As we grow older, our brains become hyperactive, especially in the hippocampus, the region responsible for memory. This hyperactivity has been shown to negatively affect the memory of not just humans, but other primates and even rats. This hyperactivity is caused by a reduction in the inhibitor neurons that regulate brain activity. It has also been linked to epilepsy, which may be why the epilepsy drug levetiracetam helps those with mild cognitive impairment (a precursor to dementia) in low doses. Read full article here
Science
‘Ghostly’ neutrinos provide new path to study protons
In groundbreaking research, an international collaboration of scientists from the University of Rochester have used a beam of neutrinos to measure the size and shape of the protons that make up the nuclei of atoms. This feat, once thought impossible, provides scientists with a new way of looking at the small components of an atom’s nucleus and opens up a wealth of new information about the structure of an atom’s nucleus and the dynamics of the forces that affect neutrino interactions. The researchers solved the challenge of harnessing neutrinos in large numbers by using a neutrino detector containing a target of both hydrogen and carbon atoms, and over nine years of data collection at Fermilab’s accelerator. Read full article here
Merv
March 25, 2023
