This Week I Learned - Vol. 1, Iss. 26

Three Things:

1. This week I learned about turning fat cells into cancer fighters. Researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach called Adipose Manipulation Transplantation (AMT) that transforms ordinary white fat cells into cancer-fighting powerhouses. Using CRISPR gene editing, scientists can reprogram white fat (which normally stores energy) into beige fat (which burns energy to create heat). The key breakthrough involves activating a dormant gene called UCP1, which makes these engineered fat cells extremely hungry for nutrients, especially glucose and fatty acids that cancer cells desperately need. When researchers tested this in lab dishes, separating the modified fat cells from cancer cells with just a membrane, something remarkable happened: most of the cancer cells died from nutrient starvation. What makes this approach so promising is that it doesn't rely on toxic drugs or radiation. Instead, it uses the body's own cells, upgraded to fight cancer from within.

2. This week I learned about some interesting brain benefits of swimming. While we all know exercise is good for the brain, swimming offers special neurological advantages that other workouts can't match. The benefits actually begin before you even enter the water, just looking at bodies of water for two minutes can lower blood pressure and heart rate, with wider bodies of water providing even more tranquility. Once you start swimming, the cognitive improvements are measurable. Studies show that after just seven days of swimming, both short-term and long-term memory improve significantly. Research comparing different activities found that children recalled word lists much more accurately after swimming than after coloring or CrossFit-style exercises. For adults, swimmers demonstrated better mental speed and attention compared to non-swimmers. The mental health benefits are particularly strong for "wild swimmers" who swim outdoors in natural environments. Researchers believe this boost comes from the feelings of autonomy and competence that outdoor swimming provides, essentially, the freedom and mastery over your environment that makes us fundamentally happier.

3. This week I learned more about particle physics. I'm not sure if we covered this in my high school Physics class or not. Particle physics explores the universe at its smallest possible scale, studying the elementary particles and forces that combine to create everything from you and me to distant stars. What's fascinating is that particles don't behave like everyday objects at all. They're so tiny that scientists don't measure them by size but by energy, and we're not even sure if electrons have a physical size. Some of these particles are incredibly unstable, existing for only fractions of a second. To study them, scientists use massive instruments like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 17-mile-long tunnel buried under France and Switzerland. The LHC uses over 10,000 powerful magnets to accelerate particle beams to nearly the speed of light, then smashes them together to create new and exotic particles.

Quote of the Week:

“To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.”― originally attributed to Copernicus, but subsequently attributed to Andreas Osiander; written in an unsigned foreword to Coperunicus's De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium

Image info: Prompt by me and image by Midjourney - Image showing a swimmer swimming through arteries with human fat cells while fighting cancer - ar 16:9