Author Archives: Adam Clare

Multiple Sclerosis Nerve Damage Repaired by Antihistamine

Just released research findings from the University of California San Francisco found that nerve damage in people suffering from multiple sclerosis can be repaired by an over the counter antihistamine. MS damages nerves by removing a protective sheath around nerves which typically can’t be fixed, this new research may provide new methods to help those nerves. The antihistamine isn’t 100% effective and won’t cure MS but it does help those dealing with the disease. The more this treatment is understood the more options we have to help those with MS.

Now, researchers from the University of California San Francisco have identified an over-the-counter antihistamine called clemastine that can reverse damage to the myelin sheath and, what’s more, they’ve identified a biomarker that can measure the drug’s effectiveness.

It all hinges on something called the “myelin water fraction” or MWF. Water that is trapped between the layers of myelin that wrap around nerves in the brain can’t move as freely as water that floats between brain cells. The MWF measures the ratio of myelin water to the brain tissue’s total water content and indicates myelin integrity.

The researchers examined 50 patients with MS enrolled in the ReBUILD trial, who were divided into two groups: the first received clemastine for the first three months of the study, and the second received it only in months three to five and were given a placebo to start. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they measured the MWF in the patients’ corpus callosum, the thick bundle of nerve fibers connecting the brain’s left and right sides that is dense with myelin.

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Accurately Capturing the Social Cost of Carbon

When policy makers think about climate change they sometimes take into consideration the whole impact of carbon regulation and reduction. The commonly held myth is that reducing carbon emissions will negatively impact the economy, now we have better numbers to help people no longer fall into believing that myth. Indeed, when the true cost of carbon is taken into consideration it’s clear that the worst carbon emitters ought to be charged tons more.

He said this year it’s even higher, at $261 per tonne of emissions, and by 2030 it will rise to $294.

“Pause for a moment to understand what this signifies,” Guilbeault said.

“Every tonne of carbon we reduce this year saves society as a whole $261 — and we are talking in terms of cutting megatonnes: millions of tonnes.”

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Thanks to Delaney!

Rural and Urban Areas Have Less Depression

Where you live matters in almost every way imaginable, and there’s now more evidence that your location impacts your mental health. We now know that what has been colloquially known is now provably true: rates of depression are higher in suburban communities than elsewhere. Of course, you’re probably thinking that the rural lifestyle is that one that provides the best mental health, but what you probably don’t realize that urban living is also really good for you. So if you’re living in an in between sub-urban and sub-rural area and not feeling great than maybe you should move out the country or in to the city.

We think the relative higher risks of depression found in sprawling, low-rise suburbs may be partly down to long car commutes, less public open space and not high enough resident density to enable many local commercial places where people can gather together, such as shops, cafes and restaurants. But of course, there may be many other factors, too.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t potential benefits to living in the suburbs. Some people may in fact prefer privacy, silence and having their own garden. 

We hope that this study can be used as a basis for urban planning. The study provides no support for the continued expansion of car-dependent, suburban single-family housing areas if planners want to mitigate mental health issues and climate change.

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Oil is a Source of Wildfires

Forest

The wildfires burning from coast to coast in Canada have Canadians worried about their livelihood, neighbours, and the planet itself. Finding good news in fires is tough, but in the context of the climate crisis knowledge about to fight fire is good news. The best way to stop wildfires is to prevent them from happening in the first place, and that means eliminating all fossil fuel emissions. Researchers continue to connect the extreme weather events the planet has been experiencing to industry actions.

If we’re to avoid more extreme wildfires then we need to act now, and perhaps we’ll save brave politicians in the future literally make certain companies pay for the damage they wrought.

“Last year, there were a number of studies that directly attributed the increase in emissions and associated climate warming with the massive heat waves that hit Europe,” said Baltzer, the Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change.

“I think we’re increasingly seeing scientists make stronger statements, which we need to be doing — stronger statements about the fact that, yes, these changes in climate are human-caused and they are driving these massive catastrophes that we’re seeing around the world.”

Baltzer, who was also not involved in the study, said the findings aren’t surprising, given previous research.

But she said the data helps draw links between previous research and the emissions from the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. “It’s really important to demonstrate those links.”

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No Mow May No Mo’?

Maybe, maybe not. It’s the end of May and hopefully you haven’t been mowing. The No Mow May campaign encourages people with lawns to let them grow during the month of May to let insects and other critters thrive. This makes sense, and if you have a lawn then you still let it go during May.

If you’re fortunate enough to have access to land that you can alter to your preference then you may want to think about what plants you have. The best solution to help the planet and make your life easier is to plant native plants.

“There’s so much good intention out there,” she explains, but No Mow May oversimplifies the complex relationships between native pollinators and the plants that support them. “(There’s) all of this misinformation that comes from not understanding what a native bee is versus a non-native bee, what a native spring plant is versus a non-native spring plant.”

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Instead of ditching our lawn mowers, Sheila says we should learn more about native pollinators and plants in the places we live and how they help one another in nature. Last year, she co-wrote a bookalongside writer, editor and community advocate Lorraine Johnson that unpacks the complexity of native pollinators and how to create habitats that support them.

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