Monthly Archives: January 2020

Physiology

High Blood Pressure Differs In Women From Men – American Council on Science and Health

In effect, the broadening clinical experience of managing CVD conditions that manifest differently between women and men, combined with the accumulating data on sex-specific CVD presentations, suggest that cardiovascular pathophysiology is likely to be fundamentally different between the sexes.

The Study

Researchers made use of 4 community cohort studies on cardiovascular disease providing 144,599 blood pressure measurements from 32,833 individuals (54% women) over a 43 year period spanning the ages 5 to 98.

The graph on the left demonstrates something we have known for a long time, that the onset of hypertension in men occurs earlier than in women. The graph on the right takes those snapshots and calculates the trend and this is what is new. It is not so much that women catch up with men as that their blood pressure elevations accelerate (the slope) in their late 30s.

When the researchers adjusted for the usual suspect risk factors, i.e., diabetes, cholesterol, BMI, and smoking the effect was the same, although slightly attenuated.

This difference in trajectory held true for both the systolic and diastolic blood pressures as well as two calculated values, the pulse pressure which is, in turn, a rough measure of stiffening of the arterial wall; and mean arterial pressure, a rough measure of the thickness of the arterial wall. So conclusion, women have a different physiologic pathway than men.

During the time course of the study, almost 30%of men and 20% of women had hard cardiovascular events, a fatal or non-fatal heart attack, stroke, or heart failure. So other protective or deleterious factors are involved beyond high blood pressure in cardiovascular disease.

What could those factors be?

The most obvious candidates for differences lie in the hormonal milieu and in the differences in the size of the involved organs in women versus men. But there is no clear cut evidence in that regard. The other possibilities lie in the realm of our culture and its effect on gender.

Importantly, complex social, economic, and structural environmental factors lead to differences in the lived experience between women and men that can also affect physiology as well as vascular biology.

In the end, we do not know. What we do know with increasing evidence is that in the same way children are not small adults, women are not just child-bearing men. While ourcommonalities may far outweigh our differences, it may well be our differences that set the stage for the expression of disease.

Source: Sex Differences In Blood Pressure Trajectories Over the Life Course JAMA Cardiology DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2019.5306

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High Blood Pressure Differs In Women From Men - American Council on Science and Health

Physiology

Irregularity in eating schedules during weekend linked to obesity – News-Medical.net

A new study by the University of Barcelona (UB) concluded that irregularity in eating schedules during the weekend, named by the authors as eating jet lag, could be related to the increase of body mass index (BMI), a formula that measures weight and height to determine whether someone's weight is healthy.

These results, published in the science journal Nutrients, were independently taken from factors such as the quality of the diet, level of physical activity, social jet lag (difference in sleeping schedules during weekends) and chronotype (natural predisposition to a certain sleeping schedule).

According to the researchers, this is the first study that shows the importance of regularity in eating schedules -including weekends- to control weight, and could be an element to consider as part of nutrition guidelines to prevent obesity.

The study, jointly led by Maria Izquierdo Pulido, from the Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences and Gastronomy of the UB and INSA-UB, and Trinitat Cambras, from the Department of Biochemistry and Physiology of the UB, is part of the doctoral thesis of the researcher Mara Fernanda Zern Rugerio, first author of the article. Other participants in the article are lvaro Hernez, from the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERobn), and Armida Patricia Porras Loaiza, from Universidad de las Amricas Puebla (Mexico).

During the last years researches proved the body understands calories differently depending on the time of the day. Eating late can be related to a higher risk of obesity. According to Maria Izquierdo Pulido, "this difference is related to our biological clock, which organizes our body to understand and metabolize calories consumed during the day". At night, however, "it gets the body ready for fasting while we sleep".

"As a result -the researcher continues-, when intake takes place regularly, the circadian clock ensures that the body's metabolic pathways act to assimilate nutrients. However, when food is taken at an unusual hour, nutrients can act on the molecular machinery of peripheral clocks (outside the brain), altering the schedule and thus, modifying the body's metabolic functions".

The new study was carried out on a population of 1,106 young people (aged between eighteen and twenty-two) in Spain and Mexico. Researchers analyzed the relation between the body mass index and the variability in eating timing during weekends compared to the rest of the days. To do so, authors used a new marker that gathers changes in eating times (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at weekends: the eating jet lag, presented for the first time in this study.

Our results show changing the timing of the three meals during the weekend is linked to obesity. The highest impact on the BDI could occur when there is a 3.5-hour difference in eating schedules. After this, the risk of obesity could increase, since we saw individuals who showed a 3.5-hour eating jet lag increased their BDI in 1.3. kg/m2.

Mara Fernanda Zern Rugerio, first author of the article

To explain the link between eating jet lag and obesity, authors suggest individuals to undergo a chronodisruption, that is, a lack of synchrony between internal time of the body and social time. "Our biological clock is like a machine, and is ready to unchain the same physiological and metabolic response at the same time of the day, every day of the week. Fixed eating and sleep schedules help the body to be organized and promote energy homeostasis. Therefore, people with a higher alteration of their schedules have a higher risk of obesity", notes Cambras.

More research is needed to reveal the physiological mechanisms and metabolic alterations behind the eating jet lag and its link to obesity. However, authors highlight the importance of keeping regular eating and sleeping schedules to preserve health and wellbeing. "Apart from diet and physical exercise, which are two pillars regarding obesity, other factor to be considered is regular eating schedules, since we proved it has an impact on our body weight", notes Izquierdo Pulido.

The study notes the importance of doing research on the relation between time irregularity and the evolution of weight over time, as well as conducting the study on populations with different social and economic characteristics, metabolic features and different age. "Variability in eating schedules during weekends compared to week days can happen chronically during someone's life. Future studies should evaluate the effect of this chronic variability through the eating jet lag, on the evolution of weight", conclude researchers.

Source:

Journal reference:

Zern-Rugerio, M. F. et al. (2019) Eating Jet Lag: A Marker of the Variability in Meal Timing and Its Association with Body Mass Index. Nutrients. doi.org/10.3390/nu11122980

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Irregularity in eating schedules during weekend linked to obesity - News-Medical.net

Physiology

There’s A New Key To Avoiding The Freshman 15 | The University Network – The University Network

Want to avoid the freshman 15? The key may be keeping a regular eating schedule, as new research suggests eating meals later on the weekends than during the week could lead to weight gain.

Nutritionists and health nuts have long known that when it comes to keeping off extra weight, when you eat can matter as much as what you eat. Eating all of your food between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., for example, is a proven way to shed and keep off pounds, as bodies understand calories differently depending on what time it is.

What hadnt been explored, until this study, was whether disruptions to the regularity of meal time like swapping breakfast for brunch could also lead to weight gain.

During the week, people generally have a routine. And as a result, they may eat their meals at roughly the same times each day. On weekends, however, days are typically less structured and people tend to wake up and go to bed later, which often postpones and irregulates the times they eat their meals. The researchers refer to this habit as eating jet lag.

To conduct their study, the researchers surveyed more than 1,100 college students in Spain and Mexico to find what time they were eating their meals on weekends compared to weekdays.

While nearly two-thirds of the students showed more than one hour of eating jet lag on the weekends, the ones most at risk of gaining weight were those who waited more than 3.5 hours to eat their meals.

In essence, the longer the students postponed their weekend meals, the more at-risk they were of packing on the pounds. According to the researchers, the results werent related to what the students ate, how much they exercised or any specific sleeping habits, and were independent of age, nationality and gender.

Our results show changing the timing of the three meals during the weekend is linked to obesity. The highest impact on the BMI (Body Mass Index) could occur when there is a 3.5-hour difference in eating schedules, Mara Fernanda Zern Rugerio, a co-author of the study from the University of Barcelona (UB), said in a news release.

The researchers explained that the reason people may gain weight when eating outside of their normal schedule is because they are disrupting their biological clocks. For example, if someones body is used to eating meals at 8 a.m., 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day, thats when it will prepare itself to effectively metabolize that food.

Our biological clock is like a machine, and is ready to unchain the same physiological and metabolic response at the same time of the day, every day of the week. Fixed eating and sleep schedules help the body to be organized and promote energy homeostasis. Therefore, people with a higher alteration of their schedules have a higher risk of obesity, Trinitat Cambras, a lead author of the study from UBs Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, said in the news release.

Though, when it comes to staying trim, fit and healthy, the researchers noted that maintaining regular eating habits is just one piece to the puzzle, with the other key components being diet and exercise.

They also noted that more research is needed to investigate the impact of irregular eating on weight fluctuation over time.

Variability in eating schedules during weekends compared to week days can happen chronically during someones life, the researchers concluded. Future studies should evaluate the effect of this chronic variability through the eating jet lag, on the evolution of weight.

News & Content Manager

Jackson Schroeder is a graduate of Ohio University with a B.A. in Journalism from the E.W. Scripps School. He is originally from Savannah, Georgia. Jackson has covered a wide range of topics, including sustainability, technology, sports, culture, travel, and music. He plays bass and guitar, and enjoys playing and listening to live music in his free time.

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There's A New Key To Avoiding The Freshman 15 | The University Network - The University Network

Anatomy

Scoop: Coming Up on a New Episode of GREY’S ANATOMY on ABC – Thursday, February 6, 2020 – Broadway World

"The Last Supper" - Jackson creates an uncomfortable situation when he invites new girlfriend, Vic, to what he thinks is Richard and Catherine's anniversary celebration, only to discover the dinner was called for different reasons. Elsewhere, Levi brings Nico on a trip to visit an ailing family member on an all-new episode of "Grey's Anatomy,"THURSDAY, FEB. 6 (9:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on ABC. Episodes can also be viewed the next day onABC.com, theABC apporHulu."Grey's Anatomy" stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery, Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Camilla Luddington as Jo Wilson, Kelly McCreary as Maggie Pierce, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca, Greg Germann as Tom Koracick, Chris Carmack as Atticus "Link" Lincoln and Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt.Guest starring is Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox, Alex Landi as Nico Kim, Barrett Doss as Victoria Hughes and Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller."The Last Supper"was written by Jason Ganzel and directed by Nicole Rubio."Grey's Anatomy" was created and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes. Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Debbie Allen, Zoanne Clack, Fred Einesman, Andy Reaser and Meg Marinis are executive producers. "Grey's Anatomy" is produced by ABC Studios. ABC Studios is a part of Disney Television Studios, a collection of studios comprised of 20th Century FOX Television, ABC Studios and FOX 21 Television Studios.

A TV parental guideline will be assigned to this program at a later date.

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Scoop: Coming Up on a New Episode of GREY'S ANATOMY on ABC - Thursday, February 6, 2020 - Broadway World

Immunology

Mundipharma Enters Partnership With Samsung Bioepis to Expand Biosimilars Into Hong Kong and Taiwan – Yahoo Finance

Mundipharma today announced a partnership with Samsung Bioepis to commercialize Samsung Bioepis first-wave biosimilar candidates in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The partnership covers Samsung Bioepis biosimilar candidates in the field of immunology and oncology, including SB5 (adalimumab), SB4 (etanercept), SB3 (trastuzumab), and SB8 (bevacizumab).

Through the partnership, Mundipharma will be the exclusive commercialization partner, while Samsung Bioepis will remain the Marketing Authorisation Holder (MAH), responsible for clinical development, regulatory registration, and manufacture of the biosimilars.

"This partnership brings together Samsung Bioepis proven biosimilar development platform with Mundipharmas commercial acumen and market insight and ability to increase patient access to proven treatments," said Mundipharma CEO, Raman Singh. "This partnership will help to address the patient need in two important territories in Asia for immunology and oncology treatments," he added.

About Mundipharma

Mundipharmas independent associated companies are privately owned entities covering the worlds pharmaceutical markets. Mundipharma is a prime example of a company that consistently delivers high quality products while standing by the values that represent the company. Our mission is to alleviate the suffering of patients with cancer and non-cancer pain and to substantially improve their quality of life. Mundipharma is dedicated to bringing to patients with severe and debilitating diseases the benefit of novel treatment options in fields such as pain, oncology, oncology supportive care, ophthalmology, respiratory disease and consumer healthcare. For more information please visit: http://www.mundipharma.com.sg.

About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.

Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology and hematology. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen. For more information, please visit: http://www.samsungbioepis.com and follow us on social media Twitter, LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200116005483/en/

Contacts

Stephenie VaskoChief Communications Officer & Head, Digital Strategy Asia Pacific, Latin America the Middle East & Africa+65-6303-9732 | media@mundipharma.com.sg

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Mundipharma Enters Partnership With Samsung Bioepis to Expand Biosimilars Into Hong Kong and Taiwan - Yahoo Finance

Immunology

@UMmedschool expert available to comment on coronavirus outbreak; he is studying the virus and how it spreads. – Newswise

MEDIA CONTACT

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Matthew Frieman, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is available for interviews on the coronavirus outbreak in China that is spreading to other countries including the U.S. He plans to study the virus by synthesizing it in his lab and from samples provided to him from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

His research goal is to create therapeutic interventions for viruses of public health concern by developing a detailed understanding of how the viruses interact with the host. His research has focused on the recently emerged and highly pathogenic coronaviruses: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Both viruses cause severe lung disease, are highly lethal and yet there are no FDA approved therapeutics that target them.

His work has been highlighted in The Washington Post, NPR, and STAT.

Quote: With new cases in Japan, Thailand, and now the U.S., and with the number of cases in China now totaling in the hundreds, there is clear evidence human-to-human spread of this virus, which will make it problematic to control.

Some of Dr. Friemans published research findings on these viruses and potential new treatments appear below:

Coleman CM, Sisk JM, Mingo RM,Nelson EA, White JM,Frieman MB. 2016.Abelson Kinase Inhibitors Are Potent Inhibitors of Severe Acute RespiratorySyndromeCoronavirus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Fusion. JVirol 90:8924-8933.

Luke T, Wu H, Zhao J, Channappanavar R, Coleman CM, Jiao JA, Matsushita H, Liu Y, Postnikova EN, Ork BL, Glenn G, Flyer D, Defang G, Raviprakash K, Kochel T,Wang J, Nie W, Smith G, Hensley LE, Olinger GG, Kuhn JH, Holbrook MR, Johnson RF, Perlman S, Sullivan E,Frieman MB. 2016. Human polyclonal immunoglobulinfrom transchromosomic bovines inhibits MERS-CoV in vivo. Sci Transl Med 8:326ra321.

Dyall J, Coleman CM, Hart BJ,Venkataraman T, Holbrook MR, Kindrachuk J, Johnson RF, Olinger GG, Jr.,Jahrling PB, Laidlaw M, Johansen LM, Lear-Rooney CM,Glass PJ, Hensley LE,Frieman MB. 2014. Repurposing ofclinically developed drugs for treatment of Middle East respiratory syndromecoronavirus infection. AntimicrobAgents Chemother 58:4885-4893.

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@UMmedschool expert available to comment on coronavirus outbreak; he is studying the virus and how it spreads. - Newswise

Human Behavior

Robert Askins Takes on Animal (and Human) Behavior in The Squirrels – Westword

Robert Askins is a daring playwright, as evidenced by Hand to God at Curious Theatre Company in 2016, when we watched a sock puppet created for a church childrens show become satanic, the church get defiled and everyones id spin crazily out of control. Askins's latest work, The Squirrels, is enjoying a regional premiere at the Aurora Fox, and its equally explosive. Executive producer Helen R. Murray is pretty daring herself when it comes to choosing material, and shes enticed actor Missy Moore, who left Denver for a new life in Los Angeles, back to direct. On stage, Moore also tends to go full-out, and its doubtless her influence that makes the acting in this production as free and vibrant as the script requires.

Yes, this is a story about squirrels. Everyone in it is a squirrel. The actors wear squirrelly-human costumes with big, bushy tails, scamper around on a large, sheltering tree (a miracle of design and construction by Brandon Philip Case), emit squirrel squeaks, cheeps, mutters and chatters, and utilize a jokey, pun-laden language when speaking human. Askins has clearly boned up on squirrel behavior: Periodically, a scientist, played by Andrew Uhlenhopp, steps forward to tell us something about the nature of squirrels. So these on-stage squirrels behave like real squirrels. Theyre territorial. They hide their nuts (some lewd jokes in the script here) in caches and sort them by type, which indicates a level of memory and intelligence. Squirrels cant vomit. Theyve been known to be cannibalistic, and a male squirrel may kill infants that arent his.

But this play isnt a nature lesson. As Aesops fables taught us long ago, animal stories usefully illustrate human traits. The Squirrels is billed as a dark comedy and is often very funny, but the overall impression it leaves is sinister, bloody and dark. Rather like the times were living in now, with wars that refuse to end or, having formally ended, continue to distort the lives of millions of people around the world.

Leiney Rigg (left to right) Rachel Turner and Hossein Forouzandeh in The Squirrels.

Aurora Fox

In Askins's play, the squirrels territory is rapidly being diminished by fire and encroaching development. Food supplies are limited. The gray squirrels, led by paterfamilias Scurius (a fine Josh Levy) are surviving well enough at the base of their tree until red squirrel Carolinensis (Hossein Forouzandeh, in an equally strong performance) approaches. His people inhabit the branches above, and theyre hungry. Is Scurius willing to share some nuts from his ample store? Scurius is reluctant, but hes persuaded to help by his compassionate wife, Mammalia (Kelly Uhlenhopp), and daughter Chordata (Leiney Rigg) who, unbeknownst to him, is falling in love with Carolinensis. There are lots of echoes in this story. For some moments, I thought of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof inviting a stranger to Sabbath dinner, only to find that stranger falling in love with one of his daughters. In The Squirrels, theres a second daughter Rodentia (Rachel Turner) adopted by Scurius as a tiny pink fallen nestling. And here memories of King Lear intrude. If Chordata is a loving Cordelia figure, Rodentia is more akin to the scheming sisters Goneril and Regan.

Immigration is in the forefront for a while as Carolinensis is told that red squirrels dont belong among the gray. Where was he born, he's asked like so many Americans of Asian or African heritage. Here, he says simply, adding that the site has always been his home. Still, it seems that peace can perhaps be achieved between the two dominant males. Unfortunately, theres an instigator in the squirrels midst: Sciuridae (also played by Andrew Uhlenhopp). Its difficult to believe how much damage a single vicious whisperer can do, but not impossible. Think of Steve Bannon, dismissed as Donald Trumps White House strategistand traveling to Europe to spread his dogma, chatting with Brexiteers in England and telling a gathering for Marine Le Pen in France, Let them call you racist, xenophobes, nativists, homophobes, misogynists wear it as a badge of honor. Perhaps Bannons project is running into some headwinds, but his propaganda has power.

It isnt hard for Sciuridae to convert pretty, nasty little Rodentia to his worldview. Turners Rodentia is so elegantly mean-spirited and Andrew Uhlenhopps Sciuridae so convincing that every time the two shared a scene, my stomach hurt. All the gentle sweetness of Riggs Chordata and Kelly Uhlenhopps nurturing Mammalia cant counter Sciuridaes malevolence, especially as father Scurius ages into dementia and obesity and Carolinensis struggles to protect his tribe. Pretty soon the dogs of war have been unleashed, and all hell is breaking loose.

If this fable has a moral, its that animals we think of as innocent and charming do things that we'd see as evil and what they do is nothing compared to the evil that we human animals inflict on one another. This is a beautifully staged, thought-provoking and original fireball of a show.

The Squirrels, presented through February 9 by the Aurora Fox, 9900 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora, 303-739-1970, aurorafox.org.

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Robert Askins Takes on Animal (and Human) Behavior in The Squirrels - Westword

Human Behavior

Coinsbit Organizes the Largest Blockchain Conference in History – Yahoo Finance

HONG KONG, Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 15, in Hong Kong, the team of Coinsbit cryptocurrency exchange organized the largest blockchain conference in the history of such events. The exchange has also announced building a global blockchain marketplace in two month with several stable coins used for payments.

Instead of the expected 10,000, almost 14,000 people interested in the industry visited CHAIN 2020. These are record figures for an event of this level because usually the audience of cryptocurrency summits and forums is limited to several hundred or thousands of guests.

The world's leading crypto experts, managers, and founders of investment funds, ambitious blockchain projects and high-tech companies, successful investors and traders organizers from Coinsbit gathered the most famous and authoritative speakers, as well as touch upon the most relevant and interesting topics for the community.

The event was opened by Jim Rogers investor, traveler, author of many books, an expert in finance and the legend of Wall Street. Vlad Zamfir, the creator of the consensus protocol from the Ethereum Foundation team, entered into an interesting discussion with Jim. Vlad shared his point of view on the results of the decade, told how the rapid development of technologies (including blockchain) affected the life of a modern person. In addition to the general direction of technology development, quite specific topics of trading and investing were raised.

The exclusive guests of the meeting were the Sophia robot, created by Hanson Robotics. Sophia is currently the most advanced humanoid AI that adapts to new information and human behavior. Conference attendees did not miss the opportunity to inquire about her opinion on decentralized data registry technology.

Coinsbit team experts did not stand aside. Development Director Natalia Simson spoke about trends in the digital economy, the importance of stablecoins and the role of cryptocurrency exchanges as key players in the new economic reality. Natalia also reported that the cooperation of stablecoins with cryptocurrency exchanges is very significant, which can contribute to the massive use of cryptocurrencies and accelerate the pace of development of the digital economy.

Dozens of other well-known businessmen and developers, experts and analysts, traders and investors also made a significant contribution to the largest blockchain conference in recent years.

Contact:

Anna Tutova, +380-668-917-994agency@coinstelegram.com

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SOURCE Coinsbit

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Coinsbit Organizes the Largest Blockchain Conference in History - Yahoo Finance

Human Behavior

5 to be inducted at EG High Wall of Honor ceremony – Warwick Beacon

The East Greenwich High School Wall of Honor ceremony will be held April 29 at 6 p.m. in the East Greenwich High School Auditorium.

Being honored this year are: Susan Stevens Crummel, a nationally recognized children's book author and her sister, Janet Stevens, who is renowned illustrator for children's books; Dr. Francis J. Pescosolido, currently working at Bradley Hospital but also serving as the ClinicalAssociate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Warren AlpertMedical School of Brown University; Dennis Lynch, Chairman of the Board at Cardtronics and Chairman of the South Health Board of Trustees, and Phil Garvey, who was an outstanding East Greenwich High School athlete, who went on to coach and teach at several RI schools and served his country as a United States Marine Corps officer serving in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraq Freedom as the Third Marine Air Wing's operations officer.

Friends, family, schoolmates and teammates are welcome to attend the induction ceremony that will last about an hour and a half.

The event is sponsored by Allan "Britt" Gammons of Gammons Realty in East Greenwich.

For further information and details contact Robert Houghtaling at 230-2246 or Chris Cobain at 398-1562.

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5 to be inducted at EG High Wall of Honor ceremony - Warwick Beacon

Human Behavior

Jon Meacham: Impeachment trial will bring out Trump’s most impulsive behavior – KCRW

Few people have a resume as tailor-made to provide perspective on President Trumps impeachment trial than Jon Meacham.

He won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of President Andrew Jackson and was tapped by the Bush family to write the biography of George H. W. Bush. His recent book is Impeachment.

As the trial begins, Meacham offers some thoughts.

On the legacy of impeachment

From the very beginning, impeachment was the ultimate sanction. It was the ultimate check and balance in a system that was entirely based on checks and balances. The insight of the American Revolution was that no one person, no one body should be entrusted with too much power because the founders had a very realistic, almost dark view of human nature. And so it's a hugely important moment.

What Meacham will be watching

It's an unfolding story. As information emerges, as documents emerge, there's going to be a rising pile of evidence. It's quite likely that they will be sitting there in that chamber and people will be offering information that was not available to the House.

I think the Senate will be in a very uncomfortable position for politicians, which is that they're going to have to take stands without a lot of time to put their finger in the air and see where the political winds are going.

On the presidents live tweets

I think whether what the president says actually affects what's unfolding on the floor in an official way, that's probably less of an issue. But he could overreach. He could make a good point. He could deflate something. He could also inflate his own troubles. This is going to be a moment that's going to bring out his most impulsive behavior.

Does the impeachment matter to voters?

I hope it matters because of the nature of the Constitution. If you raise the bar on what's impeachable, then you end up lowering the bar on what political behavior is acceptable. This is not a partisan point. Future presidents are going to study this very carefully to get a sense of what they might be able to get away with. That's just human nature.

My own bet is that the president survives this vote, and the people will decide whether they want four more years of this or not in November.

On the Democrat presidential candidates

I don't think it's at all implausible that [Bernie] Sanders or [Elizabeth] Warren wins the nomination and conceivably, depending on the constellation of circumstances, wins. We are in this political equivalent of climate change. There's an unsettled quality to our politics at the moment that I think makes almost anything possible.

That said, my own bet is that Vice President Biden survives these early contests and probably goes head-to-head with the president. But I didn't think Donald Trump would be president either, so what the hell do I know?

On hope in America's future

We have a natural human tendency to minimize the struggles of the past and maximize the troubles at hand. Totally understandable, because the problems of our time are the problems of our time. But I think a more sober and proportionate sense of what a close-run thing America has been would lead us to be pretty hopeful.

My view is that we have this remarkable experiment, it has survived, and if we do the right thing, I think it will continue to.

Jon Meacham will be at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara Thursday, January 30 through UCSB Arts and Lectures.

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Jon Meacham: Impeachment trial will bring out Trump's most impulsive behavior - KCRW