“Gut Feeling” Takes on New Meaning
Mechanically sensitive gut cells similar to touch sensors in the skin allow the intestine to feel and assess the physical properties of its contents. The mammalian gut is self-sufficient. Its contents are physically isolated from the rest of the body by the intestinal lining, which forms a semipermeable barrier that allows the gut to digest […]
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Ketamine Flips a “Switch” in Mice’s Brain Circuitry: Study
After injecting moderate doses of the dissociative anesthetic into the animals, previously “awake” brain cells go dark, and those that had been dormant suddenly light up. In the 1950s, scientists on a mission to create better anesthesia drugs synthesized phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP. Though PCP worked well to keep most people unconscious during surgical procedures, […]
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Some Honey Bee Swarms Generate Electrical Charges Stronger Than Storms
Small charges carried by individual insects can add up, a study finds, with larger swarms generating substantial electrical fields. Jef Akst At a field station near the University of Bristol in the UK, experimental ecologist Ellard Hunting and his colleagues noticed an unexpected jump in the atmospheric electrical charge on a clear day, New Scientist reports. As it turns […]
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