Human Behavior

The 5 factors that will drive post-pandemic consumer behavior – Fast Company

If I were a budding founder building a product in early 2021, my first consideration would be timing. What will the world look like in the next 6, 12, and 24 months? Where will my product fit in the new context? Will it?

When venture capitalists decide whether or not to invest in you, timing is probably the most delicate criteria to assess. Often, the hard question is not whether a technology or a product will disrupt an industry, but when that will happen.

A key aspect here is the friction that product will face when bringing it to the market; for example: whether customers will have to substantially change their behavior to adopt that new product. With COVID-19 causing the most dramatic changes to human behavior in our lifetime, some consumer trends have been wildly accelerated, while others have emerged unexpectedly. This alone has altered the amount of time many products will need to become mainstream (or disappear).

So, if I were a founder about to build a product in early 2021, I would ask myself two questions, in this order:

The second question is the most relevant in assessing the likelihood of my success. Nobody can determine exactly where we will be in a year, but there are things about consumers and the pandemic that we know for sure today. For example, that it will take a long time to develop population immunity via the vaccine, meaning many pandemic behaviors will continue to strengthen. Also, the process will take different lengths of time in every country, depending on their distribution capabilities and the populations eagerness to get vaccinated.

When we project these into the future, we can understand what the markets might look like.

So here are some consumer behaviors that I expect to see happening over the next two or three years, and how founders can create products that are in harmony with those trends.

The economy will especially suffer in emerging economies. The recovery has required countries to abruptly increase their debt, which will have to be repaid at some point. Regardless of whether youre building a B2C or B2B, pay attention to the unemployment rate of the market you will target. An economy that can quickly create jobs will soon return to previous consumption levels, and it will gradually repay its debt thanks to tax collection. That will be the case in the United States. But it might not happen in other countries that have traditionally been dependent on industries that have been severely hit (and wont immediately bounce back), like tourism. For example, in Mexico, tourism represents almost 10% of GDP. It will take some time before those countries get back to previous levels of consumption.

When it comes to consumers, we can probably expect a K-shaped recovery, where some consumers will do well and some others wont, depending on their jobs. For instance, this crisis might be long enough to kill restaurants or hotels that had been severely hit. But at the same time, food delivery companies will be accelerating their growth; the recent success of Instacart is a good example.

Sir Arthur C. Clarks prediction more than 50 years ago is finally happening: Men will no longer commute, they will communicate. If this visionary is right, cities and suburbs will be different moving forward. We are seeing a lot of buzz around founders and companies leaving Silicon Valley for Miami or Austin.

Large companies have already announced that their workers will continue to WFH beyond the rollout of the vaccine, and many people who have relocated during the pandemic wont be rushing back to overcrowded and overly expensive cities.

This can only be good news for the startup world, as innovation is not a zero-sum game: The strength and uniqueness of Silicon Valley is compatible with new hubs popping up in other geographies, probably with a different DNA and focus.

For instance, if you are building a startup that also targets customers in Europe and Latin America, I cannot think of a better hub than Miami these days. The most determining factor when deciding where to locate your startup is usually the location of your team and your customersbut if your team is now working remote, youll only have to think of being within reach of your customers (and maintain good team communication).

If many jobs are no longer attached to cities, maybe socializing will be the main reason to pay high rents in the city. Business trips? I would imagine myself making less, but on average more meaningful, business trips, which means I will be willing to pay higher for those few business trips.

What does this mean for new entrepreneurs? For those looking at real estate, theyll need to factor in future changes in the attractiveness of (former?) business districts and inner-city residential areas. For those into holidays and leisure, they may be looking at less demand but higher-paying customers. And as we spend more time at home, I expect to see a lot of innovation in this space: We are already witnessing fitness at home exploding as a new category, and gardening becoming part of our routine.

David Rubenstein, founder of legendary private equity firm Carlyle, said that he recently learned how fragile life can be. I believe the consumers in Western economies now feel more vulnerable than they did in 2019 and will pay more attention to health and prevention (for them and their loved ones).

Well probably start demanding more tools and services that enable us to track our healthsuch as wearable devicesfor not just our physical but also our mental fitness. The same goes for products that connect consumers with faster, cheaper, and more accessible healthcare, virtually or in person. This includes technology that allows us to share our health data easily, facilitate diagnosis, or even improve self-diagnoses.

But dont stop at human health: There are over 100 million cats and dogs in the United States. Dont they also deserve some attention? There is tremendous value to be unlocked from wearables in the pet space. Now match the data coming from pet wearables with predictive analytics and you will get a whole new industry: pets telehealth and insurance.

Digital fluency is effectively understanding and employing digital tools. Throughout the pandemic, business, schools, and people could continue their lives, at least to a certain extent, thanks to digitalization. The no-code movement is stronger than ever, allowing non-specialized users to build and launch digital products without an engineer in their founding team. I expect to see a powerful wave of innovators who previously had a barrier to launch digital products now thriving.

Technologists are more bullish than ever, as their products have proven crucial to overcome this crisis (could you imagine bitcoin replacing gold as a safe-haven asset? The worlds largest asset manager now says yes). But for such disruptive technology to achieve its full potential, we need to close the gaps in digital fluency and accessibility. That will require true access for populations who dont have the resources, connectivity, or education to tap into the newest technologies. It also means well probably pay more attention to systems and apps that can ease less familiar usersthe elderly, for exampleinto digitalization, with easier interfaces or training tools. In the next decade, I believe we will see access to the internet become a human right.

It took humankind a couple of centuries to understand that there is only one planet, but in large part we finally got our head around it. However, as resources and wealth are not uniformly distributed, those economies that can afford it will probably fully embrace sustainability faster.

The shift towards a more sustainable economy is happening from both the top and the bottom of the consumption pyramid. From the demand side, consumers are already demanding companies to embrace this change. From the supply side, companies are responding.

But perhaps more importantly, those who are investing large pools of capital, such as pension funds, are demanding that money managers such as private equity firms (including venture capitalists) invest in a more sustainable economy. If you are building a digital product, my bet is that, in a few years time, consumers will ask you to share how much energy it takes to run it on their cell phones. The code of the future will be environmentally friendly, or it wont last. So, if you are raising venture capital in 2021, make sure you have an impact on at least one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, and youll increase your likelihood of getting funded.

Andy Areitio is a partner at the early-stage fund at TheVentureCity, a new venture and acceleration model that helps diverse founders achieve global impact.

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The 5 factors that will drive post-pandemic consumer behavior - Fast Company

Human Behavior

NIH scientists study salmonella swimming behavior as clues to infection – National Institutes of Health

News Release

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Salmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium bacteria (S. Typhimurium) commonly cause human gastroenteritis, inflammation of the lining of the intestines. The bacteria live inside the gut and can infect the epithelial cells that line its surface. Many studies have shown that Salmonella use a run-and-tumble method of short swimming periods (runs) punctuated by tumbles when they randomly change direction, but how they move within the gut is not well understood.

National Institutes of Health scientists and their colleagues believe they have identified a S. Typhimurium protein, McpC (Methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein C), that allows the bacteria to swim straight when they are ready to infect cells. This new study, published in Nature Communications, describes S. Typhimurium movement and shows that McpC is required for the bacteria to invade surface epithelial cells in the gut.

The study authors suggest that McpC is a potential target for developing new antibacterial treatments to hinder the ability of S. Typhimurium to infect intestinal epithelial cells and colonize the gut. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, led the study. Collaborators included groups from the University of Texas A&M campuses in College Station and Kingsville.

S. Typhimurium use flagella long whip-like projections to move through fluids. When the flagella rotate counterclockwise, they form a rotating bundle behind the bacteria and propel them forward. However, the flagella frequently switch rotation from counterclockwise to clockwise, disrupting the bundle and causing the bacteria to tumble and change direction. Using special microscopes and cameras to observe live S. Typhimurium, the scientists found that bacteria grown under conditions that activate their invasive behavior swam in longer straight runs because the flagella did not switch rotation from counterclockwise to clockwise. Bacteria lacking McpC still demonstrated the run-and-tumble method of swimming under these conditions and had an invasion defect in a calf intestine model, indicating that straight swimming is important for efficient invasion of intestinal epithelial cells.

The researchers hypothesize that controlled smooth swimming could be a widespread bacterial infection strategy. Similar smooth swimming behavior can be seen in unrelated enteric bacteria, such as Vibrio, which can cause infection when undercooked seafood is eaten. These findings may inform the development of novel antibiotics.

This news release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research. To learn more about basic research at NIH, visit https://www.nih.gov/news-events/basic-research-digital-media-kit.

K Cooper et al. Regulatory protein HilD stimulates Salmonella Typhimurium invasiveness by promoting smooth swimming via the methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein McpC. Nature Communications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20558-6 (2021).

Olivia Steele-Mortimer, Ph.D., chief of NIAIDs Salmonella-Host Cell Interactions Section, and Kendal G. Cooper, Ph.D., in the Salmonella-Host Cell Interactions Section, are available to comment.

NIAID conducts and supports research at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

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NIH scientists study salmonella swimming behavior as clues to infection - National Institutes of Health

Human Behavior

Socio-demographic factors associated with self-protecting behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic – DocWire News

This article was originally published here

J Popul Econ. 2021 Jan 14:1-48. doi: 10.1007/s00148-020-00818-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Given the role of human behavior in the spread of disease, it is vital to understand what drives people to engage in or refrain from health-related behaviors during a pandemic. This paper examines factors associated with the adoption of self-protective health behaviors, such as social distancing and mask wearing, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the USA. These behaviors not only reduce an individuals own risk of infection but also limit the spread of disease to others. Despite these dual benefits, universal adoption of these behaviors is not assured. We focus on the role of socioeconomic differences in explaining behavior, relying on data collected in April 2020 during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data include information on income, gender and race along with unique variables relevant to the current pandemic, such as work arrangements and housing quality. We find that higher income is associated with larger changes in self-protective behaviors. These gradients are partially explained by the fact that people with less income are more likely to report circumstances that make adopting self-protective behaviors more difficult, such as an inability to tele-work. Both in the USA and elsewhere, policies that assume universal compliance with self-protective measures-or that otherwise do not account for socioeconomic differences in the costs of doing so-are unlikely to be effective or sustainable.

PMID:33462529 | PMC:PMC7807230 | DOI:10.1007/s00148-020-00818-x

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Socio-demographic factors associated with self-protecting behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic - DocWire News

Human Behavior

Letters to the editor – Pamplin Media Group

It is disappointing that Rep. Bentz joined effort to challenge election results

It is disappointing that Rep. Bentz joined effort to challenge election results

It is more than disappointing that our 2020-elected representative for Oregon's Second U.S. Congressional District, Cliff Bentz, abdicated his newly sworn oath to perpetuate the Trump lie that the 2020 election was rigged.

Mr. Bentz, just hours following the Capitol invasion by a Trump-incited mob, continued to affirm the myth that Trump really won, and deny the reality of a free and fair election. Unfortunately, Mr. Bentz was not alone in this, being joined by 147 of his Republican congressional colleagues. This is one of the deplorable events contributing to the infamy of the day.

Mr. Bentz has cited several issues for his objection to certification of Pennsylvania Electoral votes. Factually, all of his issues had already been addressed by Pennsylvania election officials or adjudicated through Pennsylvania courts or rejected as meritless by the U.S. Supreme Court. Pennsylvania Electors accepted the results.

So is this an error in judgment by Mr. Bentz or a self-serving attempt to glam onto Trump's fading coattails for political gain? What is clear is that it is not an action in support of the Truth. It is not an action of Leadership that will serve to discourage disruptive actions by Trump believers who cling to the Lie that is blatantly obvious to Mr. Bentz and his fellow Congressional Objectors.

Sen. Mitt Romney made an appeal to colleagues following the Jan 6 mob incursion into the US Capitol. The message was simple: 'Speak the Truth.' No lies, no subterfuge, no innuendo, no spin, no denial, and no silent abdication of Leadership. It would be well if Mr. Bentz and other Congressional representatives would take this advice and put it to action.

Donald Fisher

Powell Butte

Rep. Bentz should not have disputed Pennsylvania presidential votes

On Jan. 3, Cliff Bentz, representing Oregon's second district, was sworn in to the House of Representatives. Listening to the dog whistle on Jan. 6, he joined 137 other Republicans who chose to challenge the Electoral College votes from Pennsylvania. Apparently Cliff did not care 50 lawsuits challenging the legality of the election had already been dismissed, some by judges appointed by Trump. The Supreme Court even refused to hear the cases.

Cliff stated he had consulted with lawyers and constituents before taking the huge leap to embarrass Oregon. Even Mitch McConnell and Bill Barr said there was no evidence of fraud. Cliff states Pennsylvania was not following its election laws. The Pennsylvania GOP and the Democratic governor agreed to all changes.

Cliff was concerned about the ballots received late. Those ballots (approximately 10,000) were set aside and never counted. Cliff admitted later he did not know they had not been counted.

After the event of Jan. 6, in interviews given to OregonLive, OPB and The Malheur Enterprise, he gave arrogant and snide condescending answers to questions and did not think Trump instigated the tragedy.

Cliff should try learning the facts instead of following Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Marjorie Greene, Rudy Guiliani and Sidney Powell.

Fred Carlson

Mitchell

Trump should accept that he lost the presidential election

Having taught psychology at Crook County High School for 11 years, I learned more about human behavior and psychological disorders than all my college psych classes. Many of my psych students went on to obtain psychology degrees.

Me, I developed an understanding of human behavior and mental disorders, learning much more teaching than my college endeavors.

Losing the recent election has sent the occupant of the White House off the deep end, losing his grip on reality, developing a mean spirit unworthy of his high office. He has displayed the epitome of the poorest loser, discarding the veil of political, social and moral standards, determined to remain in the White House in spite of having handily lost the 2020 election, creating a totally unrealistic disavowal of the recent legitimate election results.

Every four to eight years, depending upon the length of a president's term of office, a survey of university professors of U.S. history are requested to rank the quality of all American presidents from George Washington to the present. Historians will label the present president's administration as the worst in America's history.

Believe it or not, his mental capacity and mental balance have deteriorated, so he is unable to accept the reality of having lost the election. If one tells a lie often enough, people will believe it, and his avid followers do just that. The psychological problem is that he truly believes his lies and manipulations, thus creating major damage to our democracy for many years to come.

Dick Phay

Prineville

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Letters to the editor - Pamplin Media Group

Human Behavior

Train Your Dog, Train the People in Your Life: Part 2 – The Bark

The skill set of ideas, techniques and strategies used by positive-reinforcement dog trainers is widely applicable to other situations and can easily be used to influence the behavior of many other species (including humans). In her new book, Treat Everyone Like a Dog, Karen B. London, PhD, delves into the ways these skills can be deployed to make life easier for everyonedogs and people alike.

Part 2 of our discussion with Karen London on her new book, in which she shares her thoughts on consistency and how understanding dogs has helped her understand people.

Bark: In your book, you note the importance of consistency. What do you see as some of the barriers to that, and how do you feel theyre best overcome, or at least, offset?

Karen London: Being consistent is one of those things thats so simple in theory but so challenging in practice. Because something is simple certainly doesnt mean its easy, and being consistent is a great example.

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The first barrier to being consistent is failing to recognize its importance. Learners experience consistency as knowing what to expect because the rules and consequences dont change. It makes the process more effective and faster because learners are less apt to become confused. If teachers and trainers were aware of how consistency makes the process easier, they would be more likely to commit to it.

Another barrier is that it takes a lot of organization and planning. That requires both time and energy, especially at the start when systems need to be put in place. Many of the best teachers are also consistent teachers, and students benefit from that. Not coincidentally, they also tend to be the most experienced.

Sometimes, consistency is hard to achieve because it isnt recognized as a skill in itself. As teachers and trainers, we can work on our own consistency the way we teach any other skill: in a step-by-step way that allows us to have many successes on the road to our eventual goal. Like any other skill worth developing, it takes patience and practice to get really good at it, and for it to feel natural.

B: Would it be fair to say that the more you understood dogs, the more you understood people? Can you draw any parallels between human and canine behavior?

KL: I am trained as an ethologist, which means that my research studies involve the behavior of animals in their natural environments. My studies also typically involve multiple species, often in a comparative manner. Ive always viewed the similarities and differences between and among animals with great fascination, and its completely natural to apply what Ive learned about one species to others, whether the species of interest are wasps, cats, frogs, sea slugs, grasshoppers, dogs or people.

The principles of learning theory and other aspects of teaching and training apply across all species, so the more I learned by working with dogs, the more I was able to teach people in kinder and more effective ways. Certainly, my professional life has spilled over into my personal life to my own benefit, and to the benefit of those around me.

Perhaps one key area in which understanding dogs made me more understanding toward people relates to empathy. I have become increasingly empathetic to dogs and the challenges they face when being taught and trained, and that made me increasingly empathetic to people when it came to their behavior and their learning. Watching people train dogs in ways that are confusing or ineffective filled me with sympathy for dogs who were unable to succeed through no fault of their own.

Mentally, I tend to lump learners of all species into one big bin, and that makes me aware of the way they are treated and viewed by those teaching them. When someone comments on a dog in a less-than-positive way, Im quick to see the dogs point of view and apply that to my perspective of people as well.

For example, a friends dog, Roxy, loves other dogs so much that little else matters to her when she sees one. One day, I was walking Roxy and we saw another dog approaching us on a side trail. The owner of the other dog stopped to let us go by, but Roxy wasnt interested in continuing on our way. She sat down and quite politely waited. I tried to call her away, and even jumped and ran a step or two to encourage her to come with me, but she remained where she was, seated and waiting for an opportunity to greet her next best friend. The other person said, Boy, is she ever stubborn! I smiled at the remark but didnt agree with it.

Soon, I was able to lure Roxy away with some treats, followed by a chase game; we then continued our walk. I didnt consider the issue to be related to being stubborn at all. Roxy and I simply had different desires at that moment. Since the other person clearly didnt want the two dogs to greet, I wanted to continue on our walk. Roxy, on the other hand, wanted to remain where we were, presumably with the hope of greeting a new dog.

Roxy and I were on equal footing but had different preferences, and we were each communicating what we wanted to do while being aware that we were not in accord on those goals. Thats not being stubborn, which I consider to be refusing to change ones views or opinions despite good reasons or arguments to do so. Similarly, when people have strong views or preferences, I realize that theyre worth considering rather than labeling them with a word that has negative connotations simply because we arent in agreement.

I see parallels between canine and human behavior all the time, especially in our fascination with play. Play behavior doesnt occur in all species and is not that common throughout the animal kingdom, but its so important to both dogs and people. I think my obsession with play in animals results in part from seeing the way our two species play together, which is a true biological wonder that never ceases to give me joy.

One of my soap boxes is that play is underutilized in influencing behavior. I have been writing and speaking about the importance of play to dogs

More to come in Part 3

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Train Your Dog, Train the People in Your Life: Part 2 - The Bark

Genetics

Twins With Covid Help Scientists Untangle the Diseases Genetic Roots – The New York Times

What Ms. Burkett and Ms. Miller experienced wasnt the norm. Many of the conditions that can raise a persons risk for severe Covid excess weight, heart disease, diabetes, smoking are highly influenced by environment and behavior, not just genetics. A persons history of fighting off other coronaviruses,like those that lead to common colds,might also affect their likelihood of developing a serious case of Covid.

Some researchers have also floated the idea that the amount of coronavirus a person takes in may have an impact on the severity of disease, a trend that has been documented with other infections.

Jan. 19, 2021, 7:38 p.m. ET

Its the difference between having your immune system being actually able to squash the infection, or having a much harder time fighting it if all your cells become infected at the same time, said Juliet Morrison, a virologist at the University of California, Riverside.

Michael Russell, 29, says he wonders if he sniffed up more of the virus than his twin brother, Steven, did this summer, in the days after they gathered with their family for the Fourth of July.

Both brothers began experiencing symptoms shortly after the celebrations ended, around the time Steven headed back to his home in Arlington, Va. The virus saddled Steven with a scratchy throat and a headache a light, cold-like illness, he said.

A few days later, Michael, who was living at home with his parents, came down with much more severe symptoms: a sore throat, chills, shortness of breath and fatigue that relegated him to his bed for an entire day. About two weeks passed before he could smell or taste the cinnamon-dusted popcorn he regularly snacks on.

The twins parents came down with bad Covid symptoms as well, so Michael had to isolate with two other infected adults. Hunkering together in the same house may have exposed him to a larger dose of the virus, the brothers said. But, they added, thats just a guess.

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Twins With Covid Help Scientists Untangle the Diseases Genetic Roots - The New York Times

Genetics

Study outlines genetic factors involved in shaping the human gut microbiome – The Mix

The study highlights the common host genetic factors that influence the composition of the human gut microbiome, a major factor in human health.

The study highlights the common host genetic factors that influence the composition of the human gut microbiome, a major factor in human health.Human genes have an impact on shaping our gut ecosystem. A large, international study by the MiBioGen consortium, led by the University Medical Center Groningen, analyzed the common genetic factors that influence the composition of the human gut microbiome in more than 18,000 people. The results were published Jan. 18 in the leading scientific magazine Nature Genetics. Haydeh Payami, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Zachary Wallen, a postdoctoral fellow in the Payami laboratory, were collaborating authors on the study.

The last decade has greatly expanded our understanding of the human microbiome, the trillions of microbes that inhabit the internal and external surfaces of our bodies, Payami said. We have come to appreciate their vital role in helping proper human development from infancy to adulthood and their active participation in many human functions: helping us to digest food, training our immune system and, importantly, affecting our brain function via the gut-brain axis.

The largest and richest human microbiome inhabits the gut and contributes substantially to our health. Yet the factors that shape its composition, although widely studied, remain unclear, and the more than 80 percent difference in gut microbiome between individuals remains unexplained. In general, environmental factors such as diet and medication play a major role; however, a role for human genetic variants has also been suggested by the identification of heritable bacteria, i.e., those that are more common in twins and family members.

Now, the new study from the MiBioGen consortium, an international collaboration involving more than 20 labs across the world, highlights the common host genetic factors that influence the composition of the human gut microbiome in the more than 18,000 people analysed.

The study says that at least two human genes have a major impact in shaping our gut ecosystem: the lactase gene LCT, which influences the abundance of lactose-digesting Bifidobacteria, and the fucosyl transferase gene FUT2, which determines the abundance of Ruminococcus torques. They also show that other human genes affecting microbiome composition are involved in important aspects of host metabolism, nutrition and immunity. The analyses stretch as far as establishing relationships between several bacterial species and human diseases.

This study is a great example of a large international collaboration and is the first to accurately estimate the effect of host genetics on the gut microbiome, said Alexandra Zhernakova, one of the principal investigators leading the consortium. More genetic effects will likely be identified with increased sample size in future studies, but our multi-center approach did identify robust loci that are shared across populations. However, further studies in large and more homogenous groups are essential to identify population-specific effects and gene-environmental interactions.

Haydeh Payami, Ph.D.It was a challenge to combine datasets from multiple cohorts due to the large technical differences and to biological variations across populations, said Alex Kurilshikov, the first author of the study. However, this diversity also brings strength for example, we could see that genetic variants in the lactase gene determine Bifidobacteria abundance in adults, but not in children, and that this effect is more pronounced in European populations. The large sample size also allowed us to apply genetic methods and show that some bacteria are causal for developing diseases.

The MiBioGen researchers have made their results available to other scientists and the scientific community for additional and future analyses. All results are uploaded to http://mibiogen.org, supported by the Genomics Coordination Center in the Department of Genetics, UMCG.

At UAB, Payamis research focuses on the gut microbiome as a potential missing link between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinsons disease. Her research is supported by a four-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

Previously, Payamis laboratory published findings showing that the composition of the bacteria in the guts of people with Parkinsons disease differed from healthy controls. The researchers also discovered that Parkinsons medications were linked to changes in gut bacteria as well.

The publication in Nature Genetics is available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-00763-1.

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Study outlines genetic factors involved in shaping the human gut microbiome - The Mix

Genetics

What better way to learn genetics than with gummy bears? – The Takeout

Photo: ANDER GILLENEA / Contributor (Getty Images)

Remember learning about genetics for the first time in biology class? I myself dont remember much, aside from the traumatic time we had to dissect a pregnant rat (I vividly recall the smell of formaldehyde and do not wish to smell it ever again). The only other thing I vaguely remember were those squares we had to fill in. Punnett squares. Remember those? What a pain in the ass. These are two of many reasons why I never became a doctor.

Real genetics are a lot more complicated and dont fall quite so neatly into those Punnett squares, unfortunately. You might think that your genetic composition would be as simple as being an even quarter mix of each of your grandparents blended into one human being. But in reality, processes like genetic recombination shake things up considerably.

Science Alert used gummy bears to show a graphic representation of how genetics can work down the line, inspired by this tweet from NYU neuroscience prof Jay Van Bavel, who tweets as @jayvanbavel:

It is pretty adorable. And delicious. Because who doesnt love the idea of using a handful of gummy bears to depict your ancestry? Its not exactly perfect because, according to Science Alert, gummy bears dont convey dominant or recessive traits (the uppercase letters in a Punnett square are dominant, while the lowercase ones are the recessive ones, if youve forgotten). Still, its something, and in the end, youll be shoving your weirdo genetic mishmash monster gummy bears right into your face; really, there are few things better than a science experiment that you can end up eating later. Plus candy is a great way to get kids (and adults, for that matter) to pay attention. Maybe if wed used them in my biology class, I would be a doctor today.

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What better way to learn genetics than with gummy bears? - The Takeout

Genetics

Cure Genetics Collaborates with Boehringer Ingelheim to Develop Novel AAV Vectors Enabling the Next-generation Liver-targeted Gene Therapy -…

SUZHOU, China, Jan. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cure Genetics announced a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop novel Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectorsleveraging Cure Genetics' proprietary VELPTM platform to develop next-generation gene therapies. This new collaboration combines Boehringer Ingelheim's experience in disease biology and gene therapy development with Cure Genetics' AAV expertise in library construction and highly efficient in vivo AAV screening. The aim is to provide potential new AAV serotypes for patients.

The clinical applications of existing AAV serotypes are limited by some of their features, such as low transduction efficiency, low tissue specificity and immunogenicity. Therefore, finding new AAV serotypes to overcome these challenges becomes critical for the majority, if not all, AAV-based gene therapies.

Comparing to other traditional vector engineering technologies, Cure Genetics' proprietary VELPTM platform encompasses key methodical innovations, including a comprehensive strategy of engineering a plasmid library with high complexity and an effective ratio. the optimized AAV production protocol ensures high genome-capsid correspondence and world-class production capacity, and the most physiologically relevant models for vector selection and validation. It enables a significantly shorter process to find the "right" AAV vectors with almost all possibility effectively covered.

Boehringer Ingelheim aspires to develop the next generation of medical breakthroughs and gene therapy is one of the focuses under exploration by the team of Research Beyond Borders. The advanced VELPTM technology platform may provide effective solutions in increasing the efficiency of novel AAV screening and help further expand our efforts in the area of gene therapy development.

"This is the very first time that a global pharmaceutical group is collaborating with a Chinese biotech in the cutting-edge field of AAV vector engineering. We appreciate the recognition of Boehringer Ingelheim's recognition of our VELPTM platform. Novel AAV vectors enlarging the therapeutic window is key to unfolding the potential of gene therapy, which is also Cure Genetics' innovative focus . We believe, together with visionary partners like Boehringer Ingelheim, the quality of life for more patients in need can be improved by next-generation gene therapy." stated Dr. Qiushi Li, Cure Genetics' Chief Operating Officer.

The collaboration with Cure Genetics was initiated by Boehringer Ingelheim China External Innovation Hub. It consists of three business units: Research Beyond Borders, Business Development and Licensing, and Venture Fund. The hub is committed to becoming the preferred partner of China's biopharmaceutical industry and bringing more Chinese innovative partnership projects to enrich Boehringer Ingelheim's global R&D pipeline, thereby ultimately benefiting more patients. So far, Boehringer Ingelheim China External Innovation Hub has established various partnerships with reputable research institutions and biotech companies in China.

About Cure Genetics

Cure Genetics is a biotech company founded in 2016, committed to expanding the frontier of gene therapy via its innovative technology of gene editing and gene delivery. With the world-leading AAV manufacturing capability, Cure Genetics' proprietary VELPTM platform enables a fast yet systematic design, selection and optimization of AAV vectors with special features and significantly better performance of in vivo gene delivery, which will empower AAV-based gene therapy to be applied in a much broader range of disease treatments.

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim; Cure Genetics

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Cure Genetics Collaborates with Boehringer Ingelheim to Develop Novel AAV Vectors Enabling the Next-generation Liver-targeted Gene Therapy -...

Genetics

Genetic and Non-genetic Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians – DocWire News

This article was originally published here

Curr Diabetes Rev. 2021 Jan 17. doi: 10.2174/1573399817666210118103022. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

South Asians (SAs), people from the Indian subcontinent (e.g. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and suffer from a greater risk of CVD-associated mortality compared to other global populations. These problems are compounded by the alterations in lifestyles due to urbanization and changing cultural, social, economic, and political environment. Current methods of CV risk prediction are based on white populations that under-estimate the CVD risk in SAs. Prospective studies are required to obtain actual CVD morbidity/mortality rates so that comparisons between predicted CVD risk can be made with actual events. Overwhelming data support a strong influence of genetic factors. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) serve as a starting point for future genetic and functional studies since the mechanisms of action by which these associated loci influence CVD is still unclear. It is difficult to predict the potential implication of these findings in clinical settings. This review provides a systematic assessment of the risk factors, genetics, and environmental causes of CV health disparity in SAs, and highlights progress made in clinical and genomics discoveries in the rapidly evolving field which has the potential to show clinical relevance in the near future.

PMID:33461471 | DOI:10.2174/1573399817666210118103022

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Genetic and Non-genetic Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians - DocWire News