The young woman’s hands were shaking as she doled out cash in exchange for the white, powdery substance. She then rushed back to her car, where she could be alone to experience the rush of pleasure that she had been craving. The few bites of sugared donuts and a 64-ounce soda would satisfy her addiction until lunchtime.
Researchers at UC San Francisco have discovered that endostatin, a protein that once aroused intense interest as a possible cancer treatment, plays a key role in the stable functioning of the nervous system.
Evolutionarily speaking, the fight or flight response is a hard-wired physiological reaction that has kept us alive for millennia. It can be argued that without that response we may have never traveled from the great plains of Africa to Europe, Asia, and beyond. The process is the same for every person: some external stimulus triggers a cascade of events. First the amygdala signals the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then triggers the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and it also triggers the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands release cortisol and adrenaline, causing a cascade of physiological responses.
Newborn babies’ immune system development and levels of vitamin D have been found to vary according to their month of birth, according to new research.
The research, from scientists at Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Oxford, provides a potential biological basis as to why an individual’s risk of developing the neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS) is influenced by their month of birth. It also supports the need for further research into the potential benefits of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy.
