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A recent study has found how racial discrimination is able to cause physical disorders in victims via the brain-gut microbiome (BGM) system.

The new research, which appeared in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Biological Psychiatry, looked into the role of the BGM system in health issues caused by racism. Building upon recent findings that stressful experiences pose a great impact on the BGM, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles looked into the changes influenced by discrimination in the bidirectional signaling between the brain and the gut microbiome. The research team, led by Tien S. Dong, MD, Ph.D., and Gilbert C. Gee, Ph.D., included 154 adults from multiple racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles.

The participants, who self-reported their race/ethnicity as Asian American, Black, Hispanic or White, reported experiences of different types of discrimination, including race, sex and age. To measure discrimination, the researchers used the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS), which marks subjective experiences of daily discrimination across nine elements that assess a person’s life. Among the participants, 80 reported high discrimination while 74 reported low discrimination. Based on the new findings, exposure to discrimination has diverse effects on certain biological pathways. Asian people with high discrimination exposure exhibited 11 higher fecal metabolites than those with low exposure to racism. 

According to Biological Psychiatry editor John Krystal, MD, the research brings new insight into the impact of racism on people’s “emotions, brain activity, inflammatory markers in the blood, and the composition of the gut microbiome.”  Krystal says, “We would not be surprised to learn that exposure to racism affects how we feel and how we cope with this exposure and other life stresses. However, this study goes further to highlight brain patterns of response to racism and other factors that affect physical health, including the types of bacteria growing in the gut and the levels of inflammation in the body. These are factors that influence many disease processes in the body.”

• Irene Liu and Jennifer Jolorte Doro have launched a meal delivery service called Chiyo, which brings traditional Chinese postpartum meals to a wider population. Liu was inspired to start the company after watching her mother care for her aunt during the pandemic by cooking traditional Taiwanese meals for her aunt during her postpartum period. She partnered with Jolorte Doro, a nutritionist who had previously worked as a postpartum chef for families in New York. The meals, which cost $517 for a six-week plan, blend traditional Chinese postpartum ingredients with some American tastes and preferences. The company also offers meals for pregnancy and fertility. Chiyo was bootstrapped at first and later took on pre-seed angel investor funding from backers including Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao, Song of Style influencer Aimee Song, and former Momofuku exec Elizabeth Chrystal. They are slated for just under $500,000 in annualized revenue this year.

• Hawaii relief bills: The Hawaii State legislature has opened a new session with proposals to provide more tax relief to working families and impose fees on travelers using popular state parks and trails. The lawmakers also vowed to hold hearings on ethics reform bills after two former lawmakers last year pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in office in exchange for influencing legislation. House Speaker Scott Saiki said he favored expanding the earned income tax credit, which he estimated would help about 100,000 working households. Governor Josh Green supported Saiki's proposal and said he would propose $306 million in tax relief for working families during his State of the State speech next Monday. Senate President Ron Kouchi said he believes the state could raise $20 million to $40 million a year in fees from tourists visiting state parks.

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• Tao avoids bars: A former University of Kansas professor, Feng "Franklin" Tao, avoided prison on Wednesday for making a false statement related to work he was doing in China. Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas to sentence Tao to 2-1/2 years in prison. However, Robinson instead sentenced Tao to time served, saying there was no evidence he shared proprietary information with anyone in China and that the chemical engineering professor did research that was "freely shared in the scientific community." Tao was among about two dozen academics who were charged as part of the "China Initiative," which launched in 2018 during former President Donald Trump's era and aimed to counter suspected Chinese economic espionage and research theft. However, this initiative ended in Feb. 2022 under Democratic President Joe Biden, who said the initiative failed in its prosecutions and fueled bias against Asians.

• Tuk-tuks go green: Thailand's iconic gas-guzzling tuk-tuks are being replaced by a more energy-efficient model, offering a more environmentally friendly way of getting around. The new electric tuk-tuks do not emit any noise or pollutants from tailpipes, and their popularity is growing. In 2022, the number of electric tuk-tuks increased from 263 to 498, according to the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand. The government has been encouraging EV uptake since 2015, and start-up Urban Mobility Tech plans to increase its fleet of electric tuk-tuks from 350 to over 1,000 in Bangkok, climbing to 5,000 nationally within five years. However, some experts warn that electric tuk-tuks alone may not make much of a difference to air quality, and until issues of cost, range, and reliance on fossil fuels for charging can be addressed, a wider transition to electric tuk-tuks may be held back.

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• Faith over diamonds: An eight-year-old girl from India, Devanshi Sanghvi, who stood to inherit a multi-million-dollar diamond fortune from the Sanghvi and Sons jewelry business in Surat, has instead been inducted as a nun to a strict religious order after renouncing worldly pleasures. The Jain faith is a small but ancient Indian religion that preaches non-violence, strict vegetarianism, and love for all creatures. Sanghvi was known among members of Surat’s Jain community for her piety even as a young child. She is one of the youngest people to have taken the diksha ceremony to abandon their material possessions and enter the Jain monkhood. This week, she was feted in a four-day ceremony to herald her new vocation, which at one point saw her ride in a carriage pulled by an elephant, according to pictures shared on local media.

• MINDSET goes to school: The wellness and mental health audio platform MINDSET from DIVE Studios is launching their first-ever college campus tour across America. MINDSET has become known for their content centring around K-pop artists and other entertainers sharing their personal stories around mental health. The MINDSET college tour will offer among other things, a sneak peek into future content and a Q&A fireside chat with special guests and experts. As of now, eight university stops have been announced. It will start on Jan. 19 at the University of Hawaii and venture to the University of Southern California on Mar. 7 with more dates and campuses coming soon.   

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• Don’t miss out on this movie: “Searching” director and co-writer Aneesh Chaganty played a role in its anthological sequel “MISSING,” out in theaters on Friday. Chaganty isn’t directing this time around but still came up with the idea for “MISSING” to center around a daughter protagonist searching for her missing mother. The film stars Daniel Henney, Ken Leung and Megan Suri alongside lead Strom Reid.  

• More than 150 people in Hawaii were stung by jellyfish in a single day. 
   
• Malaysian British comedian Nigel Ng, better known by his viral persona Uncle Roger, gave a brutal review of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s Thai papaya salad.
   
• Yukihiro Takahashi, drummer and vocalist in Japan’s Yellow Magic Orchestra, died on Jan. 11 at the age of 70 from aspiration pneumonia, a complication from a brain tumor. 
   
• Marvel movies will finally be screened in Chinese cinemas again after almost four years.
   
• Jeremy Lin announced in an Instagram post he’s been married for the past couple of years.