In 2018 He Jiankui presented a study where he claimed he successfully used CRISPR to genetically modify a set of twins, intending to provide them with resistance against HIV. Dr. He modified CCR5, C-C chemokine receptor type 5, in two patients which have been given the names “Lulu” and “Nana”. It has not been clinically confirmed that the variants introduced provide a protective effect. Because of the barriers to collecting human clinical data, here we use homology modeling to predict the effects of these proteins. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to compare these new variants to known variants using 3D protein models produced from predicted translations. This allows us to follow and compare the individual amino acid movement of the variants within a simulated aqueous environment over time. The simulations of the novel variants in twins Lulu and Nana showed differences in the amino acid residue movement of the protein over a 20-nanosecond interval when compared with known variants. This allows us to determine the stability of the protein by following the way the amino acids within the protein move in the simulated aqueous environment. Stability and amino acid movement affects the regulation and expression of the protein and can be altered when specific amino acids are targeted. The differences in the model simulations presented here suggest potential changes in functionality or stability.

Temperature plays a central role in plant growth and development. As global warming has increased, heat stress has become an increasingly pressing issue that influences plant growth, reproduction, and crop yield. One-hundred and thirty Brassica rapa plants were examined in this experiment to investigate the effects of overnight warming on temperate species. It was hypothesized that the elevated overnight temperature would have significant effects on the plant growth, reproduction, and seed viability of B. rapa. The B. rapa seeds were measured as two groups: a control group with conditions of 27°C for 14 daytime hours and 20°C for 10 overnight hours, and an experimental group with conditions of 27°C for 14 daytime hours and 24°C for 10 overnight hours. Weekly, stem height, width, chlorophyll content, and leaf area were measured for growth variables. A count of buds, flowers, and seed pods were obtained weekly beginning in the second week. Aboveground biomass was harvested to determine productivity for vegetative and reproductive plant products. Results showed plants grown with an elevated overnight temperature were shorter, had narrower stems, shorter leaves and produced less aboveground biomass compared to the control plants. Experimental plants produced wider leaves with a higher chlorophyll content, more flowers and created seeds with a greater average seed biomass than the control plants. There was no difference in germinability between the control and experimental groups. Results suggest differential physiological responses of growth and reproductive organs in response to stress associated with warmer overnight temperatures.

Jet lag is a disruption to daily biological circadian rhythms that affect millions of people worldwide each year. Jet lag negatively impacts health, including behavioral changes in mood. Seasonal changes in day length have also been associated with mood disorders. In this study, we aim to understand how jet lag, under different day lengths, affects anxiety and depression. Using the mouse as a model organism, we find that neither jet lag nor day length negatively impacted anxiety or depression. Compared to studies that demonstrate the negative impacts of chronic jet lag on mood, this study reveals a less severe effect on mood within the first two days after jet lag.

Staphylococcus aureus biofilms are composed of a population of bacteria that can conduct interdependent physiological processes that lend to their high resistance to antimicrobials. These biofilms are associated with several conditions including prosthetic limb device infections, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, and wound infections. Phage display aids in the identification of specific biofilm components for the development of new treatments against such biofilms. In this study, we utilized a peptide with sequence RVRSAPSSS specific for Staphylococcus aureus in the comparison of a general phage elution profile with an elution profile containing this peptide. In addition, both the general and specific elution profiles were tested separately on a strain of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 12600) to assess their specificity to their biofilm components. The specific elution profile isolated two amino acid sequences obtained from phage DNA sequencing, SNYTYGP and SNMEQVA, previously unattested to in similar phage display research. The SNYTYGP and SNMEQVA sequences were analyzed by BLASTP to correlate their identities. The SNYTYGP sequence was associated with both a LysM peptidoglycan-binding-domain-containing protein and a secretory antigen precursor ssaA, each of which may act as a virulence factor in S. aureus biofilms. The SNMEQVA sequence was associated with a DDE-type integrase/transposase/recombinase implicated in transformation.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common and often debilitating. One complication following TBI is post-traumatic seizures (PTS). However, there is a poor understanding of PTS, in part, because it is challenging to model. We sought to develop a fly model of PTS. We used a high-impact trauma (HIT) device to inflict TBI and followed this with behavioral, bang-testing methods to assess seizure behavior. Our results showed PTS incidence was sensitive to genetic background. We also found seizure duration was most pronounced at 30 minutes after injury. Our findings support the efficacy of our fly model for coarse screening of seizure behavior. We expect this model will be useful in first-pass screens intended to identify modifiers of seizure risk following TBI.

Winter road salt use leads to the salinization of freshwater habitats. Freshwater organisms experience negative effects due to increased chloride ions, including algae in periphyton biofilms. This study examines the effects of road salt on algal assemblage composition, lipid production, and enzyme activity. Five streams throughout Erie County, New York, US were sampled monthly from October 2018 to March 2019. Chloride concentrations in all streams averaged 203.6 Cl^- mg/L throughout the winter and had a highly significant relationship (r_s = 0.82) with developed land use. Algal biodiversity scores decreased with elevated salinity (r_s = 0.11). Algae exhibited the greatest total lipids in January (2.92 mg/m²) and the lowest in March (1.03 mg/m²). Similar trends were observed with ω3 and ω6 compounds. Overall desaturase Δ6 activity trended with stream Cl^- concentrations, mainly along ω6 pathways, suggesting an inflammatory stress response. Algal assemblages exhibited evidence of chronic salt exposure through impaired taxonomic composition and patterns of lipid production that followed trends in stream water salinity. These effects suggest road salt applications have negative effects on stream primary producers with consequences for higher trophic levels.

Proprioception and interoception are two complex physiological functions believed to be dependent on a variety of factors. The present study examined the relationship between proprioception and interoception in a sample of undergraduate students to determine whether varsity athlete status moderated the relationship, as physical activity levels have been hypothesized to influence both proprioception and interoception. Participants (n = 24) completed two tasks: a heartbeat discrimination test of interoceptive accuracy and a joint position matching test of proprioceptive accuracy at the elbow joint. Participants completed a questionnaire to determine their status as a varsity athlete at the university and the amount of time they dedicated every week to physical activity. The relationship between proprioceptive and interoceptive accuracy scores was analyzed across the entire sample and compared across athletes and non-athletes. Despite differences in physical activity between athletes and non-athletes (p = 0.04, d = 0.87), results revealed no significant relationships between proprioceptive accuracy and interoceptive accuracy in the entire sample (r(22) = 0.16, p = 0.47), in athletes (r(9) = -0.31, p = 0.36), or in non-athletes (r(11) = 0.53, p = 0.06). Also, this relationship did not significantly differ between athletes and non-athletes (q = 0.91, p = 0.06), despite a large effect size. Overall, there were no significant relationships between athlete status, proprioceptive accuracy, and interoceptive accuracy.

The process for genetic transmission takes place in a chromatin environment constituted of histones and non-histone architectural proteins. PTEN, a potent tumor suppressor defective in a large number of human cancers, has been found to interact with various chromatin components, guarding the genome against chromosome instability. Studies have shown that PTEN-deficient cells exhibit a globally defective chromatin environment. However, a comprehensive understanding of how the dynamic process of mitotic chromosome condensation is impacted by the PTEN-deficient epigenetic milieu is needed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify aberrations of dynamic mitotic chromatin compression resulting from PTEN dysfunction and to evaluate the importance of PTEN phosphatase activity in maintaining heterochromatin stability. An intrinsic metaphase structure assay was utilized to monitor the structural integrity of chromosomes in murine MC38 colon cancer cells. Following successive cycles of condensation and decondensation, MC38 cells with and without Pten were subjected to analysis of chromosome morphology. Pten^-/cells exhibited fewer heterochromatic centers as compared to Pten⁺/⁺ cells. Ectopic expression of wild-type Pten (WT) rescued the aberrant heterochromatic morphology in Pten-null cells. In contrast, a lipid phosphatase deficient Pten mutant G129E (GE) failed to correct the Pten-deficient chromatin aberrations. These observations reveal that PTEN plays an essential role in maintaining mitotic chromosome stability and suggest that epigenetic approaches may be implemented to correct mitotic chromatin deregulation in tumors carrying PTEN mutations.