Picky eaters

[Shirley]

you wouldn’t eat carpet python eggs without knowing…they’re a group of species that get quite large

Yeah, but this...

This led doctors to believe she may have unknowingly consumed the pythons’ eggs due to contamination.

The article meant parasite eggs on the vegetation, right? So, python poop.

that was my take on it

but, who knows if there are other hosts as well?

also, there was passing mention of her getting it initially in the lungs, so who knows. she coulda “inhaled” some contaminated water while swimming the lake…

not a very well-written article, obviously. seems like it was written by someone without any relevant and appropriate background on the subject matter

^^^

[Shirley]

...not a very well-written article, obviously. seems like it was written by someone without any relevant and appropriate background on the subject matter

Here's a link to the journal article. The poor woman had been treated for well over a year before they could find out what was wrong with her.

Human Neural Larva Migrans Caused by Ophidascaris robertsi Ascarid

And here's an interview with the neurosurgeon who found and removed the worm:

Scientists this week published information on an unprecedented case in Australia, where they found and extracted a live parasitic worm from the brain of a woman in Canberra. The worm was some 8 centimeters (just over 3 inches) long and is a roundworm most commonly seen in python species, known as Ophidascaris robertsi. It was found in the brain of a 64-year-old woman after she had complained of a variety of changing symptoms and afflictions over a prolonged period.

Neurosurgeon Hari Priya Bandi found and removed the parasite with forceps during a biopsy. "I used tumor-holding forceps and lifted out something that I definitely was not expecting: a linear, squiggling line," Bandi told DW on Tuesday. "And my junior doctor said, 'is that an artery?', because that's what it looked like. And I said, 'it's not an artery, we're nowhere near any artery!' And I noticed it was moving and I went, 'just get it out of my forceps!' So we rapidly put it in a pathology pot, and it was a vigorously wriggling worm."

Asked whether it was fair to assume the worm had been moving around inside, Bandi said it was and that their scans demonstrated as much. The woman's symptoms had started as lung, liver and adominal problems, Bandi said, but evolved towards problems like depression, presumably as the animal's activities kept affecting different parts of the brain. Her pyschiatrist had conducted CT scans in which what was later identified as the worm was first visible, and later pre-operation CT scans had shown how the abnormality had moved...

https://youtu.be/fGmXD7NPftY?si=T8eGpPizbVvjX-lu

[KUTradition]

ahhh…i misread the bit about the lungs

i’ve gotten so skeptical of journalism that covers these kinds of things

[zsn]

As someone working in the pharmaceutical industry, I was always taught that it’s hard (not impossible) to breach the blood-brain-barrier. How does the worm/larva enter the brain? As they sing in The Wall, did “the worm eat into the brain”? Do they just travel up the nervous system?

[Shirley]

As someone working in the pharmaceutical industry, I was always taught that it’s hard (not impossible) to breach the blood-brain-barrier. How does the worm/larva enter the brain? As they sing in The Wall, did “the worm eat into the brain”? Do they just travel up the nervous system?

You're right, and I wondered the same thing. BBB aka. blood-brain-barrier

One theory is that parasites infect cells and reproduce inside them. In the case of malaria, that cell would be a red blood cell, rbc. The infected rbc enters the circulation and one adheres to an endothelial cell lining the wall of a vessel that is on one side of the BBB, and then over time, it migrates from one cell to another, until it enters a cell that is across the BBB. "Intracellularly", if you will.

It has to do with the endothelial cells, which are like the pavement on a road that line the blood vessels. The parasite infects those endothelial cells and reproduces in them. Those cells then kind of just move into the next cell, and the next cell is on the other side of the blood brain barrier.

Journal Article:

The Drosophila blood-brain barrier emerges as a model for understanding human brain diseases

[Shirley]

Or, you could always ask our resident infectious disease specialist, Randy.

[zsn]

Or, you could always ask our resident infectious disease specialist, Randy.

You owe me a new keyboard because I sprayed water all over it!!

Thanks for the lesson on the cell-cell propagation of infection. Obviously, whole organisms moving from cell to cell is different than moving a small molecule across a membrane - mechanisms of infectious diseases in the brain, such as meningitis, are well studied. It’s hard for me to make that leap between a small molecule and an organism!

[Shirley]

Or, you could always ask our resident infectious disease specialist, Randy.

You owe me a new keyboard because I sprayed water all over it!!

Thanks for the lesson on the cell-cell propagation of infection. Obviously, whole organisms moving from cell to cell is different than moving a small molecule across a membrane - mechanisms of infectious diseases in the brain, such as meningitis, are well studied. It’s hard for me to make that leap between a small molecule and an organism!

Me too!

[Shirley]

https://twitter.com/crazyclipsonly/stat ... wsrc%5Etfw

[Shirley]

https://twitter.com/crazyclipsonly/stat ... wsrc%5Etfw

No takers to guess what that is?

https://youtu.be/KZCzIPPSxqY?si=Pj39HyCQAUNBSNi6

[zsn]

Anyone know what our resident receptor aficionado zsn looks like?

https://youtu.be/gSGd9rOeqD8?si=6vcHskbjTWErlKDs

Just got around to listening to this. While I was familiar with most of what he said there were still nuggets in there that I didn’t know about. I was not aware of the origin of “spice”!

I gave a talk at the local science museum about 20 years ago about the science of capsaicin and why it’s easy to confuse black pepper and chilies - the structural similarities between capsaicin, piperine and gingerol is amazing.

I just bought Masala Lab. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!!

[KUTradition]

the structural similarities between capsaicin, piperine and gingerol is amazing

nerd

(but i love it and am right there with you)

[zsn]

the structural similarities between capsaicin, piperine and gingerol is amazing

nerd

(but i love it and am right there with you)

[Shirley]

Mites?

https://youtu.be/jvODRkyz_8A?si=_Ty5UZTzsF-BHUNR

[Shirley]

https://youtu.be/G6BFsH77f9I?si=CkoVMY4iEjDbnYp9

https://twitter.com/Jonathon_Hills_/sta ... 5531847895

[Shirley]

One company is creating a plant-based salmon that tastes and feels like the real thing: Are alternatives like these actually healthy?

(Full disclosure: I'm embarrassed to not have considered these meat substitutes "processed foods", but then, I have little to no interest in them, so... But the "process" they use, does sound fascinating.)

Key Takeaways

Plant-based alternatives are popular—due to increased interest in vegetarianism and veganism as well as environmental ethics.

While plant-based foods (and other meat or fish substitutes) can help reduce fish and meat consumption, experts say these are also processed foods, the intake of which should be limited.

Growing interest in veganism, increased environmental awareness, and the realities of overfishing have paved the way for meat and seafood alternatives. From pea protein–based burgers to fish filets made from soy derivatives, most supermarkets are stocking the shelves with vegan or vegetarian options—and there’s a chance your patients are eating them for ethical or health purposes.[1][2][3]

A new plant-based fish made by Toronto startup New School Foods claims to have created a salmon substitute that offers the taste and texture of real fish. The startup says that the company’s fish is still in “beta” mode but plans to launch a pilot program for chefs in North America and begin distribution in grocery stores after that, according to Ars Technica.

The company says its plant-based salmon “looks, cooks, tastes, and flakes like wild salmon.” How did New School Foods achieve this? The startup uses a proprietary technology—made up of “muscle fib[er] and scaffolding technologies”—to create a slab of pseudo-salmon that appears and feels like the real thing, complete with “aligned muscle fib[ers], connective tissue, fats, and other components.” The fish, the company says, starts off “raw” and can be cooked like real salmon. Its flavor is due to its “same level of Omega-3s found in wild salmon.”[4]

According to an article in Scientific American, food scientists like those at New School Foods are discovering new ways of recreating a fish’s complex sheets of muscle fiber. One such technique is known as “directional freezing”—a process based on the premise that ice tends to form in a certain direction, starting from the coldest point and moving outward.[5]

When blocks of gel made from edible algae are frozen, the water inside it solidifies into “needlelike ice structures, creating a matrix of thousands of tiny tubes,” the article explains. From here, food scientists can play with the size and temperature of the gel, making channels that create texture. The channels are then filled with flavor, protein, and fat. Other synthetic fish makers use 3-D printing to build fish filets and add layers of ingredients like pea protein or omega-3 fatty acids.

What to consider when eating plant-based substitutes

[...]

[Shirley]

Today In: We all know what we are, the only question is price:

The food industry pays ‘influencer’ dietitians to shape your eating habits

Registered dietitians are being paid to post videos that promote diet soda, sugar and supplements on Instagram and TikTok

As the World Health Organization raised questions this summer about the risks of a popular artificial sweetener, a new hashtag began spreading on the social media accounts of health professionals: #safetyofaspartame.

Steph Grasso, a registered dietitian from Oakton, Va., used the hashtag and told her 2.2 million followers on TikTok that the WHO warnings about artificial sweeteners were “clickbait” based on “low-quality science.”

Another dietitian, Cara Harbstreet of Kansas City, reassured her Instagram followers not to worry about “fear mongering headlines” about aspartame because “the evidence doesn’t suggest there’s a reason for concern.”

In a third video, Mary Ellen Phipps, a Houston-area dietitian who specializes in diabetes care, sipped from a glass of soda and told her Instagram viewers that artificial sweeteners “satisfy the desire for sweetness” without affecting blood sugar or insulin levels.

What these dietitians didn’t make clear was that they were paid to post the videos by American Beverage, a trade and lobbying group representing Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other companies.

In all, at least 35 posts from a dozen health professionals were part of the coordinated campaign by American Beverage. The trade group paid an undisclosed amount to 10 registered dietitians, as well as a physician and a fitness influencer, to use their social media accounts to help blunt the WHO’s claims that aspartame, a mainstay of Diet Coke and other sodas, is ineffective for weight loss and “possibly carcinogenic.”

The campaign, which the beverage group acknowledged organizing, highlighted a little-known tactic the multibillion-dollar food and beverage industry is using to sway consumers faced with often-contradictory health messages about popular products.

The food, beverage and dietary supplement industries are paying dozens of registered dietitians that collectively have millions of social media followers to help sell products and deliver industry-friendly messages on Instagram and TikTok, according to an analysis by The Washington Post and The Examination, a new nonprofit newsroom specializing in global public health reporting.

[...]

[Shirley]

Cajun Sausage Gravy

[jhawks99]

Not bad. Why take out the sausage and all that yummy pig fat? I add a little less butter and then the flour and keep the sausage and fat in the pan. I also use a little chicken stock in mine.

Other than that, go ahead on.

[Shirley]

Not bad. Why take out the sausage and all that yummy pig fat? I add a little less butter and then the flour and keep the sausage and fat in the pan. I also use a little chicken stock in mine.

Other than that, go ahead on.

I wondered the same thing. Because
isn't it all about the protein?