Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

Moved by beauty – Point Reyes Light

I celebrated my birthday in January with a trip to Yosemite. The beauty was breathtaking: it had just snowed, and the trees were dusted fairytale-style in crystalline, glittering powder. Only a bobcats tracks were in the otherwise untouched snow before me. Wisps of mist, backlit by the morning sun, suffused the air with a sublime golden light. There was silence, stillness and staggering beauty.

On the return home I drove over Mount Tamalpais, coming out of the forest to see the late-afternoon sun begin its descent toward the horizon; the ocean was a deep blue, the light a soft golden, the grass a brilliant green. As I rounded the lagoon I saw our jaunty kingfisher neighbor on the wire, as usual. The clouds, the sky, the waterfowl bobbing around togetherthe beauty of it all moved me nearly to tears. I was awash with gratitude for the gift of returning home to such a place.

Beauty, like love, is as an essential balm for the soul. We may know this intuitively, but mounting science validates it. Several studies have demonstrated the human capacity to be moved by the beauty of the natural world, an emotional response that appears to be responsible for much of the wellbeing and happiness people experience through nature connection. People who were most moved by nature experienced the greatest benefit to their happiness and wellbeing, while those who were out in nature but not moved by its beauty did not experience the same benefits. Allowing natures beauty to move us emotionally makes us happier and healthier.

This is not to say that a person walking through a forest unmoved will not experience some benefit. By breathing in the beneficial phytochemicals that the plants release, we increase our cancer-fighting, immunity-boosting cells, and lower our levels of stress hormones and inflammatory cytokine. These changes decrease our likelihood of imbalance and disease and support physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

In a large study of people participating in a nature-connecting public health intervention, those who scored highest on engagement with natural beauty also scored highest on wellbeing and happiness scales. These high-scoring people said they felt physiological sensations like a lump in the throat or expansiveness in the chest, or emotions like awe, admiration or upliftment when perceiving beauty in nature. They indicated having a spiritual experience, a sense of oneness, a connection with the universe, or a love for the entire world when perceiving natural beauty. They were moved, and they were happier and healthier, too.

Interestingly, those most moved by natural beauty also demonstrate more pro-social behaviors. In other words, the more we connect with beauty in nature, the more we feel drawn to connect with other humans in a caring way. We are social creatures, and deepening connections is nourishing to our minds and bodies. Being moved by natural beauty also makes us more likely to engage in caring, tending relationships with the natural world; the more people are moved by natural beauty, the more likely they are to engage in conservation work, plant a pollinator garden, or consider the welfare of the non-human living world.

Our physiology, thoughts and behaviors can also improve when we witness a beautiful act of care, generosity or kindnessmoral beauty. In studies, those who have the strongest emotional response to perceiving moral beauty or acts of uncommon goodness also scored the highest on scales rating a persons love of humanity and his or her desire to be of service. Witnessing moral beauty also triggers the release of oxytocin, the hormone that stimulates bonding and lowers stress hormones.

How can we cultivate our capacity to be elevated by beauty? While women tend to have a stronger emotional response to beauty, and so-called elevation virtuosos can be moved very readily, we can all strengthen this trait with attention and practice. Keeping a journal to record the beauty you see, including acts of moral beauty, hones our appreciation. So does focusing on natural beauty through observation, or through a creative practice like drawing. Walk outside and see what you noticethe fuzzy bud on the branch of the tree stirring from its slumber, the astonishing fragrance and design of the narcissus, the fascinating movements of the earthwormevery aspect of nature contains elegance and beauty that can delight and move you if you are open to it.

As we think about the social glue needed to hold our communities, our families and ourselves together during times of change and uncertainty, beautyparticularly in nature, in kind words and deeds, and in the emotions these elicitis indeed a therapeutic balm. Look for opportunities to be the agent of beauty. Be generous with your kindness, your extended hand, your smiling eyes. You will inspire people to be their best self and pass it on. Allow yourself to feel your feelings, even if it means being moved to tears in front of others. Some consider this sort of openness a superpowerand indeed it is.

Dr. Anna OMalley, an integrative family and community medicine physician with the Coastal Health Alliance, is the founding director of Natura Institute for Ecology and Medicine in the Commonweal Garden.

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Moved by beauty - Point Reyes Light

Physiology

IM Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Dr. Stephen Dilly to Board of Directors – Business Wire

WOBURN, Mass. & AURORA, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ImmunoMolecular Therapeutics, Inc. (IM Therapeutics), a clinical stage company developing personalized therapies for autoimmune disease, announced today that Dr. Stephen Dilly has joined its Board of Directors.

Dr. Dilly brings three decades of executive management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, Dr. Dilly served as CEO and Board Member of Aimmune Therapeutics, where he currently serves as Special Advisor. Dr. Dilly has served in executive roles at Genentech, Chiron and SmithKline Beecham and has been associated with the development and launch of several marketed drugs. He holds an M.B.B.S. from the University of London and a Ph.D. in Cardiac Physiology from University of London.

Dr. Dilly also currently serves as Board Chairman of Cognoa, a pediatric behavioral health company, Board Chairman of DNAtrix, developing virus-driven immunotherapies, and is a Board member of Sangamo Therapeutics and Adjuvance Technologies.

IM Therapeutics was founded by world-class physician scientists based on seminal research showing that blocking action of certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variants can block the autoimmune response. The Company demonstrated this in a proof-of-concept Phase 1b human study in DQ8-positive type 1 diabetes.

We are excited to bring Stephen on board and gain from his experience in advancing new drugs through the clinic and steering corporate strategy at our stage of growth, said Nandan Padukone, Ph.D., CEO of IM Therapeutics. Stephen is a great addition to our team as we build our pipeline across autoimmune diseases.

I am truly intrigued by the underlying biology and the drug development approach against HLA targets at IM Therapeutics, said Dr. Dilly. It is exciting to see the teams achievements to-date and the promise to bring personalized therapies in type 1 diabetes, celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases, he added.

IM Therapeutics is developing personalized medicines for autoimmune diseases by building oral drug therapies against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) variants that confer high risk of disease. The Company platform screens millions of compounds for optimal docking within HLA proteins together with rational drug design and bioassays to develop targeted therapeutic candidates. Its lead drug, IMT-002, is directed at HLA DQ8 activity for treatment of type 1 diabetes. The Company is building a broad pipeline of drugs against HLA targets in autoimmune disorders including celiac disease. http://imtherapeutics.com/

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IM Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Dr. Stephen Dilly to Board of Directors - Business Wire

Physiology

New Study: Daylight Saving Time Linked to 28 Fatal Car Accidents Per Year – Sleep Review

A study appearing January 30 in the journal Current Biology puts forth evidence of one downside of Daylight Saving Time (DST): it increases the risk of fatal car accidents in the United States for about a week each year.

The evidence shows about a 6% increase in the risk of fatal traffic accidents in the week after the time change each spring. In other words, more than 28 fatal accidents could be prevented yearly in the United States if the DST transition were abolished. The effect is especially pronounced in the morning hours and in locations further west within a time zone.

The acute adverse effects of DST on fatal traffic accident risk are real, and can be prevented, says senior author Cline Vetter, Dr. Phil, a circadian sleep scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, in a release. Although the observed effects are of moderate size and are not long-lasting, we must not forget that DST transition affects billions of people every year, and thus small changes in risk can have a substantial public health impact.

The findings come at a time when numerous states, including Oregon, Washington, California, and Florida, are considering doing away with the switch entirely, and mounting research is showing spikes in heart attacks, strokes, workplace injuries, and other problems in the days following the time change.

But, Vetter explains, the findings on car accidents werent so clear-cut. In the new study, she and her colleagues, including first author Josef Fritz, set out to look deeper.

They took advantage of the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which recorded 732,835 fatal car accidents across all US states observing DST from 1996 to 2017. After controlling for factors like year, season and day of the week, they found a consistent rise in fatal accidents in the week following the spring time change. Notably, that spike moved in 2007, when the Energy Policy Act extended daylight saving time to begin on the second Sunday of March instead of the first Sunday in April.

Prior to 2007, we saw the risk increase in April, and when daylight saving time moved to March, so did the risk increase, says Vetter. That gave us even more confidence that the risk increase we observe is indeed attributable to the daylight saving time switch, and not something else.

In absolute numbers, they report, this risk increase translated to an additional 5.7 fatal accidents per day from Monday to Friday after the spring DST transition in the United States. Thats more than 28 deaths during the workweek. Over the course of the 22 years, they report, thats more than 626 out of 8,958 fatal accidents that might have been prevented.

Those on the western edge of their time zone, in places like Amarillo, Texas, and St. George, Utah, already get less sleep on average than their counterparts in the eastabout 19 minutes less per day, research showsbecause the sun rises and sets later but they still have to be at work when everyone else does.

They already tend to be more misaligned and sleep-deprived, and when you transition to daylight saving time it makes things worse, says Fritz, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Integrative Physiology. In such western regions, the spike in fatal accidents was more than 8%, the study found.

The increase kicks in right away, on the Sunday when the clocks spring forward, and the bulk of the additional fatal accidents that week occur in the morning.

Changes in accident patterns also occur after the fall back time change, the study showed, with a decline in morning accidents and a spike in the evening, when darkness comes sooner.

Because they balance each other out, there is no overall change in accidents during the fall back week.

The public health impact of the DST transition regarding fatal traffic accident risk is clear from our data, Vetter says. Because our data only included the most severe accidents, namely where a fatality was recorded, this estimation is likely an underestimation of the true risk.

The findings offer yet another reason to consider getting rid of the switch to DST, the researchers say. They now hope to understand and better characterize the effects of DST on individuals and the physiology and health outcomes associated with the mini-jetlag DST causes. With such an understanding, they say theyll be in a better position to identify the people who are most vulnerable and affected by the time change.

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New Study: Daylight Saving Time Linked to 28 Fatal Car Accidents Per Year - Sleep Review

Physiology

MSU-Meridian to host meeting for those interested in education degrees on Feb. 13 – Meridian Star

Want to be an educator or further your career in education?

MSU-Meridians Division of Education will host an informational meetingfrom 5:30 7 p.m. onFeb. 13 in Kahlmus Auditorium located on the College Park Campus at 1000 Hwy 19 North.

According to Kim Hall, head of the Division of Education at MSU-Meridian, the meeting will help prospective students learn more about undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Education offered at the local campus, including kinesiology (clinical exercise physiology) and counseling.

Mississippi is facing a critical teacher shortage, said Hall, and we at MSU-Meridian have worked diligently the past several years to do our part by developing flexible delivery methods designed for the working adult for all our education degree programs. Weve also implemented the Professional Advancement Network for Teacher Assistants or PANTA initiative which helps teacher assistants complete the educational requirements to become licensed teachers, she added.

Those interested in attending must RSVP by contacting Kimberly Pace at 601.484.0243 or email kkd43@msstate.edu.

A light meal will be provided and anyone who attends the meeting and submit an application to Mississippi State University by Feb. 21, will have their application fee waived.

Education degrees offered at MSU-Meridian

UNDERGRADUATE:Educational Psychology,Elementary Education,(w/endorsements in Secondary Education& Special Education available),Kinesiology Clinical Exercise Physiology

MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING:Community College Education,Secondary Education (Alternate Route Program)

MASTER OF SCIENCE & EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST:Counselor Education (Clinical Mental Health, Rehabilitation, School),Elementary Education,School Administration,Teacher Leadership

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MSU-Meridian to host meeting for those interested in education degrees on Feb. 13 - Meridian Star

Physiology

Do Bacteria in the Brain Impact Sleep? Researchers Get a Keck Grant to Find Out – Sleep Review

With a $1 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, neuroscience researchers at Washington State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst will explore whether variations in brain levels of bacterial fragments can account for lifes circadian rhythms.

The bacteria residing inside of you outnumber your own cells 10 to one and affect sleep, cognition, mood, brain temperature, appetite and many additional brain functions. Yet we lack an understanding of how they do it, says James Krueger, PhD, Regents Professor of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience at the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, in a release.

The sleep research is led by Krueger, and the circadian rhythm portion of the project is led by co-investigator Ilia Karatsoreos, PhD, who recently joined UMass Amherst from WSU as an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences.

At Karatsoreos Lab, researchers will use models of simulated jet lag, a way to disrupt our circadian rhythms. As anyone who has flown cross-country has likely experienced firsthand, disrupting these rhythms is associated with changes in sleep, cognition and even body temperature.

When jetlagged, many of the normal bodily functions are out of synchrony with each other. This is a consequence of altering circadian rhythms, Karatsoreos says. By looking for changes of bacterial products in the brain, we anticipate we will discover new approaches to treat jet lag, and possibly the desynchrony of physiological functions that occurs with old age.

The new grant builds on nearly 40 years of sleep research. In the early 1980s, Krueger isolated a sleep-promoting molecule from brains of sleep-deprived rabbits and from human urine. Its chemical structure was a muramyl peptidea building block component of bacterial cell walls.

At the time of the discovery, it was difficult to measure small amounts of muramyl peptides. Now, improved measurement technologies and the Keck Foundation funding will enable researchers to determine the brains muramyl peptide levels and whether they correlate with sleep-wake cycles or circadian rhythms.

Whats more, researchers will determine if sleep loss results in increased levels of muramyl peptides in the brain, a predicted result based on the 1980s investigations.

Another goal of the Keck-funded work will be to determine how brain muramyl peptides elicit sleep. Our minds are an outcome of a bacteria/human symbiosis, Krueger says. Expanding this concept by determination of how such disparate species talk to each other will transform our views of cognition, psychiatric disorders, consciousness including sleep, and our understanding of what it means to be human.

The late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company, established The W. M. Keck Foundation in 1954. The Foundations grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering, and undergraduate education.

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Do Bacteria in the Brain Impact Sleep? Researchers Get a Keck Grant to Find Out - Sleep Review

Physiology

Classes help improve mind, body and spirit – TimminsToday

An Eastern philosophy is having a positive impact on a group of Timmins residents.

The Timmins branch of Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi members gather regularly to exercise their bodies, mind and spirit. While they initially tried tai chi for various reasons, they enjoy the benefits of the non-violent martial art.

The benefit is that everything relaxes. Its called a moving mediation, explained Shirley Calhoun, a co-leader of the Timmins branch. But it also has stretching, it has repair of different things. It helps your back. It helps your eyes. It helps you to just mellow out.

There is a meditative aspect to it. Its a wonderful art.

Taoist tai chi grew out of the ancient Chinese belief that health comes with the body, mind and spirit working together. According to the organizations website, tai chi involves deep stretching with a full range of motion and continuous turning of the spine. They exercise the whole physiology including muscular, skeletal and circulatory systems, as well as tendons, joints, connective tissue and organs.

The gentle, internal movements are balanced throughout the body and have a calming effect on the mind.

Taoist tai chi is marking 50 years in Canada.

In 1970, the fellow who actually started this came from China and his name was Moy Lin Shin, Cahlhoun said. He got it started in Montreal first, then he came to Toronto.

Weve got over 40,000 people that part of the society and do tai chi. Were in 25 or 26 countries. If you become a member here in Timmins, and you travel to, say, Costa Rica, you just bring your little card that says youre part of it all, then you can do tai chi there free.

Once youve become a participant in one place, youre all over the world.

A little more than 20 years after coming to Canada, tai chi arrived in Timmins.

The Timmins branch actually started around 1991-92, she said. There was a fellow from around North Bay, his name is Ron Dankovich, he was a continuing instructor and he came up to Timmins, got everybody started and showed what they had to do.

The Timmins branch began with about 15 members.

Right now, we have 75 members on the books, Calhoun said. Its hard to get started, you have to have enough population.

Members come to the branch for a variety of reasons. Some come to get more physically active, in a gentle way. Others seek a venue for meditation. Others want to find pain relief.

Membership is open to all age groups.

There is no criteria (to join), she said. You just come in and we show a demonstration. We usually have an open house, where we show what we do and we answer questions. If they want to sign up, we sign them up and they can come the next time.

All you need is a pair of loose pants, a pair of shoes that are flat that you wear inside only, we give you a t-shirt and thats it.

She said there are also social benefits to joining the group.

We have a lot of fun, Calhoun said. We have games night sometimes. We do have a lot of fun.

Were open to all age groups. Weve even had an eight-year-old come out with his mom.

The Timmins branch of Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi has ongoing, beginners and pain relief classes ongoing at the Masonic Hall, 35 Tamarack St.

It can be reachedat 705-268-4300 or onFacebook.

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Classes help improve mind, body and spirit - TimminsToday

Physiology

ZOLL Foundation Announces Grantees for its September 30, 2019 Funding Round – Business Wire

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZOLL Foundation grants to young investigators in the fields of resuscitation and acute critical care totaled more than $676,000 in calendar year 2019. The September 30, 2019 round awarded $86,000 more than the round ending March 31, 2019; $381,000 vs. $295,000, respectively. Each round had nine awardees, for a total of 18 recipients receiving an average grant of $37,555 each. The next submission deadline is March 31, 2020.

It has been rewarding to assess applications to the ZOLL Foundation over the past five years, says Norman A. Paradis, MD, Professor of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, and a Director of the ZOLL Foundation since its inception in 2013. The caliber of young investigators looking to the Foundation to help them jumpstart their careers with seed funding, as well as the novel and challenging work they propose undertaking, is very encouraging indeed. Judging from the number and quality of applicants from diverse geographies each round, the Foundation is clearly now a known source of support with an important place in the future of resuscitation and acute critical care research.

Six of the nine recipients of grants for the round ending September 30, 2019 are with U.S.-based institutions, with others from Canada, France, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Research these new investigators will be pursuing, usually with guidance from an established mentor, ranges from hemodynamic and metabolic interventions during cardiac arrest; sex hormone differences in cardiac arrest patients; and endothelial dysfunction and repair during septic shock; to using machine learning algorithms with physiology-guided resuscitation; and testing the impact of intra-shift naps during night shifts among EMS clinicians. For a complete list of research projects, researchers and their institutions, go to http://zollfoundation.org/projects.html.

Application guidelines and a streamlined application form for the March 31 deadline can be found at http://zollfoundation.org/apply.html.

About the ZOLL Foundation

The ZOLL Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that operates independently from ZOLL Medical Corporation. It provides grants that support research and educational methods designed to improve resuscitation practices, prevent patient deterioration associated with cardiac arrest, and enhance the care of acute patients to reduce mortality and morbidity. Its focus is on providing seed grants for new investigators starting on the path of resuscitation and acute critical care research. More information on the Foundation, grantees to date, and the grant application process can be found at http://www.zollfoundation.org.

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ZOLL Foundation Announces Grantees for its September 30, 2019 Funding Round - Business Wire

Physiology

Keck Foundation gives $1 million to WSU researchers studying how sleep affects the brain – WSU News

By Josh Babcock, College of Veterinary Medicine

Cant sleep? Cant think clearly? Feel depressed? It may not be what you think.

The bacteria residing inside of you outnumber your own cells 10:1 and affect sleep, cognition, mood, brain temperature, appetite, and many additional brain functions. Yet we lack an understanding of how they do it, explained James Krueger, PhD, MDHC, Regents Professor at the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience.

With a $1 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, Krueger and colleagues at Washington State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA) will explore whether variations in brain levels of bacterial fragments can account for lifes sleep/wake and 24-hour cycles, known as circadian rhythms.

The sleep research is led by Krueger and the circadian rhythm portion of the project is led by Associate Professor Ilia Karatsoreos, PhD, at UMA, who was formerly at WSU and a co-investigator on the study.

The award builds on nearly 40 years of cutting-edge sleep research. In the early 1980s, Krueger isolated a sleep-promoting molecule from brains of sleep deprived rabbits and from human urine. Its chemical structure was a muramyl peptide a building block component of bacterial cell walls.

At the time of the discovery, it was difficult to measure small amounts of muramyl peptides. As a result, determination of the brains muramyl peptide levels and whether they correlated with sleep-wake cycles or with circadian rhythms was shelved. Now, improved measurement technologies and the W. M. Keck Foundation funding enables this work to be done.

Further, WSU researchers will determine if sleep loss results in increased levels of muramyl peptides in the brain; a predicted result based on the 1980s work.

The UMA researchers will use models of simulated jet lag, a way to transiently disrupt our circadian (daily) rhythms. Disruption of these rhythms is associated with multiple changes including sleep, cognition, and body temperature. They will determine if muramyl peptide levels in the brain correlate with such changes.

When jetlagged, many of the normal bodily functions are out of synchrony with each other. This is a consequence of altering circadian rhythms, Karatsoreos said. By looking for changes of bacterial products in the brain, we anticipate we will discover new approaches to treat jet lag, and possibly the desynchrony of physiological functions that occurs with old age.

A third goal of the W. M. Keck funded work will be to determine how brain muramyl peptides elicit sleep. Our minds are an outcome of a bacteria/human symbiosis, Krueger said. Expanding this concept by determination of how such disparate species talk to each other will transform our views of cognition, psychiatric disorders, consciousness including sleep, and our understanding of what it means to be human.

Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundations grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering and undergraduate education. The Foundation also maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides support for the Los Angeles community, with a special emphasis on children and youth. For more information, please visit www. wmkeck.org.

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Keck Foundation gives $1 million to WSU researchers studying how sleep affects the brain - WSU News

Physiology

Students share their favorite films of the 2010s Queen and Slim, Call Me By Your Name among those listed – The Aggie

Other favorites include Disobedience, Shutter Island, The Martian

This decade brought extraordinary films that left their mark on the history of cinema. Disney saw major success with the release of both Frozen and Frozen 2, as well as the highly anticipated sequel to The Incredibles. The Marvel cinematic universe finished the decade with multiple Avengers movies, ending one chapter and allowing a new one to begin in the new decade. These blockbuster films have made their mark on viewers, but there are other films that made a more personal impact on UC Davis students.

A number of students took the time to share their favorite pieces of cinema from this decade with The California Aggie.

Minh Tran, a first-year biopsychology major, said her film of the decade was Silenced, directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk.

The film was an advocate for sexual assault victims, [and it] calls out the predator and toxic power dynamic in work environment, Tran said.

Caroline Hopkins, a first-year undeclared major, said Disobedience, directed by Sebastian Lelio, is a deeply emotional and cutting tale of self-discovery.

Neha Singh, a third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, said Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, was the film that stood out to her this decade because it was empowering and very funny.

Husnaa Formoli, a third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, said her favorite film was Shutter Island directed by Martin Scorsese.

I love movies that are unpredictable, and this movie was unpredictable with a twist at the end, Formoli said. The acting was phenomenal.

Ariel Guzman-Avila, a third-year international relations major, expressed his opinion on The Martian directed by Ridley Scott.

The film demonstrated unity and genuine cooperation throughout the entire film involving many parties who always are at odds, Guzman-Avila said. I was most impacted understanding that I too would wish to see global cooperation such as that of NASA and China or a new space colonization effort with my lifetime.

Est Banuelos, a third-year political science major, named Queen and Slim, directed by Melina Matsoukas, as her favorite film this decade.

It impacted me the most because it allows its viewers to grasp a closer sense to what we are currently facing today in America, Banuelos said. The door to higher levels of racism opened up with the current president we have.

Madison Satre, a fourth-year psychology major, was moved by Call Me by Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino.

It reinforced living in the moment and taking chances when you can, because you never know when the moment will pass, Satre said.

Shreya Kandasamy, a fourth-year psychology and Chicana/o studies double major noted that Before Midnight, directed by Richard Linklater, taught [her] how relationships are not perfect and that communication is key to sustaining relationships.

Noemi Gregorio, a third-year communications major, said World War Z, directed by Marc Forster, made an impact on her.

I thought it was crazy because it was something I had never seen before, Gregorio said. If you see the movie you will literally see the world collapsing in front of you. It was just a movie, but [it] felt possible.

Alisha Singh, a third-year political science and public service major, said the film that resonated with me the most was Alita: Battle Angel, directed by Robert Rodriguez.

It taught meaningful lessons about the strength of grit and never giving up.

Written by: Gabriela Hernandez arts@theaggie.org

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Students share their favorite films of the 2010s Queen and Slim, Call Me By Your Name among those listed - The Aggie

Physiology

Superhero science: Super speed and underwater breathing – Scope

Normally, Stanford hospitalistErrol Ozdalga, MD, is careful to make diagnoses for his patients based on their symptoms and test results. Not long ago, however, he had the opportunity to create medical explanations for superheroes using only his imagination and fascination with the human body.

In a series ofvideos, Ozdalga accounts for the fantastical powers of superheroes and supervillains using real-life explanations. For example, how does Aquaman breathe underwater? The secret is taking up oxygen through his skin like a frog. I caught up with Ozdalga to learn more.

Are you a big comics fan?

I've always loved comic-related things like Superman since I was a kid, but I should tell you I'm not a die-hard comics and superheroes person. I have a friend who is an editor for a company that published a book on the physiological properties that allow superheroes and supervillains to do what they do. I thought the idea for this book was really cool so when she asked, I was happy to volunteer.

I wasn't aware that anything like this had ever been explored and thought it would be fun to look at how these superpowers might be possible from a physiological standpoint.

So, this project was rooted in your interest in medicine?

That was the fun part for me. What got me interested in medicine was physiology. When I first started college, I thought I was going to be a therapist because I like talking with people and that feeling of helping people. But then I took a human biology class, and I was like, "Oh, wow, this is amazing."

All the different physiological processes that are going on inside our bodies right now, from a molecular to a cellular level, are just unbelievable. It's like when an astronomer looks at the stars and it's this amazing feeling of wonder. That's kind of how I look at the human body. I knew immediately that medical school was my trajectory.

How do you develop your explanations for these fictional superpowers using actual biology? For example,how did Superman get his super speed?

I was looking at it through that same lens I had when I first fell in love with the human body. I would take known things in the human body and then extrapolate from there -- so, what if someone didn't just have a little bit more of one thing, but they had a thousand times more to make it to turn it into a superpower?

For example, with Superman and his super speed, why are some people faster than others? I would take that and then extrapolate it to a much higher degree.

People have certain types of muscles, fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers, and people with a certain type of muscle fiber are better at short-term running. And so, Superman can run really fast because he has more of that type of muscle fiber, but he has, like, a hundred times more.

Or, take Aquaman and how he might breathe underwater. Air is composed of 21% oxygen but water is only around 1%. Aquaman, therefore, needs an efficient way to extract the low amount of available oxygen. Certain amphibians like frogs breathe through their skin. It's possible that Aquaman can "breathe" through a similar mechanism. To enhance this process, he might have numerous hair-like projections, which are also present on many amphibians, to increase the skin's surface area and absorb much more oxygen.

Do you have a favorite superhero?

I would say Superman. I'm going with the most popular one here, but from the days when I was a kid, I still remember watching the original Superman movies and the feeling you get watching those. He's my favorite go-to guy.

If you could pick one superpower what would it be?

Oh, to be able to fly, especially living in the Bay Area any not having to worry about traffic. That would be fantastic. I wouldn't have to pay for gas or a car -- it'd be great. And if something really bad happens, I can fly around the world really fast and then reverse time. It's a great superpower.

Top photo by Yogi Purnama; Photo by Steve Fisch

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Superhero science: Super speed and underwater breathing - Scope