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☆ Daytime naps may be good for our brains, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Taking daytime naps may help maintain brain health as we age, according to a new study. The results show “a small but significant increase in brain volume in people who have a genetic signature associated with taking daytime naps,” she told the Science Media Centre. “Even with those limitations, this study is interesting because it adds to the data indicating that sleep is important for brain health,” she said. MoMo Productions/Digital Vision/Getty ImagesHowever, such a technique can only show an association between nap and brain health, not cause and effect. Grandner directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was not involved in the study.

Persons: ”, Victoria Garfield, Tara Spires, Jones, Valentina Paz, they’re, Paz, MoMo, Michael Grandner, Grandner, Raj Dasgupta, “ Organizations: CNN, University College London, UCL, University of, British Neuroscience Association, Centre, Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Science Media, Sleep Health, Alzheimer’s Association, Sleep Medicine, Banner - University Medical Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern Locations: Republic of Uruguay, Tucson , Arizona, University of Southern California

☆ How DashCon gave us one of the most important social media lessons of the 2010s
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The result was DashCon, an attempt to bring together Tumblr users from different interests and fandoms for a single event. For all its (somewhat hilarious) failures, DashCon immediately became a core parable of our social media lore. Like so many other Tumblr users, O’Neil was just a nerdy teenager with cool interests looking for other people like her. A view of the iconic DashCon ball pit at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois. She said people still send her cosplays of the infamous ball pit, almost 10 years later.

Persons: they’ll, DashCon, Lochlan O’Neil, O’Neil, “, ” O’Neil, ”, ’, Harry Potter, cosplayers, O'Neil, Lochlan O'Neil, Sherlock ”, hadn’t, Lochlan O'Neil “, ‘, It’s Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Twitter, Marvel, YouTube, Renaissance, Center, Taco Bell Locations: Indiana, Renaissance Schaumburg, Schaumburg , Illinois, Taco, Schaumberg , Illinois

☆ Mothers accused of harming their babies are turning to the same science that freed Kathleen Folbigg
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Confirmation of a likely genetic cause for the children’s deaths has implications far beyond Australia for parents who have been accused of killing or harming their babies. The advances in genetic testing used to free Folbigg are giving other families hope that science may explain why their children have died, but experts say sometimes even that can’t exonerate parents – often mothers – accused of harming them. How the science is helping othersOne of the lead authors of the study, Professor Carola Vinuesa, says that Folbigg’s case has encouraged other families and lawyers to come forward, seeking genetic evidence to clear mothers accused of harming their babies. Some mothers accused of injuring their children are seeking a genetic explanation for their symptoms to counter claims of child abuse, she said. “The majority of these mothers have not harmed their children, but the children have these very rare conditions.

Persons: Australia CNN — Kathleen Folbigg, Folbigg, seeped, don’t languish, ” Folbigg, –, Kathleen Folbigg, Caleb, Patrick, Sarah, Laura, Folbigg’s, Craig, Emma Cunliffe, ”, Cunliffe, Roy Meadow, ” Cunliffe, Sharmila Betts, Betts, there’s, Reginald Blanch, she’d, – Caleb, Patrick –, Tom Bathurst, Carola Vinuesa, I’ve, we’ve, Meadow, Francis Crick, Carola Vinuesa's, Michael Bowles, Helen Hayward, Brown, “ It’s, Hayward, they’ve, aren’t, George W Bush, Tracy Chapman, she’s, Chapman, “ I’ve, We’ve, “, ” Chapman, Stringer, Rhanee Rego, Andrew Dyer, Dyer, Michael Daley, Mr Bathurst, Mark Dreyfus, I’ll Organizations: Australia CNN, New South, CNN, ” Police, University of British Columbia’s Allard School of Law, “, NSW, BSN, ABC, Child, Francis Crick Institute, Concorde, MySpace, Reuters, Australian Academy of Science, Law Council, Sydney Institute of Criminology, Australian Lawyers Alliance Locations: Brisbane, Australia, New South Wales, British, United Kingdom, Canada, London, United States, Iraq, Coffs Harbour , New South Wales, Reuters Bathurst, Scotland, Norway, New Zealand

☆ Early humans left Africa earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

DNA analysis of present-day human populations has supported the hypothesis that early modern humans left Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and archaeologists have thought our early ancestors likely followed coastlines and islands through southeast Asia toward Australia. However, a growing number of older human remains discovered in China and the Levant show that this chapter in the human story is more complicated than first thought. The cave was occupied by early humans for about 50,000 years, archaeologists believe. At a nearby site, known as Cobra Cave, a tooth believed to belong to a Denisovan, an elusive early human, has been found. The team expects to unearth more human fossils from the region.

Persons: sapiens, ”, Kira Westaway, ” Westaway, Westaway, Tam Pa Ling, Tam Pà Ling Organizations: CNN, Macquarie University, UNESCO, Heritage, Nature Communications Locations: Africa, Laos, Australia, Asia, China, Tam Pa, Sumatra, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia

☆ Is taurine the ‘elixir of life’? Maybe, if you’re a worm, mouse or monkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“This study suggests that taurine could be an elixir of life within us,” Yadav said in an earlier news release on the study, which published Thursday in the journal Science. Considered a non-essential amino acid, taurine exists in the brain, retina and nearly every muscle and organ tissue in the body. Taurine-fed worms lived longer and appeared healthier, but taurine “had no effect on yeast,” Yadav said. More than one solutionThe field of anti-aging is exploding, with taurine just one of many potential pathways to the holy grail of longer life. In the end, science is going to need “100 different kinds of taurine,” Lithgow said.

Persons: CNN —, taurine, Vijay Yadav, ” Yadav, Henning Wackerhage, “, ”, Walter Willett, Harvard T.H, ” Willett, Gordon Lithgow, I’m, it’s, Lithgow, ” Lithgow, “ You’ve, taurine “, Wackerhage, Yadav, Taurine, Pieter Cohen, Cohen, ” Cohen, There’s, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Columbia University, Technical University of Munich, Harvard, of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Buck Institute, Disease, US Food and Drug Administration, Research, Cambridge Health Alliance, taurine Locations: New York City, Germany, Chan, Novato , California, Somerville , Massachusetts

☆ I'm an Ancestry exec who plans my day based on my genetics. Here's my daily routine and productivity hacks.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I also reserve mornings — the time when I'm most focused and creative — for tasks that require deep concentration and decision making. I implement two-way-door decision makingThis approach is a staple of how I think and approach decision making. It allows me and my team to move quickly throughout the day, maximizing high-velocity decision making. Here's how it works: I always assess whether a decision I'm making is irreversible — a "one-way door" decision that can't be walked back. Jeff Bezos used to say that around 90% of decisions we make are two-way door decisions, and that not treating two-way door decisions like one-way door decisions is the key to unlocking speed.

Persons: Brian Donnelly, Donnelly, —, It's, I've, Jeff Bezos, I'm Organizations: Service, Amazon Locations: San Diego , California

☆ Allen Institute teams up with AWS to build first-ever map of the brain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

AWS on Wednesday announced its technology will support the Allen Institute as it builds a map of the human brain, called the Brain Knowledge Platform. To build the new platform, the Allen Institute is using single cell genomics technologies. The Allen Institute is a nonprofit research institute based in Seattle. As such, the Allen Institute is leveraging AWS' cloud computing and machine learning to standardize and consolidate complex brain data into one place. The Allen Institute will work to build the Brain Knowledge Platform over the next five years.

Persons: Dr, Ed Lein, It's, Lein, Rowland Illing Organizations: Genome Project, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Amazon Web Services, Wednesday, Allen Institute, Allen Locations: Washington ,, Seattle

☆ Mike Lippert's fund has returned 33% so far in 2023 by betting on AI stocks. He shares 3 companies in the industry he thinks will deliver the biggest returns over the next 5 years.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mike Lippert's Baron Opportunity Fund has beaten 92% of peers over the last decade. In the AI space, Lippert said he's bullish on Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon going forward. So he leaned into positions where he saw the most opportunity over the long term, especially Microsoft and Nvidia. But success is nothing new for Lippert and the Baron Opportunity Fund. AI stocks Lippert is betting onDespite their big returns so far this year, Lippert continues to like Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) over the next three-to-five-year period.

Persons: Mike Lippert's, Lippert, he's, Mike Lippert, —, we've, it's, We've, OpenAI Organizations: Fund, Microsoft, Nvidia, Baron Opportunity Fund, NVIDIA, Lippert, Google

☆ What makes us human? Primate genome study offers some clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While some genetic variations previously thought to be exclusive to people were found in other primate species, the researchers pinpointed others that were uniquely human involving brain function and development. They also used the primate genomes to train an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in humans. Human-related threats such as habitat destruction, climate change and hunting have left about 60% of primate species threatened with extinction and about 75% with declining populations. "The vast majority of primate species have significantly more genetic variation per individual than do humans," said genomicist and study co-author Jeffrey Rogers of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The genome data can help identify the primate species in the most dire need of conservation efforts.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, genomicist Lukas Kuderna, gibbons, Kuderna, Jeffrey Rogers, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park's Institute, Evolutionary, Illumina Inc, Baylor College of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Kinigi, Rwanda, Barcelona, Spain, Americas, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Texas, China, Laos, Vietnam

☆ Sleep apnea linked to smaller brain volume, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

However, people who snore heavily or who have sleep apnea can experience hundreds of mini-arousals per night — even though they don’t realize it. The study group underwent brain scans, memory tests that were repeated at about 21 months, and an overnight sleep study done at their homes. Severe sleep apnea was associated with worrisome changes in the brains of middle-aged and older adults, a July 2018 study found. “We surmise that hypoxia may also have a deleterious effect on the volume of the regions of the medial temporal lobe. Studies such as these reinforce the need to be assessed by a sleep specialist and treated for sleep apnea.

Persons: ”, Géraldine Rauchs, ” Rauchs, “, Rudy Tanzi, ” Tanzi, Tanzi, Rauchs Organizations: CNN, National Institute of Health, Medical Research, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital Locations: Caen, France, Boston, Massachusetts

☆ NASA team to issue report on unidentified phenomena in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A team of 16 experts and scientists assembled by NASA aims to publish its first report on unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as unidentified flying objects, or UFOS, by midsummer. “We’re trying to assess whether those phenomena pose any risks to safety and we’re doing it using science,” Evans added. Unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, “are events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective,” according to NASA. Instead, the team’s approach has been outlining how to evaluate and study unidentified anomalous phenomena using data and technology. But since being announced in June 2022, members of the independent study team have faced online harassment.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Dan Evans, “ We’ve, ” Evans, “ We’re, Evans, UAPs, Scott Kelly, David Spergel, Kelly, ” Spergel, “, Sean Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick, ” Kirkpatrick, Spergel, astrobiology, Katie Hunt, Michael Conte, Jackie Wattles Organizations: CNN, NASA, UAP, National Defense, US Navy, Simons, US Department of Defense, Pentagon Locations: New York City

☆ Rosalind Franklin’s Role in DNA Discovery, Once Ignored, Is Told Anew in Song
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Lauren Rosenfield | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the summer of 2020, the composer and lyricist Madeline Myers spent hours at the piano in her Manhattan apartment as she struggled to write three songs for her new musical, “Double Helix,” about the British chemist Rosalind Franklin. The challenge wasn’t strictly about marrying words to a score, but conveying the science of a crucial moment in the discovery of DNA’s structure — and making the songs entertaining. Franklin’s experiments, in which she successfully used X-ray crystallography to create images of DNA, became the basis for James Watson and Francis Crick’s groundbreaking 1953 discovery of the double helix structure. The breakthrough underpins our modern understanding of genetics and biology, but for years Franklin received none of the credit. (She died of cancer in 1958 at the age of 37; her male colleagues were later awarded the Nobel Prize.)

☆ TikToker finds alien-looking shark egg with a tiny, moving embryo inside at the beach
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A viral video on TikTok shows an alien-looking shark egg found on a California beach. The corkscrew-shaped egg came from a California horn shark, the TikTok user said. The video shows the "pliable" egg — and the tiny shark embryo moving inside. In the video, she shows the egg — which she says came from a California horn shark — is pliable and squishy but will harden over time. At one point in the video, the camera gets close enough to the egg casing to see the tiny, wriggling embryo inside.

☆ What Number Comes Next? The Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences Knows.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Siobhan Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Dr. Sloane is the founder of the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, a database of 362,765 (and counting) number sequences defined by a precise rule or property. In 1995, it became an “encyclopedia,” with 5,487 sequences and an additional author, Simon Plouffe, a mathematician in Quebec. A year later, the collection had doubled in size again, so Dr. Sloane put it on the internet. Dr. Pudwell writes algorithms to solve counting problems. “I found this perplexing,” Dr. Pudwell said.

But now there is a discrepancy about, 'Is sex gender and can I change it?' Major medical and psychological associations endorse gender-affirming care and say transgender identities should be respected, while conservative groups claim that children are too easily allowed to transition. While researchers say sex generally refers to physiological characteristics and gender is more a social construct, when it comes to federal civil rights law, they are essentially the same. "By defining sex so narrowly, you are excluding LGBTQ people from bringing claims in state court based on discrimination on the basis of sex," said Sarah Warbelow, HRC's legal director. The laws also stand to limit nontransgender people who have a discrimination claim based on sex stereotyping, Warbelow said.

☆ What 40-Somethings Should Know About Breast Cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dani Blum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some biopsies don’t indicate cancer, yet still create anxiety for patients — but many biopsies do find cancer, he said, which saves lives. Many of the factors that contribute to breast cancer risk, like genetics and a family history of cancer, aren’t modifiable; others are within a patient’s control, but not necessarily practical. For example, having a child before age 35 lowers the risk of breast cancer, as does breastfeeding, but a doctor would never recommend a woman have a child by a certain age to reduce cancer risk, said Avonne Connor, a cancer epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. But a few behaviors have been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer, doctors said. A mounting body of evidence has tied drinking to a higher risk of cancer in general — and potentially to breast cancer in particular, partly because alcohol can boost levels of estrogen in the body.

☆ Mutation Protected Man From Alzheimer’s Disease, Hinting at Treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Gina Kolata | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dr. Arboleda-Rodriguez is a co-founder of a biotechnology company looking to produce drugs that could act on this research. The mutation results in a potent version of a protein, Reelin, in the entorhinal cortex. That super-potent Reelin ultimately prevents tangled strands of tau proteins from sticking together and forming the structures that are a characteristic of Alzheimer's. “We don’t know what sort of damage it might do, sticking needles in and dropping in chemicals,” he said. The man with what the researchers are calling “resilience” to Alzheimer’s was part of a decades-long study of 6,000 people living in Colombia who have a gene mutation that causes Alzheimer’s in middle age.

☆ Human DNA can now be pulled from thin air and sequenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Scientists have been able to collect and analyze detailed genetic data from human DNA from all these places, raising thorny ethical questions about consent, privacy and security when it comes to our biological information. Environmental DNA has been obtained from air, soil, sediment, water, permafrost, snow and ice cores and the techniques are primarily being used to help track and protect endangered animals. However, the ability to capture human DNA from the environment could have a range of unintended consequences — both inadvertent and malicious, they added. They termed this information “human genetic bycatch” and decided to study the phenomenon in greater depth. We cannot avoid shedding DNA in the public space,” Moreau, who was not involved in this study, said via email.

☆ Parents need not fear adolescent weight gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Michelle Icard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Yet it sends adults into a tailspin of fear around weight, health and self-esteem. Yet weight gain remains a sensitive, sometimes scary subject for parents who fear too much weight gain, too quickly. “About 25 percent of growth in height occurs during this time so as youth grow taller, they’re also going to gain weight. Parents need to work on their own weight bias, but they also need to protect their children from providers who don’t know how to communicate with their patients about weight. “We all have a lot of work to do when it comes to conversations about weight,” Hutchison said.

If the Fed opts to pause, Treasury yields are expected to decline. Stocks that could gain on falling interest rates Here are the top stocks that are poised to move higher if the Fed signals it will pause rate increases. The gold miner benefits from a rise in gold prices, and in general, gold tends to rise when interest rates fall. Meanwhile, genetics company Illumina should gain if interest rates fall, according to its correlation to the SHY ETF. Stocks poised to gain on rate increases However, if the Fed suggests rate hikes will continue, short-term Treasury yields will likely go up, benefiting these stocks.

☆ A drug company abandoned a treatment for ‘bubble boy disease.’ After a 5-year fight, this little girl is about to get it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Elizabeth Cohen Lauren Mascarenhas | Elizabeth Cohen | Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +29 min

The Sulacks weighed their options: Have a transplant with a match that was less than ideal – far less – or wait for gene therapy to become available. The news release didn’t say anything else about the SCID gene therapy. Or was the company abandoning its plans for SCID gene therapy altogether? In February, 2021, the parents of more than 20 children who were waiting for the gene therapy treatment, including the Sulacks, wrote a letter to Gaspar. Insurance companies have sometimes balked at paying for gene therapy, which is typically given in one treatment.

☆ Ambitious genome project shows how humans fit with other mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The findings in the ambitious Zoonomia Project identified parts of the genome functionally important in people and other mammals and showed how certain mutations can cause disease. The project revealed the genetics of uncommon mammalian traits like hibernation and showed how the sense of smell varies widely. The researchers said the findings on hibernation genetics could inform human therapeutics, critical care and long-distance space flight. The most primitive species was the venomous burrowing insect-eater Hispaniola solenodon, closely related to mammals alive during the dinosaur age. In terms of human differences from other mammals, the study pointed to regions associated with developmental and neurological genes.

☆ Bristol Myers CEO Caforio steps down
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A sign stands outside a Bristol Myers Squibb facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoCompanies Bristol-Myers Squibb Co FollowApril 26 (Reuters) - Bristol Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N) said on Wednesday CEO Giovanni Caforio, who has been in the role since 2015, has decided to step down from his position. Outgoing CEO Giovanni will continue as executive chairman of the company's board. Bristol Myers is due to report first-quarter financial results on Thursday. Bristol Myers shares rose 0.39% to $68.29 in after-hours trading.

☆ Ocean acidification is destroying coral reefs. Here's how 2 scientists are using bone research to protect them against climate change.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It's becoming more acidic — hitting marine ecosystems and causing coral reefs to crumble. Increased acidity could devastate marine ecosystems, which are built upon coral reefs, and in turn, affect the fish and seafood humans eat. Ocean acidification: Lophelia pertusa coral in noncorrosive water off the Southern California Bight. The research began in January and will run for one year, with data collected in monthly intervals to help understand coral responses to ocean acidification and timescales. That's not just ocean acidification, but carbon-dioxide emissions, deforestation near coral reefs, and fishing practices like trawling, he said.

☆ I'm a vet who had a retro pug live for 18 years. Here's how I kept her healthy and why this super breed lives longer than pugs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She says retro pugs are playful and energetic and have fewer breathing problems than purebred pugs. Kasey was a retro pug who lived for 18 years, a few years longer than what's typical for a traditional pug. How healthier retro pugs came aboutAn 1802 painting of what pugs may have looked like in the early 19th century. Not only did retro pugs resemble historical pugs, they had improved genetics, fewer health issues, and a longer life expectency than purebred pugs. Bread and Butter Productions / Getty ImagesEye issues are common among pugs and retro pugs, but I've found retro pugs can heal much faster than their purebred relatives.

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