10 Things to Know About Thyroid Disease, Foods and Drinks

 

Lori Andrews/Moment/Getty Images Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy. Updated December 20, 2014. (Links are in blue =CTRL+Click to open them) For people with thyroid disease -- whether hypothyroid (underactive thyroid) or hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid), Hashimoto's disease or Graves' disease, or other conditions, there are some important things to know about foods and drinks, and their interaction with your health and medications. Here are ten things to know about thyroid conditions and your diet, food and beverages. 1. About Goitrogenic Foods Goitrogens are substances -- occurring naturally in certain foods -- that can cause the thyroid gland to enlarge, which is called a goiter. Goitrogenic foods can also function like an antithyroid drug and actually slow down the thyroid and make it underactive (hypothyroidism.) The main goitrogenic foods are cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage, among others, as well as soy foods. Here is a more detailed list of common goitrogens. If you still have a functional (or semi-functional thyroid gland), and are hypothyroid, you should be careful not to overconsume raw goitrogenic foods. If you are hyperthyroid, you may want to talk to a nutritional practitioner about incorporating more goitrogenic foods into your diet. If you are hypothyroid, you don't need to avoid goitrogenic foods entirely. The enzymes involved in the formation of goitrogenic materials in plants can be at least partially destroyed by heat, allowing you to enjoy these foods in moderation if they are steamed or cooked. If you are hypothyroid, you don't need to avoid goitrogenic foods entirely. The enzymes involved in the formation of goitrogenic materials in plants can be at least partially destroyed by heat, allowing you to enjoy these foods in moderation if they are steamed or cooked. 2. Coconut Oil You may hear coconut oil recommended for thyroid patients, and while it can be a healthful option, it's not a cure-all or treatment for thyroid disease. It's just a thyroid-friendly option to replace other fats and oils in your diet. 3. Soy May Be a Problem Soy both acts as a goitrogen, and inhibits thyroid hormone absorption. Don't overconsume soy, especially processed and high-phytoestrogen forms of soy, like shakes, powders, soy milk, bars, and supplements. You may want to eliminate soy, or limit soy consumption to fermented forms, like tempeh, in small quantities as a condiment, and not as a primary protein replacement. If you are hyperthyroid, you may want to talk to a nutritional practitioner about incorporating more soy into your diet. 4. Coffee And Thyroid Medication You should not take coffee until an hour after you've taken your thyroid hormone replacement medication. Otherwise, the coffee can affect absorption, and make your thyroid medication less effective. (Note: if you absolutely must have both your thyroid medication and coffee at the same time, talk to your physician about the liquid, capsule form of levothyroxine, which is apparently not affected by coffee.) 5. Calcium-Fortified Orange Juice And Your Thyroid Medication You should not take calcium-fortified orange juice with your thyroid medication. Wait at least three to four hours after taking your thyroid medication before taking calcium-fortified juice, calcium supplements, or iron supplements, as they can interfere with your absorption of thyroid medication. 6. Iodized Salt In some areas of the world, iodized salt is an essential way to prevent iodine deficiency, cretinism and retardation due to iodine deficiency in pregnant women. In the U.S., however, many people have limited their salt intake, or stopped using iodized salt. Keep in mind that about one-fourth of the U.S. population is now somewhat deficient in iodine, and that percentage appears to be on the rise again, after years of stable iodine levels (due to iodized salt intake.) You need enough iodine -- but not too much -- for the thyroid to function properly. 7. Celiac, Gluten and Wheat A subset of autoimmune thyroid patients have dietary-triggered autoimmunity, due to celiac disease, or a wheat/gluten intolerance. For these patients, going on a gluten-free diet may eliminate antibodies, and cause a remission of their autoimmune thyroid disease. Even for some patients who do not have celiac disease, going on a gluten-free diet may reduce antibodies, reduce bloating, and help with energy and weight loss. 8. High-Fiber Foods Many thyroid patients struggle with constipation, and extra weight. One of the key tactics that can help is increasing fiber intake, particularly from foods. Here is a list of high-fiber foods for thyroid patients. Keep in mind, however, that if you switch to a high-fiber diet, you should get your thyroid rechecked in eight to twelve weeks to see if you need a dosage readjustment, as fiber can affect absorption of medication. 9. Mini-Meals Many people hear that to raise metabolism, you should eat "mini-meals" -- or "graze" all day on smaller meals. But this may be exactly the wrong thing to do for thyroid patients who are trying to lose weight. The reason why fewer meals, spaced further apart may be more effective for thyroid patients than mini-meals and grazing is in helping to manage the leptin and insulin levels. 10. Water One of the most powerful things thyroid patients can do to help their health and metabolism is to drink enough water. Water helps your metabolism function more efficiently, and can help reduce your appetite, get rid of water retention and bloating, improve your digestion and elimination, and combat constipation. Some experts even say that we should drink one ounce of water per pound of scale weight.   source :http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroidbasicsthyroid101/a/10-Things-To-Know-About-Thyroid-Disease-Foods-And-Drinks.htm

What powers the pumping heart?

 

Led by University of Toronto Physiology Professor Anthony Gramolini and his collaborator, Professor Thomas Kislinger in the Department of Medical Biophysics, the team used high-throughput methods to identify more than 500 membrane proteins on the surfaces of cardiac contractile cells, which are likely to have a critical role in normal heart function. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Toronto Researchers at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research have uncovered a treasure trove of proteins, which hold answers about how our heart pumps -- a phenomenon known as contractility. Led by University of Toronto Physiology Professor Anthony Gramolini and his collaborator, Professor Thomas Kislinger in the Department of Medical Biophysics, the team used high-throughput methods to identify more than 500 membrane proteins on the surfaces of cardiac contractile cells, which are likely to have a critical role in normal heart function. The proteins may also play a part in heart failure and abnormal heartbeat patterns known as arrhythmias. "In addition to providing a new understanding of what makes our hearts pump, these findings could also help researchers uncover new information about how heart disease affects the signal pathways in our hearts. That might pave the way to find ways to prevent or reverse those changes," says Gramolini. During the study, the researchers found about 500 novel molecules that have been conserved throughout evolution. These molecules haven't been studied in the heart and little is known about what they do in other tissues. The group's research focused on a protein called transmembrane protein 65 (Tmem65). By studying human stem cells and zebrafish using cell imaging and biochemical techniques, the researchers discovered that Tmem65 is involved in communication and electrical processes known as electrical coupling and calcium signaling. The team showed that Tmem65 regulates the connection point between adjacent cardiac contractile cells where it contributes to making the heart contract normally. Removing the protein had fatal consequences. The team also identified Tmem65 as the first critical tool for stem-cell researchers to monitor the maturation of cells in the heart's two main chambers, known as ventricles. "These proteins are theoretically targetable for intervention as well as basic study. In this study, our focus was on Tmem65, but there are 555 proteins that we identified and showed that they are present throughout many species and are conserved throughout evolution-- at least in the mouse and the human -- in the heart's membrane-enriched contractile cells. Tmem65 was only the number-one candidate in our study, but theoretically, we have 554 other proteins to work through," says Gramolini. The study, published in Nature Communications, also provides the first resource of healthy human and mouse heart-cell proteins that will help scientists develop a better understanding the mechanisms involved in cardiac disease. Gramolini says the findings are essential for understanding cardiac biology and hopes they open the door for further study into health and disease in his lab and others. "We need to figure out what all of these molecules are doing. My team and I hope our research sets the stage for other people to begin to pick up some of this work," says Gramolini. "These are molecules that haven't been studied, but must play some role in heart function. If a protein is conserved in evolution, generally it must have a critical function. We are very excited to look at the role of a number of these new proteins." Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Toronto. The original item was written by Erin Howe. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: Parveen Sharma, Cynthia Abbasi, Savo Lazic, Allen C. T. Teng, Dingyan Wang, Nicole Dubois, Vladimir Ignatchenko, Victoria Wong, Jun Liu, Toshiyuki Araki, Malte Tiburcy, Cameron Ackerley, Wolfram H. Zimmermann, Robert Hamilton, Yu Sun, Peter P. Liu, Gordon Keller, Igor Stagljar, Ian C. Scott, Thomas Kislinger, Anthony O. Gramolini.Evolutionarily conserved intercalated disc protein Tmem65 regulates cardiac conduction and connexin 43 function. Nature Communications, 2015; 6: 8391 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9391 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150925131425.htm

Efeitos da Coca-Cola no seu corpo

 

Segundo uma pesquisa em artigos científicos e algum saber próprio, o farmacêutico Wade Meredith, escreve sobre os efeitos da ingestão da Coca-Cola no organismo. A Coca-Cola é sem dúvida das bebidas mais consumidas em todo o mundo, com uma média de 1,6 mil milhões de garrafas todos os dias.  A questão dos açúcares e da obesidade causada pela ingestão de refrigerantes já é conhecida pelo público geral. Adicionalmente, as ações abrasivas da Coca-Cola também já são conhecidas, uma vez que é mesmo usada para desentupir canalização. No entanto, o artigo publicado visa os efeitos sistémicos e locais da Coca-Cola, passo-a-passo, após a ingestão da bebida. Os dados abaixo referem-se à ingestão de uma porção de 330 mL da bebida.   Primeiros 10 minutos Equivale a ter ingerido 10 colheres de chá de açúcar, correspondendo a 100% da dose diária recomendada pelos nutricionistas para a ingestão de açúcar. Na verdade só não vomita, devido ao enjoo que causaria, porque o ácido fosfórico camufla esse sabor.   Aos 20 minutos Dispara a concentração de glucose no sangue e há um pico de insulina. Isto leva a uma ativação dos hepatócitos (células do fígado) no sentido de produzir e armazenar gordura a partir do excesso de glucose. Vários estudos em ratazana e rato mostram que isto pode estar relacionado com fenómenos de diabetes tipo 2 e obesidade. Saber mais aqui.   Aos 40 minutos Concluída a absorção da cafeína que provoca dilatação das pupilas e aumento da pressão sanguínea. Adicionalmente, no cérebro os receptores da adenosina são bloqueados mantendo o estado de alerta e impedindo-o de adormecer.   Aos 45 minutos Libertação de dopamina pelos neurónios dos centros de prazer, com efeitos análogos, embora menos severos, às drogas como a heróina. Saber mais aqui eaqui.   Mais de 60 minutos O ácido fosfórico liga iões Magnésio, Zinco e Cálcio no intestino delgado levando a um aumento da taxa metabólica e da excreção de Cálcio pela urina. Saber mais aqui e aqui. A cafeína também tem efeito diurético que leva à excreção de todos estes electrólitos, diminuindo as suas concentrações no organismo para valores que podem ser críticos. Evidência publicada aqui. Alguns fenómenos de irritabilidade devidos à diminuição do pico de glucose no sangue. A Coca-Cola não é só uma bebida extremamente açucarada como também possuí vários electrólitos refinados e cafeína. Em conjugação, estudos tem mostrado os seus efeitos sobre a incidência da obesidade, diabetes tipo 2 e problemas cardiovasculares. Fonte: The Renegade Pharmacist http://www.fciencias.com/2015/08/03/efeitos-da-coca-cola-no-seu-corpo/

9 Cinnamon Tea Recipes to Help the Body Heal Itself

 

Cinnamon tea is a convenient way to get a spice that has been used for thousands of years in ancient cultures for its healing properties. You can benefit from it by simply brewing it up and sipping it as you would any other tea. Cinnamon acts as a natural antibacterial and antimicrobial agent in the body, which may help to explain why it’s been regarded for its medicinal value for quite some time. It’s always best to help the body heal itself, and employing a natural spice like cinnamon can help further that process along. Next time you are out, pick up organic cinnamon sticks to have them handy for when you need them. 1. Sudanese Cinnamon Tea Cinnamon tea doesn’t have to be complicated to make in order to capture its healing benefits. This Sudanese cinnamon tea recipe shows that all you need is cinnamon sticks, water, and tea to get the job done. This will give the tea more flavor than just adding hot water to cinnamon, and you can also add sugar to taste, although if you are trying to use it to heal you may want to drink it without the sugar. Here she’s using ceylon tea, so its bringing additional antioxidants and immune system defense to the table. Photo: Je Suis Alimentageuse 2. Thaicia’s Traditional Cold Remedy This tea is a wonderful concoction, with each ingredient serving to help bolster the body back to health. Cinnamon is included for its anti-inflammatory properties and the boost it gives the immune system. She’s also included lemons for their Vitamin C, which will also help support the immune system. There’s honey added to help sweeten things up and make it easier to drink, but also because honey has antibacterial properties. There’s even garlic and ginger, which might not be the best-tasting duo when you have a cold, but the cinnamon, lemon, and honey help with the taste. 3. Crock Pot Chai Tea Latte This is a chai latte that is made in a way that doesn’t use any dairy and a healthy mix of ingredients that are sure to h A traditional chai latte is made with milk, and using coconut milk instead of cow’s milk will make you less likely to get congested after drinking it. If you are trying to drink cinnamon to help fight or avoid a cold, going with this tea latte is a better choice than a conventional chai latte from the coffee shop. She’s made this using a Crock Pot so you can cook it up and leave it simmering for a pick-me-up whenever you need it throughout the day. 4. Warming Cinnamon Tea Cinnamon has a warming effect on the body, and is therefore helpful in overcoming the symptoms of several conditions. This tea takes things back to basics, showing you that you can make a cinnamon tea just using cinnamon and your choice of an all-natural sweetener, like honey. They’re recommending that you go with raw honey, and we’d further add that you should make sure it’s organic, or from a local source that you trust. When consuming such a simple tea it’s important to only use the best possible ingredients. Photo: House of Treats 5. Lemon and Cinnamon Tea This is a simple combination of cinnamon, lemon, cloves, and tea that can help your body heal itself through the use of all-natural ingredients. The lemon provides Vitamin C, while the cloves provide additional anti-inflammatory properties. While she’s using Earl Grey for the type of tea, you can always customize this to your own taste. Using green tea would be one way to get more antioxidants and other substances that help the body, both short term and long term. The English version of this recipe starts halfway down the page. 6. Ginger Cinnamon Detox Tea The combination of ginger and cinnamon is a quite powerful one, and this tea isdesigned to help you detox. You’ll often find healthy ingredients like this combined together, especially when their flavors complement each other. In this case ginger and cinnamon are both rather harsh flavors, and there’s no sugar or sweetener used in this recipe to offset this. It’s meant to be a detoxifying tea, so you don’t want to add anything to it that the body is going to have trouble with. Drink this tea at the first sign of a cold to help warm the body up and shorten the cold’s duration, possibly even avoiding it. 7. Cinnamon Sore Throat Tea For those times when your throat is bothering you, try sipping this sore throat tea made with cinnamon and other ingredients designed to soothe the situation. This is a milky concoction that uses cinnamon and honey, as well as ginger to not only help soothe the throat, but also combat the cause of it. The milk they’re using isn’t cow’s milk, it’s your choice of either almond, rice, or coconut, so you won’t be filling your system with dairy at a time when you could be coming down with a cold. You’ll also score the extra nutrients these milks provide. Photo: Gourmande in the Kitchen 8. Spiced Persimmon Turmeric Tea This tea has a lot going on, but what shouldn’t be overlooked is the use of high-quality cinnamon sticks. It’s going to infuse the tea with the goodness of cinnamon, in addition to everything else it contains. Turmeric is gaining attention for its healing benefits to the body, but has long been known by several cultures that use it everyday in their cooking as well as in tea form. Ginger has a cleansing effect on the body and can help reduce symptoms in a number of conditions. Persimmon is known for its anti-cancer properties and can help protect you from colds. 9. Ginger-Clove-Cinnamon Tea The trio of ginger, cloves, and cinnamon come together nicely in this tea and promise to help the body heal in a natural way. All three of these ingredients are anti-inflammatory, so you can use them to treat a myriad of symptoms from any condition caused by or worsened by inflammation. Ginger and cinnamon will both help your digestive system as well, which in turn helps you process foods and break down their nutrients better, helping your overall health and ability to heal. The instructions themselves are as easy as adding boiling water to the three ingredients.   http://bembu.com/cinnamon-tea-recipes

A new Ear on the Universe

 

The Documentary Visions of the universe exert an eerie silence. But as Aleem Maqbool reveals in A New Ear on the Universe all this is set to change. Physicists are racing to develop a cosmic hearing aid which will bring us the Universe’s equivalent of sound - gravitational waves It’s the largest lab on the surface of the planet - located in the Columbia Basin region of southeastern Washington. LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, with its giant laser beam arms totalling 5 miles across the remote Hanford desert, is seeking to detect gravitational waves -- ripples in the fabric of space-time. First predicted by Einstein in his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves are produced by exotic events involving coalescing black holes, neutron stars and objects perhaps not yet discovered and even the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the universe. The giant lab is atmospherically set adjacent to a former nuclear reactor whose village workers have long disappeared, to be replaced by a new community of scientists. Aleem Maqbool journeys to Hanford home to the remote LIGO observatory as, following a major upgrade, the detector completes the final trial runs as it prepares to go live. He examines the science of gravitational waves, and how it’s both an eye and an ear on the motion of distant objects. He scrutinises its cutting edge technology of almost unimaginable sensitivity to enable detection of some of the universe’s most dramatic events. And he examines the passion and the motivation of individuals who have worked for nearly three decades on a single science experiment, engaging in the stories of those who invented a whole new branch of physics in order to prove the last piece of Einstein's theory of general relativity, and to “hear” the universe in a whole new way. With its laser beam tubes the observatory will be chasing a signal from deep space as small as a thousandth the diameter of a proton What will we expect to hear? The death cries of a supernovae? The mating calls of merging black holes?   http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p032v402

Production Process May Yield Self-Healing Tires

 

Fri, 09/25/2015 - 8:38am Greg Watry, Digital Reporter In the winter of 1839, Charles Goodyear was already experimenting with rubber. He was enamored with the substance, saying “There is probably no other inert substance which so excites the mind.” As the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which neither Goodyear or his family were associated with, tells it, the inventor was displaying his latest gum-and-sulfur formula. In a moment of excitement, he waved the substance in the air, flinging it from his hands. It landed on a nearby stove, and rather than melting, the substance took on a leather consistency. So goes the story of the accidental discovery. Today, sulfur vulcanization is the only method for manufacturing automobile tires, making them durable, yet still elastic. However, chemists have discovered a way to bypass the vulcanization step while yielding tire-grade rubber as a result. Further, the tire has self-healing properties.   Their work was published in ACS Applied Material & Interfaces. The work is the result of a collaboration between the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, the Tampere Univ. of Technology and the Dresden Univ. of Technology.      “Rubber is made of long strand-like molecules tangled and bound together,” according to the American Chemical Society. “When rubber is pierced or torn, critical chemical bonds break and can’t be re-vulcanized, making a damaged tire useless.” Using the commercially available and widely used bromobutyl rubber, the researchers used a carbon and nitrogen additive, which allows rubber to reform important bonds. When punctured or torn, the rubber recovers the durability and elasticity that usually only results from the vulcanization process. Tests showed the rubber was capable of healing itself at room temperature. Heating the rubber to 212 F for the first 10 min sped the mending process up. Eventually, a punctured tire may simply call for a car to be left in the garage for a period of time. After eight days, the rubber tire can withstand pressures at 754 psi, 20 times more than the normal amount of pressure exerted on a tire. Reinforcing agents, such as carbon black or silica, can further strengthen the product, according to the researchers.    While a flat tire may not be the bane of a motorist’s existence like traffic, science is taking steps towards making the inconvenience more manageable. http://www.rdmag.com/articles/2015/09/production-process-may-yield-self-healing-tires

This man is planning to swim across the entire Pacific Ocean

 

by Katie Medlock, 09/23/15 Anyone who’s ever goofed around with GoogleMaps to see how long it would take to swim across the Pacific Ocean need wonder no longer: Ben Lecomte is about to take on the 5,500 mile challenge, which is the world’s longest open water swim – without a kickboard. Beginning in Tokyo and ending in San Francisco, Lecomte hopes to inspire people to work together to combat climate change for the benefit of future generations. Lecomte is no stranger to vast, open water swims, as he was the first to traverse the Atlantic Ocean in 1998 without a kickboard – a trip which took 73 days. He hopes the notoriety gained from this accomplishment will bring more attention to his current cause, explaining “Rather than just an event, my swim is a platform to get people’s attention about growing environmental and sustainability issues, mobilize fans with emotion, and inspire them to become full-blown advocates.” The Longest Swim is partnered by Water Defense, the Mark Buffalo-founded organization who will attach a WaterBug sensor to Lecomte on his journey to collect water quality data. Not only will information be gathered about the surrounding sea, but also about Lecomte, himself. Using “remote guidance echo” technology – used in monitoring cardiovascular changes in astronauts – real-time echocardiogram information will be transmitted via satellite to record the effects of the journey’s demands on the swimmer’s body. Currently, the project has raised $8,000 of its $50,000 IndieGoGo campaign goals to help fund all of the voyage’s technical needs. The campaign explains that the first step is to get Lecomte’s boat, the Rolano, which will follow alongside him on his trek, to Japan in preparation for the swim. Stay tuned to see when Ben sets sail on this landmark journey. +The Longest Swim http://inhabitat.com/swimmer-who-traversed-the-atlantic-is-now-taking-on-the-pacific-in-the-longest-swim

The Nile at night

 

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, recently past the halfway mark of his one-year mission to the International Space Station, photographed the Nile River during a nighttime flyover on Sept. 22, 2015. Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) wrote, "Day 179. The #Nile at night is a beautiful sight for these sore eyes. Good night from@space_station! #YearInSpace."

 

Image Credit: NASA

Last Updated: Sept. 25, 2015

Editor: Sarah Loff

http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/the-nile-at-night

New strategies address one of science's greatest mysteries

 

36 NSF-funded research teams work to help reveal how neurons team up to produce thoughts and actions In 2014, NSF awarded a total of $10.8 million to 36 brain research projects. September 23, 2015 Your brain is the boss of you. It controls vital physiological functions--such as breathing--as well as thoughts, memories and learning. Yet our understanding of the brain is downright rudimentary compared to our understanding of other organs. As part of The BRAIN Initiative, the National Science Foundation is working to change that through projects that study the brain's circuitry in action. The six videos accompanying this story explain some of these creative, futuristic projects. The secrets of circuits Our brain cells, called neurons, work together to produce every memory, thought, behavior and sensation. The human brain has 80 to 100 billion neurons--each of which transmits and receives signals to and from thousands of other neurons. To fully understand how the brain functions, scientists research how these neural circuits work. The circuits are quite complex--they can connect neurons in distant regions of the brain and operate at different temporal and spatial scales. Because of this complexity, scientists still have a lot to learn about circuits' structure and function. How do circuits manage to operate at the speed of thought? Which circuits control specific brain functions, and where are they located in the brain? How are circuits organized? How do a circuit's neurons coordinate their activities? How do circuits develop as an organism matures after birth? Bold research projects NSF's BRAIN Initiative efforts are working to answer those questions. In 2014, NSF awarded a total of $10.8 million to 36 brain research projects. These awards, which each provide $300,000 over two years, are called Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER). They are part of NSF's broader efforts to understand the healthy brain. Each BRAIN EAGER supports a bold, promising--but untested--approach to develop groundbreaking technologies or concepts that advance our understanding of neural circuits. The 36 awards collectively fund 76 researchers who are applying their expertise across almost all scientific and engineering fields. Three EAGER teams are international. Lords of the fruit flies: What goes into fruit fly courtship? It might seem like an odd question, but understanding its neural underpinnings--and studying the male-female interactions at the milliscale level--could help us better understand the complexities of social behavior. A Princeton University team--neuroscientist Mala Murthy and physicists William Bialek and Joshua Shaevitz--will stimulate individual neurons as the fruit flies (Drosophila) conduct complex courtship behaviors. They will also develop mathematical models that predict the dynamics of interactive behavior. Seeing the brain in a whole new light: Researchers all over the world use technology called optogenetics that allows them to turn neurons on and off in living laboratory organisms by exposing them to certain types of light. Stephen Boppart of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign wants to expand optogenetics even further. His project involves developing new physics-based techniques to improve control over those beams of light. This would enable researchers to activate circuits of neurons with greater resolution and spatial specificity than ever before, laying the foundation for new types of brain research on how circuits produce behavior and cognition. New ways to scope the brain: Compare a boxy 1980s television to the sleek, high-definition TVs of today: That's a significant difference. Spencer Smith's wants to make an even bigger jump with microscope technology, though--a 100-fold difference over the instruments used today. Smith, of the University of North Carolina's School of Medicine, and his team developed the new microscope, which can simultaneously view individual neurons firing in two or more brain regions of a moving laboratory animal. The microscope will enable researchers to see how different areas of the brain work together to process information. As the worm turns: The tiny roundworm (C. elegans) is a great animal for brain research. It is transparent, so its neurons can be seen through a microscope. And its simple nervous system consists of just 302 neurons. Plus, it matures from an egg to an egg-laying adult in two days. Harvard University's Aravinthan Samuel will exploit all these benefits to document, for the first time, all behaviors and neural activities simultaneously demonstrated by an individual animal by studying a roundworm as it matures from birth to adulthood. This project will shed light on the parallel development of brain circuits and behavior. Spying on synapses: Signaling across synapses--the tiny gaps between neurons, over a thousand times thinner than a sheet of paper--requires multiple molecules to work together. To learn how neurons communicate, and ensure they pass across the synapses at the right pace and time, Nancy Xu of Old Dominion University and her team are developing new imaging tools and nanotechnology. These tools provide enhanced resolution and may lead to new insights about the role of abnormal signaling involved in brain diseases, injuries and drug addiction. Measuring the brain's chemical cocktails: Dopamine is a special chemical, neurologically speaking. The neurotransmitter is crucial for decision-making, learning, movement and more. Scientists know that varying dopamine levels affect neurons, but they don't yet have a method to measure exactly how. Michael Heien and Stephen Cowen from the University of Arizona are developing a tool that will simultaneously measure dopamine release and the activity of groups of neurons. The technology will help provide a real-time picture of how dopamine affects abilities such as motor control and learning. -- Lily Whiteman, National Science Foundation (703) 292-8070lwhitema@nsf.gov -- Jessica Arriens, National Science Foundation (703) 292-2243jarriens@nsf.gov http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=135837&WT.mc_id=USNSF_1

Wooden Little House on Stilts

 

Posted: 23 Sep 2015 02:00 PM PDT

L’architecte Nozomi Nakabayashi a conçu une petite maison montée dur pilotis. Destinée à un client écrivain, souhaitant s’évader de son quotidien et trouver son inspiration, sa création fait l’objet d’un certain confort, comme un lit et un poêle pour le chauffage. Faite en bois, cette grande cabane dispose même d’une terrasse munie d’un balcon pour profiter de la vue sur l’espace dans lequel elle se trouve.

 

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