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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
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- August 4, 2016
- 02:07 PM
- 226 views
Biomimicry is a promising approach for driving innovation
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A new case study shows that biomimicry, a relatively new field that seeks to emulate nature to find solutions to human problems, can potentially expand intellectual property, increase energy savings and accelerate product innovation.
... Read more »
Emily Barbara Kennedy, & Thomas Andrew Marting. (2016) Biomimicry: Streamlining the Front End of Innovation for Environmentally Sustainable Products. Research-Technology Management. info:/10.1080/08956308.2016.1185342
- August 3, 2016
- 01:52 PM
- 213 views
New neurons created through exercise don't cause you to forget old memories
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Fellow exercise enthusiasts, you can breath a sigh of relief and so can your brain. Research has found that exercise causes more new neurons to be formed in a critical brain region, and contrary to an earlier study, these new neurons do not cause the individual to forget old memories, according to new research.
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Kodali, M., Megahed, T., Mishra, V., Shuai, B., Hattiangady, B., & Shetty, A. (2016) Voluntary Running Exercise-Mediated Enhanced Neurogenesis Does Not Obliterate Retrograde Spatial Memory. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(31), 8112-8122. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0766-16.2016
- August 2, 2016
- 02:03 PM
- 208 views
Cardiac complications from energy drinks?
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The high levels of caffeine in energy drinks may lead to cardiac complications. A new case report adds to previous reports of adverse cardiovascular events related to consuming energy drinks, including abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
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Sattari M, Sattari A, & Kazory A. (2016) Energy Drink Consumption and Cardiac Complications: A Case for Caution. Journal of addiction medicine, 10(4), 280-2. PMID: 27471919
- August 1, 2016
- 03:10 PM
- 185 views
FAMIN or feast? Newly discovered mechanism influences how immune cells 'eat' invaders
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A new mechanism that affects how our immune cells perform - and hence their ability to prevent disease - has been discovered by an international team of researchers. To date, researchers have identified hundreds of genetic variants that increase or decrease the risk of developing diseases from cancer and diabetes to tuberculosis and mental health disorders.
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M Zaeem Cader, Katharina Boroviak, Qifeng Zhang, Ghazaleh Assadi, Sarah L Kempster, Gavin W Sewell, Svetlana Saveljeva, Jonathan W Ashcroft, Simon Clare, Subhankar Mukhopadhyay, Karen P Brown, Markus Tschurtschenthaler, Tim Raine, Brendan Doe, Edwin R Chilvers, Jules L Griffin, Nicole C Kaneider, R Andres Floto, Mauro D'Amato, Allan Bradley, Michael J O Wakelam.... (2016) C13orf31 (FAMIN) is a central regulator of immunometabolic function. Nature Immunology. info:/10.1038/ni.3532
- July 31, 2016
- 03:38 PM
- 218 views
Tracking how HIV disrupts immune system informs vaccine development
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
One of the main mysteries confounding development of an HIV vaccine is why some people infected with the virus make the desired antibodies after several years, but a vaccine can't seem to induce the same response.
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M. Anthony Moody1,2,3,*,†, Isabela Pedroza-Pacheco4,†, Nathan A. Vandergrift1,5, Cecilia Chui4, Krissey E. Lloyd1, Robert Parks1, Kelly A. Soderberg1, Ane T. Ogbe4, Myron S. Cohen6, Hua-Xin Liao1,5, Feng Gao1,5, Andrew J. McMichael, David C. Montefiori, Laurent Verkoczy, Garnett Kelsoe, Jinghe Huang, Patrick R. Shea, Mark Connors, Persephone Borrow, & Barton F. Haynes. (2016) Immune perturbations in HIV-1–infected individuals who make broadly neutralizing antibodies. Science Immunology . info:/10.1126/sciimmunol.aag0851
- July 30, 2016
- 03:58 PM
- 246 views
Fish oil vs. lard -- why some fat can help or hinder your diet
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A diet high in saturated fat can make your brain struggle to control what you eat. If people are looking to lose weight, stay clear of saturated fat. Consuming these types of fatty food affects a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which helps regulate hunger.
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Viggiano, E., Mollica, M., Lionetti, L., Cavaliere, G., Trinchese, G., De Filippo, C., Chieffi, S., Gaita, M., Barletta, A., De Luca, B.... (2016) Effects of an High-Fat Diet Enriched in Lard or in Fish Oil on the Hypothalamic Amp-Activated Protein Kinase and Inflammatory Mediators. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2016.00150
- July 29, 2016
- 03:55 PM
- 221 views
Breastfeeding associated with better brain development and neurocognitive outcomes
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A new study, which followed 180 preterm infants from birth to age seven, found that babies who were fed more breast milk within the first 28 days of life had had larger volumes of certain regions of the brain at term equivalent and had better IQs, academic achievement, working memory, and motor function.
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Mandy B. Belfort, MD, Peter J. Anderson, PhD, Victoria A. Nowak, MBBS, Katherine J. Lee, PhD, Charlotte Molesworth, Deanne K. Thompson, PhD, Lex W. Doyle, MD, & Terrie E. Inder, MBChB, MD. (2016) Breast Milk Feeding, Brain Development, and Neurocognitive Outcomes: A 7-Year Longitudinal Study in Infants Born at Less Than 30 Weeks' Gestation. The Journal of Pediatrics. DOI: http://dx.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.06.045
- July 28, 2016
- 03:23 PM
- 251 views
Why do antidepressants take so long to work?
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Medication roulette, if you have ever had to deal with depression or other types of mental illness you know what I'm talking about. You take a pill that could help or could cause all sorts of horrid side effects. You cross your fingers as you take that first pill and in the 4-6 weeks it takes to start working you cross your fingers, hope, wish and probably even dread the outcome. But why does it take so long for antidepressants to start working in the first place and what could be done to c........ Read more »
Erb, S., Schappi, J., & Rasenick, M. (2016) Antidepressants Accumulate in Lipid Rafts Independent of Monoamine Transporters to Modulate Redistribution of the G protein, Gα . Journal of Biological Chemistry. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M116.727263
- July 27, 2016
- 03:39 PM
- 286 views
Common brain changes found in children with autism, ADHD and OCD
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A team of Toronto scientists has found similarities in brain impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The study involved brain imaging of white matter in 200 children with autism, ADHD, OCD or no diagnosis.
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Ameis, S., Lerch, J., Taylor, M., Lee, W., Viviano, J., Pipitone, J., Nazeri, A., Croarkin, P., Voineskos, A., Lai, M.... (2016) A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study in Children With ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, OCD, and Matched Controls: Distinct and Non-Distinct White Matter Disruption and Dimensional Brain-Behavior Relationships. American Journal of Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111435
- July 26, 2016
- 04:22 PM
- 255 views
The mysterious fart
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Everyone does it ...no, not poop, but fart. Passing gas, fuming, crop dusting, cracking a rat -- no matter what you call it -- everyone fart, but why? Researchers have published an article devoted to the review of gaseous neurotransmitters of microbial origin and their role in the human body.
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Oleskin, A., & Shenderov, B. (2016) Neuromodulatory effects and targets of the SCFAs and gasotransmitters produced by the human symbiotic microbiota. Microbial Ecology in Health . DOI: 10.3402/mehd.v27.30971
- July 25, 2016
- 03:38 PM
- 211 views
Embryonic gene Nanog reverses aging in adult stem cells
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The fountain of youth may reside in an embryonic stem cell gene named Nanog. In a series of experiments, the gene kicked into action dormant cellular processes that are key to preventing weak bones, clogged arteries and other telltale signs of growing old. The findings also show promise in counteracting premature aging disorders such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
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Mistriotis, P., Bajpai, V., Wang, X., Rong, N., Shahini, A., Asmani, M., Liang, M., Wang, J., Lei, P., Liu, S.... (2016) NANOG Reverses the Myogenic Differentiation Potential of Senescent Stem Cells by Restoring ACTIN Filamentous Organization and SRF-Dependent Gene Expression. STEM CELLS. DOI: 10.1002/stem.2452
- July 24, 2016
- 03:29 PM
- 272 views
Researchers temporarily turn off brain area to better understand function
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Capitalizing on experimental genetic techniques, researchers have demonstrated that temporarily turning off an area of the brain changes patterns of activity across much of the remaining brain. The research suggests that alterations in the functional connectivity of the brain in humans may be used to determine the sites of pathology in complex disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.
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Grayson, D., Bliss-Moreau, E., Machado, C., Bennett, J., Shen, K., Grant, K., Fair, D., & Amaral, D. (2016) The Rhesus Monkey Connectome Predicts Disrupted Functional Networks Resulting from Pharmacogenetic Inactivation of the Amygdala. Neuron, 91(2), 453-466. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.06.005
- July 23, 2016
- 05:30 PM
- 259 views
Brain activity and response to food cues differ in severely obese women
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The brain's reward centers in severely obese women continue to respond to food cues even after they've eaten and are no longer hungry, in contrast to their lean counterparts. The study compared attitudes and the brain activity of 15 severely obese women (those with a body mass index greater than 35) and 15 lean women (those with a BMI under 25).
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Puzziferri, N., Zigman, J., Thomas, B., Mihalakos, P., Gallagher, R., Lutter, M., Carmody, T., Lu, H., & Tamminga, C. (2016) Brain imaging demonstrates a reduced neural impact of eating in obesity. Obesity, 24(4), 829-836. DOI: 10.1002/oby.21424
- July 22, 2016
- 03:38 PM
- 282 views
When it comes to empathy, don't always trust your gut
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Ever feel like someone is hiding something? Or maybe you suddenly feel like you can't trust a co-worker. The feeling may seem logical, but is empathy the result of gut intuition or careful reasoning? Research suggests that, contrary to popular belief, the latter may be more the case.
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Ma-Kellams, C., & Lerner, J. (2016) Trust Your Gut or Think Carefully? Examining Whether an Intuitive, Versus a Systematic, Mode of Thought Produces Greater Empathic Accuracy. SSRN Electronic Journal. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2782596
- July 21, 2016
- 03:01 PM
- 252 views
Artificial muscle for soft robotics: Low voltage, high hopes
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Soft robots do a lot of things well but they're not exactly known for their speed. The artificial muscles that move soft robots, called actuators, tend to rely on hydraulics or pneumatics, which are slow to respond and difficult to store.
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Duduta, M., Wood, R., & Clarke, D. (2016) Multilayer Dielectric Elastomers for Fast, Programmable Actuation without Prestretch. Advanced Materials. DOI: 10.1002/adma.201601842
- July 20, 2016
- 04:02 PM
- 292 views
How our brain puts the world in order
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The world around is complex and changing constantly. To put it in order, we devise categories into which we sort new concepts. To do this we apply different strategies. A team of researchers wanted to find out which areas of the brain regulate these strategies. The results of their study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show that there are indeed particular brain areas, which become active when a certain strategy of categorisation is applied.
... Read more »
Lech, R., Güntürkün, O., & Suchan, B. (2016) An interplay of fusiform gyrus and hippocampus enables prototype- and exemplar-based category learning. Behavioural Brain Research, 239-246. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.05.049
- July 19, 2016
- 04:08 PM
- 245 views
Protein found to bolster growth of damaged muscle tissue
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Biologists have found that a protein that plays a key role in the lives of stem cells can bolster the growth of damaged muscle tissue, a step that could potentially contribute to treatments for muscle degeneration caused by old age and diseases such as muscular dystrophy. The results show that a particular type of protein called integrin is present on the stem cell surface and used by stem cells to interact with, or "sense" their surroundings.
... Read more »
Rozo, M., Li, L., & Fan, C. (2016) Targeting β1-integrin signaling enhances regeneration in aged and dystrophic muscle in mice. Nature Medicine. DOI: 10.1038/nm.4116
- July 18, 2016
- 03:20 PM
- 291 views
Secrets of the human brain unlocked
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Human intelligence is being defined and measured for the first time ever. Researchers have been recently undertaken to quantify the brain's dynamic functions, and identify how different parts of the brain interact with each other at different times - namely, to discover how intellect works.
... Read more »
Zhang, J., Cheng, W., Liu, Z., Zhang, K., Lei, X., Yao, Y., Becker, B., Liu, Y., Kendrick, K., Lu, G.... (2016) Neural, electrophysiological and anatomical basis of brain-network variability and its characteristic changes in mental disorders. Brain. DOI: 10.1093/brain/aww143
- July 17, 2016
- 03:08 PM
- 256 views
Specialized neurons in emotional memory play important role in fear
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Fear memory encoding, the process responsible for persistent reactions to trauma-associated cues, is influenced by a sparse but potent population of inhibitory cells called parvalbumin-interneurons (PV-INs) in the amygdala, according to a new study.
... Read more »
Lucas, E., Jegarl, A., Morishita, H., & Clem, R. (2016) Multimodal and Site-Specific Plasticity of Amygdala Parvalbumin Interneurons after Fear Learning. Neuron. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.06.032
- July 16, 2016
- 04:45 PM
- 261 views
Reopening avenues for attacking ALS
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Researchers have found evidence that bone marrow transplantation may one day be beneficial to a subset of patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disorder more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
... Read more »
Burberry, A., Suzuki, N., Wang, J., Moccia, R., Mordes, D., Stewart, M., Suzuki-Uematsu, S., Ghosh, S., Singh, A., Merkle, F.... (2016) Loss-of-function mutations in the C9ORF72 mouse ortholog cause fatal autoimmune disease. Science Translational Medicine, 8(347), 347-347. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf6038
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