People who vape had worrisome changes in cardiovascular function, even as young adults

A Better Mucus Model

Mucus is more than just the sticky snot that comes from your nose. This protein-rich goop is found in many other organs, including the lungs and intestines, where it forms a protective layer that traps pathogens and prevents them from penetrating the organ. The flow of mucus across the organ's surface, propelled by cilia, can even help move microbes around, transporting them away from critical structures.

The tacky, slimy consistency of mucus is essential to its functions, and changes in the physical properties of mucus can contribute to disease. For example, in cystic fibrosis, lung mucus becomes thicker and harder for cells to push across the organ's surface, potentially leading to pneumonia as pathogen-laden mucus sits in the lungs. 

This has motivated researchers to explore mucus through the lens of materials science and study the sticky substance's physical properties, such as its viscosity, elasticity, and how it flows. Typically, scientists scrape the mucus off the organ, but removing it from its environment can change its physical properties—making it more watery, for example.1 "If you scrape off that mucus, you irretrievably alter the viscoelasticity," said Gerald Fuller, a chemical engineer at Stanford University. "Just the action of removing it to make the measurement really defeats the purpose. It is not a good replica of what's actually sitting on the cells."

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In a recent collaboration, Fuller and Sarah Heilshorn, a materials scientist at Stanford University, designed a system to measure the properties of mucus without removing it from the cells that produce it.2 The researchers used the system, which models part of the intestines, to study the impact of an infection-induced immune molecule on mucus viscoelasticity. They published their findings in APL Bioengineering.

Heilshorn's team devised a method to grow a layer of intestinal cells just one cell thick so that the mucus they produced would collect on top of the cells. This made the mucus easily accessible for a magnetic microwire rheometer that Fuller's lab had previously created.3 Using the thin wire probe positioned at the surface of a substance, they measured physical properties, such as viscoelasticity, without relocating the substance. 

"It has the disadvantage of being a culture system, which is a step removed from being in vivo," said David Hill, a mucus researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was not involved in the study. "But when you can make a measurement in a less perturbed system, it opens up a lot of possibilities for understanding [the mucus]." 

To measure the physical properties of mucus, the researchers used a magnetic microwire rheometer.

Maggie Braunreuther 

As the researchers had hypothesized, the mucus in contact with the cells differed from the mucus removed from its original environment, becoming softer after removal.  With this model, the researchers had a more realistic setting to test how mucus changes under different biological conditions. They were especially interested to explore how parasites that have evolved to survive in the intestines, such as the roundworm Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, might elicit a host response that alters the protective mucus layer. When these parasitic worms invade the gastrointestinal tract, they trigger an immune response that includes potent molecules such as interleukin 13 (IL-13). In previous studies of airway cells in asthma, which also involves an IL-13 response, other researchers had found that the mucus became thicker and made it harder for the ciliated cells to beat.4 

The Stanford University team hypothesized that the IL-13 triggered by worm infections might also affect the consistency of intestinal mucus. To test this, they used their new system to grow intestinal cells from the duodenum—the portion of the small intestine that connects to the stomach—and treated the cells with IL-13. 

To their surprise, IL-13 did not substantially affect the viscoelasticity of the mucus, despite changes in the mucus-related genes expressed in the cultured cells. The researchers proposed that IL-13 might require the presence of other inflammatory molecules to change the mucus's physical qualities. 

Even though they didn't observe a change, describing the mucus's realistic response to IL-13 wouldn't have been possible without the new system, Fuller said. He thinks other researchers studying mucus could also benefit from this technology, and since the materials are relatively easy to acquire, he has been helping other labs set up the system. Fuller is also working on extending the system to the airways to study mucus in asthma and cystic fibrosis, while Heilshorn is using it to study Crohn's Disease. 

Hill said the system could also help scientists to identify new ways to manipulate mucus, possibly leading to fixes for mucus that is too thick or too watery in certain diseases. "You could use [this system] as a way to test or screen therapeutic compounds," he said. "That can help you advance drug discovery."

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References

1. Howard RL, et al. Biochemical and rheological analysis of human colonic culture mucus reveals similarity to gut mucus. Biophys J. 2021;120(23):5384-5394.2. Cai PC, et al. Air–liquid intestinal cell culture allows in situ rheological characterization of intestinal mucus. APL Bioeng. 2024;8(2):026112.3. Braunreuther M, et al. Nondestructive rheological measurements of biomaterials with a magnetic microwire rheometer. J Rheol. 2023;67(2):579–588.4. Laoukili J, et al. IL-13 alters mucociliary differentiation and ciliary beating of human respiratory epithelial cells. J Clin Invest. 2001;108(12):1817-1824.

Insane Comparison Shows Terrifying Difference Of What Happens When You Vape Compared To When You Smoke

There's been some debate between smokers for awhile now about whether vaping is better for your health than smoking.

Of course, neither options are great for your lungs, with people actually suffering near-death experiences from vapes, and others having grim side effects.

While some believe that both options bring about the same result to your health, Cancer Research UK states there's one clear difference: "E-cigarettes don't contain cancer-causing tobacco."

That doesn't mean it's totally harmless, though.

The video will likely put you off smoking for life (Getty Stock Image)

But if you can't get away from your nicotine addiction, which one do you go for in the end?

When YouTuber Chris Notap put this theory to the test, it provided a gross insight into what goes on in your body when you vape versus when you puff on a ciggie.

Using a clear glass dome with a hole in the front, Chris explained in his video caption that he wanted to see the effects of smoking for one month.

In his opinion, after doing the experiment 'there's only one thing that should be going in your lungs, and that's air'.

In the video you can see Chris using an inhaling machine which essentially 'smokes' the device and cigarettes into the dome which is filled with cotton balls.

Throughout the month's-worth of smoking, it's easy to see that the cigs immediately begin to leave a brown, sticky residue inside of the dome while the vape leaves a white cloud.

According to Chris, the experiment took three days to complete before all of the necessary cigs and vape juice was used up.

It provided a gross insight into what goes on in your body (Getty Stock Image)

But at the end is when you get to see the true ickiness of what's going on inside of the lungs of those who smoke.

Chris first took apart the contraption, emptying the cotton balls and wiping out the domes to show on a piece of kitchen paper, the difference in residue left in the 'lung'.

While the cigarette experiment was a tar-like brown, the vape side was clear, with condensation running down the sides of the dome.

The other thing he tested was the tube, which exhaled all of the smoke.

The smoker's side was, again, brown and he managed to remove a decent amount of tar from it.

The vaper's tube was clear, but it showed minor discolouration from the smoking.

While it's clear that smoking tobacco is more harmful than vaping, Chris noted that vaping should only be used as a tool to wean yourself off nicotine altogether because 'anything you put in your lungs is bad for you' and that it's not for kids to try.

The NHS also agrees with this sentiment, stating that: "While vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, it is unlikely to be totally harmless.

"The healthiest option is not to smoke or vape. So, if you are vaping to quit smoking, you should aim to eventually stop vaping too."

People in the comments of the video were equally grossed out, and some even vowed to quit smoking then and there.

One person wrote: "I'm 39 years old and have smoked since I was 14, Sir you just scared some sense into me. Thank you!"

Another said: "I've smoked way to long. Recently I've been cutting back and want to stop smoking. Now I WILL stop!! Now!!"

Someone else commented: "Imagine the smell when he takes the lids off..."

So, it looks like the experiment was successful in educating others to the dangers of smoking and vaping.

The Effect Of Asthma, Smoking And Exercise On The Gas Exchange System

Image caption,

An inhaler dispenses asthma medication

Asthma is a very common condition that affects the bronchioles - the small tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. It is a chronicclosechronic A condition persisting for a long time or regularly reoccurring. Condition with two main components:

Constriction; the tightening of the muscles surrounding the airways

Inflammation; the swelling and irritation of the airways.

This may lead to symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath.

Image caption,

An inhaler dispenses asthma medication

When a person with asthma is exposed to a trigger, the airways leading to the lungs become more inflamed or swollen than usual, making it harder to breathe. The airways also get smaller due to a tightening of the muscles surrounding the airways. Finally, the airways can become congested due to a build-up of mucus,closemucusA sticky substance produced by specialised cells in the body to trap dirt and microbes. Which is secretedclosesecreteTo release.By goblet cellsclosegoblet cellsSpecialised cells found in the body that secrete mucus. That line your tracheaclosetracheaThe windpipe..

Symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath can be treated using asthma relievers. Relievers are drugs that relax and open up the airways, making it easier to breathe. Relievers are often administered using a device called an inhaler. This lets you breathe the medicine in through your mouth and directly into your lungs.

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