Monthly Archives: January 2020

Cell Biology

The biology of coffee, one of the world’s most popular drinks – Salon

You're reading this with a cup of coffee in your hand, aren't you? Coffee is the most popular drink in many parts of the world. Americans drink more coffee than soda, juice and tea combined.

How popular is coffee? When news first broke that Prince Harry and Meghan were considering Canada as their new home, Canadian coffee giant Tim Hortons offered free coffee for life as an extra enticement.

Given coffee's popularity, it's surprising how much confusion surrounds how this hot, dark, nectar of the gods affects our biology.

Coffee's ingredients

The main biologically active ingredients in coffee are caffeine (a stimulant) and a suite of antioxidants. What do we know about how caffeine and antioxidants affect our bodies? The fundamentals are pretty simple, but the devil is in the details and the speculation around how coffee could either help or harm us runs a bit wild.

The stimulant properties of caffeine mean that you can count on a cup of coffee to wake you up. In fact, coffee, or at least the caffeine it contains, is the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world. It seems to work as a stimulant, at least in part, by blocking adenosine, which promotes sleep, from binding to its receptor.

Caffeine and adenosine have similar ring structures. Caffeine acts as a molecular mimic, filling and blocking the adenosine receptor, preventing the body's natural ability to be able a rest when it's tired.

This blocking is also the reason why too much coffee can leave you feeling jittery or sleepless. You can only postpone fatigue for so long before the body's regulatory systems begin to fail, leading to simple things like the jitters, but also more serious effects like anxiety or insomnia. Complications may be common; a possible link between coffee drinking and insomnia was identified more than 100 years ago.

Unique responses

Different people respond to caffeine differently. At least some of this variation is from having different forms of that adenosine receptor, the molecule that caffeine binds to and blocks. There are likely other sites of genetic variation as well.

There are individuals who don't process caffeine and to whom drinks like coffee could pose medical danger. Even away from those extremes, however, there is variation in how we respond to that cup of coffee. And, like much of biology, that variation is a function of environment, our past coffee consumption, genetics and, honestly, just random chance.

We may be interested in coffee because of the oh-so-joyous caffeine buzz, but that doesn't mean that caffeine is the most biologically interesting aspect of a good cup of coffee.

In one study using rats, caffeine triggered smooth muscle contraction, so it is possible that caffeine directly promotes bowel activity. Other studies, though, have shown that decaffeinated coffee can have as strong an effect on bowel activity as regular coffee, suggesting a more complex mechanism involving some of the other molecules in coffee.

Antioxidant benefits

What about the antioxidants in coffee and the buzz that surrounds them? Things actually start out pretty straightforward. Metabolic processes produce the energy necessary for life, but they also create waste, often in the form of oxidized molecules that can be harmful in themselves or in damaging other molecules.

Antioxidants are a broad group of molecules that can scrub up dangerous waste; all organisms produce antioxidants as part of their metabolic balance. It is unclear if supplementing our diet with additional antioxidants can augment these natural defences, but that hasn't stopped speculation.

Antioxidants have been linked to almost everything, including premature ejaculation.

Are any of the claims of positive effects substantiated? Surprisingly, the answer is again a resounding maybe.

Coffee and cancer

Coffee won't cure cancer, but it may help to prevent it and possibly other diseases as well. Part of answering the question of coffee's connection to cancer lies in asking another: what is cancer? At its simplest, cancer is uncontrolled cell growth, which is fundamentally about regulating when genes are, or are not, actively expressed.

My research group studies gene regulation and I can tell you that even a good cup of coffee, or boost of caffeine, won't cause genes that are turned off or on at the wrong time to suddenly start playing by the rules.

The antioxidants in coffee may actually have a cancer-fighting effect. Remember that antioxidants fight cellular damage. One type of damage that they may help reduce is mutations to DNA, and cancer is caused by mutations that lead to the misregulation of genes.

Studies have shown that consuming coffee fights cancer in rats. Other studies in humans have shown that coffee consumption is associated with lower rates of some cancers.

Interestingly, coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced rates of other diseases as well. Higher coffee consumption is linked to lower rates of Parkinson's disease and some other forms of dementia. Strikingly, at least one experimental study in mice and cell culture shows that protection is a function of a combination of caffeine and antioxidants in coffee.

Higher coffee consumption has also been linked to lower rates of Type 2 diabetes. Complexity, combined effects and variation between individuals seems to be the theme across all the diseases.

At the end of the day, where does all this leave us on the biology of coffee? Well, as I tell my students, it's complicated. But as most reading this already know, coffee will definitely wake you up in the morning.

Thomas Merritt, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laurentian University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The biology of coffee, one of the world's most popular drinks - Salon

Cell Biology

Meet the Culprits of Cell Culture Contamination – Technology Networks

The air is warm and humid, there is an abundance of food, and your friends come and go with their shiny toys. What sounds like a dreamy summer holiday is also the reality of in vitro cell culture experiments, and a golden opportunity for contaminants to intrude. Every person, reagent, and piece of equipment in the laboratory is a potential vehicle for invasive microbes, unwelcome cells and chemical impurities, which can create costly issues in both bench research and manufacturing. Cell culture contamination is a problem on many levels, creating immediate implications for experiments and wider issues for the scientific community.Consequences of cell culture contaminationContaminants can affect all cell characteristics (e.g. growth, metabolism, and morphology) and contribute to unreliable or erroneous experimental results. Cell culture contamination will likely create a need for experiments to be repeated, resulting in frustrating time delays and costly reagent wastage. Data derived from undetected contaminated cultures can end up published in scientific journals, allowing others to build hypotheses from dubious results. The pervasiveness of cross-contaminated and misidentified cell lines is a decades-long issue; in 1967, cell lines thought to be derived from various tissues were shown to be HeLa cells, a human cervical adenocarcinoma cell line.1 However, studies involving these misidentified cell lines continued to feature in hundreds of citations during the early 2000s.2This pattern is a well-acknowledged problem and threatens to undermine scientific integrity. The first published retraction in Nature Methods was due to cell line contamination3, and one conservative estimate of contaminated literature in 2017 found 32,755 articles reporting on research with misidentified cells.4 While many scientists may have been blissfully ignorant in the past, awareness of misidentified cell lines is growing.Deciding how best to deal with this knowledge is not straightforward and has been discussed extensively.4 In the interest of preventing further data contamination, a certificate of authentication of the origin and identity of human cells is now required by the International Journal of Cancer, and encouraged by funding agencies. Others have questioned whether mandatory testing really is the best way forward.3But what should be done about existing contaminated literature? Mass retraction of affected articles may disproportionately punish the careers of a few scientists, and could be a waste of resources containing potentially valuable data. One recently proposed system of self-retraction recommends replacing blame with praise in order to encourage self-correction.5 Post hoc labeling of published articles in the form of an expression of concern allows existing findings to remain accessible, while giving readers a chance to form their own judgement.

Lastly, pathogens carried by cells (either intentionally or accidentally) or in components of the culture medium are potential health hazards, and laboratory-acquired viral infections have been reported.6-8 Indeed, the stakes are higher when cells are to be introduced into patients, highlighting the critical importance of quality control in cell therapies.

While pipetting is a key part of everyday laboratory work, it is also one of the stages most prone to contamination. As sample contamination can affect the reliability of results, it is important to know how it can be avoided, saving both time and money. Download this poster for ten tips to avoiding contamination in pipetting.

Avoid leaving your cultures out of the incubator for extended periods

Label all cultures clearly and unambiguously

Disinfect work surfaces before and after use

Check disinfectants are effective and appropriate choices for the job

Work with only one cell culture at a time

Use separate media and reagents for each individual cell line

Quarantine new cell lines until tested negative for mycoplasma

Avoid overusing and relying on antibiotics

Record how long a cell line has been kept in cultureThe design of the laboratory can also play a role; cabinets should be placed away from through-traffic, doors and air-conditioning inlets.6 Restricting area access to allow only essential laboratory personnel to enter reduces disturbances of airflow around the microbiological safety cabinet.

Water baths, CO2 incubators, shelves and water pans are common culprits and should be cleaned or autoclaved regularly, using a chemical disinfectant where appropriate. Other routes of infection include accidental spillages, contact with non-sterile surfaces, splash-back from pipetting or pouring, microscopic aerosol, and infestation by vertebrates, dust and mites.Research groups isolating stem cells use unique cell properties to filter out undesired cells, explains Dr Mei-Ju Hsu, postdoctoral researcher in stem cell therapy at Leipzig University. Dr Hsu notes that: one of the most important features of mesenchymal stem cells is the attachment and growth on the plastic surfaces without prior coating. This step serves as a good way to eliminate the non-adherent cells (e.g. blood cells) by the removal of supernatants.

Organoid researcher Hans Clevers, from the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research at Utrecht University, assesses genetic diversity in cells through the use of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. The Clevers laboratory recently branched out from their work with mammalian cells to produce snake venom gland organoids. Dr Clevers notes that: We have come to realize that contamination of organoid cultures is a serious problem. We have observed that organoid cultures that are commonly used and are fast growers contaminate slower growing organoid cultures. Typical fast growers are the original mouse mini-guts that have popped up in various human organoid cultures in the lab. We SNP-type all human samples when they come in, which allows us to follow purity of human organoid cultures over time. Cheap, fast and crucial to avoid big mistakes.

Mycoplasma is one of the most common cell culture contaminants, with six species of mycoplasma accounting for 95% of all contamination. Therefore, it is important to improve our understanding of where mycoplasma contamination can stem from and how best to prevent it. Download this infographic to discover more about mycoplasma contamination in cell culture labs.

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Meet the Culprits of Cell Culture Contamination - Technology Networks

Cell Biology

Snake Venom Gland Organoids Produce Functional Toxins – The Scientist

Aminiaturized version of the snake venom gland that secretes functionally active toxins can be grown from stem cells, researchers describe January 23 in Cell.

Scientists have previously cultured these simplified tissues, called organoids, from mouse and human stem cells, including minibrains that model neuronal networks, but this study is the first to show that the same techniques work with snake tissue.

Hans Clevers, a principal investigator at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research, and his team used human growth factors to culture the snake venom organoids, reports STAT, but there was one critical difference from mammalian organoids: temperature. The snake organoids needed to be kept a few degrees colder than cultures from mice and humans, Clevers tells STAT, because reptiles are cold-blooded.

The experiment started with three of Cleverss grad students who wondered whether they could grow organoids from other species, reports The Atlantic. They received the egg of a Cape coral cobra (Aspidelaps lubricus) from a breeder and used the labs protocols on mammalian organoids to generate miniature venom glands, which produced the same toxins as that of real snakes. The lab went on to grow organoids from eight other species.

Its a breakthrough, says snake venom toxicologist Jos Mara Gutirrez of the University of Costa Rica in San Jos who was not involved in the study, in remarks to Science. This work opens the possibilities for studying the cellular biology of venom-secreting cells at a very fine level, which has not been possible in the past.

Expanding scientists knowledge of snake venom has important implications for human health. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes every year. Somewhere between 81,000 and 138,000 of those victims die as a result. This neglected public health issue is especially prevalent in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The current method of producing antivenom involves injecting a horse with snake venom and collecting the resulting antibodies, a centuries-old technique that requires milking a live snake. Venom gland organoids may be a safer and more economical alternative, reports The Atlantic.

The biotechnology they are describing is a potentially wonderful addition to the toolbox of toxins research generally, writes Leslie Boyer of the University of Arizonas VIPER Institute in an email to STAT. What will future studies reveal about the interaction of components of complex venoms? Can a practical harvest of toxins be generated for cost-effective use in future applications? How do cells full of deadly toxins avoid suicide?

Amy Schleunes is an intern atThe Scientist. Email her ataschleunes@the-scientist.com.

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Snake Venom Gland Organoids Produce Functional Toxins - The Scientist

Cell Biology

America’s most widely consumed cooking oil causes genetic changes in the brain – University of California

New UC Riverside research shows soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also affect neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimers disease, anxiety, and depression.

Used for fast food frying, added to packaged foods, and fed to livestock, soybean oil is by far the most widely produced and consumed edible oil in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In all likelihood, it is not healthy for humans.

It certainly is not good for mice. The new study, published this month in the journal Endocrinology, compared mice fed three different diets high in fat: soybean oil, soybean oil modified to be low in linoleic acid, and coconut oil.

The same UC Riverside research team found in 2015 that soybean oil induces obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, and fatty liver in mice. Then in a 2017 study, the same group learned that if soybean oil is engineered to be low in linoleic acid, it induces less obesity and insulin resistance.

However, in the study released this month, researchers did not find any difference between the modified and unmodified soybean oils effects on the brain. Specifically, the scientists found pronounced effects of the oil on the hypothalamus, where a number of critical processes take place.

The hypothalamus regulates body weight via your metabolism, maintains body temperature, is critical for reproduction and physical growth as well as your response to stress, said Margarita Curras-Collazo, a UC Riversideassociate professor of neuroscience and lead author on the study.

The team determined a number of genes in mice fed soybean oil were not functioning correctly. One such gene produces the love hormone, oxytocin. In soybean oil-fed mice, levels of oxytocin in the hypothalamus went down.

The research team discovered roughly 100 other genes also affected by the soybean oil diet. They believe this discovery could have ramifications not just for energy metabolism, but also for proper brain function and diseases such as autism or Parkinsons disease. However, it is important to note there is no proof the oil causes these diseases.

Additionally, the team notes the findings only apply to soybean oil not to other soy products or to other vegetable oils.

Do not throw out your tofu, soymilk, edamame, or soy sauce, said Frances Sladek, a UC Riverside toxicologist and professor of cell biology. Many soy products only contain small amounts of the oil, and large amounts of healthful compounds such as essential fatty acids and proteins.

A caveat for readers concerned about their most recent meal is that this study was conducted on mice, and mouse studies do not always translate to the same results in humans.

Also, this study utilized male mice. Because oxytocin is so important for maternal health and promotes mother-child bonding, similar studies need to be performed using female mice.

One additional note on this study the research team has not yet isolated which chemicals in the oil are responsible for the changes they found in the hypothalamus. But they have ruled out two candidates. It is not linoleic acid, since the modified oil also produced genetic disruptions; nor is it stigmasterol, a cholesterol-like chemical found naturally in soybean oil.

Identifying the compounds responsible for the negative effects is an important area for the teams future research.

This could help design healthier dietary oils in the future, said Poonamjot Deol, an assistant project scientist in Sladeks laboratory and first author on the study.

The dogma is that saturated fat is bad and unsaturated fat is good. Soybean oil is a polyunsaturated fat, but the idea that its good for you is just not proven, Sladek said.

Indeed, coconut oil, which contains saturated fats, produced very few changes in the hypothalamic genes.

If theres one message I want people to take away, its this: reduce consumption of soybean oil, Deol said about the most recent study.

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America's most widely consumed cooking oil causes genetic changes in the brain - University of California

Cell Biology

Postdoctoral Research Associate job with DURHAM UNIVERSITY | 193376 – Times Higher Education (THE)

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work on a project entitled

"Skin model engineering by harnessing the biomechanical forces exerted on skin cell nuclei".

As a collaboration between Drs Akis Karakesisoglou and Martin Goldberg, Department of Biosciences, Durham University and Steven Hyde, Oxford University we have designed new methodology to generate high quality in vitroskin models. The methodology works through using genetic engineering tools that re-program the biomechanical properties of skin cells.

We have gained funds from the Northern Accelerator (a research commercialisation collaboration between four North East Universities) to further develop the in vitro skin model and to commercialise the underlying technology.

The role of the post holder is to research and implement solutions in the fields of skin tissue engineering, skin tissue/cell biology and microscopy. The project will involve the creation and development of skin equivalent cell culture models using novel methods, then testing and analysing their structural and functional properties. The postholder will be helped by Drs Karakesisoglou, Goldberg and Hyde to find solutions and the candidate will need experience in the above fields to implement the solutions.

The post requires good skills in reporting research progress verbally, and in writing.

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Postdoctoral Research Associate job with DURHAM UNIVERSITY | 193376 - Times Higher Education (THE)

Cell Biology

Transcriptional scanning in the sperm may regulate rate of human evolution – News-Medical.net

Maturing sperm cells turn on most of their genes, not to follow their genetic instructions like normal, but instead to repair DNA before passing it to the next generation, a new study finds.

Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine researchers and published online January 23 in Cell, the study focuses on a mystery of biology: human sperm cells activate by far the largest number of genes (90 percent), a pattern also seen in other species like mice, birds, and even fruit flies. Cells in most organs express about 60 percent of their genetic code, or just the subset of genes needed for a cell type to do its particular job.

It now seems obvious that sperm activate so many more genes as they develop because doing so runs them through a DNA repair process, and protects the integrity of messages about to be inherited.

We also found that such repair in sperm is less active in genes that are activated, or transcribed, less often. This supports the theory that evolution is using transcription frequency as a lever, dialing it up to preserve the DNA code in some genes, but turning it down to enable changes elsewhere when it contributes to survival."

Itai Yanai, PhD, senior author, director of the Institute for Computational Medicine, professor in Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine

An example of genes not activated, not repaired, and free to accumulate changes in sperm were those related to immunity, which must continually evolve if the body is to recognize and attack ever-changing bacterial and viral invaders.

To conduct the new study, the authors analyzed gene expression patterns during sperm maturation at single-cell resolution. They first collected samples of human testes tissue, biopsied from consented volunteers. Using microfluidics, they then passed all cells in the samples down a tube just large enough for them to flow through in single file.

Within the tube each cell was pushed into its own water droplet, which acted like a mini-test tube in which enzymes opened the cells and then attached cell-specific barcodes to each transcribed snippet of genetic material. The labeled transcripts were then used to create maps of which genes were turned on at each point during sperm maturation. The team then cross-referenced these findings with known DNA variations in human population databases to estimate how often repair occurred in a given gene.

Surprisingly, researchers found that genes activated even a few times during sperm cell development contained 15-20 percent fewer DNA code errors than unexpressed genes, with the difference attributed to transcription-coupled repair (TCR). This process replaces faulty DNA patches just before the instructions they contain are converted into a related genetic material, RNA, during transcription, the first step in gene expression. RNA transcripts are then read to build proteins that make up cell structures and signals.

Cellular processes, including transcription, along with toxins in the environment, continually introduce errors into DNA chains, with TCR weeding out some of the altered code. The difference, the researchers say, is that sperm cells appear to apply TCR to more genes than is normal, but then to halt gene expression by mechanisms unknown before proteins are made.

Moving forward, the research team will seek to confirm whether sperm-derived genetic changes occur more often in genes not expressed during the maturation of sperm.

This may reveal insights into the causes of many genetic diseases linked to changes in the sperm of aging fathers. Male reproductive cells are known to divide and multiply throughout a person's life, with errors introduced each time. The authors say this may provide a rationale for the existence of widespread scanning uniquely in sperm, because egg cells received by each female in the womb do not multiply for the rest of her life.

Furthermore, the team will determine whether cells in the brain, which also express a large percentage of their genes, employ "transcriptional scanning" like sperm cells, and whether the scanning fails with age to increase risk for neurodegenerative diseases. Embryonic stem cells also display the high-transcription, low-mutation signature that could indicate the presence of such scanning during development.

"Survival of the fittest is a foundation of evolutional theory, but what if other mechanisms bias which gene types are more susceptible to change before natural selection can act on them?" asks first author Bo Xia, a PhD candidate in Yanai's lab. "Such a bias in the testes would have a dramatic effect, but only over evolutionary time scales, say millions of years."

Source:

Journal reference:

Xia, B., et al. (2020) Widespread Transcriptional Scanning in the Testis Modulates Gene Evolution Rates. Cell. doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.015.

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Transcriptional scanning in the sperm may regulate rate of human evolution - News-Medical.net

Cell Biology

Does coffee affect your biology? Yes, more than just waking you up – ThePrint

Text Size:A- A+

Youre reading this with a cup of coffee in your hand, arent you? Coffee is the most popular drink in many parts of the world. Americans drink more coffee than soda, juice and tea combined.

How popular is coffee? When news first broke that Prince Harry and Meghan were considering Canada as their new home, Canadian coffee giant Tim Hortons offered free coffee for life as an extra enticement.

Given coffees popularity, its surprising how much confusion surrounds how this hot, dark, nectar of the gods affects our biology.

The main biologically active ingredients in coffee are caffeine (a stimulant) and a suite of antioxidants. What do we know about how caffeine and antioxidants affect our bodies? The fundamentals are pretty simple, but the devil is in the details and the speculation around how coffee could either help or harm us runs a bit wild.

The stimulant properties of caffeine mean that you can count on a cup of coffee to wake you up. In fact, coffee, or at least the caffeine it contains, is the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world. It seems to work as a stimulant, at least in part, by blocking adenosine, which promotes sleep, from binding to its receptor.

Caffeine and adenosine have similar ring structures. Caffeine acts as a molecular mimic, filling and blocking the adenosine receptor, preventing the bodys natural ability to be able a rest when its tired.

This blocking is also the reason why too much coffee can leave you feeling jittery or sleepless. You can only postpone fatigue for so long before the bodys regulatory systems begin to fail, leading to simple things like the jitters, but also more serious effects like anxiety or insomnia. Complications may be common; a possible link between coffee drinking and insomnia was identified more than 100 years ago.

Also read:Coffee lovers have 50% less chance of developing most common type of liver cancer: Study

Different people respond to caffeine differently. At least some of this variation is from having different forms of that adenosine receptor, the molecule that caffeine binds to and blocks. There are likely other sites of genetic variation as well.

There are individuals who dont process caffeine and to whom drinks like coffee could pose medical danger. Even away from those extremes, however, there is variation in how we respond to that cup of coffee. And, like much of biology, that variation is a function of environment, our past coffee consumption, genetics and, honestly, just random chance.

We may be interested in coffee because of the oh-so-joyous caffeine buzz, but that doesnt mean that caffeine is the most biologically interesting aspect of a good cup of coffee.

In one study using rats, caffeine triggered smooth muscle contraction, so it is possible that caffeine directly promotes bowel activity. Other studies, though, have shown that decaffeinated coffee can have as strong an effect on bowel activity as regular coffee, suggesting a more complex mechanism involving some of the other molecules in coffee.

What about the antioxidants in coffee and the buzz that surrounds them? Things actually start out pretty straightforward. Metabolic processes produce the energy necessary for life, but they also create waste, often in the form of oxidized molecules that can be harmful in themselves or in damaging other molecules.

Antioxidants are a broad group of molecules that can scrub up dangerous waste; all organisms produce antioxidants as part of their metabolic balance. It is unclear if supplementing our diet with additional antioxidants can augment these natural defences, but that hasnt stopped speculation.

Antioxidants have been linked to almost everything, including premature ejaculation.

Are any of the claims of positive effects substantiated? Surprisingly, the answer is again a resounding maybe.

Coffee wont cure cancer, but it may help to prevent it and possibly other diseases as well. Part of answering the question of coffees connection to cancer lies in asking another: what is cancer? At its simplest, cancer is uncontrolled cell growth, which is fundamentally about regulating when genes are, or are not, actively expressed.

My research group studies gene regulation and I can tell you that even a good cup of coffee, or boost of caffeine, wont cause genes that are turned off or on at the wrong time to suddenly start playing by the rules.

The antioxidants in coffee may actually have a cancer-fighting effect. Remember that antioxidants fight cellular damage. One type of damage that they may help reduce is mutations to DNA, and cancer is caused by mutations that lead to the misregulation of genes.

Studies have shown that consuming coffee fights cancer in rats. Other studies in humans have shown that coffee consumption is associated with lower rates of some cancers.

Interestingly, coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced rates of other diseases as well. Higher coffee consumption is linked to lower rates of Parkinsons disease and some other forms of dementia. Strikingly, at least one experimental study in mice and cell culture shows that protection is a function of a combination of caffeine and antioxidants in coffee.

Higher coffee consumption has also been linked to lower rates of Type 2 diabetes. Complexity, combined effects and variation between individuals seems to be the theme across all the diseases.

At the end of the day, where does all this leave us on the biology of coffee? Well, as I tell my students, its complicated. But as most reading this already know, coffee will definitely wake you up in the morning.

Also read:Now, drink coffee without milk to cut your carbon footprint, Starbucks says

This is an updated version of a story originally published on Jan. 19, 2020. The original story called coffee the worlds most popular beverage. The term most popular can be defined differently. Retail sales of coffee outpace tea globally, but tea is the most consumed beverage after water.

Thomas Merritt, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laurentian University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

ThePrint is now on Telegram. For the best reports & opinion on politics, governance and more, subscribe to ThePrint on Telegram.

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Does coffee affect your biology? Yes, more than just waking you up - ThePrint

Biochemistry

CBD And The Advancement of Sleep Science – Magazine of Santa Clarita

Are you one of the 68 percent of Americans that struggle with sleep? If so, you have probably spent your fair share of money trying to get relief. You are not alone. Its projected that Americans will spend 52 billion dollars on sleep aids and remedies in 2020. The issue is that most solutions dont work as well as you expect and as they claim to work. The Problem: No two people are exactly alike, and neither is their body chemistry. What our body needs one day, it may not need the next and for this reason, you may find that supplements work for you sometimes, while other times they dont have the same impact. Differences in the biochemical makeup of one individual is another reason why a particular supplement may work well for one individual but not for another.Sleep supplements and synergistic formulations: As you may know, medicines produced in laboratories often have a blend of compounds that work more effectively when paired with one another. This formulation process is similar to natural supplements as well. Combining multiple supplements that work synergisticly to one another, can achieve an outcome thats more effective on many different people, with different body chemistry.CBD and Sleep: Many people these days are turning to CBD in their search for better sleep. That said, it is true, CBD can help to promote and maintain a state of calmness, which can help, but may not be enough for some people.Advancements in Sleep Science: bZen Organics new CBD Advanced Sleep Formula is a proprietary blend of natures most potent ingredients designed to give you the optimal opportunity to get a good nights rest. Ingredients: 25mg of CBD per capsule, Melatonin, Passion Flower, Linden Flower, Ginkgo Biloba, Lemon Balm, Skullcap Root, Hops Flower, and Vitamin E & D.Dr. Crawford joins the bZen Organics Team with over 10 years of experience working as a Formulation Chemist and Supplement Formulator. She has a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, a Masters in Human Nutrition and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry.

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CBD And The Advancement of Sleep Science - Magazine of Santa Clarita

Biochemistry

Putting wildlife at top of agenda: Liz Bonnin talks ahead of Planet Earth II live show coming to Birmingham – shropshirestar.com

The series was announced by the BBC in 2013 and focused on Islands, Mountains, Jungles, Desserts, Grasslands and Cities. More than 11 million people tuned in.

Sir David Attenborough closed the series by saying: Now, over half of us live in an urban environment. My home, too, is here, in the city of London. Looking down on this great metropolis, the ingenuity with which we continue to reshape the surface of our planet is very striking. But its also sobering. It reminds me of just how easy it is for us to lose our connection with the natural world. Yet, its on this connection that the future of both humanity and the natural world will depend. And surely, it is our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.

The series was described as being undoubtedly the greatest TV nature documentary to date and theres a strong case for it being one of the best TV series full stop. It won numerous awards and is now being recreated live in concert with Planet Earth Live II.

BBC Studios and the acclaimed BBC Natural History Unit has announced a UK & Ireland arena tour for Spring 2020. Fans can experience sensational footage from the BAFTA and EMMY award winning BBC series, with the show promising to bring audiences closer to the planets spellbinding animals, landscapes and wildlife dramas than ever before.

Following on from the recent success of the 2019 Blue Planet II Live In Concert tour, the live concerts will feature breathtaking, specially-selected footage shown in 4K ultra high-definition on a gigantic LED screen, as the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Matthew Freeman, play the remarkable music by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea & Jasha Klebe for Bleeding Fingers Music.

The arena tour will visit Birminghams Resorts World Arena on April 3.

Zimmer is renowned for his work on the likes of Gladiator, Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049, but said that the landmark BBC series stood out amongst his work. Planet Earth II is one of the most amazing things Ive ever been involved in: some of the greatest action scenes ever put on film, some of the most emotional, epic, fragile scenes Ive ever witnessed. Filmmaking at its absolute peak.

In the spectacular live show, audiences across the UK will get to rub shoulders with our acrobatic primate cousins in the steaming jungles of Madagascar, race alongside fearsome hunting lions in the remote sandy deserts of Namibia, face stormy Antarctic seas with a family of penguins and feel the raw tension as a baby iguana tries to escape the clutches of deadly racer snakes. And they will no doubt tap their toes along with dancing grizzly bears and be swept away by the bravery of a mother snow leopard.

The Planet Earth II Live in Concert arena tour will be hosted by wildlife and natural history TV presenter Liz Bonnin. With a masters in wild animal biology, Bonnin has presented over 40 primetime programmes including Blue Planet Live, Super Smart Animals, Galapagos and Horizon.

With her recent landmark BBC One documentary Drowning in Plastic, she investigated the ocean plastic crisis, with her hard-hitting environmental reporting raising the level of public debate on this important topic. Bonnin also regularly speaks at and hosts science and natural history events across the country, including the National Science + Engineering Competition, the Natural History Museums Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, New Scientist Live and Blue Dot Festival.

She said: I am so honoured to have the role of host on the Planet Earth II Live in Concert arena tour. The TV series included some absolutely breathtaking sequences who can ever forget the marine iguana fighting for its life as it escaped those racer snakes? I will be just as thrilled as the audience to relive such magnificent scenes on the giant screen, accompanied by a spectacular 80-piece orchestra it will certainly be an experience to remember.

Mat Way, Global Director, Live Entertainment at BBC Studios, added: After the very successful Blue Planet II tour we are delighted to partner with FKP Scorpio once again and bring Planet Earth II Live In Concert to the UK & Irish arenas, an incredible production bringing the BBCs ground breaking footage to the stage for fans to enjoy

Bonnin had always been interested in biology and chemistry at school, and she went on to study Biochemistry at University. After graduating, she started a career as a TV presenter working on such shows as BBC Ones Top of the Pops, before returning to her first love, science, and completing a Masters in Wild Animal Biology and Conservation. Bonnins main interests during her studies were animal behaviour and intelligence and big cat conservation. She set up and carried out a research project on the diet of tigers in Bardia National Park, Nepal, which saw her come first in her class.

Bonnins TV career has drawn heavily on her academic expertise. Recently, Bonnin has co-presented BBC Ones Blue Planet Live and the ground-breaking documentary Drowning in Plastic. She has also presented Should We Close Our Zoos in the latest series of Horizon and Big Animal Surgery, both for BBC Two.

She has previously been on our screens presenting the BBC One series Galapagos and Wild Alaska Live following the hugely successful Big Blue Live series in Monterey, California for the BBC, and for PBS in the USA.

Bonnin has also appeared in the series of Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One and presented a wildlife series for BBC One about animal migrations called Natures Epic Journeys. Other TV credits include wildlife and animal behaviour programmes Super Smart Animals, Animals in Love, Animals through the Night: Sleepover at the Zoo, Operation Snow Tiger and Animal Odd Couples; science series Horizon, Stargazing Live and Bang Goes the Theory; documentaries Egypts Lost Cities, Museum of Life and Science Friction; and ITVs popular Countrywise.

In addition to her TV work, Bonnin has hosted various high profile events, including the UKs National Science and Engineering Competition Awards and the Natural History Museums prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. She was also recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association.

When I got the call to do this, I jumped at the chance. I was onboard immediately. Quite selfishly, Im looking forward to the experience myself just as much as other members of the audience will be.

The thought of seeing that footage on such a big screen and having a live 70-piece orchestra will be magnificent. Ive seen some of the programmes on big screen and its a complete game changer. For me, its a kind of spiritual experience. For people who dont work in wildlife, these creatures remind us of our connection to nature. Then to see that while hearing music from Hans Zimmer is emotional. Its one of those rare occasions where we can celebrate the plant and humanity itself.

Bonnins role is to take the audience by the hand and keep the talking to a minimum. She wants the music and visuals to work their magic.

So Ill put into context the scenes and Ill give them new unexpected information about the scenes. And then the exec producer of Planet Earth II will come on every now and then to give them insights into what it took the make the scene work. Therell be little fun facts and well have 16 sequences, some are compilations that weve prepared that work well together. Of course they include the racer snake and iguana. We have hummingbirds, penguins, snow leopards. Weve cherry picked stuff that lends itself to them.

Bonnin describes hosting the show as a dream gig. She fell into a career that she adores and hopes to effect change. I do feel theres a very good quote going round. If youre not part of the solution youre part of the problem. The younger generation are making their voices heard more loudly than mine. Considering whats happening to the planet we should all be environmentalists. My role is to spell out what conservationists are doing. So when Im making programmes like Drowning in Plastic, Im a human being who has to play a part in being part of the solution.

This concert plays a role in that. It will really move us all to feel inspired and feel motivated to play our part. I dont need to preach, the images will remind us of the magic of the wildlife. I want to leave the audience with messages of hope and inspiration. We can save our wildlife and ourselves and become better custodians.

Bonnin is a communicator who wants to spell out inconvenient truths. In addition to Planet Earth II Live, she has recently finished a documentary on the impact of meat production on our environment.

These are reminders that we need to think about how much we consume. Its about all of these resources that we take for granted.

Given her success, its remarkable that Bonnin didnt want to do TV. Its been a wonderful blessing but it wasnt part of the plan. Im extending myself without going back to school. I really hope some of my work opens peoples eyes as much as it did mine.

Bonnin grew up amid nature, living in the mountains in the south of France, above Nice. She played outdoors all the time and spotted hedgehogs and snakes and spiders. She fell in love with nature.

I was plonked in the middle of it. Nature worked its magic around me. I always wanted to understand how that everything worked, down to the smallest layer. When I discovered chemistry and biology and biochemistry in school, I was thrilled. You can understand everything down to the atoms. When I listen to the processes in the human body, you realise were extraordinary, the way cells do things is incredible.

I did a bit of telly after uni, then went back to school. After biochemistry neuro degenerative diseases was going to be my PHD. I had done some zoology by then and knew I was passionate about wanting to protect wildlife. My masters set me off on a different path.

Bonnin doesnt see her work as being a job. Instead, she feels very privileged to continue to learn from all the scientists and conservations working night and day to save our planet. I do a lot of talks in schools and its important to care and to play their role in protecting the planet. I feel very lucky to be doing it.

Theres never been a time in our history when people like Greta Thunberg and people who organise protests like Extinction Rebellion have not tried to make their voices heard. Theres a zeitgeist there and so people are more aware and more conscious than ever before.

Greta is a hero of mine, no question. She sat outside parliament in Sweden on her own and she has galvanised millions of people to make their voices heard. For the first time in human history on a global level we are impassioned enough to say enough is enough. I feel ashamed as an adult that young children are doing this. We should have taken better care of their future. Among all the pretty dire news about climate, plastic and biodiversity I am hugely inspired that the beauty of the human spirit can turn this around. But my God have we left it late.

Greta isnt Bonnins only hero. There are others she admires. Sir David Attenborough is my absolute hero. Sylvia Earle, the marine biologist and author, and Alexandra Cortez, a congresswoman in New York who ran with no corporate funding, are also heros. Alexandra is a powerhouse of a woman who stood by the strength of her convictions. Just like Bonnin.

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Putting wildlife at top of agenda: Liz Bonnin talks ahead of Planet Earth II live show coming to Birmingham - shropshirestar.com

Immunology

How airports around the US are bringing awareness to coronavirus – FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX

Officials at Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) and Orlando International Airport are on stand-by after two cases of coronavirus were confirmed Friday in the United States.

Across the world, the death toll is now 41 in China with hundreds more sickened. Authorities believe the virus came from an infected animal at a Wuhan market in China.

The virus, which has flu-like symptoms according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has major airports like JFK, LAX and San Francisco screening passengers.

Any close space, theres a better chance for a viral infection to spread, said Dr. Mobeen Rathore, the chief of pediatric infectious disease and immunology for Wolfson Childrens Hospital.

The CDC says airport screenings may expand to more airports. However, JIA and Orlando are not included in that group. Both airports say they are waiting for more information from the CDC and state department of health.

RELATED: Second US case of Wuhan coronavirus confirmed, France reports 1st Europe cases

Rathore said he's concerned about the rapid spread of the new coronavirus.

While much is unknown about the disease, Rathore says officials are working to learn more.

From the birds to humans, but now we know it can spread from human to human, Rathore said.

Symptoms can be similar to a cold, such as a runny nose or sore throat, but severe cases have caused pneumonia or death.

When traveling, Rathore says practicing good hygiene such as washing hands and covering coughs will help whether it's preventing the spread of the new coronavirus or any others.

Its a legitimate concern that yes theres a potential of infection, taking a flight if you will, it will get to the US faster, he said.

RELATED: Shanghai Disneyland closes amid coronavirus concerns

In the meantime, CDC officials are asking the TSA to post health alerts about the virus at 14 airports, the closest one being Atlanta:

CDC officials said, as of Friday, the risk to the U.S. public remains low. For those two U.S. cases, symptoms started appearing several days after they returned home.

The CDC is also recommending travelers avoid going to the Chinese city of Wuhan.

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How airports around the US are bringing awareness to coronavirus - FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX