The A﹠P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #222

Life Science

Blood that has been grown in a laboratory has been put into people in a world-first clinical trial, UK researchers say. Tiny amounts - equivalent to a couple of spoonfuls - are being tested to see how it performs inside the body.

Using a miniature camera and a customized deep neural network, Cornell researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind wristband that tracks the entire body posture in 3D.

A study of human brain plasticity and visual perception highlighted potential treatments for patients with traumatic injury. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capability to adapt either structurally or functionally in response to changes in the environment.

When the dance floor is a wasteland, cranking the bass is one surefire way to fill it with bobbing heads and frenetic gyrations.

Getting enough sleep is an important part of lowering chronic disease risk. | Cardiology

Children aged younger than 8 years are at an elevated risk for monkeypox complications and should be considered a high-risk group, according to a review article published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

About 30 million years ago, a virus infected our primate ancestors and one of its genes got trapped in their genomes. Over time, this viral gene became “domesticated”—and territorial. It helped primates fight off other viruses by preventing them from entering cells.

The invader—known as Suppressyn (SUPYN)—is still around today, and it’s still helping us out: A new study reveals that this viral turncoat might help the placenta protect embryos from viral infection.

Teaching & Learning

Academics who tweet are weighing the opportunity costs of leaving Twitter while looking into other social media platforms. But few are fleeing the digital gathering space in which they have invested so much—at least not yet.

I'm trying out Mastodon—a popular alternative to Twitter. Please join me. Just as an experiment. @theAPprofessor invites you to join the QOTO server of Mastodon!

With an account, you will be able to follow people, post updates and exchange messages with users from any Mastodon server and more!

If you're already on Mastodon, please follow me @theAPprofessor

TAPP News & Notes

Dr. Margaret Reece of Medical Science Navigator discusses issues related to teaching human reproduction & development.