The brightest take on this week’s science
It’s not every week that scientists announce a global name change for a leading medical issue.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at last has an accurate title after decades of misinformation.
Read more about the new name below.
Also in this issue:
🧠 Cannabis use disorder is strongly linked to depression
🤯 A mind-blowing fact about giraffes
🔬 A microscope mystery
Time to tickle your curiosity…
LOOK IN
Cannabis Use Disorder Strongly Linked to Depression
(Hinterhaus Productions/Getty Images Plus)
When someone is unable to stop using cannabis, despite the fact that it is causing problems in their life, it is termed cannabis use disorder (CUD).
This disorder is strongly linked to major depressive disorder, according to a sweeping review of the available evidence.
Nearly 32 percent of those with CUD also had major depression
Just over 10 percent of those with major depression also reported CUD
The findings indicate that both conditions often coexist, but no one really knows why.
It’s possible that CUD may be driving symptoms of depression. But it is also possible that people with depression are self-medicating with cannabis.
There may even be shared risk factors underpinning both…
HEADLINES
This Week in Science
LOOK OUT
A New Name for PCOS After Decades of Misinformation
(Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an inaccurate, misleading, and outdated name for one of the most common hormone disorders in the world, researchers say.
After 14 years of collaboration between healthcare experts, patients, and advocates, it finally has a new name:
Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS)
The ‘cystic’ part has been removed to reflect the fact that these are not true cysts in need of surgery, but underdeveloped ovarian follicles.
The term ‘metabolic’, meanwhile, has been added. Today, as many as 85 percent of patients with PMOS are known to suffer from insulin resistance.
Many, however, are not receiving prompt diagnosis or proper care.
A new name may help change that.
ZOOM ZONE
Microscope Mystery: What Do You See?
A) Cotton fibers
B) Neuronal pathways
C) Spider silk
D) Tendon
Answer at the bottom.
LOOK UP
The Next Mars Helicopters Are Breaking The Sound Barrier
A rendering of the mid-air deployment of one of the SkyFall copters. (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/AeroVironment, Inc.)
NASA scientists are working on the next generation of helicopters to explore Mars, and their rotors can spin wicked fast.
Like, supersonic fast.
In simulations on Earth, engineers pushed the rotors of a new Mars aircraft to speeds of Mach 1.08.
That’s much faster than the Ingenuity helicopter, which arrived on Mars in 2021 and crashed in 2024.
With this new helicopter, NASA scientists have increased lift by about 30 percent.
Imagine the science instruments that can now be packed on board.
Want to see more images and videos?
WOW FACTOR
Science Fact of The Week
(Olga Kaya/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Giraffes have a very particular palate for piss.
When a male wishes to determine if a female is ovulating, he takes a slurp of her urine as it leaves her body and swishes it around in his mouth.
True love!
DOPAMINE HIT
Before You Go…
Be free!
(Giphy)
Microscope answer: Tendon
This is a close-up of the connective tissue that holds your muscles against your bones. The tough fibers are bundled in just such a way that they can endure extreme forces. Your Achilles tendon, for instance, can withstand up to six times your body weight while walking or running.
That’s all for today… see you next week!
- Carly
