✔️ The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #145

Life Science

Unfamiliar voices hold special appeal for teens, a sign of a shift from a focus on mostly family to wider networks, brain scans suggest.

No kidding?

Decades after an effective vaccine helped wipe smallpox off the face of the earth, researchers claim they finally understand how that injection induces immunity: by recruiting bacteria found on the skin. Smallpox vaccination involved pricking the skin with a needle to introduce live vaccinia virus.

The ability to experience pleasure or displeasure is created by the brain and therefore has a physiological component. In 1872, based on his observations of humans and animals, Charles Darwin proposed that evolution may select affective reactions that shape behavior, and thus individual fitness. Affective neuroscience in mammals searches for mechanistic explanations that underpin the experience of liking or disgust. Recently, the role of dopamine was reevaluated, showing that it is an important neuromodulator for wanting rather than liking rewards. 

OAK BROOK: Aspirin therapy, as opposed to statin use, for non-obstructive coronary artery disease does not reduce major cardiovascular events, according to a new study published in the journal...

What will spark the next pandemic?

At least 10,000 virus species have the capacity to infect humans, but at present, the vast majority are circulating silently in wild mammals1,2. However, climate and land use change will produce novel opportunities for viral sharing among previously geographically-isolated species of wildlife3,4.

In some cases, this will facilitate zoonotic spillover—a mechanistic link between global environmental change and disease emergence.

"Even over a long-term follow-up, the transfer of fatty tissue to arthritic fingers joints appears to provide a safe and minimally invasive alternative to conventional surgery for patients with...

With large waves of infection driven by the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), alongside evidence of waning immunity af...

Teaching & Learning

Traditionally, knowledge workers had two productivity peaks in their workday: before lunch and after lunch. During the pandemic, a third peak emerged.

I suggest that educators may have a 16-20-hour high plateau instead of three peaks. I'd look into it more, but I have to get back to work.

TAPP News & Notes

What to Do When Flooded with New Learning? When we return from a conference, we can feel overwhelmed. Will we ever remember and use all that new learning?