Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia@social.cleverlibre.org

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A 5000 year old Sumerian house plan displayed on a clay tablet, from Ur, Iraq. It is considered the oldest architectural plan in the world. #PastTimes

via Brian Roemmele from Twitter

Very happy to share our newly published #article "Sex differences in pituitary corticotroph excitability".

It is well known that sex differences exist in stress-related disorders, with women having twice the lifetime rate of depression compared to men and most anxiety disorders.

Corticotroph cells in the pituitary gland are a key player in the generation of hormonal stress responses. However, their contribution to sexually differential responses of the stress axis (which might underlie differences in stress-related disorders) is very poorly understood.

We found sex differences in the electrical activity of these cells, which could be related to differences in their gene expression pattern.

These findings shed light on the cellular mechanisms underlying sex differences in stress responses, contributing to a better understanding of stress-related disorders and potential avenues for diagnosis and treatment.

#stress #pituitary #research #electrophysiology #physiology #corticotrophs #hpa #anxiety

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1205162/full

New posting! This addresses the recent controversy at the 2023 Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting, where one of the speakers used his time to complain that he felt discriminated against as a white man.

To my mind, that isn't what's surprising and shocking about the episode.

The surprising thing is that on this occasion, a courageous young female scientist actually called him out on it.

The shocking thing is that despite such sexist, chauvinistic comments still being commonplace, such interventions basically never happen. And they should. #womeninstem

https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2023/07/16/speaking-up-speaking-out-the-2023-lindau-nobel-laureate-meeting-controversy/

Eels are classic. And also classical! In fact, they're the only fish mentioned by name in Homer's Iliad.

In Book 21, Achilles kills a Trojan in the River Scamander. Like ya do. And immediately, the eels begin to nibble on the dead man's kidneys.

Nibble. 'Cause eels are dainty.
#eels #history

Another great cover @CurrentBiology

https://www.cell.com/issue/S0960-9822(22)X0014-6#fullCover

'Autoimmune patients generally get methotrexate first, although the details of its effects on the immune system are complex and frankly not understood as thoroughly as you'd imagine for a drug that's been around since the Trumann administration.'

https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/jak-inhibitors-can-t-help-it-bout-shape-i-m

"We implemented a systems approach to discover molecular signatures of HIV latently-infected CD4+ T cells, identifying the immunosuppressive, adenosine-producing ectonucleotidase CD73 as a key surface marker of latent cells."

#Preprint #Immunology #Virology #HIV

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.08.03.502655v2

Book superposition?

I just finished an interleaved reading of two books, and wow! did they enhance one another.

The first was an approachable philosophical treatise about how science works given that scientists are human with all their faults. The answer: “evidence”. (Thanks to Jim DiCarlo for this rec + confirmation by @markdhumphries).

https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631491375

The second was a book describing the unfolding of ideas about evolution from Darwin’s tree (mutations + survival of the fittest) through more modern ideas about horizontal gene transfer between species - a perfect illustration of the ideas in the philosophical book but not included in it. (Thanks to @cyrilpedia for this rec).

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Tangled-Tree/David-Quammen/9781476776637

Books can be complementary in all sorts of ways. Do you know of pairings that are enhanced when thought about together?

I’m just starting a book about the nature of time and ideas about time travel by @JamesGleick. Any thoughts on a good complement for it? (Maybe @JamesGleick) even has suggestions?

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/233793/time-travel-by-james-gleick/

#nonfiction #science #philosophy

Turning

Gears in the Eise Eisinga Planetarium, Sneek, the Netherlands. The oldest still functioning planetarium in the world, completed in 1781 in the Eisinga family living room. https://www.planetarium-friesland.nl/en/

#planetarium #astronomy #gears #space #Friesland #Franeker #photography #Pentax #PentaxK70

generative art version of the halting problem: it is generally impossible to determine if letting an algorithm continue will produce a better or worse artwork #generativeart #abstractart #digitalart #haltingproblem

Clears throat, then says it loudly for those praying in the back of the room.

by Pouya Derakhshan

We're looking for a #TenureTrack assistant professor in evolutionary ecology! Contact me if you'll be at #SMBE2023 #SMBE23 https://ecoevo.social/@dee_unil/110729674137135457

A new perspective in #protein research focuses on #disordered areas.

#membrane_channels #receptors

https://phys.org/news/2023-07-perspective-protein-focuses-disordered-areas.html

Kinda freaky: Poland reports a number of deaths in domestic (& wild) cats that tested positive for #H5N1.
It's been known for at least 15 yrs that cats can be infected with this bird flu. But case reports are generally sporadic. Could be a feature of enhanced surveillance?