Eitan okun Ph.D.
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eitanokun.bsky.social
Eitan okun Ph.D.
@eitanokun.bsky.social
94 followers 10 following 54 posts
Head of the Paul Feder Laboratory for Alzheimer's disease and Down Syndrome research at the Life Sciences Faculty at Bar Ilan University, Israel.
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eitanokun.bsky.social
During chronic stress, immune cells migrate to the brain’s borders and fuel fear responses. psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA block this immune-brain chatterת calming neurons, but cooling inflammation at the brain's edge.
Link to report: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
#psychedelics #mentalhealth
April 27, 2025 at 9:05 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Teen sleep shapes the brain. A 3,000+ teen study links later bedtimes & short sleep to weaker brain connectivity + lower cognition. Early, longer sleep? Stronger brains & better focus—lasting from age 9 to 14. Link to study: www.cell.com/cell.../full...

#SleepScience #BrainHealth #TeenCognition
April 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Being a #NightOwl might come with a higher risk of Psychological disorders, Diabetes, Neurological issues and respiratory issues and early death according to a massive UK Biobank study tracking over 430,000 people for more than six years. Link to Study: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Associations between chronotype, morbidity and mortality in the UK Biobank cohort
Later chronotype (i.e. evening preference) and later timing of sleep have been associated with greater morbidity, including higher rates of metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD). H...
www.tandfonline.com
April 20, 2025 at 10:33 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Two new “first-in-human” trials implanted lab-grown dopamine neurons into patients' brains—with signs of safety and symptom relief.

Links to studies:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Parkinsons #StemCells #Neuroscience #ClinicalTrials
Phase I/II trial of iPS-cell-derived dopaminergic cells for Parkinson’s disease - Nature
After transplantation into the brain of patients with Parkinson’s disease, allogeneic dopaminergic progenitors derived from induced pluripotent stem cells survived, produced dopamine and did not form ...
www.nature.com
April 18, 2025 at 6:46 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
New human intracranial data shows that certain thalamic nuclei may initiate awareness before the cortex even kicks in.
This shifts us from the usual “relay station” view of the thalamus, and redraw the map of consciousness.
#Neuroscience #Consciousness #BrainResearch #CognitiveScience #Awareness
April 5, 2025 at 10:21 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Slow arterial pumping, powered by norepinephrine waves during deep sleep, drives the brain’s glymphatic system to flush waste. The popular drug Zolpidem might induce sleep but block the cleanse.

#SleepResearch #GlymphaticSystem #MentalHealth #BrainHealth #Aging #Zolpidem #Longevity #SleepScience
April 3, 2025 at 3:52 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Marathons may reshape your brain. intense running causes up to 28% drop in brain myelin—but it recovers in 2 months. Your brain might burn myelin fat for fuel under stress. Not damage—adaptation.
Link to study: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

#Myelin #Running #BrainPlasticity #Marathon #Science
Reversible reduction in brain myelin content upon marathon running - Nature Metabolism
Using magnetic resonance imaging on marathon runners, Ramos-Cabrer, Cabrera-Zubizarreta et al. report that the signal detected as a surrogate of myelin content is significantly reduced after exercise,...
www.nature.com
March 26, 2025 at 4:43 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Cancer cells transfer mutated mitochondria to T cells—crippling their energy, memory, and function. They also sneaks in USP30 to block cleanup. A mitochondrial Trojan horse that helps explaining tumors resistance to immunotherapy.
#cancer #immunotherapy #oncology
March 25, 2025 at 7:47 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
New results from the DO-HEALTH trial suggest omega-3s can slow biological aging at the DNA level. Add vitamin D & exercise, and the effects stack up. Measured. Molecular.
Link to study: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
#Longevity #Aging #Epigenetics #DOHEALTH #Healthspan #Omega3 #Gerontology #Science
March 24, 2025 at 5:34 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Could a single amino acid change in our genome have nudged us toward language?
New study humanizes the NOVA1 gene in mice—and subtly rewires their vocal behavior.
Is this how speech began?

#Genetics #Neuroscience #Evolution #Language #RNA #SciComm #FOXP2 #MouseModel
March 23, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Reposted by Eitan okun Ph.D.
amunts.bsky.social
Molecule-MCP is a very cool tool connecting PyMOL and ChimeraX directly to Claude through the Model Context Protocol for prompt-assisted molecule modelling. Great stuff by Jinyuan Sun et al
github.com/ChatMol/mole...
March 22, 2025 at 5:55 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Babies form memories, but retrieving them later in life is challenging! A new fMRI research shows that by 12 months, hippocampal activity already predicts recognition. This shifts the debate in infants recognition from encoding to retrieval failures. #Neuroscience #InfantileAmnesia #MemoryResearch
March 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Why do women live longer and show greater cognitive resilience in aging? Aging can “reactivate” silent genes on the X chromosome—especially in the hippocampus—boosting brain function. Potential for new cognitive therapies? #AgingResearch #CognitiveResilience #XChromosome #Neuroscience
March 7, 2025 at 12:05 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
New research shows that exercise may help protect the brain's white matter by supporting myelin integrity—especially in those with higher levels of 'good' cholesterol (HDL). This may help explain the effect of exercise in MS.

#BrainHealth #Neuroscience #Exercise #Myelin #HealthyAging #Science
March 1, 2025 at 5:39 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Just 5 days of consuming an extra 1,500 kcal of a daily high-calorie, ultra-processed diet, can disrupt brain insulin signaling, affecting appetite control & metabolism—long after returning to normal eating habits.

#BrainHealth #Metabolism #InsulinResistance #UltraProcessedFood
February 26, 2025 at 9:57 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatment before birth! For the first time, researchers administered Risdiplam (Evrysdi) prenatally, preventing symptoms in an infant diagnosed with SMA type 1.

#Medicine #SMA #PrenatalTreatment #Biotech #Neuroscience #GeneTherapy #Innovation #MedicalBreakthrough
February 22, 2025 at 2:34 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Movement boosts brain detox! Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) clearance is linked to physical activity. Walking, breathing & posture shifts help flush brain waste, through deep and superficial cervical lymph nodes, reducing neurodegenerative risk. #BrainHealth #Neuroscience #Exercise #CSF #Alzheimers
February 1, 2025 at 3:59 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Microplastics can enter the bloodstream, block brain capillaries, causing cognitive impairments. Immune cells attempt to tackle these particles but end up worsening the problem.
#Microplastics #BrainHealth #PlasticPollution #EnvironmentalHealth #HealthRisks #Neuroscience #EcoAwareness #ClimateAction
January 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
#Loneliness & #SocialIsolation increases heart diseases by 29% and stroke by 32%. A UK Biobank study (42k+ participants) uncovers blood proteins such as GDF15 (inflammation) & PCSK9 (cholesterol) as protein biomarkers for these conditions

#Health #Biology #PublicHealth #MentalHealth #Proteomics
January 13, 2025 at 7:48 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Progress in memory research: During sleep, the brain segregates old vs. new memory replays using pupil dynamics! Contracted pupils = new memories. Dilated pupils = old memories. Could this be key to tackling Alzheimer’s or Post-traumatic stress disorder? #Neuroscience #SleepResearch
January 11, 2025 at 7:54 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Venturing to nature and climbing rocks isn’t just fun—it’s science! Accumulating research in the past several years add compelling evidence to the claim that risky play boosts resilience, confidence, & mental health.

#ChildDevelopment #PlayMatters #safety #playgrounds
January 10, 2025 at 8:11 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Adults with #Autism show strikingly high dementia rates, with 35% affected by age 65, compared to 11% in the general population. A new study published in JAMA Network Open calls for healthcare innovations to address this growing issue among individuals with Autism. #Healthcare #DementiaResearch
January 4, 2025 at 8:21 AM
eitanokun.bsky.social
LINE-1 retrotransposons are reactivated in Alzheimer’s, triggering DNA damage and driving tau pathology. New research highlights this vicious cycle as a main mechanism of this disease as well as a potential therapeutic target.

#AlzheimersResearch #Neuroscience #Genomics #retrotransposon #Alzheimer
December 27, 2024 at 12:39 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
Cycling to work cuts death risk by 47% and cancer deaths by 51%. However, cyclists face twice the risk of traffic injuries. Active commuting = health + sustainability, but safer infrastructure must be developed!
#ActiveTravel #PublicHealth #Sustainability #cycling
December 21, 2024 at 3:49 PM
eitanokun.bsky.social
CRISPR's power: Casgevy offers long lasting (at least 5 years) relief for genetic blood disorders like sickle-cell, but at $2.2M, who can afford it? Precision is evolving, but for whom?!?!? #GeneTherapy #CRISPR #Innovation
December 18, 2024 at 9:22 PM