Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

OHSU monkey study gives hope for post-infection immunity to COVID-19 – Bend Bulletin

New research out of Oregon Health & Science University provides indirect evidence that humans may develop some immunity to COVID-19.

The question can people whove had the disease be reinfected? is still one of the big unknowns about the disease.

The study, published in the journal Science, used rhesus macaques as a stand-in for humans and found the COVID-infected monkeys developed antibodies to the virus. Then a month later, all of the macaques were re-exposed.

The results were encouraging: The monkeys didnt get sick.

This study I think really provides hope that individual becomes infected with the COVID-19 virus and recovers, it is likely that they will not get COVID-19 again, said OHSUs Jake Estes, an author on the study.

Some of the monkeys did show evidence of the virus briefly on reinfection, but their bodies cleared it quickly. And levels of virus were so low, Estes says they would likely not have been infectious to others.

Rhesus macaques are used for this kind of testing because their physiology and immune systems are very similar to those of humans.

But Estes says more research is necessary to determine if humans will have the same immune response.

While these monkeys are a very good approximation of humans, theyre not humans, he said. There could be significant genetic contributing factors in the human population. There are certainly many more variables in the human population comorbidities that are known to be associated with more severe disease.

In addition, the OHSU work only tested the macaques for immunity about a month out from the initial recovery from the virus. Its still unknown how long that immunity would last.

The question of immunity is important because indicates if people whove had COVID can return to normal life without risk of re-infection. It also gives us a clue whether the immune system can be effectively harnessed to develop vaccines and treatments for the disease.

Another paper out this month comes to a similar conclusion. It shows that people who have recovered from COVID-19 do develop antibodies and other disease fighting mechanisms that could signal immunity.

Still, knowing generally if people develop immunity once theyve been infected with novel coronavirus and knowing whether an individual has immunity are two vastly different things. Because so many coronavirus infections are without symptoms, it can be difficult to know if a person has been exposed without reliable antibody testing.

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OHSU monkey study gives hope for post-infection immunity to COVID-19 - Bend Bulletin

Physiology

St. Johns Prep hand-delivering nearly 300 Class of 2020 diplomas – Wicked Local

In recognition of the unprecedented challenges this years graduating class has experienced, as well as those students unique capacity to meet the moment, St. Johns Prep is hand-delivering diplomas to its graduating seniors this month.

The journey, spanning 15 days from May 14-29, will cover 1,044.5 miles, endure approximately 200 hours and traverse 64 cities and towns across two states.

Co-piloting a school shuttle bus, Headmaster Edward Hardiman and Principal/Associate Head of School Keith Crowley are driving themselves to student residences using route-optimization software. All safe practices for Massachusetts residents issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health are being followed throughout the effort.

Like parents and educators everywhere, our school community has been determined to celebrate and honor our 2020 graduates by every available means, said Hardiman, a Danvers resident. From the moment this idea came up, we believed committing the time and resources to make it happen should be a top priority.

To make the initiative even more meaningful, 112 faculty and staff members have volunteered to personally attend individual diploma drop-offs for every single graduate. The vast majority of faculty and staff are making multiple home visits.

In all, Prep faculty and staff will combine to make more than 500 visits to individual diploma deliveries. At least a half-dozen faculty or staff across different departments signed up to attend more than a dozen such individual ceremonies, and several will attend more than 20.

Families have welcomed the Preps traveling commencement ceremony to front yards, side yards, back yards, curbsides, doorsteps, sidewalks and driveways all across the North Shore and beyond. The trip will carry diplomas to 14 graduates from New Hampshire, reaching as far north as New Castle and as far west as Windham. Across the Commonwealth, the route will hit municipalities along every compass point, including as far as Amesbury to the north, Gloucester to the east, Lynn and Revere to the south and Westford to the west.

Something magical happens when someone actually hands you that document, said Matt Green, a Beverly resident who received his diploma on May 19 and will attend Fordham University to study the fine arts with a concentration in theater. They made it such a beautiful moment. It was so special to have my family and teachers there to applaud. I was overwhelmed. It was an incredible seven minutes and something Ill never forget.

At a time when so many of us feel disconnected and out of sync, we believe that going door-to-door delivers a clear message to our graduates: We salute you, we celebrate with you, and were here for you, now and always, said Crowley, who also owns a degree in physical therapy and teaches human anatomy and physiology at the school. A primary focus at St. Johns Prep is guiding our students toward becoming their best selves. We hope our commitment to celebrate these graduates is a suitable model for that mission.

The Prep recently informed the families of 2020 graduates that the school is planning to host a downsized, ticketed and socially distanced commencement ceremony on campus in August, provided that the states phased reopening proceeds according to plan.

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St. Johns Prep hand-delivering nearly 300 Class of 2020 diplomas - Wicked Local

Physiology

Ocean ‘breathability’ key to past, future habitat of West Coast marine species – National Science Foundation

Southern part of northern anchovy's range could be uninhabitable by 2100

Anchovies are small fish that form a major part of the diet of many marine animals.

May 22, 2020

Marine species off the west coast of North America from Mexico through Canada inhabit the California Current. The cool, nutrient-rich water supports marine life ranging from invisible phytoplankton to economically important salmon and rockfish.

A new study led by University of Washington researchers finds that these species' ability to breathe may be key to where and when they thrive.

The study, published in Science Advances, uses a recent understanding of water breathability and historical data to explain northern anchovy population cycles over periods of time. The results for this important fish could apply to other species in the California Current.

"If you're worried about marine life off the west coast of North America, you're worried about anchovies and other forage fish," said lead author Evan Howard. "Ultimately it's what underpins the food web."

The National Science Foundation-funded study shows that species respond to how breathable the water is -- a combination of the oxygen levels in the water and the species' oxygen needs. Anchovy historical data match this pattern and suggest that the southern part of the anchovy's range could be uninhabitable by 2100.

"Climate change isn't just warming the oceans, its causing oxygen to decrease, which could force fish and other ocean animals to move away from their normal range to find higher-oxygen waters," Howard said.

Anchovy populations are known to cycle through time, but the reasons have been mysterious. Explanations that focused on food supplies, predator-prey interactions, competition with other species, and temperature preferences failed to fully explain the anchovy population cycles from the 1950s to today, which have been carefully recorded.

"This study demonstrates on a timescale of decades that a species is responding in close alignment with this metabolic index -- how breathable the ocean in its habitat has become," said senior author Curtis Deutsch. "It adds a new, independent line of verification that species in the ocean are arranged in accordance with how breathable their habitats are."

Added Mete Uz, a program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences, "These results highlight the value of transcending disciplinary boundaries and approaching facets of a problem such as ocean circulation, physiology and ecology as interacting elements of a unified Earth system."

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Ocean 'breathability' key to past, future habitat of West Coast marine species - National Science Foundation

Physiology

A True Miracle: This Woman Just Gave Birth To A Nintendo Switch – The Onion

Prepare yourselves for some astonishing news, gamers! A biological phenomenon previously dismissed as impossible has finally occurred, transforming our fundamental understanding of science and human physiology for generations to come. Early this Friday morning, 28-year-old Sarah Holder was blessed by miraculously giving birth to an operational Nintendo Switch!

Readers, look upon this glorious birth and be filled with wonder! This is game-changing stuff.

Heres why: For all of recorded history, our understanding of human reproductive systems has been hampered by the foolhardy belief that our physiology and video game hardware are incapable of mingling. Now, however, this single unprecedented birth has upended such unfounded beliefs, bringing us a 0.66-pound bundle of joy that includes a set of Joy-Con controllers and an adorable built-in LCD display.

Of course, every pregnancy comes with its set of challenges, and the story of this newborn Nintendo Switch is no exception. Early ultrasounds revealed that the developing console started out sharing the womb with a human twin before absorbing the childs nutrients in order to develop a functional touchscreen. Doctors also had to untangle the Switchs power cords, which had become dangerously wrapped around its screen during birth, threatening some of the consoles crucial operating capabilities.

Despite these difficulties, however, Holder described the console in an interview with OGN as the best thing that had ever happened to her. Watching the new mother swaddle her newly delivered console while staring into its glowing screen really hit home for us how this isnt just a win for gamers everywhere, its also a feel-good story with a genuinely happy ending.

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A True Miracle: This Woman Just Gave Birth To A Nintendo Switch - The Onion

Physiology

Pandemic isolation takes its toll both mentally and physically – ABC10.com KXTV

The psychological effects of isolation "seeps down through our nervous system and gets down into the rest of our body," explained Dr. Steve Cole.

SACRAMENTO, Calif People feeling irritable or out of sorts during the pandemic can often tell that something is wrong, but they are unable to put their finger on the problem. They use words like isolated or lonely to describe their experience but also tend to lash out and those they care about most.

Understandably, most cannot compare these experiences to any other time, because few alive have experienced anything similar.

Yet, there are people who have studied humans living in near total isolation. Dr. Larry Palinkas is one of them.

Dr. Palinkas, a professor of health and social policy at the University of Southern California, has been studying isolation confinement in extreme environments since the 1980s. His subjects have included both polar explorers and astronauts.

Dr. Palinkas said he sees many similarities between his subjects and people living under quarantine stay at home orders.

Certainly, were seeing many of the same kinds of reactions of people to the isolation confinement that has been imposed on them by virtue of the stay-at-home order, Dr. Palinkas said. Whats different about a period of isolation confinement in a polar environment is you know when the end point of that isolation is likely to be And as a result, their ability to mobilize their energy, their cognitive, emotional, material resources are likely to become exhausted over time.

He says different types of people fare better.

Those who are driven and rigid tend to have a hard time in isolation, whereas those who are more introverted tend to do well.

Creative people also tend to fare better during isolation because they can find ways to avoid boredom.

Dr. Palinkas said no matter how short or long someones isolation confinement, they all tend to go through a similar pattern.

No matter whether youre isolated for a week or for a year, you manage to do quite well during the first half of that period of isolation, explained Dr. Palinkas. When you get to the midpoint, you feel a sense of accomplishment but you also feel a sense of dread because youve got an equal amount of time to spend under those conditions.

He also said regardless of length of time, being deprived of familiarity causes predictable responses.

Even if you are isolated for as little as a week, the fact that there is limited environmental stimulation, the fact that you are not able to rely on the kinds of social cues that typically we use to regulate our body rhythmscan also regulate the level of energy that we may have and over time produce a sense of fatigue, said Dr. Palinkas.

He said thats what many people are going through right now.

Many people have been forced to be isolated, confined without knowing how long that period would last, said Dr. Palinkas. And as a result, their ability to mobilize their energy, their cognitive, emotional, material resources are likely to become exhausted over time.

Many people wonder why they snap at those around them during the pandemic. Dr. Palinkas said he might have an explanation.

Many times people will cope with the tension that they experience through the isolation confinement by displacing it on other people," he said.

He said it also gets funneled toward things like governments or politicians.

Many times they will find themselves the brunt of anger and criticism simply because they are a safe outlet for the expression of those feelings of anger and frustration, said Dr. Palinkas.

But the effects are not just mental.

Dr. Steve Cole studies is a genomics researcher who studies the physiological effects of loneliness at UCLA. He explained that the psychological effects of isolation don't just stay in your head.

It seeps down through our nervous system and gets down into the rest of our body," Dr. Cole said.

He said humans have been successful as a species because weve learned to work and live together, so the need to be connected is built into our physiology.

People tend to miss being checked up on people who care about us, he explained.

The major pathway by which we are safe and not stressed is by feeling connected to other members of humanity, said Dr. Cole. So when were lonely and we feel disconnected from them, basically all of our stress circuits flip back on and our physiology goes into this fight or flight mode.

He said this causes an inflammation response, which can be incredibly harmful if not checked. It's something that can develop overtime and won't instantly kill you, but Dr. Cole said "it does work like fertilizer for the development of heart attacks, degenerative diseases like Alzheimers, metastatic cancers, just about everything we worry about in epidemiology."

Psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall echoed Dr. Cole's statements.

But she said whats happening now isnt entirely new to humans, because masses of people already feel isolated and alone without the pandemic. The current state of isolation just exacerbates those feeling for many.

Fortunately, she said, there are many things people can do about it.

Act more extraverted and open than you really are, explained Dr. Marshall. Not so much that youre inauthentic but this is not a time to withdraw. Join an online community. This is so core to our mental health. Whether its a Zoom meeting for your neighborhood or your church service that streams online.

"Write a poem. Teach a class online. Post whatever youve learned. Facetime with your grandchildren and teach them about your life. Because living for others and with others, having gratitude and teaching, can override all kinds of negative emotions.

And, as Dr. Palinkas added, dealing with this isolation now can pay off in the long run.

Weve seen that it can actually produce long term benefits in terms of a sense of accomplishment, a greater sense of ones abilities and the ability to handle any kind of situation if they can handle this particular situation, said Dr. Palinkas.

Follow the conversation onFacebook with Mike Duffy.

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Pandemic isolation takes its toll both mentally and physically - ABC10.com KXTV

Physiology

The Limits of Science – Varsity Online

The conjunction of DNA and technology raises the question: what can't science do? Alexander Popov

Courtesy of innovations in science and technology, famines, plagues, wars, and infant mortality are now so low that most people living in economically developed countries expect to survive to old age, something which is unprecedented in the history of our species. Our modern society is able to avoid or survive diseases and wars far better than previous civilisations, but one of the final problems facing any civilisation is overextending the bounds of its resources - that is, running out of food.

Some farming practices, such as zero-till farming and applying fertiliser, are able to reduce nutrient losses, or spread them out over a larger area. However, in order to entirely eliminate nutrient losses from the food system, we would need to fertilise crops with our own faeces and dead bodies. Applying artificial fertilisers mined from rocks can help, but these will inevitably run out.

Physiological evolution has in some cases come close to the limits of what is physically possible.

Yet now, it seems as if even food production, the ultimate constraint on our survival, could be solved by technology. Bacterial cultures could produce food from thin air (or, rather, water), and be processed into substitutes for much of what we eat. We would still need to grow fruit and vegetables, but the amount of land required for this is tiny compared to what is required to produce animal products.

Is there any limit to what technology can solve? Thinking about the evolution of technology throughout history helps us address this question. Technology is a part of our cumulative culture, and there is a compelling argument that culture evolves by natural selection acting on memes, analogous to how organisms physiology evolves by natural selection acting on genes. In this sense, technological advances and scientific breakthroughs have little to do with individual people, but are to a large extent a product of the culture which these individuals experience. In support of this idea, there are many examples of convergent evolution. Agriculture arose at least 10 times independently. Calculus was formulated by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz around the same time. Big religions with just one or a few gods tend to evolve from animism and the worship of various spirits, wherever agricultural societies emerged from hunter gathering.

The various developments which eventually led to the iPhone may have been reliant on chance events. But if one of the inventors of Morse code, circuit boards, or miniature batteries had been run over by a bus before their big breakthrough, it seems highly likely that someone else would have made it in their stead, and the iPhone would still ultimately result. If Charles Darwin had never gone on the voyage of the Beagle, it is highly likely that someone else would have discovered evolution by natural selection. In fact, Alfred Russell Wallace did.

We are not in any way special compared to other creatures: we are all governed deterministically by evolutionary processes.

Physiological evolution has in some cases come close to the limits of what is physically possible. Some trees have reached their maximum possible size. Our eyes can detect single photons. Dogs noses can detect single molecules. Similarly, there surely must be limits to technology and scientific discoveries. There is surely a finite amount which can be known about the world, and, like distantly related groups of animals under similar environmental conditions converge on the same ecotypes, we will eventually arrive at a given set of explanations for how things work. Evolution, or the laws of physics, exist, and were just waiting to be discovered. To a certain extent, the way in which we think about things is influenced by our language and our culture, but the principles of formal logic and mathematics upon which science is ultimately based are the same regardless of the language which we use to express our internal thoughts and the cultural biases which impact hypotheses.

If evolution, culture and even ideas always converge to common ground, we might reasonably ask: do our individual choices matter, or is everything predetermined? Arguably, our actions are strongly influenced by our values and general worldview, which is shaped by the culture in which we live, which is to some extent a product of biogeography. The general direction of society is modelled by the struggle for survival between different memes which infect our minds and propagate themselves as we transmit ideas to others. In this sense, perhaps we are not in any way special compared to other creatures: we are all governed deterministically by evolutionary processes.

However, what sets us apart from other evolved species is our ability to predict and manipulate the world. For example, physicists could predict that if you dropped a hammer and a feather on the moon, they would hit the ground at the same time, and when people went to the moon, they showed that this was indeed true. Hypotheses in complicated systems like ecology can never be proved definitively, but we can use statistics to discriminate the better theories from worse.

So, whilst our beliefs and values are just human constructs, humans have the remarkable ability of predicting phenomena which occur regardless of the cultural frames through which we perceive them. To quote the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, The good thing about science is that its true, whether or not you believe in it. And, although recognising that our actions are to some extent predetermined can make life feel meaningless, I think its impossible to imagine a better existence than to be a conscious being in a world full of fascinating things.

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding, and during this unprecedented global crisis, we have a tough few weeks and months ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content for the time being.

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as 1, to help with our running cost at least until we hopefully return to print on 2nd October 2020.

Many thanks, all of us here at Varsity would like to wish you, your friends, families and all of your loved ones a safe and healthy few months ahead.

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The Limits of Science - Varsity Online

Physiology

PHS’ Kyle Moore headed to West Liberty | News, Sports, Jobs – Parkersburg News

Parkersburgs Kyle Moore prepares to deliver a pitch during a 2019 regular-season game. Moores days on the diamond are just beginning as he signed with West Liberty. Photo provided

PARKERSBURG Kyle Moore would rather be playing baseball.

The Parkersburg High School senior, who is set to attend West Liberty University and continue his career on the diamond for skipper Eric Burkle, has been through plenty the past two months.

With four years of football in the books and one spring left of baseball, Moore was looking ahead to college, but was ready for whatever his final prep season was about to thrust upon him.

Aside from finishing with a 4.25 GPA as a senior, the pitcher/outfielder said hes basically heading to WLU as a sophomore thanks to earning college credits at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

Im going into athletic training as my major, said Moore, who was looking forward to playing summer ball with American Legion Post 15. After that go to PA school. What they have is this three and two.

Ill get my undergraduate in exercise physiology and then Ill get my masters in athletic training. Then go another two and a half years to PA school and become a physician assistant. Its all a matter of getting into the PA program.

Even though the Big Reds werent expected to challenge for a Class AAA state championship, Moore wishes he had his final spring with his teammates and coach Alan Burns.

We were pretty excited, he said. We had a really young team this year. It was going to be interesting to see how all the pieces were going to piece together. We were putting up good numbers in the weight room all winter and we were excited to see how that translated on the field.

We had about 10 practices when everything hit. The following week we were supposed to have three games, including a game against South.

We were excited and then all of this hit. I mean I hate losing your senior year. Couple of the guys Ive played with since 7 years old. You dont get that last final game to play with them.

Moore was the Big Reds top returning pitcher after working 22-plus frames as a junior. He recorded three decisions, which included a pair of victories, to go along with a 2.51 earned run average and one save.

Ive kind of accepted it, Moore expressed of the whole COVID-19 situation. It is very hard not being able to have that senior season. I was going to be one of our main pitchers and play a lot in left field.

Last year I pitched a lot of games out of the bullpen. I was mainly a relief pitcher. Going into my senior year, I was making the transition to a starting pitcher and I played a lot in the outfield last year.

Things are kind of looking up it appears for the Big Red, depending on how things unfold with the ongoing pandemic.

Its been pushed back to June 26, Moore said of his delayed graduation. Right now I think its supposed to be regular, but they havent told us much detail. I think they are waiting to get closer and see how open the state is.

I mean the main thing (with COVID-19) is just losing the senior baseball season, not getting to play your final season. Youve played with them the last four years and probably more and just not getting that experience.

It took just a single trip for Moore to realize where his home for the next few years was going to be.

I got into contact with graduate assistant coach Joel Jarrett, he explained. I went up on a couple visits and I really liked the campus and the coaching staff. I went on another visit and worked out with some of the guys and they were awesome up there.

I fell in love with the campus and the atmosphere of the school. There were a couple of schools who talked to coach Burns about me, but I just love West Liberty and the program, but I didnt go on any other visits anywhere.

If Moore can catch a break this spring, it will come from playing baseball this summer in some way, shape or form.

Hes thankful for the opportunities and experiences he had while a member of the red and white.

You look back at all the people who have played through the program at PHS of baseball, Moore added. You got Nick Swisher and those guys. Its fun to make your own memories with the same program he went through.

When asked whether he felt prepared for the rigors of being a Division II student-athlete, Moore didnt hesitate.

Youre always a little bit worried, he said. Division II, going to the next level, its going to be a different pace of play and people as good or better than you.

You have to work hard for it, but I think Ill do OK. I think Ill have to do a little more studying when I go to college, but I think Ill be OK.

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

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PHS' Kyle Moore headed to West Liberty | News, Sports, Jobs - Parkersburg News

Physiology

Danbury resident earns SURF award to pursue research with faculty mentors – HamletHub

Two Western Connecticut State University students will gain invaluable hands-on experience in studies contributing to understanding of human physiology and climate change impact on species survival with support from the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program offered by the WCSU Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences.

James Hannon, of Danbury, and Emily Hoegler, of Bethel, have received the departments 2020 SURF awards to pursue research studies coordinated by mentors from the universitys biology faculty. Hannons research, mentored by Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences Dr. Michelle Monette, will explore the impact that environmental stress caused by climate change has produced in Atlantic killifish, an important source of prey for many species found in coastal estuaries. Hoegler will continue work with her mentor, Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences Dr. Joshua Cordeira, to study how the expression or suppression of dopamine, a chemical whose release commonly increases during exercise, affects food intake behavior and propensity to gain weight.

Hannon and Hoegler competed successfully in a process open to applicants from WCSU and other colleges for the two SURF positions awarded annually by a department faculty review committee. The continuing limitations on campus access during the Covid-19 crisis have required the SURF committee to defer the timeframe for realization of their projects to summer 2021, when they will complete their field and laboratory studies over an eight- to 10-week period, submit a technical paper and present findings at a scientific forum. Each student will receive a $4,000 stipend upon successful completion of the program.

SURF programs are offered at universities nationwide with the goal of stimulating interest in research opportunities and careers in the STEM disciplines. Monette observed the SURF program in biology at WCSU provides an intensive research experience that also affords the chance to consider future career objectives. This program is integral to our departments ability to provide motivated undergraduates with the opportunity to gain skills and confidence in laboratory and field-based research, she said.

Hannon, a biology major with a concentration in environmental science, gained an introduction to study of biodiversity and common species in brackish waters during field work tracking diamond-back terrapins in southern Connecticut under the guidance of Professor of Biological and Environmental Studies Dr. Theodora Pinou. His studies with Monette this winter provided the scientific foundations to investigate how animals use physiological attributes to adapt to their environment, and how their survival is threatened when these mechanisms are overwhelmed by rapid environmental change.

As environmental temperature rises, oxygen becomes less soluble in water, which requires gilled animals to pass more water over their gills to maintain homeostatic oxygen levels, Hannon said. This presents a problem for fish, particularly those in marine and estuarine waters, because as water intake increases, so does the intake of salt. Our goal is to determine the impact of elevated water temperatures on salinity tolerance by analyzing patterns in gene expression and developing genetic biomarkers that will further the scientific communitys understanding of multiple stressors on estuarine fish.

During the present campus closure, Hannon has prepared for his research work through a thorough investigation of the biological literature on his subject, and he plans to work with Monette in an independent study course during the fall semester. He also recently earned a Connecticut Sea Grant Undergraduate Research Fellowship with an award of $5,000 supporting his summer 2021 project. The Sea Grant fellowship is awarded to broaden participation of underrepresented and underserved students in marine and coastal professions through research, training and mentorship opportunities.

These fellowships will provide me with real-world experience in field collection techniques, fish husbandry, laboratory procedures, genetic data analysis and scientific communication, he said. These are invaluable lessons, providing the knowledge that I hope to carry on to graduate school and a career in an agency or company focused on conservation.

Hannon credited his progress toward achievement of these goals to his wife, Sam, and the passionate and incredibly knowledgeable members of the WCSU biology faculty including Monette, Pinou, and Associate Professors Dr. Rachel Prunier and Dr. Edwin Wong. As a father of two young girls, I feel it is my absolute duty to do what I can to protect and repair local ecosystems, he said. Retention of the biodiversity we see in plants, animals and even bacteria is critically important for our planet to continue to support human life for future generations.

Hoegler, a biology major specializing in human exercise physiology, has worked in Cordeiras laboratory for the past year as a student research assistant investigating the effectiveness of exercise in altering food intake behavior and preventing weight gain. Inspired by a hypothesis posed by another student lab assistant, Katie DuFrirsz, that changes in dopamine levels during exercise may alter motivation to consume high-fat foods, Cordeiras research team has found further promising findings in the scientific literature on which Hoegler aims to build in her fellowship project.

A lot of previous work has established that exercise increases dopamine expression in the human body, she explained. I want to look at what that means for appetite and high-fat food consumption, which has been strongly implicated in the spread of obesity. I have always been interested in health and wellness, and this topic is of great significance now with the growing obesity epidemic and all its associated health issues.

Hoegler pursued an independent study course with Cordeira during the past semester that demanded extensive research on the various mechanisms of human physiology that may contribute to the effectiveness of exercise in decreasing appetite. Her fellowship project will use experimental and control groups of mice to establish a baseline for food consumption with or without exercise, based on whether or not the mice have access to an open running wheel. She will then inhibit dopamine reception in the experimental group to determine its effect on motivation to run and subsequently to consume food.

If inhibiting D2 dopamine receptors decreases their motivation to run, and therefore prevents the mice from obtaining the rewards of running through decreased food intake and subsequent weight loss, the study would point to a relationship between higher dopamine expression and weight loss induced by exercise, she noted. This could contribute to the field of exercise physiology, because it would help to determine the ways in which exercise decreases appetite and prevents weight gain and to find ways to make weight loss easier and more efficient.

Hoegler plans to pursue research on human physiology in graduate school after completing her WCSU major in biology and minor in philosophy in 2021. She described Cordeira as an amazing mentor whose laboratory has offered valuable research opportunities that have continued online through Webex meetings during the current pandemic, and whose guidance offers support in preparing for graduate studies. She also credited Assistant Professor Dr. Kristin Giamanco for her support in pursuing the SURF grant and for her academic and career guidance.

For more information, contact Monette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Sherri Hill of the Office of University Relations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For background on the SURF program at WCSU, visit http://www.wcsu.edu/biology/surf/

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Danbury resident earns SURF award to pursue research with faculty mentors - HamletHub

Physiology

UBC scientist identifies a gene that controls thinness – UBC Faculty of Medicine – UBC Faculty of Medicine

Why can some people eat as much as they want, and still stay thin?

In a study published today in the journal Cell, Life Sciences Institute Director Dr. Josef Penninger and a team of international colleagues report their discovery that a gene called ALK (Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase) plays a role in resisting weight gain.

We all know these people, who can eat whatever they want, they dont exercise, but they just dont gain weight. They make up around one per cent of the population, says senior author Penninger, professor in the Faculty of Medicines department of medical genetics and a Canada 150 research chair.

Dr. Josef Penninger

We wanted to understand why, adds Penninger. Most researchers study obesity and the genetics of obesity. We just turned it around and studied thinness, thereby starting a new field of research.

Using biobank data from Estonia, Penningers team, including researchers from Switzerland, Austria, and Australia, compared the genetic makeup and clinical profiles of 47,102 healthy thin, and normal-weight individuals aged 20-44. Among the genetic variations the team discovered in the thin group was a mutation in the ALK gene.

ALKs role in human physiology has been largely unclear. The gene is known to mutate frequently in several types of cancer, and has been identified as a driver of tumour development.

Our work reveals that ALK acts in the brain, where it regulates metabolism by integrating and controlling energy expenditure, says Michael Orthofer, the studys lead author and a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Vienna.

When Penningers team deleted the ALK gene in flies and mice, both were resistant to diet-induced obesity. Despite consuming the same diet and having the same activity level, mice without ALK weighed less and had less body fat.

As ALK is highly expressed in the brain, its potential role in weight gain resistance make it an attractive mark for scientists developing therapeutics for obesity.

The team will next focus on understanding how neurons that express ALK regulate the brain at a molecular level, and determining how ALK balances metabolism to promote thinness. Validating the results in additional, more diverse human population studies will also be important.

Its possible that we could reduce ALK function to see if we did stay skinny, says Penninger. ALK inhibitors are used in cancer treatments already, so we know that ALK can be targeted therapeutically.

The study was supported by the Estonian Research Council, the European Union Horizon 2020 fund, and European Regional Development Fund, the von Zastrow Foundation, and the Canada 150 Research Chairs Program.

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UBC scientist identifies a gene that controls thinness - UBC Faculty of Medicine - UBC Faculty of Medicine

Physiology

Nautilus Biotechnology Raises $76 Million in Series B Funding to Be the First to Quantify the Human Proteome – Business Wire

SAN CARLOS, Calif & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nautilus Biotechnology, a company pioneering a high-throughput, low-cost platform for analyzing and quantifying the human proteome, today announced it has raised $76 million in an oversubscribed Series B offering that closed on Monday, May 18, 2020. Nautilus total funding now exceeds $100 million. The Nautilus platform will deliver single-molecule sensitivity more quickly, more completely, and less expensively than is possible with existing technologies. This deeper, richer understanding of proteins will enable a dramatic acceleration of basic science research, significantly improve the success rate of therapeutic development, and speed the adoption of personalized and predictive medicine.

The funding round was led by Vulcan Capital, the multi-billion-dollar investment arm of Vulcan Inc., the company founded by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen. In addition to Vulcan, Perceptive Advisors, Bezos Expeditions, and Defy Partners were new investors in the Series B offering. Previous investors AME Cloud Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Bolt, and Madrona Venture Group also participated in the round. The capital will be used to accelerate development of Nautilus proprietary proteomics platform and the expansion of scientific and engineering staff across a variety of levels and disciplines.

Nautilus was co-founded in 2016 by Sujal Patel, founder and CEO of Isilon Systems, a publicly-traded company that sold to EMC in 2010 for $2.6B, and Parag Mallick, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology at Stanford University and a member of BioX, Stanford's pioneering interdisciplinary biosciences institute, and the Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection. The leadership team combines its entrepreneurial and research backgrounds to solve the challenge of more easily and completely quantifying the proteins that drive every aspect of human physiology. That limitation has impeded scientific and pharmaceutical R&D and Nautilus platform will enable a more comprehensive understanding of cellular and organismic biology.

Existing proteomics technologies are slow, expensive, incomplete, and lack the sensitivity to deliver deep and meaningful insight into biological processes, said Nautilus co-founder and CEO, Sujal Patel. Bringing together Parags breakthrough science with my deep understanding of large-scale IT has enabled us to approach the problem in a fundamentally new, more holistic way. Our value derives from a unique, interdisciplinary combination of biochemistry, computer science, and substantial business experience.

The potential of proteomics has not been fully realized because of the limitations of current analysis methods, said Lee Hartwell, PhD, President and Director Emeritus of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 2001 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, and member of Nautilus Scientific Advisory Board. A greater resolution of the proteome will make it possible for the entire scientific and pharma R&D communities to undertake a wider range of high-value scientific inquiries, thereby accelerating both their research and the benefits that can accrue to human health.

Advancing scientific research and technology is at our core, said Stuart Nagae, Director of Venture Capital at Vulcan Capital. With over a decade of experience investing in biotech and proteomics innovation, we believe that a reimagining of proteomics is long overdue. Nautilus has put together a special team with the vision, creativity, and experience to achieve that breakthrough, and execute on their vision.

ABOUT NAUTILUS BIOTECHNOLOGY

Based in San Carlos, CA and Seattle, WA, Nautilus is a biotechnology company whose proteomics platform will deliver superior sensitivity far more quickly, more completely, and less expensively than is currently possible. By breaking through the limitations of existing technologies, and effectively democratizing proteomics, Nautilus will enable a dramatic acceleration of basic science research, significantly improve the success rate of therapeutic development, and usher in a new era of personalized and predictive medicine. Find Nautilus online: http://www.nautilus.bio

ABOUT VULCAN CAPITAL

Vulcan Capital is the multi-billion-dollar investment arm of Vulcan Inc., the company founded by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen. Vulcan Capital focuses on generating long-term value appreciation across a portfolio, which spans diverse industry sectors and investment asset classes, ranging from early-stage venture investments to public equity value investing, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, special situations and fixed income. Vulcan Capital was formed in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle with additional offices in Palo Alto and Singapore.

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Nautilus Biotechnology Raises $76 Million in Series B Funding to Be the First to Quantify the Human Proteome - Business Wire