January 2021
The Empowerment through Science & Technology Initiative Newsletter
ESTI's goal is to provide you with accurate information on science, technology, and health. Happy reading!

Myth Busters:
Myth: Our Brains Shut Down When We Sleep

A popular myth about sleep is that our brains shut down. However, this is not true. Our brains are just as active while we're asleep. Our brains repeat through two cycles throughout the night: (1) non-rapid-eye movement (non-REM) sleep and (2) rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep.

During non-REM sleep, the body begins to get ready for sleep and goes into deep sleep. Recent research has shown that non-REM sleep is just as important as REM sleep, not only for learning and memory but also for a more restful and restorative sleep.

During REM sleep, the eyes move rapidly underneath the eyelids and brain waves are similar to when you're awake. Additionally, the brain sends signals to temporarily paralyze the body during sleep and dreaming.

As time goes on, your body will spend less time in deep sleep and more time in REM sleep. Typically, a person will go through these two cycles between four and five times a night.

For more information, check out these two articles and our infographic:

Neuro News: Links Between Mental Disorders

For years, psychologists and psychiatrists have diagnosed patients with various mental disorders based on specific symptoms. However, recent research has shown that people who have a mental disorder, most likely have more than just one. This means that mental disorders can no longer be placed in categories, but thought of as a spectrum.

In a study, which looked at data from about 5.9 million Danish citizens, it was found that many mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, overlap each other. At At a genetic level, research has shown that the same genes are found for multiple distinct disorders. This led the US National Institute of Mental Health, in 2011, to request for more research to be done on the biological basis of mental disorders, with more focus on genetics and neuroanatomy.

For more information, check out this article.

This Month in Science: Artifical Intelligence Making a Breakthrough in Genetics

For more than 50 years, scientists have been working on finding an accurate method to predict protein structures. Proteins are responsible for what happens inside of cells, essentially, they are the building blocks of life. A protein’s structure is what determines its function. Therefore, being able to predict a protein’s structure can lead to breakthroughs for various genetic diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cystic fibrosis. In order to speed up the process, John Moult and other scientists created the Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP), a global competition where teams of scientists measure and compare efforts in solving this problem of predicting protein structures. This year, DeepMind, an artificial intelligence lab owned by the same parent company of Google, was able to accurately predict a protein structure that was previously predicted using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). DeepMind’s program that has potentially solved this problem, AlphaFold, gives hope to many scientists in understanding protein structure and the potential drugs that could be created in order to combat genetic diseases and future viruses and bacteria. For more information about this breakthrough, check out this article.

Health: COVID-19 and Delirium

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to cause many long-term health issues in many people, especially older adults. One symptom that continues to surface is delirium, which disproportionately affects older adults. This is when someone experiences abrupt disorientation (e.g, can’t recall names, address, etc.). In April 2020, a study was conducted in France that revealed that 65% of severe cases of COVID-19 also experienced delirium. Even though the underlying cause of delirium is still not understood, there is a potential link between delirium and dementia. Therefore, experiencing even a single episode of delirium can possibly lead to dementia later on. Additionally, a paper published in November showed that 28% of older adults who were being treated for COVID-19 in an emergency department experienced episode(s) of delirium. However, more long-term studies must be conducted in order to understand the long-term effects of delirium in patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19. For more information, check out this article.

Get in Touch: Get Familiar with Your Technology

Are you interested in learning how to use your technology?

At ESTI, we’re hoping to start online workshops on how to use specific technologies and get the most out of your products. If this is something you’d be interested please fill out this survey!

The Cole Neurocognition Lab
Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience
Rutgers University-Newark
197 University Avenue
Newark, NJ
P: 973-353-2706
E: brain.research@newark.rutgers.edu
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/estirutgers/