Sci-Ed Update 299

New sense discovered, biosensors for colorectal cancer, hearing voices, consciousness in microtubules, synapse formation, mom's microbiomes affects fetal development, better way to coach students

Nov 01, 2023

*(Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)*

A new study reveals a previously undiscovered way that we can feel light touches: directly through our hair follicles.
Before now, it was thought that only nerve endings in the skin and around the hair follicles could transmit the sensation.
The team behind the study, led by researchers from Imperial College London in the UK, used an RNA sequencing process to find that cells in part of the hair follicle called the outer root sheath (ORS) had a higher percentage of touch-sensitive receptors than equivalent cells in the skin.
From there, the researchers produced lab cultures of human hair follicle cells together with sensory nerves.
When the hair follicle cells were mechanically stimulated, the sensory nerves next to them were also activated – showing that touch had been registered.

Kevin Patton comment→ I could feel my hair when reading this article!

Biosensors for Colorectal Cancer

*Globally, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer; bacterial biosensors may one day help with early detection of this disease.© ISTOCK, LUISMMOLINA*

The human gut is awash in a sea of microbes that quietly ferment fibers, produce vitamins, and exchange information with the immune system.¹ Now, scientists are tasking bacteria with yet another job as they spelunk their way through the digestive system: cancer detection.
An international team of researchers engineered a bacterial biosensor capable of identifying a cancer-associated DNA mutation, which they published in the journal Science.² The research team included molecular biologists Robert Cooper and Jeff Hasty of the University of California, San Diego and bowel cancer researchers Josephine Wright and Susan Woods at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, and Daniel Worthley at the Colonoscopy Clinic. The study authors hope that this technology will one day aid in the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer, one of the most common causes of cancer-related death globally.

Even Healthy People Can Be Tricked Into Hearing Voices That Aren't There

We might automatically associate hearing voices with neurological conditions like schizophrenia. It now turns out most brains can be tricked into hearing voices that aren't there, given the right conditions.
Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and the University Savoie Mont Blanc in France wanted to investigate how auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVH) might be triggered in the mind: that's where we hear a voice, but there's no speaker present.
Previous studies suggest these hallucinations are caused either by an inability to correctly distinguish the self from its surroundings, or by strongly held beliefs or prior assumptions that outweigh whatever is actually happening in an environment. The team wanted to put both hypotheses to the test.
[Their] outcomes, the researchers think, are enough to suggest both hallucination-trigger theories are correct: participants were failing to correctly self-monitor their surroundings, and were being influenced by strong beliefs about what was going on around them.

Kevin Patton comment→ did you just say something to me?

Your Very Own Consciousness Can Interact With the Whole Universe, Scientists Believe

When people talk about consciousness, or the mind, it’s always a bit nebulous. Whether we create consciousness in our brains as a function of our neurons firing, or consciousness exists independently of us, there’s no universally accepted scientific explanation for where it comes from or where it lives. However, new research on the physics, anatomy, and geometry of consciousness has begun to reveal its possible form.
In other words, we may soon be able to identify a true architecture of consciousness.
The new work builds upon a theory Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose, Ph.D., and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, M.D., first posited in the 1990s: the Orchestrated Objective Reduction theory (Orch OR). Broadly, it claims that consciousness is a quantum process facilitated by microtubules in the brain’s nerve cells.

Kevin Patton comment→ This article will be part of one of the stories in the upcoming Episode 143 of The A&P Professor podcast for anatomy & physiology faculty.

Deciphering Neurons: A Journey into Synapse Formation

*The new findings from basic research could one day be useful for clinical applications. Credit: Neuroscience News*

Researchers unveiled key aspects of synapse formation, crucial for neuronal communication and information storage in the brain. Utilizing CRISPR to mark synaptic vesicles with a fluorescent protein in human stem cells, they observed the development of these vesicles in living neurons.
Contrary to previous belief, synaptic vesicle proteins, active zone proteins, and potentially adhesion proteins all share a unified transport pathway, rather than divergent ones.
This novel discovery introduces the concept of a specialized neuron-unique transport organelle and presents future implications for therapeutic interventions in neurological disorders and understanding memory storage.
Key Facts:
Unified Transport Pathway: The researchers found that the proteins crucial for synapse formation, previously thought to travel separately, share a common ‘bus’ or transport pathway in neurons.
Motor Protein KIF1A: KIF1A, a kinesin motor protein, is identified as a key driver of axonal transport, and mutations in it are suspected to disrupt axonal transport of pre-synaptic proteins, causing neurological issues like movement disorders and mental disability.
Neuron-Unique Organelle: Neurons may possess a unique transport organelle, which lacks Golgi markers but shares markers with the endolysosomal system, an essential finding that might pave the way for understanding and potentially manipulating neuronal regeneration and counteracting aging.

Mother’s Microbes Influence Fetal Brain and Gut Development

*The image is credited to Neuroscience News*

Researchers discovered the activity of genes in the fetal intestine, brain, and placenta is influenced by the microbes in the mother’s body.
In a study comparing normal mice with germ-free mice in sterile environments, significant differences were found in gene expressions associated with the immune system, nervous system, and pregnancy regulation.
The results suggest that the maternal microbiota and the compounds it produces play a pivotal role in the offspring’s development and health. Notably, many of these metabolites affected by the maternal microbiota were previously unknown.
Key Facts:
The mother’s microbiota affects gene activity in the fetal intestine, brain, and placenta, pointing to its crucial role in the offspring’s development and health.
Differences in gene expression were more pronounced in male fetuses, hinting they might be more sensitive to maternal microbiota impacts.
The research discovered new metabolites, believed to be influenced by the maternal microbiota, that might impact fetal development, especially in the intestine and brain.

Scientists Discover New, More Effective Way To Coach and Inspire

A study by Case Western Reserve University utilized neuroimaging to analyze brain responses to different coaching styles, revealing a conflict between how people view their ideal self versus their real self. The researchers found that focusing on an individual’s aspirations and future dreams, rather than on their immediate problems, facilitates positive growth and reduces resistance to change.

Could there be a better method to coach and inspire your employees, athletes, students, or even your children?

A new study by a team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University suggests that there is.

Their newly published work used neuroimaging to peer into the brains of participants as they responded to two different styles of coaching. The researchers wanted to see what happens in the brain that either helps people grow or causes them to resist change.

The study involved 47 full-time Case Western Reserve undergraduates. Each had a series of 30-minute coaching sessions before entering a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The researchers examined brain function to compare what is described in psychology as a person’s “ideal self”—the person you’d like to be—with their “real self”—the person you actually are.

Individuals whose ideal self is salient are better able to scan the broad environment and perceive emerging themes, the researchers asserted. They experience more positive emotions, are more open to new ideas, and possess more sustained intrinsic motivation.

“Many managers overestimate the importance of telling their employees about their strengths and weaknesses. The real trick is to help someone get to a place where they are actively seeking feedback for themselves,” Jack said. “Companies, coaches, and managers who want people to change must hold their tongue about what they think needs fixing. Instead, they must put their faith in the individual’s intrinsic desire to grow and allow them to direct their own development process. Otherwise, they are likely to hit a wall of psychological resistance.”

Kevin Patton comment→ An interesting approach fir A&P faculty

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