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Tamim Ahsan

@tamim-ahsan.bsky.social
211 followers 195 following 294 posts

PhD Candidate| Affiliated with University of Wollongong, University of Sydney and Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry | Studying stress-related psychopathology using spatial multi-omics. Views expressed here are my own. tamim-ahsan.github.io

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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
My blogpost on SpaNorm, a spatially-aware normalisation method for spatial transcriptomic data, is now live. Please check it out. Thanks! #spatialbiology #transcriptomics 🧪 nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app/posts/srt-no...
nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app
SpaNorm: spatially-aware normalization for spatial transcriptomics data – Tamim’s Blog
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
"Ultra‐processed food intake, cognitive function, and dementia risk: A cross‐sectional study of middle‐aged and older Australian adults" Consuming ultraprocessed foods decreases the ability to focus in middle-aged individuals and may thus increase the risk of #dementia 🧪 doi.org/10.1002/dad2...
doi.org
Ultra‐processed food intake, cognitive function, and dementia risk: A cross‐sectional study of middle‐aged and older Australian adults
INTRODUCTION Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is linked to over 30 adverse health outcomes, including several risk factors for dementia such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obe.....
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
What Constitutes “Too Sad”? Psychiatric Classification and the Pathologization of Grief #psychiatry #grief #depression 🧪 www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-co... (1/4)
psychiatrictimes.com
What Constitutes “Too Sad”? Psychiatric Classification and the Pathologization of Grief | Psychiatric Times
Learn how clinicians distinguish grief from depression, when sadness turns impairing, and which therapies and meds help people heal after loss.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
📜 Integrating multiomic layers to decode psychiatric disease mechanisms #psychiatry #multiomcis #singlecell #spatialbiology #multiomics #neuro #neuroscircuits 🧪 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... (1/4)
sciencedirect.com
Integrating multiomic layers to decode psychiatric disease mechanisms
Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression are highly polygenic, with most risk variants mapping to the nonco…
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Sugary Beverages Linked to Higher Anxiety in Teens #psychiatry #adolescence #anxiety #sugar 🧪 www.labroots.com/trending/neu...
labroots.com
Sugary Beverages Linked to Higher Anxiety in Teens | Neuroscience
High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to increased anxiety symptoms in adolescents. | Neuroscience
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
FDA Approves Bysanti for Treatment of Bipolar 1 Disorder and Schizophrenia #psychiatry #drug #schizophrenia #BipolarDisorder 🧪 www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/fda-app...
psychiatrictimes.com
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Dysregulated miRNAs and downstream gene expression associated with poor treatment response in first-episode psychosis #psychiatry #omics #miRNA #transcriptomics #RNAseq #psychosis #precisionmedicine 🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... (1/9)
sciencedirect.com
Dysregulated miRNAs and downstream gene expression associated with poor treatment response in first-episode psychosis
Treatment response in first-episode psychosis (FEP) is highly variable, and reliable biomarkers for poor outcomes remain limited. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), …
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
🧠 Integrated analysis of spatial and single-cell profiles reveals cell type–specific regulation of synaptic plasticity in human brain aging #singlecell #spatialbiology #multiomics #aging #neuro #neurodegeneration #psychiatry 🧪 doi.org/10.1093/hmg/... (1/6)
doi.org
Integrated analysis of spatial and single-cell profiles reveals cell type–specific regulation of synaptic plasticity in human brain aging
Abstract. Aging is intricately linked to neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline, with the prefrontal cortex (PFC) playing a critical role in high
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
🚨 New edition of DSM is in progress! The plans for a new edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual For Mental Disorders or DSM have recently been released. #psychiatry #mentalhealth #DSM 🧪 www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/a-new-a... (1/4)
psychiatrictimes.com
A New and Improved DSM? The American Psychiatric Association Shares Strategy and Roadmap | Psychiatric Times
Along with a new name, the new edition aims to address concerns and critiques of past DSM editions.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
📃 A single-nucleus transcriptomic analysis reveals hippocampal neuronal alterations linked to anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in IBD model mice #singlecell #transcriptomics #psychiatry #inflammation #neurogenesis 🧪 (1/5) doi.org/10.1016/j.bb...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
📚 Spatial Transcriptomics: Biotechnologies, Computational Tools, and Neuroscience Applications A well-written review on spatial transcriptomic technologies and data analysis tools. #sptialbiology #transcriptomics #omics #bioinfo #neuro 🧪 doi.org/10.1002/smtd... (1/n)
doi.org
Spatial Transcriptomics: Biotechnologies, Computational Tools, and Neuroscience Applications
Spatial transcriptomics revolutionize molecular biology by enabling spatially resolved gene expression analysis. This review examines the progression from image-based to sequence-based technologies, ....
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Today's ubiquitous geopolitical tensions are a lesson for all of us, which we may forget (again!) once the worst is over. Injustice has a ripple effect. If we remain silent when it happens to others, it will soon happen to us, too. Oppressors feed on our silence and selfishness. #geopoltics
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
🚨 New blogpost alert! I have written a blogpost on SpotSweeper, a bioconductor package to implement a SPATIALLY AWARE method for the quality control (QC) of spatial transcroptomic data. Check it out! 🙏 #spatialbiology #omics #transcriptomics #QC 🧪 nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app/posts/srt-qc...
nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app
Spatially aware quality control of spatial transcriptomic data using SpotSweeper – Tamim’s Blog
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Unique Molecular Identifiers (UMIs) are widely used in both (sequencing-based) single-cell and spatial transcriptomic technologies, but why? In this thread, I am showing the benefit of UMIs using an example (and a figure). (1/5) #singlecell #spatialbiology #transcriptomics #omics #NGS #UMI 🧪
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Sea, seagulls and sky! #photography #nature
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
I have written a haiku on how capitalism robs us of our liberty and sets us against each other. The haiku itself, along with its concept, can be found in my latest blogpost. Check it out! #literature #haiku #poetry #capitalism #liberty #equality nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app/posts/haiku-...
nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app
Lonely cage – Tamim’s Blog
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
I have created a poster on sequencing-based spatial transcriptomic technologies and added it to my latest blog post. Please check it out #spatialbiology #spatialomics #transcriptomics 🧪 nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app/posts/sst-pl...
nonlinear-thoughts.netlify.app
Sequencing-based Spatial Transcriptomic Platforms – Tamim’s Blog
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Measuring Blood Sugar Without Painful Pricks? A New Test Scans Skin #diabetes #glucose #spectroscopy 🧪 www.the-scientist.com/measuring-bl...
the-scientist.com
Measuring Blood Sugar Without Painful Pricks? A New Test Scans Skin
Shining near-infrared light on a person’s skin helped scientists accurately track his blood glucose levels, offering a potential noninvasive way to monitor diabetes.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Blocking a Key Protein Greatly Reduces Alzheimer’s Damage #neuro #neurodegeneration #alzheimers 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/alzheimers-p...
neurosciencenews.com
Blocking a Key Protein Greatly Reduces Alzheimer’s Damage - Neuroscience News
New findings show that removing Centaurin-α1, a protein elevated in Alzheimer’s disease, significantly reduces inflammation, plaque buildup, and cognitive deficits in a well-established mouse model.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Brain Circuit That Forces Behavior Into “Repeat Mode” Identified #neuro #brain #circuit #behaviour #psychiatry 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/brain-circui...
neurosciencenews.com
Brain Circuit That Forces Behavior Into "Repeat Mode" Identified - Neuroscience News
A new study has identified a specific brain circuit that can push behavior into a compulsive “repeat mode,” forcing mice to continue digging and sniffing even when rewards are available.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Screen Time in Tweens Predicts ADHD, Slower Brain Growth #psychiatry #screentime #ADHD #neurodevelopment 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/screentime-a...
neurosciencenews.com
Screen Time in Tweens Predicts ADHD, Slower Brain Growth - Neuroscience News
A large, two-year study of nearly 12,000 children found that higher screen time at ages 9–10 predicts an increase in ADHD symptoms, independent of a child’s starting symptom level.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
How English-Centric Metrics Distort Global Scientific Productivity #science #research #disparity 🧪 www.the-scientist.com/how-english-...
the-scientist.com
How English-Centric Metrics Distort Global Scientific Productivity
New research shows how language and income shape who gets credited for scientific output—and why women and non-native English speakers face persistent gaps.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Ultra-processed foods: time to put health before profit #food #diet #UPF #profit #corportation #capitalism 🧪 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Ultra-processed foods: time to put health before profit
The rise of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in human diets is damaging public health, fuelling chronic diseases worldwide, and deepening health inequalities. Addressing this challenge requires a unified ...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Ketogenic Diets and Depression and Anxiety "KDs show potential associations with reduced depressive symptoms, but evidence for anxiety is inconclusive" #psychiatry #diet #depression #anxiety 🧪 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Ketogenic Diets and Depression and Anxiety
This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses the associations between ketogenic diets and mental health outcomes in adults, with a focus on depressive and anxiety symptoms.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Shyness May Originate in the Cerebellum #neuro #neuroimaging #behaviour #cerebellum 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/shyness-cere...
neurosciencenews.com
Shyness May Originate in the Cerebellum - Neuroscience News
New research reveals that trait shyness is linked to reduced spontaneous neural activity in the cerebellum, a brain region traditionally associated with motor control but increasingly recognized for i...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
❓️ Big question: Should scientists run for offices? ✅️ Short answer: YES! www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
theatlantic.com
The Epidemiologists Are Running for Office
Instead of trying to depoliticize their field, a swell of scientists want to become politicians.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision "Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research." #PhD #academia 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision
Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.
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Reposted by Tamim Ahsan
Niko Massaly @massalyniko.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
🚨 Please RT! We’re recruiting a motivated postdoc to dissect the neurocircuits of affective pain. Expertise in behavioral models of pain/SUDs, stereotaxy, microscopy, opto/chemogenetics, or fiber photometry encouraged. Apply 👉 recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10647 #Neuroscience #Postdoc
recruit.apo.ucla.edu
Postdoctoral Research Position
University of California, Los Angeles is hiring. Apply now!
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Astrocytes, Not Neurons, Hold the Key to Emotional Memory #neuro #astrocyte #memory #learning #emotion #psychiatry 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/astrocytes-e...
neurosciencenews.com
Astrocytes, Not Neurons, Hold the Key to Emotional Memory - Neuroscience News
New research reveals that astrocytes — not neurons — are responsible for stabilizing emotional memories by re-engaging during recall.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Psilocybin Rewire Brain Circuits Tied to Pain and Mood neurosciencenews.com/psilocybin-p... #psychiatry #psilocybin #psychedelics #pain #mood 🧪
neurosciencenews.com
Psilocybin Rewire Brain Circuits Tied to Pain and Mood - Neuroscience News
New research shows that psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, can reduce both chronic pain and pain-related depression by modulating brain circuits rather than acting at the site o...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Antipsychotic Drugs and Dysregulated Glucose Homeostasis #psychiatry #metabolism #drug-response #antipsychotics 🧪 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Antipsychotic Drugs and Dysregulated Glucose Homeostasis
This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the association between antipsychotic drug use and glucose homeostasis while considering weight gain propensity, medication type, and treatment durati...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
🚨 TWO great news in medical science 🧪 1️⃣ A gene therapy targeting Huntington's Disease has shown significant success in a small clinical trial by slowing down the progression of the disease. (1/2) doi.org/10.1038/d415...
doi.org
Huntington’s disease treated for first time using gene therapy
Preliminary results from a small trial offer the clearest evidence yet that the brain disease’s progression can be slowed.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
World's first AI-designed viruses a step towards AI-generated life #AI 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41....
nature.com
World's first AI-designed viruses a step towards AI-generated life
Scientists used AI to write coherent viral genomes, using them to synthesize bacteriophages capable of killing resistant strains of bacteria.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Postdoc depression and anxiety rates are rising, finds survey of 872 researchers #academia #mentalhealth #psychiatry 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Postdoc depression and anxiety rates are rising, finds survey of 872 researchers
The Max Planck Society is good at attracting international postdocs but struggles to retain them, survey finds.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
AI is helping to decode animals’ speech. Will it also let us talk with them? #speech #AI 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
AI is helping to decode animals’ speech. Will it also let us talk with them?
The complexity of vocal communication in some primates, whales and birds might approach that of human language.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Mirror of the unknown: should research on mirror-image molecular biology be stopped? #syntheticlife #syntheticbiology #chirality #health 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Mirror of the unknown: should research on mirror-image molecular biology be stopped?
Amid growing debates about the benefits and risks of studying looking-glass versions of life’s building blocks, there is an urgent need to bridge divergent views.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
AI mirrors experimental science to uncover a mechanism of gene transfer crucial to bacterial evolution #AI #science #research #coscientist 🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
AI mirrors experimental science to uncover a mechanism of gene transfer crucial to bacterial evolution
Artificial intelligence (AI) models have been proposed for hypothesis generation, but testing their ability to drive high-impact research is challengi…
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Aggression Is Contagious: Observing Violence Primes the Brain for Aggression #aggression #neuro #psychiatry 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/aggression-p....
neurosciencenews.com
Aggression Is Contagious: Observing Violence Primes the Brain for Aggression - Neuroscience News
A new study shows that observing violence can make individuals more likely to act aggressively later, but the effect depends on familiarity.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Your Red Is My Red: Shared Brain Codes for Color #neuro #color #perception #neuralcode 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/neural-codin....
neurosciencenews.com
Your Red Is My Red: Shared Brain Codes for Color - Neuroscience News
Human brains share common patterns of activity when perceiving colors, suggesting universal neural coding of color.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Developing Clinically Interpretable Neuroimaging Biotypes in Psychiatry #psychiatry #precisionmed 🧪 www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S000...
biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com
Developing Clinically Interpretable Neuroimaging Biotypes in Psychiatry
Despite available treatments, major depressive disorder (MDD) remains one of the leading causes of disability across medical conditions. The current symptom-based diagnostic system groups patients wit...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Adherence to Mediterranean #diet may reduce the risk of #Alzheimer’s disease and its related dementias, especially among APOE4 homozygotes. Paper title: Interplay of genetic predisposition, plasma metabolome and Mediterranean diet in dementia risk and cognitive function 🧪 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Interplay of genetic predisposition, plasma metabolome and Mediterranean diet in dementia risk and cognitive function - Nature Medicine
Genetic background, plasma metabolome and dietary data from 4,215 women and 1,490 men reveal 57 metabolites whose associations with dementia risk vary by APOE4 genotype and other risk variants.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
This is huge! Whole-genome sequencing of 490,640 UK Biobank participants #genomics #genome #biobank 🧪 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Whole-genome sequencing of 490,640 UK Biobank participants - Nature
A study reports whole-genome sequences for 490,640 participants from the UK Biobank and combines these data with phenotypic data to provide new insights into the relationship between human variation a...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Having a Purpose in Life Linked to Lower Dementia Risk #dementia #neuro #purpose 🧪 neurosciencenews.com/life-purpose...
neurosciencenews.com
Having a Purpose in Life Linked to Lower Dementia Risk - Neuroscience News
A new study of over 13,000 adults found that having a strong sense of purpose in life is linked to a reduced risk of dementia.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Oral polyphenol-based microbeads with synergistic demulsification and fat locking for obesity treatment This is cool! Oral microbeads made with components from green tea and seaweed can absorb emulsified fat derivatives and then get excreted from the body. 🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Oral polyphenol-based microbeads with synergistic demulsification and fat locking for obesity treatment
Excessive fat intake is strongly linked to the growing prevalence of obesity and associated metabolic disorders. Orlistat is the only Food and Drug Ad…
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
New Benzodiazepine Tapering Guide—Slow and Patient Centered #psychiatry #healthcare 🧪 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
New Benzodiazepine Tapering Guide—Slow and Patient Centered
This Viewpoint discusses a recent FDA-commissioned joint clinical practice guideline to help clinicians decide when and how to reduce or discontinue benzodiazepine prescriptions in a way that supports...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation #chocolate 😋 🧪 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation - Nature Microbiology
An in-depth microbiological and metagenomic analysis of Colombian farm and fermentation facilities resulted in the design of a defined microbial community that can reproduce the flavour of fine chocol...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
🚨The September issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience #nature #neuro #review 🧪 www.nature.com/nrn/volumes/...
nature.com
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Volume 26 Issue 9, September 2025
‘Exploring the deep’, inspired by the Review on p521.
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Very interesting! #neuro #brain #MenstrualCycle 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Why menstrual cycle irregularities belong in brain research - Nature Medicine
The menstrual cycle requires tight orchestration between the brain and body, and irregularities can be both the cause and the consequence of wide-ranging health issues. Embracing this complexity, inst...
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Contagious depression: Automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system - A review #neuron #psychiatry #mentalhealth 🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Contagious depression: Automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system - A review
Contagious depression is a theory proposing that depression can be induced or triggered by our social environment. This theory is based on emotional c…
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Tamim Ahsan @tamim-ahsan.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Inner speech in motor cortex and implications for speech neuroprostheses #speech #brain-computer-interface #BCI #neurodegeneration 🧪 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
Inner speech in motor cortex and implications for speech neuroprostheses
Inner speech is robustly represented in the motor cortex and can be decoded in real time to restore communication to people with paralysis. Unintentional decoding of private inner speech can be preven...
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