Science Trends

Date: June 20, 2024 Source: Macquarie University Summary: Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found. Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found. About 800 million people worldwide have low back pain, and it is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year. Current best practice for back pain management and prevention suggests the combination of exercise and education. However, some forms of exercise are not accessible or affordable to many people due to their high cost, complexity, and need for supervision. A clinical trial by Macquarie University's Spinal Pain Research Group has looked...

Sleep -- or a lack thereof -- has a dramatic effect on neurons in the hippocampus Date: June 13, 2024 Source: Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan Summary: A lack of sleep can make it extraordinarily difficult to retain information. Two new studies uncover why this is and what is happening inside the brain during sleep and sleep deprivation to help or harm the formation of memories. Imagine you're a student, it's finals week, and you're preparing for a big exam: do you pull an all-nighter or do you get some rest? As many a groggy-eyed person who's stared blankly at a test knows, a lack of sleep can make it extraordinarily difficult to retain information. Two new studies from University of Michigan uncover why this is and what is happening inside the brain during sleep and sleep deprivation to help or harm the formation of memories. Specific neurons can be tuned to specific stimuli. For example, rats in a maze will have neurons that light up once the animal reaches...

Internet addiction affects the behavior and development of adolescents Date: June 4, 2024 Source: University College London Summary: Adolescents with an internet addiction undergo changes in the brain that could lead to additional addictive behavior and tendencies, finds a new study. Adolescents with an internet addiction undergo changes in the brain that could lead to additional addictive behaviour and tendencies, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The findings, published in PLOS Mental Health, reviewed 12 articles involving 237 young people aged 10-19 with a formal diagnosis of internet addiction between 2013 and 2023. Internet addiction has been defined as a person's inability to resist the urge to use the internet, negatively impacting their psychological wellbeing, as well as their social, academic and professional lives. The studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to inspect the functional connectivity (how regions of the brain interact with each other) o...

Combined X-ray surveys and supercomputer simulations track 12 billion years of cosmic black-hole growth Date: June 11, 2024 Source: Penn State Summary: By combining forefront X-ray observations with state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations of the buildup of galaxies over cosmic history, researchers have provided the best modeling to date of the growth of the supermassive black holes found in the centers of galaxies. By combining forefront X-ray observations with state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations of the buildup of galaxies over cosmic history, researchers have provided the best modeling to date of the growth of the supermassive black holes found in the centers of galaxies. Using this hybrid approach, a research team led by Penn State astronomers derived a complete picture of black-hole growth over 12 billion years, from the Universe's infancy at around 1.8 billion years old to now at 13.8 billion years old The research comprises two papers, one published in The Astrophysi...