The A﹠P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #219

Life Science

Many foods thought to enhance our natural defences, such as orange juice and turmeric, don’t live up to the hype. Instead, the key to a healthy immune system lies in nurturing your gut microbiome

Your Covid symptoms — including their severity, and how long they might last — may depend on your vaccination status, data from the ZOE Health Study suggests.

The worst epidemics and pandemics in history have ravaged humanity throughout its existence?

A genetic variant that boosts Crohn’s disease risk may have helped people survive the 14th century bubonic plague known as the Black Death.

Which factors determine what we believe about our world, ourselves, our past, and our future? Cognitive neuroscience suggests that our beliefs are dependent on brain activity, specifically on the way our brains process sensory information in order to make sense of our environment.

Despite recent advances in the study of eukaryogenesis, much remains unresolved about the origin and evolution of the most complex domain of life.

We studied facial motor control in elephants, animals with muscular dexterous trunks. Facial nucleus neurons (~54,000 in Asian elephants, ~63,000 in African elephants) outnumbered those of other land-living mammals. In case you are using elephant biology as a counterpoint to human biology in your A&P course, as I do.

Teaching & Learning

In a lecture that's been viewed over 13 million times, MIT professor Patrick Winston revealed 10 great secrets to giving a great speech. These tips can easily be used for many aspects of teaching, too!

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

TAPP News & Notes

Elephants can help students understand thermoregulation in human skin. Netrin is a protein that helps strengthen synapses to form memories in the brain.