanding Consciousness

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

There is a voice in my head. Don't worry it's mine... I think [a story for another time I'm sure], but why is my voice inside my head? What causes me to hear myself while I type these very words, or even better you to hear them in your voice as you read them? Consciousness is a complex and very confusing thing. I think therefore I am? Science has had trouble cracking that nut and philosophy just won't cut it in the realm of neuroscience. [...]... Read more »

Paller, K., & Suzuki, S. (2014) The source of consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.05.012

September 27, 2014
01:29 PM
1,026 views

Are Black Holes just in Our Imagination?!

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Black holes, physicists have been fighting over them forever, heck there is even a book entitled the black hole war! (which I do recommend for anyone interested) It’s no real surprise since they are the ultimate unknown – the blackest and most dense objects in the universe that do not even let light escape. And as if they weren't bizarre enough to begin with, now add this to the mix: they don’t exist.... Read more »

Laura Mersini-Houghton. (2014) Backreaction of Hawking Radiation on a Gravitationally Collapsing Star I: Black Holes?. Physics Letters B. arXiv: 1406.1525v1

Laura Mersini-Houghton, Harald P. Pfeiffer. (2014) Back-reaction of the Hawking radiation flux on a gravitationally collapsing star II: Fireworks instead of firewalls . Physics Letters B. info:/arXiv:1409.1837

July 23, 2014
01:21 PM
1,020 views

Voyager has hit interstellar space…. maybe?

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Poor Voyager, he just can’t catch a break. We’ve said it’s hit interstellar space more times than we want to admit and in 2012, the Voyager mission team announced that […]... Read more »

G. Gloeckler, & L. A. Fisk. (2014) A test for whether or not Voyager 1 has crossed the heliopause. Geophysical Research Letters. info:/10.1002/2014GL060781

May 28, 2014
04:32 PM
1,013 views

Diet Soda and Weight loss

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

A quick google for the term diet soda will show you a wide range of “health issues” related to drinking diet drinks. But thankfully a new study sheds light on the truth behind the diet soda and weight loss myth.... Read more »

Peters John C, Wyatt Holly R, Foster Gary D, Pan Zhaoxing, Wojtanowski Alexis C, Vander Veur Stephanie S, Herring Sharon J, Brill Carrie, & Hill James O. (2014) The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss during a 12-week weight loss treatment program. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 22(6), 1415-1421. PMID: 24862170

May 8, 2014
01:00 PM
1,003 views

Is that Good Science? A Guide to Cutting through BS

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Part of getting an education isn’t about learning what to think, it is about learning how to find good information. When it comes to scientific literature [especially on-line], it’s hard […]... Read more »

White Peter. (2012) Practice, practitioner, or placebo? A multifactorial, mixed-methods randomized controlled trial of acupuncture. Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, 153(2), 455-462. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2011.11.007

Lovejoy S. (2014) Scaling fluctuation analysis and statistical hypothesis testing of anthropogenic warming. Climate Dynamics, 42(9-10), 2339-2351. DOI: 10.1007/s00382-014-2128-2

August 9, 2014
01:45 PM
1,002 views

Marijuana and the Developing Brain

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

You can’t get away from it, the big marijuana debate here in the US. Is it good? Is it bad? What are other countries doing? There are also a lot of claims made about marijuana, most of which aren’t true, namely the big medical claims. Then there is the other side of that fence, what about some of the health issues that are claimed, where does science sit on that?[…]... Read more »

Giedd JN, Blumenthal J, Jeffries NO, Rajapakse JC, Vaituzis AC, Liu H, Berry YC, Tobin M, Nelson J, & Castellanos FX. (1999) Development of the human corpus callosum during childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology , 23(4), 571-88. PMID: 10390717

Giedd, J. N. (2004) Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the adolescent brain. Adolescent Brain Development: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities. info:/

Friese B, & Grube JW. (2013) Legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana use among youths. Drugs (Abingdon, England), 20(1), 33-39. PMID: 23641127

Chadwick B, Miller ML, & Hurd YL. (2013) Cannabis Use during Adolescent Development: Susceptibility to Psychiatric Illness. Frontiers in psychiatry, 129. PMID: 24133461

Lisdahl, K., Wright, N., Medina-Kirchner, C., Maple, K., & Shollenbarger, S. (2014) Considering Cannabis: The Effects of Regular Cannabis Use on Neurocognition in Adolescents and Young Adults. Current Addiction Reports, 1(2), 144-156. DOI: 10.1007/s40429-014-0019-6

Choo EK, Benz M, Zaller N, Warren O, Rising KL, & McConnell KJ. (2014) The impact of state medical marijuana legislation on adolescent marijuana use. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 55(2), 160-6. PMID: 24742758

Joffe A, American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse, & American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence. (2004) Legalization of marijuana: potential impact on youth. Pediatrics, 113(6), 1825-6. PMID: 15173518

May 16, 2014
02:25 PM
1,000 views

MORE Science Fact and Fiction Behind Fat Loss

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

I was shocked by the huge response to my first post on the science behind weight loss, so much so that I wanted to do a second post in the series […]... Read more »

Hana Kahleova, Lenka Belinova, Hana Malinska, Olena Oliyarnyk,, Jaroslava Trnovska, Vojtech Skop, Ludmila Kazdova, Monika Dezortova,, & Milan Hajek, Andrea Tura, Martin Hill, Terezie Pelikanova. (2014) Eating two larger meals a day (breakfast and lunch) is more effective than six smaller meals in a reduced-energy regimen for patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised crossover study. Diabetologia. info:/10.1007/s00125-014-3253-5

Te Morenga, L., Howatson, A., Jones, R., & Mann, J. (2014) Dietary sugars and cardiometabolic risk: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of the effects on blood pressure and lipids. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.081521

Lombardo, M., Bellia, A., Padua, E., Annino, G., Guglielmi, V., D’Adamo, M., Iellamo, F., & Sbraccia, P. (2014) Morning Meal More Efficient for Fat Loss in a 3-Month Lifestyle Intervention. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 1-8. DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2013.863169

Andersson DP, Eriksson Hogling D, Thorell A, Toft E, Qvisth V, Näslund E, Thörne A, Wirén M, Löfgren P, Hoffstedt J.... (2014) Changes in Subcutaneous Fat Cell Volume and Insulin Sensitivity After Weight Loss. Diabetes care. PMID: 24760260

Fletcher, G., Dawes, J., & Spano, M. (2014) The Potential Dangers of Using Rapid Weight Loss Techniques. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 36(2), 45-48. DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000043

Lasikiewicz, N., Myrissa, K., Hoyland, A., & Lawton, C. (2014) Psychological benefits of weight loss following behavioural and/or dietary weight loss interventions. A systematic research review. Appetite, 123-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.09.017

May 25, 2014
03:12 PM
988 views

Land of the Free, Home of the Afraid?

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

Let’s take a Loony quiz! Do you believe any of these statements are true? Global warming isn’t real. GMO food is the devil. Organic and all natural are better. Science […]... Read more »

Lovejoy S. (2014) Scaling fluctuation analysis and statistical hypothesis testing of anthropogenic warming. Climate Dynamics, 41(9-10), 2339-2351. DOI: 10.1007/s00382-014-2128-2

Taylor Luke E. . (2014) Vaccines are not associated with autism: An evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies . Vaccine . DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.085

McFadden Brandon R., & Lusk Jayson L. (2014) Cognitive Biases in the Assimilation of Scientific Information on Global Warming and Genetically Modified Food. Research in Agricultural and applied economics. DOI: purl.umn.edu/162532

June 4, 2014
02:23 PM
968 views

Climate Engineering: We can’t Build it Better after all

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

We have the technology: we can rebuild you, better, stronger, faster. Well we may have been able to build the six million dollar man better than before, but as it turns […]... Read more »

Cusack, D., Axsen, J., Shwom, R., Hartzell-Nichols, L., White, S., & Mackey, K. (2014) An interdisciplinary assessment of climate engineering strategies. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12(5), 280-287. DOI: 10.1890/130030

May 21, 2014
03:26 PM
967 views

Weight Loss Science Fiction: The Paleo Diet

by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories

You, yes you! Put down the Big Mac, come on you can do it. Now, let’s get back to our roots. It’s time to go hunter gatherer on your ass. […]... Read more »

Frost Gary S. , Barraclough Timothy G. , Gibson Glenn R. , Walton Gemma E. , Sponheimer Matt , Johnson Laura P. , Costabile Adele , Swann Jonathan R. , & Psichasa Arianna . (2014) Impacts of Plant-Based Foods in Ancestral Hominin Diets on the Metabolism and Function of Gut Microbiota In Vitro. American Society For Microbiology , 5(3). DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00853-14

login

Lunatic Laboratories

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

Why is this post inappropriate?

search

topics

dates

View

Language

Languages to Display

join us!

News