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Do masks work? Its a question of physics, biology, and behavior – Ars Technica

Enlarge / Asian woman with protective face mask using smartphone while commuting in the urban bridge in city against crowd of people

On March 28, 2020, as COVID-19 cases began to shut down public life in much of the United States, then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory on Twitter: The general public should not wear masks. There is scant or conflicting evidence they benefit individual wearers in a meaningful way, he wrote.

Adams advice was in line with messages from other US officials and the World Health Organization. Days later, though, US public health leaders shifted course. Mask-wearing was soon a pandemic-control strategy worldwide, but whether this strategy succeeded is now a matter of heated debateparticularly after a major new analysis, released in January, seemed to conclude that masks remain an unproven strategy for curbing transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.

Theres still no evidence that masks are effective during a pandemic, the studys lead author, physician, and epidemiologist Tom Jefferson, recently told an interviewer.

Many public health experts vigorously disagree with that claim, but the study has caught attention, in part, because of its pedigree: It was published by Cochrane, a not-for-profit that aims to bring rigorous scientific evidence more squarely into the practice of medicine. The groups highly regarded systematic reviews affect clinical practice worldwide. Its really our gold standard for evidence-based medicine, said Jeanne Noble, a physician and associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. One epidemiologist described Cochrane as the Bible.

The new review, Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses, is an updated version of a paper published in the fall of 2020. It dropped at a time when debates over COVID-19 are still simmering among scientists, politicians, and the broader public.

For some, the Cochrane review provided vindication. Mask mandates were a bust, conservative columnist Bret Stephens wrote in The New York Times last week. Those skeptics who were furiously mocked as cranks and occasionally censored as misinformers for opposing mandates were right.

Meanwhile, masks continue to be recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which describes them as a critical public health tool. And this winter, some school districts issued short-term mandates in an effort to curb not just COVID-19, but other respiratory viruses, including influenza and RSV.

The polarized debate conceals a murkier picture. Whether or not masks work is a multilayered questionone involving a mix of physics, infectious disease biology, and human behavior. Many scientists and physicians say the Cochrane reviews findings were, in a strict sense, correct: High-quality studies known as randomized controlled trials, or RCTs, dont typically show much benefit for mask wearers.

But whether that means masks dont work is a tougher questionone that has revealed sharp divisions among public health researchers.

The principle behind masks is straightforward: If viruses like SAR-CoV-2 or influenza can spread when droplets or larger particles travel from one persons nose and mouth into another persons nose and mouth, then putting up a barrier may slow the spread. And theres certainly evidence that surgical masks can block some relatively large respiratory droplets.

Early in the pandemic, though, some researchers saw evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was spreading via tinier particles, which can linger in the air and better slip around or through surgical and cloth masks. Sweeping mask recommendationsas many have proposedwill not reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, respiratory protection experts Lisa Brosseau and Margaret Sietsema wrote in an April 2020 article for the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Their colleague Michael Osterholm, a prominent epidemiologist, was more blunt: Never before in my 45-year career have I seen such a far-reaching public recommendation issued by any governmental agency without a single source of data or information to support it, he said on a podcast that June. (The Minnesota center receives funding from 3M, which manufactures both surgical masks and respirators.)

In a recent interview with Undark, Brosseau stressed that she thinks cloth and surgical masks have some protective benefit. But she and others, including Osterholm, have urged policymakers to emphasize tight-fitting respirators like N95s, rather than looser-fitting cloth and surgical masks. That's because theres clear evidence that respirators can effectively ensnare those tiny particles. A well-fitting, good quality respirator will trap the virus, almost all of it, and will greatly reduce your exposure to it, said Linsey Marr, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech who studies the airborne transmission of viruses.

When air flows through a respirator, it passes through a dense mesh of fibers. Those tiny particles collide with the fibers and get stuck, thanks to electrostatic forcesthe same force that makes hair stick to a balloon.

There is a huge reduction in the number of particles that get through, Marr said. (Indeed, the "95" in the N95 rating indicates that a mask, used properly and under the right conditions, is designed to capture roughly 95 percent of airborne particles.)

A popular online physics education channel offers an animated breakdown of how N95 masks work to reduce exposure to airborne particles.

In the laboratory, researchers can actually test out respirator performance. For one paper, published in 2020, scientists placed two mannequin heads in a translucent box. Using a nebulizer and actual SARS-CoV-2 virus, they piped a mist of virus suspension through the mouth of one mannequin, mimicking an exhaling person. They used a ventilator to draw air into the other mannequins mouth. Finally, they fitted the mannequins with various combinations of masks, respirators, or nothing at all, and tested how much of the virus evaded capture as it journeyed between the mannequins. Cloth and surgical masks did have an effect but were substantially outperformed by the N95s, which captured most of the viral particles.

Just because an N95 captures particles in the lab, however, doesnt necessarily mean it will stop an actual person from getting infected out in the world. Part of the issue is that people dont always wear respirators properly. And, even if the respirator performs well, the viral particles that slip through could be enough to make a person sick anyway. In the mannequin study, even an N95 taped snugly to a mannequins face failed to capture all the particles.

Enlarge / One 2020 study using mannequin heads found that cloth and surgical masks did have an effectbut were substantially outperformed by the N95s, which captured most of the viral particles.Over the past 15 years, a handful of research teams have tried to test out mask and respirator performance in the real world, through randomized controlled trials. Such studies are often considered the highest standard of evidence, because they can minimize sources of bias. In one such study, conducted in the winter of 2009 and 2010, the Australian epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre and several colleagues divided nearly 1,700 health care workers in Beijing into three groups. People in one group were told to wear surgical masks at work. Another group was instructed to wear an N95 at all times. And a third group was asked to wear an N95 only during certain high-risk procedures. Then, for four weeks, the team tracked how often the participants got sick.

MacIntyre and her colleagues reported that the people who wore N95s all day were significantly less likely to develop a respiratory illness than everyone else.

Other studies have produced mixed results. Some found that the masks or respirators had a small effect on someones odds of getting sick, but not always enough to be considered statistically significant. Others didnt find any benefit at all when comparing N95s to surgical masks, or even surgical masks to non-masking.

Do those findings apply, though, when millions of people are masking together, in the middle of a pandemic? At this scale, the question of whether or not masks work can be treated as a policy question: Did mask requirements actually reduce the spread of COVID-19? But doing a randomized controlled trial to answer this question is probably impossible, said Jing Huang, a biostatistician at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. Its not easy to just ask a few dozen randomly selected cities to implement mandates, and a few dozen to avoid mandates, and then track what happens.

And yet, this scenario did happen naturally during the COVID-19 pandemic: Some places put in mask mandates, and others did not. This sort of natural experiment opened up an opportunity for researchers to sift through health data in these different locations and try to suss out patternsand Huang and her colleagues recently did just that. They matched 351 counties in the United States that had implemented mask mandates with counties that did not have a mandate, but that were otherwise similar in several other respects. This means that, when possible, the COVID rates in a Republican-leaning, suburban county in the South that implemented a mask mandate during moderate COVID-19 spread would be measured against infection rates in another right-leaning, suburban Southern county that did not put a mandate into place at the same time.

Huang's analysis found that mask mandates were associated with substantially dampened COVID-19 spikes, although the benefit waned over time in some counties. The reason behind that waning was unclear, but could perhaps be could be due to fatigue with the mandates, the researchers suggested. Similar studies have oftenbut not alwaysfound a positive effect.

Whether the masks were responsible for those benefits, though, was hard to pin down, Huang said. Its possible that other factorssuch as other policies implemented alongside mask mandates, or greater social distancingactually kept COVID-19 rates lower, rather than the masks themselves. I think its very difficult, Huang said, to make a causation conclusion.

The CDC has cited other observational studies to justify its masking recommendation. One 2022 study found that people in California who chose to wear N95s were less likely to catch COVID-19 than people using other kinds of respiratory protection, who were themselves less likely to fall ill than people did not wear a mask at all. But the study was criticized for doing little to control for all the other ways people who wear N95s may behave differently than people who never wear masks. Was it the masks that made the difference? Or was it those other cautionary behaviors that people who tend to wear N95s also engage in that reduced their risk?

Cochranes methods were designed precisely to unravel these kinds of vexing medical questions. The organization was launched in 1993, with the mission, as reporter Daniel Kolitz wrote in a feature for Undark, of gathering and summarizing the strongest available evidence across virtually every field of medicine, with the aim of allowing clinicians to make informed choices about treatment."

Today, Cochrane maintains a network of thousands of affiliated researchers, who produce hundreds of reviews each year while working under the Cochrane banner. Those reviews tend to answer very specific questions: For example, does taking vitamin C reduce the incidence, the duration or severity of the common cold? Each team first searches the vast scientific literature, trying to amass an exhaustive list of relevant published and unpublished studies. Then, they select studies that meet Cochranes thresholds for rigor, and systematically organize and synthesize the data, aiming to produce a succinct answer to the original question.

Those reviews prioritize randomized controlled trialsthings like the experiment with the Beijing health care workersover other kinds of studies.

Tom Jefferson, who is an instructor in the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, is the first author on Cochrane's recent masking review. For nearly two decades, hes been part of a Cochrane team that examines the effects of certain interventions on the spread of respiratory viruses. The team has considered a range of questions: Do respirators help slow the spread of respiratory illnesses? Does handwashing? Does gargling?

Jeffersons group published its first systematic review of these kinds of questions in 2006. For the most recent, updated review, Jefferson and 11 collaborators synthesized evidence from 78 such RCTs, including 18 studies that specifically examined mask and respirator use. (They also looked at five ongoing studies, including two that look at mask use.) Their conclusion is principally about the absence of evidence: Taken together, they found, those studies simply do not offer evidence that asking people to wear an N95 instead of a surgical mask significantly reduces their odds of getting sick. Similarly, they did not find evidence that wearing surgical masks offered an advantage over wearing nothing at all.

Few of the studies took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead looking at infections during cold and flu seasons. And the majority of the studies only looked at whether masks and respirators protect the wearer from getting sick not whether they reduce the odds that a sick mask-wearer will infect other people.

Some researchers agree that randomized controlled trials dont currently show clear-cut evidence that masks and respirators reduce the wearers odds of getting sick. But, they argue, RCTs may not actually be the best source of evidence for determining whether masks confer protection. Strictly speaking, they're correct that there's no statistically significant effect, said Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong whose research is cited in the Cochrane review. But when you look at the totality of evidence, I think there's a pretty good indication that masks can protect people when they wear them.

In particular, Cowling said, mechanistic studieslike those conducted with mannequinsdo offer strong evidence that respirators cut down on the passage of viral particles.

Huang, the Penn biostatistician, is among others who argue that, in many RCTs examining mask use, the sample sizes are just too small. Even if masks are effective, that may not show up as a statistically meaningful result. When the effect is moderate, or small, we really need a large sample size to find a significant difference, said Huang. Many of these RCTs, she said, simply werent large enough to find some potentially meaningful signal.

And even if the effect is modest, during peak periods of a pandemic, small advantages can have a large impact by reducing the number of sick patients seeking hospital care at the same time. From a public health perspective," said Cowling, "reducing the reproductive number by even 10 percent could be valuable."

For a complex issue like masks, Trish Greenhalgh is among other researchers who suggest that an RCT may be an imperfect tool. I'm not against RCTs, said Greenhalgh, a physician and health researcher at the University of Oxford. But they were never designed to look at complex social interventions."

Greenhalgh is an influential figure in the evidence-based medicine movementher book How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine and Healthcare is in its sixth editionbut she has at times been critical of what she characterizes as an overreliance on RCTs. Greenhalgh characterized some of her colleagues as, in effect, RCT hardlinersfocused on RCTs at the expense of considering other kinds of evidence. In that mindset, she said, it seems that an RCT, however bad, is better than an observational study, however good."

Cochranes own leadership seems to share some of those concerns. In November 2020, when Jeffersons team published an earlier version of their review, Cochrane published an accompanying editorial, warning policymakers to move cautiously with the results, and not to interpret them as definitive evidence that masks and respirators dont work. Instead, the group wrote, there may never be strong evidence regarding the effectiveness of individual behavioral measures.

Some observers have suggested that such warnings are more about politics than science.

In an interview with the journalist Maryanne Demasi, Jefferson accused Cochrane of slow-walking an earlier version of the review, and of writing the editorial in order to undermine our work. (In an email sent to Undark via Harry Dayantis, a Cochrane spokesperson, the editor in chief of the Cochrane Library, Karla Soares-Weiser, said the processing time was standard for such a long review. "We wrote the editorial to help contextualize the review in the hope that it would help to prevent misinterpretations of the findings, she wrote. As we've seen from the response to the 2023 update, the risk of misinterpretation is very real!)

The review is not the first time that Jefferson has found himself challenging prevailing medical opinion. Years ago, he drew attention for arguing that the benefits of influenza vaccines had been overstated. (A 2009 article in The Atlantic described him as the most vocaland undoubtedly most vexingcritic of the gospel of flu vaccine, noting that he had become something of a pariah among flu researchers.) He has spent years arguing that the drug oseltamivir, also known as Tamiflu, and another antiviral medication may be less beneficial for influenza patients than drugmakers and public health authorities have claimed. More recently, he and another author on the Cochrane review, Canadian physician and World Health Organization adviser John Conly, have questioned the role of small airborne particles in transmitting SARS-CoV-2.

Jefferson has also done some writing for The Brownstone Institute. Founded by libertarian Jeffrey Tucker, the organization is broadly opposed to public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jefferson declined to be interviewed for this article, sharing links to three Substack posts in which he criticizes press coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most media are as complicit in spreading fear and panic as governments and their psyops people, he writes in one of the posts, going on to draw an analogy between reporters and Nazi functionaries.

Attempts to arrange interviews with four other authors of the Cochrane review, including Conly, were unsuccessful.

At times, the conversation about masks can verge on larger questions about human nature, and about how research should take into account the messiness of peoples behavior.

At issue is a contentious detail: In many of the RCTs analyzed in the Cochrane review, its not clear whether the people who were told to wear masks or respirators actually did so consistently and correctly. In addition, many such studies only ask people to wear respiratory protection for part of the day, meaning even if the mask or respirator works to stop infections when its on, the wearer may just get sick at other times. Marr, the Virginia Tech professor, compared this to a study that asks people to wear condoms only half the time they have sex: What do you thinks going to happen?"

Some people are skeptical that such distinctions really matter, at least when it comes to policymaking. Your policy has to exist in the real world. That's the thing, said Shira Doron, a physician and the chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine. A respirator, used perfectly and continuously, may work to reduce the spread of COVID-19. But if theres a public health intervention that requires strict adherence, and almost nobody seems willing or able to follow it, is that actually an effective intervention at all? What does it even mean to say that it works?

Noble, the emergency physician, has led the UCSF Hospital emergency departments COVID-19 response. Perfect masking, she said, is out of reach for many people. In some casesshe brought up elderly patients who struggle to communicate when maskedit can even have harms. And masking policies, she said, dont always seem to recognize that reality, especially at a stage in the pandemic when vaccines are widely available. Her own work suggests that even fitted respirators, worn by health care workers, can swiftly lose their shape and fit, perhaps undercutting their protective benefits. "It's just harder to fit a human being than it is a mannequin, she said. And then we just cannot wear them correctly, for any length of time, because of the discomfort.

Doron spoke warmly about the Cochrane review, while stressing that it had limits. "This study has concluded, not that masks don't work, but that there is not evidence that masking on a population level decreases the incidence of infection. That's what it proves, she said. She still thinks a good, well-fitting respirator can help prevent someone from catching COVID-19. Why do I think that I think that? Because of the totality of evidence from non-RCTs that address that question. But do I know it? No, I do not.

It can be difficult to determine what all of this evidenceand gaps in evidencemean for mask mandates. Cowling spoke with Undark via Skype from Hong Kong, where officials continued to enforce a mask mandate until this week, issuing steep fines for people who did not cover up in public spaces, both indoors and outdoors.

Cowling, who heads the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Hong Kongs School of Public Health, expressed doubts about that kind of policy. He argued that the evidence is clear that widespread masking, deployed during a pandemic surge, may help to flatten the curve and save lives. That's the exact scenario that public health measures are designed for, he said. But that's not the way they've been used in the last years, he added.

"What's happened in many parts of the world is that measures are brought in and kept in place, Cowling said, far longer than they're needed."

This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.

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Do masks work? Its a question of physics, biology, and behavior - Ars Technica

Biology

Synthetic biology could disrupt some of the worlds biggest industries. Here are four steps to building a syn-bio strategy – Fortune

Three years ago, Frances Lesaffre, one of the worlds largest and oldest yeast manufacturers,entered into an alliancewith the Silicon Valley-based syn-bio startup Recombia Biosciences. While Lesaffre had usedyeast and yeast extracts to produce a range of products, from baking ingredients to flavors and biofuels, over the last decade, new syn-bio firms had begun modifying yeast, expanding the number of molecules obtainable through yeast fermentation. To stay at the forefront of innovation, Lesaffre decided to partner with Recombia in 2020and that partnership helped accelerate the development of yeasts to produce fermented ingredients.

With the startups proprietary technologies proving to be critical for its future,Lesaffreacquired Recombiain March 2022. Since then, it has incorporated Recombias genome editing technologies into itsbio-foundryto gain a head start in the biggest business opportunity of the century, namely synthetic biology. Thats no exaggeration; syn-bio applications are likely to disrupt industries that accounted for as much as a third of global output in 2022, according toBCGs recent studies.

Like Lesaffre, incumbents in many industries are experimenting with syn-bio strategies, but it isnt easy. The science continues to develop and the industry dynamics keep changing, so its tough for incumbents to figure out whether theyre making the right strategic choices, as we pointed out in arecent article. Theycant rely solely on traditional buying and selling relationships in the nascent syn-bio ecosystem; companies have to embark on co-development strategies, which help them make the right technology choices; choose the right partners; and use the right collaboration models.

Incumbents can use differenttypes of collaborations to enter the syn-bio industry: They can form or join focused consortiums; enter into joint ventures; or acquire, and merge with, syn-bio firms. As the Lesaffre case demonstrates, these strategies will evolve over time. In order to design successful collaborations, companies must take four steps.

The best starting points for formulating a syn-bio strategy are the most important challenges any incumbent faces today. Business is looking to make its processes less dependent on carbon-based energy sources; overcome the trade-offs between raw material costs and sustainability; create products with superior performance; and build resilient supply chainsall of which syn-bio can help with.

Consider, for instance, theLOral for the future program, which puts syn-bio at the heart of LOrals efforts to reach its 2030 sustainability targets. Committing itself to developing sustainable processes and producing green ingredients, LOral has turned tosyn-bio as one of theprograms three pillarsalong with green chemistry and green extraction. LOrealsOpen Innovation platform, which is catalyzing joint R&D projects, and its alliancessuch as the one with the French microalgae startup, Microphyttestify to its belief that syn-bio will resolve the tradeoffs between sustainability and profitability.

Onceincumbents have identified their most critical challenges, they must locate the assets and capabilities they will need to tackle them. Some they may already possess, as we have shownin a previousFortunearticle;others they will need to procure from the outside.

To do that, incumbentsshould consider forming, or becoming part of, focused consortiums or ecosystems that possess specific capabilities, or can provide access to specialized assets. CEOs can use achecklist to assess the capabilities they need and identify the firms with which they can form consortiums. They must ask:

* Do we need research, design, development, and intellectual property partners, such as startups that have capable R&D teams?

* Do we need sourcing partners, such as companies familiar with creating supply chains for novel feedstocks?

* Do we need manufacturing partners, such as syn-bio contract manufacturers familiar with precision fermentation and engineering?

Consider, for example, Germanys BASF, the worlds largest chemicals manufacturer, which hasinvested in LanzaTech, a Chicago-based syn-bio startup, to complement its technologies. In most industrial processes, exhaust gases are either flared or recovered to produce electricity and steam; LanzaTech has developed a microbe-based technology that uses those residual gases, which contain carbon monoxide and hydrogen, as feedstock to produce bioethanol.The partnership allows BASF and LanzaTechto help reduce the carbon emissions of many manufacturers, such as steel producers.

Most syn-bio consortiums are limited in scope, drawing on existing industry stacks, but joint ventures between incumbents and syn-bio firms offer more opportunities. They allow an incumbent the freedom to design a range of applications that fit its product portfolio; license the co-developed intellectual property; and exercise control over its strategies as syn-bio technologies mature. Thats critical, especially if theres a possibility that the technology could turn into the incumbents main driver of innovation tomorrow.

Winning with joint ventures is a challenge, though, and requires capabilities, capital, time, and talent. Last June, for instance, Unilever, which has created deep global capabilities in managing joint ventures, announced that it would strike a$120 million partnership with Geno(the erstwhile Genomatica). The incumbent and the startup are working to scale plant-based alternatives to palm oil as well as all the fossil fuel-based ingredients in Unilevers cleaning and personal care products. Not only is the joint venture targeting a large and diverse market, but the syn-bio substitutescould become Unilevers unique selling proposition in a range of product categories. Thatswhy the two companies decided that a joint venture would be the best mechanism to gain an edge over rivals.

A strategy of acquiring and integrating syn-bio startups is an effective way to augment incumbents capabilities, as the examples weve discussed show. It speeds up learning and capability development, enabling the organization to become more syn-bio-centric. By engaging with startups, incumbents are forced to become more agile and generate novel synergies among their teams and leaders.

For instance, Sanofi, theFrench pharmaceuticals giant, has been pursuing an M&A strategy in recent times, acquiring a number of cell and gene therapy startups in its focus areas such ashemophilia, immunology, oncology, rare diseases, and vaccines.In 2021 alone, Sanofimade key acquisitions of firms includingAmunix,Kadmon,Kladis,Kymab,Origimm,Tidal Therapeutics, andTranslate Biotakingits M&A investments since 2018 to over $30 billion.

At the same time, incumbents would do well to come to grips with scale of their ambitions. Those looking to lead in the industry may prefer to create syn-bio stacks and build a variety of applications. That strategy can be time- and investment-intensive, though: Building a bio-foundry alone will cost over $150 million, according to recent estimates, and maintenance expenses will add around 15% of that every year.Moreover, it will require incumbents to engage with a number of academic and research institutions, accelerators, and incubators in order to stay at the cutting edge. So, the ability to scale and diversify must be builtab initiointo any decision to build a syn-bio stack.

Industrial incumbents must keep in mind their experience with digital technologies. They thought they would never be affected by the resulting changes and, even if they were, that they could build out the IT capabilities they possessed. Soon, many realized that they lacked the talent and the technologies to take on digital upstarts, which forced them to acquire startups and work with digital giants. In the same way, if incumbents dont want to be disrupted for the second time in two decades, they would do well to come to grips with syn-bio by teaming up with syn-bio startupsright away.

ReadotherFortunecolumns by Franois Candelon.

Franois Candelon is a managing director and senior partner at BCG, and the global director of the BCG Henderson Institute.

Nicolas Goeldel is a project leader at BCG X Deep Tech and one of the firms synthetic biology experts.

Max Mnnig is a project leader at BCG and an ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Some of the companies featured in this column are current or past clients of BCG.

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Synthetic biology could disrupt some of the worlds biggest industries. Here are four steps to building a syn-bio strategy - Fortune

Biology

LabXchange: A Digital Tool for Success in AP Biology – The Education Trust

In 2021, more than 200,000 students worldwide completed the Advanced Placement (AP) Biology exam. AP Biology aims to prepare high school students for two semesters of college-level introductory biology and to cultivate laboratory skills through inquiry-based experimentation. Students can even receive college credits based on their overall score on the final exam. AP Biology and other advanced placement courses thus serve as onramps to college-level study and future career paths in STEM.

Yet, more than half a million students of color and students from low-income backgrounds are missing from AP participation, according to a 2013 report from The Education Trust, and by extension, from the valuable foundation these courses offer for success in academics and work. This is not because schools lack AP offerings fewer than 1 in 10 students attend schools that dont even offer AP courses. Instead, the majority of these missing students are not being equitably recruited for, enrolled in, and prepared for AP courses. According to a 2022 report by Ed Trust and Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), only 3% of eligible Black and Latino students are enrolled in AP STEM classes.

To narrow the gap in AP participation, school and district leaders must challenge the biases that lead to the exclusion of students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, especially Black and Latino students. Ed Trust and EOS co-created a brief, 5 Questions to Ask District and School Leaders About Access to Advanced STEM Coursework in High School to help families, advocates, and communities call for more inclusive and equitable practices. But students, families, and teachers also need ongoing support after students enroll in advanced courses. LabXchange, an initiative of Harvards Vice Provost for Advances in Learning supported by the Amgen Foundation, aims to help students succeed in advanced STEM coursework through a suite of free resources aligned with the AP Biology curriculum.

LabXchange makes high-quality science education accessible, connects learning to careers, and gives everyone, everywhere, the opportunity to chart a path in science through a powerful digital platform for science education and an expansive library of world-class learning resources and. In addition to the 20,000 learning resources currently available, new AP Biology resources will be released starting in 2023 as clusters, or thematic groupings of resources, entitled Biochemistry, Cells & Energetics; Cell Communication, Heredity & Gene Expression; and Evolution & Ecology. As they navigate the clusters, educators and learners will engage with virtual lab simulations, videos, assessments, and other interactive digital content. In the meantime, educators may access additional resources such as the Core Concepts in Biology cluster.

Virtual tools, such as simulations, allow students to interact with complex lab topics in advance of hands-on experimentation, thus preparing all learners for success during class. This approach increases access to AP topics for a variety of learners who may otherwise struggle with the rigor and pace of a college-level course, says Stefana Dunn, LabXchange high school content lead.

All the learning resources in the three clusters can be saved, shared, or remixed with alternative educational content from the LabXchange library or educators own desktops. This allows educators to personalize online learning for a wide variety of teaching contexts, prepare students for laboratory experiences, and nurture a sense of belonging in STEM. Currently, AP Biology teachers are faced with deciphering lengthy standards. By setting a clear scope and sequence, our team is creating an easy-to-use suite of resources that align with the standards, and incorporating enrichment opportunities, says Dunn. Were also strategically scaffolding assets to ensure that teachers can help meet each student where they are, and make up for possible gaps in background knowledge and preparation.

With digital tools like LabXchange, opportunities for enrichment and engagement extend beyond the end of the school day and outside the confines of the classroom. According to Mary Liu, LabXchange high school teacher-in-residence and a science teacher at Weston High School in Weston, Massachusetts, Some of the main constraints that I face are highly limited time, resources, and budget for hands-on labs. By giving students experience before a hands-on lab or giving them a chance to review a virtual lab afterwards, I can better enable students with varying backgrounds to achieve at the AP level.

Finally, to further a sense of belonging, the LabXchange AP Biology clusters will incorporate career narratives showcasing a diverse range of scientists and roles in STEM. According to Ed Trust and EOS, when students see themselves reflected in the curriculum and in other students in the class, students are more likely to feel welcome in AP courses. AP teachers and students will also have access to forthcoming resources from the Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Science Education project, which aims to equip educators with inclusive teaching strategies.

In short, Advanced Placement STEM courses offer many benefits, from the development of scientific thinking skills to actual college credits. Every student deserves to be recruited for, enrolled in, and supported in these rigorous, valuable experiences. With the online learning resources provided by LabXchange, and the advocacy tools offered by Ed Trust and EOS, including this brief, 5 Questions to Ask District and School Leaders About Access to Advanced STEM Coursework in High School, communities have the power to help all students thrive in AP courses, regardless of their race or income level.

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LabXchange: A Digital Tool for Success in AP Biology - The Education Trust

Biology

A pleiotropy map of cell biology covering 1,002 human traits – Nature.com

Publishers note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Barrio-Hernandez, I. et al. Network expansion of genetic associations defines a pleiotropy map of human cell biology. Nat. Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01327-9 (2023).

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A pleiotropy map of cell biology covering 1,002 human traits - Nature.com

Biology

Chemistry and biology programs boast several doctoral acceptances – Western Carolina University News

WCU Stories March 2, 2023

Connor Larmore (left) and Matteo Fratarcangeli

By Brooklyn Brown

Western Carolina Universitys chemistry and biology programs in the College of Arts and Sciences are tallying up doctoral acceptances at universities across the country, including Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Connor Larmore and Matteo Fratarcangeli are two of several students celebrating acceptance into doctoral programs. Both students were accepted at Duke.

Larmore is a biology masters student from Morganton. Larmore will soon be a double alumnus of WCU with his undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biology. Larmore was recently accepted to the biology PhD programs at the University of Georgia, Duke and the University of Virginia. Hes still deciding where his next chapter will be, but he said hes leaning heavily towards Duke.

Connor Larmore works in the laboratory on an experiment.

Larmore said the interview process for applying to PhD programs has been pretty easy, but he has worked hard to be prepared. My interviews with the schools I applied for have been very informal interviews. They werent like gotcha interviews, they just asked me about my research, Larmore said. If youre gonna do a PhD in chemistry or biology, it is essential that you have research experience. Prior research is a big component of your application and you should be able to explain your research experience well to the interviewers.

Associate professor Jamie Wallen, who is on Larmores thesis committee, reiterates the importance of research experience. Its really important to show that you have the experience. I think one of the things we do really well here at Western is we have great faculty that provide research to our students, says Wallen. One of the hardest parts of a PhD is getting the PhD through the research. They want to see that youve done research, that youve enjoyed it, and more importantly, that you can talk about it.

Larmore is studying two proteins in salmonella typhimurium, a bacterial pathogen that colonizes the intestinal wall of humans. If you get infected with salmonella you end up with gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, Larmore said.

Several years back, there were a couple of genes identified in this organism that are believed to encode proteins that function to produce a sugar called trehalose. There was a later study that found that if they knock those genes out, they can no longer grow the organism in the lab. Nobody has studied the proteins that are encoded by the genes. So, my work has been studying these proteins in this organism.

Larmore wants to continue researching microbial genetics in his PhD, but his long-term goal is to return to academia. I would like to become a professor somewhere where I can continue conducting research, but also teach, Larmore said. I have served as a graduate teaching assistant. Ive taught several genetics labs, a principles of biology 1 lab, and this semester Im teaching a couple of microbiology labs. Ive really enjoyed those experiences.

Larmore credited his research adviser Amanda Storm, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology, his undergraduate research adviser Scott Huffman, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, and his thesis committee including Wallen and Heather Coan, associate professor of biology, for preparing him for this next stage.

The faculty have been really supportive. Dr. Storm read through my personal statement, looked at my CV, provided feedback and wrote recommendation letters. Positive recommendation letters are really important, Larmore said. When it comes time for applications, its definitely important that you have relationships with faculty who can write positive recommendation letters for you.

Matteo Fratarcangeli is preparing his thesis through computational chemistry.

Larmore also acknowledged the Department of Residential Living and the Office of New Student Orientation, where he worked as an RA, orientation counselor and coordinator. Those offices gave me the opportunity on campus to develop a professional skill set, said Larmore.

Fratarcangeli is a second semester chemistry graduate student earning his masters through the 4+1 program. He is originally from Ariccia, Italy. He graduated from Smoky Mountain High School as part of a foreign exchange program and then pursued his undergraduate and graduate degree at WCU.

My aunt is like me. She left Italy when she was 18 to come here. When she would come to visit, I always heard her stories from here, Fratarcangeli said. Since I was little, I was planning on coming here after I graduated from high school; it just so happened that I got here a little earlier than expected.

Fratarcangeli has been accepted to chemistry PhD programs at Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and Purdue University. Like Larmore, Fratarcangeli said he is leaning toward Duke.

Fratarcangeli has also performed extensive prior research to prepare for his PhD. My thesis is on europium complexes. Specifically, we have two projects: one is a computational project so everything is done on the computer studying how molecule structures affect europium, says Fratarcangeli. The other is in the lab where we study europium nanoparticles to hopefully one day image cancer cells.

He has conducted nearly three years of research with Channa de Silva, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics. De Silva said Fratarcangelis ability to present research is a key component leading to his PhD acceptances. Matteo has done a lot of scholarship in chemistry research. He has presented at two national American Chemical Society meetings and several Southeastern Regional ACS meetings, de Silva said. He also presented at an undergraduate conference at Harvard University, consistently doing research and presenting at graduate level competitive conferences.

Along with de Silva, Fratarcangeli also said Scott Huffmans chemometrics course and associate professor Carmen Huffmans seminars have prepared him to successfully present research.

A PhD is five years of research and if for some reason you end up not liking it, youre gonna be miserable. Start doing research before then to see if you really like it, Fratarcangeli said.

Like Larmore, Fratarcangeli is interested in returning to academia after working for a company. I really like the freedom of research that academia gives you and I would like to train the next chemists, he said.

Wallen wants Fratarcangeli and Larmore to be an example to other students of the limitless possibilities with a degree from WCU. Our students can do whatever they want. They can go to medical school, graduate school, dental school, whatever they want to pursue, Wallen said. If you come to Western and you get an education here, the sky's the limit.

De Silva agreed. We can confidently say that we shape students so that they are ready for that competitive level of education, de Silva said. We have the infrastructure and the potential for students to choose whatever they want to do. They have a lot of options here, and we work one-on-one with students. We do it well and we are serious about it.

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Chemistry and biology programs boast several doctoral acceptances - Western Carolina University News

Biology

Science Spotlight: Biology JEDI Committee – Georgetown University The Hoya

Since its foundation in 2020, the Georgetown University Biology Departments Committee on Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) has served as a catalyst for breaking class, race and gender barriers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at Georgetown.

The committee was created amid nationwide conversations about race and equality, with the goal of bringing these discussions to the attention of the university. The committees mission is to address obstacles that limit the full participation of underrepresented groups in the biology department, and to foster spaces where all voices are heard.

JEDI is the only department committee at Georgetown that features undergraduate students, graduate students, research faculty, non-tenure-line teaching faculty and tenure-line faculty. This wide age range allows for issues of equity and inclusion to be examined at all department levels.

JEDIs biweekly meetings are split up by project, some of which are led by both undergraduates and graduates. Current projects include initiatives for equity in pre-professional opportunities and admissions and creating support systems for underrepresented biology students.

Giselle Rasquinha (CAS 25), one of the first two undergraduate members of the committee, is currently working on a project to make research opportunities more equitable to undergraduate students.

A lot of the extracurriculars, like research, that are seen as necessary for getting into med school or being a STEM major are class-based, Rasquinha told The Hoya.

Full Disclosure: Rasquinha is a Science writer at The Hoya.

The application-based nature of many STEM clubs at Georgetown, as well as a general lack of awareness about research opportunities, also limits inclusivity, not to mention their often unpaid nature, according to Rasquinha.

In response to these barriers, Rasquinha and other undergraduate students on the committee are working on restructuring Foundations in Biology I, a required class for all biology majors at Georgetown. Their additions would include teaching students the hidden curriculum, or what often goes unsaid regarding navigating and gaining experience in the field of biology.

The committees proposed curriculum would also provide students with a toolkit for securing professional development opportunities in science. For instance, JEDI is working on a project to increase funding for the Regents STEM Scholars Program, which supports first-generation and low-income underrepresented minority students in the natural and quantitative sciences.

Graduate students on the JEDI committee are spearheading similar efforts.

Meghan Bullard, a Ph.D. student in Dr. Haiyan Hes lab, an assistant professor in neuroscience, is working on a project to make graduate student recruitment more equitable.

Instead of directly asking about research experience, we are asking more general questions that gauge other characteristics that indicate success in grad school, Bullard told The Hoya.

This initiative will aim to change application questions to be broader, instead of focusing on experiences that often have class barriers like research, according to Bullard.

The committee also aims to have an adaptive, far-reaching influence on the biology department as a whole.

JEDIs work should not be something that only people on the committee work on. It should be central to everything we do in the department, Professor Mun Chun (MC) Chan, assistant teaching professor of biology and one of the committees founding professors, told The Hoya.

JEDIs committee members serve on graduate admissions, undergraduate admissions and hiring committees, which helps to further the organizations goals. Additionally, faculty members on the committee are replaced every three years in order to make sure the group adapts. Last year, the committee was made a standing committee via a unanimous vote by department administrators.

Kimberly Nguyen (CAS 23), one of the first undergraduates on the committee who is now pursuing a masters in Global Infectious Disease at Georgetown, said that the biology department adequately respects and resources the committee.

Whenever we need funding, the bio department is very receptive, Nguyen said. This was echoed by other committee members, Bullard noted that there is a lot of desire expressed by department professors to be more diverse and inclusive.

The committee still faces challenges in securing assistance from the university as a whole despite department support. Nguyen said that there is a desire for the committee to be made an official club.

Recognition as an official club would allow the committee to reserve spaces to meet in person and receive more funding.

Professor Chan said he hopes the university ultimately brings together committees from different departments in order to enact cross-disciplinary initiatives.

We should consider issues of equity and inclusion every time we make a change, whether we are hiring, trying to decide which speakers to bring to the university, or testing the abilities of students, Chan said.

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Science Spotlight: Biology JEDI Committee - Georgetown University The Hoya

Biology

Everything You Need To Know About Godzilla – TheGamer

A titan of terror, a god of destruction, Godzilla is an iconic colossal Kaiju that's both an unstoppable force of nature's wrath and the Earth's most powerful defense against other giant monsters, aliens, and more.

RELATED: Games To Play If You Like Dawn Of The Monsters

Created by Toho Studios of Japan back in 1954, Godzilla, Gojira, Monster Zero-One, Big-G, or however youd like to call them is a creature that dominated eastern and then western cinema for decades and rightly so. A supposed man-made creation of radioactive origin, there's a lot to learn about what makes this big lizard tick. So here's everything you need to know about Godzilla's biology.

For first-timers new to the massive monster scene, here's a Kaiju crash course. From what we've gathered from Monarch's files on the creature, and reported yet redacted encounters by the JSDF, Godzilla is estimated to be thousands, if not millions of years old (depending on the canon). And is a creature of such a physical and destructive scale that merely having it appear on a city's shoreline is enough to start mass panic throughout an entire country.

Taller than a skyscraper and with thighs wider than a city block, this towering reptile has scales that can stop missiles and atomic fuelled fire breath that can reduce entire neighborhoods into molten irradiated slag. Buildings crumble with its passing and there's yet to be a giant beast, alien, mechanized weapon, or battle droid capable of putting it down permanently. Though Oxygen bombs have proved a potent deterrent to this overgrown dinosaur, it always returned in one form or another.

Truly unkillable, humanity's best option for surviving alongside Godzilla is to just evacuate major population centers, stay out of the way, and invest in home insurance.

If you were to take a cathedral-sized Scalpel to Godzilla and start to dig around inside, you'd find something interesting. For a start, the creature's carapace is composed of an ultra-dense material formed into a reptilian scale shape that deflects, dissipates, and defends against any and all attacks. Though it seems weak to high temperatures and extreme voltages, perhaps due to conductivity between the scales.

The bones of this beast are equally massive and made of a mineral composition that renders them seemingly unbreakable. This makes sense considering the sheer amount of tonnage in weight they would need to support. The organs of the beast are also capable of breaking down all sorts of material, both organic and inorganic to seemingly sustain Godzilla. They're also able to withstand extreme temperatures into the Kelvins or Super Negatives, whilst also exuding extremely high amounts of radiation.

So much radioactive material is released by Godzilla. In fact, the areas it passed through often endure elevated radiation levels for several weeks. Also, if Godzilla releases its fire breath, the immediate area will be rendered unlivable for years almost instantly. Standard decontamination protocol after exposure is recommended, but not always successful.

The origins of Godzilla have varied over the years. With different sources pointing to everything from a genetic deviancy brought about through Nuclear Testing, or the Hollow-Earth school of thought that says it emerged from a subterranean realm. Or its a prehistoric creature that crawled out of a chasm after being asleep for millennia. Whichever one matters, they share a common thread: Nuclear bombs or testing is involved, the big lizard appears from somewhere, and things get smashed.

Godzilla was first sighted off the shores of Japan in the 50s. Since then, the creature has continued to bounce between periods of destructive activity and extended periods of dormancy. Though it's noted these active apocalyptic occurrences are often due to external negative stimuli. (e.g. the appearance of another Super Predator, the creation of something that would negatively impact the earth's environment, or because of alien control.)

The destructive capabilities of Godzilla can be best categorized as cataclysmic. Not only does the sheer weight it can throw around alone mean it can casually walk through a busy city without those pesky buildings slowing it down. But the power put behind its claw makes it capable of tearing bridges and reinforced heavy weaponry apart like tissue paper.

Then there's the fire breath.

Depending on where you're standing in the canon, Godzilla's Atomic Fire Breath has varied in strength over the years. Scaling upwards in scale from high-temperature flames to radiation-tinged lines of plasma then finally highly radioactive laser beams that blast in a seemingly infinite direction from its mouth, spinal fins, and tail.

The other fusion-powered trick in its arsenal is to stockpile radiation within itself until a moment of critical mass is achieved and a colossal nuclear-fuelled explosion occurs or is surged outwards in damaging pulses. Finally, Godzilla is shown to be able to exert a strong magnetic field (Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla) to both attract and repel objects as large as power pylons and combat droids.

RELATED: Godzilla: Best And Worst Kaiju Games, Ranked

Though this piece started as a fictional "Field Report," there is a need to clarify that Godzilla is in fact not real. It was first created as a metaphor for the destructive power of atomic energy in a post World War 2 Japan, and it was Toho Studios' way of putting out their version of an anti-nuclear protest. There's a little more to it than that, but that's an apt way to keep it brief.

Godzilla first appeared on the silver screen back in 1954 and was a big success. The classic Kaiju would go on from there to star in countless sequels and spin-offs that are still carried on to this day. It impacted the cultural zeitgeist over the years so much in fact that there are endless parodies, references, and direct inspirations in pop culture that you can directly point to because of it.

Godzilla's gender is something that's been up for debate for years. Through the different eras of Toho Studios, they played a little fast and loose with that rule. Either altering it slightly or not really addressing it outright. In some versions, they've always been male, other's there are hints of it being between genders, but either way, it's often referred to as an "it". Where the confusion lies is that Godzilla is capable of self-procreation, which makes it difficult to pin down where they fall.

For example, in the '98 movie, they were shown laying eggs asexually. Plus, in older examples like Son Of Godzilla, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II, or the animated show, a hatchling was shown to be born. Usually named Godsuke, Minilla, or Baby Godzilla. Theres also the example of Godzilla Vs Destroyah where a new Godzilla was formed out of the destroyed remains of the old one. The same applies in the Netflix adaptation Planet of the Monsters where a smaller version just randomly appeared, whilst the original much larger one slept. In general, Godzilla is referred to as a "he" or an "it".

This is one topic that unfortunately falls into the relationship category of "it's complicated" as the big Lizard's connection with the afterlife is tenuous at best. Like how Kratos can casually walk out of the Underworld again and again, so too does Godzilla shake off death like it's a minor inconvenience. But this is not to say the creature is truly unkillable; it's just very, very resistant to dying.

Over the years, Godzilla has "died" a few times but due to resets in the canon, it keeps coming back. Whether through energy transference from Mothra, recuperating at a site of radioactive and geothermal activity, or unsubtly detonating a Nuclear Bomb in its face. There have also been examples of Godzilla producing a smaller, equally strong copy of itself as a contingency plan which then grows in size. Should the original die, this new creature assumes the role of its deceased parent, and the cycle continues. But no matter where in the canon you look, Godzilla keeps coming back.

Except the 1998 one, that one stayed dead for all the right reasons.

NEXT: The Best Board Games For Monsters And Kaiju Fans

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Everything You Need To Know About Godzilla - TheGamer

Biology

Technology only a means, not a solution to healthcare, says biology … – Arab News

ABU DHABI: Healthcare is still in an era of imprecision contrary to popular belief, Dr. Gianvito Martino, a professor of experimental biology, told Investopia 2023 on Friday.

Speaking during a session on innovations in precision healthcare, he said doctors and researchers must first understand the molecular mechanisms underlying disorders.

We are understanding that nature has already solved a lot of mysteries because we are evolving as living organisms for 3.5 billion years, said Martino.

What we understood in the past years is that we have to copy what nature is already doing.

Participating in the session was Dr. Michael Severino, CEO of Tessera Therapeutics, who claimed that one modern game-changer was the ability to study human disease in people rather than animals for better insight.

The necessary technologies did not exist in the past, which made it difficult to examine human subjects, he added.

Severino, who joined Tessera in 2022, brought more than two decades of biopharmaceutical leadership to the company.

He said studying human diseases coupled with expanding the notion of what therapeutics is necessary to keep advancing in the field.

Its not just a small molecule, or a therapeutic monoclonal antibody, we have genetic therapies that correct inborn errors in metabolism that can deliver new instructions to cells to keep building abilities we never had before, explained Severino.

Elaborating on the topic, Martino said the world was entering a natural medicine era with its current approaches.

We are using this cutting and paste system, just looking into this, learning how this was done and trying to force the copy, he said.

This is what we are doing, and this is what the revolution of the 21st century, (its) called the century of biology for this reason.

Severino said that methodologies have changed, and the healthcare sector is witnessing an urgent need for intelligence, imagination, and creativity in order to come up with revolutionary breakthroughs.

It takes courage to venture out into such projects because the path is never straightforward, he added.

Tessera Therapeutics focuses on advancing gene writing technology and envisions a future where diseases can be treated at their source through an optimal gene-writing system, which deliverers therapeutic instructions to the necessary tissue.

The companys aim is to alter the human genome and develop precise, durable therapeutic change to cure even the most challenging genetic diseases.

Though there have been evident technological advancements in the healthcare sector, Martino believes that machines are not the solution.

Technology should be a mean, its not the end and its not the goal, he said.

Taking the conversation further, the experimental biology professor said successful advancement in the field requires a combination of academia, a government force, and investors.

Martino has co-authored more than 250 original articles and book chapters.

His scientific interests range from the elucidation of the pathogenic mechanisms of immune-mediated central nervous system disorders to the development of gene and stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of these disorders.

Investopia 2023, which ran from March 2-3, was held in Abu Dhabi, and addressed various topics affecting the global economy today.

The two-day event allowed experts from around the world to exchange knowledge, participate in seminars, and sign memorandums of understanding with local businesses and investors.

Continued here:

Technology only a means, not a solution to healthcare, says biology ... - Arab News

Biology

Cloning in the Third Dimension: Breakthroughs in 3D Biology – Technology Networks

Traditional organoid culture can present challenges for the downstream analysis of single organoids. In this webinar, Dr. Allysa Stern will discuss a unique workflow that enables clonal organoid development, monitoring of iPSC differentiation over time and automated isolation of single organoids.

Dr. Scott Magness will then present a case related to his groups work investigating tumor cell heterogeneity through clonal organoid morphology and transcriptomics. He will discuss new approaches using single organoid transcriptomics to evaluate organoids derived from single cells from gastric dysplastic tissues and how this approach might reveal new ways to investigate tumor cell heterogeneity and evasion of some cells from cancer treatments.

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Cloning in the Third Dimension: Breakthroughs in 3D Biology - Technology Networks

Biology

Biologists discover how to awaken and reactivate neural stem cells – News-Medical.Net

Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in increasing the number of new neurons in the brain of adult and even elderly mice. These results, promising for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, are to be discovered in the journal Science Advances.

Stem cells have the unique ability to continuously produce copies of themselves and give rise to differentiated cells with more specialized functions. Neural stem cells (NSCs) are responsible for building the brain during embryonic development, generating all the cells of the central nervous system, including neurons.

Surprisingly, NSCs persist in certain brain regions even after the brain is fully formed and can make new neurons throughout life. This biological phenomenon, called adult neurogenesis, is important for specific functions such as learning and memory processes. However, in the adult brain, these stem cells become more silent or ''dormant'' and reduce their capacity for renewal and differentiation. As a result, neurogenesis decreases significantly with age.The laboratories of Jean-Claude Martinou, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the UNIGE Faculty of Science, and Marlen Knobloch, Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the UNIL Faculty of Biology and Medicine, have uncovered a metabolic mechanism by which adult NSCs can emerge from their dormant state and become active.

''We found that mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles within cells, are involved in regulating the level of activation of adult NSCs,'' explains Francesco Petrelli, research fellow at UNIL and co-first author of the study with Valentina Scandella. The mitochondrial pyruvate transporter (MPC), a protein complex discovered eleven years ago in Professor Martinou's group, plays a particular role in this regulation. Its activity influences the metabolic options a cell can use. By knowing the metabolic pathways that distinguish active cells from dormant cells, scientists can wake up dormant cells by modifying their mitochondrial metabolism.

Biologists have blocked MPC activity by using chemical inhibitors or by generating mutant mice for the Mpc1gene. Using these pharmacological and genetic approaches, the scientists were able to activate dormant NSCs and thus generate new neurons in the brains of adult and even aged mice.

'With this work, we show that redirection of metabolic pathways can directly influence the activity state of adult NSCs and consequently the number of new neurons generated.''

Professor Marlen Knobloch, co-lead author of the study

''These results shed new light on the role of cell metabolism in the regulation of neurogenesis. In the long term, these results could lead to potential treatments for conditions such as depression or neurodegenerative diseases'', concludes Jean-Claude Martinou, co-lead author of the study.

Source:

Journal reference:

Petrelli, F., et al. (2023) Mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism regulates the activation of quiescent adult neural stem cells. Science Advances. doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add5220.

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Biologists discover how to awaken and reactivate neural stem cells - News-Medical.Net