Category Archives: Michigan Stem Cells

The 2021 holiday season marks the return of many Christmas and Hanukkah traditions.

Last years festivities were...well, different.

The Observer caught up with Longboaters to aska simple question: What is your greatest gift of all?

Heather Sellers, Longboat Key Turtle Watch and Save Our Seabirds volunteer

One of our favorite Christmas memories occurred just last year, 2020. My husband Ray and I started volunteering for Save Our Seabirds that fall. We mainly help with rescue calls, finding it not only rewarding, but it also further connected us to this beautiful island. Christmas week had arrived, with COVID-19 still wreaking havoc.

Heather and Ray Sellers. Courtesy photo.

For Save Our Seabirds, they were running an extremely thin staff, with some days only a few people to care for the many resident birds, as well as injured rescued birds in their hospital. We offered to help on Christmas Day, suspecting the over-extended crew may need a bit of a hand.

We helped clean cages, so senior avian vet tech Jonathan Hande could feed and administer needed care for the birds more quickly. A few days prior to that, Jonathan asked if we could assist him with a release of an American white pelican. We jumped at this opportunity. Meeting early one morning, just a few days before Christmas, we helped Jonathan unload and release this beautiful bird to a nearby flock of pelicans.

At first, it wanted to stay with Jonathan. After a bit of coaxing, it made its way across the water. We couldnt help but feel moved by this experience, flooded with deep appreciation for the tremendous amount of care and commitment Jonathan and others at Save Our Seabirds have for birds.

Ray often remarks, Can you only imagine if SOS wasnt here? So that Christmas Day as we wiped out cages, we couldnt help but feel gifted, grateful for this organization and its tireless efforts.

Lyn Haycock, Longboat Key Garden Club vice president

The best gift ever was a surprise party for my 60th birthday. My entire family and friends kept this secret for three months. My husband,Mike told me we were going to dinner at the French restaurant on the island, so we dressed very nice.

Before we go down to the restaurant, we walk over to our beach to watch the sunset. First, our daughter and her family who live in Lakewood Ranch show up at the beach, then our daughter and her family from Tampa walk over, then our son and his family from Charlotte show up.

By this time, I am crying and being hugged by all seven of our grandkids. The youngest granddaughter brings me flowers. Then our daughter and her family from Chicago show up. We left the beach for dinner and I felt so blessed and happy.

Only to my surprise, 95 of our closest friends and family are waiting. I open the door and cannot believe my eyes. Two of my grandkids had a speech and there was not a dry eye in the house. Family and friends are the best present a person can ever have and I have many. Give yourself to others and you will receive the most rewarding feeling you will ever have.

Ann Quackenbush and Sue Wertman. Courtesy photo.

Ann Quackenbush

On Oct. 17, 1989, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the San Francisco/Oakland area just before the start of the third game of the World Series being held at San Francisco's Candlestick Park.

Immediately Red Cross volunteers and staff went into action. After volunteering for threeweeks in December I finally made it home on Dec. 24with an ice chest full of crab for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Sue Wertman

Christmas was always a special time gathering with our family.When we were 16. I received awhite rabbit coat and twin sister Ann got a raccoon coat.We thought we were really slick.Probably not in vogue today.

Susan Phillips, assistant to the town manager

The greatest gift of all time? Thats easy time with my happy, healthy, inspiring and loving father. Hes 93 and still completely independent.

Susan Phillips and her father. Courtesy photo.

He and I will share Christmas on Longboat Key together with family & friends. He brings me immense joy every single day.

Deirdre Schueppert

(My husband) Clancy and I will celebrate our 60th anniversary on Dec. 27.

This has subsequently produced fourwonderful children, eightgrandchildren and twogreat grandchildren, many of whom will be with us to celebrate Christmas and our 60th wedding anniversary.Who could ask for any greater gift?!

Joan Pritchard

Joan, would you please come to the office in the morning and do your blood work again? We need to check there hasnt been some mistake with the results.My platelet count was dangerously off the charts and thus began one of the most challenging journeys of my life.

Joan Pritchard in 2011. Courtesy photo. (Doesn't look super usable but wanted to include lol)

Multiple tests followed the initial confirmation that there were, indeed, excessive cells in my system. My doctors ruled out leukemia, but after another series of tests it turned out to be mantle cell lymphoma, which rests about in the middle of the 39-range variations of lymphoma.

One of my husbands associate pastors set up a group of soul sisters to pray for me and be there for me in whatever way I neededa real godsend!The associate guided me to an appointment at the M.D.Anderson Center in Houston, but the specialist I saw there advised me to go the University of Michigan for a stem cell transplant.

That diagnosis of lymphoma ushered in a period of watching and waiting for the right time to intervene.

The big issue was, would I be able to have a transplant using my own cells or those of a donor, the former offering far better prospects than the latter. Following a series of preparatory doses of chemotherapy, I was ready.My cells were harvested and stored. Then a massive regime of chemotherapy.

Then I was admitted to the University of Michigan Medical center until my body had recovered sufficiently to be able to receive the transplant.When it was decided my body was ready, my harvested cells were returned to my body on December 14, 2011. Would they take, or would they be rejected?It took several dayswhich included the smallest Christmas dinner I ever ate!and, slowly my blood work improved and I was on the way to recovery.

The support of family and friends, the prayers of countless people across the world and the skill and care of a world-class team at the cutting edge of scientific research gave me my life back.Initially, another hospital had given me two years to live.Ten years later, gratitude and joy fill my holiday celebrations!Theres no better gift than that!

Michael Drake, Longboat Key Historical Society President

I guess good health living on an island of paradise. Ive been able to live on Longboat Key now since 1986. Being able to live and work on Longboat Key for 35 years, I feel very blessed and grateful.

Chris Kopp, Longboat Key code enforcement officer

Community. Its a simple answer, but it has so much meaning because community is your family, its your neighbors, its your friends, It's everybody and everybody together, whether that's close personal friends, whether that's acquaintances, we all need community, no matter how big how small.

Weve been doing it since we were cavemen. That's how we've been able to exist for so long. And, as divided as our community may seem, we're all the same. And once we start getting back to that, I think it'd be think it'd be great. But I mean, I need that. That is what I'm most thankful for.

My family, my friends, my coworkers, the town, the people that live here, everything. Its community, no matter how big or how small.

Kay Thayer, Longboat Key Public Tennis Center manager

After what everybody has gone through in the past year and a half, I would say, not taking for granted your good health, and not taking for granted just our simple daily lives with our friends and families, which I think we take for granted. And, I think last year kind of reminded us when that was taken awaythat it is something that we should be thankful for.

Sandy Finnegan and Terry OHara posed for a photo during the 2018 Longboat Key Club's Women's Golf Association and the Key Niners Frosty Frolic. File photo

Terry OHara, Longboat Key Club golf director

My parents always said to be kind to people. It's something that I've always followed I mean, its my 13th year here Obviously, I've got a wide range of people here, and a lot of different personalities. And, I think if you're a good person, and you show that you're a hard worker, and you're kind, you can basically, you can go a long way in life. If we had more people that care and are kind, wed have a much better world that we live in right now.

Cyndi Seamon, Longboat Key Turtle Watch vice president

A healthy family. We both have our parents still alive, so definitely. Were treasuring the time we have with them. They're both in their mid-80s, so both of our parents. Were able to spend time with them as they are aging, and my parents are coming down for a couple months from Wisconsin. My parents live here. We see lots of friends and family who have lost their parents. Were just trying to enjoy the time that we do have with them. And, COVID I guess has probably brought that to the forefront of a lot of people's daily lives, so were just, we're enjoying our time together.

Visit link:
Longboat residents recall the greatest gifts - YourObserver.com

Happy Monday Corn Nation! I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

The Husker women open Big Ten play tonight (look for the preview/game thread later) against Minnesota. Hopefully the ladies can continue their winning ways.

Husker portal pursuits: The offers that are outThe numbers are already outdated, because its like trying to keep up with a tornado.

But as of dinner time last night, there were 842...

Huskers offer JUCO safetyNebraska football has been active this fall with offers to junior college defensive backs, and made another on Saturday night.

Wrestling: Huskers Repeat as CKLV Champs - Corn NationMikey Labriola wins gold as No. 9 Nebraska ran away with the team title at the Cliff Keen Invitational

Sports bettors dream: 86 able to bet on game after it ended | AP NewsATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) It was every sports bettors dream: Being able to bet on a game after it had already ended. But the 86 New Jersey gamblers who thought they were beating the system had their bets on a British soccer game voided, and the two betting companies involved got fined.

One Misplaced Pawn May Have Just Clinched The World Chess Championship | FiveThirtyEightMagnus Carlsen now holds a commanding lead.

Brent Venables reaches agreement to become new Oklahoma coach - Sports IllustratedThe former Clemson defensive coordinator is the new coach of Oklahoma.

College Football Playoff: Alabama, Michigan, Georgia and Cincinnati make the playoff fieldAlabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnati are the four teams that will play in the College Football Playoff.

College football bowl schedule dates, times for the 2021 postseasonThe college football season in 2021 will wrap up with a postseason lineup of 43 games that will culminate with the national title game on Jan. 10.

Minshew Mania Arrives in Philadelphiaat Least for One Game - The RingerGardner Minshew delivered a strong performance in the Eagles win over the Jets. But despite all the excitement, theres no quarterback controversy in Philly.

Mario Cristobal reportedly expected to agree to $8 million deal with Miami, Clemson AD could follow...

QB Michael Penix Jr. enters college transfer portal after 4 seasons with Indiana HoosiersQuarterback Michael Penix Jr. has entered the transfer portal after four injury-plagued seasons at Indiana.

The bizarre history of medical transplants from Indian kings to stem cells - ABC NewsThe history of medical transplants stretches back millennia and includes some bizarre and gruesome milestones.

America Is Running Out of New Ideas - The AtlanticIn film, science, and the economy, the U.S. has fallen out of love with the hard work of invention.

After decades of dropping candy from the sky, this Inuk pilot is taking Christmas off | CBC RadioThe jolly man who flies through the sky dropping presents to excited children is taking a break this Dec. 25. No, it's not Santa Claus: it's 76-year-old bush pilot Johnny May.

Scientists Unveiled the World's First Living Robots Last Year. Now, They Can Reproduce | Smart News | Smithsonian MagazineBy clustering free-floating stem cells together, 'xenobots' can assemble baby bots

Finland is the worlds happiest nation and I want to keep it that way, says prime minister | Finland | The GuardianIn a rare interview with foreign media, Sanna Marin says she is determined to defend human rights, despite asylum policy challenges

The Way to a MansAnd WomansHeart Really IS Through Their StomachA new poll revealed that most believe the age-old adage does ring true: The way to a mans heart is through his stomach-a woman's too.

A blizzard warning in Hawaii but no snow yet in Denver, in unusual December weather : NPRIn Denver, no snow has yet fallen this season smashing the city's previous record of Nov. 21 for the latest ever recorded first snowfall.

Mountaineer given jewels he found on French glacier 50 years after plane crash | France | The GuardianGemstones worth 300,000 shared between Mont Blanc climber and authorities as man praised for handing discovery to police in 2013

Homeowner tries to smoke out snakes, burns down house | AP NewsPOOLESVILLE, Md. (AP) A Maryland home was accidentally burned to the ground by an owner trying to get rid of a snake infestation, officials said. The homeowner in Poolesville, a town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) outside of Washington D.C., was attempting to use smoke to purge the snakes from the house, according to Montgomery County Fire Department officials.

Skiing Santas back to shredding Maine slopes for charity | AP NewsNEWRY, Maine (AP) Santa is back to sleighing it on the ski slope. More than 230 skiing and snowboarding Kris Kringles took to a western Maine resort on Sunday to raise money for charity.

The Great Smog of London | Mental FlossHeavy fogs have long been a part of life in London. But the darkness that enveloped the city on December 5, 1952 wasnt your normal pea-souper.

Are near-death experiences just psychedelic trips? - Big ThinkOur brains might be flooded with the hallucinogen DMT as we die, leading to vivid dreams. Could this explain the near-death experience?

English Teenager Discovers Hoard of 3,300 Year-Old Axes and Becomes Metal Detecting CelebrityA 13-year old with a metal detector has discovered 65 bronze axes and other objects that date to 1,300 BCE, and has become a bit famous.

We Finally Know Why Ancient Roman Concrete Outlasts Our Own | HowStuffWorksWhy does ancient Roman concrete outlast what we have today? Learn about the chemical reactions inside Roman concrete in this HowStuffWorks article.

Why Does Coffee Make Me Poop? - The New York TimesIts not clear why coffee can stimulate a bowel movement, but the speed of this effect suggests its mediated by the brain.

Virtual estate that exists only on the internet sells for record $2.4 million | SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and SportsSpeculators say digital real estate can serve a variety of purposes, from retail showrooms, to event spaces and virtual offices.

Bladderworts suck in animals and eat them alive. But which species are meeting this grisly demise? - ABC NewsIts hunting strategy sounds messy, but is so stealthy, rapid and brutally efficient that nobody knows precisely which species are being caught in its terrifying trap.

In Denmark, a snow storm means people overnight in an IKEA | AP NewsCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) In northern Denmark, an IKEA showroom turned into a vast bedroom. Six customers and about two dozen employees were stranded by a snowstorm and spent the night in the store, sleeping in the beds that are usually on show.

Originally posted here:
Nebraska Athletics News: Recruiting Season, Living Robots and Stuck in IKEA - Corn Nation

Our Need For Things Lab-Grown

What was once something of the movies objects forming themselves in thin air is real now. Various things can be grown in a laboratory setting, some even on a large scale for commercial distribution. This technology could be a big part of the solution to establish sustainable societies. At the moment, we harvest organs from the deceased, rear animals for meat and dairy, destroy forests by cutting down trees for wood, mine the earth for diamonds, and the list goes on. All these things can already be lab-made or are on the brink of reality.

Once these staples of society can be mass-made affordably, they could supply the world while minimally impacting the natural environment. Acres of land wouldnt need to be used for food and building materials, meaning deforestation can cease, for starters. Looking at lab-grown meats alone: they require 99% less land than traditionally farmed meats, generate up to 96% fewer emissions, use up to 96% less water, and no animals need to be slaughtered in the process.

Naturally, there will be short-term disruptions, particularly job-related. For example, eco-friendly agriculture will mean fewer farms and agriculture jobs. But new employment opportunities will emerge in the scientific and technical fields related to lab-grown foods.

Whats the difference between 3D printing (additive manufacturing) and lab-grown, you may be wondering? 3D printing uses material as ink anything from plastic to cellular material whereas lab-grown materials start off as a bit of material that multiplies on its own, replicating natural processes. Thus, lab-grown material has the same cellular structure as the naturally occurring material and mimics the natural formation process but within a much shorter period.

In the future, we are bound to see various lab-grown breakthroughs coming from the medical field. Eventually, there should be alternative sources for organs and blood cultured from stem cells. In addition, there will likely be lab-produced medicines (lotions, ointments, balms, nutraceuticals, energy drinks, etc.), breast milk, and more.

Scientists are well on the way to functioning full-sized organs, with several innovations in fully functional mini-organs, or organoids, making headlines in recent years. For now, these organoids are tools for testing new drugs and studying human diseases. But soon enough, these research teams will take the technology to the next level and develop organs that can be used for implantation when someone needs an organ replacement. So far, the brain, liver, lungs, thymus, heart, blood, and blood vessels are among the growing list of lab-grown medical accomplishments.

A team of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh managed to grow miniature human livers using induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) made from human skin cells. Meaning, in the far future, someone needing a liver transplant could have the organ grown from their own skin cells! This method may even reduce the chances of a patients immune system rejecting the new tissue because it would recognize the cells as self. Whats more, their lab-grown livers matured in under a month compared to two years in a natural environment.

The scientists tested their fully-functional mini-livers by transplanting them into rats. In this proof-of-concept study, the lab-made organs survived for four days inside their animal hosts, secreting bile acids and urea like a healthy liver would.

A research team led by the University Hospital Dsseldorf induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to grow into pea-sized brain organoids with rudimentary eye structures that sense light and send signals to the rest of the brain. They used skin cells taken from adult donors, reverted them back into stem cells, and placed them into a culture mimicking a developing brains environment, which encourages them to form specific brain cells. Their mini-brains grew optic cups, vision structures of the eye found where the optic nerve and retina meet. The cups even grew symmetrically, as eyes would, and were functional!

Jay Gopalakrishnan, a senior author of the study, said:

Our work highlights the remarkable ability of brain organoids to generate primitive sensory structures that are light sensitive and harbor cell types similar to those found in the body. These organoids can help to study brain-eye interactions during embryo development, model congenital retinal disorders, and generate patient-specific retinal cell types for personalized drug testing and transplantation therapies.

This achievement is the first time an in vitro system shows nerve fibers of retinal ganglion cells reaching out to connect with their brain target an essential aspect of the mammalian brain.

Scientists from Michigan State University developed functional miniature human heart models grown from stem cells complete with all primary heart cell types and with functioning chambers and vascular tissue. The models could help researchers better understand how hearts develop and provide an ethical platform for treating disease and testing drugs or new treatments.

The teams lab-grown mini hearts follow the fetal development of a human heart, offering a new view into that process. The organoids start beating by day six, and they grow into spheres approximately 1 mm (0.4 in) wide, with all significant cardiac cell types and multiple internal chambers by day 15.

Aside from research purposes, full-sized lab-grown hearts could solve the shortage problem of hearts the world faces today. More than 25 million people suffer heart failure each year. In the United States, approximately 2,500 of the 4,000 people in line for heart transplants receive them. That means almost 50% of the people needing a new heart to keep them alive wont get it.

Unlimited supplies of blood for transfusions are possible with lab-growing technology. Blood has been challenging to grow in the lab. However, real breakthroughs in creating artificial blood have sprung up!

A couple of years ago, Japanese researchers developed universal artificial blood that worked for all blood types. It even has a shelf life of one year stored at room temperature, therefore eliminating the problem of identifying blood type and storage simultaneously.

Like that wasnt impressive enough, last year, a team of scientists from the South China University of Technology, the University of New Mexico, and Sandia National Laboratories created artificial red blood cells (RBCs) with more potential capabilities than real ones! The synthetic RBCs mimic the properties of natural ones such as oxygen transport, flexibility, and long circulation times with the addition of a few new tricks up their sleeves, such as toxin detection, magnetic targeting, and therapeutic drug delivery. In addition, blood contains platelets and red blood cells, so these new cells could be used to make superior artificial blood.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia successfully coaxed stem cells to grow into human blood vessels. The thing that is so remarkable about this study is that the system of blood vessels grown in the lab is virtually identical to the ones currently transporting blood throughout the body. They are using this now to generate new leads in diabetes treatment. They put the lab-grown blood vessels in a petri dish designed to mimic a diabetic environment.

The global demand for meat and dairy is expected to rise by almost 90% over the next 30 years, regardless of the need to cut back on meat consumption. The risk of environmental damage and the rising food demand itself is a problem many have recently addressed. Thats why companies worldwide are on the verge of scaling up all sorts of lab processes to produce various food items, including steaks, chicken, cheese, milk, ice cream, fruits, and more.

Thinktank RethinkX even published research suggesting that proteins from precision fermentation (lab-grown protein using microbes) will be about ten times cheaper than animal protein by 2035, resulting in a collapse of the livestock industry. It says the new food economy will subsequently:

replace an extravagantly inefficient system that requires enormous quantities of inputs and produces considerable amounts of waste with one that is precise, targeted, and tractable. [Using tiny land areas, with a massively reduced requirement for water and nutrients, it] presents the most significant opportunity for environmental restoration in human historyFarm-free food offers hope where hope is missing. We will soon be able to feed the world without devouring it.

The worlds pace of meat consumption is placing a significant strain on the environment. Many studies show that eating less meat is just as crucial to slowing down global warming as using solar panels and zero-emissions vehicles. Unfortunately, animal farming generates an obscene amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet again, scientists come to the rescue, working diligently to fix this situation.

Over a decade ago, researchers created something akin to ground beef, but the complex structure of steak didnt happen until recently, with Aleph Farms debuting its thick-cut rib-eye steak in 2018. Furthermore, that first burger cost around US$345,000, but now the price has dropped dramatically to the point that lab-grown chicken is to be commercially produced and hit grocery store shelves as of this year.

SuperMeat, Eat Just, and Aleph Farms are todays most prominent startups working on getting lab-grown meats to people looking to lower their carbon and environmental footprints. In addition, their products are made from actual animal cells, so theyre real meat, but no animals had to be hurt or killed.

Speaking of Aleph Farms, the company also grew meat in space to show that it can even be done in a zero-gravity environment with limited resources.

Aside from Aleph Farms figuring out how to make steak like an authentic steak, a group of Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) researchers also devised a solution to the texture challenge. First, they made edible gelatin scaffolds that have the texture and consistency of real meat. Then, they grew rabbit and cow muscle cells on this scaffolding. The research demonstrates how realistic meat products are possible!

Parker and his Disease Biophysics Group developed a technique to produce the scaffolding. Its a fiber-production system inspired by cotton candy known as immersion Rotary Jet-Spinning (iRJS). It enabled the team to spin long nanofibers of a specific shape and size using centrifugal force. So, they spun food-safe gelatin fibers, creating the base upon which cells could grow.

Natural muscle tissue is composed of an extracellular matrix, which is the glue that holds the tissue together. As a result, it contributes to the texture of the meat. The spun gelatin fibers mimicked this extracellular matrix and provided the texture to make the lab-grown meat realistic. When the team seeded the fibers with animal (rabbit and cow) muscle cells, they anchored to the gelatin scaffolding and grew in long, thin structures, similar to real meat.

Meanwhile, Boston College developed a new, even greener technology that uses the skeleton of spinach leaves to support bovine animal protein growth. However, animal products arent eliminated from the process entirely. For example, lab-grown steak and chicken are created by painlessly harvesting muscle cells from a living cow, subsequently fed and nurtured to multiply and develop muscle tissue. But for this to have the same texture as real meat, the cells need structural support to flourish and are therefore placed in a scaffold.

Singapore is leading the way, becoming the first country in the world to approve the sale of Eat Justs cultured chicken. The company will start by selling nuggets at a restaurant. Meanwhile, SuperMeat has been handing out lab-grown chicken burgers in Israel for free. Theyre aiming to gain public acceptance of the idea.

The cultured chicken starts as a tiny number of harvested cells. Those cells are put into a bioreactor and fed the same nutrients the living animal would consume to grow. The cells multiply and turn into an edible portion of cultured chicken meat. The meats composition is identical to that of real chicken and offers the same nutritional value. And its cleaner because its antibiotic-free!

Labs are manufacturing dairy products by utilizing the fermentation process of living microbes to produce dairy proteins like whey and casein. These proteins are then used to make dairy products like butter, cheese, and ice cream. Two leading companies in this category are Imagindairy and Perfect Day, which already have several products on supermarket shelves in the United States.

Researchers havent figured out how to make fruits and vegetables yet, but a team is perfecting a cell cultivation process that generates plant biomass. The stuff tastes like the natural-grown product from which the cells were obtained and even exceeded its nutritional properties. Although, the texture of the biomass is different. For example, an apple isnt a solid apple akin to one grown from a tree. Instead, its like applesauce.

Lab-produced materials Including wood, diamonds, leather, glass, clothing, crystals, gels, cardboard, and plastics for making objects are either under development or already available. Many materials need to be taken from nature mined from the earth or cut down from forests. If they can be made in a lab instead, then people could leave nature alone!

A recent project led by a Ph.D. student at MIT paves the way for lab-grown wood one of the worlds most vital resources used to make paper, build houses, heat buildings, and so much more. The process begins with live plant cells cultivated in a growth medium coaxed using plant hormones to become wood-like structures. Next, a gel matrix is used to guide the shape of the cellular growth, and controlling the levels of plant hormones regulates the structural characteristics. Therefore, the technology could grow anything from tables and chairs to doors to boats and so on.

The environmental and socio-economic impact of traditionally mined diamonds has been exposed in recent years, and as awareness grows, the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds does too. Mined diamonds are linked to bloody conflicts, and their excavation produces carbon emissions, requires substantial water use, and causes severe land disturbances.

Research has found that 1,000 tons of earth have to be shifted, 3,890 liters or more of water is used, and 108kg of carbon is emitted per one-carat stone produced. In addition, the traditional diamond mining industry causes irreversible damage to the environment, hence why, a decade ago, researchers started experimenting with how to grow them in the lab. Its been a feat a long time in the making, but we finally have lab-grown diamonds available for eco-conscious consumers to buy.

Diamonds are made of pure carbon. It takes extreme heat and pressure for carbon to crystalize. In nature, this happens hundreds of miles beneath the Earths surface. The ones being mined were shot out by a volcano millions of years ago. So how have scientists managed to hack such an intense and time-consuming process?

They began by investigating the mechanisms behind the diamond formation, zooming in at the atomic level. This led to the invention of a novel technology that utilizes the process of HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) to mimic the natural atmospheric conditions of diamond formation. Labs can use it to replicate the process and turn pure carbon into diamonds in 2-6 weeks.

Lab-grown gems are eco-friendly rocks, especially when theyre made entirely from the sky, like SkyDiamonds. Even the electricity used to grow its stones is from renewables, so theyll indeed be the worlds first zero-impact diamonds.

But how are the diamonds created out of thin air? They are made of carbon from the sky and rainwater. The sky mining facility is in Stroud. Energy is sourced from wind and sunlight. The CO2 is sourced directly from the air. Hydrogen is produced by splitting rainwater molecules in an electrolysis machine using renewable energy. The captured carbon and hydrogen are then used to make methane, used to grow the diamonds. The final product is a diamond anatomically identical to those mined from the ground. It is even accredited, fully certified, and graded by the International Gemological Institute.

Another company, Climeworks, is also making diamonds using carbon sucked from the sky. However, SkyDiamonds takes it a step forward by using rainwater and sunshine in the process.

The last lab-grown object were going to discuss is not something in the works, but an idea a fantastic and outlandish one thats jumping far into the future but was thought up in 2010 by Mercedes Benz. The luxury car companys ambitious BIOME idea shows just how wild imagination can get with lab-grown technology. It envisions a day when it can grow an entire supercar from scratch.

Mercedes-Benz explained when launching the concept:

The interior of the BIOME grows from the DNA in the Mercedes star on the front of the vehicle, while the exterior grows from the star on the rear. The Mercedes star is genetically engineered in each case to accommodate specific customer requirements, and the vehicle grows when the genetic code is combined with the seed capsule. The wheels are grown from four separate seeds.

This list of lab-grown possibilities is just the tip of the iceberg! Other materials in the pipeline include leather, chocolate, and silk. This intelligent technology can make anything a scientist can dream up! The only limit is the imagination and dedication of brilliant people.

Excerpt from:
Lab-Growing Everything Might Be The Only Way To Attain A Sustainable World - Intelligent Living

Congratulations to our Duke faculty who have been promoted or appointed to the rank of fullprofessor. Promotion and appointment to full professor is the culmination of a rigorous review by the facultys academic peers inside and outside Duke and by the academic leaders at the department, schooland campus levels. The review process looks for distinction and impact in research, teaching, serviceand engagement, and for leadership in the facultys area of expertise nationally and internationally. All these colleagues embody and exemplify the academic excellence that is so essential to fulfilling Dukes mission of education, discoveryand engagement. Congratulations!

Francesco BianchiProfessor of EconomicsFrancesco Bianchi is a professor of economics in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and a research professor at Johns Hopkins University for the 2021-2022 academic year. He is a member of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the National Bureau of Economic Research and an associate editor of the Journal of Monetary Economics, Quantitative Economics and the Journal of Applied Econometrics. Bianchi received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 2009. He has held visiting positions at the University of California at Los Angeles, New York University, University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern University. In 2015 he was awarded the Wim Duisenberg Research fellowship and in 2010 he received the Zellner Thesis Award in Business and Economic Statistics. He has published in the American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, the Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Monetary Economics and other leading academic journals. Currently, Bianchis main research interests involve the role of agents beliefs in explaining macroeconomic dynamics, the interaction between monetary and fiscal policyand macro-finance.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Mark Edward BorsukProfessor of Civil and Environmental EngineeringMark Borsuks research concerns the development and application of mathematical models for integrating scientific information on natural, technical, and social systems. He is a widely-cited expert in Bayesian network modeling with regular application to environmental and human health regulation and decision making. He is also the originator of novel approaches to climate change assessment, combining risk analysis, game theory, and agent-based modeling. Borsuks highly collaborative research has been funded by NSF, EPA, NIH, NIEHS and USFS, and he has authored or co-authored 75 peer-reviewed journal publications and 6 book chapters. Borsuk received the Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award from the Society for Risk Analysis in 2013 and the Early Career Research Excellence Award from the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society in 2008. Before joining the Duke faculty, Dr. Borsuk was a member of the Dartmouth College faculty for 10 years where he held an appointment in the Thayer School of Engineering. Dr. Borsuk received a B.S.E. in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University, an M.S. in Statistics and Decision Sciences from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University. He did his post-doctoral training in the Department of Systems Analysis, Integrated Assessment, and Modelling (SIAM) at the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), where he advanced to head of the Decision Analysis and Integrated Assessment group. As part of his appointment at Duke, Dr. Borsuk directs a new interdisciplinary research and teaching initiative in risk, uncertainty, optimization and decision-making.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Kenneth BrownProfessor of Electrical and Computer EngineeringKenneth Brown is professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering and physics in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. His research interests include the control of quantum systems for both understanding the natural world and developing new technologies. His current research areas focus on the development of the robust quantum computers and the study of molecular properties at cold and ultracold temperatures. Awards include being a Fellow of the American Physical Society, an Experienced Research Fellow with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and a Kavli Fellow with the Kavli Foundation and National Academy of Science. Brown earned his B.S. from the University of Puget Sound and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkley.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Frank BruniEugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public PolicyFrank Bruni is the Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy. He joined the Duke faculty in 2021 after 25 years at the New York Times, where he served as metro reporter, White House correspondent, Rome bureau chief, chief restaurant critic and most recently as an Op-Ed columnist. He was the first openly gay Op-Ed columnist at the Times and in 2016 was honored by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association with the Randy Shilts Award for his lifetime contribution to LGBTQ equality. He is the author of three New York Times best sellers: a 2015 examination of the college admissions frenzy, Where You Go Is Not Who Youll Be; a 2009 memoir, Born Round, about the joys and torments of his eating life; and a 2002 chronicle of George W. Bushs initial presidential campaign, Ambling into History. His first cookbook, A Meatloaf in Every Oven, was published in February 2017 and co-written with his Times colleague Jennifer Steinhauer. His forthcoming book, The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found, which reflects on his imperiled eyesight and the challenges of aging, will be published in March 2022. Bruni joined the Times from the Detroit Free Press, where he was, alternately, a war correspondent, the chief movie critic and a religion writer. He has worked as a general-assignment writer for the Detroit Free Press and the New York Post. He has taught at Princeton University and been active at his alma mater, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as an advisor on improving the undergraduate experience and the liberal arts curriculum.Appointment Date: May 13, 2021

Stephen BuckleyEugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public PolicyStephen Buckley is the Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy. He is a veteran editor and educator who worked atThe Washington Post, Tampa Bay Timesand the Poynter Institute. He joined the Duke faculty in July 2021. Buckley, a 1989 Duke graduate in political science, has had a wide-ranging career as a local reporter, foreign correspondent, editor and journalism educator. After graduating from Duke, Buckley spent 12 years at The Post as a local reporter and foreign correspondent.He covered education, courts and the night police beat and then became a foreign correspondent, initially as thePostsAfrica Bureau Chief and then the papers first correspondent based in Brazil. He returned to St. Petersburg, Florida in 2001 as a national reporter for theTimesand then became an editor in charge of national and international coverage before being promoted to managing editor and then publisher of tampabay.com, the papers digital site. He moved to the Poynter Institute in 2010 as dean of the faculty. In 2015, he moved to Kenya, where he taught at The Aga Khan University before becoming the lead story editor forGlobal Press Journal, an international news organization that focuses its reporting on under-covered regions.Appointment Date: May 13, 2021

M. Kate BundorfJ. Alexander McMahon Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and ManagementM. Kate Bundorf is J. Alexander McMahon Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Sanford School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on health policy and the economics of health care systems. She has studied public and private health insurance markets, the organization of health care providers and consumer decision making in health care. Prior to joining the faculty at Duke, Bundorf wasan associate professor of health research and policy at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She is also a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, the President-Elect of ASHEcon and a co-editor of The Journal of Health Economics. Bundorf received her M.B.A. and M.Ph. from The University of California at Berkeley and her Ph.D. from The Wharton School. She was a Fulbright Lecturer at Fudan School of Public Health in Shanghai, China during 2009 and 2010. Her research has been published in leading economic and health policy journals and has received funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She received the 13th Annual Health Care Research Award from The National Institute for Health Care Management in 2007.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Daniel CasteloWilliam Kellon Quick Professor of Theology and Methodist StudiesDaniel Castelo is the William Kellon Quick Professor of Theology and Methodist Studies in the Divinity School. During his doctoral work, he taught intensive Wesleyan theology courses in Mexico, Honduras and Brazil and afterward took a teaching post at a Mexican seminary for three years. Subsequently, he moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he taught dogmatic and constructive theology at Seattle Pacific University for fourteen years. Castelo has been an active participant in the Central American Methodist Course of Study program and recently has served as a doctoral mentor for the Hispanic Theological Initiative. He began his publishing career exploring the topic of divine attribution. This work resulted in the monographThe Apathetic God, for which he won a John Templeton Award for Theological Promise. He proceeded to consider questions surrounding a Christian account of theodicy, the doctrine of God broadly, and the theological interpretation of Scripture. Additionally, he has focused on the theology of renewal movements and Christian pneumatology. He currently has publishing contracts for books that explore Latinx theology and a Wesleyan doctrine of God.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Mine etinkaya-RundelProfessor of the Practice of Statistical ScienceMine etinkaya-Rundel is professor of the practice and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Statistical Science. She is also an affiliated faculty in theComputational Media, Artsand Culturesprogram at Duke University. Her work focuses on innovation in statistics and data science pedagogy, with an emphasis on computing, reproducible research, student-centered learning and open-source education. etinkaya-Rundel works on integrating computation into the undergraduate statistics curriculum, using reproducible research methodologies and analysis of real and complex datasets.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Joel CollierProfessor of Biomedical EngineeringJoel Collier is professor of biomedical engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering. His research specialty is in immune engineering, a new but rapidly growing field in which bioengineering approaches are used to modulate the immune system. He has made important contributions in self-assembling peptides and their application in vaccine development and cell delivery, particularly relevant in the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to his impressive research record, he has worked tirelessly to improve the departments student experience, supporting student-initiated efforts to discuss the impact of social issues on student life and strengthening the undergraduate and graduate biomaterials curriculum with the creation of two well-received courses he created. Collier earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Shaundra DailyProfessor of the Practice of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer ScienceShaundra Daily is professor of the practice of electrical and computer engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering and computer science in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Prior to joining Duke, she was an associate professor with tenure at the University of Florida in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering. She also served as an associate professor and interim co-chair in the School of Computing at Clemson University. Her research focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of technologies, programs, and curricula to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. Her approach has focused on three key strategies: 1) Utilizing technology to support the development of interpersonal skills that will facilitate collaboration in diverse settings; 2) Developing technologies and programs geared towards making computing and engineering accessible to diverse identities; and 3) Mentoring, developing outreach, and researching the experiences of marginalized groups in computing and engineering. Having garnered over $43M in funding from public and private sources to support her research activities, Dailys work has been featured in USA Today, Forbes, National Public Radio, and the Chicago Tribune. Daily earned her B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida State University College of Engineering, and a S.M. and Ph.D. from the MIT Media Lab.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Ofer EldarProfessor of LawOfer Eldar is a professor at the Duke University School of Law, where he teaches business associations and corporate governance. He also holds secondary faculty appointments at the Duke economics department and the Duke Fuqua School of Business, and he serves as a research fellow of the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. His research interests include corporate governance, corporate finance, entrepreneurship, financial regulation, and business organizations. Prior to joining the Duke Law faculty, Eldar was the Wagner Fellow in Law & Business at the NYU Stern School of Business. His scholarship has appeared in leading economics, finance, and law journals, and featured in various major media outlets. Eldar earned his Ph.D. in financial economics from Yale University, and a J.S.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a Kauffman Fellow in Law & Economics. He practiced corporate law at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London, and at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Sina FarsiuProfessor of Biomedical EngineeringSina Farsiu is a professor of biomedical engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering and a professor of ophthalmology in the School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Vision and Image Processing (VIP) Laboratory. His laboratory develops advanced machine learning and biophotonics imaging tools to improve the health of young children and adults with ocular and neurological diseases (e.g., age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, Alzheimer, retinopathy of prematurity, and ALS). He earned his B.Sc. from the Sharif University of Technology in Iran, his M.Sc. from the University of Tehran, and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is a Fellow of IEEE, SPIE, OSA and AIMBE.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Lisa GennetianPritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy StudiesLisa Gennetian is Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies in the Sanford School of Public Policy. She is an applied economist whose research straddles a variety of areas concerning child poverty from income security and stability to early care and education with a particular lens toward identifying causal mechanisms underlying how child poverty shapes childrens development. She is a co-PI on the first multi-site multi-year randomized control study of a monthly unconditional cash transfer to low income mothers of infants in the U.S. called Babys First Years. Her recent work bridges poverty scholarship with a behavioral economic framework.The Persistence of Poverty in the Context of Economic Instability: A Behavioral Perspective, describes such a framework for poverty programs and policy, co-authored with Dr. Eldar Shafir and her co-authored publication Behavioral Economics and Developmental Science, further advances the application of behavioral economic insights to the arena of childrens development. She has also co-edited a volume with scholar Marta Tienda for the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science titled Investing in Latino Children and Youth. Gennetian has since launched the beELL initiative; applying insights from behavioral economics to design strategies to support parent and family engagement in, and enhance the impacts of, existing childhood interventions. Dr. Gennetian also has a body of research examining poverty among Latino children and families, serving as a PI on several grants and a co-PI directing work on poverty and economic self-sufficiency at the National Center for Research on Hispanic Families.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Charles GersbachJohn W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical EngineeringCharles Gersbach is the John W. Strohbehn Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering. He is also the director of the Duke Center for Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering and the director of the Duke Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies. He received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute. His research interests are in genome and epigenome editing, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, biomolecular and cellular engineering, synthetic biology and genomics. His work has led to new approaches to study genome structure and function, program cell biology, and treat genetic disease. Gersbachs work has been recognized through awards including the National Institutes of Health Directors New Innovator Award, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Outstanding New Investigator Award from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, the Allen Distinguished Investigator Award, and induction as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He is also the co-founder of three biotechnology companies and an advisor to several others.PAppointment Date: January 1, 2021

Steven HaaseProfessor of BiologySteven Haase is professor of biology in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. His research group interests focus on understanding the biological clock mechanisms controlling cell division and host-pathogen interactions. His research receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Haase is the senior author on a recent Science paper, entitled An intrinsic oscillator drives the blood stage cycle of the malaria parasitePlasmodium falciparum, and has published in several prestigious journals. He earned his B.S. from Colorado State University and Ph.D. from Stanford University.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Kerry HaynieProfessor of Political ScienceKerryL.Haynieisprofessor and chair of political science, professor of African & African American studies,and a former chair of Dukes Academic Council(Faculty Senate), 2019-21. He earned B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a masters degree from theGraduate School of Public and International Affairs at theUniversity of Pittsburgh. Before coming to Duke in 2003, Haynie was a member of the facultyat Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, andthe University of Pennsylvania. Hayniesresearch examines how the underlying theory, structures, and practices of American political institutions affect African Americans and womens efforts to organize and exert influence on the political system.In 2012,he andhis co-author BethReingoldwere the co-winners of the American Political Science Associations Women and Politics Research Sections Best Paper Award.In addition to articles invarious academic journals,his publications include,Race, Gender, and Legislative Representation: Toward a More Intersectional Approach(with BethReingoldand KirstenWidner), winner of the 2021 Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize from the American Political Science Association for the best book in legislative studies.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Andrew Douglas HiltonProfessor of the Practice of Electrical and Computer EngineeringAndrew Douglas Hilton is professor of the practice of electrical and computer engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering. He is also Pratts Director of Innovation in Computing Education. His main focus is on teachingprofessional-level programming skills to ECEs master's students to prepare them for software engineering careers. Hilton teaches a 3-week introduction to Programming Python forDukes Master in Interdisciplinary Data Science, and Dukes Center for Computational Thinking. He has two Coursera specializations, one in Java and another in C. Hilton earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021c

Josh HuangProfessor of NeurobiologyJosh Huang is professor of neurobiology in the Basic Sciences division of the School of Medicine. His research combines multi-faceted approaches to study the organization, function, and assembly of brain circuits that orchestrate complex movements. His work receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. Huang joined Duke as faculty in 2020, after 20 years of research at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. He earned his Ph.D. from Brandeis University in Massachusetts.Appointment Date: March 1, 2021

Robin KirkProfessor of the Practice of Cultural AnthropologyRobin Kirk is professor of the practice of cultural anthropology in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. She is a faculty co-chair of theDuke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Instituteand is a founding member of thePauli Murray Project,an initiative of the center that seeks to use the legacy of this Durham daughter to examine the regions past of slavery, segregation and continuing economic inequality. An author and human rights advocate, she also directs the Human Rights Certificate. Her childrens book, Righting Wrongs: 20 Human Rights Heroes from around the World, will be published in 2022. Kirk is the author of "The Bond" fantasy trilogy, with a re-release of all three books scheduled for 2022. She's written three non-fiction books for adults, includingMore Terrible Than Death: Massacres, Drugs and Americas War in Colombia andThe Monkeys Paw: New Chronicles from Peru. She is a co-editor ofThe Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics and co-edits Duke University Press World Readers series. An essayist and award-winning poet, she has published widely on issues as diverse as the Andes, torture, the politics of memory, family life and pop culture. Her essay on Belfast, City of Walls, is included in the Best American Travel Writing anthology of 2012. Kirk authored, co-authored and edited over twelve reports for Human Rights Watch, all available online. In the 1980s, Kirk reported for U.S. media from Peru, where she covered the war between the government and the Shining Path. She continues to write for US media, and has been published inThe New York Times, Washington Post, Sojourners, The American Scholar,theRaleigh News and Observer,theBoston Globe,theDurham Herald Sunand other media. She earned her M.F.A from Vermont College and B.A. from the University of Chicago.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Andrzej KosinskiProfessor of Biostatistics and BioinformaticsAndrzej S. Kosinski is professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics in the Basic Sciences Division of the School of Medicine. He is also a member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). His research interests include statistical methodology for evaluation of diagnostic tests, adjustment for misclassification, clinical trials, and analysis of observational data. Kosinskis research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the American Heart Association. He joined Duke faculty in 2003. He earned his M.Sc. from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Tamar KushnirProfessor of Psychology and NeuroscienceTamar Kushnir is professor of psychology and neuroscience in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Kushnir received her M.A. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. Before coming to Duke, Kushnir was a professor at Cornell University in the department of Human Development and the co-director of the Cornell Cognitive Science Program.Kushnirswork is motivated by a long-standing curiosity aboutthe developing mind, in particular how childrenacquireabstract, coherentknowledge ofthe natural and social world from ordinary experiences.She has published on a range of topicsincluding how children use statistical patterns to infer causality, how we learn to detect trustworthy sources of knowledge, the developmental and cultural origins of our beliefs infree will and moral agency, how children learn and reason about social norms, and, most recently, the role ofimagination in social and moral cognition. In addition to scholarly publications, Kushnir maintains an active in communityengagement with local organizationsthat support young children and their families,especiallymuseums and other spaces that provide opportunities for playful learning. Kushnir has served as an associate editor at Child Development and theJournalCognitiveScience, is a member of the Moral Psychology Research Group, and currently serves on theboardof the Cognitive Development Society andas president-elect of the Society of Philosophy and Psychology.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Eric LaberProfessor of Statistical ScienceEric Laber is professor of statistical science in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and biostatistics and bioinformatics in the Basic Science Division of the School of Medicine. Labers research uses data to solve real-world problems in areas such as personalized medicine, human trafficking, sports, wildlife conservation and artificial intelligence. His work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, DOD, among others. Laber joined Duke in 2020, having held a faculty position at North Carolina State University prior to that. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Fan LiProfessor of Statistical ScienceFan Li is professor of statistical science in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences with a secondary appointment at thedepartment of biostatistics and bioinformatics in the Basic Science Division of the School of Medicine. Her main research interest is causal inference designs and analysis for evaluating treatments and interventions in randomized experiments and observational studies, and their applications to health studies (also known as comparative effectiveness research) and computational social science. She also works on the interface between causal inference and machine learning. Lis research receives funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, University of Notre Dame and the National Science Foundation. She joined Duke faculty in 2008. Li earned her B.S. from Peking University in China and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

David MacAlpineProfessor of Pharmacology and Cancer BiologyDavid MacAlpine is professor of pharmacology and cancer biology in the Basic Science Division of the School of Medicine. His laboratory is interested in understanding the mechanisms by which the molecular architecture of the chromosome regulates fundamental biological processes such as replication and transcription. Specifically, how replication, transcription and chromatin modification are coordinated on a chromosomal scale to maintain genomic stability. MacAlpines research is largely funded by the National Institutes of Health with previous funding from the American Cancer Society, Inc. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centers Medical School.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Ryan McDevittProfessor of Business AdministrationRyan C. McDevitt is professor of business administration in the Fuqua School of Business with a secondary appointment in economics in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to joining Duke in 2013, he held faculty positions at the University of Rochesters Simon School of Business and Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management. McDevitts work has been published in leading economics journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies. His research is funded by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, the National Science Foundation, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. He serves on advisory committees for the American Society of Nephrology and Renalogic. He has won teaching awards for his courses in economics, strategy, and econometrics. He earned his B.A from Williams College and Ph.D. from Northwestern University.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Cameron McIntyreProfessor of Biomedical EngineeringCameron McIntyre is professor of biomedical engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering and neurosurgery in the School of Medicine. His current research interests include Neural engineering, computational neuroscience, brain imaging and the design of human neuromodulation systems with special expertise in the biophysics of brain stimulation and recording. Prior to joining Duke in 2021, McIntyre held a faculty position at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2003 and maintained a laboratory until 2012. In 2013 he moved his lab to the Case Western Reserve University to create the Case Neuromodulation Center. The current McIntyre Laboratory hopes to improve deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of movement disorders and provide the fundamental technology necessary for the effective application of DBS to new clinical arenas. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University and held postdoctoral training at both Johns Hopkins University and Emory University.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Louise MeintjesProfessor of MusicLouise Meintjes is professor of music and cultural anthropology in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Her book Sound of Africa! Making Music Zulu in a South African Studio is an ethnography of a recording studio in Johannesburg in the early 1990s, a time of tumultuous political transition and musical innovation in South Africa.In her most recent book, "Dust of the Zulu: Ngoma Aesthetics after Apartheid," Meintjestraces the political and aesthetic significance of ngoma, a competitive form of Zulu mens dance and music that emerged out of the legacies of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. Contextualizing this performance practice within South Africa's history of violence, migrant labor, the HIV epidemicand the world music market, she follows a community ngoma team and its professional subgroup during the 20 years after apartheid's end. Meintjes earned her Hons-B.Mus. from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and M.M. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Edward MiaoProfessor of ImmunologyEdward Miao is professor of immunology and molecular genetics and microbiology in the Basic Science Division of the School of Medicine. He studies how immune cells detect intracellular infection, and how programmed cell death removes the infected cells from the body, studying a range of bacterial pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, and rare environmental pathogens. Miaos research has been featured in a number of notable academic journals including Science, Nature Immunology, Immunity, and Cell Host and Microbe. His research is largely funded by the National Institutes of Health. Miao joined Duke in 2020, having previously held a faculty position with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Washington.Appointment Date: March 1, 2021

Natalia MirovitskayaProfessor of the Practice of Public PolicyNatalia Mirovitskayasprofessional focus is on political economy of development and peacebuilding. Following the completion of her Ph.D. from the Russian Academy of Sciences (Economics), Mirovitskaya has led and participated in numerous projects on the design, implementation and effectiveness of international resource regimes, environmental security, sustainable development and conflict prevention. Mirovitskayas experience has displayed an interdisciplinary approach linking theoretical advances with practical policy advice. She has co-authored Development Strategies and Inter-Group Violence,and co-edited Economic Development Strategies and the Evolution of Violence in Latin America, Development Strategies, Identities, and Conflict in Asia, and The Economic Roots of Conflict and Cooperation in Africa. Mirovitskayas most recent project is on Development for the New Arctic: Visions, Strategies, Challenges at the Subnational and Local Level. She is also co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan series Politics, Economics and Inclusive Development. At Duke, Dr. Mirovitskaya teaches classes in Policy Analysis for Development, Policy Design, Research Methods, and Conflict-Sensitive Development. She has directed masters projects for fellows from over sixty countries, worked on executive education training of senior government officials and civil society leaders, and provided consultancies on security and sustainable development issues. She is a recipient of many research and teaching awards including theU.S. National Research Council Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service and theRichard Stubbing Graduate Teaching.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

Christopher MonroeGihuly Family Presidential Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and PhysicsChristopher Monroe is the Gilhuly Family Presidential Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering and Physics in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. He is also the director of the Duke Quantum Center. Monroe is an experimental atomic and quantum physicist and engineer, with interests in fundamental quantum phenomena, quantum information science, and quantum computer design and fabrication. His research group pioneered most aspects of ion trap quantum computers, making the first steps toward a scalable, reconfigurable, and modular quantum computer system. Monroe is also co-founder and Chief Scientist at IonQ, a company near Washington, DC that builds quantum computers based on trapped atomic ions. He is an architect of the U.S. National Quantum Initiative and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Joseph NadeauProfessor of the Practice of Civil and Environmental EngineeringDr. Joseph C. Nadeau is a professor of the practice of civil and environmental engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering. He joined the Duke faculty in 1997. For six years, he was the faculty-in-residence in Few Quad. He currently serves as director of undergraduate studies, ABET Coordinator and ASCE faculty advisor. He teaches courses in mechanics and structural design. His teaching has been recognized with multiple teaching awards from departmental, school and national sources. He received his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley and his masters and bachelors degrees from MIT and Lehigh University, respectively. His research interests are in the areas of structural design and composite materials. He is a registered professional engineer.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Kristen NeuschelProfessor of HistoryKristen Neuschel is professor of history in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. She is also co-director of the Language, Arts and Media Program. Her research concentrates on late medieval and early modern France and Europe with a current focus on war and culture in northern Europe between 1400 and 1600 A.D. She is the author of two monographs,Living by the Sword (2020) and Word of Honor (1989),and co-author to several editions of a textbook,Western Civilization: Beyond Boundaries (2013). Neuschel teaches courses in the history of war, of gender relations, and in the writing and (at the graduate level) the teaching of History. She earned her B.A. from Denison University and M.A. and Ph.D. from Brown University.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

James NolenProfessor of MathematicsJames Nolen is professor of mathematics in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. He studies partial differential equations and probability, which have been used to model many phenomena in the natural sciences and engineering with special interest in differential equations modeling random phenomena and whether one can describe the statistical properties of solutions to these equations. Nolens current research interests include reaction diffusion equations, homogenization of PDEs, stochastic dynamics and interacting particle systems. His research is funded by the National Science Foundation and was granted the CAREER award for Research and training in stochastic dynamics. He earned his B.S. from Davidson College and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

David PageProfessor of Biostatistics & BioinformaticsDavid Page is professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics in the Basic Science Division of the School of Medicine. He develops algorithms for machine learning and causal discovery, as well as applying them to biomedical data, especially de-identified electronic health records and high-throughput genetic and other molecular data. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Page earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.He became involved in biomedical applications while a post-doc at Oxford University, and he was formerly a Kellett and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before moving to Duke.Appointment Date: May 1, 2021

Henry PickfordProfessor of German StudiesHenry Pickford is professor of German studies in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. His research interests focus on modern philosophy and literature in German and Russian, with emphasis on the German philosophical tradition from Kant to critical theory. He is the author of The Sense of Semblance: Philosophical Analyses of Holocaust Art, Thinking with Tolstoy and Wittgenstein: Emotion, Expression and Art (also forthcoming in Russian translation), co-author of In Defense of Intuitions: A New Rationalist Manifesto, co-editor of Der aufrechte Gang im windschiefen Kapitalismus: Modelle kritischen Denkens, editor and translator of Theodor W. Adornos Critical Models: Interventions and Catchwords and Selected Early Poems of Lev Loseff and author of over twenty-five articles and book chapters. He is currently co-authoring the book Adorno: A Critical Life and co-editing the Oxford Handbook to Adorno. Pickford has a secondary appointment in Duke's Philosophy department. He earned his D.Phil. in Comparative Literature from Yale University and a M.A. in Philosophy from University of Pittsburgh.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Shitong QiaoProfessor of LawShitong Qiao is professor of law and the Ken Young-Gak Yun and Jinah Park Yun Research Scholar at Duke Law School. He was a tenured professor at the University of Hong Kong, a Law and Public Affairs (LAPA) fellow at Princeton University, and the inaugural Jerome A. Cohen Visiting Professor of Law at NYU. He also taught law in Shenzhen and Shanghai. Professor Qiao is an expert on property and urban law with a focus on comparative law and China. His first monograph, Chinese Small Property: The Co-Evolution of Law and Social Norms, won multiple prizes from Yale, Tsinghua and Hong Kong. His works in progress include a book under contract with Cambridge titled The Authoritarian Commons: Neighborhood Democratization in Urban China and the first-ever empirical investigation of the Supreme Peoples Court of China. He has advised the Shenzhen city government and the Ontario Securities Commission on Chinese land law and policies.Appointment Date: August 16, 2021

Sarah Bloom RaskinProfessor of the Practice of LawSarah Bloom Raskin, the former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, was named the Colin W. Brown Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law in 2021. A distinguished fellow in the Law SchoolsGlobal Financial Markets Center, she will become the centers faculty directorin January 2022. She is also a senior fellow in the Duke Center on Risk.From 2014 to 2017, Raskin was the second-in-command at the Treasury Department, where she was known for her pursuit of innovative solutions to enhance Americans shared prosperity, the resilience of the countrys critical financial infrastructure, and the defense of consumer safeguards in the financial marketplace. Earlier, Raskin was a governor of the Federal Reserve Board and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee. She also served as commissioner of financial regulation for the State of Maryland from 2007 to 2010. As a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke, Raskin collaborated with faculty across the university to improve understanding of markets and regulation. She led an agenda focused on shaping a new relationship between regulation and resilience in financial markets and deepening understanding of the management of systemic risks from diverse sources such as financial instruments, cyber breaches, and climate events. She also mentored and advised undergraduate and graduate students on careers in the public sector, guest-lectured in courses, participated in public events, and led collaborative research projects. Raskin, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has throughout her career worked across public and private sectors in both legal and regulatory capacities. Her private sector experience includes having served as managing director at the Promontory Financial Group, general counsel of the WorldWide Retail Exchange, and at the law firms of Arnold and Porter and Mayer Brown. Earlier in her career she served as banking counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.Appointment Date: August 1, 2021

Michael ReiterJames B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Electrical & Computer EngineeringMichael Reiter is James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and electrical and computer engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering. His research interests include all areas of computer and communications security, fault-tolerant distributed computing and applied cryptography. His previous positions included Director of Secure Systems Research at Bell Labs, professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, and distinguished professor of computer science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Ronald RittgersProfessor of the History of Christianity, Duke Divinity Chair in Lutheran StudiesDr. Rittgers research interests include the religious, intellectual, social and cultural history of medieval and early modern/Reformation Europe, focusing especially on the history of theology and devotion. Rittgers has served as the President of the American Society of Church History. His many publications include articles and book chapters in addition to books:The Reformation of the Keys:Confession, Conscience, and Authority in Sixteenth-Century Germany;The Reformation of Suffering: Pastoral Theology and Lay Piety in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany; The Reformation Commentary on Scripture: Hebrews and James; a co-edited volume,Protestants and Mysticism in Reformation Europe; andA Widowers Lament: The Pious Meditations of Johann Christoph Oelhafen. His next research projects will examine the intersection of consolation and self-understanding in the Age of Reform and the history of disenchantment in the Reformation and beyond. He additionally intends to work on essays that examine lament and love of God, respectively, in the theology of Martin Luther.Appointment Date: June 1, 2021

Jennifer SiegelBruce R. Kuniholm Distinguished Professor of History and Public PolicyJennifer Siegel Bruce R. Kuniholm Distinguished Professor of History in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and Public Policy in the Sanford School. She is an historian whose work focuses on the international and transnational nature of foreign relations and international security in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the ways in which those relations were driven by political, cultural, social, and economic forces. Her research has centered in the areas of international diplomacy, finance, the origins of wars, the nature of alliances, and modern intelligence, with a particular focus to date on relations between and among the Entente powers of Britain, Russia and France on the European continent and in the imperial periphery.Her most recent book,For Peace and Money: French and British Finance in the Service of Tsars and Commissars, examines the globalized interconnectivity of finance and foreign policy in the context of British and French private and government bank loans to Russia in the late imperial period up to the Genoa Conference of 1922.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

J. Warren SmithProfessor of Historical TheologyJ. Warren Smith is professor of historical theology in the Divinity School. His interest in the history of theology is broadly conceived from the apostles to the present, but his primary interest is the theology of the first six centuries of the Church. He is the author of Passion and Paradise: Human and Divine Emotion in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa, Christian Grace and Pagan Virtue: The Theological Foundation of Ambrose's Ethics, and Ambrose, Augustine, and the Pursuit of Greatness. He is currently working on a volume for Eerdmans Publishing tracing the development of theology from the Apostolic era with Ignatius of Antioch to the high-water mark of Byzantine thought with Maximos the Confessor, entitledEarly Christian Theology: A History.Beyond that Smith is turning to a project, tentatively entitledPlato and Christ: Platonism in Early Christian Theology,thatwill examine the significance of the tradition called "Christian Platonism" for Christianity in a post-modern age. He is also a United Methodist minister in the North Carolina Annual Conference. Smith earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.Appointment Date: January 1, 2021

Kevin WhiteProfessor of the Practice of Business AdministrationKevin M. White is professor of the practice of business administration in theFuqua School of Business. He is also vice president and director of athletics, emeritus. White earned his Ph.D. in education from Southern Illinois University in 1983 and currently teaches a sports business course as part of Fuquas Daytime MBA program. White guided Duke's Athletic Department from 2008-21 and spearheaded the implementation of the strategic plan approved by Dukes Board of Trustees in April 2008. He led Duke Athletics to unprecedented success in competition, reshaped the organization into a more efficient department and implemented significant diversity and inclusion efforts for the entire department. White has mentored more than 30 current or former directors of athletics and conference commissioners. Prior to his arrival in Durham, White served as athletic director at the University of Notre Dame, Arizona State University, Tulane University, the University of Maine and Loras College in Iowa. He graduated from the Harvard Institute of Educational Management in 1985. He is a member of the United States Olympic andParalympicCommittee and former chairman of the NCAA Mens Basketball Selection Committee.Appointment Date: September 1, 2021

Justin WrightProfessor of BiologyJustin Wright is professor of biology in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences with a secondary appointment in the Nicholas School of the Environment. His research focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of patterns of biological diversity across the planet. His research has received funding from the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Geographic Society, U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Wright joined Duke faculty in 2003. He earned his B.A. from Williams College and Ph.D. from Cornell University.Appointment Date: July 1, 2021

By Maggie Elliott

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Duke Faculty Promoted or Appointed to the Rank of Full Professor - Duke Today

Groundbreaking research on stem cells recently provided some hope for male individuals struggling with infertility as scientists succeeded in developing functional sperm cells taken from the stem cells of monkeys.

ABrinkwirereport said the University of Georgia scientists could produce useful sperm cells from embryonic stem cells of monkey species, particularly the rhesus macaque monkeys, igniting new hope for male infertility.

Researchers at the University of Georgia developed the embryonic cells in a dish using stem cells collected from the said mountain species to produce the so-called round spermatids, immature sperm cells.

As a result, they validated that such spermatids could fertilize a rhesus macaque egg, also igniting new hope for human trials.

ALSO READ:Sperm Memory Helps in Embryotic Transfer of Non-DNA Coded Traits

(Photo: Md. Tareq Aziz Touhid on Wikimedia Commons)Rhesus Macaque monkey

In a Daily Starreport, Charles Easley, the lead researcher, said this new approach is a breakthrough towards generating stem cell-based treatments to cure male infertility in circumstances where the men are not producing "any viable sperm cells."

He added this is the initial step that exhibits this technology is possibly translatable.

They are using a species that's more significant to them, and they are having success in developing healthy embryos.

"This is the first step that shows this technology is potentially translatable. We're using a species that's more relevant to us, and we're having success in making healthy embryos."

Nevertheless, rhesus macaques are found to have a closer match to the reproductive system of humans, so much so, the researchers added these monkeys are a "perfect and essential" model for the exploration of cell-based treatments for male infertility.

Nevertheless, for fertilization to occur in vitrospermatids, several factors are coming into play, including activating the egg to guarantee that the fertilized egg is developing into a healthy embryo.

Now that the research team has successfully achieved this, the researchers are planning to implant the embryos into a replacement rhesus macaque,ScienceDailyreported.

The next step will contribute to the assessment of if the embryos can indeed generate a healthy baby or not.

This news comes a few months following the prediction of experts that most couples will necessitate medical support to conceive by the year 2045, as chemicals crash human health.

According to a separate Daily Starreport, experts have forecasted that most couples will require medical support to conceive by, as mentioned, 2045.

Environmental medicine and public health professor Shanna Swan from Mount Sinai school of medicine in New York City said she had spent years examining the patterns of chemical impacts on the human body.

In 2017, the professor documented how average sperm counts among western males have more than halved in the last four decades.

According to Swan, in following that curve from the 2017 sperm-decline meta-analysis, it forecasts that by the mid-2040s, they will have "a median sperm count of zero."

Lastly, the hormone expert forecasted that most couples would need to resort to medication or IVF to assist with conceiving, saying they have observed growth in infertility among the younger generations.

Related information about male infertility is shown on Michigan Medicine's YouTube video below:

RELATED ARTICLE: Male Fertility: Increased Chemical Exposure, Lifestyle Changes Cause Sperm Quality in the US to Decline

Check out more news and information onMedicine & Healthin Science Times.

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Male Infertility Could Be Treated With Monkey Cells; New Study Shows How These Animals Could Help Address the Condition - Science Times

This month, Insights & Outcomes roams far and wide for the latest Yale research. We start in the hippocampus, then visit with worms, check out some noteworthy ion collisions, and finish up on the membrane of a cell.

As always, you can find more science and medicine research news on Yale News Science & Technology and Health & Medicine pages.

The hippocampus is a region of the brain that helps form long-term memories and plays a crucial role in helping us navigate the world. In a recent study, Yale researchers revealed just how it does this, enabling us to find our place in the world, recall location and direction, and finally even predict what we might find when we reach a new destination.

For the study, the lab of George Dragoi placed rats in a series of novel environments and then examined what happened to the neurons of the hippocampus over time. The experiments revealed the key role that so-called hippocampal place cells play in navigation across multiple environments.

The process, Dragoi said, can be understood by examining what happens to the brain of a tourist walking down New Yorks 5th Avenue for the first time. As the tourist walks from downtown to midtown and back, those neurons known as place cells become active, depicting specific locations along the avenue. Intriguingly, most of these active neurons also pinpoint specific locations while walking back and forth on the other avenues parallel to 5th Avenue. But as the tourist turns to walk down one of the crosstown streets, either towards 4th Avenue or 6th Avenue, these particular hippocampal neurons cease to be active they are orientated to the environment of 5th Avenue or avenues parallel to it. Instead, other neurons that had been quiet on 5th take over the spatial mapping and navigation as the tourist walks down the cross street.

In this scenario, during the maiden stroll down 5th Avenue, the tourists brain emphasizes speed rather than accuracy and does not record specific details of the environment. They are vaguely aware that sights observed along 42nd Street look different than those on 14th Street. But the more the tourist explores, the more the place cells are refined, which allows them to discriminate finer characteristics such as storefronts or subway stations that uniquely mark 5th Avenue.

Finally, as coordinated activity of this network of neurons recognizes that restaurants are found on avenues, the tourist will know that an intriguing Italian restaurant might be found if they walk down 3rd Avenue for the first time. This generalization across the same orientation helps rapid navigation in novel but similar environments and helps us anticipate new experiences without confusion, Dragoi said. The study was published in the journal Neuron.

Planarians are worms with an astounding capability if they lose any part of their body, even their brain, they can grow back exact copies. Some strains can reproduce sexually, but others simply divide and create a duplicate worm. In either case they replace all cells of their body on a monthly basis.

Its difficult to talk about generations when you are dealing with planarians, said Yales Josien van Wolfswinkel, assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

The capacity of planarians and some animals like salamanders to regenerate seems to depend upon the presence of PIWI proteins, which are potent regulatory molecules that are usually only found in embryonic stem cells and in sex cells of animals. Most people thought the role of these proteins was limited to regulating these two types of cells.

However, in a recent study, van Wolfswinkels lab found PIWIs play a much larger role in planarians. These proteins, they discovered, are crucial to determining the fate of different cell types that emerge from stem cells. They do this by guarding against improper activation of transposons, or stretches of DNA that can replicate and move around the genome. If transposons are too close to areas of DNA which contain specific instructions to make specialized cell types, they can disrupt production of these newly differentiating cells.

PIWI proteins help ensure that differentiated cells can be created without errors caused by proximity to transposons and therefore create healthy tissue, van Wolfswinkel said. It is possible that in other animals PIWI proteins are similarly required for the production of healthy new cells, she said. The work was published in the journal Cell Reports.

The hunt continues for a physics phenomenon known as the chiral magnetic effect (CME).

Physicists from the international STAR Collaboration, based at Brookhaven National Laboratorys Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, have released the results of a blind analysis of how the strength of the magnetic field generated in certain ion collisions affects the particles streaming out.

They were hoping to find evidence of CME an electric current generated along an external magnetic field, caused by a chiral imbalance (when mirror-image particles are not identical). The data did not detect CME, but researchers said the experiment yielded quite a bit of useful information.

The results represent a significant milestone in our field, said Helen Caines, a Yale associate professor of physics and co-spokesperson for STAR. We believe that they quite possibly represent the most precise heavy ion measurement ever done. We are certain that they will lead to a burst of theoretical activity.

STARs search for the CME has strong ties to Yale. Jack Sandweiss, Alexei Chikanian, and Richard Majka, all now deceased, as well as former Yale researcher Evan Finch, who is now a faculty member at Southern Connecticut State University, spearheaded the original CME analyses for STAR.

In a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Yale researchers Mason Rouches and Benjamin Machta, as well as University of Michigan researcher Sarah Veatch, look at a specific way that cell proteins signal each other.

Called phase separation of proteins, it is an active area of current research and refers to the way proteins sometimes separate into two distinct phases much like the way oil and water separate after they are mixed.

We examine what we term surface densities liquid-like assemblies of proteins found exclusively on the cell membrane, said Rouches, a graduate student in molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale. Our focus is on the subclass of proteins that phase-separate at cell membranes, often aiding in signaling.

Rouches and Machta argue that these surface densities are prewet a technical term used in physics. A prewet phase would be, for example, a molecularly thin, two-dimensional film of liquid that forms on the surface of a system whose bulk is in a three-dimensional gas phase.

In this case, proteins are stabilized as droplet-like films at the membrane surface. We find that phase-separation in the membrane encourages the phase separation of proteins at the cell surface, and that proteins likewise encourage phase separation of lipids in the membrane, reinforcing each other in a single surface phase, said Machta, an assistant professor of physics in Yales Faculty of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Systems Biology Institute at West Campus.

The research offers insight into mechanisms of signaling cluster formation for example, the clusters that form in T-cells upon engagement with a foreign antigen and of long-lived protein assemblies found in the synapses of neurons and other cell types.

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Insights & Outcomes: Place cells, planarians, and 'prewet' proteins - Yale News

The Michigan State University researchers who created the first miniature human heart model with primary heart cell types, vascular tissue and a functioning structure of chambers have taken another step forward: developing new therapies for congenital heart disease.

The study, Self-assembling human heart organoids for the modeling of cardiac development and congenital heart disease, was published in Nature Communications and first-authored by Yonatan Lewis-Israeli, a biomedical engineering graduate student. It details how the heart model can be used to study human congenital heart defects, or CHD, thus opening avenues for the development of treatments and prevention strategies.

The most exciting thing in this publication is that we used our previously established heart organoid model to study and recapitulate, for the first time, the effects of diabetes of the mother on the developing embryonic heart, which is one of the main causes of CHD, said Aitor Aguirre, the studys senior author and assistant professor of biomedical engineering at MSUsInstitute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering.

Aitor Aguirre, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at MSUs Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering.

This is a big step toward preventing CHD and developing therapies to treat it. We normally do not have access to embryonic human hearts for ethical reasons, so our direct knowledge is very limited and comes mainly from mice. With our mini-hearts, this is no longer a limitation, he said. We have access to all the hearts we need.

The team uses human pluripotent stem cells, similar to the cells that make up the early embryo, and coaxes them into becoming hearts by manipulating chemical and physical cues. Fetal-sized mini-hearts are a big step forward in stem cell tissue engineering that can aid in disease research and the development of novel medical therapies.

We then use these mini-hearts to model one of the most frequent causes of congenital heart disease in children, diabetes of the mother, Aguirre said. When the mother is diabetic, babies have a 12-fold increased risk of having CHD (around 1% for normal population), up to ~12%. With this updated model of diabetes-induced CHD, we can now explore potential treatments to prevent and treat the disease in a human model.

Such research was previously confined to animal subjects like mice that are limited for modeling human disorders.

Creating human in vitro organ models is a dream of current medicine and this constitutes a step in the right direction, Aguirre said. These models can be used to study health and disease biology, thus enabling development of new therapies and drugs to treat a variety of diseases. Furthermore, this technology will continue evolving, and one day we may grow these constructs enough that they can be used for transplants.

Additional collaborators included Chao Zhou (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis);Wen Li (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, IQ, MSU);Xanthippi Chatzistavrou (Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, MSU).

To read more about the miniature human hearts, see the initial story here.

(Note for media: Please include a link to the original paper in online coverage: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25329-5)

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Using a mini heart model to develop new therapies - MSUToday

When Brady Moore, a biomedical engineering senior, first began his journey into the scientific world as a high school student, he could not have predicted the path he would take over the next four years. His biology teacher recommended a summer research internship at Rowan University that he eagerly pursued. He chose to attend Rowan as a freshman the following year.

This summer, Moore took part in another hands-on program directed by Rowans Department of Biomedical Engineering, called Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). The 10-week program hosted 12 undergraduate students from eight states: Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded 10 of the fellows and Rowan funded two more through its Division of University Research.

The NSF supports research sites that represent specific areas of interest with a focus on developing leaders in the field and igniting their passion for discovery, innovation and research, according to Dr. Mary Staehle, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. Rowans site focuses on biomedical materials, devices, therapeutics and emerging frontiers, and includes faculty mentors in these areas from engineering, science and medicine.

Students work full-time in a lab with a faculty mentor, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to complete meaningful, impactful research throughout the summer, explained Staehle, who directs the REU program along with Dr. Mark Byrne, professor and founding head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

The program provides extensive research opportunities that students may not have at their home institutions and broadens opportunities for scientists, Staehle said.

Rowans REU program first began in 2018. Its return following the COVID-19 pandemic was a welcome sign of normalcy.

It is really great to have students on campus, Staehle said. This program provides an opportunity to learn firsthand about being a graduate student and how to pursue a career in science or engineering research.

This summer, Moore returned to the lab of Dr. Peter Galie, associate professor of biomedical engineering, studying cell cultures with a focus on strokes and aneurysms. Moore plans to do more hands-on lab work before applying to medical school.

Everyone in the lab was welcoming and friendly and showed me when I needed to know something. I really appreciate all the help, Moore said.

Brady worked in my lab as a high school student, so things came full circle this summer, Galie said. It was great seeing his growth, both as a young adult and as a biomedical engineer, thanks to the training hes received during his three years here.

Alexis Pacheco Benitez, a Rowan junior, also credited the faculty and students for enriching his research experience.

The people there really brought life to the lab and made me look forward to being there in the lab every day, said Pacheco Benitez, who spent the summer exploring 3D cellular remodeling. I will also remember the trips I and the other REU fellow students went to throughout the entire program.

Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha, a sophomore from the University of Rochester, worked in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. One experience she found beneficial during the program was a Women in Chemistry event.

From the presentation, I saw that I could strive in the entrepreneurial world. Before I was considering medical school, but now I have narrowed down my options, she said.

Sky Fuller, a Columbia University junior, commuted from the Glassboro campus to the Joint Health Sciences Center in Camden to work in the field of synthetic biology.

Our primary focus is redesigning receptors and synthetic circuits of immune cells to fight cancer. I had a minimal background in synthetic biology when I arrived at the start of these 10 weeks, so I learned a lot about this field, Fuller said.

Mulan Tang, a junior from the University of Oklahoma, recounted a story about adding stem cells to cross-linked fibers.

It was a bit late in the day, at around 8 p.m., but it was extremely exciting to look through the confocal microscope and see that the attachment was successful, Tang said. I felt like I really did make a lot of research progress during my time at Rowan.

These programs are vital to fostering that excitement and creating the next leaders in the field, said Byrne. Exposing these young engineers and scientists to top research and having them contribute in a real and meaningful way during the summer and beyond is the spark that leads to meaningful careers in the field. Rowan is the ideal place for these types of programs.

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Rowan University hosts National Science Foundation research program for undergrads - Rowan Today

Like new: Neurons lacking ASH1L (bottom left) come to resemble control neurons (top left) after treatment with an experimental drug (top and bottom right).

Mutations in the autism-linked gene ASH1L change how neurons grow and develop, according to two unpublished studies presented virtually this week at the 2021 Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome. (Links to abstracts may work only for registered conference attendees.)

ASH1L helps regulate chromatin, the mass of DNA and proteins in the nucleus of a cell.

Blocking a protein that is overactive when ASH1L is deficient reverses the structure changes seen in neurons lacking the gene, one of the studies shows.

The researchers used human stem cells to generate neurons that express low levels of ASH1L protein. The ASH1L-deficient neurons had fewer and shorter projections and larger cell bodies than control neurons did.

The changes could affect the neurons ability to send signals across synapses, the junctions between neurons, says Janay Vacharasin, a doctoral student in Sofia Lizarragas lab at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, who presented the work.

If you scale this up to the brain, maybe [the neurons] cant connect to the right systems or different areas of the brain, since they cant grow as well, she says.

Next the researchers treated the neurons with an experimental drug that inhibits EZH2, an enzyme that represses gene transcription in a process regulated by ASH1L. After this treatment, the structure of the ASH1L neurons appeared more similar to that of control neurons.

In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an inhibitor, called tazemetostat, similar to the one the team used to treat a form of lymphoma in adults.

The neuron findings echo those in ASH1L mice presented by Sally Campers lab at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

That team created mice missing one or both copies of ASH1L throughout their bodies. They also made mice missing the gene only in the cerebral cortex or neural progenitor cells, using a system that edits genes only when mice are given a drug called tamoxifen.

Most of the mice lacking ASH1L died within two weeks of birth, a finding in line with the observation that people with mutations in ASH1L typically have those changes in only one copy of the gene.

Mice missing both copies of the gene showed differences in brain development from the control mice, including unusually large ventricles fluid-containing cavities deep within the brain. The team is currently probing whether other parts of the brain are affected.

What we can tell is, there is definitely a structural abnormality of the brain, says Kevin Toolan, a graduate student in Campers lab, who presented the work.

They also found that knocking out ASH1L changed the expression of other genes associated with autism, including NRXN2. But these results are preliminary, Toolan says.

Both studies found that ASH1L mutations seem to disrupt a signaling pathway necessary for neurons to grow, Vacharasin says. She plans to next study cells derived from autistic people with mutations in the gene.

Read more reports from the 2021 Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome.

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Loss of a top autism gene may alter neuron structure - Spectrum

For immediate release

Newswise ANN ARBOR, Michigan A team of researchers from the Rogel Cancer Center received an $11.2 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study how to use the microbiome to limit complications of stem cell transplants for blood cancers and other diseases.

Hematopoietic cell transplants using donor cells can be a lifesaving treatment. But graft-versus-host disease, is a common serious side effect that can limit its use.

Researchers who have been exploring the role the microbiome and host-metabolism interactions have on GVHD have teamed up for this program project grant, which has four components.

Our overarching goal is to make allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation safer and more efficacious. The proposal has a unifying central theme to understand the role of intestinal microbial metabolite interactions with host metabolism and the impact on intestinal GVHD, says principal investigator Pavan Reddy, M.D., deputy director of the Rogel Cancer Center and division chief of hematology/oncology at Michigan Medicine.

The projects will address the importance of the microbiome in mitigating the severity of graft-versus-host disease and improving outcomes after allogeneic transplants.

The proposal is supported by four core services, which are led by Gregory Dick, Ph.D., Tom Braun, Ph.D., Eric Martens, Ph.D., and Costa Lyssiotis, Ph.D. The collaboration represents multiple schools across the University of Michigan, including the Medical School, the School of Public Health and the College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

This project brings together a team of investigators from diverse fields and schools, who have worked and published together previously. These collective projects are the results of unifying our preliminary datasets over the past several years. We hope that by working collaboratively we can make a difference for patients receiving hematopoietic cell transplants, Reddy says.

Grant citation: 1P01HL149633-01

Resources:

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, http://www.rogelcancercenter.org

Michigan Health Lab, http://www.MichiganHealthLab.org

Michigan Medicine Cancer AnswerLine, 800-865-1125

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Rogel team receives $11.2M to leverage the microbiome against GVHD - Newswise