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According to a recent study, gut microorganisms stimulate specialised cells to cut out excess connections in brain circuits that drive social behaviour. Pruning is required for proper social conduct to emerge.<br /><br /> The researchers also found that these 'social' neurons are similar in zebrafish and mice. That suggests the findings might translate between species -- and could possibly point the way to treatments for a range of neurodevelopmental conditions.<br /><br /> "This is a big step forward," said UO neuroscientist Judith Eisen, who co-led the work with neuroscientist Philip Washbourne. "It also sheds light on things that are going on in larger, furrier animals." <br /><br /> The team reports their findings in two new papers, published in <keyword id="15410507" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PLOS-Biology-and-BMC-Genomics-" source="Orion">PLOS Biology and BMC Genomics.</keyword> <br /><br /> While <keyword id="2735601" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-behavior" source="Orion">social behavior</keyword> is a complex phenomenon involving many parts of the brain, Washbourne's lab previously identified a set of neurons in the zebrafish brain that are required for one particular kind of social interaction. Normally, if two zebrafish see each other through a glass partition, they'll approach each other and swim side by side. But zebrafish without these neurons don't show interest.<br /><br /> Here, the team found a pathway linking microbes in the gut to these neurons in the brain. In healthy fish, gut microbes spurred cells called microglia to prune back extra links between neurons.<br /><br /> Pruning is a normal part of healthy brain development. Like clutter on a counter, extra neural connections can get in the way of the ones that really matter, resulting in muddled messages.<br /><br /> In zebrafish without those gut microbes, the pruning didn't happen, and the fish showed social deficits.<br /><br /> "We've known for a while that the microbiome influences a lot of things during development," Washbourne said. "But there hasn't been a lot of concrete data about how the microbiome is influencing the brain. We've done quite a bit to push the boundary there."<br /><br /> In a second paper, the team identified two defining features of this set of social neurons that may be shared by mice and zebrafish. One is that these cells could be identified by having similar genes turned on--a clue that they might serve similar roles in the brains of both species. Such signature signs could be used to identify neurons that serve this role in different brains. The other is that "neurons with the same gene signature in mice are in approximately the same brain locations as the zebrafish social neurons," Eisen said.<br /><br /> That finding strengthens the researchers' belief that their work in zebrafish could translate to mice or humans. It's easier to study the nuts and bolts of brain development in zebrafish, where scientists can watch neural circuits form through the young fish's transparent bodies. Researchers could then take the insights from zebrafish and use them as a starting place for understanding other species.<br /><br /> Both gut microbiome disruption and poor neural synapse pruning have been linked to a range of neuropsychiatric conditions like autism spectrum disorder. <br /><br /> "If we can tie these together, it might facilitate better therapeutics for a wide range of disorders," said Joseph Bruckner, a postdoc in the Eisen and Washbourne labs and the first author on the PLOS Biology paper. His next step is figuring out what molecules are linking the bacteria to the microglia, mapping the pathway between microbes and behavior in even more detail. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO: </strong><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/all-you-need-to-know-about-twitters-blue-tick-and-why-elon-musk-wants-you-to-pay-for-it/slidelist/95246904.cms">All you need to know about Twitter’s Blue Tick and why Elon Musk wants you to pay for it</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/markets-break-4-session-winning-streak-to-open-lower-in-early-trade/articleshow/95245774.cms">Markets break 4-session winning streak to open lower in early trade</a><br />

Your social behaviour is connected to your gut as well as brain

<br /> Do you believe in healing beyond <keyword id="75801" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Traditional-medicine">traditional medicine</keyword>? Alternative paths to wellness are widely practised nowadays – right from meditation/mind-body therapy to naturopathic treatment to <keyword id="2014172" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-medicine">energy medicine</keyword>. But it is also likely that your <keyword id="53521" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="family-doctor">family doctor</keyword> hesitates to recommend these for a very simple reason. Lack of data and concrete proof of effectiveness. In-depth <keyword id="15509" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Research">research</keyword> and <keyword id="1009416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="scientific-testing">scientific testing</keyword> are yet to happen in this space while most of the <keyword id="405225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="medical-practitioners">medical practitioners</keyword> believe that alternative methods simply create a pleasant, feel-good sensation in the brain instead of any actual <keyword id="1821684" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="physical-healing">physical healing</keyword>. Simply put, alternative therapies like <keyword id="1538409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="yoga-and-meditation">yoga and meditation</keyword> may increase your mental and physical toughness to fight a disease, but can’t cure the disease itself. There can be no ‘true’ <keyword id="2014174" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Physiological-effects">physiological effects</keyword> on those suffering from <keyword id="1144427" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="medical-conditions">medical conditions</keyword>.<br />
 <br /> Wrong! The above concept no longer holds water as <keyword id="2014183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Research-scientists">research scientists</keyword> are now leveraging <keyword id="696384" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Neuroimaging">neuroimaging</keyword> to measure the biological effects of <keyword id="6355812" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yoga">yoga</keyword> on the body. So that it will be a proven fact that the age-old practice is physically effective in curing <keyword id="23666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="stress">stress</keyword> and other diseases, instead of simply driving the so-called <keyword id="2014193" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Placebo-effects">placebo effects</keyword>.<br />
 <br /> According to a study published last year in the <keyword id="2014195" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Scientific-journal">scientific journal</keyword> <em><keyword id="639871" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PLoS-ONE">PLOS One</keyword></em>, a single relaxation-response (<keyword id="177639" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="RR">RR</keyword>) session produced immediate changes in <keyword id="160634" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="gene-expression">gene expression</keyword> of <keyword id="48619" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Immunity">immunity</keyword>, <keyword id="2014198" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Energy-metabolism">energy metabolism</keyword> and <keyword id="2014199" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Insulin-secretion">insulin secretion</keyword>. It also reduced the expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress. Investigators from <keyword id="53675" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="harvard">Harvard</keyword> analysed the expression of more than 22,000 genes and found that RR reduces symptoms of <keyword id="15418" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="anxiety">anxiety</keyword> and improves <keyword id="119915" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="heart-rate">heart rate</keyword>, <keyword id="22982" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="blood-pressure">blood pressure</keyword>, <keyword id="2014204" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oxygen-consumption">oxygen consumption</keyword> and <keyword id="72936" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Brain-activity">brain activity</keyword> through <keyword id="49685" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Genetic">genetic</keyword> changes in the DNA.<br />
 <br /> Scientists from other institutions are also investigating the biological changes happening due to yoga. According to a Bloomberg report, scientists at the <keyword id="689783" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="University-of-California-at-Los-Angeles">University of California at Los Angeles</keyword> and <keyword id="52659" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="nobel-prize">Nobel Prize</keyword> winner <keyword id="686620" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Elizabeth-Blackburn">Elizabeth Blackburn</keyword> have found that 12 minutes of daily yoga for eight weeks suggest an improvement in stress-induced ageing. Blackburn of the <keyword id="73593" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="University-of-California">University of California</keyword>, San Francisco, shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2009 with <keyword id="1283940" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Carol-Greider">Carol Greider</keyword> and <keyword id="1283941" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jack-Szostak">Jack Szostak</keyword> for research on the ageing process of cells.<br />
 <br /> That is, undoubtedly, good news. Till date, experts have tried to track the health benefits of yoga and <keyword id="6388212" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="meditation">meditation</keyword> through some routine tools like <keyword id="24479" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="heart">heart</keyword> rate and <keyword id="962453" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="blood-pressure-monitoring">blood pressure monitoring</keyword>. But now that sophisticated neuroimaging and <keyword id="210886" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Genomics">genomics</keyword> technologies are put to use, measuring physiological changes will be more authentic and may persuade doctors to adapt a standard yoga therapy for various <keyword id="6505867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ailments">ailments</keyword>, based on the <keyword id="1200030" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="research-data">research data</keyword>.<br />
 <br /> Although stress is a normal pat of life and a little bit of it keeps us ready and alert for impending challenges, being constantly under pressure without any relief or relaxation often leads to critical medical conditions – right from <keyword id="6354802" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="depression">depression</keyword> and <keyword id="22984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="hypertension">hypertension</keyword> to <keyword id="24295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="infertility">infertility</keyword>, untimely <keyword id="24314" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="aging">aging</keyword> and even heart attacks. In the US alone, 43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects due to negative or <keyword id="2014223" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Intense-stress">intense stress</keyword> and 75-90% of <keyword id="6355082" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Doctor">doctor</keyword>’s office visits happen due to stress-related conditions.<br />
 <br /> Stress has been dubbed “the <keyword id="2014227" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Health-epidemic">health epidemic</keyword> of the 21st century” by the <keyword id="43588" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="World-Health-Organization">World Health Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="6366244" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="WHO">WHO</keyword>) and is estimated to cost American businesses up to $300 billion per year. In fact, moderate-to-severe stress impacts almost half of all workers while they are on the job, a survey by ComPsych has revealed. So the current findings are heartening, especially if a <keyword id="416649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="non-invasive-therapy">non-invasive therapy</keyword> like yoga can physically cure the condition instead of the much-abused anti-depressants.<br />
 <br /> <keyword id="2014165" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="John-Denninger">John Denninger</keyword>, a <keyword id="33876" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="psychiatrist">psychiatrist</keyword> at <keyword id="20988" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Harvard-Medical-School">Harvard Medical School</keyword>, is also conducting a major research to confirm that yoga affects the genes and the brain activities in the <keyword id="2014231" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chronically-stressed">chronically stressed</keyword>. The $3.3 million government-funded study, to be concluded next year, tracks 210 subjects with high levels of <keyword id="1596274" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="chronic-stress">chronic stress</keyword>, for a span of six months. The subjects are split into three groups and undergo various <keyword id="2014234" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yoga-therapies">yoga therapies</keyword> to determine which would be the most effective for long-term relief.<br />
 <br />
Can yoga and meditation do it for us what traditional medicine has failed to accomplish? The jury is still out on this, but the positive developments keep us hopeful.

Yoga Can Cure
You – Soon There Will Be Tangible Data To Prove It

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Scientists revived a 46,000-year-old worm that was living in Siberian permafrost. </li><li>When they brought it back to life, the worm started having babies. </li></ul><p>Scientists discovered a female microscopic roundworm that has been stuck deep in Siberian permafrost for 46,000 years, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/07/27/nematode-revived-siberian-permafrost/">the Washington Post reported</a>. When they revived it, the worm started having babies via a process called parthenogenesis, which doesn't require a mate. </p><p>According to a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/996694" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>, the worm spent thousands of years in a type of dormancy called cryptobiosis. In that state, which can last almost indefinitely, all metabolic processes pause, including "reproduction, development, and repair," per the <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/biological/what-alive/properties-life/weird-science-cryptobiosis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa</a>.</p><p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1010798" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a study published Thursday in the journal PLOS Genetics</a>, scientists reported that after sequencing the worm's genome, scientists said it belonged to an "undescribed species."</p><p>Previously, Plectus murrayi and Tylenchus polyhypnus nematodes were resurrected from moss and herbarium specimens after a few dozen years, according to <a href="https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/arctic/nematode-resurrected-from-siberian-permafrost-laid-dormant-for-46000-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Live Science</a>.  This new species, however, called Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, was dormant for tens of thousands of years longer.</p><p>Deep sea biologist Holly Bik estimates there are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nematode-parasitic-worms-live-in-sand-beaches-microscope-images-2023-4">millions of nematode species</a> living in environments as diverse as ocean trenches, tundras, deserts, and volcanic soils. Scientists have only described 5,000 marine species so far.</p><p>William Crow, a nematologist at the University of Florida who was not involved in the study, told the Post that this worm could belong to a species that has gone extinct in the last nearly 50,000 years. </p><p>"However, it very well could be a commonly occurring nematode that no one got around to describing yet," Crow said. </p><p>The fact that the worm survived all of those years is not a shock to scientists, who have known for years that microscopic organisms, like the worm studied here, can stop their biological functions to survive even the harshest conditions, according to the press release.</p><p>"Altogether, our findings demonstrate that nematodes evolved mechanisms potentially allowing them to suspend life over geological time scales," the PLOS Genetics paper said. </p>

A 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost was brought back to life, and started having babies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dogs evolved over centuries from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-age-wolf-dna-suggests-dogs-were-domesticated-in-asia-2022-6">ancient wild wolves</a> into loyal partners to humans.</li><li>A growing body of research explains how dogs' distinctive features and skills <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dog-domestication-hunters-gave-wolves-leftover-meat-2021-1">strengthened the human-canine bond</a>.</li></ul><p>Dogs have long been considered man's best friend, and for good reason. Over centuries, our four-legged canine companions evolved to become loyal partners.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dogs-navigate-magnetic-field-understand-speech-like-humans-2020-8">growing body of scientific research</a> suggests our furry friends have distinctive features and skills that allow them to perceive, understand, communicate, and show affection toward humans.</p><p>From sniffing out when we're stressed to tearing up when reunited with their owners, here is what science reveals about how humans' special relationship with dogs developed over time.</p><h1><strong>Dogs evolved from wild wolves into our puppy pals</strong></h1><p>Scientists generally agree that dogs evolved from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/italy-wolves-save-rome-from-wild-boar-herds-invading-city-2022-6">wolves</a> to become the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-dog-breeds-looked-100-years-ago-2016-2">furry, fetch-loving domestic animals they</a> are today roughly 15,000 years ago. But scientists have different theories on how exactly the split from wolves happened.</p><div type="image" title="Dogs wait inside a school bus for their companions to take them to a school for dogs in Santiago, Chile, on September 23, 2022." height="3088" width="4118" msid="94724846" hostid="261" sizebytes="597016"></div><p>In a <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41586-022-04824-9&amp;amazonTrackingID=null&amp;site=bi&amp;vikingID=62bb676b88696644d860f682&amp;platform=browser&amp;sc=false&amp;disabled=false&amp;sessionID=1665162523460uzxym4wj" rel="nofollow sponsored noindex">study</a> published in the journal Nature in June, geneticists at the Francis Crick Institute analyzed the genomes — or all of the genetic information — of 72 ancient wolves from Europe, Siberia, and North America spanning 100,000 years. Then they compared the wolf DNA, which makes up the genome, to DNA of modern and ancient dogs.</p><p>By analyzing the DNA, scientists found early and modern dogs are most <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-age-wolf-dna-suggests-dogs-were-domesticated-in-asia-2022-6">similar to gray wolves in Siberia about 13,000 to 23,000 years ago</a>, suggesting domestication took place somewhere in Asia. </p><p>"That's consistent with a wolf population from Central Asia leading to the origin of dogs," Adam Boyko, a canine geneticist at Cornell University, who was not involved in the study, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-age-wolf-dna-suggests-dogs-were-domesticated-in-asia-2022-6">previously told Insider.</a></p><p>That might not be the end of the story, Boyko added. The findings don't rule out the possibility that dogs may have been domesticated multiple times, as ancient dogs in the Middle East, Africa, and Southern Europe also show ancestry from wolves in the Middle East.</p><div type="image" title="grey brown iberian wolf with rounded ears walks through forest" height="1667" width="2500" msid="94724848" hostid="261" sizebytes="305564"></div><p>Though their wild ancestors are known for their ferocious nature, dogs evolved to have bigger and more baby-like eyes over time.</p><p>In a study published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/06/11/1820653116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</a> in 2019, researchers discovered that dogs have muscles around their eyes that help them make puppy dog eyes — that soft squinting look that melts your heart. Wolves don't have these muscles, which suggests dogs' adorable expression is an evolutionary trait that helped them get on better with humans.</p><div type="image" title="The author's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Cece." height="828" width="828" msid="94724851" hostid="261" sizebytes="53370"></div><h1>Dogs can sniff out when we're stressed</h1><p>Dogs may be able to smell <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cause-of-your-work-stress-how-to-fight-it-psychologist-2022-8">when you're stressed</a>, according to a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0274143" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> published in Plos One in September. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0274143" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>Stress responses trigger physiological changes in humans' sweat and breath that dogs can detect. </p><p>The study involved collecting breath and sweat samples from human participants before and after they completed a "stress-inducing" task. Then dogs trained in identifying odors had to choose between a sample from an unstressed human and a stressed one. The dogs correctly identified the stress sample 94% of the time. </p><div type="image" title="One of the study's canine participants, Megan, sniffing a person's breath and sweat sample." height="902" width="1200" msid="94724853" hostid="261" sizebytes="24542"></div><p>"This study demonstrates that dogs can discriminate between the breath and sweat taken from humans before and after a stress-inducing task," the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0274143">study authors wrote,</a> meaning they were able to identify human odors associated with stress.</p><h1><strong>Dogs mirror their owners' behavior (and look like them, too)</strong></h1><p>Dogs even adopt their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-dog-breed-for-you-based-on-your-personality-type-2018-4">owners' personalities</a>. Research published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656618301661?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Journal of Research in Personality</a> in 2019 surveyed more than 1,600 dog owners, representing about 50 different breeds. The owners were asked to evaluate their dogs' personalities and answer questions about their dogs' behavioral histories. The owners were also asked questions about their own personalities.</p><p>Extroverted owners rated their dogs as more active and playful, while owners of more fearful dogs reported more negative emotions. </p><p>And while <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/8/26/6070957/dogs-look-like-owners-resemble">several studies</a> support the notion that dogs and owners often look alike, that's largely because owners tend to pick dog breeds based on the breed's resemblance to themselves. </p><div type="image" title="A recovered rescue at the Denver International Airport in 2022." height="3840" width="5760" msid="94724855" hostid="261" sizebytes="1802972"></div><h1><strong>Dogs can communicate with humans and know when you make a mistake </strong></h1><p>Research suggests dogs are hardwired to communicate with and understand people in unique ways.</p><p>"Dogs are very responsive to the way that we talk to them," John Bradshaw, anthrozoologist and author of "<a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/277326/the-animals-among-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Animals Among Us</a>," previously told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/animal-expert-how-much-dogs-understand-when-talk-them-biology-pets-john-bradshaw-2017-9">Insider</a>. "It tricks many owners into thinking they literally understand every word."</p><p>But while they might not understand the words you're saying, Bradshaw added, dogs are very good at learning to respond to their owner's tone of voice in specific ways. "It's almost true that the dog is responding to every word they say," Bradshaw said.</p><p>A <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41598-021-94374-3%3Futm_medium%3Daffiliate%26utm_source%3Dcommission_junction%26utm_campaign%3DCONR_PF018_ECOM_GL_PHSS_ALWYS_DEEPLINK%26utm_content%3Dtextlink%26utm_term%3DPID100024933%26CJEVENT%3D5e1fcd04466511ed82febb400a82b836" rel="nofollow sponsored noindex nofollow sponsored">study</a> published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2021 found that dogs can understand the difference between humans' accidental and deliberate actions — or, in other words, when we screw up.</p><div type="image" title="Dogs were fed through the gap before the experimenter started to withhold the reward intentionally or unintentionally." height="467" width="700" msid="94724857" hostid="261" sizebytes="24166"></div><p>The experiment involved 51 dogs who were taught they'd get tasty treats from a human through a gap in a glass partition. Then researchers looked at how dogs reacted when food rewards were withheld from them.</p><p>In the study, dogs waited much longer to retrieve the treat when the researcher purposefully withheld it than when the researcher dropped it or couldn't get it through the glass partition. That finding suggests dogs can distinguish between humans' intentional actions and unintentional ones.</p><p>"Dogs' communicative skills uniquely position them to fill the niche that they do alongside humans," Emily Bray, a canine-cognition researcher at the University of Arizona, Tucson, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dogs-hardwired-to-communicate-with-humans-as-puppies-2021-9">previously told Insider</a> in an email. "Many of the tasks that they perform for us, now and in the past (i.e. herding, hunting, detecting, acting as service dogs), are facilitated by their ability to understand our cues."</p><h1>Dogs' eyes wel<strong>l up in tears when reunited with their owners </strong></h1><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Dog happy to see owner." height="700" width="525" msid="94724860" hostid="261" sizebytes="54762"></div><p>It's common to see dogs overjoyed to be reunited with their owners.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01132-0">study</a> published in Current Biology in August, researchers recruited 22 dogs and their owners. First, researchers measured tear volume in dogs' eyes during a normal interaction with their owners, as a baseline. Then, following five to seven hours spent away from their owner, researchers measured tear volume on the surface of the dogs' eyes each time they were reunited.</p><p>After a long period of separation, the dogs' eyes were brimming with tears when they saw their owner.</p><p>"We found that dogs shed tears associated with positive emotions," Takefumi Kikusui, the study's lead author and a veterinary researcher at Azabu University in Japan, said in a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/962142">press release.</a></p><p>This behavior may be related to dogs producing more oxytocin, commonly called the "love hormone," when they see their owners. Oxytocin also plays a role in emotional bonding in humans.</p>

The science behind why your dog copies your behavior and tears up when they're reunited with you

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="159997" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Melatonin">Melatonin</keyword>, a sleep hormone often synthesized into supplement form, shows potential in combating <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>, according to a new study.</li><li>Researchers found that patients who took melatonin were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>. This was particularly true for Black patients and those with diabetes. </li><li>Previous evidence suggests melatonin can help with respiratory viruses by reducing inflammation. Clinical trials are underway to test whether it might lead to better coronavirus outcomes. </li></ul><p>Melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep cycles and is popularly used as an over-the-counter sleep aid, could help to make people more resilient to the coronavirus, a new study found. </p><p>For the study, published November 6 in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000970">PLOS Biology,</a> researchers from Cleveland Clinic analyzed data from 26,779 patients (of which 8,274 tested positive for COVID-19) to try to identify links between easily-accessible medications and coronavirus outcomes.</p><p>The team was hoping to find possible candidates for repurposing already-available drugs as treatments to protect people from COVID-19 or lessen the blow of an infection, according to Dr. Feixiong Cheng, lead author of the study and assistant staff in Cleveland Clinic's Genomic Medicine Institute. </p><p>They found that people who reported taking small daily doses of melatonin — synthesized in labs and added to pills, powders, and even gummies — were 28% less likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. </p><p>That's promising data that, while lots of efforts are aimed at treating coronavirus patients, melatonin may potentially prevent people from getting sick in the first place by limiting how much the body overreacts to the virus.</p><p>"Its protective effects on virus infection is to target the host, not by promoting the host defense system against virus but by increasing the tolerance of the host to the virus," Cheng told Insider. "Increase in the tolerance of the host to the virus will reduce the tissues and organs damage of the host and allow the host to survive sufficiently long to develop adaptive immune response, particularly the specific antibody." </p><h2><strong>It could help by reducing inflammation</strong></h2><p>The researchers found no evidence that melatonin made a COVID-19 infection less severe — though that's something they are investigating in a series of clinical trials at the <a href="https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04531748?term=MELATONIN&amp;cond=covid-19&amp;draw=2p;draw=2">Cleveland Clinic</a>. </p><p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7405774/">Previous research</a> on melatonin suggests it has benefits against other types of respiratory viruses similar to coronavirus by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as regulating the immune system. The latter could be particularly helpful for COVID-19 patients, since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cytokine-storm-severe-coronavirus-case-death-2020-5">some severe cases of the illness are linked to an overactive immune response</a>. </p><p>If melatonin does help to lessen COVID-19's effects, it could be something of a breakthrough, since there are so few available treatments, and melatonin is easy to access and produce, Cheng said. </p><p>"Importantly, the cost of melatonin is much lower than other drugs under ongoing COVID-19 trials, which will be great to fight the pandemic by accessibility to the general population." </p><h2>Melatonin seemed most effective in Black people and people with diabetes</h2><p>The researchers found doses between 2.5 mg and 10 mg to be optimal.</p><p>The most striking difference in outcomes was seen in Black participants of the study. Those that took melatonin were 52% less likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the study. Among study participants with diabetes, melatonin was linked to a 48% lower change of being diagnosed. </p><p>These numbers were small, however. While African Americans comprised about a third of all coronavirus patients, less than 1% of those took melatonin.</p><p>"We don't know the exact mechanisms behind why melatonin has more benefits in African American patients or individuals with diabetes," Cheng said. "Based on a previous COVID-19 genetic paper published in <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-020-01673-z">BMC Medicine</a>, one possible explanation is the genetic factors may be associated with melatonin responses in different populations."</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong></em></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/science-behind-supplements-trump-taking-coronavirus-zinc-vitamin-d-2020-10">Trump is taking vitamin D, zinc, antacids, and melatonin since getting COVID-19. Here's the evidence for them.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/new-evidence-suggests-vitamin-d-could-reduce-coronavirus-severity-2020-10">There's new evidence vitamin D may help treat COVID-19 by reducing the severity of infection</a></p>

Scientists say the sleep aid melatonin may bolster people's defenses against the coronavirus by reducing inflammation

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://flic.kr/p/ndrqcS">Flickr/Global Pandora</a></span></p><p class="caption">A group of mice spent 13.5 days aboard the a space shuttle and returned home with liver problems.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A few years ago, a group of mice spent 13.5 days aboard the Atlantis space shuttle. They returned home with serious health problems. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers who have been studying the tiny space explorers since their 2011 voyage found that the mice exhibited early signs of liver disease. From their study of liver samples, they conclude that the microgravity environment, where the gravity is so weak that objects appear to be weightless, appeared to activate certain liver cells that could go on to cause scarring and long-term damage to the liver. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0152877">study of those mice published in PLOS ONE</a> on April 20, a team of researchers at the </span><a href="http://www.ucdenver.edu/anschutz/about/location/Pages/Location.aspx"><span style="font-weight: 400;">University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (<span>CU Anschutz</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">) </span>reported findings of increased fat storage in the mice's livers, a loss of retinol (an animal form of Vitamin A that affects</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> vision, bone growth and other key body processes</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">) and changes in their ability to break down fats. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The mice showed signs of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and potential early indicators for fibrosis, or the thickening and scarring of connective tissue.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These findings are surprising given the animals' short stint in space, the researchers say.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It generally takes a long time, months to years, to induce fibrosis in mice, even when eating an unhealthy diet," the study's lead author and </span>CU Anschutz<span style="font-weight: 400;"> associate professor of <span>anesthesiology </span></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Karen Jonscher </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">said in a <a href="http://cuanschutztoday.org/mice-flown-space-show-nascent-liver-damage-says-cu-anschutz-researcher/">press release</a>. <strong>"If a mouse is showing nascent signs of fibrosis without a change in diet after 13.5 days, what is happening to the humans?"</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The idea that spaceflight effects the liver isn't completely out of left field. Astronauts often return from space with temporary <a href="http://gizmodo.com/living-in-space-is-like-being-old-and-having-type-2-dia-1592801454">diabetes-like symptoms</a> that suggest there is a link between microgravity and metabolic liver function. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Astronaut Scott Kelly spent 340 days in space to help NASA better understand the effects of space on health.</p></div><p></p></div></div>And while NASA has been investigating the <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/heres-what-happens-to-your-body-in-space-2016-3">effects of spaceflight on the human body</a>, it's mostly been concentrating its efforts on other areas, like bone density, muscle mass, brain and cardiovascular function.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is the first study that provides information about the effects of space travel on liver damage, Johnscher said.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mice are <a href="https://www.jax.org/genetics-and-healthcare/genetics-and-genomics/why-mouse-genetics">useful subjects</a> in these sorts of experiments because they are biologically similar to humans, but with an accelerated lifespan that allows scientists to study the effects of certain factors much faster than they would in people. It's kind of like studying the effects of microgravity in fast motion. The 13.5 days these mice spent in space could translate to months or even years for humans. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This means that while two weeks in space might not cause liver damage in astronauts, it might be something to worry about on a lengthier space adventure. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, humans are not mice. Every animal model has its limitations. While<span> mouse and human genomes are about 85% the same, </span><span>small genetic distinctions can translate to</span></span> irreconcilable differences between mice and humans.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span>There's also the fact that the microgravity environment is not the only factor that could have caused liver damage in the mice. Researchers believe that the stress and commotion of spaceflight and reentry to Earth might have also contributed. That limits the conclusions they can draw from the study a bit and highlights the fact that more research is needed.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Whether or not this is a problem is an open question," Jonscher said. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scott-kelly-returns-from-space-340-days-nasa-2016-3">Watch Scott Kelly's awesome reaction to landing safely on Earth after his record-breaking time in space</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FwY2xoMTE6YdeIy4IaVCqaUGhykUv9_C" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A group of mice developed serious health problems in space - and it might be bad news for astronauts

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Liangxue Lai</span></p><p class="caption">Hercules (left) and Tiangou (right), who are now 15 months old.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Get ready for designer dogs.</p><p>Researchers in China have created the first dogs whose DNA was modified by gene editing.</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">By tweaking a dog's DNA to cut out a gene for the muscle-limiting protein myostatin, they created a be<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">agle with twice the normal amount of muscle, <span style="background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">they reported last week in the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26459633">Journal of Molecular Cell Biology</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p>Ultimately, the researchers plan to tweak the DNA of dogs to make them develop diseases similar to Parkinson's and muscular dystrophy, so they can study how these diseases work.</p><p>Beagles are commonly used in medical research because they share similarities with humans in their physiology, anatomy, and metabolism.</p><h2>Meet Hercules and 'heaven dog'</h2><p>A team of researchers led by Liangxue Lai of the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health used an increasingly popular technique known as CRISPR/Cas9, which makes it relatively cheap and easy to cut and paste bits of the natural DNA of any organism. Originally discovered in bacteria, the technique is now used in a wide variety of animals, and has even been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-scientists-genetic-modification-human-embryo-crispr-2015-4">used on human embryos</a>.</p><p>They edited the DNA of dog embryos to cut out the mystatin gene, which produces a protein (myostatin) that limits muscle formation. The first attempt failed to produce any viable pregnancies. Their second attempt produced 27 puppies, but only one male and one female were found to have two copies of the altered myostatin gene.</p><p>They named the female dog Tiangou, after the "heaven dog" in Chinese myth, and the male dog Hercules after the mythical Greek hero. The edits didn't complete take effect in Hercules, who still had some cells that produced myostatin. But it worked like a charm in Tiangou, who developed twice the amount of muscle as her littermates, especially on her thighs.</p><p>Additional testing showed that the myostatin mutation was present in some of Hercules' sperm, suggesting the change could be passed on to other generations through breeding.</p><p>This isn't the first time scientists have tinkered with an animal's DNA to give it more muscle. In June, researchers from South Korea and China created <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/super-muscly-pigs-created-by-small-genetic-tweak-1.17874">"double-muscled" pigs</a> by tweaking the same gene.</p><p>Mutations in the myostatin gene can also happen naturally. A breed of cattle called Belgian Blues normally lack this gene, and grow to massive proportions. The only dogs known to have this mutation naturally <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.0030079">are Whippets</a>.</p><p>The photos below show dogs with two copies of the natural myostatin gene (column A), and one copy (column B) or two copies (column C) of the mutant gene:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mosher DS, Quignon P, Bustamante CD, Sutter NB, Mellersh CS, Parker HG, et al. (2007) A Mutation in the Myostatin Gene Increases Muscle Mass and Enhances Racing Performance in Heterozygote Dogs. PLoS Genet 3(5): e79. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030079</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">The team that created the muscly dogs say they don't have any plans to sell the animals as pets, but others have already been moving into t his controversial area.</span></p><p>At the end of September, scientists at Chinese genomics institute BGI altered the genes of pigs to sell as pet "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-genetically-engineered-mini-pigs-2015-9">micropigs</a>." ?</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/how-dog-cloning-works-at-sooam-2015-9">Cloning your dog is easier than you think - here's how it works</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="w1c21jdzqumbkoTdIORHTKhrXhOWV7ea" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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