March Madness, Immune Education (Abstract Science: March 13 – 17)

Optimizing your March Madness bracket, good vs. bad bacteria and restoring sight one nanostep at a time.

Let Swarm Intelligence Optimize Your Tournament Bracket

(Discover Magazine, 3/14/2017, Carl Engelking)

March Madness is here and who doesn’t want a leg up when filling out those NCAA brackets? The diehards watch games, analyze box scores and pore over insights from the experts. Others fill out their brackets based on a school’s color scheme.  A new theory using the power of swarm intelligence could put those Bracketology experts out of a job and the results are astonishing.

For Immune Cells, Discrimination is a Good Thing

(LabRoots, 3/15/2017, Kara Marker)

Knowing the difference between good vs. bad is something that was ingrained in us as children. The same goes for immune cells.  They must be able to differentiate between good bacteria and bad bacteria to maximize the body’s chance at remaining healthy. A new study from scientists at Ludwig Maximilians Universitat in Munich reveals how immune cells practice tolerance in response to good bacteria, even though everything their training has taught them pushes them to attack.

—Compiled by Social Media Specialist Jillian Scola