Quanta Magazine has published a list of some of the best discoveries from 2022 in biology. In 2022, the magazine won the Pulitzer Prize in the ‘Analytical Reporting’ category.
Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Southern California described a way to monitor these electrical changes in the brain. They were able to observe under the microscope the entire process of memory formation in living zebra fish under unbearable heat. They also observed that in this process, the connection of some synapses is not only strengthened, but in the case of some synapses, this strength disappears momentarily.
The information stored in the brain’s memory can be recalled later. In this case, the brain identifies some memories as good memories and some as bad memories. In another study this year, scientists have shown that ‘neurotensin’ released from brain neurons acts as a determinant of good and bad memories.
Biochemist Nick Lane and other researchers believe that life first arose in hydrothermal vents under the sea, where the materials for metabolism existed before the genetic information in cells. Earlier this year, Nick Lane presented evidence in favor of his idea by creating a suitable laboratory environment. It is believed that this research of scientists will play a great role in the research of aging and cancer.
This year, a group of researchers at the California Institute of Technology observed the process of creating different types of specialized cells from stem cells under the influence of an artificial gene network. Although they have not been able to understand the complete process of such natural genetic regulation of cells, the scientists’ model indicates that the process is not very complicated.
A lot of energy is needed to keep the brain functioning normally. And the provider of energy is food. If the brain does not get enough energy, then it is normal to have disturbances in its functioning. In January this year, researchers from the University of Edinburgh published a study on this topic in the journal Neuron.
A study on rats with food shortages showed that their brains went into a ‘low power mode’. In this condition, about 30% less energy is used in the brain’s visual center. As a result, in this condition, the animal’s eyesight is reduced to a large extent.