Scientists already know that the brain has a direct line to the reproductive organs affecting fertility and sperm count under stressful conditions. For example, emotional stress can lead to skipped menstrual periods in women. However, this latest study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, connects the dots on how breathing polluted air can lower fertility.
About 92 percent of the world population lives in areas where the level of fine particles in the air smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter exceed the minimum safety standards set by the World Health Organization. These particles can come from sources such as car exhaust, factory emissions, wildfires, and woodburning stoves.
In past studies, some results have shown that mice exposed to air pollution did not always have inflammation of the testes —the male sex organs that make sperm — meaning that some other mechanism was potentially responsible for reduced sperm counts. Knowing the direct link between the brain and the sex organs, the researchers tested whether air pollution increased inflammation in the brain.
For this new study, researchers tested healthy mice and mice bred to lack a marker of inflammation in the brain, called Inhibitor Kappa B Kinase 2, or IKK2 for short, specifically located in the brain’s neurons. They exposed both healthy and IKK2 mutant mice to filtered air or air pollution and then tested their sperm counts. The mice bred without the IKK2 inflammation marker in their neurons did not have reductions in their sperm counts when exposed to the polluted air, unlike the healthy mice.
Researchers then removed IKK2 from specific neurons to determine more precisely how air pollution was leading to lower sperm counts. They found that one specific kind of neuron typically associated with sleep cycle and obesity was responsible for the reduced sperm count due to air pollution. These neurons typically are found in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain which controls hunger, thirst, and sex drive. The hypothalamus also works with the brain’s pituitary gland, which makes hormones that communicate directly with reproductive organs.
Release date: 21 October 2021
Source: University of Maryland School of Medicine
People prefer friendliness, trustworthiness in teammates over skill competency
People who are friendly and trustworthy are more likely to be selected for teams than those who are known for just their skill competency and personal reputation, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
While people who are both trustworthy and competent are the most sought after when it comes to team assembly, friendliness and trustworthiness are often more important factors than competency.
Maupin and her colleagues focused on a cohort of MBA students to conduct their study. Students were randomly assigned to teams at the beginning of the semester to work on class projects and assignments. Toward the end of the semester, students were asked to form their own teams and assess why they selected each member of their group.
The study, “Voices as a Signal of Human and Social Capital in Team Assembly Decisions,” was published in the Journal of Management.
Release date: 02 November 2021
Source: Binghamton University
COVID vaccines 5 times more effective at protecting against COVID-related hospitalization than prior infection alone
findings suggest people who recovered from the virus should still receive vaccines. A nationwide study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are associated with significantly more immunity than a prior COVID-19 infection.
Researchers from the CDC’s VISION Network gathered data from more than 201,000 hospitalizations in nine different states. About 7,000 people in that group fit the criteria for this study. The research team analyzed the number of unvaccinated individuals who had a positive COVID-19 test more than three months before being hospitalized for the virus as well as the number of individuals who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and were not diagnosed with COVID prior to being admitted to the hospital. The research team found that overall, unvaccinated adults with a previous COVID-19 infection were about five times more likely to be hospitalized than those who were vaccinated.
Release date: 29 October 2021
Source: Regenstrief Institute
Men Experience More Emotional Pain During Breakups
The stereotype of men being less emotionally invested in relationships than women may not be accurate, say psychologists.
A new study of online relationship support finds that men tend to experience emotional pain more than women when their relationship takes a turn for the worse.
An international team of psychologists led by researchers at Lancaster University conducted the first-ever “big data” analysis of relationship problems. The study began as an attempt to create a map of the most common relationship problems experienced by people outside of clinical and counselling settings.
Using natural language processing methods, the team analyzed the demographic and psychological characteristics of over 184,000 people who posted their relationship problems to an anonymous online forum. The researchers were then able to statistically determine the most common themes that came up across each post, creating a “map” of the most common relationship problems.
Results showed that communication problems were the #1 most frequent problem mentioned, with nearly 1 in 5 people noting difficulty discussing problems, and 1 in 8 mentioning trust issues in their relationships.
Previously unexpected patterns emerged from the data as well, including key gender differences in which themes were used the most.
The study and results are published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
Release date: 02 November 2021
Source: Lancaster University
A quick, high-yield synthesis of molnupiravir, an investigational COVID antiviral pill
As SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread and mutate, it’s important to identify new treatment options. Molnupiravir is an investigational oral antiviral being developed for the treatment of COVID-19, and has been submitted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Researchers now report in ACS Central Science that they have engineered enzymes to help manufacture the pill, resulting in a much shorter and higher-yielding synthesis than current methods.
Originally developed to treat influenza, molnupiravir works by causing viruses to make errors when copying their own RNA, introducing mutations that inhibit replication. Recently, interim phase 3 clinical trial findings indicated that molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 for newly diagnosed, at-risk patients, and that it worked equally well against different SARS-CoV-2 variants. John McIntosh, Patrick Fier and colleagues at Merck and Codexis set out to develop a shorter, higher-yielding and sustainable way to synthesize the molecule.
The researchers developed a three-step synthesis of molnupiravir from a sugar molecule called ribose. They identified enzymes or chemical treatments to sequentially add the appropriate chemical groups to ribose to generate the molecule. For the second step of the synthesis, the team identified bacterial enzymes that weakly catalyzed the desired reactions. Using in vitro evolution, they greatly enhanced these enzymes’ activities. The new synthetic route, which also included a phosphate recycling strategy, was 70% shorter and had a seven-fold higher overall yield than the original route.
Release date: 03 November 2021
Source: American Chemical Society
Fermented soybeans suppress asthma-induced airway inflammation
Researchers have revealed in an animal model that ImmuBalance, a fermented soybean product, is effective in suppressing airway inflammation caused by asthma. Results showed a decreased presence of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, a decrease in mucus production in the bronchial epithelium, and a suppression of proteins that induce eosinophilic inflammation.
These findings appear in the journal Nutrients.
Release date: 26 October 2021
Source: Osaka City University
New Research Finds Air Pollution Reduces Sperm Counts through Brain Inflammation
Scientists already know that the brain has a direct line to the reproductive organs affecting fertility and sperm count under stressful conditions. For example, emotional stress can lead to skipped menstrual periods in women. However, this latest study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, connects the dots on how breathing polluted air can lower fertility.
About 92 percent of the world population lives in areas where the level of fine particles in the air smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter exceed the minimum safety standards set by the World Health Organization. These particles can come from sources such as car exhaust, factory emissions, wildfires, and woodburning stoves.
In past studies, some results have shown that mice exposed to air pollution did not always have inflammation of the testes —the male sex organs that make sperm — meaning that some other mechanism was potentially responsible for reduced sperm counts. Knowing the direct link between the brain and the sex organs, the researchers tested whether air pollution increased inflammation in the brain.
For this new study, researchers tested healthy mice and mice bred to lack a marker of inflammation in the brain, called Inhibitor Kappa B Kinase 2, or IKK2 for short, specifically located in the brain’s neurons. They exposed both healthy and IKK2 mutant mice to filtered air or air pollution and then tested their sperm counts. The mice bred without the IKK2 inflammation marker in their neurons did not have reductions in their sperm counts when exposed to the polluted air, unlike the healthy mice.
Researchers then removed IKK2 from specific neurons to determine more precisely how air pollution was leading to lower sperm counts. They found that one specific kind of neuron typically associated with sleep cycle and obesity was responsible for the reduced sperm count due to air pollution. These neurons typically are found in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain which controls hunger, thirst, and sex drive. The hypothalamus also works with the brain’s pituitary gland, which makes hormones that communicate directly with reproductive organs.
Release date: 21 October 2021
Source: University of Maryland School of Medicine
New study suggests that breastfeeding may help prevent cognitive decline
Women who had breastfed their babies performed better on cognitive tests after the age of 50 compared to women who had not breastfed.
A new study led by researchers at UCLA Health has found that women over the age of 50 who had breastfed their babies performed better on cognitive tests compared to women who had never breastfed. The findings, published in Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, suggest that breastfeeding may have a positive impact on postmenopausal women’s cognitive performance and could have long-term benefits for the mother’s brain.
Cognitive health is critical for wellbeing in aging adults. Yet, when cognition becomes impaired after the age of 50, it can be a strong predictor of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the leading form of dementia and cause of disability among the elderly – with women comprising nearly two-thirds of Americans living with the disease.
Many studies also show that phases of a woman’s reproductive life-history, such as menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause can be linked to a higher or lower risk for developing various health conditions like depression or breast cancer, yet few studies have examined breastfeeding and its impact on women’s long-term cognition. Of those that have, there has been conflicting evidence as to whether breastfeeding might be linked to better cognitive performance or Alzheimer’s risk among post-menopausal women.
Release date: 22 October 2021
Source: University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences
A Night’s SleepMay Mitigate Infant Obesity Risks
A new study suggests that newborns who get more sleep and wake up less throughout the night are at lower risk of being overweight.
Scientists have long suggested that getting enough sleep at night is vital to staying healthy. Few studies, however, highlight the necessity of sufficient sleep during the first months of life. New research from investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and collaborators suggests that newborns who sleep longer and wake up less throughout the night are less likely to be overweight in infancy. Their results are published in Sleep.
Release date: 22 October 2021
Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Fighting multiple sclerosis with cold
Scientists at UNIGE are demonstrating how cold could alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis by depriving the immune system of its energy.
In evolutionary biology, the “Life History Theory”, first proposed in the 1950s, postulates that when the environment is favourable, the resources used by any organism are devoted for growth and reproduction. Conversely, in a hostile environment, resources are transferred to so-called maintenance programmes, such as energy conservation and defence against external attacks. Scientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) developed this idea to a specific field of medicine: the erroneous activation of the immune system that causes autoimmune diseases. By studying mice suffering from a model of multiple sclerosis, the research team succeeded in deciphering how exposure to cold pushed the organism to divert its resources from the immune system towards maintaining body heat. Indeed, during cold, the immune system decreased its harmful activity which considerably attenuated the course of the autoimmune disease. These results, highlighted on the cover of the journal Cell Metabolism, pave the way for a fundamental biological concept on the allocation of energy resources.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system attacks the body own organs. Type 1 diabetes, for example, is caused by the erroneous destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic cells. Multiple sclerosis is the most common autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (consisting of the brain and spinal cord). The disease is characterised by the destruction of the myelin, which is a protective insulation of nerve cells and is important for the correct and fast transmission of electrical signals. Its destruction thus leads to neurological disability, including paralysis.
Release date: 22 October 2021
Source: Université de Genève
Back Pain Common Among Astronauts Offers Treatment Insights for the Earth-Bound
— As more people travel into space, Johns Hopkins Medicine experts expect more physicians will see patients with space travel-related pain.
— Although most back pain in space disappears on its own, space travelers are at higher risk for sciatica — a form of back pain that can radiate down the legs.
— Humans can “grow” up to 3 inches in space as the spine adapts to microgravity.
— Stress, trauma and changes in nutrition likely contribute to back pain developed during space travel.
With growing numbers of humans venturing into space, experts predict an increase in the number of people experiencing the physical toll of such travel, including highly common forms of back pain.
The prediction comes in a new report by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, published in the issue of Anesthesiology, based on a comprehensive review of past studies measuring the effects of space travel on the spine, and exploring methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat back pain. The scientists say further study among astronauts of these methods — including specialized suits and certain exercises — may provide insights for treating back pain in the estimated 80% of Earth-bound people who experience some form of it over their lifetimes.
According to the review, past studies of astronauts have shown that 52% of space travelers report some form of back pain in the first two to five days of space travel. That figure is based on a retrospective study of 722 space flights worldwide published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance in 2012. The condition is now dubbed “space adaptation back pain,” and although 86% of cases were mild, the pain was enough to hinder an astronaut’s ability to complete tasks.
Release date: 21 October 2021
Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine