|
About eScience Info's Newsletter This is a free weekly eNewsletter for Life Science Scientists. eScienceInfo has established itself as the leading provider of up-to-the-minute information for Scientists. Now, we're enhancing our services to better meet the needs of our readers. For years we've searched out the latest grants available and consolidated the information into one easy-to-read e-newsletter. Then we delivered it right to your inbox very Monday to save you the hundreds of hours that it would take to search out that information yourself.
Scientists Have Finally Discovered Proof That Our Brains Have a Waste Drainage System
How does the brain rid itself of waste products? Other organs in the body achieve this via a system called the lymphatic system. A network of lymphatic vessels extends throughout the body in a pattern similar to that of blood vessels. Waste products from cells, plus bacteria, viruses and excess fluids drain out of the bodys tissues into lymphatic vessels, which transfer them to the bloodstream.
Blood vessels then carry the waste products to the kidneys, which filter them out for excretion. Lymphatic vessels are also a highway for circulation of white blood cells, which fight infections, and are therefore an important part of the immune system.
Unlike other organs, the brain does not contain lymphatic vessels. So how does it remove waste? Some of the brains waste products enter the fluid that bathes and protects the brain the cerebrospinal fluid before being disposed of via the bloodstream. However, recent studies in rodents have also shown the presence of lymphatic vessels inside the outer membrane surrounding the brain, the dura mater.
Read on...
Researchers who change country produce more influential work  SCIENCE is an international affair. Researchers from different countries frequently collaborate with each other, a process made ever easier by the rise of electronic communications. Sometimes, they actually change country to do so. Marie Curie moved from Poland to France. Guglielmo Marconi moved from Italy to Britain. Nikola Tesla moved from Austria-Hungary to America.Those are famous historical examples, but these days such migration is commonplace.
Presumably, all the gadding about leads to better research. But scientists do not like to work on presumption, so two studies published in Nature this week have tested the idea. Both conclude that yes, it probably does. Read on...
  |
