science

‘Soft cells’ — shapes with rounded corners and pointed tips that fit together on a plane — feature in onions, molluscs and more.

barely passed general chemistry. poor memory for arbitrary compound names. invested a lot of cpu cycles in folding@home brute force compound modeling screensaver app. until I realised how much electricity it used.

Mars cloud pics. nice despite headline.

The researchers found sweeping changes in overall brain neuroanatomy which unfolded week by week during the pregnancy.

Inside Chrastil's brain, grey matter volume, cortical thickness, white matter microstructure, and ventricle volume all changed.

The changes were all over the brain too — "over 80% of my brain regions showed reductions in grey matter volume," Chrastil said.

Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy. Published by Pritschet, L., Taylor, C.M., Cossio, D. et al. in Nature Neuroscience (September 2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01741-0

Background

A considerable number of patients who contracted SARS-CoV-2 are affected by persistent multi-systemic symptoms, referred to as Post-COVID Condition (PCC). Post-exertional malaise (PEM) has been recognized as one of the most frequent manifestations of PCC and is a diagnostic criterion of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Yet, its underlying pathomechanisms remain poorly elucidated.

Results

Upon physical activity, affected patients exhibit a reduced systemic oxygen extraction and oxidative phosphorylation capacity. Accumulating evidence suggests that these are mediated by dysfunctions in mitochondrial capacities and microcirculation that are maintained by latent immune activation, conjointly impairing peripheral bioenergetics. Aggravating deficits in tissue perfusion and oxygen utilization during activities cause exertional intolerance that are frequently accompanied by tachycardia, dyspnea, early cessation of activity and elicit downstream metabolic effects. The accumulation of molecules such as lactate, reactive oxygen species or prostaglandins might trigger local and systemic immune activation. Subsequent intensification of bioenergetic inflexibilities, muscular ionic disturbances and modulation of central nervous system functions can lead to an exacerbation of existing pathologies and symptoms

From the article:

This chatbot experiment reveals that, contrary to popular belief, many conspiracy thinkers aren't 'too far gone' to reconsider their convictions and change their minds.

late but nice pictures. my unread email has been hovering around 200 lately. road trip