The A&P Professor Science & Education Updates - Issue #167

Life Science

“You can trigger those ripples on the microscale,” explains Demirci. “Like when the tides of the ocean sweep a sunken ship’s treasures to shore — we’re sort of doing the same thing with heart cells. What?!

Traces of type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus were detected during routine surveillance of sewage in London.

Melatonin poisoning in children has risen dramatically over the past decade, a new study suggests. Between 2012 and 2021, U.S. poison control centers saw a 530% increase in calls about children who had ingested large amounts of the sleep-aid supplement, the study found.

As the crucial powerhouse for cell metabolism and tissue survival, the mitochondrion frequently undergoes morphological or positional changes when responding to various stresses and energy demands. In addition to intracellular changes, mitochondria can also be transferred intercellularly. Besides restoring stressed cells and damaged tissues due to mitochondrial dysfunction, the intercellular mitochondrial transfer also occurs under physiological conditions.

In this review, the phenomenon of mitochondrial transfer is described according to its function under both physiological and pathological conditions, including tissue homeostasis, damaged tissue repair, tumor progression, and immunoregulation. Then, the mechanisms that contribute to this process are summarized, such as the trigger factors and transfer routes. Furthermore, various perspectives are explored to better understand the mysteries of cell–cell mitochondrial trafficking. In addition, potential therapeutic strategies for mitochondria-targeted application to rescue tissue damage and degeneration, as well as the inhibition of tumor progression, are discussed.

The bacterium behind the baby formula recall, Cronobacter sakazakii, is less well-known than other food-borne pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella, but it can wreak havoc in vulnerable populations like newborns or people with compromised immune systems.

As Father’s Day approaches, ads from the consumer DNA testing companies ramp up. But they don’t warn that in a few weeks, a new wave of unsuspecting people are going to discover half-siblings – perhaps many – and then deduce or discover that they were conceived using donor sperm.

Teaching & Learning

Anyone can improve their memory using a proven scientific method the ancient Greeks and Romans developed. The idea is to create a “memory palace.

Diving into a magnified human cell. Studying stars from the surface of the moon. Tossing a Frisbee on the quad with a classmate who lives 700 miles away. These scenarios are far-fetched for most college students. Yet a new virtual reality experiment aims to make them possible.

TAPP News & Notes

Benefits to A﹠P Faculty Taking Courses | How Olfactory Adaptation Really Works | Young Cerebrospinal Fluid Makes Us Remember Better