🧠 A daily multistrain probiotic supplement, containing three bacterial strains, showed benefits for older adults with early cognitive impairment over six months.

🩸 Participants taking the probiotic had better cognitive test scores and a significant reduction in pTau181, a blood marker linked to Alzheimer's disease, compared to those taking a placebo.

🚀 These findings, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, suggest the gut microbiome may be a promising target for future dementia treatments, although further research is needed.

#Probiotics #Alzheimers #GutHealth

Neutrophils manufacture schizophrenia-linked protein, Stanford Medicine researchers find

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#Schizophrenia #Neutrophils #StanfordMedicine

* 🔬 Stanford Medicine researchers discovered that neutrophils, common immune cells, produce a protein called C4A, previously unknown to be made by them. This finding connects the brain disorder schizophrenia to bodily processes outside the brain.

* 🧠 Studies show C4A is a significant risk factor for schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia often have more neutrophils and their most effective medication, clozapine, inhibits these cells. The PNAS paper was published online May 11.

* 🧬 The number of C4A gene copies in a person's genome is a major hereditary risk factor for schizophrenia. Neutrophils from individuals with schizophrenia produce more C4A than those from healthy individuals, suggesting a direct role in the disease.

#Schizophrenia #Neuroscience #MedicalResearch

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Scientists found that indoor air contains significantly higher concentrations of microplastics than outdoor air, mostly shedding from our clothes and carpets. Outside, cloud formation is being altered by microplastics in the air.

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#Microplastics #IndoorAirQuality #ClimateImpact

Scientists turned blood cells from donors aged newborn to 101 directly into brain stem cells, and the new cells kept getting biologically younger over time, shedding about 60 years of cell age in 50 days and acting like young cells, which may one day help treat brain diseases like dementia.

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#StemCellResearch #NeurodegenerativeDisease #BrainHealthScience

🔬 Scientists have successfully transformed old red blood cell precursors into young brain stem cells.

💡 This direct conversion method, developed by researchers at the University Hospital of Bonn and the University of Bonn, bypassed the need to revert cells to a blank slate.

⏳ Over 50-100 days, the converted cells continued to de-age, effectively becoming 60 years younger and exhibiting the behavior of young cells.

#Science #Aging #Regeneration

Michigan State researchers are developing transparent solar glass that captures invisible UV and near-infrared light while letting visible light through. Windows could one day generate electricity without being tinted. Efficiency and cost are still challenges, but the idea could reshape buildings.

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#TransparentSolar #SolarGlass #BuildingSustainability

✨ Most synthetic clothing like polyester and nylon are petroleum-based products, not just simple fabrics.

✨ Chemical additives like flame retardants, PFAS, and formaldehyde can transfer from clothing to skin, especially with heat, sweat, and prolonged wear.

✨ Synthetic clothing sheds microplastic fibers during washing and wear. These particles have been found in human blood, lungs, and other tissues.

✨ Making informed swaps for underwear, sleepwear, children's clothing, and activewear are the most impactful changes, as these items have the longest and closest skin contact.

#TextileHealth #Microplastics #SustainableFashion

Birds are among Earth’s most important nutrient-movers. A review of nearly 400 scientific papers shows how birds transport nutrients from land, lake and sea through their waste and bodies. This influences everything from soil and water chemistry to plant and animal growth.

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#BirdNutrientTransport #Ecology #WildlifeExcretion

🐦 Birds are vital global nutrient transporters, using flight to move concentrated nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus across vast distances via their waste.

🐠 Their guano acts as critical nutrient lifelines for coastal waters, supporting coral reefs, algae, and fish biomass.

🌱 Artificial perches are being explored to harness bird nutrient deposition for targeted ecosystem restoration, like accelerating seagrass recovery.

📉 With 45% of migratory bird species declining, this disruption threatens global ecosystem fertility, productivity, and carbon sequestration.

#BirdScience #Ecology #Conservation

Study finds proposed US policy changes for vaccination through "shared decision making" are projected to result in an 83% increase in childhood HBV infections, and between 50% and 70% of children entering adulthood annually would be susceptible to HBV infection.

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#HBV #VaccinationPolicy #PublicHealth

U.S. study: Democrats rated MMR, flu and Covid vaccines as safer and more effective than Republicans did, but for MMR and flu that gap vanished once people's views of science were factored in. Covid-19 was the exception: party still predicted views even after that, showing how politicized it became.

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#VaccinationScience #PublicHealth #PoliticalPolarization

A new study suggests that the severe brain tissue loss caused by chronic alcohol consumption physically masks or overwrites the structural neural scars left by childhood trauma, though these trauma markers reappear when statistically adjusting for addiction severity.

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#Neuroscience #AlcoholUseDisorder #ChildhoodTraumaResearch

🧠 Childhood trauma leaves brain marks, but chronic alcohol use may hide them. A new study found that while healthy adults show altered brain structure linked to early adversity, these patterns are largely absent in those with alcohol use disorder, suggesting alcohol's heavy toll can mask earlier changes.

🧠 Alcohol use disorder is linked to reduced gray matter. Adults with alcohol use disorder showed less gray matter volume in key brain regions compared to healthy adults, aligning with known neurotoxic effects of heavy alcohol exposure.

🧠 Trauma's brain signature reappears when alcohol severity is accounted for. In adults with alcohol use disorder, a thinner cerebral cortex in a specific brain region was linked to higher childhood trauma rates once the severity of current alcohol consumption was factored in, indicating trauma's traces are still present but obscured.

#Neuroscience #AlcoholUseDisorder #ChildhoodTrauma

Water May Play a Hidden Role in the Spread of Alzheimer’s Disease. The Movement of Toxic Amyloid-Beta Proteins Found That Water-Related Processes May Help Explain How Alzheimer’s Pathology Spreads Between Brain Cells, Potentially Revealing a New Mechanism Behind Disease Progression.

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#AlzheimersResearch #AmyloidBeta #NeuroscienceNews

🔬 Researchers at Northwestern University and UC Santa Barbara have identified a "hotspot" on tau proteins that plays a key role in their misfolding and aggregation, a hallmark of Alzheimer's and other dementias.

💧 This hotspot attracts water molecules, which then form a stabilizing "cap." When this cap is released, it allows tau proteins to connect and form rigid fibrils, potentially explaining how the misfolding spreads through the brain.

🧪 By understanding this specific docking point, scientists may be able to develop drugs that target and block the connections, preventing the propagation of misfolded tau.

#Alzheimers #Dementia #Neuroscience

Brain implant lets people with paralysis speak and gesture at the same time

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#BrainTech #Neuroprosthetics #ParalysisInnovation

🧠 A new brain implant technology has allowed people with paralysis to communicate through an avatar, enabling them to speak and gesture simultaneously. This breakthrough achieved speech and gesture predictions with up to 88% and 84% accuracy for one participant (Bravo-1r) and 66% and 70% for another (Bravo-6).

☁️ Atmospheric dust levels have dropped by approximately 10% globally over the last two decades (2003-2023). This decline is attributed to reduced surface wind activity and increased vegetation, particularly in Asia.

💨 While a reduction in dust is beneficial for public health, potentially improving air quality for millions, it could also contribute to increased global warming by reducing the dust's cooling effect.

#Neuroscience #BrainImplant #TechNews

In teenagers (mean age 12.6 years) one additional serve of any type of fruit each day was associated with a 13% lower risk of depression and a 7% lower risk of anxiety over the study period, according to a study on 6537 Australian adolescents followed for 3 years

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#MentalHealth #AdolescentHealth #NutritionScience

🍎 New University of Sydney research links teen diet to mental health. A study of 6,537 adolescents from Year 7 to 10 found that each additional daily serving of fruit was linked to a 13% lower risk of depression symptoms and a 7% lower risk of anxiety symptoms.

🥤 Conversely, higher consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks was associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety, with the link being stronger in males.

🤔 Researchers emphasize that diet is one factor among many in mental health, but highlight the potential for dietary changes to aid in prevention.

#TeenMentalHealth #Nutrition #UniversityOfSydney