All articles tagged with #penn state research
A new study from Penn State reveals that contracting core muscles, such as during exercise or coughing, rapidly constricts major brain veins to regulate blood flow. This mechanical link between the body and brain occurs within 100 milliseconds, challenging the view that brain circulation is isolated from bodily movement.
A study in PNAS reveals that core abdominal muscle contractions, such as those during exercise or coughing, cause ultrafast constriction in major brain veins. This mechanical coupling between the torso and skull challenges the view of cerebral veins as passive drainage channels and offers insights into exercise benefits and migraine triggers.
An eight-year-old boy in Pennsylvania noticed ants carrying pale objects he assumed were seeds. His father, a Penn State entomologist, identified them as oak galls produced by cynipid wasps. Researchers confirmed that ants transport these galls to their nests, eat the fatty caps, and leave the wasp larvae intact. This behavior mimics myrmecochory but benefits the wasp, not the plant, correcting a century-old biological understanding.