The cost of finding a block goes down because it becomes less difficult.
The goal in proof of work is to find a block hash less than a given value. That value is determined by the network difficulty. The lower the value, the more difficult it is to find a block, and thus the more expensive it will be to mine.
Difficulty is adjusted once every two weeks to target an average block time of 10 minutes. If the average block time during the preceding 2 weeks is less than 10 minutes, it means that blocks were too easy to find (i.e. the difficulty was too low relative to total hash rate of the network). Conversely, if the average block time was greater than 10 minutes, the difficulty was too great.
This is how it the network has maintained a roughly 10 minute block time as the hash rate of the network has grown over the past 16 years. The difficulty (i.e. cost) of finding a block is constantly being adjusted.
It's possibly the same thing. Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, the type of stress which may cause this protein to become elevated, was induced in mice by exposing them to endotoxin, a type of toxin produced in the gut.
It could also be measuring the result of extreme inactivity. I am bedridden, and I have no doubt that lying in bed for years has had a profound effect on my physiology independently of my ME/CFS.
The acid test will be when we compare ME/CFS patients to matched MS patients. However, as Ron Davis has stated, it might also be the case that MS patients have ME/CFS, as ME/CFS is highly heterogenous and may be arrived at from multiple directions.
There are lots of details that need to be ironed out. Nevertheless, this is exciting news.
Not in the paper, but Ron gave a talk where he mentioned an MS drug (I have forgotten which) and a new drug that targets mitochondria which is not yet licensed for anything.
Sorry I can't be more specific. I don't remember the details.
I have ME/CFS. The evidence has been clear that it is a physical condition for quite a while now. In fact, the Institute of Medicine clarified that point in a thorough report in 2015:
> The primary message of the committee’s report is that ME/CFS is a serious, chronic, complex, systemic disease that often can profoundly affect the lives of patients.
>Many health care providers are skeptical about the seriousness of ME/CFS, mistake it for a mental health condition, or consider it a figment of the patient’s imagination. Misconceptions or dismissive attitudes on the part of health care providers make the path to diagnosis long and frustrating for many patients. The committee stresses that health care providers should acknowledge ME/CFS as a serious illness that requires timely diagnosis and appropriate care. [1]
Having said that, I am obviously delighted by this study for a whole host of reasons. A diagnostic test will be hugely beneficial in driving home the message that it is not, in fact, an imaginary condition. It will also be beneficial in testing treatment outcomes, as the lack of a test has made gauging treatment efficacy very challenging.
There are a lot of hurdles to overcome yet, but we are FINALLY on the right path.
The goal in proof of work is to find a block hash less than a given value. That value is determined by the network difficulty. The lower the value, the more difficult it is to find a block, and thus the more expensive it will be to mine.
Difficulty is adjusted once every two weeks to target an average block time of 10 minutes. If the average block time during the preceding 2 weeks is less than 10 minutes, it means that blocks were too easy to find (i.e. the difficulty was too low relative to total hash rate of the network). Conversely, if the average block time was greater than 10 minutes, the difficulty was too great.
This is how it the network has maintained a roughly 10 minute block time as the hash rate of the network has grown over the past 16 years. The difficulty (i.e. cost) of finding a block is constantly being adjusted.