Anatomy

Food Matters: Anatomy of a $16 sweet potato (and other vegetable masterpieces by Meat & Cheese executive chef Bryan Garneau) – Aspen Times

Yes, you read that right. Meat & Cheese Restaurants winter takeout-only menu features a sweet potato side dish for 16 bucks. Yet like most of the food conceived by executive chef Bryan Garneau, this is not just a sweet potato.

When I open the brown box at home, my reaction is instinctive. Wow, I say out loud. Though Ive already spoken with Garneau at length about his winter vegetable creationsthe layers of garnish on each dish, the step-by-step detail of each processIm genuinely surprised at the meal-for-one within. Nestled on a pool of creamy, vibrant green froth is the star: a three-hour-roasted sweet potato, butterflied open and almost totally obscured by herb salad.

Parsley, tarragon, and chive batons tossed with white balsamic, a simple vinaigrette, Garneau noted. The bright flavors of the herbs pop, with toasted, crushed pepitas on top. We finish it with crispy, shaved speck chips.

I peel away a gooey, blackened edge of skin, oozing natural sugar from the slow, low bake. Here is another sauce: savory-sweet apple cider gastrique, infused with the spice flavor of peppercorns and bay leaves and thickened with caramelized onion pure. The gastrique lacquers the potato meatwhich melts instantly on the tongue as if it was actually pured and poured back into the shell before servingand pools into the lemony, blanched-kale crme-frache on the bottom of the box. Clearly this humble sweet potato represents a lot of work and care.

Were taking time to make it super pretty, as if it was on a plate, Garneau explains. That helps us stay creative in the kitchen, even though its to-go (food). We want to give the customers back an experience.

When COVID first hit this past spring, the Meat & Cheese team streamlined operations by combining lunch and dinner menus into one all-day menu. As time went on, I started to get really bored of what we were able to serve, and I felt for our customers, Garneau admits. We were offering sandwiches at dinner, not many entres.

Now, after a busy summer of takeout as well as dine-in and patio service, Meat & Cheese is offering separate, robust menus for lunch and dinner on a takeout-only basis. (Garneau and the culinary team are serving diners indoors this winter in a promising new venture downstairs at the bar Hooch, more on that below.)

Everything on our winter menu, we really considered how it was gonna carry out and sit for 40 minutes before its eaten and still be good, Garneau says. We had that intention. Everything travels really well. I live between Carbondale and Redstone, and I brought the (mushroom) risotto home. It was still pretty warm and tasted phenomenal.

Garneaus current favorite is the tempura Japanese eggplant. That will stay crispy, he assured me. And it did, though I arrived home in under 10 minutes. The portion was smaller than I expected, but the flavors were bold: A schmear of harissa cashew butter with preserved lemon on the bottom, topped with the vegan, gluten-free fried eggplant disks and a Mediterranean saut of Swiss chard, garbanzo beans, charred cherry tomatoes, toasted crushed almonds, and preserved lemon bits for bursts of bold flavor.

Meanwhile, the bestselling winter squash gnocchi are made from super-sweet, dense, and the coolest-color orange bounty harvested at Wild Mountain Seeds on Sunfire Ranch in Carbondale. Sauteed in browned butter, the pasta pillows are enrobed with more apple cider vinegar gastrique, shards of melty Manchego cheese, and garlicky chile crunch, which leaves a warm, lingering heat on the lips. (That last touch has been a favorite garnish on other dishes at Meat & Cheese for a while.)

In truth, my vegetable adventure began a week ago at Hooch. I joined two friends for a celebratory outing; Hoochs new prix-fixe tasting dinner was just the ticket. Here Garneaus three-course menu ($85) combines French technique (rabbit roulade and rillettes; mushroom risotto; halibut poached in yuzu ponzu broth; tomahawk steak for two) with seasonal produce via Farm Runners. After tearing slices of crusty sourdough from a massive loaf, we tucked into Garneaus winter salad.

It was a pile of green, red, pink and white: frise, arugula and shredded radicchio mixed with matchsticks of Hakurei baby turnip, pear and watermelon radish, shaved Parmesan cheese, crunchy candied walnuts, and pomegranate seeds, all enrobed in a mouthcoating, tongue-smacking sherry-mustard vinaigrette. Our table spent the entire salad course making exclamations between bites. Its almost meaty, was one memorable comment. (The salad is on Meat & Cheeses takeout menu as well.)

The dressing was inspired by a sherry-mustard-butter sauce from a summer scallop special. It tasted really good over the garnish salad we had on the scallops, so I turned it into a vinaigrette, Garneau says. Here he uses a dash of melted butter to take the bite out of the mustard and the edge off of the frise.

Made with Colorado honey and butter, the candied walnuts are a throwback to a popular spinach salad at the acclaimed Scottys Table in Missoula, Montana.

I learned to cook in Montana in a fine-dining atmosphereand even in Denver at Root Down, the dinners were a little more plated, Garneau explains, ticking off his kitchen experience. One reason I chose to work at Meat & Cheese is their business modelthey source ethically, they care about local food and farmers. Thats what Im about as a chef. I love lunches (and) the fast-paced atmosphere. But theres a little part of me that misses more plated, fine-dining for dinner.

Not anymore. When owner Wendy Mitchell eliminated dine-in service at Meat & Cheese for the season, a door opened at Hooch downstairs. Originally a craft cocktail barand where expertly mixed quaffs and wine pairing are a big part of the prix-fixe experience nowHooch as a pop-up restaurant of sorts was a blank slate.

As a chef that was exciting, to use a new space, Garneau says. French food fit with the sultry vibe of the subterranean spot. And thats what I learned to cook first.

Even though Garneau is overseeing a third operation Meat & Cheeses commissary kitchen in the AABC, where cooks prepare family-style meal kits for contactless pickup Hooch is his creative outlet. Its a place for Garneau to flex his skills in classical French technique and plate food that is, quite literally, out of the box.

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Food Matters: Anatomy of a $16 sweet potato (and other vegetable masterpieces by Meat & Cheese executive chef Bryan Garneau) - Aspen Times

Anatomy

The anatomy of new construction projects in Southern Alberta during a pandemic – Prairie Post

Besides the horrible human cost, it has been turbulent times for business in Alberta as government, private businesses and the public as expectations, rules and regulations change as those affected by COVID seems to increase.

It is no different for those in the building construction business, whether it be homes, multifamily homes or condo projects or new buildings to house businesses have had to work around all the hurdles created by the pandemic.

Cypress County resident and Nickel Group Developments partner Chris Nickel says it has been a learning curve with all the unexpected hurdles that one has to understandably work around.

The biggest impact Covid had was timeline. We had sales before COVID started so obviously a company like ours, we have investments, you have people putting money into what we are doing and with the world shutting down, you basically have to revamp your entire business when everything (eventually) turned around, explained Nickel while standing at the site of a multifamily building project at Division Ave and 1st St in Medicine Hat. We are pretty proud of our business and our group and everybody is involved in it that we got to this point and we are still here to tell the story and we can actually still build the same thing we were going to build last year at this time per se. It just looks a little different as far as our industry there was a lot of things we couldnt control and I think we are doing a good job of adapting to them.

Basically we were completely shut down for six months. (The Division Ave project) was slated to begin construction in April in 2020 and here we are in November we are just getting rolling. Timeline obviously threw everything for a loop. The other hard part was that certain approvals and certain applications only last for say, six months. They expired when COVID hit and it was kind of new to everybody. It was necessarily the towns fault, it wasnt the councils fault. It wasnt anyones fault it was the rules and regulations that were there and certain things expired so I had to do things twice which I never had to do in 20 years of building.

He adds that it is dramatically different between dealing with urban and non urban governments.

He says that, in an urban area, many people that have been situation in the same for a lot longer, a lot more rules as far as urban planning goes.

Typically in counties you dont necessarily have like architecture guidelines. You dont have certain rules to follow, you pretty much build whatever you want just as long as it doesnt standout too much, explains Nickel. Where here in the city, we had to follow certain guidelines. It was already zoned to have multi family on it so that part of it was fine. But there is guidelines you have to follow and makes it a little bit more challenging. Anytime you do an infiil (for example) you are going to just be up against a lot of people a lot of community members who have been there a long time and who are always a little bit nervous of change. I think easing it through (this particular project) the fact of just not like having this happen really quick, maybe helped us a little bit because it gave people an opportunity to think about what was actually coming here. We werent ruining the area, we are actually adding value to the area. The City is actually getting more property taxes, you are now getting four property taxes on one site instead of one, so different values financially, different values as far as it looks. I think cities definitely have more challenges than the counties but I think they also have more opportunity too.

Infill housing projects involve taking older properties in longtime neighbourhoods and generally tear down old house and construct new houses or projects. In this particular case near downtown Medicine Hat, an older building, while unique, came down. Nickel saw the size of the lot and the opportunity was there. It is a matter of construction companies keeping an eye open for lots and envisioning something different.

You couldnt get a lot this size in a new development anywhere for a single family home and you get a lot this size and you re-subdivide it from one to four and now you got an opportunity where so instead of one property at a 2 million dollar price tag, you got four at under half a million dollars each. Now people who are at the 50 and under age group that cant necessarily afford $750 grand and dont feel like they can never ever get into a new home, now they can, explains Nickel. They have an opportunity to live downtown, have less property taxes, less driving if they have a business down town. It will attract that millennial mindset to kind a move to an area that has an older mentality but yet has affordability to younger generations they can actually have new. And people like new stuff.

There is also the general price of doing business during COVID times

With the price of new housing getting more expensive across Alberta, with the price of a lot of building materials such as lumber dramatically going up, Nickel says the only real way where the younger generation can have something new is if you do infill and revitalize development.

He uses this new project, which is mostly sold and has drawn a lot of interest as an example.

Infill developments are never conventional. Every single one of them is different. Every single one of them has its own challenges. I would say the city (of Medicine Hat) has been quite welcoming, its just a different project so it was a little bit new to everybody. Plus it is on a street that is probably one of the most established streets in the city of Medicine Hat It is in a prominent location, explains Nickel. It added challenges in the fact its got new addressesEverything got re-subdivided; we had to go through a different planning commission than you would typically go through in a new build. New services, getting rid of old services, I mean the process I think it has been fine.

Of course we hit a six month world shut down which didnt really help the momentum of the project to get anywhereobviously in March everything shut down, everything stopped for four or five months which put a little bit if a dent into it. Other than that, the process has been fairly efficient, it is just been new to everybody. Everybody who that is on municipal planning, city council, development and planning, we all realize that projects like this need to happen to help revitalize the city of Medicine Hat.

Being outside they are watching any updated government rules and regulations to the ones already in place for construction zones.

Nickel has a long history in building projects. His family has a lot of ties to the building industry in Alberta; worked for Jade Homes Jade Built and then later to Jasper Homess master builder before moving on and helping to create Nickel Group Developments.

Always the buildings designer it has been a major learning curve to ensure he got used to the legal side of it

As I have got a little older, Ive got used to enjoying the behind the scenes stuff and dealing with government and dealing with the government level and deal with the CHBA (Medicine Hat member/director of the Canadian Home Builders Association), and having that part behind us and learn. I enjoy that part of it, not more than the onsite stuff but just learned that is part of the business, says Nickel. The thing with the development in the industry, is that it is a a people first industry. You are dealing with people are buying home and this is for families, it is not just businesses. You are dealing at a level where it is not a perfect science. It is not there are a lot of opinions and a lot of regulations involved. You have to put the people that are purchasing and the people who are moving their families, you have to put them first. As long as you have that in mind first, everything else is just a how do you get there? thing.

As for the pandemic, Nickel remains optimistic, but like everyone, can only wait and see how it all unfolds.

As far as what could happen, the building industry overall never really saw a stoppage of work, it was more of these kind of projects, it was more the council, it was (waiting for) the city, it was fighting for appeals; legal offices were shut down, vital statistics was shut down, we just couldnt move, because some of the bigger offices were closed. As far as construction goes we are waiting just like everyone else, dont whats going to change. Dont know if the world shuts down again, if it will stop progress any. Anything we can do legal side has been done.

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The anatomy of new construction projects in Southern Alberta during a pandemic - Prairie Post

Anatomy

Butcher, Edwards, Sanders: Last Dream Of The Morning Crucial Anatomy – Jazz Journal

This album is a good representation of the work of three leading improvisers, and at once Butchers hard-edged, vociferous playing grabs the attention. Free Of Ghosts may or may not refer to Albert Ayler, but it is certainly not free of the spirit of the great mans legacy.

The musicians show a huge range of techniques and imagination, great rapport in a performance of varied and intense activity, whether in the exciting collective passages or in more subdued, meditative areas in which individuals are given prominence, the unifying support and interaction serving as a spontaneous conversation. Edwards bass takes centre stage, establishing itself with busy urgency before a bowed passage takes his ghostly ship creaking its way amongst Sanders sweeps and snaps, then urging Butcher to interject with long calls, coarse rasps and full toned blowing.

Curling Vine is a long piece a walk through the tropical bird house, a conversation of catcalls and birdlike trills, a soundscape of individual cameos, existing separately but coming together at crucial moments, exploding, coalescing and taking the music forward. Edwards bass is plucked like a thumb piano, busily hammered with quick-fingered virtuosity, then bowed, negotiating a ground of coconut shells. Its a band not afraid to suddenly change course; diversions are quickly and intuitively taken. Sanders sustained sounds roll off the snare, sweeping and snapping with minimum rebound into a labyrinth of percussion, whilst Butcher resumes his machine-gun of notes and staccato runs.

Spike Oil begins like a journey into the beyond, with whale sounds; then the pitch alters and Butchers flutter tonguing and growling leads before percussive textures and hard bass lines precede a melodic interlude.

This is a recording which effectively captures the immediacy of live performance a mixture of restraint and eruptive, vibrant sound.

DiscographyFree Of Ghosts; Curling Vine; Spike Oil (56.10)John Butcher (ts, ss); John Edwards (b); Mark Sanders (pc). Caf Oto, London, August 2018.Trost TR126CD

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Butcher, Edwards, Sanders: Last Dream Of The Morning Crucial Anatomy - Jazz Journal

Anatomy

‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Jackson Was So Terrible to Maggie That Even He Couldn’t Stand It – Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Greys Anatomy is filled with unhealthy relationships. From couples who break up only to make up, to couples that only seem to tear each other down, there are dozens of relationships that make viewers cringe. At the top of the list is Jackson and Maggie.

Fans on Reddit seem to believe that the relationship was doomed from the start, and as time would tell, they were right.

Maggie is practically Greys Anatomy royalty since she is Richard Webbers daughter. She didnt know she was Webbers daughter at first, but the fact that her father is the former chief of surgery definitely impacts her role on the show.

Things get a little more complicated when fans learned she is the daughter of the late Ellis Grey, which makes her Meredith Greys younger sister. Ellis Grey gave Maggie up for adoption, and Maggie had to get the court records to find out who her birth mother was.

Pierce has a sweet personality, and tends to focus more on her career than on relationships. It makes it hurt all the more for fans when they see her in pain.

Jackson is the son of Catherine Fox, who marries Webber after his first wife died. Hes the grandson of Harper Avery, who is the namesake of the prestigious Harper Avery Award

Over the years, Jackson has had relationships with several of the leading ladies on Greys Anatomy. Hes dated Lexie Grey, April Kepner, Maggie, and Stephanie Edwards.

Fans have complained that Jackson seems to have changed over the years. He went from a laid back chill guy to a whiny entitled brat. Several fans have even gone so far as to suggest Jackson needs therapy before he can grow as a character.

RELATED: Greys Anatomy: Merediths Biggest Mistake Was the 1 Time Fans Were On Amelias Side

Is chemistry enough? Thats the question that seemed to arise from Maggie and Jacksons relationship. The couple seemed perfect enough on paper, if you could get past the fact that theyre step-siblings, but there were so many problems that the chemistry began to seem more like a curse.

Many fans criticized the couple for not being themselves. Maggie began to shut down and not speak up for herself, while Jackson became overbearing.

Jackson couldnt seem to accept Maggie for who she was, and was determined to change her into his image of the perfect woman. He also made it clear that he still had feelings for his ex, and seemed to expect Maggie to be OK with it.

Jackson also felt that he got no respect from Maggie. The fact that she couldnt get into camping like he did felt more like an excuse to break up. Fans were also fed up with the way he just ghosted her, and then rubbed his new girlfriend in Maggies face.

A Reddit user stated, They both had their share of faults. Both of them werent ready to be in that committed relationship, or any relationship at all. Theres a lot they need to work on their own.

Another Reddit user seemed to believe that the writers pushed Jackson in a direction that wasnt natural for his character. It seemed very out of character for Jackson to act the way he did towards Maggie.

Very few Reddit users seem to hold Maggie to blame, although some did seem to think she wasnt very invested in the relationship, and came across as reluctant. If she had been more vocal about what her needs were, it would have been easier for Jackson to meet them. Or walk away.

One Reddit user summed up the entire relationship well when he stated, He was awful with her for a good portion of their short relationship and realized it and apologized for not having come to terms with it earlier. Even Jackson wasnt on Jacksons side.

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'Grey's Anatomy': Jackson Was So Terrible to Maggie That Even He Couldn't Stand It - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Cell Biology

Cloud Computing in Cell Biology, Genomics and Drug Development Market Size And Forecast (2020-2026)| With Post Impact Of Covid-19 By Top Leading…

This report studies the Cloud Computing in Cell Biology, Genomics and Drug Development Market with many aspects of the industry like the market size, market status, market trends and forecast, the report also provides brief information of the competitors and the specific growth opportunities with key market drivers. Find the complete Cloud Computing in Cell Biology, Genomics and Drug Development Market analysis segmented by companies, region, type and applications in the report.

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Cell Biology

Inflammation produced by bacterial infection ‘alerts’ the brain stem cells – News-Medical.net

The study, directed by Isabel Farias and published in the November digital edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, reveals that the inflammation produced by a bacterial infection 'alerts' the brain stem cells and prepares their activation for the production of new neurons. The study represents a new advance in the field of regenerative medicine.

The team of researchers from the Molecular Neurobiology group of the University of Valencia, led by the professor of Cell Biology Isabel Farias, has just published in the journal Cell Stem Cell the results of a work that sheds light on the role of inflammation in the normal programming of adult brain stem cell activation to produce new neurons throughout life.

Our tissues are constantly renewed thanks to stem cells, which generate new specialized cells to replace those that are lost through "wear and tear". These stem cells are located in very specific locations within tissues, which are known as microenvironments or niches, and in which stem cells interact with other types of cells.

The new findings indicate that brain stem cells also respond to changes that occur outside the brain. This study, carried out in mice, has verified that the inflammation produced by a bacterial infection in any part of the body is capable of temporarily activating brain stem cells and preparing them for action. When the inflammation subsides, these cells return to their quiescent state.

The work allows us to better understand the relationships between stem cells and the systemic environment, that is, the rest of the organism, as knowledge on the subject is very limited. We are used to stem cells responding to their closest microenvironment, but evidence is beginning to emerge showing that they can respond to what is happening in any part of the body thanks to molecules that are distributed through the circulatory system."

Isabel Farias, Professor of Cell Biology, University of Valencia

The work of the research team contributes, once again, new data to the study and advancement of regenerative medicine, a field of science that seeks therapeutic solutions based on stem cells for degenerative processes, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases in which neuroinflammation is usually detected.

"We have always been more concerned about chronic inflammation that is associated with many diseases and is very negative for our organs, but it is a defence mechanism against damage or infection", explains Jos Manuel Morante, co-director of the work. "For this reason, it is important to find out the role of inflammation in the regulation of stem cells", he concludes.

Several doctors from the University of Valencia (Germn Belenguer, Ana Domingo, Toni Jordn, Sacri R. Ferrn and Jos Manuel Morante) and researchers in training Pere Duart and Laura Blasco have participated in the research. Farias' team belongs to the Molecular Neurobiology group of the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the same University, the Centre for Networked Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) and the RETIC of Cell Therapy of the Carlos III Health Institute, and is a Prometheus group of excellence of the Valencian Government.

Source:

Journal reference:

Belenguer, G., et al. (2020) Adult Neural Stem Cells Are Alerted by Systemic Inflammation through TNF- Receptor Signaling. Cell Stem Cell. doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2020.10.016.

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Inflammation produced by bacterial infection 'alerts' the brain stem cells - News-Medical.net

Cell Biology

Stem Cell Medical Research to Expand in California Following Passage of Prop. 14 – Times of San Diego

Share This Article:A stem cell research center at UC Davis. Courtesy California Institute for Regenerative MedicineBy Barbara Feder Ostrov | CalMatters

Californias stem cell research agency was supposed to be winding down its operations right about now, after a 16-year run and hundreds of millions in grants to scientists researching cutting-edge treatments for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimers and other diseases.

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Instead, the taxpayer-supported California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will get a $5.5 billion reboot after voters earlier this month narrowly passed the Proposition 14bond measure. The overall cost of the bonds with interest will total about $7.8 billion.

Were thrilled that California voters saw fit to continue the work weve done, said Jonathan Thomas, chair of the agencys governing board. California has always had a frontier mentality and a love for the cutting edge, and the work that CIRM has done has put it on the very forefront of regenerative medicine.

Even with Californias economy in a coronavirus-induced tailspin and somescientists arguingthat stem cell research no longer needs taxpayer support,Prop. 14passed with 51 percent of the vote after well-financed supporters pourednearly $21 millioninto the Yes on 14 campaign. The measure was essentially a rerun of Proposition 71, which California voters approved in 2004 after a since-revoked federal ban on embryonic stem cell research.

The cash infusion is expected to keep the institute running for another 10 to 15 years, although the agency will see some significant changes under Prop. 14.

The institute also must contend with longstanding concerns over conflicts of interest that have dogged it since its inception, observers say. About 80% of the money distributed has gone to universities and companies tied to agency board members, according to an analysisby longtime agency watchdog David Jensen, a former Sacramento Bee journalist who runs theCalifornia Stem Cell Reportblog and wrote abookon the institute.

Prop. 14 allows the agency to fund a wider array of research projects even some that dont involve stem cells, but instead are related to genetics, personalized medicine and aging.

Thats necessary because the field has evolved, said Paul Knoepfler, a UC Davis professor of cell biology who studies the role of stem cells in cancer and writes a stem cell blog. He received a 2009 grant from the institute.

Stem cells are interesting and important, but there are going to be a lot of new therapies in the next 10 years that are not stem-cell centric, Knoepfler said.

Other changes for the agency include:

Ysabel Duron, who joined the institutes board late last year, said she sees her role as promoting equity in opportunities for both researchers and patients and ensuring that treatments resulting from the research can benefit all Californians.

Researchers in particular need to boost the diversity of patients in their clinical trials and do a better job communicating the value of their work to the public, Duron said, noting that nearly 40% of Californians are Latino.

We need to keep researchers feet to the fire, said Duron, a former television journalist and founder of the Latino Cancer Institute. They need to show us a plan and we need to reward them.

To date, the agency has funded 64 clinical trials of treatments for many types of cancer, sickle cell disease, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, kidney disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonlyknown as Lou Gehrigs disease.But the most advanced trials involve therapies for relatively rare conditions, such asSevere Combined Immunodeficiency known as the bubble baby disease, Jensen noted. That therapy is being reviewed by the FDA but has not yet been approved.

Cancer, heart disease these are the big killers. Thats what most people are interested in, Jensen said. You can fund something for a rare disease, but that doesnt affect the majority of Californians.

And, Jensen asks, what will happen after the agency runs out of money again? Will taxpayers once again be asked to refill its coffers? There was hope when the agency began that revenues from successful treatments would sustain its grant-making in the years to come, but the institute has only received a few hundred thousand dollars, not nearly enough to become self-sustaining without taxpayer support, according to theLegislative Analysts Office.

The sustainability issue is important and its hard to address, Jensen said. The money doesnt last forever.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters.

Stem Cell Medical Research to Expand in California Following Passage of Prop. 14 was last modified: November 28th, 2020 by Editor

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Cell Biology

Researcher Examining CBD Effects on Metabolic Syndrome | Newsroom – UC Merced University News

About 35 percent of Americans have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease the leading cause of death in the United States.

If you have three of these five issues, you have metabolic syndrome, according to the American Heart Association:

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology Chair and Health Sciences Research Institute memberProfessor Rudy Ortiz is launching a new project to find out if cannabidiol (CBD), either derived from hemp or synthesized in the lab, can have positive effects on issues within metabolic syndrome.

Ortiz will receive $300,000 over the next two years from the Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) at UC San Diego to see whether CBD can ameliorate hypertension and glucose intolerance in models of metabolic syndrome.

There have been two different studies showing two different results, so we dont know what the truth is, Ortiz said. No study has looked at this directly in a controlled setting, so our data is applicable no matter what it shows.

Professor Anna Song, director of the Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center at UC Merced, agreed.

Professor Ortizs study will be an important contribution. Our communities are barraged with messages regarding the benefits of CBD and cannabis, but the science isnt just there yet, Song said. This study will be extremely helpful in shedding some light on where CBD is helpful and where it might not help at all.

This pilot study is one important step on the path to human trials if the results are positive.

We need to keep our minds open about what plant-based compounds of any kind can offer, Ortiz said. There has been so much stigma around cannabis, but its becoming more accepted, especially its medicinal benefits.

Heart disease and Type 2 diabetes are primary outcomes of metabolic syndrome, and high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, vision loss and kidney disease.

Professor Ortizs work exemplifies UC Merceds leadership in using science to explore creative solutions to medical problems that affect millions of Americans, School of Natural Sciences Dean Betsy Dumont said. The potential of this work to identify effective, low-cost treatments that could be made widely available is exciting.

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Researcher Examining CBD Effects on Metabolic Syndrome | Newsroom - UC Merced University News

Cell Biology

MTSU researcher-led study: Instructors need to address compatibility of religion, science while teaching evolution – Newswise

Newswise MURFREESBORO, Tenn. A first-of-its-kind study led by Middle Tennessee State University biology researcher Elizabeth Barnes suggests that a difference in culture and beliefs between science instructors and students may inadvertently lead to low acceptance of evolution among minority students particularly Black students in biology.

Barnes and Arizona State University researchers asked whether Black and Hispanic students tended to reject evolution more than students from other racial/ethnic identities and whether any differences could be explained by the fact they tend to be more religious.

The study, published Friday, Nov. 20, by CBE Life Sciences Educations quarterly journal, can be found here.

Christianity is popular among 65% of college biology students, but not among the biologists (25%) who are teaching students, which helped the research group understand the motivation for the study.

Further, when looking at students from minority populations, the gap between biologists and student religious affiliation is even wider Black students tend to have stronger religious cultures and backgrounds compared to majority populations.

Researchers found that rejection of evolution was particularly high for Black students, but once they controlled for religious background in their statistical models, the differences between Black and white students were diminished.

This is a concerning finding for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educators because Black students are already minoritized in biology and they are particularly absent in fields that emphasize evolution such as ecology and evolutionary biology, said Barnes, who joined the MTSU faculty in August. Our study starts to offer some explanation for why.

Researchers suggest that a solution is to use instructional techniques that highlight the compatibility between religion and evolution rather than where they might conflict.

Science instructors who are often secular themselves are hesitant to address religion and when they do it is often in a way that highlights conflict between religion and science and not compatibility, Barnes said.

To promote an equitable and comfortable STEM environment for religious students, science instructors should more often highlight views such as theistic evolution, for which student can both believe in God and recognize evolution as credible science, she added.

Barnes was joined in the research by K. Supriya, Hayley M. Dunlop, Taija M. Hendrix, Gale M. Sinatra and Sara E. Brownell. They began collecting data five years ago.

We collected a lot of data and spent a lot of time revising the work based on feedback and reading about the experiences of Black and Hispanic individuals, Barnes said.

Barnes labs website can be found here.

CBE Life Sciences Education is a free, online quarterly journal published by the American Society of Cell Biology. It publishes peer-reviewed articles on life science education at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels.

About Liz Barnes

Assistant professor Elizabeth Barnesis an MTSU science education researcher. She studies the intersections of science and religion, how individuals perceive the relationship between science and religion and how science educators can foster productive conversations with communities and students of faith to promote science education.

Coming from Arizona State University, where she earned bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees, and was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Barnes arrived with grants to continue her research at MTSU.

I came to MTSU to study how to effectively teach controversial topics in biology to students across different religious and political spectrums, she said. I was lured to MTSU because of the Mathematics and Science Education Ph.D. program, which will allow me to mentor graduate students and build a robust research program.

On deck: My past and current research focus is on perceptions of evolution and I have studied how to make evolution education more inclusive for students from different religious and racial/ethnic backgrounds, she said. I am now excited to be embarking on projects exploring perceptions of climate change, vaccines and COVID19.

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MTSU researcher-led study: Instructors need to address compatibility of religion, science while teaching evolution - Newswise