910 posts · 586,745 views
I have big dreams [don't we all?], I want to change the world. That is why I started Lunatic Laboratories, a little project that I hope will one day be a household name. Who knows, maybe it will work out, but even if it doesn't, at least it will be fun to try.
Lunatic Laboratories
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- January 22, 2016
- 02:50 PM
- 557 views
Neurons in your gut help the immune system keep inflammation in check
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The immune system exercises constant vigilance to protect the body from external threats–including what we eat and drink. A careful balancing act plays out as digested food travels through the intestine. Immune cells must remain alert to protect against harmful pathogens like Salmonella, but their activity also needs to be tempered since an overreaction can lead to too much inflammation and permanent tissue damage.
... Read more »
Gabanyi, I., Muller, P., Feighery, L., Oliveira, T., Costa-Pinto, F., & Mucida, D. (2016) Neuro-immune Interactions Drive Tissue Programming in Intestinal Macrophages. Cell. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.12.023
- January 21, 2016
- 02:27 PM
- 648 views
Anxious? Chronic stress and anxiety can damage the brain
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A scientific review paper warns that people need to find ways to reduce chronic stress and anxiety in their lives or they may be at increased risk for developing depression and even dementia. Led by the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences, the review examined brain areas impacted by chronic anxiety, fear and stress in animal and human studies that are already published.... Read more »
Mah, L., Szabuniewicz, C., & Fiocco, A. (2016) Can anxiety damage the brain?. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 29(1), 56-63. DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000223
- January 20, 2016
- 02:29 PM
- 761 views
Overwhelmed and depressed? Well, there may be a connection
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Ever feel overwhelmed when you are depressed, well the good news is it isn't just you, the bad news is it's probably your brain. Regions of the brain that normally work together to process emotion become decoupled in people who experience multiple episodes of depression, neuroscientists report. The findings may help identify which patients will benefit from long term antidepressant treatment to prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes.
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Jacobs, R., Barba, A., Gowins, J., Klumpp, H., Jenkins, L., Mickey, B., Ajilore, O., Peciña, M., Sikora, M., Ryan, K.... (2016) Decoupling of the amygdala to other salience network regions in adolescent-onset recurrent major depressive disorder. Psychological Medicine, 1-13. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291715002615
- January 19, 2016
- 02:14 PM
- 497 views
Can you trust your gut when public speaking?
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
There is good news for frequent public speakers. New research shows that individuals have the ability to quickly and accurately identify a crowd's general emotion as focused or distracted, suggesting that we can trust our first impression of a crowd's mood.
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Haberman, J., Lee, P., & Whitney, D. (2015) Mixed emotions: Sensitivity to facial variance in a crowd of faces. Journal of Vision, 15(4), 16. DOI: 10.1167/15.4.16
- January 18, 2016
- 04:07 PM
- 611 views
Thwarting abnormal neural development with a new mutation
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have discovered how to reverse the abnormal axonal development characteristic of CFEOM3, a congenital disease that affects the muscles that control eye movements. The work shows how creating a specific mutation rescued abnormal axonal growth in the developing mouse brain.
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Minoura, I., Takazaki, H., Ayukawa, R., Saruta, C., Hachikubo, Y., Uchimura, S., Hida, T., Kamiguchi, H., Shimogori, T., & Muto, E. (2016) Reversal of axonal growth defects in an extraocular fibrosis model by engineering the kinesin–microtubule interface. Nature Communications, 10058. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10058
- January 17, 2016
- 02:31 PM
- 572 views
Nanodevice, build thyself
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
As we continue to shrink electronic components, top-down manufacturing methods begin to approach a physical limit at the nanoscale. Rather than continue to chip away at this limit, one solution of interest involves using the bottom-up self-assembly of molecular building blocks to build nanoscale devices.
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Müller, M., Diller, K., Maurer, R., & Reuter, K. (2016) Interfacial charge rearrangement and intermolecular interactions: Density-functional theory study of free-base porphine adsorbed on Ag(111) and Cu(111). The Journal of Chemical Physics, 144(2), 24701. DOI: 10.1063/1.4938259
- January 16, 2016
- 03:12 PM
- 931 views
‘Space Warps’ and other citizen science projects reap major dividends for astrophysics
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Thanks to the Internet, amateur volunteers known as "citizen scientists" can readily donate their time and effort to science--in fields ranging from medicine to zoology to astrophysics. The astrophysics project Space Warps offers a compelling example of why citizen science has become such a popular tool and how valuable it can be.
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Marshall, P., Verma, A., More, A., Davis, C., More, S., Kapadia, A., Parrish, M., Snyder, C., Wilcox, J., Baeten, E.... (2015) SPACE WARPS - I. Crowdsourcing the discovery of gravitational lenses. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 455(2), 1171-1190. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2009
More, A., Verma, A., Marshall, P., More, S., Baeten, E., Wilcox, J., Macmillan, C., Cornen, C., Kapadia, A., Parrish, M.... (2015) SPACE WARPS- II. New gravitational lens candidates from the CFHTLS discovered through citizen science. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 455(2), 1191-1210. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv1965
- January 15, 2016
- 02:56 PM
- 612 views
Autism-linked protein lays groundwork for healthy brain
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A gene linked to mental disorders helps lays the foundation for a crucial brain structure during prenatal development, according to Salk Institute research. The findings reveal new mechanistic insights into the gene, known as MDGA1, which may bring a better understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders in people.
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Perez-Garcia, C., & O’Leary, D. (2016) Formation of the Cortical Subventricular Zone Requires MDGA1-Mediated Aggregation of Basal Progenitors. Cell Reports. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.12.066
- January 14, 2016
- 02:53 PM
- 686 views
Pay attention! Attention neuron type identified
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Researchers have identified for the first time a cell type in the brain of mice that is integral to attention. Moreover, by manipulating the activity of this cell type, the scientists were able to enhance attention in mice. The results add to the understanding of how the brain's frontal lobes work and control behaviour.
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Hoseok Kim, Sofie hedlund-Richter, Xinming Wang, Karl Deisseroth, Marie Carlén. (2016) Prefrontal Parvalbumin Neurons in Control of Attention. Cell . DOI: http://dx.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.11.038
- January 13, 2016
- 03:44 PM
- 882 views
Beam me up! Teleporting the memory of an organism
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
In "Star Trek", a transporter can teleport a person from one location to a remote location without actually making the journey along the way. Such a transporter has fascinated many people. Quantum teleportation shares several features of the transporter and is one of the most important protocols in quantum information.... Read more »
Li, T., & Yin, Z. (2016) Quantum superposition, entanglement, and state teleportation of a microorganism on an electromechanical oscillator. Science Bulletin. DOI: 10.1007/s11434-015-0990-x
- January 12, 2016
- 03:08 PM
- 620 views
Improving your toddler’s memory skills has long-term benefits
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
If your toddler is a Forgetful Jones, you might want to help boost his or her brainpower sooner rather than later. New research shows that preschoolers who score lower on a memory task are likely to score higher on a dropout risk scale at the age of 12.
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Fitzpatrick, C., Archambault, I., Janosz, M., & Pagani, L. (2015) Early childhood working memory forecasts high school dropout risk. Intelligence, 160-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2015.10.002
- January 11, 2016
- 03:23 PM
- 679 views
Stereotype means girls should expect poorer physics grades
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Imagine that you are a female student and give the exact same answer to a physics exam question as one of your male classmates, but you receive a significantly poorer grade. This is precisely what happens on a regular basis, as concluded in a study by Sarah Hofer, a researcher in the group led by ETH professor Elsbeth Stern.... Read more »
Hofer, S. (2015) Studying Gender Bias in Physics Grading: The role of teaching experience and country. International Journal of Science Education, 37(17), 2879-2905. DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2015.1114190
- January 10, 2016
- 02:37 PM
- 586 views
Put the cellphone away! Fragmented baby care can affect brain development
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Mothers, put down your smartphones when caring for your babies! That's the message from University of California, Irvine researchers, who have found that fragmented and chaotic maternal care can disrupt proper brain development, which can lead to emotional disorders later in life.... Read more »
Molet, J., Heins, K., Zhuo, X., Mei, Y., Regev, L., Baram, T., & Stern, H. (2016) Fragmentation and high entropy of neonatal experience predict adolescent emotional outcome. Translational Psychiatry, 6(1). DOI: 10.1038/tp.2015.200
- January 9, 2016
- 02:36 PM
- 691 views
Feeling sick? It’s evolution’s way of telling you to stay home
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
When you have a fever, your nose is stuffed and your headache is spreading to your toes, your body is telling you to stay home in bed. Feeling sick is an evolutionary adaptation according to a hypothesis put forward by Prof. Guy Shakhar of the Weizmann Institute’s Immunology Department and Dr. Keren Shakhar of the Psychology Department of the College of Management Academic Studies.... Read more »
Shakhar, K., & Shakhar, G. (2015) Why Do We Feel Sick When Infected—Can Altruism Play a Role?. PLOS Biology, 13(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002276
- January 8, 2016
- 03:04 PM
- 555 views
Stem cells regulate their own proliferation and their microenvironment
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
A study by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) has identified a new mechanism through which hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) control both their own proliferation and the characteristics of the niche that houses them. This control is exercised by the protein E-Selectin Ligand-1 (ESL-1).... Read more »
Leiva, M., Quintana, J., Ligos, J., & Hidalgo, A. (2016) Haematopoietic ESL-1 enables stem cell proliferation in the bone marrow by limiting TGFβ availability. Nature Communications, 10222. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10222
- January 7, 2016
- 01:45 PM
- 748 views
Are you multicellular? Thank a random mutation that created a new protein
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
All it took was one mutation more than 600 million years ago. With that random act, a new protein function was born that helped our single-celled ancestor transition into an organized multicellular organism. That’s the scenario — done with some molecular time travel — that emerged from basic research in the lab of University of Oregon biochemist Ken Prehoda.... Read more »
Anderson, D., Whitney, D., Hanson-Smith, V., Woznica, A., Campodonico-Burnett, W., Volkman, B., King, N., Prehoda, K., & Thornton, J. (2016) Evolution of an ancient protein function involved in organized multicellularity in animals. eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.10147
- January 6, 2016
- 03:49 PM
- 678 views
Schizophrenia linked to loss of cells in the brain’s memory center
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Scientists at Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), and the Université Paris Descartes have found that deficits in social memory–a crucial yet poorly understood feature of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia–may be due to a decrease in the number of a particular class of brain cells, called inhibitory neurons, in a little-explored region within the brain’s memory center.... Read more »
Piskorowski, R., Nasrallah, K., Diamantopoulou, A., Mukai, J., Hassan, S., Siegelbaum, S., Gogos, J., & Chevaleyre, V. (2016) Age-Dependent Specific Changes in Area CA2 of the Hippocampus and Social Memory Deficit in a Mouse Model of the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. Neuron, 89(1), 163-176. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.11.036
- January 5, 2016
- 02:11 PM
- 595 views
Why daring to compare online prices pays off offline
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The constant barrage of post-holiday sales touted by web-based retailers may make it seem like online shopping is killing real-world stores. But shoppers are actually engaging in “web-to-store” shopping — buying offline after comparing prices online.... Read more »
Bodur, H., Klein, N., & Arora, N. (2015) Online Price Search: Impact of Price Comparison Sites on Offline Price Evaluations. Journal of Retailing, 91(1), 125-139. DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2014.09.003
- January 4, 2016
- 01:36 PM
- 814 views
If our brain is a computer, do we really have free will?
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
The background to this new set of experiments lies in the debate regarding conscious will and determinism in human decision-making, which has attracted researchers, psychologists, philosophers and the general public, and which has been ongoing since at least the 1980s. Back then, the American researcher Benjamin Libet studied the nature of cerebral processes of study participants during conscious decision-making.... Read more »
Schultze-Kraft, M., Birman, D., Rusconi, M., Allefeld, C., Görgen, K., Dähne, S., Blankertz, B., & Haynes, J. (2015) The point of no return in vetoing self-initiated movements. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201513569. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1513569112
- January 3, 2016
- 03:09 PM
- 455 views
New genes born by accident lead to evolutionary innovation
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Novel genes are continuously emerging during evolution, but what drives this process? A new study has found that the fortuitous appearance of certain combinations of elements in the genome can lead to the generation of new genes.... Read more »
Ruiz-Orera, J., Hernandez-Rodriguez, J., Chiva, C., Sabidó, E., Kondova, I., Bontrop, R., Marqués-Bonet, T., & Albà, M. (2015) Origins of De Novo Genes in Human and Chimpanzee. PLOS Genetics, 11(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005721
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