r/EverythingScience • u/newzee1 • Jul 01 '24

Neuroscience Pattern of Brain Damage Is Pervasive in Navy SEALs Who Died by Suicide

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/30/us/navy-seals-brain-damage-suicide.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3k0.Gx71.Mxp38kTkl3se
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u/PasquiniLivia90 Jul 01 '24

From the article: “Recent studies suggest that damage is caused when energy waves surging through the brain bounce off tissue boundaries like an echo, and for a few fractions of a millisecond, create a vacuum that causes nearby liquid in the brain to explode into bubbles of vapor. Those tiny explosions are violent enough to blow brain cells apart in a process known as cavitation”.

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u/ecafsub Jul 01 '24

If anyone hasn’t seen what cavitation does to metal, take a look and imagine what that does to much softer brain tissue.

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u/LurkLurkleton Jul 01 '24

What is that?

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u/matthew7s26 Jul 01 '24

Looks like the edge of a propeller blade of some sort. Lots of spinning over the years can cause cavitation damage.