Cell Biology

Magenta Therapeutics Announces Collaboration with the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match to Advance Development of MGTA-145 for First-Line…

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Magenta Therapeutics (Nasdaq: MGTA) and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match, the global leader in providing a cure to patients with life-threatening blood and marrow cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases, today announced a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate the potential utility of MGTA-145, Magentas investigational first-line stem cell mobilization program, for mobilizing and collecting hematopoietic stem cells from donors in a single day and then using them for allogeneic transplants in patients. This life-saving procedure is currently used in approximately 28,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe each year, but approximately 62,000 additional eligible patients do not receive an allogeneic transplant due to challenges, including difficulty with the donation process.

Under the collaboration, Magenta and NMDP/Be The Match will run a Phase 2 clinical trial of MGTA-145 to mobilize and collect hematopoietic stem cells from donors which will then be transplanted into patients with blood cancers in need of a stem cell transplant. The number of stem cells mobilized, engraftment function and benefit to disease will be measured. Magenta will retain all commercial rights to MGTA-145.

MGTA-145, a CXCR2 agonist, works in combination with plerixafor, a CXCR4 antagonist, to harness the physiological mechanism of stem cell mobilization into peripheral blood. MGTA-145 achieved all of the safety and activity endpoints in the recently completed Phase 1 trials in over 100 volunteers. Results showed that MGTA-145, in combination with plerixafor, enabled safe, same-day dosing, mobilization and collection of superior functional hematopoietic stem cells for transplant compared to the current standard of care.

The NMDP/Be The Match is the leading stem cell transplant organization in the United States and facilitates more than 6,500 stem cell transplants per year, through its contracted global network of 187 transplant centers. Through Be The Match BioTherapies, the company also partners with cell and gene therapy companies, including Magenta, to advance the development and delivery of life-saving cell and gene therapies. This most recent collaboration builds on the existing partnership between the two organizations announced in May 2017, which is based on shared missions to ensure more patients receive curative stem cell transplants. This collaboration will combine Magentas leadership in developing medicines for immune system reset with NMDP/Be The Matchs expertise in managing more than 100,000+ stem cell transplants to-date, expansive global networks and the worlds largest and most diverse registry of more than 22 million potential blood stem cell donors.

Magenta is delighted to build upon its successful partnership with NMDP/Be The Match through this clinical collaboration. The NMDP/Be The Match team brings unparalleled experience in stem cell transplant, operating the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world, with a global network of 187 transplant centers. We are excited to collaborate with them to explore MGTA-145 in allogeneic transplant, which makes up nearly half of the transplants that take place each year in the U.S. and Europe, said John Davis Jr., M.D., M.P.H., M.S., Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer, Magenta. MGTA-145 mobilizes robust numbers of functional stem cells in a single day, allowing donors to potentially avoid multiple visits to infusion centers or hospitals, which has been a major concern for donors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The large number of functional cells may also result in faster recovery and improved outcomes for patients undergoing a life-saving allogeneic transplant.

There is a significant need for new medicines for stem cell mobilization for patients and stem cell donors, and this need is only exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic as donors in particular prefer to avoid the hospital setting. Clinical data generated with MGTA-145 to date suggest that its robust mobilization of functional stem cells in a single day could improve both the donor experience and patient outcomes, said Steven Devine, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, NMDP/Be The Match. We are pleased to partner with Magenta to further transform the practice of stem cell transplant. We look forward to initiating this Phase 2 study.

About Magenta Therapeutics

Magenta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medicines to bring the curative power of immune system reset through stem cell transplant to more patients with autoimmune diseases, genetic diseases and blood cancers. Magenta is combining leadership in stem cell biology and biotherapeutics development with clinical and regulatory expertise, a unique business model and broad networks in the stem cell transplant world to revolutionize immune reset for more patients. Magenta is based in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit http://www.magentatx.com. Follow Magenta on Twitter: @magentatx.

About the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match

We save lives through cellular therapy. As the global leader in providing a cure to patients with life-threatening blood and marrow cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases, we manage the worlds largest registry of potential blood stem cell donors and cord blood units. We work with a global network to connect patients to their donor match for a life-saving transplant. Through Be The Match BioTherapies, we partner with cell and gene therapy companies to support the development and delivery of new therapies. And, we conduct research through our research program, CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research), in collaboration with Medical College of Wisconsin. The NMDP/Be The Match is an investor in Magenta Therapeutics.

Magenta Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding the clinical collaboration agreement between Magenta and NMDP/Be The Match, including the timing, progress and success of the collaboration contemplated under the agreement, the commercial terms under the agreement, and Magentas strategy and business plan. The use of words such as may, will, could, should, expects, intends, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, projects, seeks, endeavor, potential, continue or the negative of such words or other similar expressions can be used to identify forward-looking statements. The express or implied forward-looking statements included in this press release are only predictions and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation, risks set forth under the caption Risk Factors in Magentas most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 3, 2020, as updated by Magentas most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as risks, uncertainties and assumptions regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to Magentas business, operations, strategy, goals and anticipated timelines, including, without limitation, Magentas ongoing and planned preclinical activities, ability to initiate, enroll, conduct or complete ongoing and planned clinical trials and timelines for regulatory submissions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although Magenta believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Moreover, except as required by law, neither Magenta nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements included in this press release. Any forward-looking statement included in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it was made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Magenta Therapeutics Announces Collaboration with the National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match to Advance Development of MGTA-145 for First-Line...

Cell Biology

Neural circuits that control hibernation-like behaviors discovered in mice – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Jun 11 2020

The dream of suspended animation has long captivated the human imagination, reflected in countless works of mythology and fiction, from King Arthur and Sleeping Beauty to Captain America and Han Solo. By effectively pausing time itself for an individual, a state of stasis promises to enable the repair of lethal injuries, prolong life and allow for travel to distant stars.

While suspended animation may seem a fantasy, a strikingly diverse array of life has already achieved a version of it. Through behaviors like hibernation, animals such as bears, frogs and hummingbirds can survive harsh winters, droughts, food shortages and other extreme conditions by essentially entering into biological stasis, where metabolism, heart rate and breathing slow to a crawl and body temperature drops.

Now, Harvard Medical School neuroscientists have discovered a population of neurons in the hypothalamus that controls hibernation-like behavior, or torpor, in mice, revealing for the first time the neural circuits that regulate this state.

Reporting in Nature on June 11, the team demonstrated that when these neurons are stimulated, mice enter torpor and can be kept in that state for days. When the activity of these neurons is blocked, natural torpor is disrupted.

Another study published simultaneously in Nature by researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan also identified a similar population of neurons in the hypothalamus.

By better understanding these processes in mice and other animal models, the authors envision the possibility of one day working toward inducing torpor in humans--an achievement that could have a vast array of applications, such as preventing brain injury during stroke, enabling new treatments for metabolic diseases or even helping NASA send humans to Mars.

The imagination runs wild when we think about the potential of hibernation-like states in humans. Could we really extend lifespan? Is this the way to send people to Mars?"

Sinisa Hrvatin, study co-lead author, instructor in neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS

"To answer these questions, we must first study the fundamental biology of torpor and hibernation in animals," Hrvatin said. "We and others are doing this--it is not science fiction."

To reduce energy expenditure in times of scarcity, many animals enter a state of torpor. Hibernation is an extended seasonal form of this. Unlike sleep, torpor is associated with systemic physiological changes, particularly significant drops in body temperature and suppression of metabolic activity. While common in nature, the biological mechanisms that underlie torpor and hibernation are still poorly understood.

The role of the brain, in particular, has remained largely unknown, a question that drove the research efforts of Hrvatin and colleagues, including co-lead author Senmiao Sun, a graduate student in the Harvard Program in Neuroscience, and study senior author Michael Greenberg, the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor and chair of the Department of Neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

The researchers studied mice, which do not hibernate but experience bouts of torpor when food is scarce and temperatures are low. When housed at 22 C (72 F), fasting mice exhibited a sharp drop in core body temperature and significant reduction in metabolic rate and movement. In comparison, well-fed mice retained normal body temperatures.

As mice began to enter torpor, the team focused on a gene called Fos--previously shown by the Greenberg lab to be expressed in active neurons. Labeling the protein product of the Fos gene allowed them to identify which neurons are activated during the transition to torpor throughout the entire brain.

This approach revealed widespread neuronal activity, including in brain regions that regulate hunger, feeding, body temperature and many other functions. To see if brain activity was sufficient to trigger torpor, the team combined two techniques--FosTRAP and chemogenetics--to genetically tag neurons that are active during torpor. These neurons could then be re-stimulated later by adding a chemical compound.

The experiments confirmed that torpor could indeed be induced--even in well-fed mice--by re-stimulating neurons in this manner after the mice recovered from their initial bout of inactivity.

However, because the approach labeled neurons throughout the entire brain, the researchers worked to narrow in on the specific area that controls torpor. To do so, they designed a virus-based tool that they used to selectively activate neurons only at the site of injection.

Focusing on the hypothalamus, the region of the brain responsible for regulating body temperature, hunger, thirst, hormone secretion and other functions, the researchers carried out a series of painstaking experiments. They systematically injected 54 animals with minute amounts of the virus covering 226 different regions of the hypothalamus, then activated neurons only in the injected regions and looked for signs of torpor.

Neurons in one specific region of the hypothalamus, known as the avMLPA, triggered torpor when activated. Stimulating neurons in other areas of the hypothalamus had no effect.

"When the initial experiment worked, we knew we had something," Greenberg said. "We gained control over torpor in these mice using FosTRAP, which allowed us to then identify the subset of cells that are involved in the process. It's an elegant demonstration of how Fos can be used to study neuronal activity and behavioral states in the brain."

The team further analyzed the neurons that occupy the region, using single-cell RNA sequencing to look at almost 50,000 individual cells representing 36 different cell types, ultimately pinpointing a subset of torpor-driving neurons, marked by the neurotransmitter transporter gene Vglut2 and the peptide Adcyap1.

Stimulating only these neurons was sufficient to induce rapid drops in body temperature and motor activity, key features of torpor. To confirm that these neurons are critical for torpor, the researchers used a separate virus-based tool to silence the activity of avMLPA-Vglut2 neurons. This prevented fasting mice from entering natural torpor, and in particular disrupted the associated decrease in core body temperature. In contrast, silencing these neurons in well-fed mice had no effect.

"In warm-blooded animals, body temperature is tightly regulated," Sun said. "A drop of a couple of degrees in humans, for example, leads to hypothermia and can be fatal. However, torpor circumvents this regulation and allows body temperatures to fall dramatically. Studying torpor in mice helps us understand how this fascinating feature of warm-blooded animals might be manipulated through neural processes."

The researchers caution that their experiments do not conclusively prove that one specific neuron type controls torpor, a complex behavior that likely involves many different cell types. By identifying the specific brain region and subset of neurons involved in the process, however, scientists now have a point of entry for efforts to better understand and control the state in mice and other animal models, the authors said.

They are now studying the long-term effects of torpor on mice, the roles of other populations of neurons and the underlying mechanisms and pathways that allow avMLPA neurons to regulate torpor.

"Our findings open the door to a new understanding of what torpor and hibernation are, and how they affect cells, the brain and the body," Hrvatin said. "We can now rigorously study how animals enter and exit these states, identify the underlying biology, and think about applications in humans. This study represents one of the key steps of this journey."

The implications of one day being able to induce torpor or hibernation in humans, if ever realized, are profound.

"It's far too soon to say whether we could induce this type of state in a human, but it is a goal that could be worthwhile," Greenberg said. "It could potentially lead to an understanding of suspended animation, metabolic control and possibly extended lifespan. Suspended animation in particular is a common theme in science fiction, and perhaps our ability to traverse the stars will someday depend on it."

Source:

Journal reference:

Hrvatin, S., et al. (2020) Neurons that regulate mouse torpor. Nature. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2387-5.

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Neural circuits that control hibernation-like behaviors discovered in mice - News-Medical.Net

Cell Biology

A protein that helps treat viruses can later interfere with lung tissue repair – News-Medical.Net

Jun 12 2020

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that a protein which is initially helpful in the bodys immune response to a virus, can later interfere with the repair of lung tissue. The work, published in Science, highlights the need for careful consideration regarding the use of this protein to treat viruses, including coronavirus.

Tissue sections of mouse lungs, after infection with influenza. The image on the left is the control and the image on the right is from mice without receptors for interferon lambda. The lungs where interferon lambda signalling is blocked (right) shows improved epithelial cell growth and differentiation (in red).

When a virus infects the lungs, the body attempts to defend itself and fight off the infection. One defensive mechanism is the activation of a protein, called interferon lambda, which signals to surrounding lung tissue cells to switch on anti-viral defenses.

Interferon lambda is currently being investigated in clinical trials as a potential treatment for COVID-19, so understanding the biology underlying its anti-viral effects is important.

The research team investigated the effects of this protein in the lab and found that if it is active for an extended period, it inhibits the repair of the lung tissue. This could prolong lung damage and increase the risk of subsequent bacterial infections.

The Crick scientists observed that in mice with influenza, having increased levels of this protein in their lungs meant that their epithelial cells multiplied less. These cells make up the lining of the airspaces in the lung and need to multiply to replace damaged cells and repair damage. This was the case for mice treated with the protein experimentally and also mice that had produced the protein naturally, as a result of their response to the virus.

Furthermore, cultures of human lung epithelial cells treated with this protein were also less able to grow.

This is a really potent protein with many different functions. At the beginning of a viral infection, it is protective, triggering functions that help to fight the virus. However, if it remains in the tissue for too long, it could become harmful.

This means, for any anti-viral treatment that uses this protein, there is a really careful balance that must be made. Clinicians should consider the timing of the treatment, the earlier this better, and the duration of treatment.

Andreas Wack, Author and group leader of the Immunoregulation lab at the Crick

While this research studied mice infected with influenza, the effects of this protein should be similar for other viruses that also cause lung damage, including coronavirus.

The paper has been published alongside research from Harvard Medical School, which found that severe COVID-19 patients showed strong expression of this protein in their lungs.

Understanding how our bodies respond to infection has never been more important. Differences in our immune responses have huge implications for whether a treatment will work and what the side effects might be.

Our results suggest that before pursuing treatment with interferon lambda, doctors should consider at what stage of the disease patients are, as treatment late in infection may increase the risk of prolonged damage.

Jack Major, Lead author and PhD student in the Immunoregulation lab at the Crick

The Crick researchers will continue to study inflammatory pathways in lung infections, including infection with coronavirus.

Source:

Journal reference:

Major, J., et al. (2020) Type I and III interferons disrupt lung epithelial repair during recovery from viral infection. Science. doi.org/10.1126/science.abc2061.

Read the rest here:
A protein that helps treat viruses can later interfere with lung tissue repair - News-Medical.Net

Cell Biology

IIT-M researchers identify role of microRNA in tongue cancer – Zee News

Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) on Monday said its researchers have identified a specific microRNA (miRNAs) called `miR-155 that is over-expressed in tongue cancer.

According to the researchers, miRNAs affect cancer growth by inhibiting or enhancing the functions of certain proteins. For example, it has been seen that a type of protein called `programmed cell death 4` --pdcd4-- helps in stopping cancer cells from growing and spreading.

Inhibition of this protein has been known to cause the spread of oral, lung, breast, liver, brain and colon cancers.

For the current study, IIT Madras collaborated with researchers from Cancer Institute and Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital at Chennai and Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru.

"MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs containing 20?24 nucleotides that participate in virtually all biological pathways in animals," study lead researcher Devarajan Karunagaran, Head, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, said in a statement.

"They have been found to play important roles in many cancers, in carcinogenesis (start of cancer), malignant transformation and metastasis - the development of secondary cancer. The miRNAs associated with cancer are called `Oncomirs`," Karunagaran added.

According to the researchers, many of the oncomirs affect cancer by suppressing the performance of tumour suppressing agents that can prevent growth and spread of cancer cells, although some oncomirs are also involved in preventing tumour growth itself.

It is therefore important to identify the types of miRNAs that are associated with both suppression and proliferation of cancer cells.

For the findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular and Cellular biology, the research team went beyond showing the connection between miR-155 and pdcd4.

They have also shown that knocking out miR-155 causes death of cancer cells, arrests the cell cycle, and regresses tumour size in animal models and reduces cell viability and colony formation in benchtop assays.

"While it has been long suspected that miR-155 downregulates Pdcd4, there have, hitherto, been no evidence for such interaction," said study researcher Shabir Zargar.

The research team has shown beyond doubt that miR-155 is overexpressed in tongue cancer cells and tongue tumour tissues.

This `overactivity` of miR-155 hinders the action of pdcd4, which in turn causes spread and growth of cancer of the tongue.

"Our study has shown that the restoration of Pdcd4 levels through molecular manipulation of miR-155 can lead to potential therapeutic developments for cancers, especially of tongue cancer," Karunagaran added.

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IIT-M researchers identify role of microRNA in tongue cancer - Zee News

Cell Biology

Neuroscientists Discover Neural Circuits That Control Hibernation-Like Behaviors in Mice – Newswise

At a glance:

Newswise The dream of suspended animation has long captivated the human imagination, reflected in countless works of mythology and fiction, from King Arthur and Sleeping Beauty to Captain America and Han Solo. By effectively pausing time itself for an individual, a state of stasis promises to enable the repair of lethal injuries, prolong life and allow for travel to distant stars.

While suspended animation may seem a fantasy, a strikingly diverse array of life has already achieved a version of it. Through behaviors like hibernation, animals such as bears, frogs and hummingbirds can survive harsh winters, droughts, food shortages and other extreme conditions by essentially entering into biological stasis, where metabolism, heart rate and breathing slow to a crawl and body temperature drops.

Now, Harvard Medical School neuroscientists have discovered a population of neurons in the hypothalamus that controls hibernation-like behavior, or torpor, in mice, revealing for the first time the neural circuits that regulate this state.

Reporting in Nature on June 11, the team demonstrated that when these neurons are stimulated, mice enter torpor and can be kept in that state for days. When the activity of these neurons is blocked, natural torpor is disrupted.

Another study published simultaneously in Nature by researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan also identified a similar population of neurons in the hypothalamus.

By better understanding these processes in mice and other animal models, the authors envision the possibility of one day working toward inducing torpor in humansan achievement that could have a vast array of applications, such as preventing brain injury during stroke, enabling new treatments for metabolic diseases or even helping NASA send humans to Mars.

The imagination runs wild when we think about the potential of hibernation-like states in humans. Could we really extend lifespan? Is this the way to send people to Mars? said study co-lead author Sinisa Hrvatin, instructor in neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

To answer these questions, we must first study the fundamental biology of torpor and hibernation in animals, Hrvatin said. We and others are doing thisit is not science fiction.

To reduce energy expenditure in times of scarcity, many animals enter a state of torpor. Hibernation is an extended seasonal form of this. Unlike sleep, torpor is associated with systemic physiological changes, particularly significant drops in body temperature and suppression of metabolic activity. While common in nature, the biological mechanisms that underlie torpor and hibernation are still poorly understood.

The role of the brain, in particular, has remained largely unknown, a question that drove the research efforts of Hrvatin and colleagues, including co-lead author Senmiao Sun, a graduate student in the Harvard Program in Neuroscience, and study senior author Michael Greenberg, the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor and chair of the Department of Neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

Neural TRAP

The researchers studied mice, which do not hibernate but experience bouts of torpor when food is scarce and temperatures are low. When housed at 22 C (72 F), fasting mice exhibited a sharp drop in core body temperature and significant reduction in metabolic rate and movement. In comparison, well-fed mice retained normal body temperatures.

As mice began to enter torpor, the team focused on a gene called Fospreviously shown by the Greenberg lab to be expressed in active neurons. Labeling the protein product of the Fos gene allowed them to identify which neurons are activated during the transition to torpor throughout the entire brain.

This approach revealed widespread neuronal activity, including in brain regions that regulate hunger, feeding, body temperature and many other functions. To see if brain activity was sufficient to trigger torpor, the team combined two techniquesFosTRAP and chemogeneticsto genetically tag neurons that are active during torpor. These neurons could then be re-stimulated later by adding a chemical compound.

The experiments confirmed that torpor could indeed be inducedeven in well-fed miceby re-stimulating neurons in this manner after the mice recovered from their initial bout of inactivity.

However, because the approach labeled neurons throughout the entire brain, the researchers worked to narrow in on the specific area that controls torpor. To do so, they designed a virus-based tool that they used to selectively activate neurons only at the site of injection.

Focusing on the hypothalamus, the region of the brain responsible for regulating body temperature, hunger, thirst, hormone secretion and other functions, the researchers carried out a series of painstaking experiments. They systematically injected 54 animals with minute amounts of the virus covering 226 different regions of the hypothalamus, then activated neurons only in the injected regions and looked for signs of torpor.

Neurons in one specific region of the hypothalamus, known as the avMLPA, triggered torpor when activated. Stimulating neurons in other areas of the hypothalamus had no effect.

When the initial experiment worked, we knew we had something, Greenberg said. We gained control over torpor in these mice using FosTRAP, which allowed us to then identify the subset of cells that are involved in the process. Its an elegant demonstration of how Fos can be used to study neuronal activity and behavioral states in the brain.

Worthwhile goal

The team further analyzed the neurons that occupy the region, using single-cell RNA sequencing to look at almost 50,000 individual cells representing 36 different cell types, ultimately pinpointing a subset of torpor-driving neurons, marked by the neurotransmitter transporter gene Vglut2 and the peptide Adcyap1.

Stimulating only these neurons was sufficient to induce rapid drops in body temperature and motor activity, key features of torpor. To confirm that these neurons are critical for torpor, the researchers used a separate virus-based tool to silence the activity of avMLPA-Vglut2 neurons. This prevented fasting mice from entering natural torpor, and in particular disrupted the associated decrease in core body temperature. In contrast, silencing these neurons in well-fed mice had no effect.

In warm-blooded animals, body temperature is tightly regulated, Sun said. A drop of a couple of degrees in humans, for example, leads to hypothermia and can be fatal. However, torpor circumvents this regulation and allows body temperatures to fall dramatically. Studying torpor in mice helps us understand how this fascinating feature of warm-blooded animals might be manipulated through neural processes.

The researchers caution that their experiments do not conclusively prove that one specific neuron type controls torpor, a complex behavior that likely involves many different cell types. By identifying the specific brain region and subset of neurons involved in the process, however, scientists now have a point of entry for efforts to better understand and control the state in mice and other animal models, the authors said.

They are now studying the long-term effects of torpor on mice, the roles of other populations of neurons and the underlying mechanisms and pathways that allow avMLPA neurons to regulate torpor.

Our findings open the door to a new understanding of what torpor and hibernation are, and how they affect cells, the brain and the body, Hrvatin said. We can now rigorously study how animals enter and exit these states, identify the underlying biology, and think about applications in humans. This study represents one of the key steps of this journey.

The implications of one day being able to induce torpor or hibernation in humans, if ever realized, are profound.

Its far too soon to say whether we could induce this type of state in a human, but it is a goal that could be worthwhile, Greenberg said. It could potentially lead to an understanding of suspended animation, metabolic control and possibly extended lifespan. Suspended animation in particular is a common theme in science fiction, and perhaps our ability to traverse the stars will someday depend on it.

Additional authors include Oren Wilcox, Hanqi Yao, Aurora Lavin-Peter, Marcelo Cicconet, Elena Assad, Michaela Palmer, Sage Aronson, Alexander Banks and Eric Griffith.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01 NS028829, R01 MH114081, R01 DK107717) and a Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Award.

Original post:
Neuroscientists Discover Neural Circuits That Control Hibernation-Like Behaviors in Mice - Newswise

Embryology

The NHS worker from Croydon who needs to find 40k to take up her place at Oxford University – MyLondon

Being accepted to Oxford was a life changing moment for this 22-year-old from Thornton Heath.

But if Leighann Nesbeth, an NHS admin worker, cant raise the 40,000 needed to pay for the fees, her dream may not become a reality.

Inspired by her work in the gynocology oncology department at Guys Hospital, she hopes taking a masters in Clinical Embryology at Oxford will set her on a path where she can help women struggling to get pregnant.

She said: I find with a lot of patients with ovarian cancer their fertility is affected, and going to an assisted fertility unit is the first point of contact before they have cancer treatment so they can preserve their fertility.

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I found I was really interested in that and I was looking for a positive way to impact the lives of women so fertility is definitely my calling.

Leighann was determined to pursue a career in clinical medicine from a young age despite being told by a teacher to aim lower.

Her sights remained high even after being rejected from medical school multiple times.

Instead she chose to study for a degree in Medical Physiology in Nottingham where she graduated with first class honours.

She explained that accepted to Oxford has boosted her confidence in what shes capable of, but the huge fees nearly stopped her from applying at all.

She said: When I did my research and I found out it was 40,000 I honestly wasnt even going to apply. I thought theres no way I could afford it. I spoke to my mum and dad about it and we thought it was just impossible.

It was only an encouraging message on the day of the deadline that prompted Leighann to submit her application.

There are some scholarships available, she said, but she wont know if she has been granted any until just two weeks before the day her fees need to be paid at the end of June.

In terms of the money, it does make me feel very disheartened, she said.

Its just such a huge barrier. If the only thing thats stopping me is the finance it seems like Ive come so far to just not be able to get it.

Leighann has raised just over 6,000 towards her target on her Go Fund Me page. You can help get her Oxford by donating here.

Do you have a story you think MyLondon should cover? If so, email danielle.manning@reachplc.com.

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The NHS worker from Croydon who needs to find 40k to take up her place at Oxford University - MyLondon

Embryology

Merck Foundation Together With 18 African First Ladies Respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic in Four Main Areas – Devdiscourse

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India & Monrovia, Liberia Business Wire India Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany has raced to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic in partnership with 18 African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Information and Education focusing on four main areas: 1. Community Support: Merck Foundation partners with African First Ladies to support livelihood of thousands of women and casual workers affected by Coronavirus lockdown. 2. Healthcare Capacity Building: Merck Foundation started Coronavirus healthcare capacity building by providing online one-year diplomas and two-year masters degree in Respiratory Medicines and Acute Medicines for African Doctors 3. Community Awareness through media Awards: Merck Foundation announced, Stay at Home Media Recognition Awards in Africa, Middle East, Asia & Latin America to raise awareness about Coronavirus.

4. Community awareness for Children and Youth: Merck Foundation launched an inspiring storybook Making the Right Choice in partnership with African First Ladies to sensitize children and youth about Coronavirus Merck Foundation has partnered with the African First Ladies of Liberia, Ghana, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Niger, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Burkina Faso to support livelihood of thousands of women and families of casual and daily workers who are most affected by the Coronavirus (COVID -19) lockdown. The relief contribution was also undertaken in Egypt with the aim to support 500 families. Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation explained, Lockdown imposed in most countries has hit the daily workers and women the most, making it very difficult for them to survive. Therefore, Merck Foundation decided to partner with the African First Ladies to support up to 1000 women and casual workers families in each country, with the aim to save their livelihood as part of Separated but Connected Merck Foundation Initiative. Speaking of women being impacted by the lockdown, Dr. Rasha Kelej explained, I am sad to know that the pandemic has led to a horrifying increase in violence against women. The confinement at home with an abusive partner has resulted in not only physical violence but also emotional violence against women which can have disastrous consequences for their health and well-being. Therefore, we decided to focus on supporting women in our coronavirus community intervention and strongly continue empowering infertile and childless women as part of our signature campaign Merck More than a Mother. We know they now need our support more than ever. We strongly believe that building professional healthcare capacity is the right strategy to improve access to quality and equitable healthcare specially during this vicious pandemic, Dr. Kelej added.

Therefore, Merck Foundation will strongly continue their current capacity advancement programs and will specially focus on building Coronavirus healthcare capacity through providing African and Asian medical postgraduates with one-year online diploma and two-year online Master degree in both of Respiratory Medicines and Acute Medicines at one of the UK Universities. This program is in partnership with African First Ladies, Ministers of Health and Academia across the two continents. As part of their strategy of responding to coronavirus lockdown, Merck Foundation scaled up to more African and Asian medical postgraduates to provide online medical specialization scholarships.

During this lockdown, Merck Foundation will focus more on these online scholarships which will be for one-year diploma and two year master degree in several specialties such as: Diabetes, Cardiovascular Preventive Medicines, Endocrinology and Sexual and Reproductive Medicines. To apply for these scholarships, please email us on: submit@merck-foundation.com Merck Foundation has also launched Stay at Home Media Recognition Awards in partnership with African First Ladies of Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Guinea Conakry, Burundi, Central African Republic (C.A.R.), Chad, Zimbabwe, Zambia, The Gambia, Liberia and Congo Brazzaville, Angola, Mali, Mozambique for English, French, Portuguese and Arabic Speaking African countries. The awards have been also announced for Middle Eastern, Asian countries and in Spanish for Latin American Countries. The theme of the awards is Raising Awareness on how to Stay Safe and Keep Physically and Mentally Healthy during Coronavirus Lockdown with the aim to separate facts from myths and misconceptions to apply for these awards email: submit@merck-foundation.com Dr. Rasha Kelej emphasized, We strongly believe that media plays a critical role in raising awareness about sensitive and pressing issues such as Coronavirus. I am looking forward to receive the creative and informative work of our winners so that they become Merck Foundation health champions in their countries. Merck Foundation has also launched an inspiring storybook called Making the Right Choice in partnership with 18 African First Ladies. The story aims to raise awareness about coronavirus prevention amongst children and youth as it provides facts about the pandemic and how to stay safe and healthy during the outbreak. It also promotes honesty, hard-work and the ability to make the right choices even during the most challenging times. The story released in three languages: English, French and Portuguese. To read the storybook please click on below links: English: https://www.merck-foundation.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?retURL=%2Fapex%2FMF_MainPage%3FstartURL%3D%252FNews-Article%252FMerck-Foundation-together-with-African-First-Ladies-continue-their-strategy-to-provide-specialty-training-for-African-doctors-to-better-manage-Diabetes-and-Hypertension-patients-who-are-Coronavirus-risk-groups.&file=00P1r00002YfRDrEAN French: https://www.merck-foundation.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?retURL=%2Fapex%2FMF_MainPage%3FstartURL%3D%252FNews-Article%252FMerck-Foundation-together-with-African-First-Ladies-continue-their-strategy-to-provide-specialty-training-for-African-doctors-to-better-manage-Diabetes-and-Hypertension-patients-who-are-Coronavirus-risk-groups.&file=00P1r00002YfzaGEAR Portuguese: https://www.merck-foundation.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?retURL=%2Fapex%2FMF_MainPage%3FstartURL%3D%252FNews-Article%252FMerck-Foundation-together-with-African-First-Ladies-continue-their-strategy-to-provide-specialty-training-for-African-doctors-to-better-manage-Diabetes-and-Hypertension-patients-who-are-Coronavirus-risk-groups.&file=00P1r00002YfzeUEAR About Merck Oncology Fellowship and Master Degree Program A part of Merck Cancer Access, the program focuses on building professional cancer care capacity with the aim to increase the limited number of Oncologists in Africa. Oncology Fellowship Program of one year, one and half years, two years in India, Malaysia, Kenya and Master Degree in Medical Oncology for three years in Egypt in partnership with African Ministries of Health, Local Governments and Academia.

Launched in 2016, over 80 candidates from more than 26 African countries have been enrolled in the Merck Oncology Fellowship Program. The program will continue to build cancer care capability in African countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe. About Merck Fertility & Embryology Training Program Merck Fertility & Embryology Training Program was launched in 2016 as part of Merck More Than a Mother. Under this program, Merck Foundation has been providing hands-on practical training to candidates from Africa and Asia, in partnership with the Indonesian Reproductive Science Institute (IRSI), Indonesia; International Institute for Training and Research in Reproductive Health (IIRRH), India; Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), India and Indira IVF Hospitals, India.

Through this program, Merck Foundation is making history in many African and Asian countries where they never had fertility specialists or specialized fertility clinics before Merck More Than a Mother intervention, to train the first fertility specialists such as; in Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Niger, Chad, Guinea, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Uganda. So far, Merck Foundation has provided for more than 180+ candidates, clinical and practical training for fertility specialists and embryologists in more than 35 countries across Africa and Asia such as: Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, CAR, Cote D'IVOIRE, DRC, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malaysia, Liberia, Mali, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Niger, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, The Gambia, Togo, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe. About Merck Diabetes Blue Points Project Merck Diabetes Blue Points Project in partnership with African First Ladies, Ministries of Health and Academia to help improve access to equitable and quality diabetes care nationwide in African countries. Candidates from different provinces, countries or districts of the respective countries are provided with one-year Online Postgraduate Diabetes Diploma in English for English Speaking countries, or an Online Master course on Clinical Management of Diabetes in French and Portuguese for 3 months duration, for French and Portuguese speaking countries respectively, ensuring geographical coverage of the whole country to help improve the landscape of diabetes care in Africa.

Download the Merck Foundation App now Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.merck.foundation.googleplay App Store - https://apps.apple.com/no/app/merck-foundation/id1297299793 Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard Facebook: Merck Foundation Twitter: @Merckfoundation YouTube: MerckFoundation Instagram: Merck Foundation Flickr: Merck Foundation Website: http://www.merck-foundation.com About Merck Foundation The Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare and scientific research capacity and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please visit http://www.merck-foundation.com to read more. To know more, reach out to our social media: Merck Foundation; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Flicker. To View the Image Click on the Link Below: Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation with H.E. DJN COND, The First Lady of Guinea; H.E. FATIMA MAADA BIO; The First Lady of Sierra Leone; H.E. Prof. GERTRUDE MUTHARIKA, The First Lady of Malawi; H.E. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW, The First Lady of The Gambia; H.E. DENISE NKURUNZIZA, The First Lady of Burundi; H.E. ASSATA ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU, The First Lady of Niger; H.E. BRIGITTE TOUADERA, The First Lady of Central African Republic; H.E. REBECCA AKUFO-ADDO, The First Lady of Ghana; H.E. CLAR MARIE WEAH, The First Lady of Liberia; H.E. ANTOINETTE SASSOU-NGUESSO, The First Lady of Congo Brazzaville; H.E. MONICA GEINGOS, The First Lady of Namibia; H.E. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA, The First Lady of Zimbabwe; H.E. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana; H.E. Dr. ISAURA FERRO NYUSI, The First Lady of Mozambique and Former First Lady of Mauritania PWR PWR.

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Merck Foundation Together With 18 African First Ladies Respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic in Four Main Areas - Devdiscourse

Anatomy

The anatomy of anti-black racism – The Hindu

Racism has raised its ugly head in full public view once again. It was revolting to see an adult gasping for breath, writhing in pain as the knee of the white policeman crushed his neck, and, within minutes, dying the umpteenth time that a black life has been barbarically taken away by police brutality in America. Despite the civil war over slavery, and the civil rights movement for dignity and equality, systemic discrimination and violence against blacks persists. Racism continues unabated.

My sole focus here is coming to grips with what racism is. In a nutshell, and with slight, only slight oversimplification, it is this: one can tell everything important about a person, his group, its past and future, by noting the colour of his skin.

Also read | Endemic, structural racism that blights U.S. society need to be heard: UN rights chief

Of course, noticing the physical characteristics of a person, say the colour of her skin, is not itself racist. Good writers are expected to provide a vivid description of a characters physical features, including skin-colour. This need not imply the idea of race, leave alone racism. For instance, Indian epics describe Krishna as having shyam varna, being the dark-skinned one. This description has no evaluative connotation. Being conscious of the colour of a person, your own or that of the other may be pretty innocent.

However, when specific bodily features (colour, shape of nose, eye, lips) are permanently clumped together and human beings are classified in terms of these distinct biological clusters, and if, further, it is believed that these shared features are inter-generationally transmitted, then we possess the idea of race, i.e. a group with a common biological descent. Every single human being is not only seen then to be assigned to separate biologically-determined groups but also as born with traits directly inherited from biological ancestors. Each race is then believed to be fundamentally, permanently different from others differences that are innate and indelible, for one can neither cease to have what one has inherited nor acquire characteristics which one does not already have.

The idea of race is deeply problematic. Despite many attempts, particularly in the 1930s to demonstrate its scientific basis, race or racial classifications have virtually no scientific foundation. If anything, the only conclusion from available evidence is that the whole of humanity has the same lineage, that there are no races within humans but only one single human race. Yet, while scientifically speaking, race is a fiction, a large number of people believe in the existence of races. Race is very much a cultural and social reality.

The classification of humans into different races is a necessary but far from sufficient ingredient of racism which depends on two additional, deeply troublesome features. First, a given set of biological characteristics is believed to be necessarily related to certain dispositions, traits of character and behaviour. Biological descent fixes a persons culture and ethics. Our capacity for reasoning, for civilization, our propensities towards sexual lasciviousness or ability to make money, can all be read off by examining our face and body. Second, these racial cultures and ethical systems are hierarchically arranged. Those on top are intrinsically superior to those at the bottom.

Also read | Books about racial discrimination become best-sellers as U.S. protests grow

Racism, then, is a systematic ideology, a complex set of beliefs and practices that, on the presumed basis of biology, divides humanity into the higher us and a lower them. It not only sustains a permanent group hierarchy but deeply stigmatises those designated as inferior. This sense of hierarchy provides a motive for say, whites to treat blacks in ways that would be viewed as cruel or unjust if applied to members of their own group. For instance, contact with them is often regarded as contaminating, polluting. It should therefore be avoided or kept to a minimum. To prevent sexual contamination through inter-marriage, the southern States of America had the severest laws sanctioning public lynching. How else could the colour line be scrupulously maintained? This explains something important. Though colour-consciousness should not be problematic in theory, in reality, an acute awareness of colour is almost always a symptom of racism lurking somewhere unnoticed.

Racism distinguishes even inferior races into two kinds. One inferior race is considered so much beyond the pale that it cannot be lived with, and must be exterminated. This is infamously illustrated by the virulent anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany that led to the final solution, the Holocaust. The second type of race is fit only to be controlled, subordinated, enslaved. Anti-black racism, our main concern here, is an obvious example. Closer home, some Varna-related ideologies (in the Dharmashastras from 1st ACE onwards) that stigmatised the pratiloma castes, particularly the Chandalas, function as virtual equivalents of racism as do the now somewhat scarce Christian anti-Judaism or contemporary Islamophobia.

Racism naturalises a persons belief, character and culture. For example, being uneducated is seen not as socio-economic deprivation but a sign of inherited low IQ; blacks are predatory and are also seen to have an innate streak of savagery, which unless kept down by brute force from time to time, might explode and destroy civilisation. It is this ideology of anti-black racism that was brazenly on show in the 9- minute video clip of the merciless, life-extinguishing force used by the police on George Floyd.

Also read | Searching 'racist' on Twitter brings up Trump as top result

Some Americans notice and seem shell-shocked by racism only when such violence occurs. Hasnt the civil rights movement been successful in damaging racism, they ask? Is it not difficult now to justify any act by explicit reference to race? Is this not good reason to believe that racism will disappear from America by good laws, education and rational argument? Alas, the very success of the movement that helped develop a motivated blindness to how open discrimination of blacks has been displaced by another system of hidden discrimination. A systematic constraint on avenues for improving the quality of life forces their descent into pretty crime, incarceration, stigma attached to imprisonment and the severe discrimination and exclusion that follows the charge of felony. All these, as scholars such as Jane Hill have shown, have made the criminal system produce results as vicious as generated by colour-based slavery and racial segregation.

For example, in a number of southern States in America, once declared a felon, a person is disqualified from voting. So, once the criminal justice system labels people of colour as criminals, whites have the sanction to engage in all the practices of subordination that they had apparently abandoned. The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, surpassing those in highly repressive regimes such as China and Iran. The figures related to African-Americans are shocking. In several States, they are 10 times more likely to go to prison than whites. According to the Death Penalty information Center of the U.S., between 1976-2019, black defendants sentenced to death for killing whites numbered 291, while white defendants killing blacks were only 21, a staggering figure close to 14 times more! (For a quick overview, also see the Netflix film, 13th).

Editorial | Land of the unfree

It is amply clear that the feel-good anti-racism of some Americans that views racism as an aggregate of mistaken beliefs held by individuals that can be dissipated by education and rational argument simply does not work. True, good education helps in dismantling racism but the fact remains that much of it lies hidden within the social structure, in habits, practices and institutions. Vulnerabilities amassed over centuries of anti-black racism leave African-Americans facing multiple, intersecting hurdles to a good life. As mentioned, the current criminal system that awards unfair advantage and privilege to whites, while inflicting unmerited and unjust disadvantages on blacks exemplifies this invisible monster. Only a peaceful movement to end institutionalised racism, with both blacks and white participants, quite like the recent protests after Floyds murder, can break the back of this evil. But can such a movement be sustained? Will it be allowed to?

Rajeev Bhargava is Professor, CSDS, Delhi

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The anatomy of anti-black racism - The Hindu

Anatomy

March 10: The anatomy of a day – The Chronicle – Duke Chronicle

Di-Ding. Urgent Message from President Price Regarding COVID-19 Plans

Click.

To the Duke Community Skimming. Duke University and Duke Health will remain open, and many of our operations and activities will continue Scrolling. Duke is committed to maintaining our daily operations, completing the semester Okay, okay.

First, all on-campus classes will be suspended until further notice, and we will transition to remote instruction What? Second, all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who are currently out of town for Spring Break should NOT return to the Duke campus if at all possible Huh???

March 10, when President Vincent Price sent out the above announcement, was a historic day for Blue Devils. Many students casually exchanged goodbyes before taking off for spring break, thinking they would see each other in just a weekonly to realize days later that their time on campus had come to an abrupt end. Some would never walk across the quad as a student again.

The moment also signified the start of Dukes uphill fight to adapt to life in the era of COVID-19, a battle that is far from over. From transitioning to online classes to socially distancing on campus in the fall, Duke has bid farewell to its familiar self for the foreseeable future.

To recount how this all began, we interviewed a number of Duke students. These are a selection of the stories they told: stories of ruptured plans, frantic texts, unexpected relief, a life-altering email. Stories that are each, in a way, our own.

March 10 came early for first-year Anya Gupta, who woke up at 6:45 a.m., Hawaii-Aleutian standard time. (The class years given in this story are students class years when the events took place.) But adrenaline soon jolted her body awake. Today was a big day: She and her classmates would be exploring the Kilauea volcano on the southeastern shore of the Big Island, the largest of the Hawaii archipelago. Five days ago, they had embarked on a spring break trip for their Volcanology of Hawaii class. Today, for the first time, theyd be guided by Don Swanson, a research geologist for the United States Geological Survey and a legendary volcano aficionado whose career stretched back to the Sputnik era.

In her tent, Gupta rummaged for her gear: a North Face rain jacket, her gray Osprey backpack and a yellow notebook and mechanical pencil to write down her observations. She surrounded her dark hair with a hat she had bought at Yosemite. Soon, she and her classmates and professor packed lunches and piled into a van to drive from their campsite to the parking lot of the Kilauea Visitor Center, where Swanson joined them.

Puffy white clouds floated above Gupta and the group as they arrived at the Kilauea park. The baby blue sky that held them began just above the horizon, melting into azure. The air was warm, drenched with moisture and the smell of sulfur.

Gupta and her classmates spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon at the park, toppling over gray and black volcanic surfaces, plunging past yellow ferns that clung to the sides of narrow fissures, snapping photos of brown rock formations that rippled like the underside of a cows udder. They observed green crystals, spatter ramparts, lava trees. As the day wore on, the clouds grew thick and gray; rain occasionally pelted the ground. The only other sounds came from the laughter of the group and Swansons lecturing about volcanoes.

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Around 4 p.m., the group finished their last field observations and headed to the nearby Volcano House hotel. Still dripping from the rain, they drew looks from the guests in the sparkling lobby. Gupta and her friends didnt care, though; they had come for two precious commoditiescheap coffee and free Wi-Fi.

The hotel coffee was black and bitter, so Gupta dumped some extra sugar in hers. Then, she and the other students hurried over to the charging station, where they huddled over their phones, hungry for notifications. Wi-Fi had been scarce to nonexistent throughout the trip, so this would be a bonanza moment.

Gupta connected to the hotels network. Immediately, an email from President Price chimed in her inbox.

After breakfast, senior Elena Puccio drove with her family from San Ignacio, a small town in western Belize, to Placencia, a fishing village at the southern tip of the country. Puccios 18-year-old sister, Mia, was home in Virginia because she was in school.

Puccios dad was on his phone, furrowing his eyebrows, for most of the car ride. He is the medical director and chairman of the emergency department in the Inova Loudoun Hospital in Virginia. Family vacations are usually his one respite from his all-consuming job, but one coronavirus-related crisis after another would soon demand him to leave Belize early.

The family made a pit stop at the Inland Blue Hole for a swim at 11:30 a.m. local time, arriving at the resort two and a half hours later.

Puccio spent the next few hours unpacking and walking on the beach. She then settled in a cabana with her laptop, answering emails and working on an assignment due shortly after spring break.

As a front-line worker who had been watching the health crisis escalate since the fall, Puccios dad told her that her college graduation would certainly be canceled, if not in-person classes as well. Puccio brushed off the warning, unable to let her mind consider such a tragic loss.

At 5:54 p.m., her friend Ethan texted her: Idk if you heard but rumor is Spring Break extended by two weeks

5:55 p.m., Puccio: WHAT

6:01 p.m., Elena: Helloooo what do u meannnnb

6:08 p.m., Ethan: Sorry was driving

Classes cancelled for two weeks after break

Online classes only I think

6:23 p.m., Ethan: Check your email

Chaos reigned in Carly McGregors living room even before she learned the second semester of her senior year would be cut short. Eleven members of her Christian a cappella group, Something Borrowed Something Blue (SBSB), were sprawled across her Columbia, S.C., home, where they planned to spend much of a weeklong spring break trip focused on group bonding, prayer and performances for the community.

That day, SBSB awoke on a jumbled assemblage of leather couches, air mattresses and beds, then trickled downstairs to make pancakes. After breakfast, they crammed into McGregors Scrabble room, affectionately named for the board-game design McGregor and her dad painted on the ceiling when she was 12four to a sofa, three to a chair, with the rest filling in on the floor. McGregor loaded a Google Slides presentation onto a TV screen.

This was McGregors life story, a hallmark of SBSBs annual trip. Each SBSB member prepares an elaborate, sometimes hours-long, summary of their life, displaying accompanying images (a baby photo, a weathered picture of an ancestor, a portrait with a prom date) as they speak. McGregors life story, the last of four shed give as a SBSB singer, was 233 slides long.

After another member led the group in prayer, asking for courage for McGregor to speak freely about her experiences, McGregor started talking. Clicking through the constellation-themed slide deck, she revealed her Myers-Briggs type (INFJ-T), her early artwork and pictures from her parents wedding. She described her home church, her first forays into music, some romantic escapades. About 90 minutes later, she wrapped up and fielded questionssome silly

(Whats your favorite color? What hue?), others serious (Where do you want to be in ten years?)from her arrayed friends. Then the group piled atop McGregor in a group hug, the air mattress they sat on groaning in protest.

SBSB was running late (as always, McGregor said) to their next engagement, a performance at McGregors elementary school. On the way out the door, they slapped lunch meat on sandwich bread and tossed each other clementines for the road. Crammed like sardines into three cars, they hummed and vocalized through the drive to warm up their voices.

The crowd of 80 or so third-through-fifth-graders eagerly welcomed them. SBSB performed a five-song set, pivoting from a Whitney Houston cover to a moody contemporary Christian piece to gospel. Before the finalean uproarious call-and-response take on Bill Witherss Lean on Me for which members welcomed teachers to the stageaudience members posed earnest questions on everything from Dukes workload to beginner beatboxing. SBSB high-fived the kids on their way out, giving an extra moment to one little boy in a Blue Devils basketball jersey.

After lunch, the group scattered to the winds. Some stayed home to nap, play cards or catch up on schoolwork; others drove to the mall and tried on silly outfits. Two of the boys, dismayed by the dearth of salad materials, headed out for groceries. By evening though, SBSB found their way back to the house, many clustering, rapt, around a game of Monopoly Deal being fought out on the living-room floor. People were talking in vague tones about dinner: The plan was a pasta bake and green bean saute.

At 7:24 p.m., right as the card game was rising to its crescendo, SBSBs general manager looked up from her phone. Guys, she said, we just got an email.

When junior Laura Benzing joined her family for spring break, they soon thought of her as the resident coronavirus police. She had earned the title from the copious amounts of hand sanitizer she had applied to hands, door handles, refrigerator surfaces, bathroom faucets and the like.

For spring break, she had joined her boyfriend, parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents at Jekyll Island, a relatively isolated island off the coast of Georgia with jungle sort of vibes, Benzing said. Benzings family wasnt taking the novel virus too seriously, even though they were the prototypical at-risk groupher mom is immunocompromised and her grandparents are in their 80s. That left Benzing as the familys sole protector against an invisible and potentially life-threatening enemy.

The morning of March 10, Benzing and her family took a Jekyll Island tour, which required them to enter buildings, touch stair banisters and gather in tight places. For Benzing, the tour was pure chaos, a minefield of potential coronavirus transmission in a time when six feet wasnt even in the vernacular yet, she said.

Benzing did her best to control the chaos. Before the tour guide handed out the earpieces to her family, she intercepted them and managed to lather them with Clorox and Purell. At every stop, she forced her family to wash their hands, drawing some looks from the other tourists. She also doused her family members with wintergreen isopropyl alcohol, and, from then on, wintergreen became the scent of the week for the Benzing clan.

Parts of the experience felt foreign. At one point, Benzing went up to a hot dog stand and realized that she had no idea how to navigate the situation. Was the hot dog clean? How to add condiments without contaminating everything? A bottle of ketchup might be swarming with spiky, microscopic spheres.

When Prices email arrived later in the afternoon, Benzing, who had been stressed for most of the day, immediately felt relieved and validated. Im going to continue doing what Im doing, she thought.

Her family also took notice: no more griping about the sanitizer.

That's what the email did, she said. It changed her from the coronavirus police to the familys corona queen.

Sophomore Nicole Moiseyev was in her local Whole Foods when the email arrived. Before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Moiseyev had planned on spending spring break in Spain. Instead, she headed with her friends to her hometown of Closter, N.J.

This evening, she and her friends had come to the grocery store to try to buy ground beef to make meatballs. Moiseyev, a self-described Whole Foods fanatic, noticed that the store was packed, thronging with people who pulled item after item from the shelves. The ground beef had disappeared, so had baking flour (thankfully, the toilet paper frenzy had not yet set in). Disappointed, Moiseyev and her friends headed to the kombucha aisle. They were in that aisle when President Prices email arrived.

When she read the email, Moiseyev panicked. The world felt suddenly uncertain.

She proceeded to buy all the remaining teas of her favorite flavor. Who knew if shed ever have the chance to buy them again?

That night, Moiseyev returned home with a shopping bag bulging with a dozen lemonade kombuchas.

SBSB had planned to return to campus at the close of spring break, but now members were trying to book flights and debating whether to cut the trip short.

Everyone was breaking off into different rooms to call their parents in various languages, McGregor recalled.

McGregor, realizing her final semester on campus had just concluded, ducked into a bedroom to cry as goodbyes to friends, spring Gardens strolls and SBSBs annual WaDuke tea went up in smoke before her eyes.

The evening continued to unfold, a few members gathering in the kitchen to cook, others still on the phone with friends or significant others, and so did McGregors grief.

Different parts of what it meant would just hit us, she said. Shed been sad that she and a friend missed out on E-ball tickets, but it struck her now that she could never have gone anyway. Then, remembering SBSBs unfulfilled album contract, she panic-dialed the producer to explain why the group couldnt record in person.

Late that night, the singers packed into a single bedroom, talking quietly and picking out songs on the ukulele. The following days itinerary included a church gig in a Charleston suburbas it turned out, McGregors final performance with SBSB but this plan felt suddenly gauzy, unformed. Should we just go back to Duke to grab our stuff? One of the guys, an RA, said his sources didnt think the dorms were even open, nor had most of SBSB settled on a method of getting home. (In reality, students did not immediately lose access to dorms, as was made clear in later emails outlining campus access and then further curtailing access.)

Theyd do the concert in the end, reassured by the knowledge that theyd kept out of big cities and virus hotspots. But for now they filtered one by one from the warmly lit room back to their beds, the music and laughter fading slowly into the sweet Carolina breeze which kept whistling above and around them.

6:23 p.m., Ethan: Check your email

6:24 p.m., Elena: I sAw

At 6:18 p.m., Puccio received Prices email, confirming what her dad had gently warned months ago.

7:07 p.m., Elena: Dude

Spring show

Ill never sing my senior song

I might never rehearse with [Out of the Blue] again

7:22 p.m., Elena: I think my dad is flying back early

7:23 p.m., Ethan: Rop

7:23 p.m., Elena: Im so sad

I planned so many things

For the rest of Puccios time in Belize, she could only fall asleep with the help of Benadryl and consistently woke up at 4 a.m., thinking nonstop about the abrupt end to her time at Duke.

Im not an emotional person at all, but I was so sad. I hadnt been that sad in a very long time, she said.

Puccio is a firm believer in working hard in the beginning in order to enjoy the end. Having overloaded throughout college except for freshman year and while studying for the MCAT, the chemistry major had intended to make her senior spring her best semester.

There had been so much to look forward to. She was supposed to perform in her last spring show, which she painstakingly planned as a cappella council president. She would have sung her only senior songValerie by Amy Winehousea solo at the last Out of the Blue performance. She had yet to play for the last time with the Duke Symphony Orchestra in Beaufort, S.C. She was going to finally present her research for the first time at the American Chemical Society Conference. She was set to make her debut at Beach Week and finally visit Asheville with her best friends at Duke.

Im really big on last times, for the sake of closure, and I feel really uncomfortable when I didnt know something was the last time and didnt appreciate it for what it was, Puccio said. It was very topsy turvy, trying to remember my college experiences and relive them with the realization now that they were my last time. My last lecture, my last time hanging out with my friends at Duke.

Huddled together in the lobby of Volcano Hotel, Gupta and her classmates scoured the email from President Price. Many in the group began frantically calling their family and friends. Others hugged each other and cried. Gupta called her dad. Were not going back, she told him.

Gupta felt particularly sad for the seniors in the group, one of whom was from Pakistan. She, along with the other seniors, had lost the opportunity to say goodbye to her Duke friends.

I remember feeling like crying, but nothing came out, Gupta would later write in a journal entry about the day. I was in a state of shockeveryone was.

The hotel lobby had a wide window that gave guests a view of a massive, gray crater. Gupta watched wisps of sulfurous gas rise from the crater and dance between sheets of rain. At least, she thought to herself, she had heard the news here.

Eventually, Gupta and the group left the hotel and took the drive back to their campsite, their spirits as soggy as the wet sky. It was lots of questions, lots of interactions with our professor, asking, Whats gonna happen?! Gupta wrote in her journal.

But their spirits rose as they got back to camp and prepared a dinner of pasta with chicken and vegetables, along with Oreos for dessert. Gupta helped cut the zucchini. Occasionally someone would mention the emailaccompanied by a chorus of What are we going to do?but mostly they avoided the topic. There were still five more days left in Hawaii, and they would make the most of it, email be damned.

During the rest of the evening, they played Avalon, a card game, laughing loud in the darkloud enough that their professor, who had turned in early, kept hollering for them to keep their voices down.

March 10 was THE most incredible day of field geology of our entire trip, and one of my favorite days of being in Hawaii, reads one of the closing lines of Guptas journal entry. It was also the most emotional day, knowing that life would arguably never be the same.

Once the laughter had died down, Gupta climbed into her tent, which she shared with a couple other classmates. It was warm inside. She found her purple sleeping pad and slid inside her black sleeping bag. But then she remembered that she had borrowed both of them from her friends at Dukefriends she wouldnt be seeing again for a long time. That night, she fell asleep thinking of them.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the reason Puccio's sister was not with the family on vacation. It has been updated to reflect that she was home because she was in school. The Chronicle regrets the error.

Editor's note: Margot Armbruster, one of the authors of this article, is also an opinion managing editor for The Chronicle.

Mona Tong and Charlie Zong contributed reporting.

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March 10: The anatomy of a day - The Chronicle - Duke Chronicle