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Professor De’Broski Herbert | Scratching the Surface: The Role of Itch-Sensing Neurons in Fighting Parasitic Worms
Parasitic worms cause serious health issues in billions of people worldwide, so understanding how our bodies fight them off is crucial for developing better treatments. In a new study, Professor De’Broski Herbert and his team at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered a surprising connection between the neurons that make us itch and our body’s ability to protect itself from skin-penetrating worms. In their study, the team led by postdoctoral researcher Juan Inclan Rico, explored a subtype of sensory nerves that express a specific receptor, which can make us feel itchy in response to certain chemicals.
Professor Bruce Bowerman | Illuminating the Crucial Role of Microtubules in Forming Healthy Egg Cells
Meiosis is a special type of cell division that produces egg and sperm cells. This process is crucial for sexual reproduction and the continuation of species. When meiosis goes wrong within an organism, it can lead to infertility, or genetic disorders within the offspring. As such, understanding the precise mechanics of meiosis may have important implications for preventing genetic disorders in humans. Moreover, improving our understanding of this process will help clinicians identify healthy oocytes, a key obstacle when using IVF to overcome fertility problems.
Root Collar Excavation – ARR Solutions
Lazy summer afternoons are vastly improved by a delicious ripe peach. But what if one day peaches just disappeared? In this dystopia, people would find their grocer’s shelves starkly empty of peaches and other stone fruits. Unfortunately, this future scenario is far from fictional. A fungus is seriously threatening peach production in the southeastern United States. It infects and destroys the roots of fruit trees, later spreading into the trunk and killing the tree. The disease it causes, called Armillaria root rot, is the leading cause of premature peach tree decline in southeastern USA, costing growers around 8 million dollars in losses annually.
Investigating Neural Networks Through Microfluidics
In our brains, neurons form intricate networks that allow electrical signals to flow in an efficient and directional manner between brain regions, ensuring that information ends up in the right destination. Neuroscientists have struggled to reproduce these intricate, one-way patterns of electrical exchange in traditional cell cultures. Ioanna Sandvig, Axel Sandvig, Nicolai Winter-Hjelm and Katrine Hanssen show how the directional flow of information can be successfully mimicked using ‘microfluidic platforms’ developed at NTNU NanoLab, which feature microscopic networks of channels and chambers.
Professor Michael Shapira | Investigating the Role of Gut Microbes in Aging and Disease Using Tiny Worms
Our gut microbiome plays critical roles in health and disease. While our health typically deteriorates with age, the microbiome’s role in this process is not understood. Microbiome imbalances can develop with age, contributing to health issues. Research shows that taking microbes from young mice and placing them in the gut of old mice can reduce their aging markers and improve health. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint specific changes in younger or older microbiomes that could be used as therapeutic targets. Part of the difficulty lies in the variability in humans’ microbiomes, making it challenging to find trends.
Dr Juan José Martínez-García | Unlocking the Secrets of Sepsis: How Early Immune Responses Hold the Key to Survival
Inflammation is a coordinated response to bacterial and viral infections, involving the activation of white blood cells through receptors on their cell membranes. Normally, this process is highly regulated. However, if an imbalance occurs, complications can arise, such as sepsis, which is an excessive inflammatory response promoted by infections. During sepsis, an intense immune response is triggered, and a cascade of inflammatory molecules are released.
Dr. Jennifer Wilson | A New Approach for Identifying Drug Interactions
Understanding how different drugs can interact with one another is vital for patient wellbeing. While some drug combinations can cause worsening symptoms or dangerous complications, others may alleviate symptoms and help the patient to recover more quickly. Therefore, knowing which drug combinations to pursue and which to avoid is critical. In many cases, the effects of drug combinations arise because two drugs bind to the same target protein, particularly if they share similar properties. However, this is not the case for all drug interactions.
Dr Yong Cheng | New Insights into How Blood Cells are Produced
During the production of new blood cells, stem cells first develop into progenitor cells. These progenitor cells undergo further rounds of differentiation to produce different types of blood cells. Each type of blood cell has a different function. For example, red blood cells transport oxygen around the blood, whereas various types of white blood cells play different roles in fighting infection. However, overactive white blood cells also play a role in auto-immune conditions, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. As such, scientists are trying to better understand how blood cells develop, to find new ways of treating these conditions.
Professor Margie Lee | Combating Salmonella Infection by Exploring Microbial Competition in Chicken Guts
In the intricate dance of life, organisms vie for dominance, whether in vast forests or within the microcosm of your gut. The gut microbiome consists of a diversity of fungi, bacteria, and other microbes, continuously collaborating or competing in order to thrive. Competitive exclusion is the principle governing these interactions, whereby organisms may compete directly for space or nutrients, harm one another to gain an advantage, suppress each other’s growth, or even cooperate to suppress a shared rival. Professor Margie Lee of Virginia Tech and her colleagues delve into this microbial battleground, exploring how competitive exclusion mechanisms combat Salmonella bacteria in poultry intestines.
Professor John Maurer | Can Poultry Litter Spread Antibiotic Resistance?
Poultry manure is not in short supply, with 20 million tons produced in the US annually. Typically, poultry are housed on bedding, such as wood shavings, and the resulting poultry litter is a prized organic fertilizer. However, poultry litter may also have a darker side, in the form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These superbugs can cause dangerous infections that are difficult to treat. Alarmingly, some superbugs can also pass on genes that confer antibiotic resistance to other bacteria in their environment. This phenomenon begs the question: “Can poultry litter spread antibiotic resistance throughout the environment?”
Dr Yong Cheng | New Insights into How Blood Cells are Produced
During the production of new blood cells, stem cells first develop into progenitor cells. These progenitor cells undergo further rounds of differentiation to produce different types of blood cells. Each type of blood cell has a different function. For example, red blood cells transport oxygen around the blood, whereas various types of white blood cells play different roles in fighting infection. However, overactive white blood cells also play a role in auto-immune conditions, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. As such, scientists are trying to better understand how blood cells develop, to find new ways of treating these conditions.
Dr Martin Haesemeyer | A Deep-learning Framework that Links Brain Activity with Behavior
Neuroscientists have been trying to uncover the relationships between brain activity and behavior for decades. Identifying these links could shed new light on the functions of different brain regions, while also highlighting possible therapeutic targets for psychological disorders. In recent years, researchers have gathered a vast amount of brain activity recordings alongside data describing the behavior of animals or humans while these recordings were collected. Recent advances in deep-learning algorithms have now opened new possibilities for analyzing this wide pool of data.
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