Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

Tips for staying healthy and managing stress over the holidays – William & Mary News

by Adrienne Berard | December 18, 2020

As we head into the holidays, W&M News spoke with Dr. Elizabeth De Falcon to learn about ways relieve stress and practice self-care over winter break, to strengthen our collective immune systems. Dr. De Falcon is a practicing physician with William & Marys Health Services. She is a licensed pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In the simplest terms, stress is just your body's reaction to any change that requires response. So, it could be anything: a mental strain, a physical strain or even an emotional strain. Honestly, it's different for every person. What stresses me out may not stress you out, but if were talking about physiology, then our stress response would be mostly the same.

Without going into the specific names of all the different parts of your brain, it's just that your brain perceives stress or danger or threat. Then it sends out a signal from what is essentially the command center of your brain to the rest of your body, through the nervous system. Then the nervous system starts acting on a fight or flight response and all these different neurotransmitters and hormones get released. All these different substances start flowing through your body just to get you prepared to respond to that stressor.

A lot of times, you're not even aware of it. Most of the time the threat comes and goes, and as the threat goes away, the stress response decreases. Think of a car whizzing past you on the street. Its stressful for a second, but the feeling is very short-lived. Its important to understand that not all stress is bad. It serves an important biological purpose. The stress response has been vital to our survival and evolution. When the saber-toothed tigers were hunting us down, our bodies learned how to respond to that.

If you translate that to now, lets say you're taking a test and you feel a little bit stressed. You're supposed to have a certain level of stress, because its your bodys way of motivating you to focus on something important. After the test is done, theres this sigh of relief because that stress is gone and your body just goes back to a kind of homeostasis where it's feeling ok.

But sometimes that stress hangs around for a little while. Thats when you start running into problems. You may find that even though the threat is gone, youre not feeling better. You may be experiencing increased heart rate and breathing or generally feeling edgy all the time. Thats a sign that you're bumping over into a low-level, acute stress or chronic stress state.

Thats when we start to think about cortisol. Youve probably heard about cortisol as a stress hormone. In the moment, it actually helps your body boost its immune system and decrease inflammation, but if it's there for a long time, then you start to get into different problems.

I always tell people to seek medical help if they start seeing signs of chronic stress. Some of the red flags would be that you feel in a low mood all the time. You may stop hanging out with your friends or your family. You're just kind of retreating and not interested in the things you used to be interested in. You may be sleeping too much or too little. Some people experience physical symptoms. They have an upset stomach or heartburn or headaches, because their blood pressure is up. They might feel a knot in their chest. All of those things could be signs that you're experiencing anxiety, so you would definitely want to see your doctor at that point.

It comes down to the basics of general healthy living. For example, if youve not been on a good sleep schedule over the semester, you really need to prioritize getting on a healthy sleep scheduleand make it a realistic schedule that you can keep doing once we get back on campus. If you were not addressing your dietary needs during the semester, start to incorporate healthy, nutrient-dense types of foods into your diet.

Also, exercise is super important. Just from a perspective of improving your cardiovascular health and improving your circulation, regular exercise will help get all those immune cells pumped around your body. You don't want to smoke and try to minimize your alcohol intake.

Then, of course, what weve all been focused on over these last nine month is taking steps to minimize infections. So, being very diligent about washing your hands, keeping your distance from pretty much anyone who doesn't live in your house, and wearing a mask if you have to go out and about.

When you have a healthy immune system, when it's functional, you don't even know it's there. It's protecting you from things that are trying to kill you, viruses and bacterial infections, but you arent even aware of it.

But just like a car runs out of gas when left idling, if you are not fully addressing the things that boost your immune system, eventually that car will run out of gas and then that leads to a whole host of problems. You might start noticing that you're getting more colds or struggling to get over minor illnesses. Thats really just because when your stress response is revved up all the time, it has the opposite effect on your health and it starts down-regulating your immune system.

This is something I always recommend to my patients: practice gratitude. Its such a simple, easy thing that anyone can do. It doesn't have to be complicated. Just get a little notebook, or even make mental notes, and focus on three things that you're grateful for in a day. No matter how crummy the day is, there's always something that we can find that we can be grateful for.

Studies show that if you practice gratitude, there are positive changes in your brain that actually change your outlook on things. Along those lines, the Wellness Center has all kinds of wonderful mindfulness, meditation and exercise resources available online. They make it really easy to access, so Id also recommend trying out some of those offerings.

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Tips for staying healthy and managing stress over the holidays - William & Mary News

Physiology

How and why microbes promote and protect against stress – Newswise

Newswise More than half of the human body is not actually human: The body hosts approximately 100 trillion microbes. These bacteria, yeast and viruses, which make up the human microbiome, affect more than physical health. They also influence behavior and emotions.

Some microbes prosper when the body is under stress, while other microbes contribute to buffering the body against stress. Athena Aktipis, associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University, used evolutionary theory to examine the reciprocal relationship between microbes in the human body and stress. The paper was published in BioEssays on December 7.

Microbes have access to physiological systems that can give them the power to stress us out, and there is evidence that contributing to the human bodys stress response serves their evolutionary goals, Aktipis said. This means that microbes can potentially change our physiology to keep the stress response going, ensuring their access to resources so they can proliferate. One example of a microbe that can benefit from host stress is the bacterium E. coli. We call microbes like these stress microbes, and the microbes that can provide resilience against stress, like some species of Lactobacillus, resilience microbes because there is evidence that they affect our physiology in these ways, possibly for their own evolutionary benefit.

Tug-of-war

Stress-loving microbes both contribute to and benefit from the physiological changes that happen in the human body in response to stress, such as high blood glucose levels, increased permeability of the intestines and suppressed immune system responses. These microbes use what evolutionary biologists call a fast life history strategy. Organisms with fast life histories benefit from big bursts of resources, like the increase in blood sugar that happens when people experience stress, and also replicate quickly and in the case of microbes without regard for their host. But the body only benefits from the stress response in specific situations, like escaping danger. In other situations, the body does not benefit from the stress response, setting up a figurative tug-of-war between host and microbe.

All organisms have their own evolutionary interests, and different resources and environments lead to optimal survival and reproduction. What is best for the host is not always what is best for the microbe, and we think this is what might be going on with some pathogenic stress microbes. Sometimes the host response can lead to escalation of the conflict, which can lead to chronic inflammation as the hosts immune system tries in vain to deal with microbes that are causing a problem in the body. Stress can encourage this kind of dysregulated environment in the host that allows some microbes to thrive, Aktipis said.

Not all microbes in the microbiome benefit from a stressed host. Many do better in a stable environment, relying on a slow life history strategy that prioritizes surviving over reproducing. Microbes like these both alter and benefit from physiological processes that help protect the host from stress. Some, like Lactobacillus reuteri, contribute to increased production of the hormone oxytocin, which is associated with feeling calm and connected with others.

Microbes alter host behavior whether it be by promoting stress or contributing to resilience against it in ways that increase the odds they will be able to reproduce, Aktipis said. The composition of our microbiomes influences us in myriad ways: It can change the way we feel in terms of stress and our mental health and influence how we respond to the world around us. But it is a two way street; the way we behave - including what we eat, whether we exercise, and how we manage our stress - also affects the composition of our microbiomes. By changing our behavior, we can affect which microbes are thriving inside us.

Diego Beltran, a psychology graduate student, also contributed to the paper.

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How and why microbes promote and protect against stress - Newswise

Physiology

Noninvasive Imaging Effectively Shows Variations in Renal Blood Flow – Newswise

Newswise Rockville, Md. (December 16, 2020)Renal blood flow changes throughout the day in tandem with the bodys circadian clock, with increasing flow during daytime hours and decreasing flow in the evening and into the night. Researchers made the findings using noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in healthy people, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. The study also revealed that although circadian variation influenced renal blood flow over the course of the day, it did not affect renal oxygenation in either men or women. The article has been chosen as an APSselect article for December.

Numerous conditions are known to cause renal injury, including diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune diseases and infections. Until now, imaging diagnostics of renal function were often performed using invasive techniques with methods based on ionizing radiation.

MRI is a non-ionizing imaging modality undergoingfast development. A number of noninvasive MRI techniques now make it possible to study different aspects of renal physiology, said corresponding researcher Per Eckerbom, MD, of Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. MRI scans combining multiple of these noninvasive techniques provide a lot of important information.

Researchers believe the noninvasive MRI techniques used in this study will be a powerful tool of the future to detect renal disease at an early stage and to develop better treatments. Understanding circadian variations and possible differences between the sexes is one key to do so.

Read the full article, Circadian variation in renal blood flow and kidney function in healthy volunteers monitored with noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.It is highlighted as one of this months best of the best as part of the American Physiological Societys APSselect program. Read all of this months selected research articles.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: To schedule an interview with a member of the research team, please contact the APS Communications Office or call 301.634.7314. Find more research highlights in our Newsroom.

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.

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Noninvasive Imaging Effectively Shows Variations in Renal Blood Flow - Newswise

Physiology

ACIST Medical Systems announces distribution partnership with Medis Medical Imaging – DOTmed HealthCare Business News

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ACIST Medical Systems, Inc., a Bracco Group Company, today announced a formal distribution partnership with Medis Medical Imaging to co-market in North America. This partnership is focused on Quantitative Flow Ratio (QFR), a novel, non-invasive angiography-based physiologic assessment of the presence and extent of coronary artery disease. Headquartered in Leiden, Netherlands, Medis has been developing innovative post-processing software for the quantification of cardiovascular images for over 30 years, with QFR as their latest innovative product.

"This strategic collaboration expands our portfolio and enables ACIST to better support the evolving needs of our customer. This partnership solidifies ACIST's position as the preferred physiology partner of choice with the ability to offer both invasive and non-invasive approaches to support the clinical utility that physiology provides," said Brad Fox, President and CEO, ACIST Medical Systems, Inc.

The partnership promotes an innovative, proven alternative to invasive assessment of coronary physiology.

Ad StatisticsTimes Displayed: 220958Times Visited: 2152

According to Morton Kern MD, Chief of Cardiology and interventional cardiologist at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, California, "QFR represents a significant advance for assessment of coronary artery disease in the cath lab. Like other angiographically derived FFR systems, QFR will let the angiographer see the physiologic impact of the stenoses within a vessel of interest and make an informed decision on whether to stent or not without the need of a pressure wire or adenosine. While still in early clinical use, QFR and other angio-derived FFR systems will become a dominant method in the coming years by improving the patient experience and simplifying PCI decision-making."

The QFR analysis is performed during the interventional procedure and can streamline workflow in the cath lab while driving economic value. Unlike traditional invasive assessments, including FFR and iFR, the QFR analysis output is co-registered with the angiogram and automatically identifies and prioritizes any functionally significant coronary obstructions. QFR provides the healthcare professional with more extensive and quantitative physiologic imaging results to support the patient's diagnosis and better inform the patient's treatment.

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ACIST Medical Systems announces distribution partnership with Medis Medical Imaging - DOTmed HealthCare Business News

Physiology

A Complete Guide to Birds, the Reason We Dream and Other New Science Books – Scientific American

What Is a Bird? An Exploration of Anatomy, Physiology, Behavior, and Ecologyedited by Tony D. WilliamsPrinceton University, 2020 ($35)

Many housebound quarantiners have recently discovered a newor renewedinterest in birds. Through windows overlooking gardens or fire escapes and in small parks or dense woods, birds occupy nearly every habitat on earth and are our constant, if sometimes unnoticed, companions. This welcoming compendium is part coffee-table book and part deep dive into the science of ornithologythe team of biologist-authors, edited by biology professor Williams, elucidates all things bird: from their evolution and anatomy to their social and migration patterns. Even casual bird-watchers will be drawn into the fascinating mechanisms of feather coloring of house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) or the science that gives the bill of a helmet vanga (Euryceros prevostii) its unmistakable blue.

When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleepby Antonio Zadra and Robert StickgoldW. W. Norton, 2021 ($27.95)

Dreams feel significant while they are happening, but do they have any scientific relevance? Sleep researchers Zadra and Stickgold propose their own framework for dreams' purpose in the brain, detailing the history of dream research and lessons learned. Dreaming acts as a memory-processing mechanism, they write, exploring images and thoughts weakly associated with moments from the previous day. Scientists have used compelling methods to probe dreams' inner workings: for example, dreamers can signal via eye movements to observers while their dreams are in progress to help researchers measure the length of dream actions. The book wields dreamy anecdotes and complex neuroscience to try to grasp the importance of these phantasms. Sarah Lewin Frasier

Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Realityby Frank WilczekPenguin Press, 2021 ($26)

To see the world through the lens of physics we must be born again, physicist Wilczek writeswe have to lose our preconceptions and approach the universe with the same open-minded curiosity and acceptance as a baby first learning about her surroundings. In this overview of modern physics, Wilczek describes the known and the unknownwhat scientists have managed to learn about reality and what they still struggle to explain. In 10 chapters covering space, time, matter, energy and other basic concepts, he tells the stories behind the major players and turning points in the development of physical knowledge. The result is a lucid and riveting narrative of the fundamentalswhat Wilczek calls the central messages of modern physics, which are not just facts about how the world works but also the style of thought that allowed us to discover them. Clara Moskowitz

The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Womenand Women to Medicineby Janice P. NimuraW. W. Norton, 2021 ($27.95)

In the mid-19th century the view of most male physicians was that women did not have the intellect or emotional fortitude to be their colleagues. Despite this skepticism, Elizabeth Blackwell was accepted by the Geneva Medical College in New York State and in 1849 became the first woman in America to obtain a medical degree. Writer Nimura uses an extensive collection of journal entries and letters to trace Blackwell's trailblazing journey through medical school and her further training in the U.S. and abroad. Her younger sister, Emily, followed in her footsteps and became a doctor in 1854. In 1857 the sisters established the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Childrenthe first hospital staffed by women and intended to offer both care for women and training for future women doctors.

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A Complete Guide to Birds, the Reason We Dream and Other New Science Books - Scientific American

Physiology

Brock prof named Canada Research Chair in Tissue Remodelling and Plasticity – ThoroldNews.com

Including Fajardo, Brock University currently haseight Canada Research Chairs, with more expected to be announced in 2021

NEWS RELEASEBROCK UNIVERSITY*************************Muscles comprise up to half of our body and, in the case of the heart, provide us with the essence of life.

Our muscles are truly vital at every timepoint of our lives, saysAssistant Professor of Kinesiology Val Fajardo, who was announced as Brock Universitys newest Canada Research Chair inTissue Remodelling and Plasticity throughout the Lifespan on Wednesday, Dec. 16.studies how muscles change in form and function over the course of a lifetime.

Were trying to optimize muscle health and physiology to improve whole body health under conditions of aging, spaceflight, obesity, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and heart disease, he says.

Tissueplasticity refers to long-term changes to the function and appearance of cells. This process in turn fuels muscle plasticity in which muscles modify their structures and functions in response to environmental demands.

Muscles are remodelled by favourable physiologicalchangesarising from things like exercise and goodnutrition, which enhance muscle function. With aerobic exercise training, for example, muscles will alter their metabolism allowing them to perform better and fatigue lessMuscles are also remodelledthroughpathological or unfavourable changes brought about by disease, aging and physical inactivity, which can impair muscle and whole-body health.

Understanding what causes the good changes in muscle is important, because then maybe we can tap into that when things go bad, says Fajardo.

Can we hack into the cellular code so that muscles adapting poorly to changes can now adapt well? he says.

Fajardo and his team are particularly interested in a protein called calcineurin, which regulates calcium and largely drives muscle plasticity.

They are studying various proteins and interventions that can alter calcineurin signalling including other proteins such as calmodulin, the SERCA pump, and an enzyme called glycogen synthase kinase 3 or GSK3 for short.

GSK3 is particularly important as it is associated with muscle and bone deterioration. Current research in the Fajardo lab is looking at how GSK3 levels differ in muscle specimenson Earth and in outer spaceas a way of unlocking strategies to slow bone and muscle loss in aging humans.

We are studying ways to block GSK3 to improve musculoskeletal health along with cardiovascular health and metabolism, he says.

GSK3 has been implicated in several diseases and conditions. In addition to its role in muscle plasticity, Fajardo and a team of experts, includingAssistant Professors of Health Sciences Rebecca MacPherson, Adam MacNeil, Terrance Wade and Deborah OLeary and Professors of Kinesiology Brian Roy, Wendy Ward and Panagiota (Nota) Klentrou are studying the role of GSK3 in cognitive health, obesity and diabetes, immune cell function, and mediating the effects of regular exercise.

What if stopping GSK3 can mimic and amplify some of the beneficial effects of exercise not only in muscle but across several other organs in the body? says Fajardo.

Exercise is crucial to mitigating diseases and other debilitating medical conditions. Fajardo says studying the cellular mechanisms that occur during exercise can lead to the development of medicines that could perhaps help those unable to exercise.

Fajardo says he feels honoured and extremely lucky to be named a Canada Research Chair.

I am here in large part because of the training I received from Brock University, he says.

Fajardo completed his undergraduate degree in 2009 and masters degree in 2012 at Brock under the supervision of Professor of Health Sciences, Paul LeBlanc before completing his PhD at the University of Waterloo.

This CRC recognizes Dr. Fajardos breakthrough work, strong productivity and research output in the field of muscle physiology, particularly in the cellular-level repair and remodelling of skeletal and cardiac muscles, says Brock Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon. His work has tremendous implications for the health of all Canadians, particularly those living with diseases, chronic conditions and injuries, and the elderly.

TheCanada Research Chairs Programinvests up to $295 million per year to attract and retain some of the worlds most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.

Including Fajardo, Brock University currently haseight Canada Research Chairs, with more expected to be announced in 2021.

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Brock prof named Canada Research Chair in Tissue Remodelling and Plasticity - ThoroldNews.com

Physiology

Researchers use noninvasive imaging to show variations in renal blood flow – News-Medical.Net

Renal blood flow changes throughout the day in tandem with the body's circadian clock, with the increasing flow during daytime hours and decreasing flow in the evening and into the night.

Researchers made the findings using noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in healthy people, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.

The study also revealed that although circadian variation influenced renal blood flow over the course of the day, it did not affect renal oxygenation in either men or women. The article has been chosen as an APSselect article for December.

Numerous conditions are known to cause renal injury, including diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, and infections. Until now, imaging diagnostics of renal function were often performed using invasive techniques with methods based on ionizing radiation.

MRI is a non-ionizing imaging modality undergoing fast development. A number of noninvasive MRI techniques now make it possible to study different aspects of renal physiology. MRI scans combining multiple of these noninvasive techniques provide a lot of important information."

Per Eckerbom, MD, Study Corresponding Researcher Uppsala University Hospital

Researchers believe the noninvasive MRI techniques used in this study will be a powerful tool of the future to detect renal disease at an early stage and to develop better treatments. Understanding circadian variations and possible differences between the sexes is one key to do so.

Source:

Journal reference:

Eckerbom, P., et al. (2020) Circadian variation in renal blood flow and kidney function in healthy volunteers monitored with noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging. American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. doi.org/10.1152/ajprenal.00311.2020.

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Researchers use noninvasive imaging to show variations in renal blood flow - News-Medical.Net

Physiology

Joe Harding named a 2020 National Academy Inventors Fellow – WSU News

December 15, 2020Joe Harding

Joe Harding, professor in Washington State Universitys Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience department, was named a 2020 National Academy of Inventors Fellow.

He is one of 175 academic innovators from across the world elected to Fellow status this year. Dr. Hardings research on the causes of dementia led to a start-company named Athira and their lead compound is in clinical trials for a treatment for Alzheimers disease.

The company, which went public in September, is the first WSU faculty-owned start-up company that has been publicly traded.

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Joe Harding named a 2020 National Academy Inventors Fellow - WSU News

Physiology

The pivot to cycling: Pro racing’s new breed of rowers, runners and skiers – VeloNews

First, there was a former runner winning grand tour stages, then there was a ski jumper taking overall victory at the Vuelta a Espaa. Just last week, a rower won the esports world championships.

Whats next? An unknown ski mountaineer signing to the WorldTour?

Oh, wait, that already happened.

Related:

And there could be a lot more athletes pivoting toward cycling from sports such as rowing, running, and skiing in the years to come.

Cycling is a business in a competitive sport, Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) told VeloNews. Like any sport, youre trying to gain competitive advantage. And you want to try and cast as wide of a net to capture the best talent.

Former world-class middle-distance runner Woods and world junior champion ski jumper Primo Rogli were among the first of the current generation of WorldTour racers to prove you dont need to be winning your local crit aged five to hit the big time in pro cycling.

This past month has seen Jason Osborne, a world champion rower, better a field full of pros to win the world championships on Zwift.

Out on the tarmac, two elite skiers with minimal cycling experience have shown so much physiological potential that theyve been handed deals with Androni Giocattoli Sidermec and Bora-Hansgrohe. Former rowers Kristen Faulkner (Tibco-SVB) and Cameron Wurf (Ineos) have been cycling at the top for a number of years.

Could pro cycling be filled with riders with huge raw power but no racing background in the future?

It could be, and Bora-Hansgrohes move to sign Anton Palzer may be the first of many contracts that see athletes from across the endurance spectrum parachuting into the whirlwind of the WorldTour.

It may look like a daring venture, and a certain risk is definitely involved, but we have been following Toni [Palzer] for quite a long time and are convinced of his physical abilities, said Bora-Hansgrohe manager Ralph Denk when he signed the skier. You can see from examples like Roglic or Woods that such an experiment can be successful, and we have always said that we would scout within different sports.

Woods, who posted a sub-four-minute mile during his running heyday, came to cycling late in life when injuries saw him bin the running shoes and step into some cycling cleats. Those with backgrounds in elite rowing such as Faulkner, Osborne, and Kiwi Olympic boatman turned time trial specialist Hamish Bond have been in the saddle far longer.

Chris Bartley, a former Team GB Olympic rower turned rowing coach and amateur cycling time trial ace, explained that time in a boat and time in the saddle go hand in hand if you want to be the strongest with a set of oars.

Riding is a big part of any high-level rowing program, Bartley told VeloNews.

Rowing training by its very nature is pretty hard on the body, so you can sort of only do maybe 90 minutes per session in a boat or on the rowing machine. Bike training is just a very easy way of getting low-impact, high-volume work to supplement the rowing and build a base. If you want to excel in rowing, you need to spend time on a bike too.

With rowing such a physically uncomfortable and physiologically taxing sport, Bartley explained that sessions on Ergo or on the water are always relatively short, intense, and painful.

Theres always some degree of suffering in a rowing session, he said. Youre not able to row for hours and hours on end so you cant build up your training hours with junk.

Its that requirement to compartmentalize pain, much like Woods efforts on the running track, that adds a further string to the bow of rowers and runners looking to step into the world of road racing, where races play out over four hours but are won over four minutes.

Take German Zwift champ Osbornes worlds winning 10w/kg move as a case in point. He said it himself I know how to hurt myself a lot. And thats what is needed to win in any sport.

No matter what the duration of the races, one thing that does tie rowers, skiers, runners, and riders is their engines. The records for top recorded Vo2 max results a measure of maximal oxygen uptake that defines physiological potential are entirely filled by athletes from the sports.

No surprise then, that when both ski mountaineer Palzer signed for Bora and cross-country skier Marti Vigo del Arco signed for Androni, each of their respective coaches lauded their exceptional values in physical tests, a surefire indication that they have the motor to make a bike move very fast.

But it takes much more than having good physiology to win in the cutthroat racing of the WorldTour, and Palzer acknowledged that developing a certain racing intelligence is top of his list of priorities when he rides with Bora-Hansgrohe next year.

Woods similarly suggested that being able to match the racing savvy and technical proficiency of those that were in the saddle in their childhoods is something that has only recently come to him. Even after five years in the WorldTour, the 34-year-old said that catching up with the racecraft and bike handling that his rivals have spent up to 20 years developing is a constant work in progress.

By far when I first started riding, the biggest things to master were the handling skills and fear factor, Woods said. Theyre both things Im still focusing on learning I still work with a descending coach and I work on my technical skills quite a bit.

Osborne is hoping to get a pro cycling contract in 2022 after seeing out his Olympic ambitions in Tokyo. Rogli, Faulkner, Woods, and Bond have proven the pivot onto the pedals is possible, and Palzer and Vigo del Arco will be next in the spotlight. Behind them, Woods feels there could be plenty more making the pivot into the pedals.

Its a smart move for teams to be looking outside the sport, Woods said. Its important for them to think outside the box.

Cycling is a really tough sport to learn, but its still a sport, and if you have a strong sports background in something else, skills are very transferable. The training is so dialed in, the technology is so good, and the information is so accessible now, theres a lot you can learn about the sport a lot faster than before.

Just because you dont start riding and racing a bike when youre 10 years old, it doesnt mean you cant be a great cyclist.

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The pivot to cycling: Pro racing's new breed of rowers, runners and skiers - VeloNews

Physiology

A tropical fish evolved to endure rising temperatures but it may not be fast enough to survive climate change – The Conversation UK

The climate is changing, and heatwaves are becoming more common and intense as a result. For the Great Barrier Reef, the worlds largest structure of living tissue, the consequences are clear. The reef suffered its third mass coral bleaching event in five years in 2020, caused by prolonged periods with high water temperatures. Conservation scientists recently downgraded the ecosystems condition to critical.

You might expect mobile animals like fish to fare better, but their body temperatures closely match that of the surrounding water. Fish can of course swim and escape high temperatures to an extent and many species have shifted their ranges poleward or into deeper, cooler waters. But migration isnt always possible. Freshwater fish, for instance, are restricted to their native rivers or lakes. Their ability to adapt to high temperatures may decide whether or not they endure.

Whether an organism does survive a heatwave may depend on its upper thermal tolerance the temperature at which the organism can no longer function. Some fish populations are already living in water close to their temperature limits and so only have a small margin of additional warming they can safely tolerate. As heatwaves become more extreme and maximum temperatures increase, those species that cannot evolve fast enough to tolerate them may go extinct.

In a recent study, colleagues at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and I measured the evolution of thermal tolerance using a wild population of zebrafish. Working in a lab, we selectively bred fish which excelled at resisting high temperatures. Over six generations we selected more than 20,000 of these zebrafish in an experiment lasting three years.

Zebrafish are the lab rats of the aquatic world, but in the wild, they can be found in shallow ponds and streams in South Asia, at temperatures very close to their thermal limits. Shallow water can heat up rapidly during heatwaves, so zebrafish are an ideal species to help us understand whether evolution will keep up with rising temperatures.

After breeding zebrafish with the highest levels of thermal tolerance for six generations, we found that this upper limit increased by 0.04C with each new generation. Its encouraging that species can evolve this ability, but the rate of change is likely to be too slow for most fishes. And while evolution helped make this species more tolerant of higher temperatures over time, it hindered how well the fish could acclimate.

Acclimation is how animals exposed to environmental change adjust their physiology to cope better in the new conditions. In our experiment, one group of fish acclimated to raised temperatures over two weeks, allowing their thermal tolerance to increase. Acclimation occurs within individuals, while evolution occurs across generations.

But zebrafish cannot keep raising their thermal tolerance infinitely. We found that fish which had evolved to raise their upper thermal tolerance could only acclimate to a smaller amount of further warming. Eventually, their physiology will probably reach a temperature ceiling which theyre unable to overcome, either by evolving or acclimating, making death likely. Zebrafish in their native habitats in India will struggle to keep increasing their tolerance to match the projected rate of warming.

Its possible that other tropical species living close to their thermal limits will face a similar situation, and be especially vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures are already exceeding these limits for certain species. Mass deaths following heatwaves have been reported not only for fish, but also in warm-blooded animals such as tropical birds and bats.

Climate change is likely outpacing evolution for many tropical species. Unless we dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, its possible that many populations will become extinct over the coming decades.

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A tropical fish evolved to endure rising temperatures but it may not be fast enough to survive climate change - The Conversation UK