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Food Insecurity Has Long-Term Effects on the Brain and Behavior

Lead Image: The study found that feeding history affects synapses on dopamine neurons as well as dopamine release. The findings imply that young individuals may suffer long-term consequences, particularly in terms of cognitive flexibility. Few studies have examined the impact that feast or famine has on the developing brain in isolation from other variables that contribute to adversity, despite the fact that food insecurity is an issue for a rising proportion of the American population, made much worse by the coronavirus pandemic. University of California, Berkeley researchers have simulated the impacts of food insecurity on young mice and discovered long-lasting…

Webb Space Telescope Discovers Strange Cosmic “Fingerprint”

The two stars in Wolf-Rayet 140 produce shells of dust every eight years that look like rings, as seen in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Each ring was created when the stars came close together and their stellar winds collided, compressing the gas and forming dust. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, JPL-Caltech A new Webb image shows at least 17 dust rings created by a rare type of star and its companion locked in a celestial dance. A remarkable cosmic sight is revealed in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. At least 17 concentric…

NASA Astronaut, Apollo Commander James McDivitt Dies at Age 93

Former NASA astronaut James A. McDivitt, who commanded the Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions, died on October 13. McDivitt passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his family and friends in Tucson, Arizona. He was 93 years old. McDivitt was born June 10, 1929, in Chicago. He graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, before going on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan, graduating first in his class in 1959. He joined the Air Force in 1951 and retired with the rank of Brig. General. He flew…

NASA’s NEOWISE Space Telescope Takes 12-Year Time-Lapse Movie of Entire Sky

Lead Image: This mosaic shows the entire sky imaged by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Infrared light refers to wavelengths that are longer than those visible to the human eye. Many cosmic objects radiate infrared, including gas and dust clouds where stars form, and brown dwarfs. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA Pictures of the sky can reveal the grandeur of the cosmos, but movies can bring them to life. Movies from NASA’s NEOWISE space telescope are unveiling motion and change across the sky. NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, spacecraft completes one trip halfway around the Sun every…

Groundbreaking Discovery of “Special” Muscle That Can Promote Fat Burning While Sitting

Lead Image: “Special” muscle can promote glucose and fat burning to fuel metabolism for hours while sitting. The ‘Soleus Pushup’ is a metabolic innovation that rivals any therapeutic approach. A groundbreaking discovery from the same mind whose research propelled the notion that “sitting too much is not the same as exercising too little” is set to turn a sedentary lifestyle on its ear: Though only 1% of your body weight, the soleus muscle in the calf, if activated correctly, can do big things to significantly enhance the metabolic health in the rest of your body. And Marc Hamilton, professor of…