Free will?

More evidence that you’re a mindless robot with no free will

How we may confabulate reality and rationalize irrational behavior

May 4, 2016

The results of two Yale University psychology experiments suggest that what we believe to be a conscious choice may actually be constructed, or confabulated, unconsciously after we act — to rationalize our decisions. A trick of the mind.

“Our minds may be rewriting history,” said Adam Bear, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology and lead author of a paper published April 28… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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New drugs building

Garage Biotech: New drugs using only a computer, the internet and free online data

May 5, 2016

By David Glance
Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, University of Western Australia

Pharmaceutical companies typically develop new drugs with thousands of staff and budgets that run into the billions of dollars. One estimate puts the cost of bringing a new drug to market at $2.6 billion with others suggesting that it could be double that cost at $5 billion.

One man, Professor Atul… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity

The Ice Age

DNA of ancient Europeans reveals the Ice Age was as dramatic as ‘Game of Thrones’ Clashing cultures. The occasional hanky-panky with other species. A new study of genetic material from the period reveals a continent roiling with change. By Sarah Kaplan  •  Read more »

50% population in 1% world area

Home »  » Population » Half the World’s Population Lives in Just 1% of the Land [Map]

 » Half the World’s Population Lives in Just 1% of the Land [Map]

Half the World’s Population Lives in Just 1% of the Land [Map]

Two Centuries of U.S. Immigration Visualized

​

From 1920 to 2013, a total of 79 million people from around the world have emigrated to the United States and become lawful permanent residents. This animated map visualizes them all, each moving dot representing 10,000 new arrivals.

Through time the sources of migration follow a clear trend through the world. Initially, the bulk of immigration comes from Western Europe (Ireland, Germany, and the U.K.). The next wave, starting around 1880, comes from further east in Europe (Italy, Russia, and Hungary). Through the 20th Century, most of the Immigration arrives from the Americas (Canada and Mexico). And finally, the last few decades have seen a rise in immigration from Asia (China and the Philippines).

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To much clining up

Complement and microglia mediate early synapse loss in Alzheimer mouse models

1. Soyon Hong1, 
2. Victoria F. Beja-Glasser1,*, 
3. Bianca M. Nfonoyim1,*, 
4. Arnaud Frouin1, 
5. Shaomin Li2, 
6. Saranya Ramakrishnan1, 
7. Katherine M. Merry1, 
8. Qiaoqiao Shi2, 
9. Arnon Rosenthal3,4,5, 
10. Ben A. Barres6, 
11. Cynthia A. Lemere2, 
12. Dennis J. Selkoe2,7, 
13. Beth Stevens1,8,†

+ Author Affiliations

1. ↵†Corresponding author. E-mail: beth.stevens@childrens.harvard.edu

1. ↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Science  06 May 2016:
Vol. 352, Issue 6286, pp. 712-716
DOI: 10.1126/science.aad8373

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Too much cleaning up

The complement system and microglia seek out and destroy unwanted cellular debris for the peripheral immune system as well as excess synapses in the developing brain. Hong et al. now show how the system may go haywire in adults early in the progression toward Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aberrant synapse loss is an early feature of Alzheimer's and correlates with cognitive decline. In mice susceptible to AD, complement was associated with synapses, and microglial function was required for synapse loss. The authors speculate that aberrant activation of this “trash disposal” system underlies AD pathology.

Science, this issue p. 712

Abstract

Synapse loss in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) correlates with cognitive decline. Involvement of microglia and complement in AD has been attributed to neuroinflammation, prominent late in disease. Here we show in mouse models that complement and microglia mediate synaptic loss early in AD. C1q, the initiating protein of the classical complement cascade, is increased and associated with synapses before overt plaque deposition. Inhibition of C1q, C3, or the microglial complement receptor CR3 reduces the number of phagocytic microglia, as well as the extent of early synapse loss. C1q is necessary for the toxic effects of soluble β-amyloid (Aβ) oligomers on synapses and hippocampal long-term potentiation. Finally, microglia in adult brains engulf synaptic material in a CR3-dependent process when exposed to soluble Aβ oligomers. Together, these findings suggest that the complement-dependent pathway and microglia that prune excess synapses in development are inappropriately activated and mediate synapse loss in AD.

Genoma

Nongenetic functions of the genome

1. Michael Bustin, 
2. Tom Misteli

+ Author Affiliations

1. Email: mistelit@mail.nih.gov (T.M.); bustinm@mail.nih.gov (M.B.)

Science  06 May 2016:
Vol. 352, Issue 6286,
DOI: 10.1126/science.aad6933

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The nongenetic roles of the nucleus

The eukaryotic cell nucleus provides a home for the genetic material and accessory proteins. As a physical entity, the nucleus also plays an important role in cell dynamics. Bustin and Misteli Review the impacts that the nucleus can have as a nongenetic force. For example, compacted DNA and the nuclear membrane affect nuclear morphology, the cellular response to mechanical force, cell migration, and cell signaling. Chromatin is not only affected by physical forces in cells but participates in a crosstalk of signaling inside cells.

Science, this issue p. 10.1126/science.aad6933

Networking

Learning the lessons of networking

1. Peter M. Grace

+ Author Affiliations

Science  06 May 2016:
Vol. 352, Issue 6286, pp. 738
DOI: 10.1126/science.352.6286.738

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When I was a young researcher, networking did not come naturally to me. I am a quiet person, and I preferred to engage with people I was already familiar with. However, I saw that many successful networkers also had successful careers with thriving, collaborative research programs and frequent speaking invitations. So, during my postdoc, I started making an effort to overcome my reclusive tendencies and build my professional network—and it has paid off. The network that I have built has championed my career advancement and contributed to my intellectual and professional development. Many of the opportunities that have come my way, including a tenure-track assistant professorship that I will begin next fall, have arisen from networking.

ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER

“As an initially hesitant networker, I have picked up some tips.”

DYING WELL

BY WUDAN YAN  MAY 4, 2016

Despite technological advances in health care, physicians and family
members still have trouble talking candidly about what dying well means,
and what their loved ones want when their time comes. And yet no one
thought to actually survey the very elderly (those older than 95) on their
feelings about death until recently, when researchers at the University
of Cambridge surveyed 33individuals over 95 on their attitudes towards dying.

The very elderly often accept that the end is near, and have plenty to say about how they want it to go.

Some of the responses
were rather poignant.
Many of their peers had
already passed, leading
some of the  participants
to question why they were
still alive. Most of those
interviewed also expressed
that they were “waiting for
[death] to happen.”

Exercise, calories and weight

Exercise, calories, and weight (Vox)

By Julia Belluz and Javier Zarracina
Working out burns calories and helps us lose weight, right? Actually, it’s a whole lot more complicated than that. A deep dive into dozens of studies explains why hunter-gatherers don’t get an extraordinary amount of exercise, how corporations influence federal health recommendations, and what actually works if you want to lose weight.

Why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies
by Julia Belluz and Javier Zarracina on April 28, 2016

Welcome to Show Me the Evidence, where we go beyond the frenzy of daily headlines to
take a deeper look at the state of science around the most pressing health questions of the day.

"I'm going to make you work hard," a blonde and perfectly muscled fitness
instructor screamed at me in a recent spinning class, "so you can have
that second drink at happy hour!"/.../

Euthanasia

JSTOR Presents: The Euthanasia Movement: A History & Discussion by Anna Hiatt Morbid Anatomy Museum Brooklyn, NY Share this event: Event JSTOR Presents: The Euthanasia Movement: A History & Discussion by Anna Hiatt Date: Thursday, May 12th Time: 7pm Admission: $8 Location: Morbid Anatomy Museum, 424 Third Avenue, 11215 Brooklyn NY The idea that death should be merciful is not new. When a person is gravely wounded or terminally ill, when death is inevitable, and the suffering is so great that living no longer brings any joy to the person, it is understandable that he or she may wish to die. InTwo Pioneers of Euthanasia Around 1800, Michael Stolberg citesaccounts of people pulling on the legs of those who had been hanged, but had not yet died, to hasten their deaths. He mentions alsoApologie, the autobiography of a French surgeon named Ambroise Paré who happened upon three gravely wounded soldiers. An uninjured soldier asked the surgeon if they would live, to which he responded they would not. The uninjured soldier proceeded to slit their throats/.../.