Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has a college sophomore's understanding of the Constitution. That is no exaggeration. In fact, it might understate the case. I have taught college sophomores whose knowledge of the Constitution's basic principles far exceeds that of Jackson. During oral arguments Monday in a case involving...

The man stabbed by an illegal immigrant Friday on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train has been identified as 24-year-old Kenyon Dobie, and he is a hero. The Charlotte Observer reported that 33-year-old Oscar Solarzano has been charged with "felony counts of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly...

Leftist violence -- or threats thereof -- against conservatives and Christians has always served two purposes. First, it satisfies leftists' bloodlust, a common motive that drives nihilists everywhere. Second, it makes other conservatives and Christians think twice before speaking publicly, as podcaster Tim Pool apparently has done due to spiraling...

Actor David Spade hammered the organizers of a Christmas tree lighting ceremony for going out of their way not to mention the true reason for the season. "Christmas has taken a little bit of a beating recently. It is December, and I saw the other day that there was a...

This goes without saying, but there are obviously lots of fans of artificial intelligence. Whether it's used to write a term paper, automate mundane tasks, or function as a glorified Photoshop, the technology clearly has some uses, and some people are fine with it. But there are also some die-hard...

How's the old saying go? "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes"? A pair of punks in the blue state of New Jersey learned this harsh lesson after they allegedly threatened a government official. Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores and Emilio Roman-Flores, twins from Absecon, New Jersey, were arrested Tuesday, according to Fox News....

Their 1970 debut album, deliberately featuring no guitars at all, was inspired by the Canterbury band’s approach and Frank Zappa’s public persona – and it attained iconic status

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM It’s long been the butt of jokes, but the science is catching up: fart gas might actually be good for you. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say that hydrogen sulfide, the chemical behind that telltale rotten-egg smell, might help protect the aging brain from cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease. While the idea of your body benefiting from its own flatulence may sound absurd, the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, takes it quite seriously. “Our new data firmly link aging, neurodegeneration and cell signaling using hydrogen sulfide and other gaseous molecules within the cell,” said Dr. Bindu Paul, the study’s lead scientist. What hydrogen sulfide actually does (besides stink) Hydrogen sulfide is toxic in large amounts, but your body naturally produces tiny, controlled doses to regulate everything from blood flow to inflammation. According to Dr. Solomon Snyder, one of the study’s co-authors, the gas plays a role in cell signaling by modifying proteins in a process called sulfhydration. But here’s the kicker: sulfhydration levels decline with age, and even more dramatically in people with Alzheimer’s. “Using the same method, we now confirm a decrease in sulfhydration in the AD brain,” said collaborator Dr. Milos Filipovic, referring to Alzheimer’s disease. In other words, the body’s natural production of hydrogen sulfide may decline just when the brain needs it most. Fart power: tested on mice, with surprising results To explore this link, researchers used genetically modified mice that mimic human Alzheimer’s disease. The mice were injected with NaGYY, a compound that slowly releases hydrogen sulfide into the body. After 12 weeks, the treated mice showed some seriously promising improvements. Behavioral tests revealed that cognitive and motor function improved by 50 percent compared to untreated mice. The ones who received the hydrogen sulfide treatment were more physically active and could better recall the locations of platform edits. This is kind of like remembering where you left your keys. “The results showed that the behavioral outcomes of Alzheimer’s disease could be reversed by introducing hydrogen sulfide,” the research team wrote. The science behind the stink But what exactly was happening in the brain? The study pointed to a common enzyme called GSK3β (glycogen synthase beta), which normally helps regulate cellular processes. When hydrogen sulfide levels are healthy, GSK3β works as a signaling molecule. But in its absence, it starts to stick too closely to another protein called Tau. When Tau and GSK3β bind too often, Tau forms clumps in neurons. Those clumps block communication between nerve cells and eventually cause them to die, a defining feature of Alzheimer’s progression. “This leads to the deterioration and eventual loss of cognition, memory and motor function,” the research team explained. “Understanding the cascade of events is important to designing therapies that can block this interaction like hydrogen sulfide is able to do,” said Daniel Giovinazzo, PhD student and first author of the study. A big whiff of hope Until recently, scientists didn’t have a good way to simulate the body’s precise, low-dose hydrogen sulfide production in lab settings. That changed with the compound NaGYY, which can mimic the body’s natural gas-making abilities. “This compound does just that and shows by correcting brain levels of hydrogen sulfide, we could successfully reverse some aspects of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Matt Whiteman, one of the study’s co-authors. The team is continuing to explore how adjusting the body’s hydrogen sulfide levels could open new doors for treating neurodegenerative diseases. And while sniffing your own farts probably isn’t the answer, the science behind this sulfurous gas is now being taken seriously by some of the world’s leading medical researchers. Source study: Proceedings of the National Academies of Science—Hydrogen sulfide is neuroprotective in Alzheimer’s disease by sulfhydrating GSK3β and inhibiting Tau hyperphosphorylationThe post Smelling your own farts might be good for your brain, science says first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.