1. High on Honey

I had never heard of "Mad Honey." The article Can mad honey get you high? A bee expert reveals the answer. The psychoactive ingredient in Mad Honey is Grayanotoxin, a neurotoxin that works by changing sodium-gating in cells. Mad Honey is produced in Nepal and Turkey, but Mad Honey Disease (intoxication with Mad Honey) is seen worldwide thanks to the Dark Web. Mad Honey is used as an aphrodisiac to treat various GI ailments and hypertension.

2. A Walk in the Park

I came across an article from 2018, The Secret to Good Health May Be a Walk in the Park - The New York Times The connection between parks and health is well established, but I learned quite a few things. The rankings have changed since the article was written in 2018. This year, Washington, D.C was rated #1. North Carolina does not fare well for its beauty and open space. Raleigh, NC's top park city, is #50 in the top 100 metropolitan areas. Explore your city's rank with the ParkScore Index.

3. Umami

A brief overview of the fifth taste, Umami: Umami: You never say its name, yet you taste it every day - Big Think

4. The Microbiome and Longevity

I found an interesting press release from 2017, Gut bacteria might one day help slow down aging process, and I had to learn more. So I downloaded the paper, 'Inside Out'- a dialogue between mitochondria and bacteria - PubMed. Most of the work focused on observing the role of Colanic Acid, an E. Coli derivative, in the aging process of worms. The longevity boost appeared mediated through the mitochondria (the powerhouses of each cell). The authors were hopeful the finding would translate into humans as Colanic Acids work similarly in worms, fruit flies, and cultured mammalian cells.

5. Circadian Rhythms and Exercise

There is an age-old debate about the best time of day to exercise. Your body has an internal clock that dictates when you eat, sleep, and might have a heart attack – all based on time of day describes some pre-clinical work to answer this decades-long debate.

6. Psychedelic Capitalism

There is a gold rush when a paradigm-shifting discovery arrives in medicine. So it is with the (re)emerging domain of psychedelics. The article The High-Stakes Race to Engineer New Psychedelic Drugs, focuses on one of the prominent (controversial) companies in the new psychedelic race, Compass Pathways, and its star chemist, Jason Wallach.

7. Music and Pain Relief (Music-Induced Analgesia)

Anything that mentions music and medicine catches my eye. I read Why does music numb physical pain? Scientists uncover clues . The article summarizes the findings in Sound induces analgesia through corticothalamic circuits recently published in Science. In mice, several types of Sound, pleasing (at least to humans, unknown in mice), discordant, and white noise, all seemed to influence pain perception similarly through modulation of thalamic circuitry. I plan to pay close attention to the emerging studies of music-induced analgesia.

8. Oura adds Blood Oxygen Sensing

I wrote about my love for my Oura Ring. This week, Oura is rolling out night-time oxygen sensing. Third-generation rings will measure blood oxygen and breathing regularity, both impaired with serious health problems such as sleep apnea and/or lifestyle choices such as alcohol before bedtime. The addition of the new variables "provide a more comprehensive assessment of sleep health and physiology." I'm a fan, except the new feature significantly impacts how often I have to recharge my ring.

9. How to Read Effectively

I love the Farnum Street newsletter, blog, and podcast. The host, Shane Parrish, never disappoints in his thoughtfulness and approach to topics. It is a rare week I don't learn something from him. I found this video on YouTube, How to Become a Better Reader (read less, learn more). The video is a brief overview of HOW to read. Here is the FS blog entry on the same topic. If you'd like to learn more about extracting and retaining knowledge, the book How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning, and Thinking is a classic. I've always been more digital than analog and am enamored with Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) software to keep track of notes. I'm especially fond of Obsidian and DEVONthink. For more on idea generation and knowledge management, please see Zettelkasten Management 2022 using Obsidian, Drafts, and Devonthink and my other entries at wippp.com.

10. Rethinking Alzheimer's

For as long as I remember, toxic proteins have been thought to cause Alzheimer's Disease. But recently, scientists contend our understanding of the disease is at best incomplete and at worst wrong: We might have Alzheimer's all wrong.

11. Follow the White Light

The article, After death, you're aware that you've died, say scientists, was the strangest I read this week. Scientists studying Near-Death Experiences (NDE) try to explain the common phenomenon reported by those that die and are resuscitated. Although the mechanisms are unclear, these scientists believe we remain conscious for up to 20 seconds after our breathing and hearts stop. The article also mentions a study in rats that showed a surge of electrical signals moments before brain death. I saw something similar in a case in the OR. Our original observation during organ donation prompted this case study: Processed Electroencephalogram During Donation After Cardiac Arrest.

12. This Playlist is Scientifically Verified to Give you Chills

Most of us have had a feeling of "frisson" (the sense of hair raising on the back of the neck) when listening to music, observing beautiful art, hearing poetry, or viewing brilliant scenes in nature. The article Frisson: This playlist is scientifically verified to give you chills, discusses the phenomenon in depth and includes a link 715 Songs to Give you Frisson I'm slowly working my way through.

+This band consistently gives me Frisson-Echo Sessions 63 - Dirtwire - Full Show

+Another fascinating article discussing how personality type influences musical preference: Your music preferences reveal your personality traits.

13. Akkermansia Muciniphilia

For the duration of my almost 20-year fascination with the microbiome, certain bacteria keep popping up. One of the bacteria that seem to be continually in the literature is Akkermansia muciniphilia. A. mucinophilia appears to play a critical role in immunity and immunity homeostasis. It has purported roles in obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, and cancer immunotherapy efficacy. The manuscript, Akkermansia muciniphila phospholipid induces homeostatic immune responses is the latest article I've read on the biochemistry involved in immune regulation.