Today Is World Blood Donor Day – Here’s A Look At Some Blood Chemistry! More Info/high-res Image:

Here’s something cool to do with your leftover candy corn – all you have to do is head to space.

Astronauts are allowed to bring special “crew preference” items when they go up in space. NASA astronaut Don Pettit chose candy corn for his five and a half month stint aboard the International Space Station. But these candy corn were more than a snack, Pettit used them for experimentation.

See how he did it:

Why do flowers do the thing they do?

Flowers are the reproductive organs of plants. When pollinated, flowers develop into fruits containing seeds. However, producing flowers, fruits, and seeds is not easy. Plants devote lots of resources and energy to grow these specialized organs. Thus, plants tend to synchronize their efforts with a time of year when conditions are best for reproductive success and survival.

“Annuals” are plants that grow from seed, flower, and die in one year. Since annuals need to grow leaves and stems before they flower, most annuals won’t mature enough to flower until mid-summer or later.

“Winter annuals” get a jump-start on reproduction by germinating from seeds in the fall, over-wintering as rosettes of leaves and storing energy which allows them to flower early in the spring.

“Perennial” plants can live for many years and flower multiple times. Perennials have evolved many different flowering strategies. Most flower in mid- to late summer after they have had time to accumulate the resources needed to produce seeds each year.  Others, such as early forest wildflowers, grow for only a short while, blooming before the trees above them leaf out, starving them of light. These plants store energy in underground roots or stems, allowing them to flower early and quickly.

The evolution of such diverse flowering strategies is good for plants that otherwise would have to compete for the same resources at the same time. Its also is nice for us, as we get to enjoy flowers brightening the landscape throughout the growing season.

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Estrogen Alters Memory Circuit Function in Women with Gene Variant

Fluctuations in estrogen can trigger atypical functioning in a key brain memory circuit in women with a common version of a gene, NIMH scientists have discovered. Brain scans revealed altered circuit activity linked to changes in the sex hormone in women with the gene variant while they performed a working memory task.

(Image caption: Both PET scans (left) and fMRI scans (right) showed the same atypical activation (yellow) in the brain’s memory hub, or hippocampus, in response to estrogen in women performing a working memory task – if they carried a uniquely human version of the BDNF gene. Activity in this area is typically suppressed during working memory. Picture shows PET and fMRI data superimposed over anatomical MRI image)

The findings may help to explain individual differences in menstrual cycle and reproductive-related mental disorders linked to fluctuations in the hormone. They may also shed light on mechanisms underlying sex-related differences in onset, severity, and course of mood and anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. The gene-by-hormone interaction’s effect on circuit function was found only with one of two versions of the gene that occurs in about a fourth of white women.

Drs. Karen Berman, Peter Schmidt, Shau-Ming Wei, and colleagues, of the NIMH Intramural Research Program, report on this first such demonstration in women April 18, 2017 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Prior to the study, there was little evidence from research on the human brain that might account for individual differences in cognitive and behavioral effects of sex hormones. For example, why do some women develop postpartum depression and others do not – in response to the same hormone changes? Why do some women report that estrogen replacement improved their memory, whereas large studies of postmenopausal estrogen therapy show no overall improvement in memory performance?

Evidence from humans has also been lacking for the neural basis of stark sex differences in prevalence and course of mental disorders that are likely related to sex hormones. For example, why are there higher rates of mood disorders in females and higher rates of ADHD in males – or later onset of schizophrenia in females?

In seeking answers to these questions, the researchers focused on working memory, a well-researched brain function often disturbed in many of these disorders. It was known that working memory is mediated by a circuit from the brain’s executive hub, the prefrontal cortex, to its memory hub, the hippocampus. Notably, hippocampus activity is typically suppressed during working memory processing.

Following-up on a clue from experiments in mice, the NIMH team hypothesized that estrogen tweaks circuit function by interacting with a uniquely human version of the gene that codes for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a pivotal chemical messenger operating in this circuit. To find out, the researchers experimentally manipulated estrogen levels in healthy women with one or the other version of the BDNF gene over a period of months. Researchers periodically scanned the women’s brain activity while they performed a working memory task to see any effects of the gene-hormone interaction on circuit function.

The researchers first scanned 39 women using PET (positron emission tomography) and later confirmed the results in 27 women using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Both pegged atypical activity in the hippocampus to the interaction. Turning up the same findings using two types of neuroimaging strengthens the case for the accuracy of their observations, say the researchers. Such gene-hormone interactions affecting thinking and behavior are consistent with findings from animal studies and are suspect mechanisms conferring risk for mental illness, they add.

New Approach to Treating Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common form of dementia. In search for new drugs for AD, the research team, led by Professor Mi Hee Lim of Natural Science at UNIST has developed a metal-based substance that works like a pair of genetic scissors to cut out amyloid-β (Aβ), the hallmark protein of AD.

The study has been featured on the cover of the January 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) and has been also selected as a JACS Spotlight article.

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death among in older adults. The exact causes of Alzheimer’s disease are still unknown, but several factors are presumed to be causative agents. Among these, the aggregation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) has been implicated as a contributor to the formation of neuritic plaques, which are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

As therapeutics for AD, Professor Lim suggested a strategy that uses metal-based complexes for reducing the toxicity of the amyloid beta (Aβ). Althought various metal complexes have been suggested as therapeutics for AD, none of them work effectively in vivo.

The research team has found that they can hydrolyze amyloid-beta proteins using a crystal structure, called tetra-N methylated cyclam (TMC). Hydrolysis is the process that uses water molecules to split other molecules apart. The metal-mediated TMC structure uses the external water and cut off the binding of amyloid-beta protein effectively.

In this study, the following four metals (cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc) were placed at the center of the TMC structure. When the double-layered cobalt was added to the center, the hydrolysis activity was at the highest.

The research team reported that the cobalt-based metal complex (Co(II)(TMC)) had the potential to penetrate the blood brain barrier and the hydrolysis activity for nonamyloid protein was low. Moreover, the effects of this substance on the toxicity of amyloid-beta protein were also observed in living cell experiments.

“This material has a high therapeutic potential in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease as it can penetrate the brain-vascular barrier and directly interact with the amyloid-beta protein in the brain,” says Professor Lim.

This study has also attracted attention by the editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. “Not only do they develop new materials, but they have been able to propose details of the working principles and experiments that support them,” according to the editor.

“As a scientist, this is such a great honor to know that our recent publication in JACS was highlighted in JACS Spotlights,” says Professor Lim. “This means that our research has not only been recognized as an important research, but also has caused a stir in academia.”

(Image caption: The synapses of pyramid cells in the cerebral cortex form functional groups. Some of the related synapses are shown in green in the reconstruction. Credit: © MPI of Neurobiology / Scheuss)

Neurons form synapse clusters

The cerebral cortex resembles a vast switchboard. Countless lines carrying information about the environment, for example from the sensory organs, converge in the cerebral cortex. In order to direct the flow of data into meaningful pathways, the individual pyramidal cells of the cerebral cortex act like miniature switchboard operators. Each cell receives information from several thousand lines. If the signals make sense, the line is opened, and the information is relayed onward. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now shown for the first time that contact points between specific neuron types are clustered in groups on the target neuron. It is probable that signals are coordinated with each other in this way to make them more “convincing”.

The cells of the cerebral cortex have a lot to do. They process various types of information depending on the area in which they are located. For example, signals from the retina arrive in the visual cortex, where, among other things, the motion of objects is detected. The pyramidal cells of the cerebral cortex receive information from other cells through thousands of contact points called synapses. Depending on where, how many and how often synapses are activated, the cell relays the signal onward – or not.

Information is passed on in the form of electrical signals. The neurobiologists were able to measure these signals at various contact points of the neuron. “The exciting thing is that the signals that a cell receives from, say, ten simultaneously active synapses can be greater than the sum of the signals from the ten individual synapses,” says Volker Scheuss, summarizing the basis of his recently published study. “However, until now it was unclear whether this phenomenon can be explained by a specific arrangement of synapses on pyramidal cells.”

By combining modern methods, the neurobiologists in Tobias Bonhoeffer’s Department have analysed the arrangement of synapses. They were able to selectively activate a specific type of pyramid cell in brain slices from mice using optogenetics. Thanks to simultaneous “calcium imaging”, they were then able to observe and record the activity of individual synapses under a two-photon microscope. In this way, they succeeded in showing for the first time how synapses are arranged with respect to each other.

The result of such synapse mapping analysed with a newly developed algorithm was clear: The synapses of pyramidal cells form clusters consisting of 4 to 14 synapses arranged within an area of less than 30 micrometres along the dendrite. “The existence of these clusters suggests that the synapses interact with each other to control the strength of the combined signal,” explains Onur Gökçe, author of the study. This is the first anatomical explanation for the disproportionate strength of clustered synapse signals in comparison to the individual signals – a finding known from activity measurements. The observation in layer 5 pyramidal cells was of particular interest, as the activity of these cells oscillates synchronously. “This rhythmic activity, which probably influences the processing of visual information, could synchronously activate synapse clusters, thus boosting the overall signal received,” says Scheuss.

Sounds, such as music and noise, are capable of reliably affecting individuals’ moods and emotions, possibly by regulating brain dopamine, a neurotransmitter strongly involved in emotional behavior and mood regulation.

Crystals of the female hormone oxytocin

In women this hormone is secreted naturally by the pituitary gland. Oxytocin causes contractions of the uterus during labour, and it also stimulates the flow of milk in women who are breast-feeding.

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Dancing Flames - Aluminium’s reactivity 

aluminium’s protective oxide layer can make it difficult to see its true reactivity in the context of metals reacting with aqueous solutions. (Do not try to recreate experiment without the presence of a trained professional)

Procedure:

Dissolve copper(II) chloride in the hydrochloric acid and set the solution aside. Take a piece of aluminium foil approximately the width of the base of the conical flask and approximately 20 cm long. Roll it loosely just enough to be able to fit through the neck of the flask – use a splint or spatula to gently push it home so it lies on its side on the base of the flask. Have a source of ignition nearby with some splints. Pour the solution inside the flask and swirl the flask gently to get the reaction going. 

After a few seconds, the mixture will begin to react vigorously and produce hydrogen gas. Hold the lit splint by the opening of the flask and the gas will ignite. If you have timed it right, the flame will sink back into the flask and dance inside above the reaction with an eerie green color from the copper.

Reaction:

2Al(s) + 3CuCl2(aq) → 2AlCl3(aq) + 3Cu(s)

2Al(s) + 6HCl(aq) → 2AlCl3(aq) + 3H2(g)

The primary objective here is to show how reactive aluminium is. The aluminium oxide layer protects the metal beneath from further reaction with air, water or acid. But chloride ions can ligate aluminium ions at the metal–oxide interface and break down the protective layer, allowing the reaction to proceed. -rsc

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TOP TEN MOST DEADLY INFECTIOUS DISEASES

This list is based off of the assumption that the infected individual does not receive medical treatment.

1. Prions (mad cow disease, Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, kuru, fatal familial insomnia): 100%

2. Rabies: ~100%

3. African trypanosomiasis (’African sleeping sickness’): ~100%

4. Primary amoebic encephalitis caused by Naegleri fowlerii (’the brain-eating amoeba’): ~100%

5. Yersinia pestis, specifically the pneumonic or septicemic subtype (’the black plague’): ~100%

6. Visceral leishmaniasis: ~100%

7. Smallpox, specifically the malignant (flat) or hemorragic subtype: 95%

8. Ebola virus, specifically the Zaire strain: 83-90%

9. HIV: 80-90%

10. Anthrax, specifically the pulmonary subtype: >85%