Lifeboat Foundation

Schizophrenia, a neurodevelopmental disorder that features psychosis among its symptoms, is thought to arise from disorganization in brain connectivity and functional integration. Now, a recent study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, finds differences in functional brain connectivity in people with and without psychosis and schizophrenia that could help researchers understand the neural underpinnings of this disease.

The brain’s cortex is organized in a hierarchical fashion, anchored by the sensorimotor cortex at one end and by multimodal association areas at the other, with the task of integrating incoming sensory information with internal and external sensory signals. The loss of executive control in schizophrenia may stem from disruption of this hierarchical signaling.

Alexander Holmes, a Ph.D. candidate at Monash University who led the study, said, “We used brain imaging and novel mathematical techniques to investigate the hierarchical organization of the brains of individuals with early psychosis and established schizophrenia. This organization is important for brain health, as it regulates how we can effectively respond to and process stimuli from the external world.”

Good health depends on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise and sleep. There are clear associations among these components; for example, good nutrition provides energy for exercise, and many people report that getting enough exercise is important to their ability to get enough sleep. So how might nutrition affect sleep?

A new study looks at the connection between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep duration. The research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Why sleep is important and how it works Sleep gives our bodies the chance to rest and recover from wakeful activity. Our hearts, blood vessels, muscles, cells, immune systems, cognitive abilities, and memory-making abilities depend on regular, healthy sleep for optimal functioning, and a 2019 study suggests that sleep is important for repairing DNA damage that occurs during wakefulness.

Researchers are warning that geoengineering efforts to help cool temperatures in California could trigger heatwaves in Europe, a “scary” implication given the sheer lack of regulation controlling such measures across the globe.

As The Guardian reports, scientists have suggested spraying aerosols into clouds over the ocean to cool down the surface below, a practice called “marine cloud brightening.” As the name suggests, the idea is to brighten clouds to make them reflect more of the Sun’s radiation back into space.

Last month, a team of University of Washington researchers attempted to do just that in the San Francisco Bay using a machine that sprays tiny sea-salt particles, amid criticism from environmentalists. The experiment was later shut down by city officials, citing health concerns.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health have discovered that “time cells” in mice are crucial for learning tasks where timing is critical. These cells change their firing patterns as mice learn to distinguish between timed events, suggesting a role beyond just measuring time. This finding could help in the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by highlighting the importance of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), which is among the first brain regions affected by such diseases.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health found that “time cells” in mice adapt to learning timed tasks, a discovery that could aid early Alzheimer’s detection by monitoring changes in a key brain region.

Our perception of time is crucial to our interaction with and understanding of the world around us. Whether we’re engaging in a conversation or driving a car, we need to remember and gauge the duration of events—a complex but largely unconscious calculation running constantly beneath the surface of our thoughts.

As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effects on the eye. The findings are published in the journal npj Microgravity.

A new approach to care may help people with cancer better manage depression, pain, and fatigue. With this approach, people may be offered weekly cognitive behavioral therapy sessions from a counselor and medicine for their symptoms.

Stepped collaborative care is an approach for managing symptoms such as depression, pain, and fatigue in people with cancer. It includes psychotherapy and medication if the symptoms are not reduced by psychotherapy alone.

A person’s symptoms are assessed every 4 weeks. If the symptoms are not in the normal range, health care providers change the frequency or type of treatment.

Continue reading “Approach Integrates Cancer Symptom Management into Routine Care” »

Robots and food have long been distant worlds: Robots are inorganic, bulky, and non-disposable; food is organic, soft, and biodegradable. Yet, research that develops edible robots has progressed recently and promises positive impacts: Robotic food could reduce electronic waste, help deliver nutrition and medicines to people and animals in need, monitor health, and even pave the way to novel gastronomical experiences. But how far are we from having a fully edible robot for lunch or dessert? And what are the challenges?

Scientists from the RoboFood project, based at EPFL, address these and other questions in a new perspective article in the journal Nature Reviews Materials (“Towards edible robots and robotic food”).

“Bringing robots and food together is a fascinating challenge,” says Dario Floreano, director of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL and first author of the article. In 2021, Floreano joined forces with Remko Boom from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Jonathan Rossiter from the University of Bristol, UK, and Mario Caironi from the Italian Institute of Technology, to launch the project RoboFood.

A series of advances in materials and design have enabled manufacturers to work at scales smaller than a billionth of a size to create devices and objects of nanoscopic dimensions. This is nanotechnology, which, although relatively new, produces materials and technologies already used in mass production.

The European Commission defines nano as any material that is at least 50% composed of particles between one and one hundred nanometers in size (i.e. one billionth of a meter, or one-millionth of a millimeter). Nanomaterials differ from conventional materials because of their unique properties such as higher electrical conductivity and mechanical strength, sensor technologies, and biomedical applications, and because they can create coatings that make surfaces more hydrophobic or self-cleaning.

The widespread use of nanotechnology is relatively new. Since 2000, nanomaterials have been used industrially as new research and experimental designs have made their effectiveness in different sectors clear. For example, in the health field, nanotechnology helps to reduce diagnostic errors and to develop nanobots (microscale robots) to repair and replace intercellular structures, or repair DNA molecules; in the chemical sector, it facilitates coating devices with nanoparticles to improve their smoothness and heat resistance; in manufacturing, materials developed with nanotechnology enhance the performance of the final product by improving heat resistance, strength, durability, and electrical conductivity.

Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles: “When we’re upright, a large part of our fluids are stored in our legs, but in microgravity we get a redistribution of fluids into the upper body.”

What physiological effects can extended periods of microgravity have on the human eye? This is what a recent study published in npj Microgravity hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how the shifting of fluids under microgravity conditions could lead to eye vessel alterations. This study holds the potential to help space agencies, researchers, and the public better understand the short-and long-term physiological effects of microgravity, specifically with more humans traveling beyond Earth’s gravity on commercial spaceflights.

“When we experience microgravity conditions, we see changes in the cardiovascular system because gravity is not pulling down all these fluids as it typically does on Earth when we are in an upright position,” said Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and a co-author on the study. “When we’re upright, a large part of our fluids are stored in our legs, but in microgravity we get a redistribution of fluids into the upper body.”

Continue reading “Impact of Space Flight on Human Health: A Focus on the Eye” »