Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s disease medications have distinct signatures of the gut microbiome. Movement Disorders, 2017; DOI: 10.1002/mds.26942

A new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that Parkinson’s disease, and medications to treat Parkinson’s, have distinct effects on the composition of the trillions of bacteria that make up the gut microbiome. At this point, researchers do not know which comes first. Does having Parkinson’s cause changes in an individual’s gut microbiome, or are changes in the microbiome a predictor or early warning sign of Parkinson’s? What is known is that the first signs of Parkinson’s often arise as gastrointestinal symptoms such as inflammation or constipation.

“The human gut hosts tens of trillions of microorganisms...

A blood clot forming in the carotid artery. Credit: copyright American Heart Association

P7C3 compound protects mature and newborn neurons in rats, and also improves physical and cognitive outcomes, following stroke. Researchers from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown a neuroprotective compound tested in rats provides two-pronged protection for brain cells during stroke and improves physical and cognitive outcomes in the treated animals.

Every year, nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke and almost 130,000 die. When a stroke interrupts the brain’s blood supply, neurons die. In addition, reestablishing blood flow, ie reperfusion, also leads to processes that cause cell death...

This image from a scanning electron microscope shows a cross section of an object printed using cellulose. The inset shows the surface of the object. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

Thanks to new research at MIT, cellulose may become an abundant material to print with – potentially providing a renewable, biodegradable alternative to the polymers currently used in 3D printing materials. “Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer in the world,” says MIT postdoc Sebastian Pattinson. “Cellulose and its derivatives are used in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, as food additives, building materials, clothing – all sorts of different areas. And a lot of these kinds of products would benefit from the kind of customization that additive manufacturing [3-D printing] enables.”

Meanwhile, 3D ...

Scientists from NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research have shown that data from a ground-based instrument called K-Cor can give scientists early warning of a certain type of incoming space weather that can impact astronauts. This composite image shows a coronal mass ejection, a type of space weather linked to solar energetic particles, as seen from two space-based solar observatories and one ground-based instrument. The image in gold is from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, the image in blue is from the Manua Loa Solar Observatory’s K-Cor coronagraph, and the image in red is from ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.
Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO/SDO/Joy Ng and MLSO/K-Cor

Scientists have proven that the warning signs of one type of space weather event can be detected ...