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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2024 at 9:26am

Most of the research on the hormonal effect on the brain has been focused on brain communication during cognitive tasks, not the actual structures themselves.
Cyclic fluctuations in HPG-axis hormones exert powerful behavioral, structural, and functional effects through actions on the mammalian central nervous system.
The microstructure of white matter – the fatty network of neuronal fibers that transfer information between regions of gray matter – has been found to change with hormonal shifts, including puberty, oral contraception use, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and post-menopausal estrogen therapy.
To address the menstruation gap in our understanding, the team took MRI scans of their subjects during three menstrual phases: menses, ovulation, and mid-luteal. At the time of each of these scans, the researchers also measured the participants' hormone levels.

The results showed that, as hormones fluctuate, gray and white matter volumes change too, as does the volume of cerebrospinal fluid.

In particular, just before ovulation, when the hormones 17β-estradiol and luteinizing hormone rise, the brains of the participants showed white matter changes suggesting faster information transfer.

Follicle-stimulating hormone, which rises before ovulation, and helps stimulate the ovary follicles, was associated with thicker gray matter.
Progesterone, which rises after ovulation, was associated with increased tissue and decreased cerebrospinal fluid volume.

What this means for the person driving the brain is unknown, but the research lays the groundwork for future studies, and perhaps understanding the causes of unusual but severe period-related mental health problems.
Although we do not currently report functional consequences or correlates of structural brain changes, our findings may have implications for hormone-driven alterations in behavior and cognition," the researchers wrote.
Investigation of brain-hormone relationships across networks is necessary to understand human nervous system functioning on a daily basis, during hormone transition periods, and across the human lifespan.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.26785

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 4, 2024 at 9:23am

Scientists Found Structural, Brain-Wide Changes During Menstruation

The constant ebb and flow of hormones that guide the menstrual cycle don't just affect reproductive anatomy. They also reshape the brain, and a study has given us insight into how this happens.

 A team of researchers tracked 30 women who menstruate over their cycles, documenting in detail the structural changes that take place in the brain as hormonal profiles fluctuate.

The results, published in a peer-reviewed study in July this year, suggest that structural changes in the brain during menstruation may not be limited to those regions associated with the menstrual cycle.

"These results are the first to report simultaneous brain-wide changes in human white matter microstructure and cortical thickness coinciding with menstrual cycle-driven hormone rhythms," the researchers wrote.

Strong brain-hormone interaction effects may not be limited to classically known hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal-axis (HPG-axis) receptor-dense regions."
People who menstruate will experience some 450 or so periods during the course of their lifetimes, so it would be nice to know the different effects they can have on the body, really.

However, although it is something that happens to half the world's population for half their lives, research has been somewhat lacking. Who knows why. Total mystery.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 3, 2024 at 12:19pm

Exactly What Happens When an Atom Splits in Two?

The word atom comes from Latin for indivisible. But don't let the name fool you.

A simulation by US theoretical physicists has provided the first fully microscopic characterization of the moment an atom snips in two, revealing fresh insights into an energetic event that came to define a new age in science and technology.

theoretical physicists from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Washington (UW) break the fission process down into four steps.

In the first 10^-14 seconds (give or take), the introduction of a slow-moving neutron forces the nucleus to bulge and rearrange itself in what's described as a saddle point, making the atom look a little like a tiny peanut shell.

This is quickly followed by a far more rapid shift, referred to as saddle-to-scission, where the fragments of the fission process are established. This lasts around 5×10^-21 seconds.

Step three is even faster again, transforming in a relative blink of 10^-22 seconds. In what's called the scission, or neck rupture, the nucleus officially breaks apart.

In the final step, which takes a lazy 10^-18 seconds to unfold, the fission fragments pull themselves into shape and accelerate away, releasing neutrons and gamma rays and potentially generating other decay processes after a brief delay.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.242501

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 3, 2024 at 12:12pm

The real reason behind gout

 

Gout is often associated with drinking too much or not eating healthily enough, but new research suggests genetics play more of a factor in developing the arthritic condition than previously thought. The research, carried out by an international team of scientists, looked at genetic data collected from 2.6 million people across 13 different cohorts of DNA data. That number included 120,295 people with "prevalent gout".

By comparing the genetic codes of the people with gout against the people without, the team found 377 specific DNA regions where there were variations specific to having the condition – 149 of which hadn't been previously linked to gout.

While lifestyle and environmental factors are certainly still in play, the findings suggest genetics play a major role in determining whether or not someone gets gout – and the researchers think there may be more undiscovered genetic links still to be found, too.

Gout takes hold when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which then form sharp crystal needles in the joints. When the body's immune system starts to attack those crystals, it leads to significant pain and discomfort.

Genetics is important in every stage of that process, the researchers suggest. Particularly, it affects the likelihood of the body's immune system attacking the crystals, and in the way uric acid is transported around the body.

Gout can come and go, but there are treatments available – and the authors behind the new study think misconceptions can put people off getting those treatments. That's a real problem with cases of the condition rising and rising.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01921-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 2, 2024 at 11:44am

Drone with its own 'nervous system' trialed by scientists

Scientists are testing a drone fitted with its own "nervous system" which they claim can keep it operating in the sky for longer. The system, made of optical fibers, reduces the frequency it needs to land for inspection.

Cargo-carrying drones are required to make regular pitstops for manual safety checks, which limits its use and can increase operating costs.

The optical fiber system developed by researchers makes drones more efficient by continuously monitoring its structural health just like nerves in the body.

This is a kind of nervous system for drones. 

It sends back real-time information using light—rather than electricity—which avoids problems that electronic systems have with interference from radio frequencies.

This system not only reduces the burden on ground crews but also ensures that drones can operate more safely and efficiently.

The system uses a unique technique called optical speckle which projects specific images dependent on what the optical fiber nervous system feels. These can be interpreted using AI to assess the health of the drone.

This speckle system keeps track of the stresses and strains on the drone, helping ground crews spot issues early without needing to land the drone as often for inspections.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 2, 2024 at 11:26am

This is important because it tells us that government leaders do have the power to reduce crop burning. If they had more resources, they would probably be capable of reducing pollution to a larger extent."

The problem of air pollution from crop burning is especially prevalent at the border between India and Pakistan, where there is a lack of coordination between jurisdictions, the researchers added.

As part of the study, the researchers also examined the effects of crop-burning pollution on infant and child mortality and estimated that that 1.5 to 2.7 deaths per 1,000 children could be prevented if action were taken to reduce crop fires.

The researchers hope that this paper can contribute to the public debate on how to address this widespread problem and how to solve this selfishness problem.

Government leaders can explore punishment, incentives, information campaigns and many other initiatives that will encourage farmers to find alternative solutions to burning if they leave their "I, me , myself" thoughts .

Gemma Dipoppa et al, Bureaucrat incentives reduce crop burning and child mortality in South Asia, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08046-z

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 2, 2024 at 11:23am

This is selfishness at its peak!

Government interventions can reduce deadly air pollution in South Asia, study finds

Air pollution, driven in large part by practices like crop burning, contributes to 2 million deaths a year in South Asia and persists as a public health emergency. But a new study co-led by Brown University researcher Gemma Dipoppa found that government incentives may be able to curb the illegal practice of crop burning, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

In South Asia, farmers often burn leftover material from harvesting crops to clear their fields for the next planting season. The method is efficient and cost-effective but has devastating effects on air quality and health and contributes to 40% to 60% of the total air pollution in the region during the winter harvest season.

This is a very clear health emergency, and researchers wondered, 'Why isn't the government able to address this challenge, which is visible and extremely damaging for people?'

They  decided to study the aspect of government intervention and in particular the administration of the state that is in charge of reducing air pollution from a big-picture point of view.

Through their analysis of a decade of wind, fire and health data from satellites and surveys, Dipoppa and Gulzar found that government officials in India and Pakistan were more likely to reduce crop residue burning when its negative effects were felt in their own jurisdictions rather than outside of them: crop-burning fires increased by 15% when wind was most likely to direct pollution to neighboring jurisdictions and decreased by 14.5% when it polluted their own, the study found.

The researchers found that government-led actions against burning, such as fines for those violating the law, deterred future polluters and reduced fires by an additional 13%, a finding that contradicted a common perception that the widespread problem is impossible to control.

"Government officials are already acting on this issue, but they are doing it only in times and places where it is incentive-compatible for them, including when the pollution affects their own jurisdictions and not neighboring areas, the researchers conclude.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 2, 2024 at 10:35am

Scientists successfully reverse liver fibrosis in mice

Cirrhosis, hepatitis infection and other causes can trigger liver fibrosis—a potentially lethal stiffening of tissue that, once begun, is irreversible. For many patients, a liver transplant is their only hope. However, new research may offer patients a glimmer of hope. Scientists who worked on this say they've successfully reversed liver fibrosis in mice.

Reporting in the journal Nature Communications, the team say they've discovered a genetic pathway that, if blocked, might bring fibrosis to a halt.

The three genes involved in this fibrotic process are called FOXM1, MAT2A and MAT2B.

The new  findings suggest that blocking any of these gene-produced proteins might be useful in treating this condition.

FOXM1, is present in liver cells called hepatocytes and can trigger liver cancer, inflammation and fibrosis if it becomes overactive. The two other genes, MAT2A and MAT2B, are active within a second kind of liver cell called stellate cells, which also play a role in fibrosis. All three genes code for different proteins necessary for the fibrotic process, the scientists explained.

Scientists discovered that these proteins 'talk' with each other inside liver cells. They even influence nearby cells through extracellular vesicles—fat molecules filled with genetic fragments, proteins and other biological materials that act as messengers between cells. Working together, that is how these proteins stimulate each other, driving liver inflammation and fibrosis

What if production of even one of the proteins produced by the genetic trio was interrupted?

To find out, the research group first induced liver inflammation and fibrosis in lab mice.

They then treated those mice with a substance known as FDI-6 that blocks the protein produced by the FOXM1 gene.

The result was impressive: Not only did this therapy put a halt to further fibrosis, it seemed to reverse some of the stiff fibrotic scarring of the mouse liver tissue that had already taken place.

The team noted that mice and humans share all three of the genes that are the focus of this research. Still they stressed that only further research can determine if treatments like FDI-6 might help people.

 Bing Yang et al, The role of forkhead box M1-methionine adenosyltransferase 2 A/2B axis in liver inflammation and fibrosis, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52527-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 11:31am

The link between hepatitis and kidney damage

The hepatitis E virus affects the liver. But infected liver cells secrete a viral protein that reacts with antibodies in the blood and may form complexes that can damage the filter structure of the kidneys, as researchers have shown for the first time.

The hepatitis E virus infects some 70 million people every year. This infection is the most common form of acute hepatitis and a major global health problem.

In the majority of cases, the infection is asymptomatic or mild. However, sometimes it not only involves serious damage to the liver, but also to the kidneys.

The infected liver cells produce an excess of a viral protein that can bind with other viral proteins to form a viral envelope. Because the virus's genetic material replicates to a far lesser extent, the vast majority of the envelopes remain empty when they are secreted by the liver cells. This is how they enter the bloodstream, where they are detected by the immune system, which then forms antibodies that stick to the viral proteins.

These viral envelope-antibody complexes are then deposited in the filter structures of the kidneys, known as the glomeruli. If the complexes accumulate more quickly than they are removed, they can damage the glomeruli, triggering what is known as glomerulonephritis—a pattern of damage that in the worst case can lead to kidney failure.

The researchers discovered this mechanism when they were examining the cause of death of a patient who had received a new kidney years earlier. From the patient's medical record, it was clear that his chronic hepatitis E had not been diagnosed straight away. This is not uncommon as the disease still receives too little attention in some parts of the world.

This  discovery will help to raise awareness of hepatitis E and its link to kidney damage. 

 Anne-Laure Leblond et al, HEV ORF2 protein-antibody complex deposits are associated with glomerulonephritis in hepatitis E with reduced immune status, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53072-0

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 11:11am

What is unusual is that women who are generally overweight and gain a lot of weight during pregnancy usually have an increased risk of giving birth to large babies. This also applies to women who develop gestational diabetes.

On average, women with PCOS have higher BMIs, gain more weight during pregnancy, and 25 percent develop gestational diabetes. However, the outcome is the opposite: these women give birth to babies who are smaller than average. We still don't know why, but we see that the placenta is affected in these women.
Even though the placenta in these women is smaller in size, it seems to deliver more nutrients relative to the baby's body weight compared to a normal placenta. It is a placenta in overdrive.
The placenta delivers nutrients to the baby through the umbilical cord. In women with PCOS, we see that the placenta is generally smaller in size. At the same time, it must provide everything the baby needs, so it has to work very hard to meet these demands. Sometimes, however, the placenta can't keep up, which can lead to placental insufficiency and, in rare cases, fetal death.
There are no definitive answers tot eh question "why"?
Previously, researchers thought the cause was linked to the high levels of male sex hormones, but they have not been able to fully connect the two. Researchers also know that women with PCOS have a slightly different immune profile during pregnancy.
The researchers have also followed up on some of the children when they were 7 years old. They saw that the children born to mothers with PCOS generally had more central obesity, meaning they were larger around the waist.

Other studies have shown that children born to mothers with PCOS are at higher risk of developing overweight and obesity at a young age. Research has also shown that low birth weight is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.
We see differences in children as early as seven or eight years old, where children born to mothers with PCOS have a larger waist circumference and higher BMI.

Maren Sophie Aaserud Talmo et al, Growth Restriction in the Offspring of Mothers With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30543

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Part 2

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