The brightest take on this week’s science

A common antibiotic may have what it takes to help treat panic disorders.

Panic attacks are scary, overwhelming experiences that are sometimes treated with a benzodiazepine called clonazepam (usually branded as Klonopin or Rivotril).

New research in mice and humans suggests that this drug may benefit from the presence of another.

Alongside clonazepam, this drug reduced the intensity of panic attacks among nearly 50 human participants.

In mice, the antibiotic appeared to dampen bursts of microglial activity associated with panic attacks within the brainstem, a region involved in breathing control.

Researchers now hope to conduct larger clinical trials on the antibiotic to see if it can be repurposed.

Read more.

Getting up and moving the body could potentially kickstart a ‘wash cycle’ in your brain, cleaning your neurological tissue of waste.

Using mouse models and simulations, researchers at Pennsylvania State University have found evidence that movement in the abdomen can send ripples of activity all the way up to the brain.

When mice walked on treadmills, researchers noticed their brains shifted immediately after their abdomens contracted, almost like the effect of a hydraulic pump.

This suggests that if someone is doing crunches, it may push blood from their abdomen all the way to their spinal cord, thereby increasing pressure in the brain.

Penn State researchers liken the brain to a sponge that sometimes gets dirty and needs to be wrung out.

Perhaps exercise is one way to twist out the toxins.

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A) Heart capillary
B) Flower seed
C) Dust mite poop
D) Oil gland

Answer at the bottom.

In a world first, a medical team in Brussels claims to have partially restored a man’s sperm production using his own childhood testicular tissue.

The patient was born with an inherited blood disease called sickle cell anemia, and in childhood, he underwent a course of chemotherapy and radiation.

These treatments can be toxic to the gonads and often leave people infertile, but children do not have mature sperm to freeze for the future.

Before undergoing treatment, the male patient in Brussels elected to have one of his testicles frozen.

Seventeen years later, researchers re-transplanted that tissue back into his remaining testicle.

Several grafts are now producing mature and motile sperm.

Read more.

Your nostrils take turns breathing for you. One side is typically more open than the other. Then, every few hours, the congestion switches sides.

This is called the ‘nasal cycle’, and it helps ensure the sinuses remain slicked up with moisture.

That way, the air you breathe can be warmed and filtered on its way into your lungs.

Patience + sugar = science

Microscope answer: Heart capillary

This is a tiny blood vessel in the heart, containing a red blood cell. Capillaries are one of the smallest branches of the arterial system, creating a sort of ‘web’ within tissue that allows for the exchange of nutrients and wastes.