Biochemistry

How a complex molecule moves iron through the body – ASBMB Today

New research provides fresh insight into how an important class of molecules are created and moved in human cells.

For years, scientists knew that mitochondria specialized structures inside cells in the body that are essential for respiration and energy production were involved in the assembly and movement of iron-sulfur cofactors, some of the most essential compounds in the human body. But until now, researchers didnt understand how exactly the process worked.

New research, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that these cofactors are moved with the help of a substance called glutathione, an antioxidant that helps prevent certain types of cell damage by transporting these essential iron cofactors across a membrane barrier.

Mechanism of cluster transport by Atm1.

Glutathione is especially useful as it aids in regulating metals like iron, which is used by red blood cells to make hemoglobin, a protein needed to help carry oxygen throughout the body, said James Cowan, co-author of the study and a distinguished university professor emeritus in chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State.

Iron compounds are critical for the proper functioning of cellular biochemistry, and their assembly and transport is a complex process, Cowan said. We have determined how a specific class of iron cofactors is moved from one cellular compartment to another by use of complex molecular machinery, allowing them to be used in multiple steps of cellular chemistry.

Iron-sulfur clusters are an important class of compounds that carry out a variety of metabolic processes, like helping to transfer electrons in the production of energy and making key metabolites in the cell, as well as assisting in the replication of our genetic information.

But when these clusters don't work properly, or when key proteins cant get them, then bad things happen, Cowan said.

If unable to function, the corrupted protein can give rise to several diseases, including rare forms of anemia, Friedreichs ataxia (a disorder that causes progressive nervous system damage), and a multitude of other metabolic and neurological disorders.

So to study how this essential mechanism works, researchers began by taking a fungus called C. thermophilum, identifying the key protein molecule of interest, and producing large quantities of that protein for structural determination. The study notes that the protein they studied within C. thermophilum is essentially a cellular twin of the human protein ABCB7, which transfers iron-sulfur clusters in people, making it the perfect specimen to study iron-sulfur cluster export in people.

By using a combination of cryo-electron microscopy and computational modeling, the team was then able to create a series of structural models detailing the pathway that mitochondria use to export the iron cofactors to different locations inside the body. While their findings are vital to learning more about the basic building blocks of cellular biochemistry, Cowan said hes excited to see how their discovery could later advance medicine and therapeutics.

By understanding how these cofactors are assembled and moved in human cells, we can lay the groundwork for determining how to prevent or alleviate symptoms of certain diseases, he said. We can also use that fundamental knowledge as the foundation for other advances in understanding cellular chemistry.

This article was republished with permission from The Ohio State University. Read the original.

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How a complex molecule moves iron through the body - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Learn More About Internship Opportunities in Food Science and Related Fields at ConAgra – University of Arkansas Newswire

The Department of Food Science invites you to attend an internship informational session with Andrea Dunigan from ConAgra brands. This summer, ConAgra has internships available in their Quality Development Program. Students with a background in food science, chemistry, biochemistry, engineeringand related fields are encouraged to attend.

The informational session will be heldfrom 12:30-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept.27,in room D1/D2 of the Food Science Building and includes lunch. Please RSVP to professor Jamie Baum (baum@uark.edu) by Monday, Sept. 26,if you would like to attend.

If you can't make it in person, you can join via Zoom to learn more about the internship opportunities.

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Learn More About Internship Opportunities in Food Science and Related Fields at ConAgra - University of Arkansas Newswire

Biochemistry

UCF Researchers Prove that COVID Disinfectant Works in Latest Research Paper – UCF

A team of UCF researchers have proven the efficacy of a nanomaterial-based disinfectant they developed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Through their experiments, they found that the disinfectant was able to kill several serious viruses including SARS and Zika. The results of their findings were recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

It is always a delight to have our research work featured in a reputed journal, said Udit Kumar, a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and the lead author of the journal article. Given the theme and possible impact of antiviral research in current times, our article will definitely aid our fight against global pandemics.

The paper outlines the most recent study from a multidisciplinary team of researchers that includes Sudipta Seal, the chair of the MSE department, and Griff Parks, a College of Medicine virologist and director of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. They experimented with the nanomaterial yttrium silicate, which has antiviral properties that are activated by white light, such as sunlight or LED lights. As long as there is a continuous source of light, the antiviral properties regenerate, creating a self-cleaning surface disinfectant.

Yttrium silicate acts as a silent killer, with antiviral properties constantly recharged by the light, Kumar says. It is most effective in minimizing surface to the surface spread of many viruses.

Kumar says their test of yttrium silicate in white light disinfected surfaces with high viral loads in approximately 30 minutes. Additionally, the nanomaterial was able to combat the spread of other viruses including parainfluenza, vesicular stomatitis, rhinovirus, Zika and SARS.

This disinfectant technology is an important achievement for both engineering and health because we all were affected during the pandemic, Seal says. COVID is still ongoing and who knows what other illnesses are on the horizon.

Other UCF researchers, including College of Medicine postdoctoral researcher Candace Fox 16MS 19PhD, nanotechnology student Balaashwin Babu 20 and materials science and engineering student Erik Marcelo, are co-authors on the paper.

This publication is the culmination of timely insight by the investigators as to the importance of rapid development of broad-spectrum anti-microbials, as well as hard work in the lab to show the potency of our new materials, Parks says. This is an outstanding example of the power of cross-discipline research in this case, materials science and microbiology researchers from CECS and COM.

The research is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundations RAPID program.

Seal joined UCFs Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Advanced Materials Processing Analysis Center, which is part of UCFsCollege of Engineering and Computer Science, in 1997. He has an appointment at theCollege of Medicineand is a member of UCFs prosthetics clusterBiionix. He is the former director of UCFs NanoScience Technology Center and Advanced Materials Processing Analysis Center. He received his doctorate in materials engineering with a minor in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.

Parks is theCollege of Medicinesassociate dean forResearch. He came to UCF in 2014 as director of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences after 20 years at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He earned his doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin and was an American Cancer Society Fellow at Northwestern University.

Study title: Potent Inactivation of Human Respiratory Viruses Including SARS-CoV-2 by a Photoactivated Self-Cleaning Regenerative Antiviral Coating

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UCF Researchers Prove that COVID Disinfectant Works in Latest Research Paper - UCF

Biochemistry

Improving Student Success with Course-based Undergraduate Research: The UMass Amherst SEA-PHAGES Program – UMass News and Media Relations

The UMass Amherst Inclusive Excellence Program, now in its fifth year, is funded by a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to increase the universitys capacity for inclusion of all students, but especially for students traditionally underrepresented in the sciences.

In 2020, as an important component of Inclusive Excellence, the College of Natural Sciences launched the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. SEA-PHAGES is a two-semester, discovery-based undergraduate research course. Through participation in SEA-PHAGES, students gain a wide variety of lab skills that better prepare them for future success as researchers.

In Phage Discovery, the first course in the sequence, students dig soil samples on campus and work throughout the semester to isolate and characterize new bacteriophages. In Phage Bioinformatics, the second course, students annotate the sequenced genome from a phage discovered during the previous semester and publish it in GenBank.

As of the Fall 2022 semester, the SEA-PHAGES curriculum has officially replaced the traditional introductory lab experience in biology. As a result, all 1,200 students who take Introductory Biology are now engaged in authentic research in their first-year experience.

This transformation is the result of the efforts of faculty Jess Rocheleau and Randy Phillis of biology, Sloan Siegrist of microbiology and Peter Chien of biochemistry and molecular biology.

Watch below for student and faculty highlights in the Phage Discovery course.

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Improving Student Success with Course-based Undergraduate Research: The UMass Amherst SEA-PHAGES Program - UMass News and Media Relations

Biochemistry

Atavistik Bio Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board – Business Wire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atavistik Bio, a pre-clinical biotechnology company that is leveraging their scalable and systematic platform to identify novel regulatory sites on proteins to restore function in disease, announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprised of distinguished leaders in protein sciences, inborn errors of metabolism, and cancer.

We are proud and honored to have these accomplished scientific leaders join our Scientific Advisory Board, said Marion Dorsch, President and CSO of Atavistik Bio. Together, they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience for Atavistik Bio as we leverage our powerful screening and analytics platforms to unlock the potential of protein-metabolite interactions with the goal to bring transformative therapies to patients. Atavistik Bio looks forward to the input of these outstanding scientists and their contribution to our research and development efforts. Feedback and collaboration with our SAB will be critical to advance our efforts to develop therapies to patients in need. It is a very exciting time for all of us at Atavistik Bio.

The founding members of the Atavistik Bio Scientific Advisory Board are:

Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis is Chief of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) and Director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program at Childrens Medical Center Research Institute at UTSW (CRI). His laboratory studies the role of altered metabolic pathways in human diseases, including cancer and pediatric inborn errors of metabolism. Work from the DeBerardinis laboratory has produced new insights into disease mechanisms in numerous metabolic diseases, including by defining unexpected fuel preferences in human cancer and uncovering new metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer cells. Dr. DeBerardinis is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and has received numerous awards including the William K. Bowes, Jr. Award in Medical Genetics, the National Cancer Institutes Outstanding Investigator Award, The Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texass Edith and Peter ODonnell Award in Medicine, and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians.

Dr. DeBerardinis received a BS in Biology from St. Josephs University in Philadelphia before earning MD and PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvanias School of Medicine. He completed his medical residency and post-doctoral training at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Pediatrics, Medical Genetics and Clinical Biochemical Genetics.

Dr. Jared Rutter is a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and holds the Dee Glen and Ida Smith Endowed Chair for Cancer Research at the University of Utah where he has been on the faculty since 2003. His laboratory has identified the functions of several previously uncharacterized mitochondrial proteins, including the discovery of the long-sought mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. This knowledge has demonstrated that this critical metabolic step is impaired in a variety of human diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. In addition, the Rutter lab is taking multiple approaches to understand how metabolic state influences cell fate and cell behavior decisions. Dr. Rutter has been an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 2015 and serves as co-Director of the Diabetes and Metabolism Center at the University of Utah and co-Leader of the Nuclear Control of Cell Growth and Differentiation at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Dr. Rutter performed undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University and received his PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2001, working with Dr. Steve McKnight. After receiving his PhD, he spent 18 months as the Sara and Frank McKnight Independent Fellow of Biochemistry before joining the faculty at the University of Utah.

Karen Allen, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of Chemistry at Boston University. For over 25 years, she has led research teams at Boston University, in the Departments of Physiology and Biophysics at the School of Medicine, and Chemistry. She is also a Professor of Material Science and Engineering and on the faculty of the Bioinformatics program at Boston University. The structure-aided design approach in the Allen lab encompasses the use of macromolecular X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, molecular modeling, and kinetics.

Karen received her B.S. degree in Biology, from Tufts University and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University in the laboratory of the mechanistic enzymologist, Dr. Robert H. Abeles. Following her desire to see enzymes in action she pursued X-ray crystallography during postdoctoral studies as an American Cancer Society Fellow in the laboratory of Drs. Gregory A. Petsko and Dagmar Ringe.

Kivanc Birsoy, Ph.D. is a Chapman-Perelman Associate Professor at Rockefeller University. His research at Rockefeller focuses on how cancer cells rewire their metabolic pathways to adapt to environmental stresses during tumorigenesis and other pathological states. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Special Fellow award, Margaret and Herman Sokol Award, NIH Career Transition Award, Irma Hirschl/Monique Weill-Caulier Trusts Award, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Foundation Scholar Award, March of Dimes Basil OConnor Scholar Award, AACR NextGen award for Transformative Cancer Research, Searle Scholar, Pew-Stewart Scholarship for Cancer Research and NIH Directors New Innovator Award.

Kivanc received his undergraduate degree in Molecular Genetics from Bilkent University in Turkey in 2004 and his Ph.D. from the Rockefeller University in 2009, where he studied the molecular genetics of obesity in the laboratory of Jeffrey Friedman. In 2010, he joined the laboratory of David Sabatini at the Whitehead Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he combined forward genetics and metabolomics approaches to understand how different cancer types rewire their metabolism to adapt nutrient deprived environments.

Benjamin Cravatt, Ph.D. is the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. His research group develops and applies chemical proteomic technologies for protein and drug discovery on a global scale and has particular interest in studying biochemical pathways in cancer and the nervous system. His honors include a Searle Scholar Award, the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, a Cope Scholar Award, the ASBMB Merck Award, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ben is a co-founder of several biotechnology companies, including Activx Biosciences (acquired by Kyorin Pharmaceuticals), Abide Therapeutics (acquired by Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals), Vividion Therapeutics (Acquired by Bayer Pharmaceuticals), Boundless Bio, Kisbee Therapeutics, and Kojin Therapeutics.

Ben obtained his undergraduate education at Stanford University, receiving a B.S. in the Biological Sciences and a B.A. in History. He then received a Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in 1996, and joined the faculty at TSRI in 1997.

The SAB will be co-chaired by Dr. DeBerardinis and Dr. Rutter, the scientific founders of Atavistik Bio, and work closely with the company to advance their leading-edge metabolite protein screening platform discovery programs. Im delighted to be appointed Co-Chair of Atavistik Bios Scientific Advisory Board, and to be part of such a distinguished group of experts, said Dr. DeBerardinis. Together we aim to guide Atavistik Bio through the development of its pipeline while maximizing the potential of the companys technology platform, stated Dr. Rutter.

About Atavistik Bio

Atavistik Bio is a pre-clinical biotechnology company that is harnessing the power of protein-metabolite interactions to add a new lens to drug discovery with the aim of transforming the lives of patients. By leveraging its optimized Atavistik Metabolite Protein Screening (AMPS) platform and computational approaches, Atavistik Bio aims to evaluate metabolite-protein interactions by screening proteins with their proprietary metabolite library to determine where binding sites with biological relevance might exist. This will enable Atavistik Bio to build an extensive protein-metabolite database map (the Interactome) to reveal unique insights into the crosstalk between metabolite-protein pathways that were previously thought to be unrelated. Utilizing advanced informatics tools, deep expertise in chemistry and computationally rich structure-based drug design, Atavistik Bio will be able to identify and understand the role of these interactions across important biological and disease-relevant pathways to drive the discovery of novel therapeutics with an initial focus on inborn errors of metabolism and cancer. Atavistik Bio is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit http://www.atavistikbio.com.

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Atavistik Bio Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board - Business Wire

Biochemistry

BU investigator wins highly competitive awards to study the role of proteases in regulation of cellular defenses – News-Medical.Net

Mohsan Saeed, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), has received a five-year, $2 million R35 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, as well as a five-year, $2.5 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It is extremely rare for an early-stage investigator to win these highly competitive awards during the same funding cycle.

Human cells respond to foreign agents such as pathogens and toxins by initiating a strong innate defense response that creates a protective environment in the cells and incapacitates the invading pathogens and foreign substances. The initiation, activation and resolution of this innate defense response is a carefully regulated process designed to avoid both hyperactivation and underactivation of the immune system, either of which can lead to tissue damage, organ dysfunction and microbial diseases.

With his R35 award, Saeed and his colleagues hope to generate new knowledge about the role of proteases (enzyme which breaks down proteins and peptides) in the regulation of cellular defenses and inform the development of strategies to improve the performance of innate defense mechanisms against escalating microbial and environmental threats.

Enteroviruses are human pathogens that replicate in multiple organs and cause a variety of diseases, including gastroenteritis, pneumonia, myocarditis and encephalitis. Currently, little is known about how enteroviruses alter the biology of infected cells. Using his R01 grant, Saeed plans to clarify the role of enteroviral proteases in changing the host cell environment during infection.

Saeed received his MPhil in microbiology from Quaid-e-Azam University, Pakistan, where he studied the molecular epidemiology of polio-like viruses in patients suffering from paralysis. He then joined the University of Tokyo, receiving his PhD in pathology, immunology and microbiology. During his doctoral studies, he developed novel cell culture systems for the study of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and investigated various aspects of this virus in diverse in vitro and in vivo settings.

He then entered the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Dr. Charles M. Rice at the Rockefeller University, New York, for his postdoctoral training. Although his research in the Rice Lab mainly focused on HCV, he also gained expertise with a number of other positive-strand RNA viruses, including enteroviruses, flaviviruses and alphaviruses. In addition, Saeed developed a novel "viral degradomics" technique that allows an unbiased identification of cellular proteins cleaved during viral infections.

Saeed joined BUSM in 2019; his group explores the role of viral and host proteases in disease mechanisms of positive-strand RNA viruses at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). In early 2021 when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, his lab pivoted to SARS-CoV-2 research and has since made contributions to the molecular understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 establishes infection in various tissues and interacts with the human innate and adaptive immune systems.

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BU investigator wins highly competitive awards to study the role of proteases in regulation of cellular defenses - News-Medical.Net

Biochemistry

Will rapid COVID tests be able to detect new variants? – Futurity: Research News

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New research evaluates how rapid tests will perform when challenged with future SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The availability of rapid antigen tests has significantly advanced efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. But every new variant of concern raises questions about whether diagnostic tests will still be effective.

The new study in Cell attempts to answer these questions.

The researchers developed a novel method for evaluating how mutations to SARS-CoV-2 can affect recognition by antibodies used in rapid antigen tests.

Because most rapid antigen tests detect the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N protein), the team directly measured how mutations to the N protein affected diagnostic antibodies ability to recognize their target.

Based on our findings, none of the major past and present SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern contain mutations that would affect the capability of current rapid antigen tests to detect antibodies, says first author Filipp Frank, an assistant professor in the department of biochemistry at Emory University. Further, these data allow us to look one step ahead and predict test performance against almost any variant that may arise.

The study used a method called deep mutational scanning to evaluate all possible mutations in the N protein in a single, high-throughput experiment. Researchers then measured the impact of the mutations on their interaction with antibodies used in 11 commercially available rapid antigen tests and identified mutations that may allow for antibody escape.

Accurate and efficient identification of infected individuals remains a critically important strategy for COVID-19 mitigation, and our study provides information about future SARS-CoV-2 mutations that may interfere with detection, says senior study author Eric Ortlund, a professor in the department of biochemistry. The results outlined here can allow us to quickly adapt to the virus as new variants continue to emerge, representing an immediate clinical and public health impact.

Findings show that its relatively rare for variants to have mutations to the N protein that allow them to evade diagnostic tests, but there are a small proportion of sequences that could affect detection. Researchers, public health officials, and test manufacturers can use these data to determine if a diagnostic test needs to be evaluated for its ability to detect these mutations or to inform future test design.

Considering the endless cycle of new variants, the data from this study will be useful for years to come, says Bruce J. Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and lead for the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program at National Institutes of Health.

While many variants of concern contain multiple mutations to the N protein, the study authors note that their method does not evaluate how multiple mutations could affect diagnostic antibody recognition, representing a limitation of the study.

Support for the project came from NIBIB as part of the RADx initiative.

Source: Emory University

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Will rapid COVID tests be able to detect new variants? - Futurity: Research News

Human Behavior

What Are the Brits Mad at Meghan Markle for This Time? – The Cut

Photo: Gregorio Borgia/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their royal responsibilities, the only thing more inescapable than bean drama in England is all the silly reasons people are mad at Meghan. The period of national mourning over Queen Elizabeth IIs death has proven no exception. From the moment news broke that the queen was critically ill and that the royal family was en route to Balmoral Castle to be with her, Meghan became the subject of obsessive speculation. In those first few hours, her critics were mostly concerned with her decision not to join the family at the queens side. While some reports claimed Harry was told his wife wasnt welcome, other British media outlets attacked Meghan for choosing to stay back, all while praising Williams wife, Kate, for choosing to stay back. (Kate was said to have stayed home to care for their children on their first day of school.)

After the queens death, Meghan joined Harry in England (a presumably painful and difficult decision considering how she has described her time there) and spent the weekend appearing at various royal engagements. Unsurprisingly, her entirely neutral presence at these events has offered many new opportunities for people to take issue with totally normal human behavior. It didnt take long for the hashtag #GoHomeMeghanMarkle to trend on Twitter alongside accusations that Meghan was pretending to mourn for attention after causing the queen so much pain, even as she and Harry joined William and Kate for a walkabout outside Windsor Castle. (It was the first time the couples have appeared together in over two years.)

For what its worth, Meghan and Harry seemed to be on fairly good terms with the queen; the couple told Oprah in 2021 that they were still chatting with her regularly, even while Charles was ignoring Harrys calls, and Meghan said the queen has always been wonderful to her. The queen released an official statement at the time saying that Harry, Meghan, and Archie will always be much loved family members. But why would that stop anyone from getting pissy for no reason? Below, every other ridiculous reason people have found to criticize Meghan since the queens death.

Saying hello. While Meghan was shaking hands with mourners gathered outside Windsor Castle last Saturday, several women refused to engage with her, looking down to avoid eye contact and ignoring Meghans hand when she reached out for a handshake. The women got plenty of support on Twitter, where one user called the person who rejected her handshake her spirit animal.

Having flowers. Another point of scrutiny while Meghan greeted the public was her decision to hang on to a bouquet of flowers that had been handed to her by a fan in the crowd. One video shows a royal aide trying to take the flowers over to the rest of the queens tributes on Meghans behalf, and she seems to kindly tell him she wants to do it herself. In another video taken shortly after this exchange, a new aide takes bouquets from both Meghan and Harry after a brief exchange in which Meghan seems to be reiterating that she wanted to hold the flowers herself.

Apparently, protocol dictates that royals arent supposed to hold bouquets, which could contain small bombs or other weapons inside. That didnt stop people from calling the mix-up awkward and accusing her of wanting to place the flowers down herself for a photo op.

Wearing a dress. In the most, um, creative takeaway from the same appearance outside Windsor Castle, a handful of conspiracy theorists have become convinced that a crease on Meghans dress was actually a microphone she wore to help her turn the queens funeral into content for her podcast and/or Netflix deal. Do they think she doesnt have enough material?

Holding Harrys hand. At a service marking the beginning of the queens lying in state, Harry and Meghan held hands, which was, per Twitter, inappropriate, disrespectful, and a disgrace. While its true that PDA is generally looked down upon in the royal family, Princess Annes daughter, Zara Tindall, also held hands with her husband, Mike, at the exact same event something no one seems to have had an issue with. Hmmm!

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What Are the Brits Mad at Meghan Markle for This Time? - The Cut

Human Behavior

This Week in the Garden: Do deer get high? – The Mercury News

When the hydrangea, day lily and camellia flowers have been eaten, it is not a ridiculous to ask: Do deer get high? The answer, it would seem, is yes, judging by what they eat and will go to great lengths to get to.

This came to mind when imagining what humans put in their systems, that deliberately make them feel unwell, but then gladly repeat the behavior. It appears that, at times, wildlife can be guilty of the same thing.

My trail cam is fired up. Lets see what happens.

The largest sunflower is missing in the side yard. All is forgiven. Lets just plant another one. Although, no matter what we plant, animals, like the rest of us, enjoy variety. And like humans, they make mistakes. Animals dont care what plant guides say they like or dont like, they will take risks if their food sources are scarce. This is occurring more often with diminishing habitat.

In various parts of the United States, birds have been known to become intoxicated with ripening berries. Blackbirds and cedar waxwings have been seen flying under the influence. Fruit bats of Central America are also susceptible to intoxicating evening gatherings. No surprise, squirrels also are accused of occasional public drunkenness from eating mulberries and other fruit. An old article from the Washington Post once reported Squirrel gets drunk, causes hundreds of dollars of damage.

In the state of Michigan, corn toxicity is a fatal situation for deer and elk. The excessive consumption of grain causes an escalated level of lactic acid where the animal develops acidosis or enterotoxemia (overeating disease). Corn and other domesticated grains are carbohydrates that do not include the woody substances of their usual diets. The problem arose from public feedings to help with animal viewing.

A family member reminded me of a pet rabbit, Easterby. He ran loose in the backyard during the day, and went into a hutch at night. Easterby would nibble on fallen rose petals in the garden, then run about crazily soon after. Perhaps it was sheer joy, or could the rose petals have contained something that elevated his energy levels? He was a moody rabbit, so it was good he found his own medicine.

In general, the smell of fermented fruit will attract almost every animal you can imagine insect, mammal, bird, human. When the barbecue aromas of yesterday linger and with wine glasses are left on the deck, wildlife visitors will visit during the night. When your compost bin is not properly secure, you will certainly draw a crowd. Now that some communities take kitchen scraps in the green recycling bins, these bins might need to be weighted on their lids.

The human and nonhuman diets are not interchangeable. Although your dog did not die from the cheese puffs you tossed him, it doesnt mean that it system runs well with it. The expression sicker than a dog, came from somewhere. A childhood memory of my dog, Blue, is of me on the backyard swing, eating a fudge ice cream. Every time I was on the upswing I took a lick, and on the downswing my dog took a lick. It is human to project our abilities onto animals, but it is not so safe for them.

Oddly enough, deer, squirrel, rodents, turtles and other wildlife can eat many things that would kill us. There are mushrooms that are highly toxic to humans, but cause no harm to animals. Natures situation is wonderful here; what might harm us is left alone by humans so that animals can forage to survive. Deer can eat huge amounts of hemlock, nightshade and even poison ivy without illness.

Their trick is to mix up their diet and chase it with clay soil and natural minerals to neutralize toxins. Deer have a four-chambered stomach. With one for storage called a rumen, they can manage diverse foliage. This explains their ability to eat non-native plants and survive. According to the wildlife nonprofit, For Fox Sake, deer in particular seem to be attracted to the psychoactive effects of some poisonous plants.

All judgment aside, animals do get high. It is however infrequent and points to certain seasonal plants and circumstances. Unfortunately, just as with humans, there can be casualties. If there is enough safe natural habitat and food sources, the likelihood of animal tragedies might diminish.

With every writing, I try to convince my fellow gardeners to find environmentally sound ways to keep the balance. My garden was created especially for wildlife. Perhaps, yours was not; it is a service to grow plants at all. If I prize a plant, I practice camouflage gardening. When the deer stop by, I will not worry, I will be glad that they are in a safe place.

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This Week in the Garden: Do deer get high? - The Mercury News

Human Behavior

New RSOs span a variety of interests and passions – Illinois State University News

Although there are already more than 400 registered student organizations (RSOs) on Illinois State Universitys campus, students inspired by their personal passions continue creating new RSOs that connect fellow Redbirds with similar interests.

Learn more about some of the RSOs that are new to campus and how you can get involved:

One day, Jayda Peoples was searching YouTube and discovered the topic of modeling; something she couldnt imagine doing herself. But upon further thought, Peoples, now the president and founder of The Kat Walk, decided to give modeling a try.

The whole reason I started modeling was because I wanted to gain more confidence, Peoples said.

Peoples is a senior elementary education major at Illinois State. Originally from Matteson, Peoples spent time in Champaign, where she gained inspiration from The Kat Walk student chapter there and decided to bring it to Normal.

The Kat Walk encourages students to join who are interested in learning modeling and performance techniques, hair and makeup practices, and displaying or boosting self-confidence. Peoples said everyone is welcome to join no matter their gender, sex, race, or size. According to Peoples, The Kat Walk believes, supports, and promotes that everyone can be a model and can practice building and demonstrating confidence.

I never would have pictured myself being a model or starting a modeling RSO, but Ive gained so much confidence and personality through it, said Peoples.

She said there is a special culture fostered by The Kat Walk; a culture that is not limited to one certain group of people. Its for everyone, said Peoples, adding that the RSO strives to embody a culture of inclusivity and positivity.

When Emily Drew traveled to Kenya over the summer for an alternative break, she had no idea that it would lead her to co-founding a new campus RSO: Friends of Doctors Without Borders.

Friends of Doctors Without Borders was launched at Illinois State by Drew and Delaney Reynolds, both sophomores and biology neuroscience physiology and human behavior majors on the pre-med track. The RSO co-presidents met in class and became study partners last year.

After Drew returned from Kenya, she wanted to get involved with Doctors Without Borders, a global health organization, and discovered the Friends of Doctors Without Borders group she could bring to campus with the help of Reynolds.

Our mission is to educate people on global health inequities, said Drew. Its a unique organization because its one of the only ones pulling from multiple majors like health sciences, public health, pre-med track, nursing, and more.

Anybody who cares about global health inequities can join, said Reynolds.

Friends of Doctors Without Borders is planning a blood drive January 27, 2023, to donate blood to those in need. In the future, they plan to host a documentary night about the humanitarian crises in Ukraine, and they hope to bring in professionals to speak about global health issues.

Its really about bringing a community together, said Reynolds. Its focused on the care side, and how to care about global health issues.

As a parent starting college, Honesti ONeal wanted to create a resource for parents who are also students in college, which led her to founding the Family Matters Parenting Group.

ONeal is currently a senior accounting major who plans to complete her masters degree at Illinois State after graduation. She became a parent in high school and wanted to create an environment at college for parents to get to know each other and each others families.

I started noticing that people would come to me for parental support because they knew I had a child, so I figured I could connect parents with other parents and resources through an organization, said ONeal.

ONeals RSO meets every third Wednesday of the month and hosts occasional special events, such as an upcoming series of parenthood workshops being planned for the fall semester.

Originally, ONeal assumed only parents would join the group. But after receiving interest from non-parents, the Family Matters Parenting Group also welcomes the support of allies and hopes to form a support group within their organization.

I want all parents to be a motivational tool and benchmark for all college and/or teenage parents, said ONeal. Because if we can do, anyone can do it.

Womens Ice Hockey Club

The Womens Ice Hockey Club was founded by Makenna Spearman, a sophomore middle school education major. Currently the president of the group, Spearman has been on the ice as a figure skater since she was three years old.

It wasnt until her senior year of high school that Spearman gave ice hockey a try, and she fell in love with it. She heard ISU already had a mens ice hockey club team, and she knew that she didnt want to stop playing. This led her to starting the Womens Ice Hockey Club.

Hockey is a great way to make friends, said Spearman. Youre playing together, youre practicing together, youre always together. Its also a really great workout.

The Womens Ice Hockey Club is currently open to anyone regardless of experience. Their season will run from September through February, and they will play 12 games against teams from across Central Illinois. They practice once a week on Tuesdays at the Bloomington Ice Center, also the location of their games. Their hope is to move into an official league next year.

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New RSOs span a variety of interests and passions - Illinois State University News