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Crossroads Courier
Three Lakewood residents are out walking. The first one
DECEMBER 2022
says, “Windy, isn’t it?”
Activities | Resident Life | IInspiration The second one says, “No,
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it’s Thursday!” The third one says, “So am I. Let’s go get a beer.”
Join us in December for many exciting events leading into the new year. DECEMBER 1: Love in Media Photographer taking pictures of residents and family DECEMBER 2: Ray Posch Entertainer DECEMBER 5: December Birthday Celebration DECEMBER 6: Walter Violinist DECEMBER 11: Piano Recital by Karen’s Students DECEMBER 12: Peter N. Birthday DECEMBER 13: Holiday Lights at Bandimere DECEMBER 15: Rockyettes Tap Dancing DECEMBER 16: Jeanette D. Birthday DECEMBER 23: Family Christmas Dinner DECEMBER 30: New Years Eve Party EVERY SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Book club with Lani
Winter fun word search #6 downloaded from: w w w . C r e a t i v i t y - P o r t a l . c o m
EVERY OTHER SUNDAY: Hymns with Karen
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Lakewood: (720) 925-5569 | Northglenn: (303) 252-1118 | Delta: (970) 874-1421
Occasions
The Shrewd Shrew
Have you ever been called a Shrew? Well as it turns out, that may not be as bad as you think. In the 1940’s as war was breaking out in Europe, a Polish scientist discovered a strange phenomenon. During the winter, those eager little Shrew’s brains shrink, as in they are literally consumed by their Shrew hosts. And once the air begins warming, their gray matter begins growing back. Dubbed Dehnel’s phenomenon after August Dehnel’s 1949 discovery, this allows animals to reduce calorie-consuming tissue when temperatures drop. Researchers have discovered seasonal shrinkage in the skulls of other small, high-metabolism mammals, including weasels and, most recently, moles. The shrew’s incredible shrinking brain is more than just a biological curiosity. Understanding how these animals are able to restore their brain power may help doctors treat Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases in humans. “In the beginning, I couldn’t quite grasp it,” said John Dirk Nieland, an associate professor of health science and technology who is now researching drugs designed to mimic shrews’ brain-altering chemistry in humans. “The beauty of the shrew is that, yes, they shrink the brain, but what we see also is that in the spring, they can start growing the brain,” said Nieland, who also co-founded a biotech company named 2N Pharma. Researchers are now searching for the proteins or other triggers responsible for the shrinkage and regrowth in the shrews’ noggins. While far from applied results, Nieland’s company is working on one drug right now. If those chemicals are found, Nieland said, “we could maybe use these pathways also to treat brain diseases.” - Published in the Washington Post Anamalia column, Nov. 30, 2022 – Dino Grandoni
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