Sense | Common News Update

Nov72019 by adminNo Comments

Left-handed women’s quirk over sense of smell

Scientists say they have discovered a biological anomaly that could change how we understand our sense of smell. The study in the journal Neuron shows some people can smell normally, despite missing the part of the brain that is considered to be crucial for smell - the olfactory bulbs. Lacking bulbs should cause anosmia (being unable to smell). Curiously, the phenomenon mostly affects left-handed women, and has never been detected in men. How does smell work?So how do we smell a fresh mug of coffee, a garden flower or even a newborn's soiled nappy? Current science says odours enter the nose where they excite nerve endings. This creates an electrical signal that travels up to a specialised part of the brain called the olfactory bulbs. They process the sign...

Oct72019 by adminNo Comments

How cells sense oxygen wins Nobel prize

Health

Three scientists who discovered how cells sense and adapt to oxygen levels have won the 2019 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.Our body's cells use oxygen to convert food into usable energy.The trio - British Sir Peter Ratcliffe and two Americans, William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza - discovered how cells adapt when oxygen levels drop.The Swedish Academy said their "elegant" findings were leading to treatments for anaemia and even cancer. It said: "The fundamental importance of oxygen has been understood for centuries, but how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen has long been unknown."Sir Peter Ratcliffe is based at the Francis Crick Institute in the UK, William Kaelin at Harvard in the US and Gregg Semenza at Johns Hopkins University in the US.O...

Dec302018 by adminNo Comments

Sound influences the way mice and rats sense touch

Science

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- New research suggests the brain's main sensory centers -- the visual cortex, auditory cortex and somatosensory cortex -- are influenced by one another. Through a series of tests, researchers in Japan showed auditory inputs to the barrel cortex in mice and rats influences the rodents' responses to tactile stimulation. The barrel cortex is a type of somatosensory cortex found in rodents. The region oversees the brain's perception of and response to touch, pain and temperature. Scientists think the link between the barrel cortex and rodent whiskers is similar to the link between the human brain's somatosensory cortex and human fingertips. Researchers used patch clamps, an electric brain recording technology, to measure the influence of different sensory inputs on individual ...

Dec182018 by adminNo Comments

Salmon to lose sense of smell as CO2 levels rise

Science

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- As atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise, increasing amounts of carbon dioxide will be absorbed into the ocean. New research suggests rising CO2 levels in the ocean could disrupt the olfactory abilities of coho salmon. Salmon rely on their sense of smell to track prey, find mates and navigate their way back upstream to spawn. According to the new study, published this week in the journal Global Change Biology, a compromised sense of smell would pose a serious threat to the health of salmon populations. Lab experiments showed rising acidity levels caused by elevated CO2 levels inhibits salmon's already vulnerable sensory-neural system. "Our studies and research from other groups have shown that exposure to pollutants can also interfere with sense of smell for salmon," Ev...

Oct292018 by adminNo Comments

The Scandi Sense Diet Is Supposed to Be the Simplest Diet in the World—Here’s What a Nutritionist Thinks

Health

The Scandi Sense Diet has been dubbed "the simplest diet in the world"—and as you might image, it's been generating lots of buzz. It was developed by a Scandinavian woman (hence the "Scandi") from Denmark named Suzy Wengel, who is the director of a biotech company and a nutritional advisor, according to her bio. Wengel says she lost 88 pounds in 9 months using her self-developed plan. Curious? I was too, so I did a little digging. Here are my thoughts on the Scandi Sense diet, including the pros, the cons, and how to determine if it might be a good fit for you. ...