will_a113

Noticed I was logged out of lemmy.ml this morning. When I logged in, everything looked the same, but... "All" loaded instantly. Switching to "Subscribed" was just as fast. Post thumbnails came up as quickly as I could scroll.

I don't know if it's the new software or if y'all cleared out some cruft when restarting the services, but from this end-user's perspective, Lemmy 0.19.0-rc.8 flies. Nicely done!

A new discovery reveals that astrocytes, star-shaped cells in the brain, play a key role in regulating fat metabolism and obesity. These cells act on a cluster of neurons, known as the GABRA5 cluster, effectively acting as a “switch” for weight regulation.

The MAO-B enzyme in these astrocytes was identified as a target for obesity treatment, influencing GABA secretion and thus weight regulation.

KDS2010, a selective and reversible MAO-B inhibitor, successfully led to weight loss in obese mice without impacting their food intake, even while consuming a high-fat diet, and is now in Phase 1 clinical trials.

“We’ve found that antioxidants activate a mechanism that causes cancer tumors to form new blood vessels, which is surprising since it was previously thought that antioxidants have a protective effect,” said Martin Bergö, a new study’s author. “The new blood vessels nourish the tumors and can help them grow and spread.” It's worth noting that there's no harm in consuming normal antioxidant-rich foods in normal quantities, though.

Ever wonder why cats love tuna? Well apparently a bunch of scientists did too, and they found the answer: the umami flavor (savoriness in English, I guess), is a cat's most favorite (as opposed to mine, which is definitely sweet).

Researchers conducted a study to see if social media could help bridge the political divide by facilitating anonymous conversations between individuals with opposing political views. The study used an app called DiscussIt, which allowed users to have anonymous one-on-one discussions about controversial topics. The researchers found that these conversations reduced polarization, particularly among Republican participants. However, there are practical challenges to implementing this approach on a larger scale, as most people do not engage in one-on-one conversations with strangers on social media. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that displaying respect for political opponents and engaging in civil conversations can make a difference in reducing polarization.

Scientists have figured out how to harness Brownian motion -- literally the thermal energy of individual molecules -- to make electricity, by cleverly connecting diodes up to pieces of graphene, which are atom-thick sheets of Carbon. The team has successfully demonstrated their theory (which was previously thought to be impossible by prominent physicists like Richard Feynman), and are now trying to make a kind of micro-harvester that can basically produce inexhaustible power for things like smart sensors.

The most impressive thing about the system is that it doesn't require a thermal gradient to do work, like other kinds of heat-harvesting systems (Stirling engines, Peltier junctions, etc.). As long as it's a bit above absolute zero, there's enough thermal energy "in the system" to make the graphene vibrate continuously, which induces a current that the diodes can then pump out.

Original journal link: https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.108.024130

A UK company plans to test a fusion-powered rocket capable of reaching speeds of up to 500,000mph, though they admit that the fact that nobody has gotten a self-sustaining fusion reaction to work yet is a bit of a stumbling block.

CFPB officials said the proposal would expand the number of companies currently subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act -- a 1970 law governing the privacy of consumer data provided to lenders -- to cover the use of data derived from payment histories, personal income and criminal records.

Staff shortages, a lack of specialist personnel and low pay are major barriers to achieving net zero, according to workers in the UK environment sector.

What's that saying again? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence? I don't think we're quite there yet, but for all of you MOdified Newtonian Dynamics fans (and Dark Matter haters) out there here's a bit of good news.

If you've ever sat around wondering "why can't we just hollow out an asteroid, make it spin, and then live on it?" know that you're not alone. In fact, a research team from the University of Rochester did a semi-serious study of the matter and put together a comprehensive plan about how one might go about doing such a thing. It doesn't require any exotic tech (though it's a bit beyond what we're currently capable of), and would "only" cost on the order of $34 billion according to the team.