Tag Archives: environment

Neuroscience

R&D alliance between Harvard and Deerfield announces first project agreement – Harvard Office of Technology Development

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January 08, 2020

Profs. Lauren Orefice and David Ginty discuss their research in more detail in a Harvard Gazette Q&A. (File photo: Harvard OTD.)

Cambridge, Mass. January 8, 2019 Lab1636, the R&D alliance between Harvard University and Deerfield Management Company, announced today its first project agreement to advance Harvard researchers innovations toward the development of novel therapeutics. Lab1636 has committed to a first project out of the laboratory of David Ginty, PhD, the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Launched in March 2019, Lab1636 is a major strategic R&D alliance between Harvard and the healthcare investment firm Deerfield to speed the development and translation of biomedical and life-science innovations into transformative treatments to improve life, health, and medical care. Lab1636 was established with a funding commitment of up to $100 million from Deerfield.

Through this first project, Lab1636 will dedicate focused resources to advancing innovations with great therapeutic potential for patients. Recognized for his labs elucidation of the peripheral nervous system, Ginty seeks to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience relating to how we perceive and respond to our environment. Over the past few years, in particular, significant strides in understanding tactile hypersensitivity have been led by a postdoctoral researcher in his lab, Lauren Orefice, PhD, who is now Assistant Professor of Genetics at HMS and Massachusetts General Hospital. Together, they identified certain compounds that may point the way to a treatment for the touch hypersensitivity experienced by people with autism spectrum disorders.

Its exciting to see discoveries made in my lab being propelled into therapeutic development, where they can benefit from the medicinal chemistry expertise and clinical expertise of other groups, said Ginty. The resources at Harvard to support translational biomedical innovation were really instrumental in helping us advance this work to a jumping-off point, and Im hopeful that further development and clinical testing of the results could make a significant and lasting difference in the lives of patients.

The Ginty Labs research in this area has previously received funding from the federal government and the Simons Foundation, as well as translational research funding from Harvards Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator and Q-FASTR at HMS. Lab1636 is now poised to validate and expand upon the labs findings, advancing them through late-stage preclinical development.

Were thrilled by the momentum of the Lab1636 alliance so far, said Vivian Berlin, Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships in Harvards Office of Technology Development, which spearheaded the creation of Lab1636 with Deerfield. The collaboration holds great promise to drive rapid innovation across many fields of biomedical science and translate valuable insights into real-world impact.

This is an important milestone for Lab1636 and potentially for people suffering from tactile hypersensitivity, said James E. Flynn, Managing Partner at Deerfield. We look forward to continued progress in Professor Gintys novel work and other exciting developments on the horizon at Harvard.

A private company wholly owned by affiliates of Deerfield, Lab1636 supports Harvard R&D projects through various stages of drug discovery and development, for example enabling studies to explicate the biology of disease, validate therapeutic targets, or achieve a proof-of-concept necessary for filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. Harvards R&D projects funded by Lab1636 are initiated by principal investigators from labs across the University and selected by a joint advisory committee.

See also: Harvard professors David Ginty and Lauren Orefice discuss their translational research in a Q&A published today.

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R&D alliance between Harvard and Deerfield announces first project agreement - Harvard Office of Technology Development

Cell Biology

Discovery of cellular ‘hands’ could have implications in the fields of cell, developmental biology – News-Medical.net

The protein, called syndecan-4, combines with fellow cell membrane proteins, called integrins, to form protruding 'hands' that sense the environment outside the cell.

Both proteins sit in the cell membrane, with one end pointing inside the cell and the other outside. They are therefore in a prime position to sense conditions outside the cell and convert signals to biochemical messages that change conditions inside the cell. In doing so, they're able to drive some of the cellular processes behind cancer and other diseases.

The early-stage research, conducted by a team at Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, and Tampere University in Finland, could present a new research pathway and drug target for certain cancer types.

Lead researcher Dr Armando del Ro Hernndez, of Imperial's Department of Bioengineering, said:

Our findings could have immediate implications in the fields of cell and developmental biology, and lead to developments in several diseases including cancer and fibrosis."

The paper is published today in Nature Materials.

Syndecan-4 exists in nearly every human cell and is already known for its role in cardiovascular disease. However its potential roles in cancer biology and drug development have thus far been overlooked.

To study syndecan-4 the research team, led by Dr del Ro Hernndez, used biophysical, cell biology, and computational techniques.

The team found that activating these cellular 'hands' triggers a pathway with key roles in disease development, involving a cellular protein called the yes-associated protein (YAP).

YAP triggers some of the typical hallmarks of cancer. It reduces cells' ability to program their own death, in a process called apoptosis. Cells initiate apoptosis when they age or malfunction, so halting apoptosis allows diseased, even cancerous, cells to spread. YAP also controls the development of blood vessels - a hallmark of cancer as tumor growth requires extra blood flow.

They also found that syndecan-4 helps cells respond to movements outside themselves, by creating tension in the cytoskeleton - the 'scaffolding' within cells. This makes cells stiffen, which activates an enzyme called PI3K that regulates additional hallmarks of cancer.

It does this by converting the movements outside the cell into biochemical signals which, the researchers found, 'tune' the way the cells respond to tension and movement.

Dr del Ro Hernndez said: "The way cells interact with their environment could inform how we engineer tissues and mimic human organs for drug design. Syndecan-4 could now play a fundamental part in this endeavor."

Co-lead author Dr Stephen Thorpe of Queen Mary University of London said:

As syndecan-4 is expressed on almost all of our cells, the mechanisms we've uncovered could be targeted to alter any number of diseases and biological processes."

Professor Vesa Hytnen of Tampere University said: "Better understanding of cellular mechanosensing opens possibilities to develop treatments for conditions like cancer and fibrosis."

Next, the research team will further investigate syndecan-4's links to specific diseases like pancreatic cancer.

Dr del Ro Hernandez said:

Our next approach will involve syndecan-4 as a key contributor in disease. We hope this will lead to new insights into disease mechanisms."

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Discovery of cellular 'hands' could have implications in the fields of cell, developmental biology - News-Medical.net

Genetics

Autism heritability: It probably does not mean what you think it means – Spectrum

Brian Lee

Associate professor, Drexel University

The question of autisms heritability is compelling for researchers and laypeople alike, but many people in both groups misunderstand its definition.

Heritability is defined as the proportion of variation in a condition that is attributable to variation in genetics. Heritability estimates can influence how much time and money researchers like me think should be allocated to studying genetic factors versus environmental ones. For families with a history of autism, heritability estimates get right to the heart of the nature-versus-nurture debate, by offering clues about which factors led to an individuals diagnosis.

These numbers have substantial implications; they probably should not. Autism arises from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors, and most heritability studies oversimplify these relationships.

Several studies on autism heritability published in the past few years have drawn considerable attention. Those published from 2011 to 2014 estimated heritability to be in the 35 to 50 percent range, but studies published since 2017 have put the number at 64 to 85 percent.

What do these estimates actually mean?

Heritability is often misinterpreted as the proportion of a condition that is caused by genes. However, that interpretation is not quite correct. Or rather, so many asterisks must be attached in order for it to be correct, that it could not be, by any stretch of the imagination, considered to be correct.

Heritability estimates may tell us to what extent a persons genetics predispose them to a condition. But they tell us nothing about how different environments cause those genetics to play out.

First, let me explain why most estimates of heritability are incorrect. Studies that estimate autisms heritability use a statistical model to try to attribute the condition to either genetics or environment. Mounting evidence suggests this model is too simplistic to explain how autism arises.

The model generally looks something like this: Observed characteristics, or phenotype (P) = genotype (G) + environment (E). The G and E components can each be broken down further to get at specific types of genetic or environmental contributions, but the core point of the model is to separate G and E.

A statistical model is merely a caricature of the real world, though; the extent to which it is useful depends on how well the model reflects reality. The P = G + E model assumes that genetic and environmental influences are independent of each other and that genes do not interact with the environment or with other genes to influence phenotype.

We know in fact that networks of genes interact to influence a persons odds of having autism and that genetic factors raise the odds of having autism caused by environmental exposures such as infection, air pollution or nutrition.

In short, if reality is more complex than the model, that model may produce inaccurate heritability estimates. There are many more technical reasons why published heritability estimates are likely to be inaccurate1.

There is also a much simpler reason why heritability estimates should not be taken at face value: High heritability does not equal genetic causation, and it does not exclude the possibility of environmental influence.

Here are two thought experiments that demonstrate why.

Borrowing an example from the great evolutionary biologist Richard Lewontin, imagine planting a set of identical seeds in a uniform environment that ensures all the seeds receive equal amounts of light and nutrients. Any variation in the heights of the plants that grow from those seeds is solely attributable to genetic variation among the plants. The heritability in this scenario is 100 percent.

Now imagine taking another set of the same seeds and planting them in uniformly suboptimal growing conditions, with limited light and nutrients. The plants growth would be stunted, and again the heritability would be 100 percent.

The point is: Even where heritability is estimated to be 100 percent, the environment can influence phenotype. Of course, this is not limited to plants. For example, the heritability of human height is estimated to be approximately 80 percent, but height is still strongly regulated by a persons nutritional environment.

Next, consider this example from David S. Moore and David Shenk2. Imagine a bucket of water into which person A pours 40 liters of water and person B pours 60 liters of water. Clearly, 40 percent of the water is attributable to person A, 60 percent to person B. Now imagine the same bucket, but this time person A turns on the faucet and person B holds the hose. How much of the water in the bucket is due to person A and how much is due to person B?

In short, when causes interact to create an outcome, it becomes nonsensical to try to apportion credit (or blame) to one cause independent of the other.

The bucket example is not just a thought experiment; it represents conditions that have both genetic and environmental components.

Consider the condition phenylketonuria, which occurs in people who have genetic variants that affect how their bodies metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. The condition does not occur in the absence of the genetic variants, but it also does not occur if phenylalanine is removed from the diet. So how much of it can be attributed to genes versus the environment?

The consequences of miscasting heritability as the contribution of genetics to any given individuals diagnosis are potentially dire. As well as misinforming the public, it could throw funding for research on the etiology of autism entirely into genetic research rather than into how genes and environment interact.

This should cause genetic and environmental researchers alike great concern.

The search for rare genetic variants that may cause autism has yielded many important findings, but the search for common variants, whose influence combines to raise autisms odds, has been less fruitful. There are likely to be many of these variants, each exerting only weak effects, which makes them undetectable except in massive study samples. It is also highly likely that many common variants do not exert an effect unless they are present along with another genetic or environmental factor.

Animal models that explore genetic factors in the absence of relevant environmental interactions could be doomed never to recapitulate those genetic factors effects in people.

In short, many heritability estimates of autism in the literature are likely to be inaccurate and, more importantly, prone to misinterpretation. Rather than asking: Are genes or the environment responsible for autism? we should be asking: How are genes and the environment responsible for autism?

Brian Lee is associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Autism heritability: It probably does not mean what you think it means - Spectrum

Genetics

Is ‘No Kill’ Changing the Genetics of Pit Bulls? – City Watch

But a newphenomenon is also developing as a common occurrence -- multiple Pit Bulls attacking as a pack.

Colleen Lynn, founder ofDogsBite.org,which tracks and investigates fatal dog maulings, reports that,of all fatalities,65% involved two or more dogs, a reversal from early CDC (Centers for Disease Control) study years when 70% of fatalities involved a single dog.

Could the number of dogs involved in attacks listed below signal that these expanding policies -- which allow unlimited adoption, ownership, or keeping of Pit Bulls per household be influencing and changing the genetics of Pit Bulls -- and not in a good way?

The following is a single Pit Bull attack that occurred recently.I am providing it to show what was required to stop this dog in an enclosed location with animal-handling experts present.Imagine the terror and damage if there had been more Pit Bulls involved:

Attacking Pit Bull Shot in Animal Shelter to Save Life of Supervisor

Here is a terrifying example of the relentless nature of a Pit Bull attack. It was recorded on the kennel video in the Oakland County animal shelter and reported this week by theDetroit Free Press. The severely injured supervisor was a 25-year veteran of animal care and control.

The four-year-old Pit Bull involved, Roscoe, and had been surrendered after he attacked an adult and two children in the family that had reportedly loved and raised him since a puppy.

"When three Oakland County dog shelter workers couldnt dislodge a ragingpit bull mauling the kennel supervisor, a policeofficer shot thedog in the head, saving the supervisor. . . Yet, the 80-pound dog after being shot at point-blank range, between the eyes, seemingly rose from the dead, the Oakland County spokesman said.

The officer returned to the hallway of the six kennels housing dangerous dogs and found that the pit bull had regained consciousness and "now posed a fresh threat."

The officer saw it was now a wounded animal and the possible threat played through his mind, so he immediately ended its suffering with a second shot that was fatal," the spokesperson said.

The report states that,even after the incident was conveyed to the family, the mother refused to give permission to euthanize the dog, blaming the serious attack on herself and her two children to the fact she had been "talking too loud."

Roscoe had also previously bitten a shelter worker who took him out for a walk.

RECENT ATTACKS BY MULTIPLE PIT BULLS

Three Pit Bulls Kill Womanin Houston, TX on December 21, 2019.DogsBite.orgreports one woman is dead and another severely injured after a vicious dog attack in north Houston, according to police. . .KTRK reports thatall three dogs are pit bulls.

Woman Attacked by 6 Pit Bulls While Walking Dog. . .

Apr 26, 2019 -Awomanis recovering after police say she wasattackedbysix pit bullswhile walking her daughter's dog Wednesday night in Taunton, Massachusetts.. . .The officer then witnessedsix pit bullsfollowing andattacking51-year-old Rochelle Silva.

4 Pit Bulls Attack Woman Walking Dog. . .

Jun 24, 2019 -Awomanwas recovering after she wasattackedbyfour pit bullswhile walking her roommate's dog in Calgary, Canada, on Friday night.

Woman critically injured in Maryland pit bull attack

Nov 14, 2019 -Awomanwas critically injured in anattackby twopit bulls. . .Helicopters were used to searchforthe dog. . .

5 Pit Bulls Attack Woman On Bike, 'Tore Her Apart', Husband. . .

Apr 2, 2019 -A Florida woman underwent surgery Monday after suffering serious injuries following anattackbyfive pit bullson March 28.

Five Pit Bulls Maul Philadelphia Toddler to Death

Aug 2, 2018 -A 2-year-old boy was mauled to death byfive pit bullsat his aunt's house in the Port Richmond area of Philadelphia, local police have said. Officers responding to the incident at around5:35 p.m. Wednesday fired at the dogs to stop theattack, killing one and injuring two others, reported WPVI.

For shocking and informative quick-stats and graphs, see:Deadly Dog Attacks.

Read also:CA Hits Record High in Fatal Dog Attacks in 2019 -- Are Animal ControlPolicies Protecting Us?

HISTORY:PIT BULLSUSED FOR FIGHTING - NOT NANNY DOGS

Human aggression by Pit Bulls was not acceptable in past generations, including by dog fighters.The early 1900's photos which are now purported to be "Nanny Dogs" were actually ads used to show that the breeding stock by a dog man was NOT human aggressive and would not attack a human at a dog fight/match -- it did not mean they were house pets.

Dog fighting was legal in the U.S. at that time and advertising Pits bred for that purpose was rampant. They were bred to attack another dog without provocation andkill quickly and efficiently. They werenotintended to be released into society.(Google 'Pit Bulls for Sale' ads in the early 1900's inDog Fanciermagazine.)

PIT BULLS THAT ATTACK HUMANS NOT KEPT BY DOG FIGHTERS

Following an ad for pups from the line of "Old Family Red Noses and "Red Devils" with photos of "Wilder Red Inferno" and "Mean Girl, " here areexcerptsfrom an op-ed that appears in theAmerican Pit Bull Terrier Gazette(FALL 1997).

SIMPLY RETROSPECT OR RESPECT?(by Charlie Stephens,President, Lone Star APBT Club.)

"LET'S LOOK AT THE 1920'S AND1930'S. Things were very different then.We went to church on Sunday with no thought of burglary or theft, and the dog we had didn't dare bite a human being.If a dog, any dog, was aggressive toward humans it was killed.No, not gassed or injected, it was shot! It was a simple time and that type of dog simply was not tolerated.And this was especially true for the American Pit Bull Terrier. Dogmen of the 1920's and '30's would not allow it!

Today, however, it is different.People are scared, real scared, and they believe they need protection.So, they go out and buy a dog.

(He mentions five incidents of APBT attacks.)

In closing, I make a plea to all dog owners of America. Please take responsibility for your dog. . . If you must own a dog that is human aggressive, then keep it away from humans.And, keep it away from windows too.

PIT BULLS/FIGHTING DOGS CHANGED BY ADAPTATION

AJanuary 18, 2019 article, "The so-called modern bloodlines,"byNeylor Zaurisio, discusses and documents his personal study ofhow, since the 1800's, modern living necessitated adaptations that changed the name of the breed and also affected its size.

"In the late 1800's,with the industrial revolution, thousands of families migrated from rural areas to large industrial centers in search of employment.

Some of these families had as a form of extra income and tradition sold and bet on fighting dogs, Pit Bull dogs. When they saw the opportunity of a better future in the big cities they started to move and took their dogs with them, changing drastically from a habitat where they developed completely, to small spaces in apartments and other cheap options where they were confined most of the time, [loss of] exercise and losing their habit, combined with the selection for smaller dogs, caused a visible reduction in muscular and bone structure.

PIT BULLS HAVE ALSO ADAPTED BY SELECTIVE BREEDING

Pit Bull genetics have been changed several times.In theUnited Kingdom, bull-and-terriers were used inblood sports, such as,bull baitingandbear baitinguntil this was officially eliminated in 1835 when Britain introducedanimal welfare laws.

Sincedog fightingis cheap to organize and far easier to conceal from the law, blood-sport enthusiasts begin to develop dogs that could be pittedagainst each other.

DOG FIGHTERS OPPOSE BSL AND "MANDATORY SPAY/NEUTER"

Dog fighting was used as both a blood sport (usually involving gambling) and a way to continue to test the gameness and maintain fighting blood lines. Maintaining these bloodlines is the reason dog fighters do NOT want "Breed Specific Legislation" (BSL) nor mandatory spay/neuter laws.

If this centuries-old lineage is destroyed, it cannot be replicated.The characteristic of "gameness" means the animals will attack and kill without provocation--includingits own breed.It also means it will continue to fight until it is dead or physically incapable of movement.

PIT BULLS HISTORICALLY KEPT IN ISOLATION

Pit Bulls have traditionally been kept as the only dog in a household, chained or caged in isolation because of their propensity to attack/kill. (Dog fighters keep them caged or "tied out" on chains in their yards.A yard can be any size property, and many keep dozens of dogs -- each far enough from the others to be unable to engage physically. They did not indulge in "play groups."

MULTI-DOG HOUSEHOLDS, NO BSL AND NO PET LIMITS

The "No Kill" movement as prescribed by Best Friends Animal Society has imposed rigid rules for animal shelters and animal owners regardingeuthanizing a dangerous dog, and many veterinarians are afraid to take this risk because of the criticism that can be generated on the Internet.

Prior to this, rules and laws of animal ownership were created and enforced for public and animal health and safety, animals were limited to the number that did not create excessive noise and exhibit behavior issues that decreased or threatened the safety and quality of life of a community.

Best Friends policies links:

Save Them All - Best Friends Animal Society- Best Friends Animal Societyis leading the way.

Best Friends Position Statements on Issues -BestFriendsis opposed tomandatory spayandneuterlaws.

Dog Breed Labels | Best Friends Animal Society-Apr 6, 2018-Labelingshelterdogs as a particularbreedis problematic.Shelterstaff are wrong a majority of the time when identifying a dogs prominent breed. . .

Pet Limit Laws in Los Angeles | The Best Friends Blog

Dec 14, 2010 -Los Angeles is looking to raise itsanimal limit laws. Five reasons whypet limitsare a bad idea in the first place.

Pit Bulls, Dog Breed Discrimination & BSL | Best Friends.

One ofBest Friends' primary goals is to end pit bull breed discrimination,breed-specific legislation(BSL) and the killing of pit bulls in shelters.

Read also:Best Friends Animal Society in Dog Fight over Shock Collars(Nov 25, 2019)

MULTIPLEPIT BULLSMAY BE THE NEXT GATHERING STORM

In 1990, Donald H. Clifford, DVM, and two other noted staff members at the medical College of Ohio, published THE PIT BULL DILEMMA - The Gathering Storm," annotating 1.000 abstracts from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and reports of dog fighting and Pit Bull Attacks.

This was a warning that a new threat was being unleashed on society.(CA enacted a No Breed Specific Legislation prohibition in 1989.)

After Pit Bulls began to be kept as pets, owners generally kept only one orperhaps with a dog of the opposite gender (but even this may not stop them from inevitably fighting or killing each other.)

However, the basic behavior seems to be changing--perhaps as an adaptation to multiple-Pit households--so that numerous Pit Bulls can live together without killing each other but attack as a pack.Is this an anomaly, or is there a change occurring in the genetic structure of the dogs?

IS THE MULTIPLE-PIT BULL ENVIRONMENT CHANGING THE GENETICS OF PIT BULLS?

In the study, "Both Environment and Genetic Makeup Influence Behavior," the following conclusion was reached:

How do genes and the environment come together to shape animal behavior? Both play important roles. Genes capture the evolutionary responses of prior populations to selection on behavior. Environmental flexibility gives animals the opportunity to adjust to changes during their own lifetime.

I am not a geneticist, but I think it is worth questioning whether creating a living environment for Pit Bulls as pets in large or unlimited numbers in the same household is also creating changes in genetics which allows them to act in unison during attacks, but not turn on each other?

And, if so, judging from the recent increase in multiple Pit Bulls attacking as a pack, what issues does this pose for the future of society and community safety?

(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a former City of Los Angeles employee and a contributor to CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

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Is 'No Kill' Changing the Genetics of Pit Bulls? - City Watch

Immunology

Molecular mechanism suggests new ways to bolster immunity to deadly rotavirus: U of T researchers – News@UofT

Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered how a brief disruption to a molecular pathway in the guts of mice before they are born can compromise immunity in adulthood to a common and often deadly intestinal virus.

The researchers found that in utero inhibition of molecular signalling in the lymphotoxin pathway, long known as important in the development of the immune system, prevented a robust antibody response in adult mice to rotavirus. In humans, rotavirus causes an estimated 215,000 deaths annually, mostly in the developing world.

That early disruption limits the ability of the immune system to later trigger and generate production of Immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies, the researchers showed. It also interferes with the nature and function of cells in the gut that support the antibody response, called mesenteric lymph node stromal cells.The research was recently published in the journal Science Immunology.

It was surprising that these non-immune stromal cells were so important to the immune response, saysJennifer Gommerman, a professor ofimmunologyin U of Ts Faculty of Medicine and principal investigator on the study.

It turns out that stromal cells affect the ability of immune B cells to produce IgA that neutralizes rotavirus. Were just beginning to understand the influence these stromal cells can have.

Gommerman says the findings highlight the growing importance of research on the environment in which immune cells function. We typically think of a lymph node as just a bag of lymphocytes, but there is also this supporting structure that clearly has an active role in shaping immunity.

The studys first author, post-doctoral researcherConglei Li, identified a broad subset of stromal cells that affect the immune response to rotavirus. But the key players are likely a subset of that subset, Gommerman says. New technology known as single-cell RNA sequencing should soon enable researchers to identify many more of those cells, she adds.

That work could, in turn, lead to a better understanding of the genetic and environmental factors that may undermine immunity to rotavirus in the developing world, where rotavirus vaccines are much less effective than in high-resource settings.

Gommerman says that while several dysfunctions in the immune system likely contribute to reduced immunity to rotavirus in low-income countries, the current study offers a hint that prevention may be possible.

The thinking would be that if youre pregnant in a resource-depleted area, you may take a dietary supplement at a specific point to ensure proper development of tissues that support immunity, and which enable a vaccine to be more effective, she says.

That kind of intervention is likely a long way off, adds Gommerman, and replicating her results in human pregnancy presents obvious ethical problems. A more immediate next step for her lab is a collaborative study on IgA immune responses to other pathogens such as norovirus, another highly contagious disease.

A focus on single pathogens is useful in studies of IgA, according to Gommerman, because so many factors can influence IgA response. If you simplify the system of study, you get more predictable kinetics and can ask more discrete questions, she says. Weve made a contribution with that approachon a question that has been percolating in several labs for years. That feels good.

The research received support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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Molecular mechanism suggests new ways to bolster immunity to deadly rotavirus: U of T researchers - News@UofT

Immunology

Invest With A Purpose: Own The Future With Megatrend ETFs – Forbes

We now drive electric cars, watch our favorite shows on mobile devices, attend concerts via virtual reality and control the temperature in our homes by giving instructions to a voice assistant.

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An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a diversified collection of securities (like a mutual fund) that trades on an exchange (like a stock). Megatrend ETFs capture targeted groups of stocks perceived to be well-positioned to benefit from shifts in technology, society, the environment and demographics over time.

Here's why megatrend ETFs are the next frontier of access and a glimpse at the five megatrends BlackRock sees at the forefront of our changing world.

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As an example, with megatrend ETFs, investment in the self-driving and electric vehicles trend would go beyond carmakers and also include hardware companies that make road-monitoring sensors, software companies that make the algorithmic "brains" required to guide vehicles as well as battery producers. By looking beyond sectors and regions and selecting companies that are leaders in a particular ecosystem, investors can access the full growth potential underpinning these trends.

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BlackRock has identified five megatrends shaping our future. Here's a look at each and how they can help position you for tomorrow.

Technology is such a prevalent force that the current era has been dubbed the Fourth Industrial Revolution. How you live and work is shaped by exponential technologies like artificial intelligence, 3D printing and synthetic biology, to name just a few. Technology is driving exponential progress in the tech sector and far beyond and underpins the other megatrends we'll mention shortly.

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It's expected that more than two-thirds of the world's population will reside in cities by 2050, double the percentage from 1950.3 This mass migration to cities will require new business models and infrastructure.

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Demand for a clean, green tomorrow will advance energy and conservation. If you drive, or would like to drive, an electric car, you may be interested in putting your money in an ETF with an environmental focus. iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF5 seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of companies that may benefit from growth and innovation in and around electric vehicles, battery technologies and autonomous driving technologies.

It's expected that the number of newly affluent consumers will expand in Asia and across emerging markets. For example, China now has 3.5 million millionaires and more residents with wealth above $50 million than any country except the United States.6 iShares MSCI China A ETF7 can provide access to the Chinese market as it tracks the investment results of an index composed of domestic Chinese equities that trade on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchange and are not well-represented in broad benchmarks.

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For more information on how ETFs can help you invest in our changing world, click here.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses, which may be obtained by visiting http://www.iShares.com or http://www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

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Invest With A Purpose: Own The Future With Megatrend ETFs - Forbes