Tag Archives: environment

Pediatrics

Discussing health care sustainability, climate change, and WHO’s One Health goal – Contemporary Pediatrics

"Health care sustainability means taking into account how the health care system, our hospitals and clinics, have impacted greenhouse gas emissions," said Shreya Doshi, MBBS, FAAP, in this Contemporary Pediatrics video interview.

Doshi is a board-certified pediatrician and an infectious disease fellow at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC. Doshi joined Contemporary Pediatrics to explain what health care sustainability is and how various health institutions are contributing to climate change.

"At this time, we're seeing so many events around the world that are related to extreme weather or climate change," said Doshi. "Children tend to be some of the most vulnerable people because [they] are growing and they need a good, healthy environment and healthy food in order to grow. So, for our children to be healthy, it's very important for their environment and their planet to be healthy."

Doshi explains the World Health Organization's (WHO) One Health plan, which according to WHO, is an "integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems."1

Doshi explained that health care systems in the United States make up 8.5% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. Of the health care system that contributes to overall greenhouse has emissions, 35% come from the hospital setting.2

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Discussing health care sustainability, climate change, and WHO's One Health goal - Contemporary Pediatrics

Pediatrics

Pediatric chiropractic boosta physical, emotional well-being – The Times of Northwest Indiana

Carrie Steinweg Times correspondent

Dr. Michael Kehoe of Health from Within in Orland Park explains how chiropractic adjustments can help children with autism, ADHD and other special needs.

Pediatric chiropractic treatment is a specialized form of chiropractic care that focuses on assessing and adjusting the spine and nervous system of children. It involves gentle, safe adjustments performed by a specially trained pediatric chiropractor who understands the unique anatomy of children, said Dr. Matt Hammett, who with his wife, Dr. Trish Hammett, operates the New Family Life Chiropractic Center in Merrillville. The couple are also co-authors of the book "Inspire Chiropractic."

Dr. Michael Kehoe has been practicing at Health From Within in Orland Park for more than 5 years, the last twodedicating "ourselves to seeing more pediatrics and specializing in taking care of kids.

More specifically, we really specialize in taking care of what we call Perfect Storm' kidsautism, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, behavioral struggles, he said. Other common reasons parents seek out our help are for colic, sleep issues, constipation, diarrhea, immune struggles, chronic ear infections, asthma, headaches and allergies.

Kehoe said pediatric chiropractic focuses on optimizing the function of the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

The nervous system (brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves) perceives our environment and then coordinates every action in the body, he explained. If our body and nervous system are holding on to too much stress and tension, that diminishes the body's capacity to adapt. And when we aren't adapting as well as we can, that's when symptoms start to appear.

Hammett noted that pediatric chiropractic can be beneficial for infants through adolescents. It can address a wide range of conditions, including musculoskeletal issues, developmental delays, sensory processing issues, ADHD, asthma, allergies, cranial asymmetries (flat head), tongue tie and more.

We see kids as young as days old, and every age above that. We see infants due to the fact that a high percentage of infants are born with physical strain to their spine, particularly the upper neck, said Kehoe. This is what can set the stage for a host of issues down the line.

And not all benefits are physical.

It can also contribute to a child's overall well-being and help them reach their full potential, said Hammett. It is vital for parents to do their own research and feel confident in their decision to pursue chiropractic care for their child.

Kristina Pop of Valparaiso has been a patient of the Hammetts for several years, who have treated every member of the family including four children ages 10, 8, 6 and 3.

Our four children look forward to their adjustments and know that Dr. Matt helps keep their bodies aligned, happy and healthy as they play and grow through childhood, said Pop.

Pop began seeing Hammett during her third pregnancy and then sought treatment for her daughter whod had an occasional twitch in her leg from being cramped in utero. She also brought her fourth child, a girl born with cephalohematoma, a usually harmless birth injury that causes blood to pool at the scalp.

We were told it would take up to three months to heal. She also had some difficulty breastfeeding. I brought her in to Dr. Matt at about a week old, and I wish I hadnt waited so long, said Pop. With his gentle care and regular visits, she was able to nurse comfortably and with ease immediately after her first adjustment and the cephalohematoma had completely resolved within a month.

Andrea Florer, a Valparaiso mother of four (ages 4, 9, 12 and 14), also has been a patient at New Life Family Chiropractic.

All of my children receive chiropractic care for overall health and wellness. Weve seen benefits for all my children even when they were small babies, she said. Chiropractic has helped with projectile vomiting when my son was under a year old. My 12-year-old was found to have his hip out of place from a hockey injury. My 14-year-old had adjustments after receiving a concussion from an ice skating fall, and my 9-year-old had adjustments to help alleviate neck pain from using his school laptop/tablet on a regular basis. They all enjoy the chiropractic adjustments and look forward to their visits.

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Pediatric chiropractic boosta physical, emotional well-being - The Times of Northwest Indiana

Genetics

Genetic clues to depression revealed in large study – PsyPost

The core experiences of depression changes in energy, activity, thinking and mood have been described for more than 10,000 years. The word depression has been used for about 350 years.

Given this long history, it may surprise you that experts dont agree about what depression is, how to define it or what causes it.

But many experts do agree that depression is not one thing. Its a large family of illnesses with different causes and mechanisms. This makes choosing the best treatment for each person challenging.

One strategy is to search for sub-types of depression and see whether they might do better with different kinds of treatments. One example is contrasting reactive depression with endogenous depression.

Reactive depression (also thought of as social or psychological depression) is presented as being triggered by exposure to stressful life events. These might be being assaulted or losing a loved one an understandable reaction to an outside trigger.

Endogenous depression (also thought of as biological or genetic depression) is proposed to be caused by something inside, such as genes or brain chemistry.

Many people working clinically in mental health accept this sub-typing. You might have read about this online.

But we think this approach is way too simple.

While stressful life events and genes may, individually, contribute to causing depression, they also interact to increase the risk of someone developing depression. And evidence shows that there is a genetic component to being exposed to stressors. Some genes affect things such as personality. Some affect how we interact with our environments.

Our team set out to look at the role of genes and stressors to see if classifying depression as reactive or endogenous was valid.

In the Australian Genetics of Depression Study, people with depression answered surveys about exposure to stressful life events. We analysed DNA from their saliva samples to calculate their genetic risk for mental disorders.

Our question was simple. Does genetic risk for depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, anxiety and neuroticism (a personality trait) influence peoples reported exposure to stressful life events?

You may be wondering why we bothered calculating the genetic risk for mental disorders in people who already have depression. Every person has genetic variants linked to mental disorders. Some people have more, some less. Even people who already have depression might have a low genetic risk for it. These people may have developed their particular depression from some other constellation of causes.

We looked at the genetic risk of conditions other than depression for a couple of reasons. First, genetic variants linked to depression overlap with those linked to other mental disorders. Second, two people with depression may have completely different genetic variants. So we wanted to cast a wide net to look at a wider spectrum of genetic variants linked to mental disorders.

If reactive and endogenous depression sub-types are valid, wed expect people with a lower genetic component to their depression (the reactive group) would report more stressful life events. And wed expect those with a higher genetic component (the endogenous group) would report fewer stressful life events.

But after studying more than 14,000 people with depression we found the opposite.

We found people at higher genetic risk for depression, anxiety, ADHD or schizophrenia say theyve been exposed to more stressors.

Assault with a weapon, sexual assault, accidents, legal and financial troubles, and childhood abuse and neglect, were all more common in people with a higher genetic risk of depression, anxiety, ADHD or schizophrenia.

These associations were not strongly influenced by peoples age, sex or relationships with family. We didnt look at other factors that may influence these associations, such as socioeconomic status. We also relied on peoples memory of past events, which may not be accurate.

Genetic risk for mental disorders changes peoples sensitivity to the environment.

Imagine two people, one with a high genetic risk for depression, one with a low risk. They both lose their jobs. The genetically vulnerable person experiences the job loss as a threat to their self-worth and social status. There is a sense of shame and despair. They cant bring themselves to look for another job for fear of losing it too. For the other, the job loss feels less about them and more about the company. These two people internalise the event differently and remember it differently.

Genetic risk for mental disorders also might make it more likely people find themselves in environments where bad things happen. For example, a higher genetic risk for depression might affect self-worth, making people more likely to get into dysfunctional relationships which then go badly.

First, it confirms genes and environments are not independent. Genes influence the environments we end up in, and what then happens. Genes also influence how we react to those events.

Second, our study doesnt support a distinction between reactive and endogenous depression. Genes and environments have a complex interplay. Most cases of depression are a mix of genetics, biology and stressors.

Third, people with depression who appear to have a stronger genetic component to their depression report their lives are punctuated by more serious stressors.

So clinically, people with higher genetic vulnerability might benefit from learning specific techniques to manage their stress. This might help some people reduce their chance of developing depression in the first place. It might also help some people with depression reduce their ongoing exposure to stressors.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Genetic clues to depression revealed in large study - PsyPost

Genetics

UGA plant geneticists are tackling the climate crisis – Longview News-Journal

Plant genetics research at the University of Georgia spans schools, departments, disciplines, and centers. From the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) to Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Plant Center to the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics and more, UGA faculty with genetics expertise are seeking plant-based solutions to societal challenges. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker)

ATHENS -- With record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather escalating, the threats posed by climate change are intensifying. But the plants of tomorrow small and humble though they might be could help us meet the massive challenges of our warming planet.

Plant genetics research at the University of Georgia spans schools, departments, disciplines, and centers. From the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; from the Plant Center to the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics and more, UGA faculty with genetics expertise are seeking plant-based solutions to societal challenges.

Some of these faculty are conducting studies at the cellular level, while others investigate plants as whole organisms. Still others are exploring how epigenetics shape entire ecosystems. And while a number of UGA geneticists prioritize fundamental discovery, others are partnering with breeders or with industry to bring new crops and plant-based products to market.

Were spread out all over campus, Bob Schmitz, UGA Foundation Professor of Plant Sciences and the Lars G. Ljungdahl Distinguished Investigator of Genetics, said. But we all speak the same language."

Growing up in Minnesota, Distinguished Research Professor John Burke took an interest in the outdoors, collecting snakes, salamanders, and turtles with his two older brothers. Years later, he earned his Ph.D. in genetics from UGA and returned as a faculty member in 2006. Among his many studies, he has put particular focus on sunflowers.

Schmitz likes to tell people that hell work on any plant that has DNA which is all of them, of course. Our questions are broader than any particular plant, he said.

A member of the Department of Genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Schmitz studies the mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in plants, or how a plants environment influences the way its genes operate.

Members of the Schmitz Lab, working in partnership with international researchers, discovered that rare changes to DNA methylation can spuriously occur over generations of plants. They then found that they could use those multigenerational changes, which tick at a constant rate, to determine plant divergence time.

The information provided by this epigenetic clock, Schmidtz says, includes data relevant to the timing of invasive species introduction and the impact of human activity on native environments. These insights could prove useful for understanding how plant populations migrate, expand, or contract due to a changing climate.

Passing along fundamental genetic discoveries to research partners along the basic-to-applied continuum is something UGA does well, John Burke, a distinguished research professor and head of the Department of Plant Biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, said. He notes that the broad intersectionality of plant research has become a signature strength of the university.

There are intentional mechanisms in place to help bridge gaps between units, Burke said. We have ways to work together here. Thats critically important.

While some UGA plant geneticists pursue fundamental discovery, others are bridging the gap between basic and applied research. From Crop & Soil Sciences to Plant Pathology and Horticulture within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, these faculty members are helping transform crop plants, native species, and the future of bioenergy for a changing global climate.

As the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics, Robin Buell uses comparative genomics, bioinformatics, and computational biology to investigate the genome biology of plants and plant pathogens. While her subjects have ranged from rice and potatoes to maize, switchgrass, and medicinal plants, she currently studies poplar. Buell is the principal investigator on a $15.8 million Department of Energy grant to genetically engineer poplar trees (Populus sp. and hybrids) for biofuel production and other uses.

Poplar has strong potential to provide an alternative to petroleum-based products, Buell explains.

Its so fast-growing, its almost a weed," she said. "You can grow it almost everywhere. You dont have to grow it on prime land. Weve been able to do genetic engineering for the last 20 years, active breeding for even longer. But those developments have been incremental, not substantial.

This project has a more audacious goal.

Lets reinvent this tree, she said. Lets take Humpty Dumpty, lets break him, and lets put him back together again, but in a more intelligent way and faster.

The redesigned poplars will be fabricated through an intensive process that begins with measuring mRNA transcripts and includes mapping gene function throughout the tree. The end result could provide an alternative fuel for jet engines, among other sustainable products.

Wayne Parrott, distinguished research professor of crop and soil sciences, calls his area of investigation Biotechnology 2.0. An internationally renowned geneticist, Parrott has spent more than 35 years at UGA leveraging tools to help new soybean varieties and investigating the environmental and human safety of genetically modified crops.

My lab focuses on the development and use of biotechnology applications to help out with conventional plant breeding and plant improvement, he said. But theres a lag between what people want to do and what people are able to do.

His team is closing that gap by developing biotechnology applications to help strengthen conventional crop plant breeding and improvement.

Parrott directs the Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics, where researchers from multiple disciplines develop new crop varieties and conduct studies to understand the genetic traits of plants important to agriculture and humankind. He credits the institute with helping bring together plant genetics experts from all positions along the research pipeline.

Esther van der Knaap is a distinguished research professor of horticulture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She describes Integrated Plant Sciences as a central access point for prospective students to plant and fungal research across UGA. The curriculum allows students to undertake rotations in their first year to determine the best fit for their research interests, whether bioinformatics, ecology, genetics, breeding, biochemistry or some combination.

This type of program is something I dreamed about at my previous institution, but it wouldnt have been possible, van der Knaap said. At UGA, it was possible.

Van der Knaaps own research involves tomato foodshed. At the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, which supports the development, application, and commercialization of new technologies to genetically improve crops, the van der Knaap lab studies variations in tomato fruit quality, from shape and size to taste. The latter trait is closely connected to aroma and especially important for fresh market tomatoes.

Van der Knaaps team is collaborating with food scientists, breeders, and biochemists at UGA and at the University of Florida to identify genes that cause variations in the flavor profile of tomato as they became domesticated over time, from fully wild to what we buy in grocery stores today. The resulting information about genes that improve flavor can be used by breeders to develop tastier tomatoes for the market.

Our focus is on capturing the genes that control fruit quality traits in tomato, she said. We also investigate the genetic diversity of these genes that, collectively, offer knowledge to breeders in both public and private sectors.

A new frontier in plant genetics research is high-throughput phenotyping, a type of genetic screening that uses cutting-edge technologies to generate data about large plant populations such as a crop field or forest. Guoyu Lu, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a specialist in high-throughput phenotyping, says that these new technologies could help researchers, breeders, farmers, and forestry officials make decisions in real time to support and protect the plants they oversee.

Lu comes to this work with a track record of engineering innovation. Before joining the UGA faculty in 2022, his career included positions as a research scientist on autonomous driving at Ford and a computer vision engineer at the Disney ESPN Advanced Technology Group. His projects have attracted the interest and investment of Ford, GM, Qualcomm, Tencent, Mackinac and more.

I work on the AI side, Lu said. Im an AI scientist, but Im developing algorithms for plant scientists.

Using computer vision and robotics, including unmanned aerial vehicles, Lu and his team are capturing and generating data on specific genetic traits within large plant populations. The information they gather includes root structure, height, disease state, and more all collected without harming the plants themselves.

Currently, Lu is working to build an AI algorithm that is one-size-fits-all a multipurpose tool suitable for gathering genetic data on many different plants across multiple populations. He wants that tool to be accessible to anyone who needs it in the field, especially as extreme weather patterns intensify.

My work uses UAV to estimate the 3D structure models of both crops and forests, he said. The 3D structures can provide height, coverage, and other information. This data can be used to estimate growth, carbon dioxide absorption, impact on the environment, and more.

Plant genetics at UGA begins and ends with partnerships. Researchers have forged ties across disciplines and schools, with strong collaboration from field sites and with sustained support from leaders and partners across Georgia and beyond.

We have some of the top researchers in the world right here at UGA, Burke said. And the work is going on across the spectrum.

The race to adapt to a changing climate is on and these scientists are leading the way, with bold inquiry and deep appreciation for the plants they have dedicated their professional lives to understanding and championing.

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UGA plant geneticists are tackling the climate crisis - Longview News-Journal

Cell Biology

From Code to Creature – The Scientist

It began with little pieces of embryos scooting around in a dish. In 1998, these unassuming cells caught the attention of Michael Levin, then a postdoctoral researcher studying cell biology at Harvard University. He recalled simply recording a video before tucking the memory away. Nearly two decades later, Levin, now a developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University, experienced a sense of dj vu. He observed that as a student transplanted tissues from one embryo to another, some loose cells swam free in the dish.

Levin had a keen interest in the collective intelligence of cells, tissues, organs, and artificial constructs within regenerative medicine, and he wondered if he could explore the plasticity and harness the untapped capabilities of these swirling embryonic stem cells. At that point, I started thinking that this is probably an amazing biorobotics platform, recalled Levin. He rushed to describe this idea to Douglas Blackiston, a developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University who worked alongside Levin.

At the time, Blackiston was conducting plasticity research to restore vision in blind African clawed frog tadpoles, Xenopus laevis, a model organism used to understand development. Blackiston transplanted the eyes to unusual places, such as the back of the head or even the tail, to test the integration of transplanted sensory organs.1 The eye axons extended to either the gut or spinal cord. In a display of dynamic plasticity, transplanted eyes on the tail that extended an optic nerve into the spinal cord restored the tadpoles vision.2

Levin and Blackiston decided to explore this remarkable ability to adapt to changes in function and connectivity, a key feature for regenerative medicine applications. By leveraging natures proficiency in building and rebuilding, they wanted to understand the limits of cell and tissue plasticity outside of their natural contexts to perform new functions.

Its more like craftsmanship than it is science at times because youre doing very fine manipulations.

Douglas Blackiston, Tufts University

In a similar vein, Josh Bongard, an evolutionary roboticist at the University of Vermont and Levins longtime colleague, pondered how robots could evolve like animals. He wanted to apply biological evolution to a machine by tinkering with the brains and bodies of robots and explored this idea with Sam Kriegman, then a graduate student in Bongards group and now an assistant professor at Northwestern University. Kriegman used evolutionary algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate biological evolution in a virtual creature before teaming up with engineers to construct a physical version.

Levins biology and Bongards computational work intersected for a program called Lifelong Learning Machines(L2M). With this project, the researchers aimed to understand how biological systems adapt to their environments and integrate these living algorithms into robotics. Together, the team dovetailed developmental biology using different biological tissues as the building blocks and AI programs to generate synthetic lifeforms as the blueprints for biological robots (biobots), also known as xenobots.

At the beginning of this project, the team planned to build lifelong learning machines from AI systems, which was a challenging enterprise. Kriegman used evolutionary algorithms to design and evolve synthetic lifeforms in simulation, but the major stumbling block lay in translating these designs to the physical world. During weekly virtual meetings between the biologists and roboticists, Bongard recalled explaining to the biologist group what was easy and hard for roboticists to do; the conventional materials used to construct robots werent working.

Josh Bongard, Michael Levin, Douglas Blackiston, and Sam Kriegman (left to right) teamed up to build synthetic organisms with an unlikely building material: frog stem cells.

Its really difficult to realize [this idea] in hardware; no ones figured out how to create a robot that crawls out of a 3D printer, explained Kriegman. We tried to build robots out of rubber, 3D printers, and electronics, but theres always this problem. Its very difficult.

As Kriegman presented a video of little blob-like robots running around in a virtual environment, he described this challenge to the team. Within the computer simulations, these robots could be manipulated like a video game; it was easy to simulate physics principles like friction or modulate the virtual environment. However, the roboticists didnt think that they could translate these theoretical designs and simulations into the real world with the existing tools.

Blackiston rose to the challenge. He conceptualized a virtual robot built out of a different material: cells. In developmental biology and stem cell biology, this isnt a super difficult trick because the technology exists, but no ones thought about doing this, said Blackiston.

Blackiston got to work in the laboratory using extra cells from his X. laevis project. Through delicate micromanipulations of stem cells in the microscope room, he crafted a replica of Kriegmans virtual creature. About a week after Kriegman shared his simulations, Blackiston revealed his creation, affectionately dubbed the Bongard-bot, in a Slack thread.

When Sam and I were looking at this image, we werent sure what we were looking at. It looked like Sams virtual robot that he had shown the week before, but it was clearly made of cells, said Bongard. Although it was a rough approximation, floating in freshwater at only a few millimeters wide, it matched the virtual design.

While this creation emerged as an unexpected tangent to the initial L2M goal, it quickly became clear that this approach could breathe life into their simulations. Levin and Bongard encouraged Blackiston and Kriegman to explore this whole new space, moving between running thousands of simulations and sculpting the best designs out of cells. From there on, it was off to the races, recalled Kriegman.

See also: https://www.the-scientist.com/how-groups-of-cells-cooperate-to-build-organs-and-organisms-67881

Since the initial biobot remained static, the team wanted to see if they could make the newer version move. Kriegman initiated the iterative design of synthetic living machines by using AI to create virtual creatures; these innocuous blobs shuffled along the floor of a virtual world before gradually developing proto-legs or -arms. Then he and Blackiston selected the most viable designs to construct out of frog cells.

Xenobots are AI-designed organisms (red) crafted from frog stem cells (green).

In his initial simulations3 for locomotion, Kriegman based the iterations on frog skin and heart cells given their propensities to aggregate and contract, respectively.3 With heart cells, they hoped to leverage motor movements from the heart muscle, like a piston, that would coordinate a form of locomotion.

Kriegman needed the computer to determine the optimal position and shape for these cellular motors in the xenobots. However, there was no guarantee that the evolved simulation would be feasible in the real world. With limited information, Kriegman sought the expertise of heart researchers to gain some insights into heart cell synchronization and to learn how unconventional shapes may influence cellular function. We know how these cells work in the heart shape, but what would happen with these cells in the context of xenobots? he wondered. Its difficult to predict ahead of time, so the AI or evolutionary algorithm must find designs that work regardless of how the motors are moving. Its making reliable machines with unreliable parts.

The team had to get creative during this process. Based on the AI, Doug would build it, and then they would modify the AI and build the next iteration, recalled Levin. Going back and forth, it was amazing because every week there was something new to look at.

Its a great reminder that when it comes to robotics and AI, humans tend to overthink things. Its better to let evolution, either biological or artificial, figure out how much complexity is needed for the task at hand.

Josh Bongard, University of Vermont

As Kriegman generated numerous iterations of xenobots, Blackiston used the 3D image as the working blueprint in his microscope room. Blackiston gathered his ingredients using different biological tissues harvested from blastula stage X. laevis embryos. Then, as if building a sandwich, he arranged the different cell layers one at a time into a cube of tissue.

When the tissue healed together, it formed a sphere. Then Blackiston sculpted the tissue using a microsurgical tool with a wire smaller than a human hair to achieve the desired shape. Each cell type differed by color, and he rotated between filters to maintain the correct orientation. Its more like craftsmanship than it is science at times because youre doing very fine manipulations, remarked Blackiston. The final product resembled a speck of pepper moving in a petri dish. These biodegradable xenobots lived for about a week, sustaining themselves on their own food source (a yolk of lipid and protein deposits) before they degraded and ceased functioning.

One of the designs featured heart muscle cells on the bottom and skin cells on top with two stumpy legs on one side. As a result, it leaned over on its chest and could walk by moving forward in a straight line. However, when flipped onto its back, the simulated design became immobile due to the alteration in shape and tissue distribution. To verify whether the computer-generated in silico matched what was created in the laboratory, Kriegman compared the trajectories of the physical xenobot and those of the virtual xenobot. To the teams surprise, the two trajectories almost perfectly overlapped with one another. It wasnt just for one trajectory; there were lots of pairs, recalled Bongard. It confirmed that what happened in simulation matched what happened in reality.

The team next wanted to see if they could make a xenobot swim. To do this, the researchers employed another type of motor: cilia.4 Instead of layering different tissues, Blackiston used whole explants from developing frog embryos.

These explants, known as animal caps, have been used to study cell differentiation and tissue formation.5 The team repurposed the animal cap to create living machines with new specific functions. Once the X. laevis explants balled up into a spherical mass, they gained motility from cilia, which propelled them through their aqueous environments.

While their movements were less predictable compared to their walking counterparts, these ciliated xenobots could navigate. The xenobots swam through open fields, mazes, and even narrow capillaries. In environments with debris or silicone-coated beads, xenobots collectively swarmed together to push the debris into piles.

Not only did the xenobots demonstrate self-locomotion, but they could also be modified to record an experience. The team tested the biobots ability to sense their environments by microinjecting mRNA with a photoconvertible reporter that caused them to fluoresce green. Xenobots freely explored their surroundings, but if any xenobot passed through an area exposed to blue light, the reporter underwent a permanent conformational change, causing the xenobot to glow red. Otherwise, xenobots glowed green to indicate that they did not detect the blue light.

Xenobots also exhibited inherent robustness and could automatically self-repair after injury from surgical forceps. Every single xenobot could close a wound, resolve the injury, and reform into a spherical shape within minutes. From a robotics perspective, cells are like a technology from a thousand years in the future that have just been plopped on our desks. They work when you stick them together. They survive; theyre self-powered; and they heal, remarked Kriegman.

See also:https://www.the-scientist.com/xenobot-living-robots-can-reproduce-69477

As they watched the xenobots scoot and shuffle across the dish and push debris into piles, the researchers envisioned adding another feature. If the debris was replaced with other materials such as stem cells or even microplastics, the ability to collect materials could open up new areas for xenobot applications. They just needed a new design.

The presence of cilia, marked in orange fluorescence, enabled xenobots to swim in their environments.

The initial spheroid shape wasnt the best for this task. When Kriegman returned to the computer drawing board, he was surprised by the simplicity of the suggested design: a C-shape. Its a great reminder that when it comes to robotics and AI, humans tend to overthink things. Its better to let evolution, either biological or artificial, figure out how much complexity is needed for the task at hand, said Bongard.

This C-shape, reminiscent of Pac-Man or a snowplow, led to an unexpected discovery. C-shaped xenobots spontaneously replicated in a manner dubbed as kinematic self-replication.6 When the team replaced debris with loose, white-colored stem cells, the xenobots immediately set to work collecting cells.

Over time, the piles of collected cells grew big enough to begin swimming themselves. These baby xenobots, although smaller than their makers, were created without evolution or genetic manipulation. Interestingly, this process occurred entirely within the dish. If there werent enough loose cells around, self-replication ceased; parent xenobots could only produce a round or two of self-replication before petering out.

The concept of kinematic self-replication was first proposed in the 1940s by a mathematician named John von Neumann.7 In this hypothetical model, a machine could assemble parts to create a duplicate of itself. However, true replication only occurs in nature, while machine replication is limited to generating computer viruses. [With xenobots], this is a new way that people havent thought about where biological systems, namely cell clusters, can replicate, said Kriegman. Maybe this will help people think differently about replication.

By leveraging existing techniques, the team built something that was not found in nature and reconfigured it to fulfill a new function. These xenobots have challenged conventional categories: Are they robots, living things, or machines? While the categorization of these synthetic living organisms may need to be redefined into a new box altogether, one thing remains certain: the team has only scratched the surface of biobots capabilities.

Its a green technology in every sense of the word. What is the probability that it will never have an application? To me, Im biased, but I think its close to zero. Its going to find a use somewhere, but who knows how many uses and how long it will take? said Bongard.

People thought this was a one-off froggy specific result, but this is a very profound thing. Whats the furthest from an embryonic frog? Well, that would be an adult human.

Michael Levin, Tufts University

Potential avenues for these biodegradable machines primarily revolve around environmental applications, from serving as biosensors to detect pollutants to gathering materials like microplastics or even sequestering and breaking down harmful chemicals.

People thought this was a one-off froggy-specific result, but this is a very profound thing, emphasized Levin. To demonstrate its translatability in a non-frog model, he wondered, Whats the furthest from an embryonic frog? Well, that would be an adult human.

He enlisted the help of Gizem Gumuskaya, a synthetic biologist with an architectural background in Levins group, to tackle this challenge of creating biological robots using human cells to create anthrobots.8 While Gumuskaya was not involved with the development of xenobots, she drew inspiration from their design. By using adult human tracheal cells, she found that adult cells still displayed morphologic plasticity.

Xenobots (C-shaped; beige) push loose stem cells (specks; white) into piles as they move through their environments.

The resulting anthrobots swam using cilia, but they unexpectedly also moved across a layer of damaged human neurons. To Gumuskayas surprise, the anthrobots aggregated and formed what she described as an ant bridge between the two damaged edges. While how they accomplished this remains unknown, the anthrobots aided in healing the neuronal tear, indicating that they may offer therapeutic potential.

There are several key differences between xenobots and anthrobots: species, cell source (embryonic or adult), and the anthrobots ability to self-assemble without manipulation. When considering applications, as a rule of thumb, xenobots are better suited to the environment. They exhibit higher durability, require less maintenance, and can coexist within the environment, said Gumuskaya.

Meanwhile, there is greater potential for the use of mammalian-derived biobots in biomedical applications. This could include localized drug delivery, deposition into the arteries to break up plaque buildup, or deploying anthrobots into tissue to act as biosensors. [Anthrobots] are poised as a personalized agent with the same DNA but new functionality, remarked Gumuskaya.

Gumuskaya hopes that this work in frogs and human cells inspires the scientific community to explore the new and unexpected functionalities of these bioconstructs. There are a lot of big challenges in this world, but were developing new kinds of technologies and tools for the next generation. I hope that these bots become one tool in that toolkit, remarked Bongard.

References

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From Code to Creature - The Scientist

Genetics

Study shows effect of ‘interaction’ on epigenetic marking in… – Parkinson’s News Today

Genetic variations along with exposure to environmental factors, such as pesticides, may increase Parkinsons disease in a sex-dependent manner, a study of French farmworkers suggests.

Most cases of Parkinsons disease dont arise from a single factor, but rather a combination of a persons genes, lifestyle, and what theyre exposed to in the environment, Michael Kobor, PhD, who co-led the study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, said in a university press release.

Studies like ours provide building blocks for investigation of personalized risk profiles for Parkinsons disease and biomarkers for earlier diagnosis, said Samantha Schaffner, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at UBCs Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging, who noted that, while its too early to know if the findings will hold true when looking at larger pools of data, in the future, [scientists] may be able to estimate someones risk level based on their sex, genetics and lifestyle, and provide tailored guidance on prevention.

The study, Genetic variation and pesticide exposure influence blood DNA methylation signatures in females with early-stage Parkinsons disease, was published in npj Parkinsons disease by Kobors team in collaboration with researchers in France.

How Parkinsons starts is unclear, but growing evidence points to how genetics and a number of environmental factors, such as breathing in or having contact with pesticides, may come together to cause the disease.

While there has been a great deal of research into each of these factors on their own, we have a limited understanding of how they interact with each other, said Kobor, a Canada research chair in social epigenetics, who is leading efforts to establish a link between genetics and pesticide exposure. Were working to bring these pieces of the puzzle together to gain a better understanding of how Parkinsons develops, whos most at risk, and how we can prevent it.

The study included 71 people with early-stage Parkinsons and 147 people without it who were enrolled with TERRE, a health database of French agricultural workers that contains a detailed history of pesticide exposure.

People exposed to pesticides used in farming are at a higher risk for developing Parkinsons and those who live or work near areas with higher levels of certain pesticides are more likely to see their symptoms get worse faster.

Here, the researchers focused on DNA methylation and how its patterns change in women versus men with Parkinsons. In DNA methylation, chemical marks on DNA can indicate whether genes are turned on or off, that is, how the information in genes is used by cells without changing the genetic code itself.

After scanning more than 42,000 regions of DNA from blood samples, the researchers found that DNA methylation linked to early-stage Parkinsons was spread across 69 regions in women and only two in men.

In women, DNA methylation mapped to genes related to cell signaling, protein production, and ion transport. In men, those epigenetic changes mapped to genes related to protein breakdown or recycling and the transport of ions within cells.

To validate their findings in women, the researchers downloaded the PEG1 (GSE111629) and SGPD (GSE145361) datasets from a public database. They found a significant match in DNA methylation between TERRE and PEG1 along with a French database called DIGPD, but not between TERRE and SGPD.

For 48 of the 69 regions targeted by DNA methylation in women, genetics alone provided the best explanation for the epigenetic changes previously attributed to Parkinsons, but pesticide exposure also contributed, especially when it interacted with genetic factors.

These findings highlight the complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors, Schaffner said. Having certain genetic variations may only increase Parkinsons disease risk in the context of an environmental exposure like pesticides, and they might have a sex-dependent effect on risk.

While this study may help lead to a more personalized approach to Parkinsons based on a persons genetic makeup, the findings should be further explored in larger study populations and in experimental systems, preferably with precise measures of exposure, the researchers said.

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Study shows effect of 'interaction' on epigenetic marking in... - Parkinson's News Today

Human Behavior

32 animals that act weirdly human sometimes – Livescience.com

Humans often think we are unique, with abilities and behaviors far more complex than our distant animal cousins. But in fact, many creatures, from tiny insects to our closest living relatives, exhibit a surprising repertoire of behaviors that can seem eerily human. From elephants mourning their dead to bees that get pessimistic when faced with setbacks, here are some of the most human-like behaviors demonstrated by other members of the animal kingdom.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), along with bonobos, are our closest living relatives. A 2018 study found that chimpanzees not only share the same five major personality traits with humans conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, extraversion and neuroticism but that these traits could be linked to life span. Scientists found that more agreeable male chimpanzees formed stronger social bonds and tended to live longer.

A separate 2020 study published in the journal Science found evidence of social selection in aging male chimpanzees, with individuals showing a preference for more meaningful social interactions with older friends in a smaller group. This is similar to aging human adults, who tend to choose lifelong friends and socialize in smaller groups than in our youth, the study noted. Another study showed that chimpanzees, much like young children, copy human behaviors such as waving, clapping and kissing. And like humans, chimps also "wage war" to expand their territory.

The gorilla is another large primate that exhibits human-like traits. Scientists have found evidence of gorillas displaying the five human-like personality traits in both the wild and captivity. They use facial expressions and gestures to communicate, and feel joy, empathy and sadness. A 2016 study of gorilla behavior even found personality variations among different gorilla populations. And cultural traits a largely human behavior varied among five groups of gorillas, including mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), in different African habitats.

Dolphins are known for their intelligence and sociability, and a 2021 study found that, similar to humans and other primates, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have the personality traits of openness, sociability and disagreeableness. Interestingly, researchers also identified a fourth personality trait, dubbed directedness, which is unique to dolphins and combines elements of low neuroticism and conscientiousness.

"Throughout our lifetime, we interact and form relationships with a wide variety of people dolphins do the same with each other," Blake Morton, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Hull in the U.K., said in a statement. "Collectively, being smart and social,regardless of what ecosystem you live in, may play an important role in the evolution of certain personality traits."

With their huge brains, high intelligence, strong social bonds and empathetic behavior, Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) display many human-like traits, including facial recognition. In 2006, researchers found that, like humans, elephants recognize themselves in a mirror, and in 2015, a separate research team found that elephants have incredible long-term memories.

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A 2009 study found evolutionary evidence that genes that affect brain function, energy usage and metabolism, have evolved similarly in large-brained mammals such as elephants and humans. A separate 2023 study found that, like humans, elephants have followed an evolutionary process of domesticating themselves, in which their cultural and societal structures helped increase sociability and reduce aggression in creatures over time.

Like humans, magpies, a member of the crow or corvid family, can make and use tools to feed their young and mimic human voices. Another study also found evidence that European magpies (Pica pica) recognize themselves in a mirror.

Sometimes nicknamed "feathered apes" because their cognitive ability has been found to rival that of nonhuman) primates, Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) are also members of the corvid family. They can learn how to use tools and demonstrate an extraordinary level of self-restraint. A 2022 study found that Eurasian jays possess self-control. In that research, scientists found that Eurasian jays could pass an avian version of the "marshmallow test" they could withhold the temptation to eat mealworms right away. The scientists found that the jays with the most self-control scored the highest on intelligence tests.

Orcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, form strong social bonds and live in close-knit family groups called pods. Orcas have been recorded hunting, sharing food, communicating and socializing within their pod, demonstrating advanced cultural and personality traits. While studying the behavior of 24 captive orcas, researchers found that, like humans and chimpanzees, orcas have the personality trait of extraversion, as demonstrated by their playfulness and affection. Further research has found that captivity can change orcas' behavior, increasing their aggression and neuroticism.

A 2011 study found that rats display prosocial behavior. In that research, scientists recorded evidence of rats helping one another by allowing one rat to roam freely while another was trapped in a container. It appeared that the free rat shared the emotional distress of the trapped rat, despite no reward being offered each time it willingly freed the captive rat. However, a 2014 study suggested that it was a desire for social contact, rather than empathy, that encouraged the rat to rescue the captive rat.

In a much earlier experiment in 1958, researchers allowed rats to feed only if they pulled a lever that shocked fellow rats. The rats refused to do so, which, according to the researchers, indicated empathy and compassion.

In a 2018 study published in the journal Learning and Behavior, researchers found that dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) notice when people are in distress and seek to comfort them a behavior the researchers interpreted as evidence of empathy.

In the experiment, dog owners cried or hummed behind a closed door. The dogs that suppressed their own stress reaction in order to comfort the humans opened the door the fastest.

Male mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) seem to get jealous when spurned in mating, according to a 1975 study published in the journal The American Naturalist. Researchers found that when a male bluebird leaves the nest to forage, its female partner may move on with another male. In response, the male bluebird was found to savagely beat their partner by pulling out feathers and snapping beaks.

Like humans, horses (Equus caballus) can interpret facial expressions and distinguish human emotions. Similarly to dogs, horses are known for having close relationships with their owners.

In a 2018 study, the researchers found that horses cross-modally recognized the voices, facial expressions and emotional states of their primary carers and strangers. "Our study could contribute to the understanding of how humans and companion animals send and receive emotional signals to deepen our relationships, which could help establish a better relationship that emphasizes the well-being of animals," Ayaka Takimoto, an associate professor at Hokkaido University in Japan and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

Don't be fooled by their cute and fluffy appearance; female meerkats (Suricata suricatta) will kill any female rivals. Nonetheless, meerkats do exhibit a more caring side, with adults taking turns babysitting young meerkats and spending time educating them in essential life skills. This human-like child-rearing behavior has a strong evolutionary motivation, as it allows the dominant female meerkat to devote her time to breeding.

As part of a three-year study launched in 2023, researchers are investigating whether meerkats mirror human emotion and display empathy, with the aim of better understating human-animal interactions.

Although cats don't adore us in the intense way dogs do, a 2021 study found that they are capable of forming bonds with humans depending on the emotional behavior of the owner. A 2020 study also found evidence that cats (Felis catus) released the "bonding" hormone oxytocin when stroked, although to a much lesser degree than dogs.

However, when it came to displaying complex human-like emotions, jealousy was more commonly seen in cats than empathy or compassion, according to a 2016 study.

Pigeons have been shown to understand dozens of human words. And a 2016 study found that a pigeon could distinguish up to 60 words, marking the first time a nonprimate could recognize letters and have an orthographical brain, meaning they can process and understand letters.

According to study lead author Damian Scarf, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, the findings provided more insight into human brain development and our cognitive skills. "If you find something like this with pigeons, you can argue that it must've been common to our last common ancestor with pigeons, which is about 300 million years ago," Scarf said in a statement. "So the same flexibility and plasticity of the human brain that lets us pick up on words and the statistics behind them must've been present when we were still joined with pigeons."

Like humans, dragonflies can shut out unnecessary information, enabling them to focus on a specific task. This behavioral trait is seen in primates, which have a limited amount of attention and thus must choose between focusing in depth on a single task or multitasking with less focus.

In 2012, scientists found evidence that dragonflies have "human-like" selective attention when hunting their prey. Using a microscopic sensor in a dragonfly's brain, they found that this brain activity, known as neural filtering, enabled the insect to successfully capture their prey 97% of the time.

Scientists have found that, like humans, honeybees feel more pessimistic after a stressful experience.

In a 2011 study, bees were offered sugar or quinine, with a mix of odors, before being shaken in a way that stimulated a predator attack. The shaken bees had lower levels of the feel-good hormones dopamine and serotonin, suggesting they might experience some negative human-like emotions, according to the researchers.

Although they're not commonly associated with cleanliness, cockroaches have a preference for self-hygiene and groom themselves incessantly.

According to a 2013 study, cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) do this to keep their antennae working efficiently, as a buildup of environmental pollutants and their own waxy secretions harm their ability to smell pheromones to find a mate, source food and sense danger.

"The evidence is strong: Grooming is necessary to keep these foreign and native substances at a particular level," Coby Schal, an entomologist at North Carolina State University and co-author of the study, said in a statement. "Leaving antennae dirty essentially blinds insects to their environment."

Other than when they mate, Snakes are generally known for being solitary. But a 2023 study published in the journal Frontiers in Ethology found that, like humans, snakes may comfort one another in periods of stress. When adult southern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus helleri) in the study experienced a stressful situation with another snake of the same species, they had a lower heart rate than a snake that had not experienced such an encounter.

Facial recognition is essential to forming complex social connections. Humans as young as 2 months have mastered this skill.

Unlike primates, fish lack a large brain and visual cortex that aids in processing images. Yet archerfish can recognize human faces. In a 2016 study, scientists found that archerfish could learn and recognize human faces with accuracy.

"The fact that archerfish can learn this task suggests that complicated brains are not necessarily needed to recognise human faces," Cait Newport, a researcher in the University of Oxford Department of Zoology and first author of the study, said in a statement.

While studying Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in 2024, scientists found that nerve cells in the brain's premotor cortex, which prepares and executes movement in the limbs, strongly responded when tasked with adding and subtracting.

And back in 2008, a group of captive Japanese macaques were trained to use tools, with scientists finding cognitive similarities with humans. A 2021 study found that Japanese macaques can respond to the human gaze flexibly depending on the context, indicating a high level of perspective of others and their intent.

Along with chimpanzees, bonobos (Pan paniscus) are humans' closest living relatives. Known for living peacefully in close-knit social groups, bonobos engage in sex with both sexes, by touching genitals to greet each other and to deescalate violence.

According to a 2022 study, bonobos, like humans, can form harmonious relationships outside their immediate group by helping those in need. However, it appears their social interactions may not be completely harmonious, with a 2024 study finding evidence of aggression between male bonobos.

Whales use song to form social groups, find a mate and communicate. Much like humans, their taste in music evolves over time, with each whale species creating their own song. A 2017 study into cetacean culture and behavior found that, like humans, whales and dolphins of various species live in tight-knit social groups, form mutually beneficial alliances and enjoy playing. Scientists attribute much of whales' social behavior to their large brains.

Female Northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) can not only distinguish familiar humans but also judge which individual poses the greatest threat, allowing them to flee from their nest to safety, a 2023 study found. This finding suggests these birds have higher cognitive ability than scientists previously thought.

This research adds to findings from a 2009 study showing that wild mockingbirds don't forget people and have been found to chase away familiar humans they perceive as threatening.

Scientists have found that big cats including cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), lions and tigers can recognize human voices and distinguish them from those of strangers. The 2024 study found that these cats reacted more quickly and more intensely to human voices they recognized. The study authors said the findings indicate that less-social feline species can still have socio-cognitive abilities.

A separate 2018 study of captive and wild cheetahs found that they not only recognized human voices but also discriminated between caregivers and strangers and changed their activity in response. Wild cheetahs also appeared to recognize human voices, potentially because they lived in close proximity to humans.

With their blue blood and multiple brains and hearts, octopuses may seem otherworldly. However, they are also known for being highly intelligent, with strong facial recognition and learning abilities. A 2010 study found that giant Pacific octopuses (Enteroctopus dofleini) could recognize individuals using their large orbital lobes, an area of the brain used for vision. Researchers found that these octopuses were picky about who they liked and disliked, with each octopus showing a strong preference for the keeper who fed it.

Octopuses are also the only known marine invertebrate that can use tools, thanks to their long arms, each of which contains a brain.

Parrots not only have the extraordinary ability to mimic human speech but also exhibit social complexity and, like humans, use memories of past actions to influence future behavior. A 2022 study found that blue-throated macaws (Ara glaucogularis) demonstrated mental self-representation and episodic memory.

In 2020, an African gray parrot named "Griffin" (Psittacus erithacus) outperformed Harvard students in a memory-test game. According to the researchers, both the parrot and humans used a part of their working memories known as manipulation to remember and manipulate information, suggesting a similar ancient evolutionary capability.

Research shows that some penguins communicate by "singing" and can adapt their behavior to their environment. For example, Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) huddle together for warmth.

Penguins are complex social creatures that, like humans, rely on collaborative social skills to problem-solve for tasks such as hunting.

A 2021 study found that African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) could recognize an individual by matching their appearance to their voice, and a 1999 study found that a penguin could identify its mate's voice in a crowd.

Tamarin monkeys small, orange primates that live in South and Central America display several behaviors that could be considered human-like. In a 2013 study, scientists found evidence of cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) "whispering" to one another when in the presence of a human they disliked.

Ants are highly intelligent insects that live in huge colonies and form complex social structures. Like humans, ants teach one another new skills, a 2006 study found. Scientists observed ants performing a "tandem-running" style of teaching, with one ant showing another the route to a food source.

According to researchers, this indicates that teaching can evolve in animals with small brains. Even though the tandem leader doesn't immediately benefit, the tandem follower was found to quickly learn and show others, ultimately benefiting the entire colony.

Crickets are another insect with impressive memory skills. A 2006 study found that crickets of the species Gryllus bimaculatus could remember seven odors at a time and, like humans, have long-term memory. In a 2022 study, researchers found that crickets could learn and remember food sources using odors.

In 2011, scientists found that, like caring humans, crickets often put the needs of their mate before their own.

"Relationships between crickets are rather different from what we'd all assumed," Rolando Rodrguez-Muozof, a researcher at the University of Exeter in the U.K. and co-author of the study, said in a statement. "Rather than being bullied by their mates, it seems that females are in fact being protected. We could even describe males as 'chivalrous.'"

Like humans, orangutans are social primates with opposable thumbs, which they use to grasp things and swing through the trees.

Also like humans, orangutans (Pongo) can learn their own "languages" and often communicate using body language. A 2018 study found evidence that orangutans can "talk" about the past. Researchers observed female orangutans warning their young of past dangers in a form of language known as "displaced reference," providing insight into how vocal systems have evolved in humans.

Crows are highly intelligent birds with complex brains that allow them to solve problems and use tools to their advantage. A 2019 study found evidence of New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) using a hooked tool to forage plants.

Like humans, crows also possess self-awareness and can make decisions. A 2020 study published in the journal Science showed that crows use sense and reason to problem-solve, and a 2017 study found that crows rival some primates in intelligence.

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32 animals that act weirdly human sometimes - Livescience.com

Anesthesiology

Anesthesiology house officers present research at GME Symposium – University of Nebraska Medical Center

Anesthesiology residents and fellows presented their research including both poster and oral formats at the sixth annual Graduate Medical Education Research Symposium on Monday, April 22.

The symposium provides the opportunity for house officers to present their research in all areas, including clinical outcomes, basic science, education, business, health policy and humanities.

Peter Ricci Pellegrino, MD, PhD, received an award for his oral presentation on Sympathetic Vasomotion Correlates With the Magnitude of Hemorrhage in Conscious Rabbits.

Chandra Are, MBBS, the UNMC College of Medicines associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, said close to 120 research abstracts were presented at the event, nearly 50 more than when the symposium first premiered in 2018.

UNMC Department of Anesthesiology presenters at the event included:

Patrick Barone, MD, pediatric anesthesiology fellow Incompatible Batteries With Potential Hazard in MRI Environment

Mark Cheney, MD, critical care anesthesiology fellow Mind the Gap! Unexpected Euglycemic Ketoacidosis in a Case of Apparent Volume Overload

Nate Goergen, MD, PhD, resident NextSTAT: A Low-Cost Lot Based Paging Solution to Request Urgent Help in the or Using Amazon AWS Cloud A Novel, In-House, Rapid Response Solution to a Critical Supply Crisis Affecting Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Centers Nationwide Jenkins: An Anesthesia Intra-Op Voice Assistant to Improve Patient Outcomes and Situational Awareness in the OR

Peter Ricci Pellegrino, MD, PhD, pain medicine fellow Sympathetic Vasomotion Correlates With the Magnitude of Hemorrhage in Conscious Rabbits

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Anesthesiology house officers present research at GME Symposium - University of Nebraska Medical Center

Genetics

Kids Shape Their Development to Match Genetic Tendencies – Neuroscience News

Summary: Preschool children actively influence their own development to align with their genetic dispositions. By examining how toddlers interact with their environment, including activities like reading and puzzles, researchers found that childrens preferences impact how they engage in cognitive stimulation at home.

This active involvement helps shape their brain development alongside environmental factors. The findings emphasize the dynamic interplay between genetics and environment in early childhood, challenging the traditional views of passive developmental processes.

Key Facts:

Source: University of York

In a study carried out by experts in child development at the University of York, researchers have found that pre-school children actively select, shape and create their own experiences to match their genetic tendencies.

The researchers looked at how genes and the environment work together to shape the brain development of children between the ages of two and four.

They found that rather than being passive recipients of the environment around themsuch as the behavior and likes and dislikes of their parentsthey also had a strong say in creating their own experiences based on their inherited preferences and character traits.

The researchers looked at early cognitive stimulation at home including talking, singing, nursery rhymes, books and engaging with toys and puzzles. They found that children drove decisions on which activities to focus on and how often to do them at least as much as their caregivers.

Professor Sophie von Stumm from the Department of Education at the University of York, said, As many parents will know, small children are already very clear about what they do and dont like and this study cements the theory that, even at a young age, children are actively shaping their experiences at home.

A childs preferences and differences in character will evoke distinct reactions from their caregivers. For example, if a child enjoys reading they will sit and focus on a book, which is likely to motivate caregivers to read with them more and provide more books.

The debate over whether a childs character and abilities are down to nature or nurture is long-running, but our findings show how genes and the environment act as a combined force.

Our study can also explain why even siblings growing up in the same house can differ so widely in their behavioral tendencies,emotional development, and learning abilities.

The research is the first systematic study of genetics and the environment and how they interplay in very young children.

Thereportis titled Gene-environment interplay inearly lifecognitive development.

The study used data from the Twins Early Development Study, which followed over 15,000 families with twins born between 1994 and 1996 in England and Wales.

Over the course of this longitudinal study, twins verbal and nonverbal cognitive development was assessed at different ages, including at two, three and four, via standardized testing and extensive parent and self-reports.

Lead author of the report, Dr. Alexandra Starr, a researcher in the Department of Education at the University of York, said, We wanted to look at the early years because we know that children are already very different before they start school, and these differences in cognitive and socio-emotional development have important long-term consequences.

Early differences grow and become greater as children get older, leading to a snowball effect.

The early home environment is particularly important to brain development, we know so many outcomes in later life are related to thisfrom educational achievement, career success and income level to well-being and the ability to have stable relationships with others.

To tease apart the factors that aid childrens development, the researchers used a powerful method calledpolygenic scores. Polygenic scores capture DNA variants that are passed on from parents to children and that can indicate how likely a person is to, for example, do well at school.

The researchers tested interactions between polygenic scores for cognitive development and environmental factors.

If we understand how childrens differences come about in early life it could help to identify children in need of intervention as soon as possible, added Dr. Starr.

For example, we could use DNA to identify children at genetic risk of developing reading problems, and offer them early intervention before maladaptive behaviors, like avoiding books, manifest. Preventive measures have a greater chance of being successful when implemented early in life.

Polygenic scores are so powerful because they can predict traits at birth just as well as later in life, acting as an early warning system which could be of particular help for those children who are likely to struggle the most.

The study found that the early home environment contributes more to differences in children than genetic effects, but the researchers believe that in future even better genetic methods will be available.

These will show that genetics and the environment contribute equally to the differences between children.

People tend to be mistrustful of genetic testing because they fear it will result in discrimination, added Professor von Stumm.

Our study makes the case for more research on genetics, so that we can maximize the potential benefits of genetics and minimize their risks in the future, especially in the context ofchild development.

Currently we tend to diagnose conditions like dyslexia and reading disorders when children are already struggling and have fallen behind.

The latest advancements in genetic testing could mean we may one day be able to help children avoid reading difficulties altogether because we can support them effectively before they experience any of the struggles that are currently associated with dyslexia.

Author: Sophie von Stumm Source: University of York Contact: Sophie von Stumm University of York Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: The full report Gene-environment interplay in early life cognitive development is available online.

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Kids Shape Their Development to Match Genetic Tendencies - Neuroscience News

Internal Medicine

Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, on How to Address Health Care’s Impact on Climate Change – MD Magazine

The health care industry accounts for approximately 5% of total greenhouse gas and toxic air emissions, coming primarily from the United States and contributing directly to the ongoing climate crisis.1

Given the health care sectors notable contributions to climate change, mitigation and adaptation efforts fall heavily on physicians and key stakeholders, a topic Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, associate internal medicine program director and director of environmental health in the division of hospital medicine at Cooper University Health Care, discussed in her session at the 2024 American College of Physicians (ACP) Internal Medicine Meeting in Boston.

Specifically, she referenced the importance of leveraging direct patient education, noting Health care providers, health care professionals, whether it's nurses, physicians, we are all very trusted messengers by the public, so when they hear a message that comes from us about climate-related health factors or impacts of climate change, they will listen to us much more than they'll listen to politicians or other places where they may be hearing messages.

Although Cerceo described how physicians generally like to be fully educated on a topic before they discuss it with their patients, she said the strength of the current data should make health care providers feel empowered and like opening up that conversation will ultimately benefit the patient, regardless of how up-to-date you are on the most recent climate-related information.

Beyond ensuring that physicians themselves are educated on climate change and its link to health care, Cerceo also emphasized the importance of educating trainees and perhaps other physicians who may not yet be aware of or well-versed on the health consequences associated with climate change.

New research is coming down the pike fast and furious, she added. We're seeing studies where you can demonstrate the path of physiologic linkages. We don't just have correlation, association studies anymore, but we have that more foundational data that shows that these are real effects that are happening, and we can demonstrate why.

Despite the mounting body of evidence supporting the growing climate crisis, Cerceo explained that patients receptiveness toward climate-related topics when discussing their health tends to depend on how the conversation is framed. Beyond counseling her patients on the need to be careful about their exposure to certain environmental factors like air pollution, she also described the importance of providing them with tangible things they should be doing or a linkage that appeals to their direct experiences.

Although Cerceo described the expansion of the conversation and research surrounding climate change as encouraging, she was also careful to note that it is not enough, saying Things really need to accelerate, and we need to keep our foot on the gas pedal. Now is not the time to sit back and think, oh, you know, there's been a few positive steps, let's rest on our accolades It has to be all physicians recognizing the inter-linkages between us and our environment, and that we need to be mindful of this and incorporating it into our daily practice.

Reference:

1. Eckelman MJ, Huang K, Lagasse R, et al. Health Care Pollution And Public Health Damage In The United States: An Update. Health Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01247

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Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, on How to Address Health Care's Impact on Climate Change - MD Magazine