Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

Study outlines the link between tattoos and damage to sweat glands – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Oct 21 2020

You've heard that they can sag with age, perpetuate the name of a regrettable ex, or reveal an embarrassing inability to spell. But tattoos may also impair the way we sweat, potentially causing the body to overheat if the tattoos cover a large area of the body.

A team of researchers that includes SMU physiologist Scott L. Davis outlined the connection between tattoos and damage to sweat glands in a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Their study of tattooed skin and adjacent non-tattooed skin on the arms of an evenly-divided group of men and women found that the tattooed sections of skin had reduced sweat rates.

That's a potential problem because sweating is how the body cools itself and regulates its temperature.

Any damage to eccrine (sweat) glands within the skin can impair sweating response and potentially increase the risk of overheating if the damage covers a large enough body surface area."

Scott L. Davis, Physiologist, Southern Methodist University

Eccrine sweat glands, which are found in most skin across the body, produce sweat to cool the body. The human body must regulate its temperature for survival.

Davis, associate professor in applied physiology and wellness at SMU's Simmons School of Education and Human Development, collaborated for the study with researchers from Alma College, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

In the study, they determined sweating rates in the upper and lower arms of people with tattoos by comparing at least 5.6 square centimeters of tattooed skin with adjacent non-tattooed skin. Ten people - both men and women - participated in the study.

These volunteer subjects wore a special tube-lined suit that circulated hot water in excess of 120 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes to increase core temperatures and measure the level of sweating. Tattooed and non-tattooed areas of skin both began to sweat at around the same time. But tattooed areas ultimately produced less sweat than areas without tattoos.

The findings suggest that even though nerve signals to sweat glands weren't affected in tattooed skin, the sweat glands themselves were likely damaged during tattooing.

Tattoos are made permanent by injecting ink through the thin layer of outer skin into the middle layer of skin known as the dermis, which contains connective tissue, hair follicles and sweat glands. Applying a tattoo typically requires puncturing the skin with needles 50 to 3,000 times per minute, at a depth of 1-5 millimeters which could result in sweat gland damage.

"These data indicate that the collateral effects of the tattooing process negatively impact eccrine sweat gland function and could be considered a potential long-term complication or side effect of this cosmetic procedure," researchers wrote.

Source:

Journal reference:

Luetkemeier, M, J., et al. Skin tattooing impairs sweating during passive whole-body heating. Journal of Applied Physiology. doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00427.2019.

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Study outlines the link between tattoos and damage to sweat glands - News-Medical.Net

Physiology

Two University of Chicago researchers elected to National Academy of Medicine – UChicago News

University of Chicago faculty members Melody Swartz and Holly J. Humphrey have been elected members of the National Academy of Medicineone of the highest honors in the field.

Swartz, the William B. Ogden Professor of Molecular Engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, was honored for pioneering contributions to the fields of lymphatic physiology, cancer research and immunotherapy. She holds a joint appointment in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research and is co-founder of the Chicago Immunoengineering Innovation Center.

Swartzs research focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of how the lymphatic system regulates immunity in homeostasis and disease, particularly in cancer and chronic inflammation. Her lab applies this knowledge to develop novel immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer, including lymph node-targeting vaccines. Her quantitative and interdisciplinary approach draws on bioengineering, immunobiology, physiology, cell biology and biomechanics.

Swartzs many honors include a MacArthur Fellowship (2012), as well as her election to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (2018).

Humphrey, the Ralph W. Gerard Emeritus Professor in Medicine at the University, is currently president of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. The academy honored Humphrey, MD83, for transforming medical education learning environments by creating cultures of equity, diversity, and belonging that prepare future health professionals to care for diverse populations and address social determinants of health.

Following an internal medicine residency, pulmonary and critical care fellowship, and chief residency at the University of Chicago, she served for 14 years as director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. During her tenure as dean for medical education, her signature programs focused on equity, diversity and inclusion, mentoring, and professionalism.

She is also the chair of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicines Board of Directors, chair emeritus of the American Board of Internal Medicine and of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, and a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine.

Established originally as the Institute of Medicine in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine addresses critical issues in health, science, medicine, and related policy and inspires positive actions across sectors. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

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Two University of Chicago researchers elected to National Academy of Medicine - UChicago News

Physiology

KBP Biosciences Announces Data Presentation at the American Society of Nephrology Annual Meeting – GlobeNewswire

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KBP Biosciences Holdings Limited (KBP Biosciences), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of major diseases with large underserved patient populations, today announced upcoming data to be presented at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Annual Meeting, being held in a virtual format from October 22-25, 2020. Frederic Jaisser, Head of the Physiology Department, Cordeliers Research Center,Research Director, INSERM, is presenting an abstract entitled: The non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist KBP-5074 limits albuminuria with improved efficacy and safety compared to eplerenone.

KBP-5074 is a novel, non-steroidal, highly-selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) being developed for patients with hypertension and advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). KBP Biosciences believes that the availability of an MRA that effectively decreases urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) without increasing the risk of hyperkalemia would be of tremendous clinical use in the treatment of patients with heart failure (HF) and CKD, among other conditions. This pre-clinical study investigated the effect of KBP-5074 on aldosterone-mediated renal injury in the uninephrectomized SD rat CKD model. The results indicated that KBP-5074 showed a significant effect on UACR reduction, with less risk for hyperkalemia, resulting in a wider therapeutic window when compared to eplerenone. The study also showed increased urinary sodium secretion induced by KBP-5074 compared to eplerenone, which correlates with one of the expected mechanisms of action for blood pressure reduction in humans.

Dr. Jaisser said, The results of this study imply that KBP-5074 could have a wider therapeutic index than eplerenone when considering pharmacologic interventions for aldosterone receptor blockade when the risk of hyperkalemia is a concern.

Thijs Spoor, CEO of KBP Biosciences, added, We continue to be excited by the growing body of scientific evidence around the potential role of KBP-5074 in helping patients with Stage 3b/4 chronic kidney disease. We are looking forward to the final data release from our Phase 2b clinical study, which is expected to be later this year.

About KBP BiosciencesKBP Biosciences is a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of major diseases with large underserved patient populations. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, KBP Biosciences has strong capabilities from discovery and CMC through global clinical development and registration. KBP Biosciences seeks to develop medicines in its principal therapeutic areas of organ protection and infectious diseases by focusing on novel drug candidates with well-established mechanisms of action.

KBP Biosciences lead program, KBP-5074, a novel, non-steroidal MRA, is currently completing a Phase 2b clinical study of Stage 3b/4 CKD patients with uncontrolled hypertension. KBP Biosciences is also developing KBP-7072, a potent, third-generation tetracycline, a class of antibiotics with established broad anti-infective activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as challenging, atypical pathogens.

KBP Biosciences has built a proprietary R&D platform, which includes a compound library that is the basis of new compound discovery, a bacterium library aimed at multi-drug resistant bacteria, and an in vivo pharmacology platform for screening and testing new compounds. KBP Biosciences is actively seeking to identify additional promising therapeutic opportunities and further develop its product portfolio.

Contacts:Tyler EhlerInvestor Relationstyler.ehler@kbpbiosciences.com+1 (929) 288-9573

Investors:Lee RothBurns McClellanlroth@burnsmc.com+1 (212) 213-0006

Media: Ryo Imai / Robert Flamm, Ph.D.Burns McClellanrimai@burnsmc.com / rflamm@burnsmc.com+1 (212) 300-8315 / +1 (212) 300-8364

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KBP Biosciences Announces Data Presentation at the American Society of Nephrology Annual Meeting - GlobeNewswire

Physiology

Thought Technology Ltd. Featured on Krush Performance Podcast Series Highlighting the Role of the Brain in Peak Performance Training – Benzinga

In an ongoing series called "The Krush Brain Game", Jeff Krushell talks with leading experts and industry insiders about the role of the brain in human performance and the methods and technologies that are being used with professional and elite athletes.

MONTREAL (PRWEB) October 22, 2020

Podcaster and performance consultant, Jeff Krushell, has just released the fourth episode in his podcast series "The Krush Brain Game" in which he explores the brain body connection as it relates to optimal performance.

His belief is that, "We have come a long way in our understanding of human performance but when we look to the future, we feel, it will be new technologies and our understanding of the brain that will push human performance to new heights."

In the latest installment of the podcast, Jeff sits down with Lucas Borgo, Product Manager at Thought Technology Ltd. who is also a key figure in the development of new apps and software. The company's products have been used by Olympic and professional athletes and other high performers for decades. According to Lucas, "The use of physiological monitoring equipment can be a real game changer for both the athlete and the trainer. When you are able to see your body's physiological reaction to stress, you can more easily learn to control this reaction and be confident that the techniques you are using are having the desired effect."

Included in this ongoing series, are interviews with several influential people from the biofeedback field including: Lawrence Klein, VP and Founder of Thought Technology, Ltd.; Dr. Erik Peper, psychologist, author and president of the Biofeedback Federation of Europe; Dr. Inna Khazan who combines the use of biofeedback and mindfulness; and Dr. Leah Lagos whose focus is on HRV training for athletes and peak performers.

Click here to listen to Jeff Krushell's interview with Luke Borgo.

About Jeff Krushell

Jeff Krushell is the founder of Krush Performance and an Athlete Development Specialist & Organizational Performance Consultant. He is regarded as a noted expert in the area of talent development in sport and through his work has gained unique insights into the process of improving performance.

Over the last 25 years Jeff has worked in the world of high-performance sport helping athletes tap into their potential to truly understand what it is like to achieve Human Maximum Performance. Jeff currently consults for Major League Baseball International; CTV News, Edmonton; Vauxhall Baseball Academy; Link Management and has previously worked as the strength and conditioning coach for both the Toronto Blue Jays and Edmonton Eskimos.

About Thought Technology Ltd.

Founded in 1975, Thought Technology is the world's leading biofeedback and physiological instrument manufacturer. Its products are used as an essential part of many therapeutic treatments and clinical assessment protocols in over 85 countries and are used by tens of thousands of clinicians in thousands of medical institutions.

Always supportive of new research and development ideas, Thought Technology Ltd. has encouraged a number of special interest groups and clinicians to create cutting edge applications for its instrumentation. Thought Technology Ltd. equipment is now being used in telemedicine, web-based monitoring and biofeedback, sports training, research in human-machine interface, physiology-driven multimedia environments and virtual reality. Constantly striving to improve the quality of the products and services, TTL has obtained, and maintains, ISO 13485, and CE certification for the organization and products.

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Thought Technology Ltd. Featured on Krush Performance Podcast Series Highlighting the Role of the Brain in Peak Performance Training - Benzinga

Physiology

How One Entomologist Takes a Multidisciplinary Approach to Bee Protection – Entomology Today

Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D., is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University (OSU) and president of the OSU Postdoctoral Association. Originally from India, she earned her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Calcutta, where she studied the effects of pesticides on wild Indian honey bees. As a result of her outstanding work, she is the recipient of the 2020 Excellence in Early Career Award by the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America.

By Scott ONeal, Ph.D.

Editors Note: This is the next post in the Standout ECPs series contributed by the Entomological Society of Americas Early Career Professionals (ECP) Committee, highlighting outstanding ECPs that are doing great work in the profession. (An ECP is defined as anyone within the first five years of obtaining their terminal degree in their field.) Learn more about the work ECPs are doing within ESA, and read past posts in the Standout ECPs series.

Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D., is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University (OSU) and president of the OSU Postdoctoral Association. Originally from India, she earned her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Calcutta, where she studied the effects of pesticides on wild Indian honey bees. As a result of her outstanding work, she is the recipient of the 2020 Excellence in Early Career Award by the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America. Below, we asked Chakrabarti Basu a few questions about her research and postdoc life.

ONeal: How would you describe your research program?

Chakrabarti Basu: The main goal of my research is to understand the various threats affecting bee pollinators and how best to counteract them. I study the physiological impacts of pesticides, poor nutrition, and diseases in bees, both in the field and in the lab. For each problem that is thrown at me, my research program holistically looks at it and finds ways to solve it. Along with contributing to basic sciences, I also want to be able to benefit our various stakeholders with my research findings. Throughout the years, I have collaborated with researchers, academicians, beekeepers, growers, and other non-profit and governmental agencies to help protect bee pollinators. I believe this partnership is one of the key foundations of what I do.

What makes your research program unique or sets you apart from your peers?

I am an insect physiologist working on insect nutrition, ecotoxicology, molecular ecology, insect functional biology, and insect neuroethology, with a special focus on bee pollinators. I employ multi-omics, molecular biology, and various other tools from the fields of apiculture, pollination biology, and insect physiology to address my research questions. This transdisciplinary aspect makes my research program unique.

Most importantly, one of my primary aims is to be able to translate the findings of my basic research to an applied perspective for helping our stakeholders. Crop protection and bee protection are not mutually exclusive, but it requires someone with diverse expertise and strong communication skills to bridge that gap. Consequently, I am augmenting my research program by also trying to build the first database of plant pollen nutrition in North America for both managed and native bee pollinators. Having worked across many states in India and in the UK, my diverse multicultural background also helps me to connect more easily with students and with various members of the community in the United States.

After moving to the United States from India, my postdoc mentor Dr. Ramesh Sagili and my lab mates have been incredible in providing opportunities to improve both my professional and personal growth. This has further broadened my horizon in building a research program that is multidisciplinary, unique, and highly collaborative. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding a great collaboratora partner who is as enthusiastic about your project as you are. At OSU, I am very lucky to have found Jeffrey Morr, who has been phenomenal in helping us to build methods for assessing pollen nutritional quality. My group of collaborators also spans across North America, Europe and Asia, and this provides me with an added opportunity to pursue novel avenues of research.

I started studying bees during my Ph.D. and I have not looked back ever since, says Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D. News about colony collapse disorder and bee declines had already reached India when I was studying in college. However, not much was really understood about bees and their troubles in the Asian subcontinent. My Ph.D. research was thus motivated by the largely overlooked question of how field-realistic pesticide exposures can affect both wild and managed honey bees.

Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D., says working with a transdisciplinary approach makes her research program unique: I am an insect physiologist working on insect nutrition, ecotoxicology, molecular ecology, insect functional biology, and insect neuroethology, with a special focus on bee pollinators. I employ multi-omics, molecular biology, and various other tools from the fields of apiculture, pollination biology, and insect physiology to address my research questions.

What is the most interesting research challenge that you have encountered, and what was your approach to solving it?

I think the most interesting challenge was to learn how to work with humans, rather than with bees. What I have come to realize is that it is all about establishing trust. Some of the larger participatory research programs that I was involved with during my Ph.D. in India required working in close cooperation with various stakeholders and marginalized sections of the community. Sampling events, surveys, fieldwork: everything was dependent on building a strong relationship with our partners, who were often spread across remote villages. Part of my success came from having the opportunity to work with a superb team, but equally as important was having an open mind, a willingness to learn, and the ability to adapt and to be kind. These things are what helped me to overcome all challenges and really feel like my work made a difference.

Another thing I must mention, however, is that we often fail to appreciate the challenges that our field sites can throw at us. At some of my Ph.D. field sites, I had to watch out for elephants and bears. In another site, there were tigers in the adjoining forests. In addition to the dangers posed by these large mammals, I was working with Apis dorsata, the giant honey bee, which builds these massive hives usually way beyond our reach. At one field-sampling event gone wrong, they stung me over 50 times! Talk about a lesson learned! Despite all of that, I restocked my first aid kit and was back to sampling the next day with a renewed enthusiasm.

Your research has been pretty exciting! Has your career been primarily focused on research?

I am also passionate about teaching and mentoring. I taught and mentored students in India and I continue to do so here at OSU. As the current President of the OSU Postdoctoral Association, I make every effort to provide mentoring opportunities to graduate students and build links between OSU postdocs and graduate students. I also regularly train and mentor students in our lab. In fact, my door is literally always open for students to walk in with their questions or problems.

COVID-19 has reshaped our teaching methods, and being an instructor for an online course at OSU this fall, I am no exception. A number of our students are studying remotely, and some of them reached out to me with their concerns about delayed textbook arrival. I agreed to scan the entire textbook for them, and the sheer joy evident in their emails was quite rewarding. Luckily, the kind folks at the OSU Valley Library did it for us, and the students now have access to it. I teach, train, and mentor graduate and undergraduate students, as I truly believe that it is important to develop scientific temper and support our next generation of entomologists, researchers and independent thinkers. In appreciation of the amazing postdoc mentor that I have at OSU, I also encourage others to be great mentors themselves.

The main goal of my research is to understand the various threats affecting bee pollinators and how best to counteract them, says Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D. I study the physiological impacts of pesticides, poor nutrition, and diseases in bees, both in the field and in the lab. For each problem that is thrown at me, my research program holistically looks at it and finds ways to solve it.

One of my primary aims is to be able to translate the findings of my basic research to an applied perspective for helping our stakeholders, says Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D. Crop protection and bee protection are not mutually exclusive, but it requires someone with diverse expertise and strong communication skills to bridge that gap.

Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D. (left), postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University, spoke with Scott ONeal, Ph.D., research entomologist at Corteva Agriscience and chair of the ESA Early Career Professionals Committee for this latest installment in the committees Standout ECP series.

Why did you become an entomologist? What drew you to this field?

Insects have always fascinated me. As a child, I would spend hours in my grandmothers terrace garden, looking at bugs and wondering what are they up to on a hot summer afternoon! I have to admit, as a result of growing up in the tropics, I prefer some bugs over the others. Earning my degree in zoology gave me an overview of animal systems and the diversity that is around us. This further solidified my passion in entomology, especially learning how unique and diverse insects are.

I started studying bees during my Ph.D. and I have not looked back ever since. News about colony collapse disorder and bee declines had already reached India when I was studying in college. However, not much was really understood about bees and their troubles in the Asian subcontinent. My Ph.D. research was thus motivated by the largely overlooked question of how field-realistic pesticide exposures can affect both wild and managed honey bees. Slowly, over the years, I have expanded into researching the other stressors that affect our bees as well.

OK, so now I really want to know: Which bugs do you prefer, and why?

Of course I will choose bees! I love working with bees and I really appreciate all that bees do for us. But there are close runners-up: firefly and praying mantis. I find fireflies to be so unique, lighting up our world! I think we can all do our little bits to light up the world. And, of course, the praying mantis because it can rotate its head, unlike other insects, has great vision, and what a formidable predator!

Thank you Priya! For all of our readers, you can learn more about Dr. Chakrabarti Basus research at: http://www.priyadarshinichakrabarti.com and https://honeybeelab.oregonstate.edu/users/priyadarshini-chakrabarti-basu.

Scott ONeal, Ph.D., is a research entomologist at Corteva Agriscience and the 2019-2020 chair of the ESA Early Career Professionals Committee. Email: scott.oneal@corteva.com.

All photos courtesy of Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu, Ph.D.

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How One Entomologist Takes a Multidisciplinary Approach to Bee Protection - Entomology Today

Physiology

This Red Light Means ‘Go’ for Medical Discoveries – University of Virginia

With a little tweak of the color palette, University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have made it easier for scientists to understand biological processes, track happenings inside individual cells, unravel the mysteries of disease and develop new treatments.

UVAs Hui-wang Ai and Shen Zhang have developed a simple and effective improvement to fluorescent biosensors widely used in scientific and medical research. The biosensors detect specific targets inside cells and sets them aglow, so that scientists can monitor and quantify biological events they otherwise could not.

Most fluorescent protein biosensors give a green or yellow glow, but Ai and Zhang have discovered a way to shift the green to red. This comes with big benefits, including making it easier for scientists to monitor multiple targets at a time and to peer more deeply into tissues.

This innovative method can convert not only existing biosensors, but also any green biosensors developed in the future, Ai said. Multicolor and/or multiplexed imaging with fluorescent biosensors cells will thus become widely accessible.

While there are existing red biosensors, they are typically outperformed by their green counterparts. So scientists have been eager to find ways to shift the green color into red, retaining the benefits of the green sensors while adding new ones, such as reducing the visual confusion that can be caused by the natural fluorescence of tissues and cells.

Ai and Zhang found a solution partly by a stroke of luck or serendipity, as they describe it in a new scientific paper. In the course of their regular lab work, they found that adding a particular amino acid, 3-aminotyrosine, to the green biosensor made it turn red.

This is simple to do and quite effective, they report. The red version preserved the brightness, dynamic range and responsiveness of the green sensor, while offering the additional benefits of a red one.

We modified a panel of green biosensors for metal ions, neurotransmitters and cell metabolites, Zhang said. Spontaneous and efficient green-to-red conversion was observed for all tested biosensors, and little optimization on individual sensors was needed.

The researchers tested their improved biosensor on cells that make insulin in the pancreas. They were able to monitor the effect of high levels of glucose on the cells, gaining new insights and giving the researchers new directions to explore.

They hope their quick-and-easy sensor upgrade will offer similar benefits to many other scientists and lines of scientific research.

It will have lots of applications, Ai said, such as acceleration of our understanding of how pancreas controls insulin secretion or how neuronal activity patterns in the brain correlate with complex behavior.

The researchers have described their technique in the scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology. Ai and Zhang are both part of UVAs Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, UVAs Department of Chemistry, the Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology, and the UVA Cancer Center.

The research was supported by UVA and the National Institutes of Health, grants R01GM118675, R01GM129291, U01CA230817 and R01DK122253.

To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA, subscribe to the Making of Medicine blog.

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This Red Light Means 'Go' for Medical Discoveries - University of Virginia

Physiology

Landmark Legislation to Create NIH Center for Advancing Non-Animal Research Introduced in Congress Tuesday – PR Web

Lung Chip

WASHINGTON (PRWEB) October 22, 2020

A New York-based nonprofit group, CAARE, that led the drive to create legislation to promote cutting-edge methods of research superior to animal-based testing, today lauded the announcement that the Humane Research and Testing Act of 2020 has been introduced in Congress.

Landmark bipartisan legislation to promote and fund scientifically advanced, human-relevant, non-animal methods through the establishment of a dedicated center under the National Institute of Health (NIH) was introduced here Tuesday (Oct. 20) by Congressional members Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL).

Barbara Stagno, president of Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research & Experimentation, commends the effort, noting: CAARE is grateful to Representatives Hastings and Buchanan for introducing this legislation that has great promise to change the current paradigm of routine use of animals in laboratories when there are available alternatives, and gives real impetus to reducing animals by establishing a center exclusively for that purpose.

The "Humane Research and Testing Act of 2020" would create a dedicated center under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide resources, funding and training to advance humane, cost-effective, and scientifically suitable non-animal methods, Stagno added.

Because the exact number of animals used in U.S. research is unknown, ranging between 17 million and 100 million annually, the Humane Research and Testing Act of 2020 is also designed to obtain that data, and requires the NIH to outline a plan for reducing those numbers.

Congressman Hastings, the leading sponsor points out: As science and medicine advance, we have a better understanding of the relevancy and benefits of animal-based medical research and testing on human health outcomes. We are finding methods that can better predict human results without the needless suffering of animals. This legislation will not just reduce animal testing and research but will ultimately improve medical treatments for humans as they are developed from beginning to end primarily with test subjects that replicate human biology and physiology.

CAARE is excited that the bill has received many influential endorsements including the Jane Goodall Institute, Cruelty Free International, Vanda Pharmaceuticals and Dr. Donald Ingber MD, PhD, one of the pioneers in developing organs-on-chips, a game-changing technology for replacing animals.

I have watched for decades as millions of animals have been used in experiments of every sort that have led to insufficient knowledge gained for human medicine, said Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace. We now have the opportunity to go in a more promising direction, based on modern knowledge and innovative technologies that open up a new humane pathway for research.

Dr. Don Ingber, chaired professor at Harvards Medical and Engineering Schools and Founding Director of its Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering expounds, We are reaching a tipping point in the field of in vitro human emulation technologies where they are able to recapitulate human physiology and disease states, as well as response to drugs, radiation, and toxins. A new NIH Center focused on meeting this goal would benefit this field, save animal lives, and expedite the development of more effective and safer therapies.

Cruelty Free International is one of the worlds longest standing and most respected animal protection organizations and has initiated and influenced legislation around the world to eliminate animal testing and advance humane science. Monica Engebretson, Cruelty Free Internationals Head of Public Affairs for North America said The need for cost-effective and reliable tools for the development of medicines and treatments has led to a wealth of new approach methodologies that focus on human biology and utilize modern technologies without the use of animals. Recent global events have highlighted the need for continued investment in these modern approaches to confront public health challenges.

Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research & Experimentation is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, established to highlight and promote research without animals. CAAREs mission is to reduce animal suffering by disseminating information about the power and progress of research without animals.

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Physiology

What chilly lizards in Miami can inform us about local weather change resilience – The Shepherd of the Hills Gazette

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

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IMAGE:CENTRAL AMERICAN BROWN BASILISKS (BASILISCUS VITTATUS) ARE AMONG THE MEMBERS OF A LIZARD COMMUNITY THAT CONVERGED ON A LOWER TEMPERATURE TOLERANCE AFTER A COLD SNAP IN MIAMI.viewmoreCREDIT: PHOTO COURTESY DAYS EDGE PRODUCTIONS

It was raining iguanas on a sunny morning.

BiologistJames Strouds phone started buzzing early on Jan. 22. A friend who was bicycling to work past the white sands and palm tree edges of Key Biscayne, an island town south of Miami, sent Stroud a picture of a 2-foot long lizard splayed out on its back. With its feet in the air, the iguana took up most of the sidewalk.

The previous night was south Floridas coldest in 10 years, at just under 40 degrees Fahrenheit. While most people reached for an extra blanket or a pair of socks, Stroud a postdoctoral research associate in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis frantically texted a collaborator:

Todays the day to drop everything, go catch some lizards.

When temperatures go below a critical limit, sleeping lizards lose their grip and fall out of trees. From previous research, Stroud and his colleagues had learned that different types of lizards in Miami can tolerate different low temperatures, ranging from about 46 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit, before they are stunned by cold. This cold snap provided a unique opportunity to understand how they are affected by extreme climate events.

But when the researchers collected the scaled survivors of that coldest night, they discovered that the lizard community responded in an unexpected way: all of them could tolerate cold temperatures down to about 42 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of their species previous ability to withstand cold. The findings are reported Oct. 21 in the journalBiology Letters.

Prior to this, and for a different study, we had measured the lowest temperatures that six lizard species in south Florida could tolerate, Stroud said. We realized after the 2020 cold event that these data were now extremely valuable we had the opportunity to re-measure the same lizard populations to observe if their physiological limits had changed; in other words, could these species now tolerate lower temperatures?

In the days that followed the January cold snap, researchers collected representatives of as many different kinds of lizards as they could find in the local area, rounding up small and large lizards and those that are active during the day and at night. Then the researchers tested their response to cold.

A major unexpected result of this study was that all species converged on the same new, lower level of thermal tolerance, Stroud said. While there was great variation in temperature tolerance before the cold event some, like the large-bodied brown basilisk, were very intolerant of low temperatures, while others like the Puerto Rican crested anole were more robust we observed that all species could now tolerate, on average, the same lowest temperature.

Given great variation in body size, ecology and physiology, this was unexpected, he said.

Only one of the species in the study is native to the area; the rest have been introduced to Florida over the past century, researchers noted.

The results provide evidence that tropical, cold-blooded creatures often characterized as unable to withstand rapid changes in climatic conditions can sometimes endure conditions that exceed their established physiological limits.

The shifts to tolerate significantly lower temperatures that we observed were so large that we found it unclear whether natural selection was responsible, Stroud said. And so in our paper we discuss other alternative processes which may also have led to this pattern.

The results of this study are surprising and unexpected. Who would have thought that tropical lizards from places like Puerto Rico and Central America could withstand temperatures near freezing? said Jonathan Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor and professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and director of the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University.

What we now need to find out is how this was accomplished. Is this evidence of natural selection, with those lizards that just happened to have a lower cold tolerance surviving and others freezing to death, or was it an example of physiological adjustment termed acclimation in which exposure to lower temperatures changes a lizards physiology so that it is capable of withstanding lower temperatures?

Regardless of the underlying mechanism, the new study provides a critically important piece of information for understanding the impacts of climate change.

Scientists expect that air temperatures will gradually become warmer under climate change, but also that temperatures will become more chaotic.

Events that spike temperature to extremes both exceptionally hot and exceptionally cold episodes will increase in frequency and magnitude. As such, it is important to understand both the effects of gradual, long-term increases in air temperatures as well as the consequences of abrupt, short-term extreme events.

It is widely thought that tropical and subtropical species are going to be especially vulnerable to changes in temperature particularly extreme spikes of heat or cold as tropical areas do not typically have strong seasons, Stroud said. Unlike temperate species, which are adapted to summer highs and winter lows, tropical species have typically evolved in very thermally stable environments.

While there is no doubt that climate change represents a major threat to species and ecosystems around the world, and deserves as much research attention as possible, this study provides fascinating insight and a glimpse of hope, he said. Perhaps tropical and subtropical species can withstand more extreme climatic conditions.

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From EurekAlert!

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What chilly lizards in Miami can inform us about local weather change resilience - The Shepherd of the Hills Gazette

Physiology

Researchers Examine Effects of Repeated Droughts on Different Kinds of Forests – Noozhawk

Anna-Trugman

Drought is endemic to the American West, along with heatwaves and intense wildfires. But scientists are only beginning to understand how the effects of multiple droughts can compound to affect forests differently than a single drought alone.

UC Santa Barbara forest ecologist Anna Trugman along with her colleagues at the University of Utah, Stanford University and the U.S. Forest Service investigated the effects of repeated, extreme droughts on various types of forests around the globe.

They found that a variety of factors can increase and decrease a forests resilience to subsequent droughts. However, the study, published in Nature Climate Change, concluded that successive droughts are generally increasingly detrimental to forests, even when each drought was no more extreme than the initial one.

Droughts usually leave individual trees more vulnerable to subsequent droughts. Compounding extreme events can be really stressful on forests and trees, said Trugman, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography.

She compares the experience to a person battling an illness: Youll be harder hit if you get sick again while youre still recovering.

That said, the case is not quite so clear cut. Theoretically, responses to subsequent droughts could be quite varied depending on a wide range of tree-level and ecosystem-level factors, said lead author William Anderegg, an assistant professor at the University of Utah.

So, while a drought may place a tree under considerable stress, it could also kill off some of its neighbors, leaving the survivors with less competition for water should arid conditions return.

Trugman and her colleagues used a variety of data sources to investigate this effect on a broad scale. Tree ring data spanning over 100 years enabled them to see how trees that survived an initial drought grew afterward.

Data from the U.S. Forest Inventory and Analysis gave them access to metrics on tree mortality for more than 100,000 forest plots from 2000 through 2018. They combined these sources with satellite measurements of the water content in forest canopies.

Two clear tends emerged. We found that generally trees seem to become more vulnerable to stress after multiple droughts, especially conifers, Anderegg said.

The second finding, the researchers believe, comes down to basic physiology. Conifers and their kin have different vascular systems than broadleaf trees, or angiosperms. As a result, they may sustain more damage in an initial drought and be at a disadvantage compared to angiosperms during subsequent periods of drought stress.

The tree ring data bears this out, showing conifers that survived a drought grew much more slowly, especially if another drought settled in.

By contrast, angiosperms have much more flexible anatomy and physiology, and this seems to help them recover faster and more fully after initial droughts, Anderegg said.

Anderegg was particularly surprised by the impact repeated drought had on the Amazon Rainforest. We tend to think of these forests as not very impacted by drought and, due to their high tree diversity, able to recover quickly, he said. But our results indicate the Amazon has been hit hard by three very severe droughts in the past 15 years.

Forests are complex systems, and a variety of factors ultimately dictate how they respond to extreme events.

In terms of damage you need to not only think about it at the individual level, but at the forest level as well, said Trugman. So, while they will need time to recover from an extreme drought, surviving trees will face less competition for water resources than before. This could leave them in a better situation if drought returns to the area.

Whats more, natural selection will drive the forest as a whole to transition toward more resilient individuals, or even to more drought tolerant species overall. Repeated droughts affect forest pests and pathogens as well, and their response to these conditions will also influence how forests behave.

Scientists are still working to untangle the conditions under which each of these factors rises to the top. This [study] provides a lot of motivation, said Trugman, but I think the next pressing step is to get at the underlying mechanisms at a physiological level and ecological level.

Researchers can use these insights to improve computer models and make more accurate forecasts about the future of forests in a changing climate. Climate change is going to bring more frequent droughts, Anderegg said. So we have to understand and be able to forecast how forests will respond to multiple droughts.

These results are especially crucial in the western U.S., where we've had a number of major droughts in the past 20 years.

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Researchers Examine Effects of Repeated Droughts on Different Kinds of Forests - Noozhawk

Physiology

The Increasing Role of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Will Ro | IJGM – Dove Medical Press

Abdullah Shuaib1,, Husain Arian,1 Ali Shuaib2

1Department of General Surgery, Jahra Hospital, Jahra, Kuwait; 2Biomedical Engineering Unit, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Dr Abdullah Shuaib passed away on July 21, 2020

Correspondence: Ali ShuaibBiomedical Engineering Unit, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, KuwaitTel +965 24636786Email ali.shuaib@ku.edu.kw

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) pertains to the ability of computers or computer-controlled machines to perform activities that demand the cognitive function and performance level of the human brain. The use of AI in medicine and health care is growing rapidly, significantly impacting areas such as medical diagnostics, drug development, treatment personalization, supportive health services, genomics, and public health management. AI offers several advantages; however, its rampant rise in health care also raises concerns regarding legal liability, ethics, and data privacy. Technological singularity (TS) is a hypothetical future point in time when AI will surpass human intelligence. If it occurs, TS in health care would imply the replacement of human medical practitioners with AI-guided robots and peripheral systems. Considering the pace at which technological advances are taking place in the arena of AI, and the pace at which AI is being integrated with health care systems, it is not be unreasonable to believe that TS in health care might occur in the near future and that AI-enabled services will profoundly augment the capabilities of doctors, if not completely replace them. There is a need to understand the associated challenges so that we may better prepare the health care system and society to embrace such a change if it happens.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, technological singularity, health care system

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