Who can’t remember first seeing Mario and Luigi? Happy Anniversary Boys!
Here’s what I am reading today:
“The innovation is the result of a two-fold process, developed by Professor Hubert Egger at the University of Linz in northern Austria.
Surgeons first rewired remaining foot nerve endings from a patient’s stump to healthy tissue in the thigh, placing them close to the skin surface.
Six sensors were then fitted to the foot sole of a lightweight prosthesis, and linked to so-called stimulators inside the shaft where the stump sits.”
“Dr Mark Stokes, who led the research, explained: ‘This raises an important question: How can we keep a stable thought in mind while brain activity is constantly changing?’
Previously it was believed that in order to carry out a task, there would be constant brain activity related to the goal of that task. In a review of fifty years of studies using monkeys, the OHBA team found that instead there were periods when there was no brain activity related to the goal. Yet, as soon as it was necessary, these ‘activity-silent’ periods ended and the brain activity could be observed again.”
“A discovery into the workings of the human nervous system is expected to have a “transformative impact” on how scientists understand the role of perceptual-motor delays in human and animal behavior, as well as understandings of the dynamics of behavioral anticipation. The NIH-funded research project conducted by Auriel Washburn, a University of Cincinnati doctoral student in psychology, is published online this month in The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, a journal of the American Psychological Association.”
““The ultimate goal of our laboratory and clinical research is to improve safety and outcomes in young children who have no choice but to undergo surgery with anesthesia to treat their serious health concerns,” said Andreas Loepke, MD, PhD, FAAP, lead study author and an anesthesiologist in the Department of Anesthesiology at Cincinnati Children’s. “We also have to better understand to what extent anesthetics and other factors contribute to learning abnormalities in children before making drastic changes to our current practice, which by all measures has become very safe.””
“The study, led by pediatric surgeon Nicolas Kalfa and pediatric endocrinologist Charles Sultan, was carried out over five years and examined 600 children at hospitals in four French cities, 300 of whom were boys born with hypospadias.”
“”Our study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that sugar-sweetened beverages may be linked to NAFLD and other chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” said first author Jiantao Ma, Ph.D., a former doctoral student in the Nutrition Epidemiology Program at the USDA HNRCA and a graduate of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.”
“We could stop almost all psychotropic drug use without deleterious effect, says Peter C Gøtzsche, questioning trial designs that underplay harms and overplay benefits. Allan H Young and John Crace disagree, arguing that evidence supports long term use”
2 Comments
EricaFinfer · November 28, 2015 at 10:11 pm
It is interesting that it is has taken up to recent years to be able to scientifically back up the statement that sugary drinks overload contributes to liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. While each of these diseases can be genetic, they have had a high increase over the years as our diets have become filled with processed and foods filled with hidden sugars. It is a positive thing that large institutions are doing these studies and getting this information out to the general public!
mariecote · November 19, 2016 at 10:49 am
I read the article about the feeling prosthesis. I had no idea that it was possible to use a prosthesis in a way that acts a lot like a normal limb would. It sounds complicated, but as mentioned in the article, it is relatively straightforward, and it yields very good results. It’s even more incredible that it stopped his phantom limb pain. By sending sensory information to the brain, the prosthetic allows the stump to be less sensitive, and the brain to stop its search for the missing limb. The fact that the only risk associated with this procedure is that feeling fails to return if nerves don’t reconnect shows that this is a procedure worth a try. The best part about this is that it gives mobility back to people. Missing a limb can be demoralizing and limiting, but by making this prosthetic available to the masses, so many people could live better lives.