The Loh Down on Science Script Samples
Script #1: Nibbling Cancer Away
Taking a bite out of....cancer?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Move over McGruff the Crime Dog, immune cells are biting the bad guys too!
Macrophages are immune cells that swallow small microbes whole but what about really big ones? Ramraj Velmurugan from Texas A&M University Health Science Center and colleagues looked at macrophages interacting with cancer cells. They tagged the surface of cancer cells with markers called antibodies and voila! The macrophages couldn’t eat the big cancer cells whole. The macrophages were attaching to these antibodies and “nibbling” on the cancer cells instead!
Some of the macrophages kept taking small bites until some of the cancer cells died. Researchers are hopeful that they can engineer antibodies to stick more strongly to macrophages. This stronger bond might enhance this cancer killing ability!
Hopefully these macrophages don’t bite off more than they can chew….small bites only please!
Script #2: Good Fungi Vibes
Have some fungi to be a fun guy, gal, or nonbinary pal!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Psychedelic mushrooms might not be the only kind of fungi used to battle depression!
Djibril Ba and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University knew mushrooms were associated with reduced anxiety. But what about depression?
Researchers looked at a national health survey from around 25,000 participants collected over a decade. Participants reported their eating habits and any depressive symptoms in a 24-hour window.
Results? About 6% of participants showed a prevalence of depression and about 5% consumed mushrooms. They found that mushroom consumers had lower odds of depression. Strangely, the amount of mushrooms you ate didn’t seem to matter. Participants who ate large amounts had similar depression rates as those who ate low amounts.
Researchers next hope to focus on which specific mushroom types cause lower odds of depression.
Now move over psychedelic shrooms, normal mushrooms may make you happy too.
