All posts by medical

Novel hybrid device to boost research on metastatic process of breast cancer cells – News-Medical.Net

February 6, 2021 medical

European researchers are working on a novel hybrid device to better understand the metastatic process of cancer cells traveling from breast to bone and fast screen new drugs against it.

The spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is the main cause of cancer-related deaths. According to the US National Cancer Institute, in 2018 there were 9.5 million deaths caused by cancer worldwide, and a high percentage of those involved tumors that had spread across the body.

However the metastatic process remains one of the most enigmatic aspects of the disease. To understand it, we have to take a step back and look at the biology of the primary tumor.

Roger Gomis, head of the group growth control and cancer metastasis at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, in Barcelona, explains: "Essentially what you have in a tumor is an original cell or a small group of cells that receive oncogenic signals, such as tobacco or UV light. Those inputs induce alterations known as mutations, which make the cells start proliferating in a dysregulated manner. The tumor mass starts growing and expanding and, in order not to run out of supplies and collapse, some cancer cells spread to other organs. Cancer cells spread not because they are encoded to the metastasis but just because it's crowded."

What we observe in cancer is an accelerated process of evolutionary species, trying to leave one site to grow on foreign soil. The site where tumor cells metastasize is not random, it rather follows a specific tissue pattern based on the Darwinian theory of evolution.

Gomis uses the Galapagos Islands as an example to explain. "You have a population of birds that have flown from Ecuador. They reach the islands and they adapt to the conditions of each island, forming new bird species. Why did birds colonize the Galapagos Islands and not dogs or reptiles? Because they could fly! So the genetics made them the candidates. But then, there is a process of adaptation that is imposed by the characteristics of the destination; for example the latitudes and where the food is," he says.

In terms of metastasis, it is the same. The fact that metastatic cells metastasize on a particular site depends on the genetics of the cells, the characteristics of the metastatic tissue and the ability of the tumour cells to adapt to and grow in the new environment. A great example of this is breast cancer.

The bones are the most common place where metastatic breast cancer cells tend to go. Although the research on tumors has exponentially grown in the past years, the major hurdle to decreasing mortality is to find out where the cancer cells will spread. To understand the process, scientists need relevant cancer models, which are lacking.

The main reason why it has been so difficult to translate the findings into the clinical settings is that the models of the laboratory sometimes do not factor in everything we have in the clinics. The laboratory mice, in terms of metastasis, do not always recapitulate what we see in the patients. For example, the breast cancer that we generate in the mouse tends to metastasize to the lung but it's rare to see it in the bones."

Roger Gomis, Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona

Providing better models to shed light on the bone metastatic process is the aim of the B2B project, supported by the EU Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) programme. Its interdisciplinary consortium are creating a cutting-edge device that mimics the spontaneous metastasis process from the breast to the bone.

Their innovative technology includes a patient-derived breast cancer lesion connected to a reconstructed bone via a complex vascular network. "The fluidic system mimics the features of human blood vessels feeding and connecting living tumour cells from breast cancer to the target metastatic tissue, which is the bone," explains Silvia Scaglione, group leader of the CNR-IEIIT Bioengineering laboratory of Genoa, and coordinator of the project.

The level of physiological complexity of the project is really high but this is necessary if we are to capture all the key elements of the metastatic process. "Usually cancer is studied either using in vitro static models or in vivo animal models. However, both approaches fail to recapitulate the metastatic process for different reasons. The static model can't mimic the fluidic connections between the breast cancer and the metastatic side, while the animal model doesn't resemble the spontaneous breast metastatic onset," she says.

If successful, the B2B device will be an in vitro alternative that features three new complementary technologies. The first is clinically relevant-sized organoids that are able to resemble what is happening in vivo. "If you miniaturize too much the cancer tissue, as in some other in vitro approaches, you lose some biochemical and molecular features such a hypoxic core within the tumor tissue," Scaglione explains.

The second is the generation of the ossicle, the bone tissue containing the target of metastasis, in vitro. "We started using mice models to make the ossicle, since it is impossible with our knowledge in the world to create the bone marrow, which is the target of the metastatic cancer cells. In parallel, the partner involved in this task is working on a novel in vitro approach using patient-derived stem cells to create bone tissue and thus by passing completely the animal step," says Scaglione.

The third is the fluidic system that connects the breast and bone tissues, which is entirely based on human physiology. The system consists of a micro-vascular capillary network, which is formed spontaneously around the tumour tissue, connected to a functional bioprinted macro-vascular tree.

Scaglione sees a future whereby any crosstalk between organs can be studied using the B2B platform, reducing the need for animal models and supporting scientists in advancing knowledge on tumors. "We have selected the breast metastasis as a case study but, of course, our platform will be adapted for many other diseases," she says, "Not necessary for cancer, but, for instance, fibrosis or other cases where you have an interaction between different tissues that are vascularised and fluidically connected. Also, the platform will be useful for studying the pharmacokinetics of any type of drugs."

Scaglione also believes that this technology will accelerate the identification of metastasis-suppressing therapies for breast cancer patients and will help pre-screen novel personalized cancer therapies, which will ultimately have a high impact for oncological patients.

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Novel hybrid device to boost research on metastatic process of breast cancer cells - News-Medical.Net

Physiology

Ga. Parents Of Transgender Athletes React To New ‘Female-Only Sports’ Bill | 90.1 FM WABE – WABE 90.1 FM

February 6, 2021 medical

Georgia LGBTQ advocacy groups are criticizing new legislation that they say discriminates against transgender youth.

Republican state Rep. Philip Singleton announced House Bill 276 on Thursday, along with 36 other House members who have already co-signed the legislation.

Singleton announced the bill would stop state public schools and universities from allowing biological males to participate in girl-only sports. If passed, HB 276 would also allow students to sue schools that deprive them of athletic opportunities, as a result of violating the law.

No one here is concerned with how any person chooses to identify their gender, Singleton said during a press conference in the Georgia Capitol building, alongside his family and other young, female athletes lined up behind him.

We believe every single athlete should have the opportunity to compete, and there is no place for identity politics, or discrimination of any type, in sports.

Singleton then introduced his 10-year-old daughter Emma and put her in front of the mic, saying the bill is about biology and physiology, not psychology or sociology.

I dont think it is fair for girls who are playing in girls-only sports to have to play against boys, she said.

The boys are naturally born stronger and can usually beat girls.

But one former Georgia politician is joining in with critics of the bill who say its a discriminatory, shameful attack on Georgias transgender youth and young adults.

Jen Slipakoff ran to represent Georgias State House District 36 in 2018. She said her daughter a young, transgender athlete in a conservative Georgia district would be devastated if the bill passes.

I havent told her. I havent told her because I dont know what to tell her, Slipakoff said in response to a question about her daughters reaction to HB 276.

What do you say to that? Theres some lawmaker who has never met a transgender person, probably, who thinks that you should not play? Who has never met you, and thinks you shouldnt play lacrosse with your friends? What a heartbreaking conversation.

The bill would force state universities to disregard NCAA guidance on transgender athlete inclusion.

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Ga. Parents Of Transgender Athletes React To New 'Female-Only Sports' Bill | 90.1 FM WABE - WABE 90.1 FM

Human Behavior

Groping in the Dark for Answers: An Interview with Femi Kayode – Los Angeles Review of Books – lareviewofbooks

February 6, 2021 medical

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

MY CONVERSATIONS WITH Femi Kayode that have taken place in the past few months have been via the virtual world WhatsApp, Zoom, email, etc. but Femis fizzing positive energy cannot be contained by a screen. He is the old friend you didnt know you had, and it was my pleasure to interview him for his debut novel, Lightseekers.

In Lightseekers, Philip Taiwo is a psychologist who has returned to his native Nigeria. He is persuaded by a grieving father to investigate the necklace murders of three young men in a fictional community on the outskirts of Port Harcourt. The debut contains many of the elements that are the norm for crime fiction, while also addressing some of the complexities and challenges that communities in Nigeria face. Its an example of genre fiction that brings to light the cracks in our society and those individuals who fall through them.

OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE: As I read Lightseekers, I was drawn in by how particular mob justice is to Nigeria and climes like ours. Was there a specific incident that inspired this story?

FEMI KAYODE: The Aluu 4 incident, where four undergraduate students of the University of Port Harcourt were tortured and burnt to death, really stuck with me. By then, necklace killing, as it is known all over the world, was a common occurrence in Nigeria and several parts of the continent.

This one was different, though. Perhaps it was the very public nature of murders, with several people posting videos of the killing on social media. Or the fact that these boys could not have been strangers in the community where they were murdered after all, they were students of the very university that was the lifeblood of the town. Anyway, it really made me wonder: what could drive people to do this to another human being? I wondered how the parents of the students are feeling. It was one thing to know your child died, but to have graphic and on-the-loop evidence of how, must be unbearable. Then, of course, I thought of the mob: neighbors, friends, colleagues, fellow tribesmen, family, and more. How did they see themselves the next morning after the incident? Did they high-five each other and congratulate themselves on a killing well executed? Or did they pretend nothing happened and go about their businesses?

Most of all, the more I read about the Aluu 4 killings, the more I could see that the town itself was a kind of microcosm of the whole country, and that what happened in that university town could happen anywhere because, in essence, the same conditions applied: insecurity, poor infrastructure, failure of leadership, unregulated social media, outdated legal structures, poverty, and so much more. I think these questions and more were what inspired the story in the form that it is now and gave me the what if that is the premise of any work of fiction. Because in the final analysis, that is exactly what Lightseekers is, a work of fiction.

The protagonist in this case isnt a policeman or a detective (which his wife is quick to point out), but a psychologist. Why this profession?

As a student of psychology, I have always been fascinated by the why of human behavior. I didnt think a detective or police officer would shed more light on the story the way I wanted to tell it. Having a protagonist who had exactly the same kind of questions that I, as a writer, had helped me to explore and tell an authentic story that went beyond the classical procedural.

The fact that he is not a professional investigator also helped me to allow him to make the same kind of mistakes anyone would make in such a setting. I think it made him accessible, some kind of everyman with the most fundamental skill needed to be human: empathy.

At the heart of it all is the kind of psychologist Philip Taiwo is. He is an investigative psychologist and not a clinician this means while he might have insights into the human mind and its pathologies, he is not equipped to diagnose or treat. First and foremost, he is an expert at uncovering motivations, explaining a crime, and ensuring that the solving or investigation of such a crime is unbiased toward the innocent while being ethically fair to the guilty. He is really the kind of expert witness that either side of a criminal investigation can call on to shed more light on what appears to be obvious but defies understanding. This profession, to my mind, was the perfect one for my protagonist as it reflects my own need to understand a lot of what goes on in my country! Hence, I still say writing Lightseekers was a therapy of sorts for me.

Did your training as a clinical psychologist make it easier or harder to write this book? How much research did you do?

My training gave me the insights into what questions to ask, and the aspects of human behavior I wanted the protagonist to explore, but it didnt make it harder or easier to actually write. In front of the keyboard, I was merely a storyteller, armed with selective information that I was using to drive my point. Of all the skills and training that I had, I would say it is the screenwriting one that had the most impact on my writing I wanted to write an engaging and visual story that immersed the reader, and I knew the only way I could do that was to see the characters and their actions as visually as if I was watching or directing a movie.

I had a wonderful researcher in a good friend of mine who is also a writer and a lawyer. My research was essentially me reading tons of articles on the internet, then sending them to him to read with tons of questions around four systemic realms: political, economic, social, and technological. When I had questions regarding some of the psychological hypotheses I was toying with, I would of course share these with him to be sure they were plausible assumptions. The fact that he is a writer really helped because we could work fast speak in codes even and by the time I had the semblance of a story, he was able to highlight key elements that worked and those that wouldnt. When I was three-quarters into writing, I decided that the internet and email correspondence with my researcher was not enough, so I traveled to Port Harcourt. My researcher and I spent a wonderful week driving around, interviewing people, and just soaking in the sights and sounds of the region. It was the most effective piece of research I did, despite having decided early on to base my story on both a fictional town and university.

I am not sure I do so well with research or what you can call a faithful adaptation of what really happened, like Capotes In Cold Blood. There was a time when the facts of the different necklace killings and what motivated them held me back. I was only able to really be free to imagine, and write what I wanted to write, when I decided to make the whole story a hundred percent fictional. When I took that route, research became almost anecdotal, and not as integral to the telling of the story.

You mentioned that your screenwriting skills were at play when you were writing your debut, and I can certainly see that at work in the novels four-act structure and in how easily I could picture the various scenes; so it comes as no surprise that your novel was recently optioned for film! Congratulations! Any thoughts on who you would like to play Philip Taiwo?

Maybe because I was studying in the UK at the time of writing, or because this particular actor was in a show that I found quite moving and profound at the time, but a British actor named Adrian Lester always resonated with me. I am a big fan of authenticity in storytelling and I do believe that with the rise in the diversity of the global film industry, it should not be hard to cast a show like this with Nigerian actors. David Oyelowo comes to mind. I once saw him imitate his (Yoruba) dad at a Q-and-A and I just cracked up. He will make a credible Philip Taiwo. Another character that is very strong in my mind is Chika, and the one person I see is the stupendously talented Nnamdi Asomugha.

Lightseekers is the title you chose for your debut, and at the beginning of each act is a statement about the behavior of light. Is it a metaphor for truth, or is there something more at play here?

Definitely a metaphor for truth. And knowledge. And how these can change color, shape, or even perspective depending on how light falls on them. Of all the parts of the book I am most proud of, it really is how readers get this almost instantaneously. There were many drafts of the book, but the two constant things were the title and those laws of light at the beginning of each act.

The mental fragmentation of the villain is also dramatized through the metaphor of light and dark. This is a reference to the broken system(s) that allow such a heinous crime (necklace killing) to be perpetrated with little or no consequence.

However, there is a much more localized nuance that I am hoping the Nigerian reader gets, and that is the idea of light to mean electricity. A significant portion of the action in the book happens during blackouts (which as you know, are quite the norm in the country). I tried to heighten the tension by literally dramatizing the frustration of groping in the dark for answers. I am hoping it works.

Which of your characters did you most enjoy writing and why?

My villain was really difficult because I had so much information on him in my head, but I could only use very little of that in the book. I think it was the part I fought the most for, and had to make work to keep. I was allowed a limited word count for him, and that meant every word needed to drive the story forward. So, writing him was quite challenging, and frankly fun.

I loved writing Philips wife, Folake. Her combination of strength and vulnerability fascinates me. There is also a wisdom and practicality to her that plays off Philip very well. There are several layers to her that are still unexplored, and I am going to enjoy writing more of her in the coming books.

But the most fun I had was writing the relationship between Philip and Chika. I really wanted to capture an authentic relationship between two very different men, and the evolution of a friendship that could only be fully realized through truth and openness.

Have you had any negative criticism/feedback, and if so, how do you handle it?

Heres how I see it: a writer who does not expect negative feedback is like a boxer who gets in the ring and does not want to get punched. I received tons of negative feedback from the second I placed early drafts in readers hands. I got it from agents when I was seeking presentation, from classmates, tutors, family, and friends. My wife especially did not mince her words. So, how do I deal with it? Like a boxer, I take the punch, retreat to my corner, and re-strategize how to get back in the ring, swinging.

Usually, if there is a common thread across the feedback from two or three readers, I take it very seriously. With the book published now, I cant fix anything, so a lot of the negative (constructive) feedback I am getting is affecting how I approach the sequel that I am working on now. Is there feedback that kicks you in the gut and make you feel like throwing in the towel? Absolutely. But those ones, literally aimed at your core competence, determined to destroy, are the very ones that you should shrug off. Any critique that does not aim at making me better is not, and should not, be worth my time or consideration.

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Writers write. No one will know if youre any good unless there are actual words on a page to read.

Trust the writing process to make sense of the mess in your head. The power of words lies in their ability to simplify to effectively communicate. Use it.

Most of all, write in love. Love for the characters good or bad, and the story. Love for the reader, for the craft, for humanity. An unconditional compassion for the human condition is the one true gift I believe a writer can give the world.

Oyinkan Braithwaite is the author of My Sister, the Serial Killer.

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Groping in the Dark for Answers: An Interview with Femi Kayode - Los Angeles Review of Books - lareviewofbooks

Human Behavior

Donald McNeil and Andy Mills Leave The New York Times – The New York Times

February 6, 2021 medical

Two journalists responsible for some of The New York Timess most high-profile work of the last three years have left the paper after their past behavior was criticized inside and outside the organization.

In two memos on Friday afternoon, Dean Baquet, the papers executive editor, and Joe Kahn, the managing editor, informed the staff of the departures of Donald G. McNeil Jr., a science correspondent who reported on the coronavirus pandemic, and Andy Mills, an audio journalist who helped create The Daily and was a producer and co-host of Caliphate, a 2018 podcast that was found to have serious flaws after an internal investigation.

Mr. McNeil, a veteran of The Times who has reported from 60 countries, was an expert guide on a Times-sponsored student trip to Peru in 2019. At least six students or their parents complained about comments he had made, The Daily Beast reported last week. The Times confirmed he used a racist slur on the trip.

In their memo, Mr. Baquet and Mr. Kahn wrote that Mr. McNeil has done much good reporting over four decades but added that this is the right next step.

The statement was a turnabout from last week, when Mr. Baquet sent a note to the staff defending his decision to give Mr. McNeil another chance.

I authorized an investigation and concluded his remarks were offensive and that he showed extremely poor judgment, Mr. Baquet wrote, but that it did not appear to me that his intentions were hateful or malicious.

Days after that note, a group of Times staff members sent a letter to the publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, that was critical of the papers stance on Mr. McNeil. Despite The Timess seeming commitment to diversity and inclusion, said the letter, which was viewed by a Times reporter, we have given a prominent platform a critical beat covering a pandemic disproportionately affecting people of color to someone who chose to use language that is offensive and unacceptable by any newsrooms standards.

Mr. Sulzberger, Mr. Baquet and Meredith Kopit Levien, the chief executive of The New York Times Company, replied to the group in a letter on Wednesday, saying: We welcome this input. We appreciate the spirit in which it was offered and we largely agree with the message.

In a statement to Times staff on Friday, Mr. McNeil wrote that he had used the slur in a discussion with a student about the suspension of a classmate who had used the term.

I should not have done that, he wrote. Originally, I thought the context in which I used this ugly word could be defended. I now realize that it cannot. It is deeply offensive and hurtful.

Mr. McNeil concluded, For offending my colleagues and for anything Ive done to hurt The Times, which is an institution I love and whose mission I believe in and try to serve I am sorry. I let you all down.

The departure of Mr. Mills, the audio journalist, was announced nearly two months after The Times published an editors note on the mistakes in Caliphate. The note said the series, about the Islamic State, had put too much credence in the false or exaggerated account of one of its main subjects.

In an interview with Michael Barbaro, the host of the Times podcast The Daily, Mr. Baquet attributed the shows flaws to an institutional failing. The editors note and interview followed a monthslong internal investigation into the Caliphate reporting.

After the correction, people who worked with Mr. Mills in his previous job, at the WNYC show Radiolab, posted complaints on Twitter about his behavior toward women in the Radiolab workplace and in social settings.

In February 2018, two months before Caliphate made its debut, an article in New York Magazines The Cut on sexual harassment in New York public radio reported that Mr. Mills had been the subject of complaints during his time at Radiolab.

Women interviewed for the article said that he had asked them for dates, given unsolicited back rubs and poured beer on the head of a woman he worked with, and that he had said a woman in the office had been hired over a man because of her gender. WNYCs human resources department investigated Mr. Millss behavior, The Cut reported, and gave him a warning while allowing him to keep his job. In an interview for The Cut, Mr. Mills admitted to much of the behavior described in WNYCs human resources report.

In an online post on Friday, Mr. Mills said that his departure from The Times did not stem from the problems with Caliphate, and that leaders at the paper did not blame us for its flaws.

After the publication of the editors note, another story emerged online: that my lack of punishment came down to entitlement and male privilege, he wrote. That accusation gave some the opportunity to resurface my past personal conduct.

He wrote that he had told The Times about his past mistakes when he was hired and had received good reviews for his work at the paper. He also said he received a promotion in December. But in the weeks after the mistakes of Caliphate were made public, he wrote, the allegations on Twitter quickly escalated to the point where my actual shortcomings and past mistakes were replaced with gross exaggerations and baseless claims.

In the end, I feel it is in the best interest of both myself and my team that I leave the company at this time, he wrote. I do this with no joy and a heavy heart.

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Donald McNeil and Andy Mills Leave The New York Times - The New York Times

Human Behavior

Opinion | Social Media and a Surveillance Society – The New York Times

February 6, 2021 medical

To the Editor:

Re The Knowledge Coup, by Shoshana Zuboff (Sunday Review, Jan. 31):

While theres a whole lot of truth in Dr. Zuboffs epic take on big datas epistemic coup, her thinking reflects an underlying conviction that people can be cynically managed by repetitive exposure to machine-curated misinformation.

As someone whos often involved in the targeting and message-making side of both brand and political campaigns, I think the evidence paints a more nuanced picture that data-driven persuasion is generally limited to leveraging existing biases versus converting the ideologically unwashed. For proof, you dont have to look much further than the most recent election cycle, where Democrats, despite a major digitally delivered persuasion advantage, failed to convert success at the top of the ticket into a blue wave.

Its not that Democrats didnt have the ability to harness teraflops of surveillance-based insights as reasons to reject Trumpian allies and enablers. Its just that purple voters knew what they already knew and all the pejorative pixels, grievance-based GIFs and haranguing hashtags in the world werent going to tell them otherwise.

Take that into account and, tempting as it is, you really cant blame surveillance capitalism for the roughly 70 percent of Republicans who counterfactually insist on #stopthesteal. Theyd long since bought into Donald Trumps claim that the only way he could lose an election was if it was rigged.

Jef LoebNew York

To the Editor:

Social media are free; users pay for them with their personal data. Just as many apps allow users to pay for ad-free subscriptions, social media should be required to allow paid, data-collection-free subscriptions. Whether users will find this appealing, and whether they individually feel the harm of existing data collection, are open questions. But this could be a part of the solution.

Ron MeyersNew York

To the Editor:

The Knowledge Coup has classic complaints about business success from technology. Consumers and other businesses use whatever data they can acquire to succeed. And most do that legally. If not, then government and the courts must step in. But to limit growth because of size and effectiveness is not Americanism but socialism at best and must be avoided.

C.J. HoppinPeaks Island, Maine

To the Editor:

Shoshana Zuboffs analysis of the digital conundrum were in surveillance versus democracy identifies the 9/11 attacks as a pivotal moment when all manner of technological security was set free to keep us safe. Sept. 11 turned up the volume on the politics of fear to surveil and monitor not only terrorism, but also crime, drug use and even immigration.

Social control and routine monitoring by employers of workers, by parents of children, and by the police of everyone became institutionalized and even ensconced in popular culture, ranging from news to movies to music. The Trump presidency channeled the cascading fear with conspiratorial propaganda about rigged elections.

David L. AltheideSolana Beach, Calif.The writer is professor emeritus at the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University and the author of Terrorism and the Politics of Fear.

To the Editor:

One could also argue that information in the hands of many corporations affords greater safety to the public and civil liberties than its being just in the hands of the government.

Vaidyanathan RamaswamiBranchburg, N.J.

To the Editor:

Shoshana Zuboff has clearly identified the mechanisms by Facebook, Google and others that have privatized and monetized human behavior vis--vis their social network platforms and supporting algorithms that have damaged our democracy and others around the world.

What is incredibly ironic is the footnote on the web at the end of her piece: Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Gene FischNew York

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Opinion | Social Media and a Surveillance Society - The New York Times

Human Behavior

Gut-Brain Connection: Specific Bacteria in the Gut Prompt Mother Mice To Neglect Their Pups – SciTechDaily

February 6, 2021 medical

Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, pictured here, is a common gut bacteria in both humans and animals. There are many different strains, some of which cause disease. Credit: fusebulb

Salk researchers make unexpected discoveries about how a particular microbe influences animal behavior.

As scientists learn more about the microorganisms that colonize the bodycollectively called the microbiotaone area of intense interest is the effect that these microbes can have on the brain. A new study led by Salk Institute scientists has identified a strain ofE. colibacteria that, when living in the guts of female mice, causes them to neglect their offspring.

The findings, published January 29, 2021, in the journalScience Advances, show a direct link between a particular microbe and maternal behavior. Although the research was done in mice, it adds to the growing body of science demonstrating that microbes in the gut are important for brain health and can affect development and behavior.

To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that the intestinal microbiota is important for promoting healthy maternal behavior and bonding between mom and offspring in an animal model, says ProfessorJanelle Ayres, Laboratory Head of Salks Molecular and Systems Physiology Laboratory and senior author of the paper. It adds to the ever-growing evidence that theres a gut-brain connection, and that microbes are important for regulating the behavior of the host that theyre inhabiting.

The ways in which the microbiota can impact mental health and neurological disorders is a growing area of research. The makeup of the gut microbiota in people has been linked to depression, anxiety, autism and other conditions. But it has been difficult to study how individual strains of bacteria exert their influence on human behavior, a connection often called the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

In her lab, Ayres uses mice to study how body systems and the brain interact with each other to promote health. This includes focusing on how body processes are regulated by microbes and the ways in which microbes affect growth and behavior. In the current experiments, she and her team were investigating groups of mice that each had a single strain ofE. coliin their gut.Mice with one particular strain ofE. coli, called O16:H48 MG1655, mothered offspring that had stunted growth. Further examination revealed that the mice were smaller because they were malnourished.

We found that the pups behavior was normal, and the milk made by the mothers was of normal, healthy composition and was being produced in normal amounts, Ayres says. We eventually figured out that being colonized with this particular bacteria led to poor maternal behavior. The mice were neglecting their pups.

Additional experiments revealed that the mice could be rescued from stunted growth, either by giving them a growth factor called IGF-1 or handing them off to foster mouse mothers that could take care of them properly. This confirmed that the cause of stunted growth was coming from the mothers behavior rather than something in the pups themselves.

Our study provides an unprecedented understanding of how the intestinal microbiota can disrupt maternal behavior and how this can negatively impact development of an offspring, says first author Yujung Michelle Lee, a former graduate student in Ayres lab and now a postdoctoral fellow at Genentech. It is very interesting to me that establishment of a healthy mother-infant relationship is driven by factors beyond hormones, and that the microorganisms residing in our bodies play a significant role in it.

Ayres and her team plan to study how these microbes provoke changes in mouse behavior. Early findings suggest the bacteria might be affecting levels of serotonin, the hormone associated with feelings of happiness and well-being, but more work is needed.

Its very hard to study these relationships in humans, because the human microbiota contains hundreds of different species of microorganisms, says Ayres, who holds the Helen McLoraine Developmental Chair. But once we understand more about the mechanisms in animal models, we may be able translate our findings to humans to determine whether the microbes and their effects might be the same.

The O16:H48 MG1655 strain has been found in human guts and was previously believed to have no positive or negative effects.

Reference: Microbiota control of maternal behavior regulates early postnatal growth of offspring by Yujung Michelle Lee, Andre Mu, Martina Wallace, Jivani M. Gengatharan, Annalee J. Furst, Lars Bode, Christian M. Metallo and Janelle S. Ayres, 29 January 2021, Science Advances.DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe6563

Other authors on the study were Andre Mu of Salk and Martina Wallace, Jivani M. Gengatharan, Annalee J. Furst, Lars Bode and Christian M. Metallo of the University of California San Diego.

This work was funded by a Crohns and Colitis Foundation Senior Research Award, National Institutes of Health grant R01 AI114929, and the Lynne and Mason Rosenthal/Leo S. Guthman Foundation.

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Gut-Brain Connection: Specific Bacteria in the Gut Prompt Mother Mice To Neglect Their Pups - SciTechDaily

Human Behavior

Mindfulness For Helping Professionals: SIUE Course Cultivates Peace And Joy – RiverBender.com

February 5, 2021 medical

Why is it so challenging to find lasting happiness? How can we develop practices that help create greater peace and joy? The answers to those questions and more are being shared in a new Southern Illinois University Edwardsville online course entitled Mindfulness for Helping Professionals.

The course launched this spring and will be offered again in fall 2021. Any undergraduate or graduate students who experience stress or challenges can benefit from the course content and mindfulness practices, especially those helping professionals such as nurses, social workers, educators and pre-med students.

Being human is stressful, and even more so during a pandemic, and amid social and political unrest, said Wendy Weber, PhD, professor and special education program director in the School of Education, Health and Human Behaviors Department of Teaching and Learning. On top of that, students are trying to juggle feeling isolated and disconnected from classmates and the campus community with online/remote instruction. Inherently, many of the concepts and practices center around how to feel more connected to your own life and feel compassionate and connected to other people.

Weber has practiced mindfulness and meditation for more than 30 years. She has taught mindfulness to students and educators nationwide and internationally, as well as implemented and conducted research on mindfulness in schools. Additionally, Weber is a graduate of the two-year intensive Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program led by world-renowned meditation teachers Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield.

This is a course for any students who want to cultivate more clarity, balance, kindness and joy in their lives, Weber explained. Many find some relief, reduction in stress, a sense of ease or more space to handle the ups and downs of daily life. Participants can expect to turn toward their own experiences in a patient and kind manner. This may be new to individuals who, like many of us, have been conditioned to be hard on ourselves, beat ourselves up for shortcomings, feel inadequate or otherwise.

According to Weber, the Mindfulness for Helping Professionals course helps individuals experience clarity around issues that have challenged them for years.

It is possible that with increased awareness and compassion, people choose to focus more on relationships that support their well-being, and move away from those relationships that do not serve them, she noted. This course invites students to create room for noticing and shifting habitual responses to people and events in our lives, to a more understanding, open-hearted approach.

The course is structured around three books that cover foundational mindfulness concepts, basic meditation practices, self-reflection assignments and group discussion.

Registration for fall 2021 courses begins March 29. For more information, visit siue.edu/online/online-courses.

The SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior prepares students in a wide range of fields, including public health, exercise science, nutrition, instructional technology, psychology, speech-language pathology and audiology, educational administration, and teaching. Faculty members engage in leading-edge research, which enhances teaching and enriches the educational experience. The School supports the community through on-campus clinics, outreach to children and families, and a focused commitment to enhancing individual lives across the region.

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Human Behavior

Human behavioral ecology: The tight ‘evolutionary embrace’ of culture and genes – Genetic Literacy Project

February 5, 2021 medical

[Research by Toman Barsbai and colleaguesshows] that adaptation to local ecological conditions is an important determinant of variation in human behavior in traditional societies.

The sample analyzed by Barsbai et al. consists of 339 hunter-gatherer societies that are most appropriate for comparison because their members lives and livelihoods are intimately constrained by the natural world. The authors show that variation in hunter-gatherer patterns for 15 behavioral variables statistically converges on the same characteristics that are most common in birds and mammals in the same local regions of the world. These traits include diet composition, mobility patterns, paternal investment, divorce rates, social group size, and social stratification.

In other words, in places where hunter-gatherers are more polygynous, there also tend to be more polygynous bird and mammal species. These patterns appear to be driven by ecological and habitat similarity, not by locational proximity per se. Not only are hunter-gatherers behaviorally similar in similar ecologies, but even mammals and birds in those ecologies tend to exhibit the same behavioral regularities as do the human populations. Hence, the study appears to validate the basic premise of the evolutionary perspective called human behavioral ecology.

Culture and genes are linked in a tight coevolutionary embrace, and this leads to complex patterns of genetic and cultural co adaptation.

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Human behavioral ecology: The tight 'evolutionary embrace' of culture and genes - Genetic Literacy Project

Human Behavior

‘Bliss’ & ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ question the nature of our reality – Denton Record Chronicle

February 5, 2021 medical

After films like The Matrix and Vanilla Sky, Id be lying if I didnt entertain the idea that we may all be living in some gigantic computer simulation, experiencing a virtual world that we mistakenly think is real.

'Bliss" questions the possibility that we're living in a computer simulation. Amazon Studois

Are there higher beings controlling our fates, using us as lab rats to examine human behavior? Is there something more to dj vu? Are scientists, physicists, and philosophers noticing irregular patterns that present enough evidence to prove this much is all true?

What do I know? Im just a film journalist. However, whether I believe it or not (and I dont), theres no denying that its an endlessly fascinating thought trail to trek.

This weekend sees two films exploring the possibilities with varying results. One has the parts needed but suffers from one too many system malfunctions, while the other takes significant risks that, for the most part, pay off.

Owen Wilson and Selma Hayek appear as Greg and Isabel in Mike Cahill's strange and surreal 'Bliss.' An Amazon Studios release.

Bliss () - Writer-director Mike Cahill is one of the most curious filmmakers working today. Hes operating on a different level, sharing high-concept thrillers that use human drama to keep its narrative roots in the ground. Cahills underappreciated gems, Another Earth and I Origins, have the power to cause us to see our world in a new light.

His latest mind-bending love story, Bliss, starring Owen Wilson and Selma Hayek, could be viewed as a compelling commentary on addiction and mental illness, or it could be questioning our realityor both. As intriguing as the themes are, the film is too emotionally disconnected to make its big ideas land with the same impact of Cahills previous work.

Bliss asks: What if our suspicions about living in a simulation are real, and what if we could move between the world of reality and the simulation with great ease? This is precisely the state of affairs NeoI mean Dom CobbOops! Better make that GregThis is precisely the state of affairs that Greg (Wilson) finds himself in. After Greg encounters some rather bizarre occurrences, his world is almost literally flipped upside down when he meets the mysterious Isabel (Hayek), who reveals their world's true nature. In Christopher Nolan-like fashion, Isabel can move objects (or people) with a flick of her hand, leaving Greg to scratch his head over the consequences of these actions and this newfound place.

Many story beats are unarguably similar to other films. (Most of which have been called out already.) The films trailer alone makes it difficult to shake that it looks like a low-key version of a Nolan movie objects moving with character control, hopping between realms, a blue color palette, and a father just trying to get back to his kid. But where Cahill elevates the material to another platform is the notion of taking pills or smoking substances that cause your surroundings to take a new, more pleasant shape. Dreams become truth, and life is massages and yachts. Perhaps Cahill really is delving into something more honest, and this is the nugget that gives Bliss some flavor.

The connective tissue of these points of interest admittedly dont hold firm. You pick up rather quickly that something is off. Maybe its the grim tone, the lack of chemistry between the leads, or the brainstorming is too much on the front burner when it should be the characters and their relationships. Whatever it is, its clear Cahills reach exceeds his grasp. Hopefully, his next go will touch back down on Earth more often.

Rated R, 103 minutes. Available today exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

A scene from 'A Glitch in the Matrix.' A Magnolia Pictures release.

Rodney Ascher, director of 'A Glitch in the Matrix.' A Magnolia Pictures release.

The poster for 'A Glitch in the Matrix.' A Magnolia Pictures release.

A scene from 'A Glitch in the Matrix.' A Magnolia Pictures release.

Rodney Ascher, director of 'A Glitch in the Matrix.' A Magnolia Pictures release.

The poster for 'A Glitch in the Matrix.' A Magnolia Pictures release.

A Glitch in the Matrix () - Rodney Ascher (Room 237, The Nightmare) is another filmmaker who causes me to lean in. His documentaries and visual essays are some of the most captivating works in recent years. And his next outing, A Glitch in the Matrix, is his best yet.

Like Bliss, Aschers film ponders and investigates life being a simulation. Information comes flooding in from the moment of entrance, and it reels you in entirely. We explore the commentary around detailed computer simulation theories, all through Zoom chats with avatars that feel plucked from World of Warcraft. (Yep. Some talking heads are computer-generated characters to make your trip even more of a knock-out.) Lawnmower Man-esque visuals and various movie clips populate the screen to illustrate narrative details in a fashion that feels nostalgic and futuristic. Look out for expositional fill-ins from a woman with a robotic voice, as if its an 80s version of the future.

Serving as the storys backbone, Ascher uses a 1977 conference with sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. During this lecture in France, Dick describes the visionary and mystical experiences he had in his life. The real hook comes when the celebrated luminary makes it abundantly clear that were living in a computer-programmed reality. Humor can be detected throughout Dicks work, and some devotees attending this talk chuckled at Dicks theory, but he was dead serious.

From there, clips from interviews with Elon Musk and Neil deGrasse Tyson highlight how they dont distance themselves from the same belief as Dick. Although most of the film's conversations seem like excited fanboys gushing about their feelings on the matter, Ascher keeps the conversation gripping and balanced, especially when he reaches a testimony from a Matrix admirer who turned a gun on his family.

A Glitch in the Matrix doesnt shy away from the flaws in this line of thinking. Some theorizers noticed peculiar coincidences and occurrences in life as evidence. Ascher might also be showcasing a pattern within the theorizers: How were willing to blanket our traumas and loneliness in any way possible. Deem all these ideas as nonsense or brilliant; its ultimately up to the viewer if you want to swallow the red or blue pill in the end.

Not rated, 108 minutes long. Now playing in select theaters and On Demand. (Not screening in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.)

PRESTON BARTA is a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association. Read his work here, on FreshFiction.tv and on RottenTomatoes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PrestonBarta.

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'Bliss' & 'A Glitch in the Matrix' question the nature of our reality - Denton Record Chronicle

Human Behavior

A personal benefit of social distancing: lower odds of getting COVID-19 – The Ohio State Universi – The Ohio State University News

February 5, 2021 medical

Considering the greater good by social distancing during a pandemic turns out to have an attractive personal benefit: A new study has found that staying away from others also reduces an individual persons chances of contracting COVID-19.

Researchers presented study participants with virtual behavior scenarios of various public settings a grocery store, a crowded beach, a crosswalk and asked them to place themselves or fictional people in those contexts based on their social distancing preferences.

Four months later, the participants were asked if they had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection or otherwise believed they had been sick with a case of COVID-19.

Statistical analyses showed that the more participants demonstrated a preference for social distancing in the scenarios, the less likely they were to have gotten sick with COVID-19. The studys implication was clear what was good for society according to public health advice was also good for individuals who wanted to avoid the virus.

The evidence from our work indicates there is value in socially distancing not only to reduce the spread of a virus within a community, but because it is actually beneficial for the individual engaging in the social distancing, said Russell Fazio, senior author of the study and a professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.

Theres a selfish notion to it all: Hey, its good for me personally. Im not just benefiting other people.

The research is published today (Feb. 4, 2021) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers did ask participants to report how much they practiced social distancing in real life. But the team added an innovative element: virtual social distancing scenarios in which participants made in the moment decisions about how they would react in different situations.

The virtual behavior measure worked much better as a predictor of illness than the self-report measure, and there are a variety of explanations for that, Fazio said.

For example, some people may over-report their actual self-distancing behavior to provide a good impression to others.

If I like to view myself as somebody very conscious of the science and supportive of reducing the pandemic, that is also affecting my memory process when I try to engage in this reconstruction and provide a rating that represents what my past is like, Fazio said.

The virtual behavior measure, which required asking at a moment in time, in a concrete situation, What would you do? did a better job than an abstract summary report of someones past.

Fazios lab studies how personal beliefs and attitudes influence behavior. When COVID-19s emergence in the United States led to lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, his team agreed to devote their efforts to trying to understand social distancing behavior.

The entire lab group came to view the pandemic as a call to action for behavioral scientists because this was ultimately a test of human behavior, Fazio said. Rarely does a whole society get called upon to change behavior.

The researchers recruited participants from Amazons Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing marketplace. The sample in this study consisted of 1,885 U.S. citizens representing a range of ages, geographical locations and political ideologies.

In separate surveys conducted in May and June, participants were asked whether they had pre-existing health conditions or jobs that required them to leave home, and the extent to which they were socially distancing either at the time of the survey or looking back in time if they were responding after economies had begun to open.

The virtual behavior scenarios, initially created for a study of interactions with strangers, were expanded for this new research. Fazios team told participants the scenarios would be used to assess peoples behavior in common everyday situations, and how this behavior may have changed in light of the current COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. Researchers instructed participants to view scenes of social situations and indicate how they personally, as individuals, would navigate them.

Ten scenarios were presented. Four situations assessed walking routes participants would take along a street or park path or in a library with people around, and which seat they would choose in a coffee shop. In six interactive scenarios, participants moved a slider to indicate how much distance they would want between themselves and friends, grocery shoppers, a passing stranger or several people standing in line; drew the path they would take crossing a crowded plaza; and placed their towel on a busy beach. Responses were compiled into a composite score for each participant, with a higher score indicating more adherence to social distancing recommendations.

Four months later, the researchers asked the participants if they had been tested for COVID-19 since they had completed the surveys and, if so, whether they tested positive or negative. Those who had not been tested were asked if they believed they had ever had COVID-19.

At the time of the follow-up, 199 participants reported either a positive test result since the initial surveys (85 people) or that they believed they had contracted COVID-19. The researchers measured relationships between the survey variables pre-existing health condition, working outside the home, self-reported social distancing practices and virtual scenario scores and the likelihood of contracting the virus, either based on actual positive tests or peoples beliefs that they had caught the virus.

Statistical analyses consistently yielded the same results: The more participants exhibited social distancing behavior, the less likely they were to have contracted COVID-19. The strongest evidence that social distancing was protective to individuals was found in the relationship between a low virtual behavior score and higher odds of testing positive for COVID-19.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation. Co-authors include Benjamin Ruisch, formerly an Ohio State postdoctoral researcher now at Leiden University, and graduate students currently in Fazios lab: Courtney Moore, Javier Granados Samayoa, Shelby Boggs and Jesse Ladanyi.