Share this post ✔️ The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #35theapprofessor.substack.comCopy linkFacebookEmailNoteOther ✔️ The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #35Kevin PattonJul 07, 2021Share this post ✔️ The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #35theapprofessor.substack.comCopy linkFacebookEmailNoteOtherShareLife ScienceThe complex downfall of LYMErix—and what’s coming next.Since April, mucormycosis infections have skyrocketed across India; more than 28,000 cases had been officially reported as of June 7. Of those, 86 percent were COVID-19 patients. Local media reports in India now estimate that as of June 11, cases had reached more than 31,000. At St. John’s Medical College Hospital in Bangalore, “in the pre-COVID period, we had approximately 30 patients per year” with the infection, says Sanjiv Lewin, chief of medical services. But in a recent two-week period, “we had a sudden surge of 63 patients.” The military announced plans to performance test a new anti-aging pill that it developed to keep soldiers healthy and operating at peak performance.Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.Whether it is an African savannah or Antarctic desert, the organ that provides protection and a first line of defense in animals is the skin. When we look at the basic characteristics of life, two of the important features for survival are effective intragroup communication and response to the ecological environment. Skin functions as a media of communication for almost all living organisms from lower groups to higher groups in the taxonomic tree. With its color, texture, pattern, and multiple layers of tissues and different cells, skin helps to attract a partner and offers protection against an enemy. For all five major groups of vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals), there are certain features that are shared; at the same time, there are certain features that are unique to one individual class. The protein keratin is present across the classes of vertebrates and skin color is the medley of pigments for protection and attractiveness; feathers, however, are unique to birds alone.Pericytes are multi-functional cells embedded within the walls of capillaries throughout the body, including the brain. Pericytes were first identified in the 1870s, but little attention was paid to them during the following century.The human brain is the organ with the highest metabolic activity but it lacks a traditional lymphatic system responsible for clearing waste products.In a one-two punch, a malaria vaccine in development pairs a shot of the live parasite that causes the disease with a whammy of infection-fighting drugs to immediately quell it. The candidate is the latest vaccine to show promise against a formidable foe, bolstering hopes that an effective shot might be on the horizon. Malaria, a disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, affects more than 200 million people around the world every year. In 2019, an estimated 409,000 people died from the mosquito-borne disease, 67 percent of whom were children younger than 5.Teaching & LearningWe must broaden our focus to create inclusive learning environments that recognize and remove barriers, creating a more equitable system for all, write Raghu Krishnaiah and Kelly Hermann.The case for seizing the moment and offering more courses on big social, economic, and health issues. By Ken Bain and Marsha Marshall Bain JULY 6, 2021This article is excerpted from a new Chronicle special report, “The Future of Teaching: How the Classroom Is Being Transformed,” available in the Chronicle Store. One of the biggest lessons of a year defined by upheaval on social, health, and economic grounds is that students are hungry for courses that tackle big issues. Responding to that demand is not just savvy for your institution’s finances and marketing, it’s good for your students and faculty members, too.TAPP News & NotesSecond of a series that explores simple ways that we can make our teaching slides more engaging—and therefore more effective for learning.PreviousNext