Michał Słupski

After 5 years of experiments, scientists may have found a pathway that is used for brain functions that are beyond consciousness.
It’s the result of studying how, exactly, anesthesia makes us unconscious, which scientists haven’t been able to explain for 175 years.
But, thanks to advancements in cell biology and microscope technology, a team of scientists was finally able to answer the longstanding riddle.
They were able to find that anesthesia works in a two-step process that starts with cell membrane lipids, and then moves further through cell membrane “gates”.
Verified in fruit flies, the finding is only a foundation - it will take a lot more work to fully understand this previously unknown mechanism.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on June 3, 2020

phys.org

The math problem in question is the discrete diffusion equation in finite space.
Until now, defining the probability of encountering and transmitting a particle in a closed space required huge computer simulations (= lots of wasted time and energy).
The solution to the basic diffusion equation has been known for a long time, but nobody knew how to quickly solve it for, say, one particular day and place.
This will help scientists from many different fields, for example in predicting molecule diffusion in cells, the moves of bacteria in a petri dish, or animal movements.
It could even help predict how a virus moves between individuals in a crowd in a confined space.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on June 3, 2020

nature.com

The way we react to psilocybin seems to be connected to the glutamate system (the neuronal fast-signaling system in our brain that uses the glutamate neurotransmitter).
Analysis of data collected from 48 participants (26 in the placebo group) links positive experiences of ego dissolution to low levels of glutamate in the hippocampus.
Negative ego dissolution and increased feelings of anxiety were linked to higher levels of glutamate in the mFPC (medial prefrontal cortex).
All of this means that psilocybin directly influences the glutamate system, and those changes correspond with changes in behaviour during the psychedelic state.
These findings go beyond our neuroscientific knowledge, but they still form a necessary foundation for future clinical trials of psilocybin’s therapeutic effects.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on June 3, 2020

Study authors used GPS to track participants for up to 4 months, regularly texting them to ask about their positive and negative emotional states.
People who were the most active explorers also reported the most positive emotional states.
Later, some participants underwent MRI scans, and the results showed that the brain actively rewards us for experiencing new things and switching locations.
People feel happier when they experience different things and visit new places often, but it’s unclear whether people with less interesting experiences actually feel sadder.
What’s important, even small changes - exercising at home, walking around your neighborhood, choosing a different route to go shopping - can have a positive impact.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on May 27, 2020

Not just land and sea animals are eating plastic, studies show that birds near river banks are eating hundreds of plastic debris pieces every day.
Scientists say this clearly tells us that plastic in rivers is moving up the wildlife food chain very quickly.
Researchers looked at the dipper, a bird that dives into rivers and eats underwater insects — they inges hundreds of bits of plastic every day, and feed it to their chicks.
It’s been known that insects are contaminated with plastic pollution, but this is the first documented transfer of plastic from insects shown in free-living river animals.
Similar study in Florida recently showed similar results - out of 63 examined birds of 8 different species, all of them had microplastics in their tiny bird guts.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on May 27, 2020

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