Early-Life Exercise Alters Gut Microbes, Promotes Healthy Brain

The human gut harbors a teeming menagerie of over 100 trillion microorganisms, and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that exercising early in life can alter that microbial community for the better, promoting healthier brain and metabolic activity over the course of a lifetime.

The research, which was recently published in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, indicates that there may be a window of opportunity during early human development to optimize the chances of better lifelong health.

"Exercise affects many aspects of health, both metabolic and mental, and people are only now starting to look at the plasticity of these gut microbes," said Monika Fleshner, a professor in CU-Boulder's Department of Integrative Physiology and the senior author of the new study. "That is one of the novel aspects of this research."

Microbes take up residence within human intestines shortly after birth and are vital to the development of the immune system and various neural functions. These microbes can add as many 5 million genes to a person's overall genetic profile and thus have tremendous power to influence aspects of human physiology.

While this diverse microbial community remains somewhat malleable throughout adult life and can be influenced by environmental factors such as diet and sleep patterns, the researchers found that gut microorganisms are especially 'plastic' at a young age.

The study found that juvenile rats who voluntarily exercised every day developed a more beneficial microbial structure, including the expansion of probiotic bacterial species in their gut compared to both their sedentary counterparts and adult rats, even when the adult rats exercised as well.

The researchers have not, as of yet, pinpointed an exact age range when the gut microbe community is likeliest to change, but the preliminary findings indicate that earlier is better.

A robust, healthy community of gut microbes also appears to promote healthy brain function and provide anti-depressant effects, Fleshner said. Previous research has shown that the human brain responds to microbial signals from the gut, though the exact communication methods are still under investigation.

"Future research on this microbial ecosystem will hone in on how these microbes influence brain function in a long-lasting way," said Agniezka Mika, a graduate researcher in CU-Boulder's Department of Integrative Physiology and the lead author of the new study.

Going forward, the researchers also plan to explore novel means of encouraging positive gut microbe plasticity in adults, who tend to have stable microbial communities that are more resistant to change.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported this research.

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Your Facial Expression Is the Next Frontier in Big Data

The human face is powered, depending on how you count them, by between 23 and 43 muscles, many of which attach to the skin, serving no obvious function for survival. An alien examining a human specimen in isolation wouldn’t know what to make of them. Tugging on the forehead, eyebrows, lips and cheeks, the muscles broadcast a wealth of information about our emotional state, level of interest and alertness. It is a remarkably efficient means of communication—almost instantaneous, usually accurate, transcending most language and cultural barriers. But sometimes the data is lost, ignored or misinterpreted. If a logger smiles in the forest with no one around to see him, was he actually happy?

Rana el Kaliouby hates to see that information go to waste. Meeting el Kaliouby in her small office in Waltham, Massachusetts, I see her contract her zygomaticus major muscle, raising the corners of her mouth, and her orbicularis oculi, crinkling the outer corners of her eyes. She is smiling, and I deduce that she is welcoming me, before she even gets out the word “hello.” But many social exchanges today take place without real-time face-to-face interaction. That’s where el Kaliouby, and her company, come in.

El Kaliouby, who is 37, smiles often. She has a round, pleasant, expressive face and a solicitous manner, belying her position as the co-founder of a fast-growing tech start-up—an anti-Bezos, an un-Zuckerberg. Her company, Affectiva, which she founded in 2009 with a then-colleague at the MIT Media Lab, Rosalind Picard, occupies a position on the cutting edge of technology to use computers to detect and interpret human facial expressions. This field, known as “affective computing,” seeks to close the communication gap between human beings and machines by adding a new mode of interaction, including the nonverbal language of smiles, smirks and raised eyebrows. “The premise of what we do is that emotions are important,” says el Kaliouby. “Emotions don’t disrupt our rational thinking but guide and inform it. But they are missing from our digital experience. Your smartphone knows who you are and where you are, but it doesn’t know how you feel. We aim to fix that.”

Why does your smartphone need to know how you feel? El Kaliouby has a host of answers, all predicated on the seemingly boundless integration of computers into the routines of our daily lives. She envisions “technology to control lighting, temperature and music in our homes in response to our moods,” or apps that can adapt the content of a movie based on your subconscious reactions to it while you watch. She imagines programs that can monitor your expression as you drive and warn of inattention, drowsiness or anger. She smiles at the mention of her favorite idea—“a refrigerator that can sense when you are stressed out and locks up the ice cream.”

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/rana-el-kaliouby-ingenuity-awards-technology-180957204/#xYHMfwAxPsjZ5zO8.99
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Canadian Health research: Saving Lives, Making History→

Canada's health researchers have made many life-saving discoveries. From Banting and Best's insulin innovation to today's advancements in health care delivery, our country has led the way in making the world a healthier place. Learn more about Canada’s major health research achievements, and take a closer look at some of the research CIHR supported in its first 10 years.

 

1920s

"With the relief of the symptoms of his disease, and with the increased strength and vigor resulting from the increased diet, the pessimistic, melancholy diabetic becomes optimistic and cheerful. Insulin is not a cure for diabetes; it is a treatment."
Dr. Frederick G. Banting, Nobel Prize Lecture, 1923

1921

Insulin changes lives of diabetics
Drs. Banting and Best, Collip and Macleod discover insulin, revolutionizing the treatment of diabetes, and give the Canadian scientific community its first Nobel Prize.

1925

Of hormones and bones
Dr. James Collip discovers parathyroid hormone. The discovery increases understanding of how our bodies regulate calcium concentrations and eventually leads to new treatments for osteoporosis.

1930s

"Brain surgery is a terrible profession. If I did not feel it will become different in my lifetime, I should hate it."
Dr. Wilder Penfield

1930

Feeding babies better
Researchers at the University of Toronto announce the creation of Pablum; royalties from its sales still support research at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

1934

Treating seizures in Montreal
Dr. Wilder Penfield establishes the Montreal Neurological Institute. Dr. Penfield developed a surgical method for treating epilepsy, called the Montreal Procedure.

1936

The roots of CIHR
National Research Council (NRC) establishes the Associate Committee on Medical Research.

1940s

"At the age of 20, I had my first course in histology; I enjoyed it and wondered about becoming a histologist. Friends tried to dissuade me: 'Histology,' they said, 'is a dead horse. The future is in biochemistry.' I chose histology anyway, worked at it for 50 years, and never looked back. Many exciting things happened in the field during these 50 years... all powerful kicks for a dead horse."
Dr. Charles Leblond

1944

Jumpstarting molecular research
Dr. Maud Menten, one of Canada's first female physicians, performs the first protein separation using electrophoresis. To this day, electrophoresis is a standard research tool in genetics and other biological sciences.

1945

The polio vaccine: the Canadian contribution
Dr. Raymond Parker of the University of Toronto's Connaught Laboratories discovers a chemical nutrient in which cells can grow and replicate, playing a role in the discovery of the polio vaccine.

1946

Associate Committee is replaced by NRC Division of Medical Research.

Watching the body at work
Dr. Charles Leblond develops autoradiography. This technique is later used to identify stem cells in adult organs and observe the creation of proteins in living cells.

 

1950s "I have worked on many other projects. Some of them classified and important. But this one (the electric wheelchair) has given me the most satisfaction… It has given me a feeling of helping others, who have not always been able to help themselves."
George Klein

1951

Canada sets the pace for cardiac care
Dr. John Alexander "Jack" Hopps develops the world's first external 'cardiac pacemaker', which electrically stimulates heart muscles.

Blasting away cancer cells
The Cobalt-60 "Bomb", developed by Howard Johns at the University of Saskatchewan, represents a tremendous step forward in cancer radiation treatment. It is estimated to have saved millions of lives, and is still in use in some parts of the world today.

Recognizing strokes
Dr. C. M. Fisher discovers that strokes are often preceded by Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs) - brief episodes of impaired consciousness caused by blood clots in the arteries of the brain.

1952

Helping Those Who Can't Help Themselves
George Klein invents the world's first electric wheelchair for quadriplegic patients.

1956

Healing Hodgkin's disease
Dr. Vera Peters pioneers the use of radiation in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease. Once thought to be incurable, Hodgkin's now has a survival rate of more than 90%.

1959

Scientific serendipity
Drs. Robert Noble and Charles Thomas Beer discover that the plant extract vinblastine provides an effective treatment for cancer. The chemical remains an important component of chemotherapies used to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma and lung, breast and testicular cancer.

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Why Every Busy Woman Should Try Acupuncture

When I found out my new health insurance covered twenty-five sessions of acupuncture treatments in a calendar year, I thought to myself, why not try it? I've always been curious about the benefits from this "alternative" form of healthcare. When posting on Facebook months ago that I was going to give acupuncture a go, it received multiple comments containing success stories in treating injuries that were otherwise considered unfixable and relief from all sorts of ailments including kidney stones, allergies, migraines, and chronic lower back pain. 

I didn't have a targeted purpose for trying acupuncture, although I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was curious about the possibility of "curing" my never ending tummy troubles. Outside of that, I was looking at it from a more holistic and preventative perspective. I wanted to see if going to acupuncture on a regular basis would help with my stress levels, bouts of unwelcome anxiety, and keep me from getting the common cold.

I'd like to report that although acupuncture has been experimental for me, I have found success in small things such as my TMJ (from the stress I carry in my jaw), random aches and pains (usually related to pushing it too hard in the gym) and, I'm being 100 percent honest when I tell you, that I have not been sick one day this over the entire winter.

I've developed a beautiful and nurturing relationship with my acupuncturist, Mona Chopra and believe that she always has my best interest at heart when treating me. Over the course of the past four months, and seven sessions, she's provided me various resources like alternatives to coffee drinking and research on meditation including possible locations I might want to consider in New York. She's made recommendations for teas, books, supplements, and a myriad of health related products, some of which I've adopted into my daily routine.

For me, my hour-long acupuncture sessions are a time to relax, to shut off my mind, and to be in the presence of someone I truly trust with my mind and body. When I consulted with Mona over the course of our relationship about why every busy woman should try acupuncture here are some interesting reasons that resonated most with me.

• First and foremost, prevention. This was my number one reason for trying acupuncture and although it's not the most common reason to try it, "most people try acupuncture for the first time because they have some kind of ailment be it a pain, digestive distress, emotional imbalance, or in some way feeling ‘off’ or ‘not okay.’ Acupuncture can and should be looked at like ‘preventative medicine,’ instead of waiting to get a diagnosis that you have X or Y condition," says Chopra. If you see an acupuncturist, she or he will be able to detect much more subtle imbalances in your system and work to correct them. I wholeheartedly believe that prevention is the best medicine and we, as a society, could enhance our immune systems by taking this approach, therefore being less likely to need medications and reducing the possibilities of getting sick. Preventative health is key, however you seek it—eating healthy, taking supplements, staying active, and/or acupuncture.

• Acupuncture can be used to offset stress and the effects of aging. Research proves that neglected stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds, leading to all kinds of ailments ranging from digestive distress, painful periods, chronic pain, hormonal imbalances, allergies, blood pressure and sugar imbalances, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and fatigue. Must I go on? Cosmetically speaking, wrinkled skin, grey hairs, thin hair, and dark circles under the eyes are no strangers to the extremely stressed body. Acupuncture has been proven to help offset these adverse effects and can help promote a more youthful energetic you—on the inside and out. Are you building a career but one day hope to have children? Join the club. Acupuncture can be a powerful modality for promoting fertility too, when the time comes!

• Acupuncture can help you understand your body and mind better. "It can help you see yourself in a whole new light," Chopra says. Acupuncture is so much more than just being stuck with tiny needles.  Imagine having someone sit with you with for one full hour (or more) and listen to you express your concerns about your health and your life as a whole. Imagine that person asking key questions that no medical doctor or psychotherapist may have asked you (because it's not in their training and/or paradigm to ask). Questions that will help you better understand why you are the way you are, why your body may be acting the way it's been acting. And, in addition to being treated with acupuncture to help regulate your system, also offering suggestions for your diet and lifestyle that may help you make the changes you want to see in your life. 

The next time you have trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, have paid the doctor a visit only to receive a 'clean bill of health' but know that something else is lurking underneath the surface, consider acupuncture. Your acupuncturist may be able to detect more subtle imbalances that could be leading to those distressing symptoms. 

Furthermore, acupuncturists are trained to treat not only the “symptoms” but the “root causes,” which means making changes on deep fundamental levels of your being. If you have ever had the thought, "I've always been like this" or "I'm just an anxious kind of person," an acupuncturist can not only help you understand how these constitutional tendencies or learned habits are thought of in Chinese medicine, she or he can also help you to see how unblocking certain channels or nourishing others may help to free you from those ways of being.

Signing Off Glad I Tried Acupuncture,
Renee

Article originally appeared on Shape.com and is written by Renee Woodruff.