Human Behavior

Everything to Know About Netflixs Love on the Spectrum – Screen Rant

Netflix is all set to launch Love on the Spectrum that follows young adults on the autism spectrum through their dating lives on July 22.

It doesnt matter whether youre on the spectrum or not, everyone has a basic human right and a basic human need of connection and love, says Jodi Rodgers, the relationship specialist from Netflixs soon to launch dating reality show, Love on the Spectrum. The streaming giant has now acquired global streaming rights to Northern Pictures Love on the Spectrum, an ABC-commissioned docuseries that follows individuals whoare on the autism spectrum and showcases their dating experiences.Arriving on July 22, the show that first debuted on ABC Australia in November 2019 is all about love and the fact that it doesnt discriminate.

Netflixs original unscripted dating reality shows have slowly become a staple of the platforms programming, with the team now open to exploring interestingness in its content. Be it with Dating Around that keeps things simple without relying on gimmicks and plot twists or The Circle, which acts as a social experiment more than a competition, Netflix has aced the unscripted dating show genre by providing content that isnt just entertaining but also aspirational. Then there are Love Is Blind that had couples falling in love despite never having seen each other and Too Hot to Handle with hot singles that arent allowed to indulge in any sexual touching- not to each other, and not even to themselves - without incurring a literal fine from a collective $100k. Concepts such as these came as a refresher to Netflixs audience, especially after being stuck at home and looking for something new to watch in the lockdown. The formula of taking something familiar and giving it an unexpected twist has helped the popular platform forage a new path not just for dating shows, but unscripted content in general. Be it picking up Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, that most broadcast companies and also cable has passed on, or creating a reboot of Bravos feel-good Queer Eye, Netflix made all the right moves to spark a buzz in the progressively crowding reality TV space. Although dating shows usually are known to thrive on drama and the OMG factor, it is refreshing to see Netflix further venture into diverse, non-scandalous experiences with the latest Say I Do and upcoming shows like Indian Matchmaking or Love on the Spectrum. After all its high time reality TV got a taste of "real," isnt it?

Related:Netflix To Get Two New Unscripted Dating Shows In July

All set to launch worldwide come July 22, Love on the Spectrum is a four-part documentary series following young adults on the autism spectrum as they explore the unpredictable world of love, dating and relationships. With an objective to combat the misconception that autistic people cant have meaningful relationships, the show features a bunch of 20-somethings that are new to dating, and also those who are navigating long term relationships. The Aussie dating series has already won major accolades for shedding light on what love is like when youre not neurotypical and has also been reviewed for a second season. The most unique aspect of Love on the Spectrum is how the show beautifully explores each cast members unique experience of autism, thereby giving the audience a much broader understanding of the subject of neurodiversity. What all of them have in common though, is the fact that theyre all looking for love. By making the audience realize that most people on the spectrum also have the same desires for intimacy and belonging as the rest of the world, the show also speaks about how social interaction and communication is what makes finding love a difficult experience for the individuals. As well as following individuals seeking love, the makers have also included couples in the series because they felt it was important to tell positive stories that can serve as inspiration for people out there who are struggling to find someone special. The participants receive advice on social skills and dating tips from the show's experts Jodi Rodgers, and Dr Elizabeth Laugeson. Dr Laugeson is a licensed clinical psychologistand an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is also the Founder and Director of the UCLA PEERS Clinic, which is an outpatient hospital-based program providing parent-assisted social skills training for preschoolers, adolescents and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other social impairments. Meanwhile, relationship coach and specialist Jodi Rodgers started her career as a special education teacher and spent twelve years with ASPECT (Autism Spectrum Australia). Since then, she has worked in Australia and internationally for over 20 years helping people equip themselves with life tools that will move them out of the rut and towards finding life and work relationships that are true to who they are. The casting process too, has been extensive with the team speaking to hundreds of people who were interested in being a part of the show, which confirmed the real need for assistance. They also worked closely with autism and disability organisations to ensure the production was sensitive to the needs of people on the spectrum. You can watch the show's trailer here:

As the participants on the show invite the cameras into their lives and allow the audience to get up close and personal with their love stories, they also clear out any misconceptions about autism and romance. For instance, the first episode features Ruth 22, and Thomas, 25, both of whom are on the spectrum and have been engaged for over a year. They are a unique couple who compliment and accept each others quirks. As they approach their fourth anniversary, Thomas has a surprise planned. Theres 19-year-old Chloe, who hopes to find someone that sees beyond her disabilities, and who like many women, wasn't diagnosed with ASD until the end of primary school. She doesnt know what it feels like be in love or have a crush, but she does know that she wants to experience it. Sadly, it is common for people with autism to be bullied and as a young girl on the spectrum with a hearing impairment Chloe was not immune from being a target. Then theres Michael, 25, who makes the viewers smile and go "aww"with everything that he says. His greatest dream in life is to become a husband but admits to have not been on any dates in spite of being a romantic person. He already has a ring selected for his future wife, one shaped like a crown, to symbolize that she will be the queen of his heart.

To sum it up, their stories are diverse, personal, and the couples are warm, generously open, with a great sense of humor. There are awkward moments, yes, especially ones that would be expected from two people going on a date for the very first time, but the show handles them delicately and makes them endearing. Like series producer and director, Cian OClery adds, As a storyteller, I felt we had an opportunity to explore this issue by shining a light on the struggles many people on the spectrum face in seeking out meaningful relationships. I hope this series will start conversations, help bring about understanding and acceptance, and ultimately inspire people with Autism, their families and society at large to find ways to help people on the spectrum find love. OClery, who also created an Australian series titled Employable Me that features neurodiverse job seekers had expressed that he got the idea of making Love on the Spectrum because he kept encountering the myth that people on the spectrum arent interested in love. The representation of autism on our screens is fairly limited, he thinks and hopes that Love on the Spectrum will help broaden the picture.

Next:How to Nominate Someone to Be on Queer Eyes Next Season

All episodes of Love on the Spectrum will be streaming on Netflix starting July 22.

Source: ABCTV

Meghan Markle's Ex Bestie Jessica Mulroney's White Privilege Explained

Saylee Padwal is a blogger, social media manager, photographer, and now a Reality TV Features Writer for Screen Rant.Over the years, she has worked in the content creation process for many well-known brands, while growing her passion towards all things pop-culture. Apart from being a full-time food lover, you can always find her double-tapping her way through Instagram, reading mysteries and thrillers, and listening to her latest obsession - BTS - on loop.

Follow this link:
Everything to Know About Netflixs Love on the Spectrum - Screen Rant

Genetics

New study finds love of affection heavily attributed to genetics in women – Arizona Daily Wildcat

Nature versus nurture: A debate that may only be applicable to women when it comes to a love of affection. A new study found a "latent genetic factor" accounting for up to 48% variance in affection for women with null effects in men.

Genes play a really important role in how affectionate women become as adults, said Kory Floyd, a professor of communication at the University of Arizona, specializing in the study of affection. It appears to play virtually no role in how affectionate men become we still are trying to figure out why.

According to Floyd, the original goal of the study was to answer the broad question of why many people are more affectionate than others. He described that throughout life, it is easy to observe levels of affection among people; some are very affectionate, some are somewhere between and some are just not comfortable with a lot of affection.

Even though the team assumed that environmental factors such as affectionate or non-affectionate households would play a big role, they also wanted to see how much of this trait is genetic.

The question wasnt which one is it is it nature or is it nurture we assumed that it would be a combination of both of those things, Floyd said.

To gather this information, Floyd worked with two other professors to find answers to their questions. The first professor Colter Ray was a former Ph.D. student of his who is now an interpersonal communication professor at San Diego State University. The second Chance York was an interpersonal professor at Kent State University specializing in behavioral genetics.

The three set off to find answers to their questions on the genetics of affection through surveying 464 pairs of twins, all ages 19 to 84, according to UANews.

Some of the pairs were identical twins, meaning that they inherited 100% of the same genes and some were fraternal twins, meaning that they inherited about 50% of the same genes.

The team assumed that if affection has a strong genetic component to it, then identical twins would likely show more similar levels of affection than fraternal twins.

What we expect to find is that the scores of twins who are identical are more similar to each other than the scores of twins who are fraternal because they are more closely related genetically, Floyd said.

In the survey sent out, every participant was able to report on their levels of affection using a measurement system that would assess it. Essentially, Floyd and the team wanted to find how similar scores would be within pairs.

Through the survey, it was found that for the female participants alone, around 48% of affection levels could be attributed to genetics and 52% could be attributed to environmental factors. In the males, genetic components played absolutely no role.

Floyd explained that this study brings the discipline of communication into a new realm.

In my field, we have a very strong assumption that differences between people in terms of their social behavior are almost entirely environmental, Floyd said. Unlike fields like psychology, for example, we dont have a history of looking at biology or genetics or heritability as explanations for social behavior.

He believes that this study could lead people to question the assumption in the communication discipline that most social behaviors are purely products of an environment.

Recently, Floyd has also participated in research on the concept of skin hunger. According to Psychology Today, skin hunger is a deep longing and aching desire for physical contact with another person.

During the times of COVID-19, the concept of skin hunger could not be more relevant.

I think a lot of people right now are really feeling like, I miss getting hugs, I miss holding hands or kissing or putting my arm around somebody, Floyd described. Its really the one thing that social media and Skype and Zoom dont allow us to do.

In research on deprivation of touch in the past, Floyd has found that it can definitely increase negative feelings like loneliness, anxiety, sleep issues and even a depressed immune system.

Though Floyd has not found any solutions to this issue, he believes that there are many ways to cope with the deprivation of physical attention. A major coping mechanism that Floyd suggests for those struggling with such a type of deprivation is to be around animals.

Petting a dog, petting a cat, petting a horse can have some of the same benefits in terms of calming us, in terms of anxiety reduction, in terms of stress reduction, Floyd said.

So, regardless of sex and your level of genetic cravings for affection, a reliable coping mechanism for the skin hunger you may be facing during these times could be to invest in a dog or cat.

Follow Quinn McVeigh on Twitter

Go here to read the rest:
New study finds love of affection heavily attributed to genetics in women - Arizona Daily Wildcat

Genetics

Human Genetics Market Growth By Manufacturers, Type And Application, Forecast To 2026 – 3rd Watch News

New Jersey, United States,- Market Research Intellect sheds light on the market scope, potential, and performance perspective of the Global Human Genetics Market by carrying out an extensive market analysis. Pivotal market aspects like market trends, the shift in customer preferences, fluctuating consumption, cost volatility, the product range available in the market, growth rate, drivers and constraints, financial standing, and challenges existing in the market are comprehensively evaluated to deduce their impact on the growth of the market in the coming years. The report also gives an industry-wide competitive analysis, highlighting the different market segments, individual market share of leading players, and the contemporary market scenario and the most vital elements to study while assessing the global Human Genetics market.

The research study includes the latest updates about the COVID-19 impact on the Human Genetics sector. The outbreak has broadly influenced the global economic landscape. The report contains a complete breakdown of the current situation in the ever-evolving business sector and estimates the aftereffects of the outbreak on the overall economy.

Leading Human Genetics manufacturers/companies operating at both regional and global levels:

To get Incredible Discounts on this Premium Report, Click Here @ https://www.marketresearchintellect.com/ask-for-discount/?rid=177432&utm_source=3WN&utm_medium=888

The Human Genetics market report provides successfully marked contemplated policy changes, favorable circumstances, industry news, developments, and trends. This information can help readers fortify their market position. It packs various parts of information gathered from secondary sources, including press releases, web, magazines, and journals as numbers, tables, pie-charts, and graphs. The information is verified and validated through primary interviews and questionnaires. The data on growth and trends focuses on new technologies, market capacities, raw materials, CAPEX cycle, and the dynamic structure of the Human Genetics market.

This study analyzes the growth of Human Genetics based on the present, past and futuristic data and will render complete information about the Human Genetics industry to the market-leading industry players that will guide the direction of the Human Genetics market through the forecast period. All of these players are analyzed in detail so as to get details concerning their recent announcements and partnerships, product/services, and investment strategies, among others.

Sales Forecast:

The report contains historical revenue and volume that backing information about the market capacity, and it helps to evaluate conjecture numbers for key areas in the Human Genetics market. Additionally, it includes a share of each segment of the Human Genetics market, giving methodical information about types and applications of the market.

Reasons for Buying Human Genetics Market Report

This report gives a forward-looking prospect of various factors driving or restraining market growth.

It renders an in-depth analysis for changing competitive dynamics.

It presents a detailed analysis of changing competition dynamics and puts you ahead of competitors.

It gives a six-year forecast evaluated on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow.

It assists in making informed business decisions by performing a pin-point analysis of market segments and by having complete insights of the Human Genetics market.

This report helps the readers understand key product segments and their future.

Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert @ https://www.marketresearchintellect.com/need-customization/?rid=177432&utm_source=3WN&utm_medium=888

In the end, the Human Genetics market is analyzed for revenue, sales, price, and gross margin. These points are examined for companies, types, applications, and regions.

To summarize, the global Human Genetics market report studies the contemporary market to forecast the growth prospects, challenges, opportunities, risks, threats, and the trends observed in the market that can either propel or curtail the growth rate of the industry. The market factors impacting the global sector also include provincial trade policies, international trade disputes, entry barriers, and other regulatory restrictions.

About Us:

Market Research Intellect provides syndicated and customized research reports to clients from various industries and organizations with the aim of delivering functional expertise. We provide reports for all industries including Energy, Technology, Manufacturing and Construction, Chemicals and Materials, Food and Beverage, and more. These reports deliver an in-depth study of the market with industry analysis, the market value for regions and countries, and trends that are pertinent to the industry.

Contact Us:

Mr. Steven Fernandes

Market Research Intellect

New Jersey ( USA )

Tel: +1-650-781-4080

Our Trending Reports

Automotive Artificial Leather Market Size, Growth Analysis, Opportunities, Business Outlook and Forecast to 2026

Automotive Automatic Transmission Control Unit Market Size, Growth Analysis, Opportunities, Business Outlook and Forecast to 2026

Automotive Biometric Vehicle Access System Market Size, Growth Analysis, Opportunities, Business Outlook and Forecast to 2026

Automotive Body Control Module Market Size, Growth Analysis, Opportunities, Business Outlook and Forecast to 2026

Automotive Brakes And Clutches Market Size, Growth Analysis, Opportunities, Business Outlook and Forecast to 2026

See more here:
Human Genetics Market Growth By Manufacturers, Type And Application, Forecast To 2026 - 3rd Watch News

Genetics

Why Seattle Genetics Shares Climbed 48.7% in the First Half – The Motley Fool

What happened

Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ:SGEN) shares rose 48.7% in the first half, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the company gained U.S. regulatory approval for its second drug in less than six months.

Image source: Getty Images.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April approved Tukysa for patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer after approving Padcev in December for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. In Padcev's first full quarter of commercialization, the drug generated $34.5 million in net sales, the company reported.

Urothelial cancer is the most common form of bladder cancer, and according to Grand View Research, the global drug market for the disease is growing at a 22.9% compound annual growth rate and is set to reach $3.6 billion by 2023. The global HER2-positive breast cancer market, at a 4.4% compound annual growth rate, may reach nearly $10 billion by 2025, a Global Data report shows. With these growing markets, Tukysa and Padcev have plenty of room to deliver sales increases.

Seattle Genetics' drug Adcetris, for Hodgkin lymphoma, was approved in 2011. Adcetris sales climbed 22% in the first quarter, and the company forecasts more growth as it works to further establish the drug as part of a frontline treatment, or first treatment given to patients.

The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing Tukysa, so investors will be watching for a possible approval in Europe. Sales figures from Padcev's second quarter on the market will be another factor that could offer the stock direction in the second half of the year.

In more positive news, Seattle Genetics recently reported encouraging data from its phase 2 trial of tisotumab vedotin for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. The biotech company plans to speak with the FDA about the possibility of an accelerated approval process for the drug candidate. If the FDA agrees to an accelerated pathway, that likely will be another positive driver for Seattle Genetics' shares.

See the original post:
Why Seattle Genetics Shares Climbed 48.7% in the First Half - The Motley Fool

Genetics

Shrimp stalwart hands over to Hendrix – The Fish Site

Dr Chamberlain has been leading the Hawaiian company for over 20 years and will continue his role as president of The Global Aquaculture Alliance.

Chamberlains career in aquaculture started in 1990 when he joined Ralston Purina Company directing their aquaculture feed programme in the Americas, Europe and Asia. After eight years, he moved to Monsanto, directing a programme on genetically selected marine shrimp, soy-based feed, and sustainable pond systems for marine shrimp.

His days as an entrepreneur started in 1999, when he established developed Black Tiger Aquaculture, an integrated shrimp farm in Malaysia, with Ken Morison. And in 2004, they established Integrated Aquaculture International, a technology company owning the Kona Bay L. vannameibreeding centre in Hawaii and operating a P. monodon breeding centre and farm in Brunei.

Over the last decade Chamberlain and his management team have built Kona Bay shrimp genetics into one of the leading brands in SPF shrimp broodstock, supporting shrimp farmers in achieving better performance in major shrimp producing countries. In addition, its food shrimp production under the Kauai Shrimp brand enjoys a reputation for premium quality in the Hawaiian and mainland US markets.

George Chamberlain commented: My career in the shrimp farming business has been deeply fulfilling. I owe whatever success our company has experienced to the support of colleagues, friends and family. Now its time to leave this enterprise in the capable hands of Hendrix Genetics whose leader, Thijs Hendrix, embodies the values and culture that our team so much admires.

Neil Manchester, managing director of aquaculture in Hendrix Genetics, said: We owe an immense amount to George, not just for bringing us into the shrimp breeding business with a world class operation like Kona Bay, but by sharing his knowledge, experience and contacts in the global industry that allows us to expand our reach and develop the Kona Bay brand in every shrimp production region. George will remain a friend and advisor, and we wish him an enjoyable retirement from shrimp breeding.

Hendrix Genetics acquired a majority shareholding in Kona Bay in 2017, as an entry point into shrimp breeding concentrating on acceleration of the breeding programme, strengthening the sales and technical support teams in Asia, and establishing a nucleus breeding and PL hatchery operation in Ecuador in 2019.

The company is investing heavily to realise a world class L.vannamei shrimp breeding operation in Hawaii, selling high quality Kona Bay broodstock to all major markets globally. The shrimp operations of Hendrix Genetics are expected to grow with the Ecuador development being a precursor to similar expansion in the major Asian markets. With the retirement of Chamberlain, Hendrix will acquire the remaining management shares in Kona Bay and subsidiaries, converting this to a 100 percent ownership.

Go here to read the rest:
Shrimp stalwart hands over to Hendrix - The Fish Site

Neuroscience

Wickham ’21 Speaks on the Black Student Experience in STEM – Wesleyan Connection

As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to shine a light on the Black experience in America, one Wesleyan student is doing his part to foster better understanding for students of color in STEM fields.

On July 2, Fitzroy Pablo Wickham 21 participated in a panel discussion on Black Lives Matter and Neuroscience: Why This Moment Matters. The event, hosted by the Society for Neuroscience and moderated by Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney, provided a forum to discuss hurdles faced by Black students and faculty in STEM and ways to enhance recruitment, mentoring, and retention in STEM fields.

Wickham, a neuroscience and theater double major, is the Class of 2021 president and a College of Integrative Sciences summer research student. A native of Jamaica, Wickham prefaced his comments by acknowledging that as a West Indian Black his experience does not necessarily reflect the full breadth of experiences had by African American students in science. But for his part, Wickham hopes that in sharing his perspective as a neuroscience undergraduate, he can help move the conversation forward in terms of how we can make the field more inclusive and equitable and in particular to voice some of the challenges Black students encounter when navigating STEM.

Although the panel was convened to discuss issues faced by Black students and faculty in the field of neuroscience, the topics addressed stretched beyond scientific disciplines, touching on issues that affect people of color in all aspects of academia, including lack of representation, the misperception that rewards are dispensed based on race rather than merit, and questions of tokenism. Over the course of the hourlong panel, participants talked about their own experiences, the obstacles they themselves had faced in their varied career paths, and the individuals who had helped to mentor them and advocate for them along the way.

Nii Addy, associate professor of psychiatry at Yales School of Medicine, encouraged participants to look outside their individual departments for mentorship and support when there are few available options in their own field and said that he, himself, makes mentoring others and connecting individuals with potential mentors a priority.

Marguerite Matthews, a health program specialist in the Office of Programs to Enhance Neuroscience Workforce Diversity at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), works on diversity initiatives and programs that provide research training and career development opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds. She emphasized the need for academia to work in tandem with government programs to make sure underrepresented students and faculty are getting the necessary support to create an equitable situation with their peers, citing the importance of seeing diversity as something that is not an add-on. It is not an extra, not a bonus, not something special that you are doing. It is something that should be considered through every single process.

Fitzroy Pablo Wickham 21 is a neuroscience and theater double major, president of the Class of 2021, and a College of Integrative Sciences summer intern.

When asked about signs of progress and change, Wickham noted Wesleyans public support of the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraged the University to continue moving forward by supporting Black businesses and by setting a new standard for action among peer institutions.

Although the panel didnt necessarily have solutions for every issue brought up during the discussion and Q&A, Wickham did find the overall discussion itself to be a powerful first step.

This conversation is so important to so many people. I was overwhelmed by the number of registrants for the webinarboth in America and internationally, he said. The BLM movement has the undivided attention of the world right now and people are listening. These discussions are needed! The many questions posed by the attendees were very thought-provoking and show that we need more opportunities like this to hash out the matter and figure out how we will move forward, because one hour is not enough.

Link:
Wickham '21 Speaks on the Black Student Experience in STEM - Wesleyan Connection

Neuroscience

How neuro-knowledge can help us find happiness and improve mental health – ABC News

Happiness doesn't just happen.

Neuroscience tells us happiness is like a muscle that needs to be exercised, tested and toned if we are going to make the most of it.

In troubled and uncertain times, like many have experienced through the coronavirus pandemic, that means making opportunities to put your happiness muscles through their paces.

Advice from experts in personal brain training can also help break down the science and psychology behind mental health challenges.

Loading...

Practice uncertainty and seek out moments of joy

Set up schedules or daily routines theyre your secret weapon against worry and uncertainty.

A daily gratitude journal is an easy way to help identify and lock in your positive emotions.

"Fear of the unknown is perhaps the fundamental worry that underlies all our very human anxieties in 2020, many of us have been scrambling to find ways to cope with emotional turmoil," neuroscientist Sarah McKay said.

"We vary in our tolerance to uncertainty; some people are OK with not knowing what the future holds, others struggle to deal with even the smallest degree of doubt.

"The good news is tolerance to uncertainty is like a muscle and it can be strengthened."

Dr McKay is an educator and author who uses her neuro-knowledge to offer practical advice on better mental health and wellbeing.

She said taking small, positive steps was critical in a year of bushfires and now COVID-19 that has tested our collective sense of security and wellbeing.

"Control what you can, so set up schedules or daily routines they're your secret weapon against worry," she said.

"Secondly, now, more than ever, it's important to find joy in the small things and to wallow in moments of pleasure.

"Schedule indulgences that you can look forward to. People who do this experience more motivation, sense of purpose and most importantly, improved mood."

Dr McKay said keeping a daily gratitude journal was one easy way to help identify and lock in positive emotions.

Loading...

Get connected

Humans are social creatures who rely on each other for survival. We're wired to connect but it can take a conscious effort to make it happen.

We thrive when we're together and we are happier and healthier when we make the time to connect.

Since long before the arrival of COVID-19, Danielle Einstein has been researching our intuitive responses to uncertainty.

She is a clinical psychologist specialising in the treatment and prevention of anxiety.

While Dr Einstein agrees that positive psychology is important, she said understanding the cycle of negative thoughts would also help when learning how best to flex your happiness muscles.

Loading...

Smell the roses or sample a sunset

Moving your body through the natural world is one of the easiest ways to improve mood or even lift depression.

Make time for nature during your week visit the beach in the morning, do a bushwalk on the weekend, or just spend time in the garden.

"When we experience uncertainty in an area that is important to us, at the back of our mind we have thoughts about the worst possible outcome," she said.

"I call these types of thoughts uncertainty bombs they circle around and bother us.

"We can't help it, it's our tendency to look out for danger to protect ourselves."

Dr Einstein said she believed knowledge was the key to defusing uncertainty bombs or at least to limit their damage.

"Learning how uncertainty bombs derail us and how we have the power to recognise, manage and step out of the what-if spiral, will help lower anxiety levels."

Loading...

Breathe, just breathe

Minimising stress is a crucial step, and something simple we can all learn is how to use our breath to regulate the body's response to tension.

A simple exercise is the double inhale: take one breath through the nostrils, then a second ... now, slowly exhale.

Health experts say connecting with friends and community is one of the most important ways to improve your mental health, particularly in times of COVID-19 with so much forced isolation.

Dr McKay said spending time with other people, thinking about what they were thinking, feeling what they were feeling, even holding a conversation, was one of the most cognitively important functions of the brain.

"Humans are first and foremost social creatures who rely on each other for survival," she said.

"We're wired to connect, but it can take a conscious and determined effort to make it happen.

"We thrive when we're together and we are happier and healthier when we make the time to connect."

Loading...

Sleep well, eat well

Modern humans are chronically sleep deprived, which can impact cognition, mood, memory and learning, so a regular good-night's sleep should be a priority, not a luxury.

Studies by Deakin University are also helping us better understand the important relationship between the food we eat, our brain, gut and mental health.

Sunshine, light and fresh air are nature's ways of helping us chill out and gain perspective.

Moving your body through the natural world is one of the most practical ways to improve mood or even combat depression.

Dr McKay said new research suggested looking at panoramic vistas such sunsets, horizons, gazing out to sea or at mountain ranges, also regulated our stress responses and triggered happiness reflexes.

"Not only do sunrises and sunsets look beautiful, the colours are an important part of signalling when it's daytime and nightfall and when it's time to sleep, which builds resilience to stress," she said.

"Time in nature helps to improve mood, reduce blood pressure and can increase our ability to concentrate."

Excerpt from:
How neuro-knowledge can help us find happiness and improve mental health - ABC News

Neuroscience

New Study Examines Recursive Thinking – ScienceBlog.com

Recursion the computational capacity to embed elements within elements of the same kind has been lauded as the intellectual cornerstone of language, tool use and mathematics. A multi-institutional team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers, for the first time, show this ability is shared across age, species and cultural groups in a new study published in the June 26 issue of the journal Science Advances.

Recursion is a way to organize information that allows humans to see patterns in information that are rich and complex, and perhaps beyond what other species see, saidJessica Cantlon, the Ronald J. and Mary Ann Zdrojkowski Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at CMU and senior author on the paper. We try to trace the origins of our complex and rich intellectual activities to something in our evolutionary past to understand what makes our thinking similar to and distinct from other species.

The team set up a series of experiments with U.S. adults, adults from an indigenous group in Bolivia that largely lacks formal education, U.S. children and non-human primates. After training on the task, the researchers provided each group with sequences to order. They studied how each group conducted this task, either in a recursive or non-recursive way (listing) and looked to see which order they naturally chose.

The researchers found that the human participants from all age and cultural groups spontaneously ordered content from a recursive approach by building nested structures. The non-human primate subjects more commonly used a simpler listing strategy but with additional exposure began using the recursive strategy, eventually ending up in the range of performance of human children.

This ability to represent recursive structures is present in children as young as three years old, which suggests it is there even before they use it in language, said Stephen Ferrigno, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University and first author on the paper. We also saw this ability across people from widely different human cultures. Non-human primates also have the capacity to represent recursive sequences, given the right experience. These results dispel the long-held belief that only humans have the capacity to use this rule.

The team found that working memory was an important factor affecting the sequencing abilities of participants. A strong correlation exists between working memory and the use of the hierarchical strategy.

Some of the errors were due to working memory, because participants had to remember which objects went first and relate that to other objects later in the list, said Ferrigno. Children and non-human primates had more errors, which may be due to lower working memory capacity.

The authors note that this work offers a simplified version of a recursive task using visual cues. A more complex series of tasks may not yield the same results.

There is something universal of being a human that lets our brains think this way spontaneously, but primates have the ability to learn it to some degree, said Cantlon. [This research] really gives us a chance to sort out the evolutionary and developmental contributions to complex thought.

Cantlon and Ferrigno were joined by Samuel Cheyette and Steven Piantadosi at the University of California, Berkeley on the study titled, Recursive sequence generation in monkeys, children, US adults, and native Amazonians. This work received support from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the University of Rochester.

Continue reading here:
New Study Examines Recursive Thinking - ScienceBlog.com

Immunology

Tech: Call for immunology to return to the wild Tunis Daily News – Tdnews

In an article published today in Science, a multidisciplinary research team from morethan 10 universities and research institutes outlines how integrating a more diverseset of species and environments could enhance the biomedical research cycle.The viruses that cause COVID-19, AIDS, Ebola, and rabies among others allmade the lethal jump from wildlife into humans. Understanding how the immunesystem works in animals that live with coronaviruses in a natural environment, suchas bats, can give us direction for developing treatments and vaccines to protecthumans from viruses.

Lead author, Dr Andrew Flies from the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at theUniversity of Tasmania, says this is not a new concept.

The very first vaccine arose from observing people interacting with animals in a realworldenvironment. Specifically, milkmaids who acquired a mild cowpox infectionfrom cows were protected from the deadly smallpox. That observation led to the ideaof inoculating people with non-lethal viruses to protect them from deadly viruses.This type of discovery can only be made by studying new species in variableenvironments.

Modern research relies heavily on mouse experiments in laboratory settings, whichlimits the scope for this type of ground-breaking discovery. For example, a new classof antibodies, often referred to as nanobodies, was discovered in camels. Easier andfaster to make than traditional antibodies used in biomedicine, camel-derivednanobodies are playing an import role in biomedical research, including the globalCOVID-19 response. This shows how stepping out of the lab and studying newspecies can yield large long-term payoffs.

We are really excited to see how our initial group discussions held at the firstAustralian Wild and Comparative Immunology (WACI) workshop(https://www.wacimmuno.com/ ) led to publishing a Perspective article in a worldleading journal, said co-author Dr Jerome Le Nours, from the BiomedicineDiscovery Institute at Monash University, who was co-organiser of the WACImeeting.

There are many excellent wildlife and disease ecologists, veterinarian scientists andimmunologists in Australia, and beyond. We hope that our contribution will inspirethem to seek mutually beneficial, inter-disciplinary collaboration said AssociateProfessor Anne Peters, Monash University, co-author and consortium collaborator.

WACI Consortium collaborator and co-author, Associate Professor Julie Old fromWestern Sydney University, said its important for immunology research to includemore diverse species. If we want to evolve our understanding of the immunesystem, and potentially get ahead of any future pandemics, the research communityneeds to expand. We need to broaden our scope, and bring new species and newenvironments into the research paradigm.

Realising wild immunology needs initiatives like the WACI Consortium that harnessthe wide expertise of scientists and diverse technologies within individual areas saysAssociate Professor Michelle Power from Macquarie University. The risks ofemerging infectious diseases are not going away. We need new ideas, new toolsand dynamic collaboration to address them.

Director of the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Distinguished ProfessorAlison Venn, said new technology has broken down research barriers to integratingnew species and environments into the research cycle.Proactive investment in wild immunology can stimulate discoveries with real-worldapplications for human and veterinary medicine and conservation. It could help usprepare for the next pandemic.

###

Learn more about the call to action here: https://youtu.be/8fpW-f41j6c(video under embargo until 2pm US EST 2-July)

Media contact:

Angela Wilson

Communications Manager,

Menzies Institute for Medical Research

+61 0487 325 217

[emailprotected]

Information released by:

Communications and Media Office

University of Tasmania

+61 3 6226 2124

[emailprotected]

Twitter.com/utas_

More:
Tech: Call for immunology to return to the wild Tunis Daily News - Tdnews

Immunology

SARS-CoV-2-Reactive T Cells Found in Patients with Severe COVID-19 – The Scientist

In May, researchers showed that people with mild forms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, have circulating T cells that respond to the virus. Now, in a Science Immunology study published last week (June 26), a collaborating research team has determined that people who are sick enough with COVID-19 to be hospitalized in the intensive care unit also make SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells. In both studies, the researchers found that a subset of healthy, unexposed people also had some of these T cells that react to the virus, perhaps due to previous exposures to other coronaviruses that cause symptoms of the common cold.

The latest study provides more solid evidence that there are SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells that are induced by the infection, says Antonio Bertoletti, who studies T cells at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and was not involved in the work. This is important because researchers have put a lot of emphasis on antibodies, he adds, but its still not clear whether antibodies or T cells are more important for protection from the virus.

Rory de Vries, a virologist and immunologist at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, was visiting immunologist Alessandro Settes lab at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California to collaborate on another project when all hell broke loose with the pandemic, Sette tells The Scientist.Settes group had been developing tools to investigate adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2, but in California at that point, they didnt have a COVID-19 patient population to try them in. As de Vries prepared to return home in March, Europe already had confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2, so he took the tools the team had developed back to the Netherlands.

de Vries and colleagues collected blood from 10 COVID-19 patientsfour women and six men admitted to the intensive care unit with acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring ventilationand 10 healthy volunteers. The team exposed the study participants immune cells to a pool of predicted SARS-CoV-2 peptides in vitro to see whether or not the cells would react.

The team determined that all of the ill patients had fewer overall T cells than the healthy volunteers, which was consistent with earlier findings from other groups. All patients had helper T cells and eight of 10 had killer T cells that targeted SARS-CoV-2 proteins. These reactive T cells showed up within about 10 days of symptom onset in the patients. The strongest responses were to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, but cells responded to membrane and nuclear viral proteins, too.

The frequency of these corona-specific T cells in these patients . . . is at least at the same level, if not higher than I see in other viruses, says Nina Babel, an immunologist at Charit Universittsmedizin Berlin who did not participate in the study. This indicates that the lack of T-cell response is probably not the problem in these patients, she explains.

The study authors reported that two healthy controls also had circulating SARS-CoV-2-fighting T cells, something that showed up in healthy controls in the study of milder cases of COVID-19 in May. A likely explanation is that this is reflective of exposure to common cold coronaviruses which . . . are cousins of SARS-CoV-2, Sette says. This could give the immune system a head start by allowing it to leverage preexisting reactivity to mount a faster or better response, or it might be a disadvantage in that preexisting immunity could lead the immune system to take SARS-CoV-2 less seriously, he adds. While Sette thinks the second idea is less likely, he acknowledges that the jury is still out about the role this reactivity in unexposed people, which has also been shown in studies from other groups, plays in the severity of COVID-19.

The most curious thing is this issue of cells that recognize SARS-CoV-2 from people whove never seen the virus, says Stanley Perlman, an immunologist at the University of Iowa who was not involved in the study. His group has done work with MERS-CoVthe coronavirus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndromeand they see almost no evidence of this kind of preexisting immunity, he says. The authors postulate that this [cross-reactivity] comes from circulating coronaviruses or something else. It would be interesting to show what that something else is.

Understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 will help researchers determine what aspects of that response they can leverage and which aspects make people sicker and are to be avoided, de Vries tells The Scientist.The next steps would then of course be treatment, but especially vaccinations, he explains. If we vaccinate people and direct the immune response, we need to know what immunity we want to induce and what immunity we want to stay away from.

D. Weiskopf et al., Phenotype and kinetics of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome,Science Immunology,doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.abd2071, 2020.

Link:
SARS-CoV-2-Reactive T Cells Found in Patients with Severe COVID-19 - The Scientist