1. MIT alums: We can’t support a school that caved to woke mentality

2. Biden Suggests Americans Are Not Sharp Enough to ‘Understand’ Supply Chain Issues

3. What’s Next for Julian Assange?

4. Political ads during the 2020 presidential election cycle collected personal information and spread misleading information 

5. The American Dream is more attainable for TV characters than Americans

6. 250,000-YEAR-OLD SKULL RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HUMAN ORIGINS

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Artificially Sweetened Beverages, and Breast Cancer Risk: Results From 2 Prospective Cohorts

University of Navarra (Spain)

Background

Whether consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) or artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) is associated with the risk of breast cancer is of public health interest.

Objectives

We sought to evaluate associations between consumption of SSBs and ASBs and risks of total and subtype-specific breast cancer.

Methods

We followed 82,713 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980 to 2016) and 93,085 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991 to 2017). Cumulatively averaged intakes of SSBs and ASBs from FFQs were tested for associations with incident breast cancer cases and subtypes using Cox regression models. We also evaluated the associations stratified by menopausal status, physical activity, BMI, and alcohol intake.

Results

We documented 11,379 breast cancer cases during 4,655,153 person-years of follow-up. Consumption of SSBs or ASBs was not associated with total breast cancer risk: pooled HRs comparing extreme categories (≥1/day compared with <1/month) were 1.03 (95% CI, 0.95–1.12) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.91–1.02), respectively. We observed a suggestive interaction by BMI using pooled data (P-interaction = 0.08), where a modestly higher risk of breast cancer with each serving per day increment of SSBs was found in lean women (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01–1.11) but not among overweight or obese women (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.95–1.06). Moreover, in the pooled, fully adjusted analysis, compared to infrequent consumers (<1/month), those who consumed ≥1 serving of ASBs per day had a lower risk of luminal A breast tumors (HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.80–1.01; P-trend = 0.02).

Conclusions

Although no significant associations were observed overall, consumption of SSBs was associated with a slightly higher risk of breast cancer among lean women. This finding could have occurred by chance and needs confirmation. Our findings also suggest no substantial increase in the risk of breast cancer with consumption of ASBs

Spending time in nature promotes early childhood development

University of British Columbia, October 26, 2021

Want to ensure your child hits their expected developmental milestones? New UBC research suggests living in areas with high exposure to greenspace can help set them up for success.

For the study, researchers at the UBC faculty of forestry and faculty of medicine analyzed the developmental scores of 27,372 children in Metro Vancouver who attended kindergarten between 2005 and 2011. They estimated the amount of greenspace around each child‘s residence from birth to age five. They also assessed levels of traffic-related air pollution and community noise.

The results highlight the fundamental importance of natural green spaces like street trees, parks and community gardens, authors say.

“Most of the children were doing well in their development, in terms of language skills, cognitive capacity, socialization and other outcomes,” says study author Ingrid Jarvis (she/her), a Ph.D. candidate in the department of forest and conservation sciences at UBC. “But what’s interesting is that those children living in a residential location with more vegetation and richer natural environments showed better overall development than their peers with less greenspace.”

According to the researchers, the reason for this is partly greenspaces’ ability to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution and noise—environmental challenges that have been shown to adversely affect children’s health and development through increased stress, sleep disturbances and central nervous system damage.

“Few studies have investigated this pathway linking greenspace and developmental outcomes among children, and we believe this is the first Canadian study to do so,” adds Jarvis.

The researchers assessed early childhood development using the Early Development Instrument (EDI), a survey completed by kindergarten teachers for each child. The tool measures a child’s ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations.

“More research is needed, but our findings suggest that urban planning efforts to increase greenspace in residential neighborhoods and around schools are beneficial for early childhood development, with potential health benefits throughout life,” says the study’s senior author and UBC research associate, Matilda van den Bosch (she/her).

“Time in nature can benefit everyone, but if we want our children to have a good head start, it’s important to provide an enriching environment through nature contact. Access to greenspace from a very young age can help ensure good social, emotional and mental development among children.”

Mushrooms are full of antioxidants that may have antiaging potential

Penn State University, November 10, 2021

Mushrooms may contain unusually high amounts of two antioxidants that some scientists suggest could help fight aging and bolster health, according to a team of Penn State researchers.

In a study, researchers found that mushrooms have high amounts of the ergothioneine and glutathione, both important antioxidants, said Robert Beelman, professor emeritus of food science and director of the Penn State Center for Plant and Mushroom Products for Health. He added that the researchers also found that the amounts the two compounds varied greatly between mushroom species.

“What we found is that, without a doubt, mushrooms are highest dietary source of these two antioxidants taken together, and that some types are really packed with both of them,” said Beelman.

Beelman said that when the body uses food to produce energy, it also causes oxidative stress because some free radicals are produced. Free radicals are oxygen atoms with unpaired electrons that cause damage to cells, proteins and even DNA as these highly reactive atoms travel through the body seeking to pair up with other electrons.

Replenishing antioxidants in the body, then, may help protect against this oxidative stress.

“There’s a theory — the free radical theory of aging — that’s been around for a long time that says when we oxidize our food to produce energy there’s a number of free radicals that are produced that are side products of that action and many of these are quite toxic,” said Beelman. “The body has mechanisms to control most of them, including ergothioneine and glutathione, but eventually enough accrue to cause damage, which has been associated with many of the diseases of aging, like cancer, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer’s.”

According to the researchers, who report their findings in a recent issue of Food Chemistry, the amounts of ergothioneine and glutathione in mushrooms vary by species with the porcini species, a wild variety, containing the highest amount of the two compounds among the 13 species tested.

“We found that the porcini has the highest, by far, of any we tested,” said Beelman. “This species is really popular in Italy where searching for it has become a national pastime.”

The more common mushroom types, like the white button, had less of the antioxidants, but had higher amounts than most other foods, Beelman said.

The amount of ergothioneine and glutathione also appear to be correlated in mushrooms, the researchers said. Mushrooms that are high in glutathione are also high in ergothioneine, for example.

Cooking mushrooms does not seem to significantly affect the compounds, Beelman said.

“Ergothioneine are very heat stable,” said Beelman.

Beelman said that future research may look at any role that ergothioneine and glutathione have in decreasing the likelihood of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

“It’s preliminary, but you can see that countries that have more ergothioneine in their diets, countries like France and Italy, also have lower incidences of neurodegenerative diseases, while people in countries like the United States, which has low amounts of ergothioneine in the diet, have a higher probability of diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s,” said Beelman. “Now, whether that’s just a correlation or causative, we don’t know. But, it’s something to look into, especially because the difference between the countries with low rates of neurodegenerative diseases is about 3 milligrams per day, which is about five button mushrooms each day.”

Social isolation impacts brain function in significant, sometimes permanent ways

Using animal models, researchers are beginning to identify the neurological effects of solitude

Society for Neuroscience, November 3, 2021

Social isolation rewires the brain in myriad ways, potentially leading to anxiety, depression, addiction, and other behavioral changes. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2021, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

Humans are a highly social species who crave social contact for their well-being. Loneliness induced by social isolation can cause significant neurological and behavioral changes that may lead to health issues. Given the widespread experience of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to better understand and prevent the long-term effects of social isolation. Scientists are just beginning to understand these changes and hope to find ways to curb their negative effects.

Today’s new findings show:

• Young mice exposed to chronic social isolation demonstrated a long-term deficit in social recognition and an altered circuit between the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (Yong-Seok Lee, Seoul National University College of Medicine).
• Social isolation in adolescent mice led to increased cocaine use and relapse rates, as well as sex-dependent structural changes in the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (Lisa A. Briand, Temple University).
• Social isolation in young rats led to an increase in weight, anxiety, and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, but exercise mitigated anxiety and weight gain (Enrique U. Pérez-Cardona, University of Puerto Rico at Carolina).
• Lower social rank in mice is predictive of greater alcohol intake, but social isolation increases intake for all mice — regardless of rank — and increases the excitability of the basolateral amygdala (Reesha R. Patel, Salk Institute for Biological Studies).
• A socially monogamous prairie vole model mimicked human responses after the loss of a partner; these behavioral changes may be linked to disturbances in the brain’s oxytocin system (Adam S. Smith, University of Kansas).

“This research shows that social isolation impacts many brain regions and affects many different behaviors, resulting in increased risk for disease,” said Alexa H. Veenema, the director of the Neurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory and an associate professor at Michigan State University. “The pandemic has had a tremendous effect on our mental health. This research will provide us with insights about which specific neural circuits mediate the behavioral effects induced by social isolation. We can then find ways to restore these neural circuits, counteracting the consequences of social isolation”

Happiness in Early Adulthood May Protect Against Dementia

University of California at San Francisco, 30 September 2021

While research has shown that poor cardiovascular health can damage blood flow to the brain increasing the risk for dementia, a new study led by UC San Francisco indicates that poor mental health may also take its toll on cognition. The research adds to a body of evidence that links depression with dementia, but while most studies have pointed to its association in later life, the UCSF study shows that depression in early adulthood may lead to lower cognition 10 years later and to cognitive decline in old age. The study is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The researchers used innovative statistical methods to predict average trajectories of depressive symptoms for approximately 15,000 participants ages 20 to 89, divided into three life stages: older, midlife and young adulthood. They then applied these predicted trajectories and found that in a group of approximately 6,000 older participants, the odds of cognitive impairment were 73 percent higher for those estimated to have elevated depressive symptoms in early adulthood, and 43 percent higher for those estimated to have elevated depressive symptoms in later life.

These results were adjusted for depressive symptoms in other life stages and for differences in age, sex, race, educational attainment, body mass index, history of diabetes and smoking status. For depressive symptoms in midlife, the researchers found an association with cognitive impairment, but this was discounted when they adjusted for depression in other life stages.

Excess Stress Hormones May Damage Ability to Make New Memories
“Several mechanisms explain how depression might increase dementia risk,” said first author Willa Brenowitz, PhD, MPH, of the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences. “Among them is that hyperactivity of the central stress response system increases production of the stress hormones glucocorticoids, leading to damage of the hippocampus, the part of the brain essential for forming, organizing and storing new memories.”

Other studies have linked depression with atrophy of the hippocampus, and one study has shown faster rates of volume loss in women, she said.

In estimating the depressive symptoms across each life stage, researchers pooled data from younger participants with data from the approximately 6,000 older participants and predicted average trajectories. These participants, whose average age was 72 at the start of the study and lived at home, had been enrolled by the Health Aging and Body Composition Study and the Cardiovascular Health Study. They were followed annually or semi-annually for up to 11 years.

U-Shaped Curve Adds Credence to Predicted Trajectories
While assumed values were used, the authors stated, no longitudinal studies have been completed across the life course. “Imputed depressive symptom trajectories fit a U-shaped curve, similar to age-related trends in other research,” they noted.

Participants were screened for depression using a tool called the CESD-10, a 10-item questionnaire assessing symptoms in the past week. Moderate or high depressive symptoms were found in 13 percent of young adults, 26 percent of midlife adults and 34 percent of older participants.

Some 1,277 participants were diagnosed with cognitive impairment following neuropsychological testing, evidence of global decline, documented use of a dementia medication or hospitalization with dementia as a primary or secondary diagnosis.

“Generally, we found that the greater the depressive symptoms, the lower the cognition and the faster the rates of decline,” said Brenowitz, who is also affiliated with the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “Older adults estimated to have moderate or high depressive symptoms in early adulthood were found to experience a drop in cognition over 10 years.”

With up to 20 percent of the population suffering from depression during their lifetime, it’s important to recognize its role in cognitive aging, said senior author Kristine Yaffe, MD, of the UCSF departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “Future work will be needed to confirm these findings, but in the meantime, we should screen and treat depression for many reasons.”

Ginger Helps Relieve Inflammation Caused By Rheumatoid Arthritis

Iran University of Medical Sciences, October 30, 2021

The swelling of joints in the hands and feet, often a case of rheumatoid arthritis, can cause significant pain among sufferers. Studies reveal that ginger can be used to help alleviate rheumatoid arthritis’ persistent symptoms.

Medicinal herbs such as turmeric, cardamom and ginger have long been found to have therapeutic and healing effects on illnesses that target the bones in the feet and knees, including osteoarthritis.[i] In a new study, however, researchers observed the effects of ginger on rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes pain and swelling of joints in the wrists, hands and feet. There is an approximately 2% incidence rate of rheumatoid arthritis around the world, with at least 1.3 million Americans affected by this painful disorder.[ii]

To understand how ginger can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, researchers from Iran University of Medical Sciences ran a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial and administered ginger powder to rheumatoid arthritis patients for 12 weeks.[iii]

Study: Ginger Can Help Relieve Rheumatoid Arthritis

In the 12-week study, researchers from Iran assigned participants into two groups that would either receive 1,500 milligrams (mg) of ginger powder in capsules or a placebo. They measured disease activity score and the gene expression of immunity and inflammation factors such as NF-κB, PPAR-γ, FoxP3, T-bet, GATA-3 and RORγt before and after the intervention. They concluded:

“In RA as an autoimmune disease, the immune system is impaired and it seems that ginger can improve immune function in patients with this disease and other autoimmune diseases. The results showed that ginger decreased the expression of T-bet gene significantly.”

The results of the study showed that ginger reduced manifestations of the disease via increasing FoxP3 gene expression alongside decreasing RORγt and T-bet gene expression. The T-bet gene was shown to trigger the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis among patients.

Researchers conclude that ginger is effective in reducing the manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis and improving immune system function. They recommend conducting further studies on the effects of ginger consumption on autoimmunity, inflammation and clinical manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis.

Additional Evidence-Based Therapeutic Effects of Ginger

Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is a medicinal herb that contains bioactive terpenes, which is only one among various components that make it a plant powerhouse.

In the early spice trade, ginger was exported from Southeast Asia and India and delivered to Europe. Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine consider ginger a “digestive fire” because the root is warm and stimulating.

Because of its therapeutic effects, ginger has been known to have “anti-emetic, antifever, anti-cough, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, and anti-cancer properties.”[iv]

A 2016 study revealed that ginger is effective in treating knee osteoarthritis[v]when combined with echinacea extract. In fact, patients who received 25 mg of ginger and 5 mg of echinacea showed significant improvements in swelling, with a decrease in knee circumference. Ginger oil can also be used to provide short-term knee pain relief.[vi]

Likewise, ginger can treat the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.[vii] In a 2014 study, patients with premenstrual syndrome received two ginger capsules and took it daily from seven days prior to menstruation to three days after menstruation for three cycles.

After up to three months of treatment, researchers found ginger effective in treating the symptoms of menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea). Other research that studied the effects of ginger within the first three to four days of the menstrual cycle supported this claim.[viii]

Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis targets the joints in the hands and feet and often begins at ages 30 to 50. Perhaps one of the worst parts of rheumatoid arthritis is the stiffening of the joints in the morning, which can last for an hour or two. The pain can also last the entire day.

One difference between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis is that the latter does not lead to stiffening of joints. Some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include low fever, loss of energy, loss of appetite and the growth of firm lumps in the elbows and hands. Some of the known natural treatments for rheumatoid arthritis include exercise, yoga, acupuncture and vitamin D.