Being near a gun blast can kill brain cells

+ food costs aren't reflected in prices US Edition - Today's top story: Low-level blasts from heavy weapons can cause traumatic brain injury − 2 engineers explain the physics of invisible cell death [View in browser]( US Edition | 28 February 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [FTC sues to block supermarket supermerger]( - [100,000 Michigan voters pick ‘uncommitted’ over Biden]( - [The Florida teacher who turned around a failing elementary school]( Lead story For soldiers manning heavy artillery, standing behind the gun is almost as dangerous as looking down its barrel. Back in November, The New York Times reported on the strange symptoms of U.S. soldiers who had served in artillery battalions in the Middle East. After returning stateside, some of them started experiencing hallucinations, emotional distress, depression and nightmares. It turns out they had likely experienced blast-induced traumatic brain injuries, which, in some cases, weren’t identified until post-mortem analyses. University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers Alice Lux Fawzi and Christian Franck have been working to shed light on the evolving [science behind invisible brain trauma from gun blast exposure](. In a nauseating kind of way, it makes sense: It takes an enormous amount of force to propel a 24-pound warhead out of a howitzer to hit a target several miles away. So it stands to reason that the harm this force inflicts can be bidirectional. The two hope that a better understanding of the mechanism behind how brain cells die from blast pressure can help protect against their destructive effects. [ [Science from the scientists themselves. Sign up for our weekly science email newsletter.]( ] Vivian Lam Associate Health and Biomedicine Editor Low-level blasts can cause physical changes in the brain. Libkos/AP Photo [Low-level blasts from heavy weapons can cause traumatic brain injury − 2 engineers explain the physics of invisible cell death]( Alice Lux Fawzi, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Christian Franck, University of Wisconsin-Madison The people manning the guns are also at risk of injury from the force of the weapon. Economy + Business - [What’s next for $25B supermarket supermerger after FTC sues to block it, saying it could raise prices]( Christine P. Bartholomew, University at Buffalo Turning two big supermarket companies into one even larger one could harm consumers and workers, the government says. Education - [How educator Gloria Jean Merriex used dance, drills and devotion to turn around a failing elementary school in a year]( Boaz Dvir, Penn State A new documentary highlights teaching techniques of an educator who went the extra mile for her students. 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