SciOx Issue 2

SCIENCE OXFORD RESEARCH MAGAZINE

An Explosion of Knowledge

Humans, are they still unique? pp. 39-40

Rapid Estradiol Effects on Non-sex ual Social Approach Response in Zebrafish pp. 19-22

Spotlight Feature: Dr. Smith pp. 37-38

Hello!

One year after our first publication, we are proud to present you with the second edition of SciOx Research Magazine, Oxford College of Emory University’s undergraduate STEM research journal. Our mission, to make novel scientific research topics more accessible to all regardless of one’s back ground, has been furthered by many people who we must appreciate, including contributing authors and layout designers; the 2021-2022 SciOx executive board for their time, energy, and innovativeness helping propel this publication forward; Ashanti Jones for guidance on the SciOx website; the Oxford Student Government Association and Admissions Team for their huge financial contributions that made printing this publication possible; and to Dr. LaTonia Taliaferro-Smith, our advisor, for steering our vision in the right direction as the amazing, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable person that she is.

As you saw from the cover, this year’s issue is all about an “explosion of knowledge”. The collection of articles we chose to feature are diverse. From intersectionality in public health to synthesis of brandnew molecules, methods for mitigating climate change to coding about bike sharing, we might just have something to blow your mind. Although our mission is to make STEM research easily digestible for all, be warned: there are definitely some articles that are a little more challenging than others, an other way you might experience that “explosion”. Either way, we hope that you enjoy the novel topics presented and the amazing art, all done by Oxford students.

Going forward, SciOx’s goal is to continue to publish an annual issue. However, we also hope to bolster our online presence by creating a more interactive online version of the magazine. Diagrams and effective descriptions of research in our magazines certainly aid with reader understanding, but other methods of delivering information- videos, models, supplementary materials, and more- may take things to the next level. Look for that in the future at www.scioxmagazine.com and reach out to us at scioxmagazine@gmail.com if you are interested in contributing.

Thank you so much for reading!

Will Dougherty

SciOx Editor-in-Chief 2021-2022 will.dougherty@emory.edu

2021-2022

Executive Board

William Dougherty Editor-in-Chief

Claire Qu Co-Editor-in-Chief (Fall 2021)

Christian Lee Layout Chair

Anna Kozlov Managing Editor

Connor Ross Public Relations

Ian Riekhof Website Chair

Kevin Hoffman Secretary

Kelly Kim Treasurer

William Xu Website Chair

Cassie Yu

Freshman Representative

Ayanna Kakar Freshman Representative

Article Authors

Layout Designers

Abel Lindley

Jessica Yoon Manju Karthikeyan

Emi Lundberg

Andrew Yang

Madison Shumpert

Catherine Zhang

Masin Kearney

Alia Bly

Eleonora Sheppard

Ellie Nadelmann

Kevin Gunawardana

Audrika Chattaraj

Kaitlynn Love

Makayla Siu

Angelina Chen

The World is Your Ice Cube: Methods for Refreezing the Arctic

It should be no surprise to anyone at this point that the arctic is melting at an alarming rate. Headline after headline, statistic after statistic, everyone and everything is pointing to the same fact: arctic ice is melting due to anthropogenic, or human, causes. The formation of arctic ice is a multiyear process. Sea water is frozen during the winter months, where it first begins to form as clumpy slush called grease ice and firms together to become a block no thicker than 1 meter, called first year ice. First year ice is typically fragile, easily damaged by strong winds or rough waves. First year ice must survive the summer heat to become multi-year ice, which is typically 2-4 meters thick and far more robust. In the 1980s, multi-year ice made up 50-60% of the ice in the arctic. By 2010, only 15% of ice was over 2 years old (Desch 109).

The obvious solution is to immediately halt the anthropogenic activities that have led to the warming climate in the first place. However, due to society’s reliance on carbon-emitting activities, that is unlike ly to happen. We must turn to alternative solutions that strengthen arctic ice without being too invasive.

The first proposal is the “Wind Powered Water Pump”. Researchers with the PlanetWorks Initiative at Arizona State University have been working on a method to strengthen first year ice to be less suscep tible to heat. A wind powered pump system would spread a thin layer of seawater on top of the ice. The air, being colder than the ocean, causes sea water to freeze faster when exposed. Hypothetical calculations have determined that just 1.3 meters of water need to be pumped to increase ice thickness by 70%, which is enough for first-year ice to survive the summer months (Desch 120).

Unfortunately, this is an invasive proposal. To cover just 10% of the arctic with 1.3 meters of water, 100 million wind pumps are needed. Constructing the pumps would require 13% of the United States’ steel production and half of the world’s container

shipping capacity (Desch 119-120). Furthermore, it would be disruptive to arctic ecosystems. If some thing were to go wrong, such as the turbine blades icing over or the pumps negatively impacting marine life, the project would be difficult to stop or reverse (Desch 119). While Wind Powered Water Pumps seem like a good idea in theory, they could not feasi bly be implemented.

The second proposal is for “Marine Cloud Aero sols”, developed by researchers in the Marine Cloud Brightening Project. They plan to spray aerosols in the air to increase cloud albedo. This will cause a general cooling effect on the planet as sunlight is reflected away from the earth at a greater rate. Little research has been done because of difficulties generating a controlled environment accurate to the movement of clouds (Wood 660). However, one study showed that only 10-30% of clouds need to be affected by aerosols to offset the doubling of CO2 emissions (Wood 661). Furthermore, if something goes wrong, the project can easily be stopped. While Marine Cloud Aerosols has a promising economic outlook, more research needs to be done before its implementation.

The final proposal is by the Arctic Ice Project, which plans to spread K1 microspheres in thin layers across the surface of grease ice to in crease arctic albedo, the ability to reflect sunlight. These K1 microspheres are hollow glass spheres with a diameter of 65 µm that mimic the appear ance of sand (Field 884). A coating as thin as 1.5-5 monolayers of microspheres can increase the albe do of first-year ice (Field 886). It also has a min imal environmental impact; the microspheres are nontoxic and wouldn’t interfere with mammalian activity (Field 890). If problems arise, the project can be halted immediately and any K1 micro spheres that have already been introduced to the environment will dissolve over time (Field 900). However, in order to apply just 1monolayer across the entire arctic, 2.2x the world’s current produc tion of K1 microspheres is needed (Field 889). The Arctic Ice Project has promising prospects, but the world does not produce enough micro spheres to make it happen.

Each of the proposals has its own pros and cons. The Arctic Ice Project’s microsphere proposal is the most promising prospect, while Marine Cloud Aerosols has the easiest application and Wind Powered Water Pumps enable the environment to work for itself but may be too invasive. The Arctic Ice Project is the only proposal that could begin implementation right now, and with the impacts of the climate crisis already becoming evident, time is crucial.

As we look to implement these proposals to save arctic ice, it’s critical that we remember the importance of minimal interference. Anthropogenic activities put us in this perilous situation in the first place; our attempts to improve the situation must not make things worse.

References

[1] Desch, S.J. et al. (2017). Arctic ice manage ment, Earth’s Future, 5, 107-127. https://doi. org/10.1002/2016EF000410

[2] Field, L., Ivanova, D., Bhattacharyya, S., Mlaker, V., Shlotz, A., Decca, R., et al. (2018). Increasing Arctic sea ice albedo using localized reversible geoengineering. Earth’s Future, 6, 882901. https:// doi.org/10.1029/2018EF000820

[3] Wood, R., Ackerman, T., Rasch, P., & K., (2017). Could geoengineering research help answer one of the biggest questions in climate science? Earth’s Future, 5, 659-663. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ full/10.1002/2017EF000601

Written by Emi Lundberg Layout by Makayla Siu

PIGS SAVING LIVES:

Exploring Innovations And Limitations In The Novel Field Of Xenotransplantation

found in order to give the over 100,00 men, women, and children waiting on the organ donor list access to the healthcare that they deserve (HRSA, 2o22). With a new person being added to the waiting list every nine minutes, new solutions to this ongoing crisis must be investigated, be ginning with xenotransplantation. Xeno transplantation involves the implantation of cells, tissues, or organs into a human from a non-human source, with cows and pigs often serving as common donors. Complications with interspecies trans plants have led to proposals of genetically modified donors in order to enhance organ donor compatibility (Kuwaki et al., 2005). Beyond simple complications with science, there are also moral boundaries that must be considered in cases such as this involving experimentation with human life.

The road to pig-to-human organ xeno transplants began with studies regarding kidney transplants from pig to non-hu man-primate (NHP) models (Porett et al., 2022). A primary limitation of pig to NHP (and potentially pig to human) transplant is the hyperacute rejection of pig organs after NHP antibodies recognize the Galα(1,3)Gal antigen on the surface of

porcine endothelial (heart and blood vessel) cells (Hryhorowicz. 2017). The interaction of the pig antigens with the transplant recipient’s antibodies leads to the penetration of the NHP cells by membrane attack complexes (MACs), causing eventual cell lysis (breakdown) (Hryhorowicz. 2017). Studies have identified this immune barrier of carbo hydrate antigens on vascular antihelium (the cellular lining of arteries, veins, and capillaries), and their genetically-modi fied removal increased the success rate of these porcine xenografts. The recipient of a heart xenotransplant from a genetically modified donor lived for 945 days, greatly outliving the 1999 success rate of 50% for organ survival for less than one month (Vanderpool, 1999) . The ability to geneti cally modify the genome of pigs by knock ing out the GGTA1 gene which catalyzes the Galα(1,3)Gal antigen development enables these pigs to be bred with the specific purpose of becoming cell, tissue, and organ donors, a potential solution for the organ shortage crisis (Hryhorowicz, 2017).

Despite the promise of this procedure, more knowledge is required in order to determine the potential for hyperacute rejection of the transplanted organs in humans as well as the limitations posed by transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses. A study at the University of Alabama in 2015 applied the findings of pig-to-NHP models in humans without the risks of human testing by xenotrans planting porcine kidneys into a human brain-dead decedent (deceased) model (Porett et al., 2022). Hyperacute rejec tion of the kidneys and porcine endog enous retrovirus transmission were not observed in the human decedent, with robust urine output shown in the right kidney and lower levels demonstrated by the left. With numerous concerns about the limitations of pig to human xenograft transplantation being addressed by this in vivo human study, this new knowledge may provide further opportunities for development in this field.

Pig Antigens

Transplant Antibodies

Healthy Cell

Another breakthrough in the path to achieving xenotransplantation occurred in 2020 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in a line of domestic pigs for the purpose of food or human therapeutics (FDA, 2020). Known as GalSafe pigs, they were genetically modified to have the alpha-gal sugar removed from their cells. While these pigs have not been evaluated for their poten tial role in xenotransplantation, biomed ical developers now have the opportunity to obtain approval from the FDA for the use of these GalSafe pigs in medicine.

The first instance of a genetically mod ified animal heart surviving transplant without suffering immediate rejection occurred on New Year’s Eve 2021 when the FDA granted emergency approval for The University of Maryland School of Medicine to perform a xenotransplant on David Bennnt as a final resort to save the patient’s life after suffering from lifethreatening arrhythmia and being denied a place on the transplant list (Kotz, 2o22). Dr. Bartley Griffith led this procedure using the heart from a pig who underwent

While it can be argued if the Bennet case was a groundbreaking success, the moral implications of organ xenotransplants can further be summarized with the case of Baby Fae, where a baboon heart was transplanted into the body of a baby girl (Kushner & Bellioti, 1985). While the transplant of a baboon heart into new born Baby Fae to replace her failing heart ultimately failed, it raised many questions about the ethics of xenotransplantation. Is there a means to justify the unequal treatment of humans versus non-hu mans that will be used as donors? Are there other alternative solutions to the organ crisis that do not rely upon animal experimentation? How is it decided what human is eligible to participate in trials of this practice? What other factors should be considered regarding xenotransplants as a whole?

References

[1] Commissioner, O. of the. (n.d.). FDA approves first-of-its-kind intentional genomic alteration in line of domestic pigs for both human food, potential therapeutic uses. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.fda.gov/ news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-

[3] Joziasse, D. H., & Oriol, R. (1999). Xenotrans plantation: The importance of the galα1,3gal epitope in hyperacute vascular rejection. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 455(2-3), 403–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/s09254439(99)00056-3

[4] Kotz, D. (2022, January 11). UM Medicine Per forms Historic Xenotransplantation. The UMB Digital Archive. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https:// archive.hshsl.umaryland.edu/

[5] Kushner, T., & Belliotti, R. (1985). Baby fae: A beastly business. Journal of Medical Ethics, 11(4), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.11.4.178

[6] Kuwaki, K., Tseng, Y.-L., Dor, F. J., Shimizu, A., Houser, S. L., Sanderson, T. M., Lancos, C. J., Prabha rasuth, D. D., Cheng, J., Moran, K., Hisashi, Y., Muel ler, N., Yamada, K., Greenstein, J. L., Hawley, R. J., Patience, C., Awwad, M., Fishman, J. A., Robson, S. C., … Cooper, D. K. (2004). Heart transplantation in baboons using α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knock out pigs as donors: Initial experience. Nature Medi cine, 11(1), 29–31. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1171

[7] Organ Donation Statistics. Organ donation statis tics. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https:// www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statis tics.

[8] O’Riordan, M. (2022, March 11). David Bennett, first transplant recipient of a pig heart, dies. TCTMD. com. Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www. tctmd.com/news/david-bennett-first-transplant-re cipient-pig-heart-dies

[9] Porrett, P. M., Orandi, B. J., Kumar, V., Houp, J., Anderson, D., Cozette Killian, A.,Hauptfeld-Dolejsek, V., Martin, D. E., Macedon, S., Budd, N., Stegner, K. L., Dandro, A.,Kokkinaki, M., Kuravi, K. V., Reed, R. D., Fatima, H., Killian, J. T., Baker, G., Perry, J., … Locke, J. E. (2022). First clinical-grade porcine kidney xenotransplant using a human decedent model. American Journal of Transplantation, 22(4), 1037–1053. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.16930

[10] Vanderpool, H. Y. (1999). Xenotransplantation: Progress and promise. BMJ, 319(7220), 1311–1311. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7220.1311

Masin Kearney

William Dougherty

CRISPR’S COMPETITION

The permanent gene-editing tool, CRIS PR-Cas9, has been the figurehead of genetic modification since the year 2012 but its popu larity has overshadowed the rise of a more effi cient and safer method of genetic modification: RNA editing. Rather than physically cutting DNA with an enzyme, as CRISPR does, RNA editing changes the sequences of RNA mes sengers in cells thus preventing certain genes from being transcribed. With this new method, various genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease could be cured with minimal risk.

To understand this process of RNA editing, one must first understand the central dogma of genetics: transcription and translation. These are the two major steps in the process of protein synthesis: the creation of a RNA transcript and its subsequent conversion into a protein prod-

uct that corresponds to a certain gene. During transcription, DNA strands within the nucleus of a cell operate as a template and a RNA strand with complementary nucleotide bases (virtually a copy of the template DNA strand) is formed and ready for translation (Moss). This RNA which now has all the same genetic information as the original DNA is then transported outside of the nucleus and ‘read’ or translated. Each group of three nucleotide bases on the RNA strand correspond to a certain amino acid (the building blocks of proteins) and so each triplet is translated to its amino acid which forms a long polypeptide chain and eventually a protein with specific functionality encoded for by DNA (Moss).

RNA editing, a process that directly changes molecules before these important processes happen thus inhibiting the expression of genes associated with certain genetic mutations or diseases, was a radical discovery in the genet ics field. This method has less risk than the better-known CRISPR-Cas 9 since the CRIS PR-Cas 9 system directly attacks DNA strands which can lead to a catastrophic ripple effect if something goes wrong (for example, negative immune responses or a permanent unwanted change to someone’s genome). RNA, on the other hand, is more manageable because unused RNA strands are often degraded by cells thus eliminating the risk of a genetic error re maining forever (Reardon). RNA editing is not as advanced as CRISPR, at least for now. RNA editing limits enzymes only to certain specific changes but researchers have already begun engineering new enzymes that would allow RNA to overcome these biological limits. In every discussion regarding gene modifica

References

tion, it is important to acknowledge that with such powerful biological tools comes responsibility and ethical/social dilemmas. While RNA editing would be an amazing solution to sever al genetic diseases and improve the quality of life for many people, it could also be taken to an uncomfortable extreme. (Pineda). Gene-ed iting is a revolutionary biological innovation that could provide solutions to hundreds of ge netic illnesses but also bring an equal amount of harm if used in the wrong way.

[1] Moss, Bob. “Translation: DNA to RNA to Protein.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/translation-dnato-mrna-to-protein-39 3/.

[2] Pineda, Michael (2019). Safe CRISPR: Challenges and Possible Solutions. Trends in Biotechnology, 37 (4), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.09.010.

[3] Reardon, Sara. “Step aside CRISPR, RNA Editing Is Taking Off.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 4 Feb. 2020, https://www.nature.com/articles/ d41586-020-00272-5.

Written by Eleonora Sheppard

Designed by Christian Lee

Health Hidden Behind Bars

Amongst the glitz and glamor of private healthcare, world-class hospitals, and cutting-edge treatment lies a system riddled with illness, trauma, and death. The issue of healthcare in prisons is one that does not receive considerable media attention, but is just as significant as reports with attention grabbing headlines. Currently in the United States there are an estimated 2.2 million individuals who are incarcerated. (Franco-Paredes et al., 2020). This sheer number of people is close to 24% of the world’s incarcerated individuals, and shows that a lack of proper healthcare would have a significant impact on a vast number of people.

Firstly, when glancing at the physical health issues of prisoners there is a clear disparity when compared to the general public (Dumont et al. 2012, 331). Incar ceration in and of itself is unfortunately a health risk due to its adverse conditions. Prisoners are often in habiting dangerous environments where the sharing of contaminated needles and syringes for drug usage is prevalent. In 2006, researchers found that HIV among the population in state and federal prisons was five times that of the general population in New York (Du mont et al. 2012, 332). The HIV prevalence reveals that both unsanitary conditions and a failing health care system is detrimental to the health of prisoners

The preventative health measures put into effect are minimal with only 7% of national correctional facili ties routinely screening for HIV (Dumont et al. 2012, 333). With only a slight focus on preventing disease, the shortcomings of prison healthcare is evident and only exacerbated by the conditions that prisoners are faced with inside these facilities.

While physical health issues are rampant inside

prisons, mental health is an additional area of ex treme concern. When looking at severe mental illness among jails and prisons, the rates of incidence range from 6 to 15 percent, but among the general adult population it is 2.8 percent (Lamberti et al. 2001, 65). This disparity is another shortcoming of an inade quate healthcare system compounded with the envi ronment within prisons. Inmates placed in solitary confinement are cramped into a tiny space for twenty four hours a day, which has been shown as harmful to their psyches and long term mental state. Some of the repercussions of solitary confinement include “anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual disturbances, obsessive thoughts, paranoia, and psychosis” (Hoke 2015, 16). Furthermore, these effects are worsened by factors such as the length of sentences, light from natural sources, and lack of social interaction (Hoke 2015, 21). While some may argue that not all inmates are in solitary confinement, prisons also experience overcrowding and contain hostile environments where inmates undergo traumat ic experiences and encounters (Franco-Paredes et al., 2020).

Additionally, mental health professionals in correc tional institutions do not manage the treatment of inmates with mental illness appropriately. The most common occurrence being that once an inmate be comes violent, they will contain them in isolated cells or areas, and this confinement leads to the worsening of their psychological condition. Therefore, it should also come as no surprise that a study done among women in prisons showed that around twenty five per cent fall victim to depression, bipolar disease, post traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia. (Loue et al., 2004).

The detrimental impact that prison and its health system has on a person’s mental state is not only confined to their cells, but also continues as they attempt to reinte grate into society. Beginning inside prisons, for inmates with mental health issues, it is an arduous task to deal with stress as they are subject to isolation with empty schedules. These conditions provoke the recurrence of uncharacteristic and unstable behavior (Hoke 2015, 17). Prisoners with mental health problems continue display ing dangerous behavior as they venture back into society. Ultimately, this leads to higher recidivism rates among inmates who have mental illnesses. As shown in Figure 1, when comparing among inmates who were repeat offend ers, it was found that forty-seven percent were recidivists with existing mental issues compared to the thirty-nine percent of recidivists without an existing mental problem (Hoke 2015, 14). It is evident that incorrect and inade quate treatment for underlying mental issues contribute to recidivism. In fact, one study found that “previously incarcerated individuals that had health conditions were more likely to be reincarcerated for parole violations than their healthy counterparts’’ (Rothschild 2019, 957). As Walter Cronkite once said “America’s healthcare system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.” With an obvious lack of focus concerning the system of healthcare within prisons, the physical and mental illnesses of inmates will only continue to worsen.

References

[1] Dumont, D. M., Brockmann, B., Dickman, S., Alexander, N., & Rich, J. D. (2012). Public Health and the Epidemic of Incarceration. Annual Review of Public Health, 33(1), 325–339. https://doi.org/10.1146/an nurev-publhealth-031811-124614

[2] Franco-Paredes, C., Jankousky, K., Schultz, J., Bernfeld, J., Cullen, K., Quan, N. G., Kon, S., Hotez, P., Henao-Martínez, A. F., & Krsak, M. (2020). COVID-19 in jails and prisons: A neglected infection in a marginalized population. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14(6), e0008409. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008409

[3] Hoke, S. (2015). Mental Illness and Prisoners: Concerns for Communities and Healthcare Providers. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol20no01man03

[4] Lamberti, J.S., Weisman, R.L., Schwarzkopf, S.B. et al. The Mentally Ill in Jails and Prisons: Towards an Integrated Model of Prevention. Psychiatr Q 72, 63–77 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004862104102

[5] Rothschild, Molly. “Cruel and Unusual Prison Healthcare.” Arizona Law Review, 61(1), 945-981 (2019).

[6] Loue, S., & Sajatovic, M. (2004). Encyclopedia of Women’s Health (2004th ed.). Springer.

Written by Kevin Gunawardana Designed by Christian Lee

2021 Nobel Prize Feature: POC in Science

Dr. Patapoutian was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1967 and grew up in the midst of a civil war, flee ing to the United States with his brother at age 18 with hopes to become a doctor. With hardly enough money to afford college, he worked as a pizza delivery man and a weekly horoscope writer for an Armenian newspaper for a year before attending UCLA. There, he fell in love with doing research and decided to pursue it further, a career he could not have been exposed to early on growing up in Lebanon (Jilani, 2021). After earning his B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, & Development Biology at UCLA, he went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Biology at the California Institute of Technology in 1996 (“Lab members,” n.d.). Now a molecular biologist and neuroscientist of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Scripps Research in La Jolla, Califor nia, Dr. Patapoutian’s discovery is about how the nervous system reacts to mechanical stimuli.

Touch and pain are the sensory systems that not much is known about since its perceptions aren’t in a centralized part of the body. Dr. Patapoutian elaborates on his interest in the nervous system’s response to stimuli to explain his motives: “When you find a field that’s not well understood, it’s a great opportunity to dig in” (Mueller et al., 2021). He identified two ion channels, PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, that affect touch and body position, in or der to understand how cells communicate and how people feel time and spatial awareness. The process was tedious as ion channels are small and the neu rons that they populate are rare, so his lab needed to perform a process of elimination until they came upon a channel that would stop certain cells from reacting when probed with a pipette (“Scripps Research Neuroscientist,” 2021). His work, along with the work that joint prize winner David Julius conducted which focuses on how people sense temperature are especially fundamental because it explains the human ability to connect with our internal and external environment. Their discover

ies could lead to new treatment for conditions like chronic pain which is characterized by a repeated stimulus to nerve fibers and cells that detect and receive pain signals, but further research still needs to be done into how the channels can be utilized without affecting other vital functions or causing side effects. (“UCLA Alumnus,” 2021).

Ardem Patapoutian

Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine 2021

References

[1] Jilani, Z. (2021, October 6). AAAS fellow Ardem Patapoutian wins Nobel prize in medicine. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.aaas.org/ news/aaas-fellow-ardem-patapoutian-wins-nobel-prize-m edicine.

[2] Lab members. The Patapoutian Lab. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://patapoutianlab.org/people.

[3] Scripps Research Neuroscientist Ardem Patapoutian receives 2021 Nobel prize in physiology. Scripps Research. (2021, October 4). Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.scripps.edu/newsand-events/press-room/2021/20211004-ardem patapoutian-wins-no bel-prize-in-medicine.html.

[4] UCLA alumnus Ardem Patapoutian wins 2021 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine. UCLA Newsroom. (2021, October 4). Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://newsroom.ucla.edu/

Dr. Syukuro Manabe, a Japanese-educated Ameri can meteorologist, has made great strides in the pre diction of global warming using models of Earth’s climate. Born in 1931 in Ehime-Ken, Japan, Dr. Manabe grew up with a family of physicians and developed his interest in science early on. Knowing medicine was not the path for him, he majored in meteorology after high school at the University of Tokyo. He earned a Bachelor’s of Arts, Master of Arts, as well as a Doctor of Science degree all from the University of Tokyo by 1959. Following his passion for meteorology, Dr. Manabe moved to the United States in 1958 to work as a research mete orologist at the U.S. Weather Bureau, now known as the National Weather Service. There he explored the use of physics in developing weather models. In 1963, he joined the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) which led to his involvement with Princeton University. Following a collabora tion with Princeton as part of the Program in Atmo spheric and Oceanic Sciences in 1967, he became a member of Princeton’s faculty in 1968. He lectured in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences, becoming the university’s senior meteo rologist in 2005 (Princeton 2021).

While collaborating with GFDL at Princeton, Dr. Manabe developed the model that would later earn him the title of Nobel Prize winner. In 1967, he de veloped the world’s first credible three-dimensional climate model of the atmosphere (Rafferty, 2021). Through these models he explored the relationship between carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and temperatures on the surface of the Earth, and “was the first person to explore the interaction between radiation balance and the vertical transport of air masses” (Princeton 2021). Radiation balance is the algebraic sum of the incoming and outgoing components of radiation, and the vertical transport of air masses involves the stability and moisture content of the air mass. His work laid the founda tion for the development of current climate models. According to Michael Oppenheimer, Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and the High

Meadows Environmental Institute, “without the science of climate modeling...we might still know that Earth’s greenhouse effect was increasing due to human activity and that Earth was warming, but linking those two facts would be more difficult, and projection of the future and any useful level of detail would be impossible” (Princeton 2021). Dr. Manabe shares the Nobel Prize with Klaus Hassel mann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany for the physical modeling of the climate. “The idea that you can take something so complex as the climate system and code the equations that govern it and put them in a computer and use that to simulate the climate system started with him [Dr. Manabe],’’ said Ga briel Vecchi, professor of geosciences and the High Meadows Environmental Institute. This prize not only celebrates a brilliant man and his accomplish ments, but also highlights the immense importance of climate science in society.

References

Syukuro Manabe Nobel Prize for Physics 2021

[1] Manabe Syukuro. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica. com/biography/Syukuro-Manabe

[2] Mueller, B., Santora, M., & Engelbrecht, C. (2021, October 4). Nobel prize awarded for research about temperature and touch. The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.nytimes. com/2021/10/04/health/nobel-prize-medicine-physiology -tempera ture-touch.html.

[3] Princeton’s Syukuro Manabe receives Nobel prize in physics. (2021, October). Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.princeton. edu/news/2021/10/05/princetons-syukuro-manabe-rece ives-nobelprize-physics

Written by Catherine Zhang & Ellie Nadelmann

Designed by Christian Lee

Care for a bike?

Introduction

Ride-sharing systems such as Uber and Lyft have become more and more prevalent in dayto-day life in recent years. A specific type of ride-sharing system is a bike-sharing system, such as Mobike. These systems are commonly found in urban areas, and are beneficial because they promote exercise, healthier living, and a healthier environment. However, there are issues that currently exist with bike-sharing systems. Firstly, all bikes in a given system need to be distributed more evenly such that there is never a lack or excess of bikes at a given station. Sec ondly, the bike-sharing system needs to be sus tainable and used properly with a sufficient but not excessive number of bikes – for example, users need to return bikes to bike stations in stead of leaving them cluttered on the sidewalk. Finally, the safety of bike-share users should be considered – for example, the area in which the system is used should have designated lanes for bikes to travel in without colliding with pedes trians and other vehicles.

This study examines bike-sharing systems by using the Oxford campus as a model- our project focused specifically on improving the user friendliness of a bike-sharing system by analyzing student data to place bike stations in the most optimal locations. There are currently bike racks at Murdy/Elizer Hall, Fleming Hall, Haygood Hall, and JRC, which are the four residence halls on campus, as well as the Stu dent Center, the library, and the Language Hall. There is also a bike station at Williams Hall, where students can rent and return bikes. Some considerations mentioned regarding systems such as Mobike, like safety, are less of a con cern due to the nature of Oxford’s campus, but considering the nuances of bike-sharing are still relevant for optimizing Oxford’s system.

Methods

A study conducted by Duo et al. researched bike-sharing systems through temporal and spa tial analysis. On the other hand, Feng et al. used historical NYC CitiBike trip data to predict checkout and check-in numbers at bike stations through clustering, and Liu et al. researched station de mand and balance, also using the NYC CitiBike system. The methods used in these papers cannot be used in our own project because the Oxford campus bike-sharing system does not utilize a check-in and check-out system where users only use a bike for one trip and drop it off for another user to use. Rather, Oxford students rent a bike for 5 days, and move on the same bike from location to location during this time period. This helps to establish a basis for the method used here. Oxford student data from Fall 2019 was obtained, which included all students, their residence halls, the

their dorm halls at the end of the day were added. Students randomly visiting the library, the dining hall, or returning to their dorm for periods of time between classes exceeding 2 hours were also add ed. Arbitrarily, 50% of students would go to the dining hall, 40% would go to the library, and 10% would return to their dorms. After simulating these student schedules, this new schedule data was organized using Java for analysis. Several different types of data plots were created, and clustering was used to determine where to place the bike stations so that they would be in optimal locations of high student activity and travel.

Results & Discussion

classes they took, meeting times of all classes, and building locations of all classes. This provided data was then cleaned to ensure the data did not have duplicates and was correct. Data on students who were not residing on campus and classes that did not meet synchronously were removed. The cleaned data was then read into Java programming language so Java could be used to manipulate the data. Using the cleaned data in Java, daily schedules for Monday through Friday for all the students were then simulated. In addition to the classes that the students had, time periods of stu dents waking up in their dorm halls and walking to their first class as well as walking back to

A temporal spatial plot was created, displaying the number of students in a certain building at a given time. Pierce Hall and the Oxford Science Build ing had the highest number of students across all five days. Seney Hall and Johnson Hall also had a higher number of students compared to the other buildings.

Analyzing the student flow between all the buildings, or the number of times any student trav els from one building to another in a given day, showed that student flow across the week was fairly similar. Wednesday was the day that students traveled the most, with students traveling 4369 times from one building to another.

Each of the four residence halls already have bike stations since students need a place to keep their bike overnight. There is also a bike station at Williams Hall for renting and returning bikes. Con sidering these stations individually would lead to a higher chance of bike cluttering, so the locations were clustered. Based on the minimum distance between the buildings, four clusters were created (clusters on figures). Clusters determined as areas of high student activity dropped the number of baseline bike stations from seven to four. When comparing the current bike stations to the proposed clustered stations, it was found that the library and Johnson Hall bike stations could be kept as is, the Student Center bike station could be removed, and that a bike station should be added to the dining hall and parking lot located between Pierce Hall and the Humanities Hall. However, if less bike stations were desired, the four clusters could be clustered again into two clusters. Compared to the current bike station placements, a station would need to be added to Candler Hall and removed from the library and Johnson Hall.

Limitations & Future Directions

While time was allocated for students to randomly visit the library, the dining hall, or return to their dorm for periods of time between classes exceeding 2 hours, not all locations on campus were taken into full account as focus was primarily on academic buildings. For example, the up to three meals a student may eat in a day at the dining hall, requiring multiple travels, and places like the soccer field were not incorporated. Furthermore, student flow data was used rather than real-time bike trip tracing data, which would be more accurate for determining where bike stations are needed most. Additional ly, the Oxford campus is quite small resulting in a small dataset of students, locations, and bikes.

Future directions include changing the number of bikes on campus based on student surveys and in creasing interest in renting bikes. Bikes of different types could be added, such as mountain bikes, for those who would like to use their bikes off campus or for their own leisure. Finally, the bike manage ment system could be altered to be more similar to bike-sharing systems in cities, such that students could use a phone app or other program to checkin and check-out bikes at bike stations instead of always having to return bikes to Williams Hall. With the growing popularity of bike-sharing systems, additional research in this niche topic would greatly benefit the user-friendliness, user safety, and other benefits of these systems.

References

[1] Chen, L., Zhang, D., Pan, G., Ma, X., Yang, D., Kushlev, K., Zhang, W., & Li, S. (2015). Bike sharing station placement leveraging heterogeneous urban open data. Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, 571–575. https://doi.org/10.1145/2750858.2804291

[2] F. Duo, Y. Qiao and J. Yang, 2017 - “Analysis and modeling of ride-sharing service user behavior in urban area” - 2017 IEEE/CIC International Conference on Communications in China (ICCC), pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICCChina.2017.8330473

[3] S. Feng, H. Chen, C. Du, J. Li and N. Jing, 2018 - A Hierarchical Demand Prediction Method with Station Clustering for Bike Sharing System - 2018 IEEE Third Interna tional Conference on Data Science in Cyberspace (DSC), pp. 829-836, doi: 10.1109/ DSC.2018.00133.

[4] J. Liu et al., “Station Site Optimization in Bike Sharing Systems,” 2015 IEEE Interna tional Conference on Data Mining, 2015, pp. 883-888, doi: 10.1109/ICDM.2015.99

[5] Ramesh, A. A., Nagisetti, S. P., Sridhar, N., Avery, K., & Bein, D. (2021). Station-lev el Demand Prediction for Bike-Sharing System. 2021 IEEE 11th Annual Computing and Communication Workshop and Conference (CCWC), 0916–0921. https://doi. org/10.1109/CCWC51732.2021.9375958

[6] Tomaras, D., Boutsis, I., & Kalogeraki, V, 2017 - Lessons Learnt from the analy sis of a bike sharing system - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, 261–264. https://doi. org/10.1145/3056540.307620.

[7] I. Wang and C. Wang, “Analyzing Bike Repositioning Strategies Based on Simulations for Public Bike Sharing Systems: Simulating Bike Repositioning Strategies for Bike Sharing Systems,” 2013 Second IIAI International Conference on Advanced Applied Informatics, 2013, pp. 306-311, doi: 10.1109/IIAI-AAI.2013.9.

Written by Jessica Yoon Designed by Christian Lee

Rapid Estradiol Effects on Non-sexual Social Approach Response in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Background

When a hormone or sex steroid encounters a cell, it can elicit phys iological cell responses either through a genomic or non-genomic pathway (Figure 1). The genomic pathway involves the neurochem ical sex steroid – which is lipophilic – passively diffusing through the cell membrane where it may bind with cytosolic receptors, dimerize, and enter the nucleus to act as a transcription factor for gene regulation via transactivation through nuclear membrane receptors (Figure 1). From there, protein synthesis and subsequent signal transduction to an effector occurs, eliciting a cell response in hours, if not days. While this genomic pathway has been studied extensively, less is known about the nongenomic mechanisms, especially how they might influence social behaviors that are not related to reproduction: the nongenomic pathway is much more rapid, allowing a sex steroid to invoke a cell response within minutes, if not seconds, since the hormone acts through signal transduction within the cytosol of the cell, working through mem brane receptors instead of cytosolic receptors (Figure 1). The most notable membrane receptor that mediates these rapid nongenomic responses is the G protein-coupled receptors, which often work on a ligand-gated ion channel basis, where extracellular ligands bind to the receptor to invoke a signal cascade that affects ion channels and intracellular protein kinases, independent of protein synthesis (Figure 1).

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a highly social species with developed social preferences; they readily form shoals and display other af filiative behaviors, anxiolytic and stress responses, and conspecific preference. The hormonal mechanisms can be characterized across species, as there are many important parallels to mammalian endo crine control and social behaviors: zebrafish spend a large propor tion of their time swimming in shoals and preferring the presence of other conspecifics. They also have an equivalent of the mammalian hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, called the hypothalam ic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis, that controls behavioral and en docrine responses to stress such as metabolism, immune responses, and the autonomic nervous system. Neurosteroid production and distribution in zebrafish – and other teleost fish – are like that of mammals, having characteristically high aromatase and 5α-reduc tase activities, catalyzing the metabolic processes of androgensat a relatively fast rate. Furthermore, recent research has unveiled that sex steroid receptors are correlated with several production sites of neurosteroids, showcasing their nuanced endocrine control and the important regulatory role of sex steroid hormones. Estrogens also correlate with social and sexual behaviors across both sexes in zebrafish; indeed, 17α-ethinylestradiol can nullify paternal dominance in males through a high, short-term dose, as well as reduce male aggression during dyadic encounters with other male conspecifics via a genomic pathway. In terms of non-sexual social behavior specifically, acute doses of estradiol (17β-E/E2) results in prosocial, anxiolytic, and antidepressant-like behaviors in male zebrafish. Further E2 experiments in zebrafish have shown that E2 elicits non-sexual social behaviors within 24 hours after exposure, but whether or not this time course is rapid enough to be classified as nongenomic is not known.

Figure 1. Genomic and nongenomic pathway of sex steroids in eukaryotic cells.

Estrogens are a class of sex steroid that works through nongenomic and genomic mechanisms; however, while we know that estrogens affect sexual reproductive social behaviors, such as courtship and mating, less is known about how they’re involved in nonreproduc tive social behaviors, especially through a nongenomic mechanism which dynamically shape such behaviors. These rapid effects of estrogens on behavior are of particular interest, as a wide array of behaviors regulated by the social behavior network (SBN) have been extensively studied genomically, but not so much on a non-genomic basis; the nuclear estrogen receptors of the SBN, ERα and ERβ, as well as the novel G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPR30/GPER-1), vary in expression levels to result in correlated behavioral effects – such as locomotor activity, anxiety-state level, aggression, communication, learning, memory, etc. – via indirect genomic signaling, and possibly nongenomic signal cascades. Indeed, GPER-1 exists on the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum, specializing in nongenomic signal transduction that may cause these rapid nongenomic cell responses.

What is known is that social approach responses are directly modulated by the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT), and that the classical estrogen receptors affects vasopressin (VP) and OT – homologous to vasotocin and isotocin in mammals – release, which promote social behaviors in a longer timeframe than which can be confident ly classified as nongenomic. In mammals, this pathway is caused by E2 inhibition of NMDA-stimulated VP and OT release, mediated by ERβ, which was ultimately affected by GPER-1. This depth of knowledge in OT-mediated mechanisms in teleosts have not been confidently shown, but our lab has previously found that OT cells in a related cyprinid, the goldfish (Carassius auratus), colocalize with GPER-1 in the preoptic area (POA), a region of the SBN with significant amounts of OT cells (Figure 2C). Interestingly, non-sex ual social behaviors, upon the removal of OT neurons during ontog eny, become hindered and social tendencies become significantly reduced in adulthood.

Methods

Animals:

A total of 36 mature adult (1 year-old) female and 31 mature adult male zebrafish of the wild-type outbred short-fin strain were ob tained and housed with biological filters, under constant aeration, and a natural photoperiod in groups of 6 with same-sex conspecifics. Water temperature was maintained at 28 ±1 ◦C; pH 7.1 ±0.2, with dissolved oxygen kept at 6 ±0.3 mg/L, total ammonia at <0.01 mg/L, total hardness at 6 mg/L, and alkalinity at 22 mg/L CaCO3. Mature zebrafish were selected over younger zebrafish to avoid developmen tal fluctuations of androgens.

Hormone Treatment:

Experimental tanks were prepared to have 2L of water with pH 7.1 ±0.2, 30-minute aeration, and temperature maintained above 26 °C for the length of the experiment. Zebrafish were exposed in all treatment and control groups via water immersion, placing a single fish in the experimental tank with final conditions to 0.01% DMSO (Control), 10-6 M E2 in 0.01% DMSO (High E2 Dose: HE2), or 10-8 M E2 in 0.01% DMSO (Low E2 Dose: LE2). Zebrafish were randomly assigned to all groups and tanks (Females: n=12 for all groups; Males; HE2 n=11, LE2 and DMSO n=10).

Prosocial Behavior Tests:

Male and female zebrafish were allowed to acclimate to the UV-lit experimental tanks for 35 minutes (Figure 3). A baseline was then recorded for 10 minutes (Figure 3). Three same-sex conspecifics would then be added to a stimulus tank on the opposite side of the zebrafish’s preference during the baseline reading and acclimated for 2 minutes (Figure 3). A 10-minute recording with the stimulus fish was then taken (Figure 3). Stimulus fish were then returned to their home tanks. The experimental fish was immersed in ice water for 30 seconds, then the fish was spinally transected and placed in an Eppendorf tube and placed in a -30°C freezer. EthoVision XT software was used for zebrafish tracking and prosocial behavior data collection with duration, frequency, and activity operationalizations (Female only).

Hormone Treatment and Behavior Tests with GPER-1 Agonist: Another set of 36 adult male zebrafish were divided into three groups (n=12 each): 10-6 M E2 in 0.00001% DMSO (High E2 Dose: HE2), 2 x 10-6 G-1 dissolved in 0.00004% DMSO (GPER-1 Agonist: G-1), and 0.00004% DMSO (Control). Five-chamber test tanks were filled with warm water from the Smith College Zebrafish Facility and a black, matte cardboard divider was placed around the tank to reduce external visual cues. Experimental fish underwent a 45-minute drug exposure, then transferred into the test tank and allowed a 5-minute habituation period (Figure 4). Then, a group of 3 same-sex conspecific stimulus fish were placed in one of the four corner quadrants and social approach behavior was recorded for 5 minutes and 30 seconds (Figure 4). Stimulus fish placement was alternated between two quadrants throughout the trials to control for any inherent quadrant preferences.

Figure 3. Experimental design for prosocial behavior tests.

Figure 4. Experimental design for prosocial behavior tests with G-1.

Double-stained Immunohistochemistry: After slicing brains on a cryostat at 15 µM, the slides were washed with cold paraformaldehyde (PFA) for 5 minutes. Two 5-minute washes with cold phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) followed, then two 5-minute hot citric acid (pH 6.0, 94°C, 10mM) washes were done with a 20-minute cooling period. The slides were then washed in room temperature PBS for 10 minutes, then a 30-minute wash with PBS + 10% donkey serum. 350 µL of 1/250 Oxytocin 1° pAb (Guinea Pig) and 1/50 GPER1 1° pAb (Rabbit) were added to each slide in PBS + 5% donkey serum were added to the slides and left for overnight for 2 – 24 hours.

Two 20-minute PBS washes were done the following day, continued with a 2-hour addition of 350 µL of both 1/500 Anti-Guinea Pig Al exa Fluor-594 2° Antibody and 1/500 Anti-Rabbit Alexa Fluor-488 2° Antibody in phosphate-buffered saline with 0.1% Tween® 20 Detergent (PBST) + 5% donkey serum to each slide. Two 20-minute PBS washes were done, then a fluorescent quench step. 3-5 drops of 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) per slide was used to stain nuclei, then the slides were coverslipped with nail polish around the edges to seal. Slides were stored in the dark until ready for fluores cent microscopy.

Figure 2. OT (A) and GPER-1 (B) immunofluorescence colocalize (C) in cells of the POA of male goldfish.

Results

Female Behavior Test Data

To investigate if E2 can promote non-sexual social behaviors rapidly, we dosed experimental tank water to either a high E2 dose (10-6 M E2 in 0.01% DMSO), low E2 dose (10-8 M E2 in 0.01% DMSO), or control (0.01% DMSO) for both sexes. For female data analysis, a general linear model was run, followed by a mixed model repeated measures ANOVA Dunn-Šidák corrected post-hoc analysis for the 36 females (A-C). Significant interactions were seen in effect by trial for the high E2 dose and effect of trial by treatment compared to control, but overall effects of treatment were not signif icant across the three groups (p=0.160) for duration in zone (Figure 5A). For frequency data, overall effects by trial (p=0.069), treat ment (p=0.960), and trial by treatment (p=0.272) were insignificant (Figure 5B). There were no effects of overall treatment in baseline (p=0.331) nor trial differences across treatments (p=0.826) (Figure 5C).

Male Behavior Test Data

For male data analysis conducted at Oxford College of Emory University, a general linear model was run, followed by a mixed model repeated measures ANOVA Dunn-Šidák corrected post-hoc analysis for the 31 males (D-E). There was a significant difference in effect by trial for the high E2 dose, effect of trial by treatment when compared to control, and an effect of overall trial by treatment (p<0.001) (Figure 5D). In the frequency data analysis, there was a combined significant difference by trial (p=0.014), but insignificant differences between treatment (p=0.600) and trial by treatment (p=0.803) (Figure 5E). One-way ANOVA Tukey corrected post-hoc analysis was ran for 36 male zebrafish at Smith College, where the high E2 group was also significantly different compared to control, but the G-1 treatment group was not significantly different from the high E2 group (p=0.106) nor control (p=0.563) (Figure 5F).

are equivocal and inconclusive (Figure 6B). Green fluorescence is ventral to the POA midline, indicating a likelihood of GPER-1 on magnocellular cells rather than GPER-1 on OT cells (Figure 6C).

Figure 5. Behavior test data for 36 females at Oxford College, Oxford GA (A-C), 31 males at Oxford College, Oxford GA (D-E), and 36 males at Smith College, Northampton MA (F) showing (A, D, F) duration data, (B, E) frequency data, and (C) activity data. For all graphs: *p<0.050, ***p<0.001.

Neuroanatomy Data

To investigate if GPER-1 is colocalized with OT cells, dou ble-stained IHC was run using anti-OT and anti-GPER-1 primary antibodies. OT signals were clear (Figure 6A), but GPER-1 signals

Figure 6. OT (A) and GPER-1 (B) do not appear to colocalize (C) in sections of the POA in female zebrafish, shown in red anti-OT primary antibody and green anti-GPER-1 primary antibody respec tively (A-C). All images taken at 40x magnification.

Discussion

The overarching question investigated was if estrogens rapidly pro mote prosocial behavior nongenomically within OT cells. With pri or research solidifying the role that OT plays in mediating non-sex ual social behaviors directly, and a faint correlation of E2’s role, we hypothesized that E2 rapidly modulate non-sexual social behaviors through GPER-1 on the cell membrane of OT cells. To begin inves tigating this question, it was necessary to establish if E2 can even promote non-sexual social behaviors rapidly–in our case, within a one-hour timeframe. Aligning with prior research, we found that the addition of E2 does in fact promote non-sexual prosocial approach behavior (Figure 5A, 5D, 5F).Specifically, this research found that a high E2 dose causes both males and females to experience a signifi cantly higher degree of social approach duration within a zone near same-sex conspecific stimuli, respectively, aligning with similar pri or studies (Figure 5A, 5D, 5F). However, a lower E2 dose was not significantly different from the vehicle control, raising the question to if these dosages were within normal endogenous physiological estrogen range, or if it is comparable to pharmaceutical alterations (Figure 5A, 5D, 5F). While the high E2 dose may be pharmacologi cal within the zebrafish circulation, it might not be within the brain: while females tend to have higher levels of endogenous estrogens in circulation that can go straight into the brain compared to males, males have higher levels of endogenous testosterone in the blood that gets aromatized to similarly high estrogen levels in the brain.11 For both sexes, putting E2 in the water is just a delivery mechanism to the brain where filtering and concentration equilibriums may stabilize the dose within the brain.

Frequency data for both sexes did not match duration data in terms of trial by treatment effects, but an overall increase in stimulus fre quency was observed compared to baseline frequency respectively across all treatments (Figure 5B, 5E). Combined analysis in males showed significant results (Figure 5E), whereas females did not enter the zone as frequently (Figure 5E), possibly due to a stress re sponse causing the zebrafish to sink to the bottom and be stationary To evaluate if E2 was acting through an anxiolytic response, allevi ating stress and confounding the zone duration data, activity was

analyzed in females: there were no significant effects of activity in the absence of social stimuli (Figure 5C), indicating that E2 may not have been acting through an anxiolytic mechanism, but rather specifically though a social response mechanism. While this suggests that our social response data may not have been confounded with a downstream effect of anxiety relief, causation analysis would need to confirm the specificity of social response mediating E2’s mechanism of action.

Since E2’s role in rapidly promoting prosocial approach behavior for both sexes has been established, does GPER-1 mediate such effects nonspecifically throughout the brain? Surprisingly, the GPER-1 ago nist, G-1, did not have statistically different results from the high E2 dose nor control, posing the possibility that its activation of GPER-1 across the brain is not solely responsible for nongenomic cell responses; indeed, it may play a conjoined role with other estrogen receptors that past literature has defined and correlated, such as di merization at the cell membrane or co-activation across the cytosol.

To see if these GPER-1 membrane receptors are colocalized in OT cells, specifically within the POA where social behaviors are regulated, double-stained IHC was run. Contrasting prior literature, there was not any strong colocalization of GPER-1 in OT cells due to weak GPER-1 signals.17,25 However, more trials and possibly higher primary antibody concentrations are needed to verify any conclusions.

The conclusions of this investigation thus far lay a strong foundation in the uncovering the role of rapid estrogen signaling in non-sexu al social behaviors. However, re-testing of the GPER-1 agonist at either higher doses or direct injection would be needed: while natural steroids have correlating globulins within the zebrafish circulation to help shuttle these hydrophobic molecules to the brain, the G-1 ago nist may not have a respective globulin, thereby being lost in circula tion and a diluted dose reaches the brain. After establishing GPER1’s role in rapidly promoting social behaviors, then we need to refine our IHC protocols and find antibodies that work better in zebrafish to establish firm colocalization of GPER-1 in OT cells, like our lab has done in goldfish.17 To strengthen the behavior findings of E2, verifying the causal role of estrogens in rapidly promoting non-sex ual social behaviors is necessary: fadrozole is an aromatase inhibitor that will lower endogenous E2 levels.22 Since the context of normal E2 production in zebrafish can simply be proximity to a shoal, and experiencing chemical or visual cues can promote estradiol synthesis in circulation, what would happen if we lowered estradiol from their circulation? We hypothesize that adding a fadrozole treatment group to the same behavior experimental designs will result in significantly decreased behavior that the high E2 dose increased. To further spec ify the E2 pathway through OT cells, we want to evaluate if E2 can enhance OT responses to social cues: pERK/MAPK, a mitogen-ac tivated protein kinase that is an integral phosphorylating enzyme in the nongenomic pathway, can be vectored for rapid OT cell activa tion.24,25 If E2 rapidly activates OT cells in response to visual-ol factory social cues, then this would further indicate that E2 rapidly mediates social approach behavior through OT cells. We hypothesize that zebrafish exposed to similar high and low E2 doses will not ex hibit significant differences in social approach behavior from control in a rapid timeframe, as the nongenomic pathway has been blocked. Then, we want to test the causality of both GPER-1 and OT in E2’s rapid effects on social approach. We will replicate our behavior tests, but adding in treatment groups with TALEN GPER-1 knockout zebrafish and OT Gal4/UAS knockout zebrafish.

References

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[17] Mangiamele, L. A., J. R. Gomez, N. J. Curtis, and R. R. Thompson. “GPER/GPR30, a membrane estrogen receptor, is expressed in the brain and retina of a social fish (Carassius auratus) and colocalizes with isotocin.” The Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 525(2), pp. 252-270. doi: https://doi. org/10.1002/cne.24056.

[18] Meyer, M. R., E. R. Prossnitz, and M. Barton. “The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor GPER/GPR30 as a regulator of cardiovascular function.” Vascular Pharmacology, 2011, vol. 55(1-3), pp. 17-25. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vph.2011.06.003.

[19] Moraes, A. B., A. C. V. V. Giacomini, R. Genario, L. Marcon, N. Scolari, B. W. Bueno, K. Demin, T. G. Amstisaslavskaya, T. Strekalova, M. Soares, M. S. de Abreu, and A. V. Kalueff. “Pro-social and anxiolytic-like behavior of a single 24-h 17β-estradiol exposure in adult male zebrafish.” Neuroscience Letters, 2021, vol. 747(3), 135591. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135591.

[20] Oliveira, R. F. “Social behavior in context: Hormonal modulation of behavioral plasticity and social competence.” Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2009, vol. 49(4), pp. 423-440. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icp055.

[21] Puglissi, R., G. Mattia, A. Carè, G. Marano, W. Malorni, and P. Matarrese. “Non-genomic Effects of Estrogen on Cell Homeostasis and Remodeling With Special Focus on Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.” frontiers in Endocrinology, 2019, vol. 10, doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2019.00733.

[22] Schroeder, A. L., G. T. Ankley, T. Habib, N. Garcia-Reyero, B. L. Escalon, K. M. Jensen, M. D. Kahl, E. J. Durhan, E. A. Makynen, J. E. Cavallin, D. Martinovic-Weigelt, E. J. Perkins, and D. L. Villeneuve. “Rapid effects of the aromatase inhibitor fadrozole on steroid production and gene expression in the ovary of female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas).” General and Comparative Endocrinology, 2017, vol. 252, pp. 79-87. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.07.022.

[23] Somponpun, S. and C. D. Sladek. “Role of Estrogen Receptor-β in Regulation of Vasopressin and Oxytocin Release in Vitro.” Endocrinology, 2002, vol 143(8), pp. 2899– 2904. doi: https://doi.org/10.1210/endo.143.8.8946.

[24] Wilkenfeld, S. R., C. Lin, and D. E. Frigo. “Communication between genomic and non-genomic signaling events coordinate steroid hormone actions.” Steroids, 2018, vol. 133, pp. 2-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2017.11.005.

[25] Yaşar, P., G. Ayaz, S. D. User, G. Güpür, and M. Muyan. “Molecular mechanism of estrogen–estrogen receptor signaling.” Reproductive Medicine and Biology, 2016, vol.16(1), pp. 4–20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/rmb2.12006.

Written by Abel K. Lindley, Rachel K. Hantz, Lisa A. Mangiamele, and Richmond R. Thompson Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, Oxford College of Emory University Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College Design by Christian Lee

Influences of the Luminescence of Dipyrrin Complexes

Background

Porphyrins are molecules that consist of 4 five-membered Nitrogen containing rings. They are found in biological molecules such as the heme in hemoglobin of red blood cells and in the chlorophyll in chloroplasts (Wood and Thomp son, 2007). Porphyrins consist of very large systems of double bonds. The double bonds, when next to each other, create a conjugated system that is very stable (Wang et al., 2015). The conjugated system allows electrons to dissoci ate; in other words, the electrons can move throughout the molecule instead of remaining close to their original atom (Kachkovskii., 2005). The free movement of the electrons throughout the molecule allows it to travel in a wave pattern (Wehrmann et al., 2020). When light of a similar wavelength intercepts the electron’s wave, the electron is excited, reach ing a higher energy state briefly. The electron eventually returns back to its more stable lower energy state, releasing a photon of light in the process. This photon reemitted may be of a different wavelength than that initially absorbed. This re-emission can be viewed as bright glowing light that is called luminescence. In luminescence, there is fluores cence and phosphorescence, in which the light is re-emitted fairly quickly or the light is re-emitted after some delay at a significantly longer wavelength (Wehrmann et al., 2020).

Some porphyrins in nature are capable of luminescence, but they see very poor yields when produced in the labo ratory and require long, difficult processes to synthesize them (Wood, T.E. and Thompson, 2007). Thus, dipyrrins, essentially one half of a porphyrin-like molecule, are com monly used instead and still see luminescence (Wood, T.E. and Thompson, 2007). By creating dipyrrins and altering the groups attached to them, one can affect the lumines cent properties of the molecule (Baudron., 2013). Just like the iron bound to the heme in blood, dipyrrins can act as ligands to metal ions where the dipyrrin binds to a metal atom, forming a metal-complex. Changing the metal ion can affect the luminescent properties of the metal-complex (Scharf, 2013). Using Boron trifluoride, one can also obtain the bright BODIPY dye of a compound, which is often the standard used when comparing other luminescent metallated compounds.

However, paramagnetic metal ions, metal ions that have an unpaired electron, can be used to form luminescent metal complexes. Paramagnetism allows external magnetic fields to induce a magnetic field on the metal ion. By removing the external magnetic field and measuring the induced magnetic field repeatedly, one can detect the location of the molecule.

This is the basis for MRI and it works in most paramagnetic compounds (Shakil et al., 2020), allowing the application of MRI for detection of the dipyrrin-metal-complex. However, the luminescent properties are also detectable through fluo ro-spectroscopy by measuring the re-emitted light (Scharf, 2013). Thus, dipyrrin-metal-complexes allow measurement by both MRI and fluoro-spectroscopy, providing two ways of measuring the same molecule. This allows paramagnetic dipyrrin complexes to possibly be used to tag biological molecules such as viruses, cells, neuron receptors, and drugs and then measured using both MRI and luminescence. This may lead to greater precision in detection and overcome the tradeoffs of both methods since the exact same molecule can be viewed through two different lenses. By altering the met al ion as well as the electron-withdrawing groups and bulky substituents nearby the metal ion, the luminescent properties can be modulated (Scharf, 2013). Thus, by studying the properties of different variations on dipyrrin complexes, one creates a repertoire of possible markers for biological detec tion. Furthermore, one may be able to understand the effect of the conjugated system, metal ion, and electron-withdraw ing effect on the magnetic properties, if any.

Objective

To determine how the variation of molecular structure such as metal ion, electron-withdrawing groups, bulky substitu ents, and unpaired electrons influence the luminescence of dipyrrin complexes. To study the changes in luminescence, substituents were varied on the dipyrrin structure. The vari ation was performed through separate chemical synthesis of each compound. The aromatic ring was varied between one with three methyl groups and one with two trifluoromethyl groups to vary the electron withdrawing effect. The bulky R groups were varied between the conjugated system extend ing bulky EMInd group and the bulky adamantyl group. Thus, four different molecules were synthesized to act as ligands to the metal ion. BODIPY compounds of all four ligands were created to compare with the metallation of each ligand. Metallation of the trifluoromethyl EMInd derivative was performed with phenyllithium, Manganese Chloride, and Copper (II) Chloride to create Lithium, Manganese, and Copper complexes. UV-Vis absorbance and emission spec tra were obtained using a Horiba Dual-FL Fluorimeter to obtain the wavelength of maximum absorbance, λmax, and the wavelength of emission λemit. H1 NMR and IR were collected of every molecule synthesized and C13 NMR was obtained for final products.

Results and Conclusions

From the UV-Vis absorption and emission, spectra were obtained for the molecules studied combining the two, allowing visualization and comparison. On figure X, the absorbance and emission spectra of the EMIndLH BODIPY complex can be observed with the λmax and λemit showing the shift of 24 nm longer for the re-emission wavelength.

Figure 1. Absorbance and Emission Spectra of EMlndLH BODIPY

This can be compared to the spectra of the first metal ion complex formed. The wavelengths of absorbance and emission were considerably shorter. This would be seen as a bluish glow instead of a yellow-green glow and does show that visible light can be used to excite the molecule. Two different peaks can be distinguished on both the absorbance and re-emission spectra. However, these peaks are likely due to an impurity rather than phosphorescence. Furthermore, the spectra were not smooth, suggesting the presence of impurities.

Figure 2. Absorbance and Emission Spectra of EMlndLLi

The blue-shift to a shorter wavelength was observed further in the Manganese complex formed. Another second emis sion peak was observed at a longer wavelength similar to the first. However, there was no smoothness in the spectra, suggesting impurities as well.

Figure 3. Absorbance and Emission Spectra of EMlndLMN

The EMIndLCu complex was observed to not have a wave length that could be distinguished for emission. However, the absorbance wavelength was considerably longer than the Manganese. Thus, it can be seen that the alteration of the metal ion can also be a factor in affecting the wavelength emitted when all else is kept constant.

The mesityl adamantyl derivative BODIPY sees a slightly shorter wavelength than the trifluoromethyl adamantyl de rivative BODIPY. This is not enough to suggest the electron withdrawing effect on the aromatic ring, but does suggest it increases the wavelength.

Figure 4. Absorbance and Emission Spectra of EMlndLCu

BODIPY of the trifluoromethyl adamantyl derivative saw very similar absorbance and emission wavelengths as the BODIPY of EMInd. The elongated conjugated system of the EMInd BODIPY does notably see a slightly longer wavelength, though more data would need to be collected to argue on the effect of the bulky substituent.

Figure 6. Absorbance and Emission Spectra of Mesityl Adamantyl BODIPY

Figure 5. Absorbance and Emission Spectra of Trifluoro Methyl Adamantyl BODIPY

Overall, no significant phosphorescence was observed in the target compounds. Impurities appear to be present in the products, necessitating further purification and synthesis. This requires higher quantities of the compounds to puri fy in order to maintain a quantity substantial enough for analysis. However, it can be suggested that different metal ions alter the luminescent properties of target molecules. Lithium, Manganese, and Copper gave distinct wavelengths of absorbance and emission, with Manganese the shortest of the three metal ions. Furthermore, electron-withdraw ing groups were observed to increase the wavelengths of absorbed and emitted light in the adamantyl derivatives, justifying further study. Paramagnetism was not observed, possibly due to the presence of the impurities in the target compounds. Synthesis of substantial quantities of mesityl EMInd derivatives and their metal complexes would allow further exploration of the effect of the electron withdrawing groups on the aromatic ring. Further production of adaman tyl derivatives will allow comparison of the bulky substit uent effect when metallated. There are many other possible changes of the molecular structure of the dipyrrin possible. By synthesizing and examining the compounds, we can better understand the properties that affect luminescence and paramagnetism in dipyrrin complexes. Furthermore, by discovering the properties of the compounds, they may be useful as tags that can be examined through both MRI and luminescence. Further analysis of the compatibility with bi ological systems and reactions with physiological molecules can be performed. This may find some compounds that disrupt physiological compounds less, bind to targets more effectively, and even avoid unintended chemical reactions inside tissues. Regardless, there are many possible implica tions for the understanding of Chemistry while developing potential tools for Biology.

Images Taken During the Experiment

References

[1] Chengliang Wang, Yang Xu, Yaoguo Fang, Min Zhou, Liying Liang, Sukhdeep Singh, Huaping Zhao, Andreas Schober, and Yong Lei, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2015 137 (8), 3124-3130DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b00336

[2] Kachkovskii, A.D. The Solitonic Nature of the Electronic Structure of the Ions of Linear Conjugated Systems. Theor Exp Chem 41, 139–164 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11237-005-0034-8

[3] Scharf, A. “First-Row Transition Metal Complexes of Dipyrrinato Ligands: Synthesis and Characterization.” PhD dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, June 2013.

[4] Wehrmann, C; Imran, M; Pointer, C; Fredin, L; Young, E; and Chen, M. “Spin multiplicity effects in doublet versus singlet emission: the photophysical consequences of a single electron.” Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 10212-10219.

[5] Wood, T.E. and Thompson, A. “Advances in the Chem istry of Dipyrrins and Their Complexes.” Chem. Rev. 2007,107 (5), 1831-1861.

[6] Baudron, S. “Luminescent dipyrrin based metal com plexes.” Dalton Trans, 2013, 42, 7498.

[7] Carsch, K; DiMucci, I; Iovan, D; Li, A; Zheng, S-L; Titus, C; Lee, SJ; Irwin, K; Nordlund, D; Lancaster, K; Betley, T. “Synthesis of a copper-supported triplet nitrene complex pertinent to copper-catalyzed amination.” Science, 2019, 365, 1138.

[8] In Vivo Toxicity Studies of Chitosan-Coated Cobalt Fer rite Nanocomplex for Its Application as MRI Contrast Dye Md. Salman Shakil, Md. Ashraful Hasan, Md. Forhad Uddin, Aminul Islam, Arijun Nahar, Harinarayan Das, Mohammed Nazrul Islam Khan, Bishnu Pada Dey, Begum Rokeya, and S. Manjura Hoque ACS Applied Bio Materials 2020 3 (11), 7952-7964 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.0c01069

Written by Kevin Hoffman Designed by Christian Lee

The United States has a dark history of biased and cruel medical and public health practices in marginalized communities which continues to be perpetuated today. Marginalized populations have been the victims of nonconsensual research that is often conducted without their knowledge and sometimes to no benefit of the subjects directly. This behavior is often justified through insidious pseudosciences like eu genics and social darwinism (Washington, 2008). This is most obviously seen today with people who exist at the intersection of multiple unfavorable power dynamics, which is a term called intersectionality, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. Intersectionality is the multiplicative result of social classifications, the power dynam ics inherent in these classifications, and the context in which the individual exists, meaning that it is fluid and dynamic (ElseQuest et al, 2016). This includes the con sideration of race, economic status, gender, and sexuality. While neurodiversity is not classically considered as an aspect of intersectionality, it should be more readily addressed (Strand, 2017). Underrepresen tation of intersectional needs in the public health forum, specifically in mental health, is a tremendous systemic failure in com parison to the strides that have been taken in recent years to make mental health care more accessible.

Marginalized communities often experi ence interpersonal and social challenges, leading to a greater need for accessible mental health services. Social determinants of health, such as economic stability, social contexts, environment, education, and access to healthcare, are all greatly influ enced by intersectional circumstances such as race and sexuality (Rastetter, 2021). For example, complex and widespread stigma exposes sexual minority people to disproportionate risks for adverse mental health (Huang et al, 2020). This high risk for mental health difficulties is only one of many clear signals that marginalized com munities are in increasing need for mental health services. Additionally, Filia et al (2021) discovered that out of a group of young people, those who experience social exclusion across multiple domains

reported more mental health problems. This is a common problem for marginal ized people; social (along with political and economic) exclusion is in the definition of marginalized people as defined by the National Collaborating Centre for Deter minants of Health. Thirdly, it was seen that synergistic and antagonistic effects of

intersectional positions are present, which suggests interacting power dynamics that are often overlooked and concealed if it were approached in an additive manner instead of multiplicative, which is often the standard in health inequality research (Trygg et al, 2019).

New research methods seek to include intersectional frameworks, resulting in bet ter care. Intersectionality is defined by the personal identity of a given individual, so it is inherently unique for each person. This, along with the lack of qualitative research in an arena where quantitative research is the norm, has led to a poor representation of intersectionality in public health re search (Bauer, 2014). Many scientists and professionals will not consider relevant numerical values that are not statistically important, let alone data that does not focus on numbers at all. However, assign ing intersectional qualities to numerical quantities relies on classification and simplification of each complex individual. In a systematic review study by Bauer et al (2021) of 707 articles, it was seen that the most common type of quantitative data was simple regression plots with interac tions, cross-classified variables, or strati fications, and the results were frequently misrepresented or misinterpreted. These simplifications and resulting stereotypes can perpetuate the problems that such research is trying to resolve. For example, the ‘Model Minority’ is a myth that certain minority groups are discriminated against less and are more successful simply be cause they work harder. This myth was

brought into existence by William Petters en in 1966 in a New York Times article which stated that Japanese Americans were more ‘successful’ and discriminated against less because of the family struc ture and cultural emphasis on hard work (Pettersen, 1966). However, this is proven as inaccurate when the the stereotypes of Black women are addressed, specifically the controlling image of the Matriarch. The mother figures in black homes are seen as “bad” mothers who work too much, so they cannot care for their children and are therefore responsible for their chil dren’s failures (dropping out of school, not getting jobs, etc.) resulting in them being described as a ‘social issue’ (Collins, 2000). On the other hand, Black mothers who stay at home to take care of their children can be seen as ‘Mammies’, or ‘Welfare Queens’, and are labeled as lazy; this is a cruel and obvious double standard that is a direct effect of racism (Collins, 2000). However, this is only one example, and the groups used as model minorities also face discrim ination, although in different ways.

Clearly, intersectionality is not a cut-anddry concept; there are hierarchies of and within marginalized groups, and many are strongly based in racism (many sexual ities and identities have not been men tioned here, but these problems spread to countless more individuals). This furthers the need for psychological care for people within these demographics as the commu nities and identities that they are a part of are often scrutinized by other aspects of their identity, leading to further alienation. Many current approaches utilize multilevel modeling, but the American Public Health Association suggests utilizing intersection al critical theory framework and method ology to form new research systems, data collection, and interpretation strategies (Agénor, 2020). In other words, the concept of intersectionality, among other critical theory frameworks, derives qualita tive research methods that more accurately represent the complexities of individuals both in the questions studied and the data collected. Such methods may include, but are not limited to, critical ethnography, photovoice, and critical archival studies.

Mental Health Resources in An Intersectional Perspective on

“... those who experience social exclusion across multiple domains reported more mental health problems.”

Intersectionality is a multifaceted topic that needs to gain more ground in the public health field before effective progress can be made. Complete systemic change through reframing (mental) healthcare in social, economic, and research frameworks is required to improve access and efficacy of the urgently required rights to health care. As previously stated, more qualitative research is required (Else-Quest, 2016) to better represent the complexities of marginalized individuals, and people in the margins within the marginalized groups (intersectionality). Progress is being made, slowly, by groups and organizations like the National Collaborating Centre for De terminants of Health, and many scientists who are published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Since 2012, intersectional literature found on PubMed has grown exponentially (Agénor, 2020). However, although discussion of inter sectional research is increasing, practical application of the concept is complicated and difficult to implement. Better quality of research that accurately represents indi vidual complexities of marginalized com munities remains elusive and a challenge for the future. Some organizations that are working towards improved intersec tional mental health research include, but are not limited to Black Women’s Health Imperative, Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective, and The Trevor Project. These organizations aim to make mental

References

[1] Agénor, Madina. (2020). “Future Directions for Incorporating Intersectionality into Quantitative Population Health Research.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 110, no. 6, pp. 803–806., https:// doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2020.305610.

[2] Bauer, G. R., Churchill, S. M., Mahendran, M., Walwyn, C., Lizotte, D., Villa-Rueda, A. A. (2021). “Intersectionality in quantitative research: A systematic review of its emergence and applications of theory and methods.” SSM- Population Health, vol. 14, p. 100798., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100798

[3] Bauer, Greta R. (2014). “Incorporating Intersec tionality Theory into Population Health Research Methodology: Challenges and the Potential to Advance Health Equity.” Social Science &amp; Medicine, vol. 110, pp. 10–17., https://doi.org/10.1016/j. socscimed.2014.03.022.

[4] Collins, P. H. (2000). “Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empow erment: Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images”. https://www.sfu.ca/~decaste/OISE/page2/ files/CollinsMammies.pdf.

[5] Crenshaw, Kimberlé. (2018). “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics [1989].” Feminist Legal Theory, pp. 57–80., https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429500480-5.

[6] Else-Quest, Nicole M., and Janet Shibley Hyde. (2016). “Intersectionality in Quantitative Psychological Research.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 155–170., https://doi. org/10.1177/0361684316629797.

[7] Filia, K., et al. (2021). “Social Inclusion, Inter sectionality, and Profiles of Vulnerable Groups of Young People Seeking Mental Health Support.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 245–254., https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-02102123-8.

[8] Huang, Yu-Te, et al. (2020). “How Intersectional Are Mental Health Interventions for Sexual Minority People? A Systematic Review.” LGBT Health, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 220–236., https://doi.org/10.1089/ lgbt.2019.0328.

health care more accessible and effective for the marginalized communities that they support which is exactly the mobilization of the type of individualized approach that research has shown to be more beneficial. This is a long road, and progress is being made, but a collective societal effort is required to make lasting and globally impactful change.

[9] Kelly, Ursula A. (2009). “Integrating Intersection ality and Biomedicine in Health Disparities Research.” Advances in Nursing Science, vol. 32, no. 2, https://doi. org/10.1097/ans.0b013e3181a3b3fc.

[10] Pettersen, W. (1966). “Success Story, Japa nese-American Style.” The New York Times (1923-Cur rent file), pg.180. http://inside.sfuhs.org/dept/history/ US_History_reader/Chapter14/modelminority.pdf.

[11] Rastetter, M. (2021). “How racism is a structural and social determinant of health.” The Ohio State Uni versity Wexner Medical Center. https://wexnermedical. osu.edu/blog/racism-is-a-social-determinant-of-health

[12] Strand, Lauren Rose. (2017). “Charting Relations between Intersectionality Theory and the Neurodiversi ty Paradigm.” Disability Studies Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 2, https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v37i2.5374.

[13] Trygg, N. F., Gustaffson, P. E., Månsdotter, A. (2019). “Languishing in the crossroad? A scoping review of intersectional inequalities in mental health.” International Journal for Equity in Health, vol. 18, p.115., https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1012-4

[14] Washington, H. A. (2008). Medical Apartheid: The dark history of medical experimentation on black amer icans from colonial times to the present. Doubleday.

Written by Madison Shumpert

Designed by William Dougherty

Marginalized Communities: on a National Public Health Crisis

“... practical application of [intersectionality] is complicated and difficult to implement.”

analysis of female mating male height in heterosexual

In modern society, humans find romantic partners with more independence than in the past. In the process, they choose their counterparts based on criteria to assess their attractiveness, with one of the po tential aspects being height. When careful consideration is given to height specifical ly, an interesting phenomenon can be seen: in romantic heterosexual relationships, 92.5% of men are taller than their female partner (Stulp et al., 2013). A silver lining for shorter males is that a study conducted in 2010 found that there was no evidence that there was an absolute height women were attracted to (Hitsch). Instead, the height preferences of both men and women were relative to one’s own height: while men seek women shorter than them, wom en seek men taller than them. Additionally, height has been suggested to possibly be a trait influential in assortative mating, which is a mating pattern indicative of sim ilar individuals selecting each other more often than different individuals (Stulp et al, 2017). In other words, the perceived ideal male partner to a female is taller than the female but not by too much.

This phenomenon of males being taller than females in heterosexual relationships may simply be the result of random chance and nothing more, since the mean height

of adult males is naturally higher tha the mean height of adult females of the same age. Because the majority of men are taller than women, it might make sense that the majority of heterosexual couples would contain a male taller than their counter part. However, a Dutch study found that when males and females were paired, heterosexual couples that had a shorter male were 26% less frequent than if the situation was completely random, demon strating that the females and the males, whether consciously or subconsciously, were steering towards creating a relation ship in which the male was taller than the female (Macintyre, 1988). Thus, the theory of random chance seems unlikely assuming this single study holds true for the general population.

If the theory of random chance is to be re jected, it may be possible that females are wired biologically to be attracted to taller males. According to sexual selection, mat ing is about passing down genes onto the next generation for survival. In this aspect, both sexes have to search for a mate with the best genes to be passed onto their de scendants, suggesting that increased height in males could be perceived as mates who might produce fit offspring.

Another point to consider is the social ad vantage that might come with taller height, improving the perceived image of tall indi viduals like the halo effect. Taller height is associated with characteristics that pertain to the male’s financial status or ability: bet ter education, better employment, better social status, and better housing (Mac intyre, 1988). Additionally, many empirical investigations studying the relationship between height and wage found that for ev ery centimeter increase in height, wage in creased by about 1.3% (Wang et al., 2015). The possible explanation behind the higher wage is that employers perceive the taller males to be more competent than their shorter counterparts. The height may also subconsciously convey to the employers of the employee’s relatively more prosperous early life since nutrition and family environment affect height positively (Wang et al.).

However, there is some evidence that suggests that shorter height may provide an edge over taller height in terms of life length. Rather than the tall Europeans and North Americans, ethnicities who were shorter, such as the Japanese and the Chi nese, were the longest living people in the world. Specifically, Okinawans, who live the longest, average 145.4 cm in

mating preferences based on heterosexual romantic relationships

height, which provides evidence of the negative correlation between height and longevity (Samaras & Elrick, 2002). Ad ditionally, taller height is also connected with higher incidences of cancer because increase in tissue size allows for a higher chance of oncogenic mutation due to the greater availability of target cells (Nun ney, 2018). Taller males also exhibited greater risk for melanoma, with adjust ment for age, hair color, lifetime sun exposure, and fruit and vegetable intake (Shors et al, 2001). Essentially, greater height has been shown to potentially lead to a greater susceptibility to medical problems.

Many more studies show an inverse relationship between height and longev ity. Taking this data into consideration, it does not make sense to prioritize social advantage over biological advantage when fighting for survival. However, the preference of taller males for females may be the result of a strategic evolution in mating selection due to the adapta tions humans have made. In the modern times, humans no longer have to fight for survival in the natural world of ferocious animals, but rather fight for social surviv al in a society with other humans.

Overall, height seems to be related to a male’s attractiveness to females to a cer tain degree. As long as the male is taller than the female, the male will not be at a disadvantage in a competition to attract a romantic partner. This phenomenon may be due to random chance or sexual selec tion. However, whether the attraction is due to either, the inheritance of tall height may or may not be helpful for the survival of the human race. For example, taller height may be perceived to be a benefi cial trait considering its association with masculinity, but greater susceptibility to certain diseases, such as cancer, that comes along with height may be detrimental.

Considering that height and preference differs by region due to genetics and environment, further research could consider culture account and study the differences across nations. Additionally, although available research indicates that the height differences in couples are not random, more research should be conducted to observe the randomness in human mating choices to see whether height has an effect on perceived attrac tiveness.

references

[1] Hitsch, G.J., Hortaçsu, A. & Ariely, D. (2010). What makes you click?—Mate preferences in online dating. Quant Mark Econ 8, 393–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11129-010-9088-6

[2] Macintyre, S. (1988). Social correlates of human height. Science Progress (1933- ), 72(4 (288)), 493-510. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43421008

[3] Nunney, L. (2018). Size matters: height, cell number and a person’s risk of cancer. Proc. R. Soc. B.28520181743. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1743

[4] Samaras, T. T., & Elrick, H. (2002). Height, body size, and longevity: is smaller better for the human body?. The Western journal of medicine, 176(3), 206–208. https:// doi.org/10.1136/ewjm.176.3.206

[5] Shors, A.R., Solomon, C., McTiernan, A. et al. (2001). Melanoma risk in relation to height, weight, and exercise (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 12, 599–606. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011211615524

[6] Stulp G, Buunk AP, Pollet TV, Nettle D, Verhulst S. (2013). Are Human Mating Preferences with Respect to Height Reflected in Actual Pairings? PLoS ONE 8(1): e54186. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054186

[7] Stulp, G, Simons, MJP, Grasman, S, and Pollet, TV. (2017). Assortative mating for human height: A meta-analysis. Am J Hum Biol.29:e22917. https://doi. org/10.1002/ajhb.22917

[8] Wang J, Chen Q, Chen G, Li Y, Kong G, Zhu C. (2020). What is creating the height premium? New evidence from a Mendelian randomization analysis in China. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0230555. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230555

written by Andrew Yang designed by William Dougherty

Neuroaesthetics: coNNectiNg Beauty aNd the BraiN

Have you ever questioned how we feel emotional attraction to art? Maybe you thought about how different physical prop erties of visual art elicit varying aesthetic experiences? Or, perhaps, how implicit bi ases on facial anomalies can lead to dehu manizing stereotypes? All of these themes are being investigated through the novel field of neuroaesthetics: this cognitive neu roscience discipline seeks an understand ing of our aesthetic experiences through neurobiological mechanisms, psycholog ical aesthetics, and human evolution.6,19 The basic aims of neuroaesthetics involve defining neural correlates of aesthetic emotions and understanding the human condition with aesthet ic-based moral decision making, among many other questions regarding choice and aesthetic context.7,9,15,16,27 However, there are also translative applications to medicine, such as therapeu tic use of aesthetic experiences and its role in improving well-be ing.6,7,17,22,23

Our brains are complex and much is still unknown about the neuronal com munication between brain regions that constitute various emotions and feelings. However, significant advances in our understanding of the brain and defining specific neural correlates have been made; with regard to neuroaesthetics, map ping the aesthetic brain has gained traction in recent years: judgment of an art’s perceived beauty has been pri marily linked to the orbitofrontal cortex (oFC), which historically has been found to activate during the perception of rewarding stimuli.1,12,16,21 Notably, there is no inactivation or suppression of cells from this region–

aesthetic experiences are solely excitato ry to these cells.16 Along with the oFC, other brain regions have been isolated and linked with various aesthetic emotions, but entire networks – “connectomes,” as they’re called – are at the frontier of this research.23 One such connectome is the social brain connectome, which details the neuroanatomy regulating human sociality and integrates aesthetics through catego rizing how we form perceptual and spatial relationships to visual art and art process ing.23 Visual processing plays an important role in this visual-spatial processing, where activation of the prefrontal cortex is correlated to “beautiful” ob The aesthetic brain connectome also categorizes the mediation of emotional responses, to which the amygdala, hippocampus (HC), ventromedial pre frontal cortex (vmPFC), and anterior midcingulate cortex integrate a semantic evalu ation of our perception.23,24 Specifically, the left HC engag es with animated and moving art, while the right HC activates with landscape and scenic visuals, among many other interactions.23 Interestingly, the vmPFC has been implicated with evaluating reward from visual experiences and aesthetic appraisal of art, possibly working in tandem with 15,16,23

Finding meaning in art often involves symbolic and personal attributions with our past experienc es. This contemplative engagement and higher-level processing of art re quires the working of the Default Mode Network and Semantic Brain Network– arrays of brain regions that work in tandem for cognitive processing.23 Most

notable of these regions is the bilateral temporal pole, which is integral in interpreting symbols, forming comparative relationships with prior knowledge, and asso ciating ourselves with creative production.20,23

While these networks and the aesthetic brain connectome has many more working components and nuance, understanding what sensory cues activate these compo nents are particularly interesting, espe cially in a translational sense: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients suffer damage to medial temporal hubs of the HC, causing patients the inability to perceive mean ing in complex visual scenes, yet some retain the capacity to process and react to aesthetic experiences.4,11 For example, AD patients retained the aesthetic perceptions of music and architecture, but lack the ability to conceive meaning from abstract ed art.3,23 As such, aesthetic emotions may be a retained aspect through AD neuro degeneration, and can help neuroreha bilitation contexts with learning process, plasticity, and psychiatric therapy. This also provides an alternative method of understanding the psycho pathological behavior of neuro degenerative patients through neuroaesthetic principles and aesthetic emotion competence diagnoses. Furthermore, an important aspect of neuroaes thetics focuses on improving architecture which, in turn, can improve our everyday physical mental health.8 Natu ral aesthetics in architecture,

implicit patterns and explicit elements such as water, plants, and trees, as well as the openness of the space and fractal scaling have shown to influence the para hippocampal place area (PPA), temporal lobe, and overall beauty perception on the architecture.8,18 These aesthetically-pre ferred spaces confer a feeling of safety and stress reduction, while promoting overall increases in feelings of joy, happiness, relaxation, cognitive performance, and mental well-being.8

The human condition on beauty perception is not strictly art, but can also be abstract ed to our perception of others. Our brains automatically associate facial anomalies to worse social traits because of implicit biases and evolutionary ties to in-group/outgroup ideologies, where in-groups are the per ceived norms at the time.10,14 These biases and facial aesthetic judgements arise from the same brain regions that are modulated by artis tic aesthetics– the oFC, subcortical reward region putamen, HP, etc– as found by fMRI studies.7,16,25,26 As such, people with acne, facial scarring, or other deformities are more likely to be viewed negatively subconsciously, and we associate these people with an “out-group.” From an evolutionary perspective, our arbitrary preference selection – based on cultural and societal standards – may be an extension of our biological roots in mate choice and predicting well-being to maxi mize offspring survival.21,28 As our culture evolved to emphasize altruistic behaviors and morality, these factors play a more pivotal role in everyday social interactions, political legislation, legal decisions, etc.13 Our subjective morality decision making is closely tied to the neural correlates of aesthetics, as perceiving facial beauty and moral beauty is not entirely different: these two work through similar cor tical and motor regions that facilitate our percep tions.25

As such, a judgment of one’s morality may be closely tied with facial appearance, rooted in evolutionary and neurobiological standards.

This brief and overarching overview on the novel field of neuroaesthetics touches the many different areas of neuroaesthetic research conducted domestically and internationally. While a large primary focus is to fully map out the aesthetic brain, the consequenc es of these investigations paved the path to translative and societal research. From mapping cortical regions to entire networks of inter twined connectomes, future investigations in this field can lead to better therapeutic investigations of neurodegeneration and mental health. Human behaviors are complex and often difficult to categorize in an anthropological view, so developing a better understanding of decision-making, judgment, choice, and morality perception through human subjects in a neuroaesthet ic perspective may offer valuable insights into the human condition.

refereNces

[1] Aharon, I., N. Etcoff, D. Ariely, C. F. Chabris, E. O’Connor, and H. C. Bre iter. “Beautiful Faces Have Variable Reward Value.” Neuron, 2001, vol. 32(3), pp. 537-551. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0896-6273(01)00491-3.

[2] Alcalá-López, D., J. Smallwood, E. Jefferies, F. V. Overwalle, K. Vogeley, R. B. Mars, B. I. Turetsky, A. R. Laird, P. T. Fox, S. B. Eickhoff, and D. Bzdok. “Computing the Social Brain Connectome Across Systems and States.” Cerebral Cortex, 2018, vol. 28(7), pp. 2207-2232, doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhx121.

[3] Benhamou, E., S. Zhao, H. Sivasathiasee ian, J. C. S. Johnson, M. Requena-Komuro, R. L. Bond, J. E. P. van Leeuwen, L. L. Russell, C. V. Greaves, A. Nelson, J. M. Nicholas, C. J. D. Hardy, J. D. Rohrer, and J. D. Warren. “De coding expectation and surprise in dementia: The paradigm of music.” Brain Communications, 2021, vol. 3(3), article fcab173. doi: https://doi. org/10.1093/braincomms/fcab173.

[4] Bosch-Domènech, A., R. Nagel, and J. V. Sánchez-Andrés. “Prosocial capabilities in Alzheimer’s patients.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2009, vol. 65B(1), pp. 119128. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbp034.

[5] Cela-Conde, C. J., G. Marty, F. Maestú, T. Ortiz, E. Munar, A. Fernández, M. Roca, J. Roselló, and F. Quesney. “Activation of the prefrontal cortex in the human visual aesthetic perception.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004, vol. 101(16), pp. 6321-6325. doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/ pnas.0401427101.

[6] Chatterjee, A. and O. Vartanian. “Neuroaesthetics.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2014, vol. 18(7), pp. 370-375. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j. tics.2014.03.003.

[7] Chatterjee, A. “Neuroaesthetics: A Coming of Age Story.” Journal of Cog nitive Neuroscience, 2011, vol. 23(1), pp. 53-62. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/ jocn.2010.21457.

[8] Chatterjee, A., A. Coburn, and A. Weinberger. “The neuroaesthetics of architectural spaces.” Cognitive Processing, 2021, vol. 22, pp. 115-120. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-021-01043-4.

[9] Cinzia, D. D. and G. Vittorio. “Neuroaesthetics: a review.” Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2009, vol. 19(6), pp. 682-687. doi: https://doi. org/10.1016/j.conb.2009.09.001.

[10] Dietrich, P. and T. Knieper. “(Neuro)Aesthetics: Beauty, ugliness, and ethics.” PsyCh Journal, 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.478.

[11] Dodich, A., C. Cerami, C. C. Crespi, N. Canessa, G. Lettieri, S. Iannac cone, A. Marcone, S. F. Cappa, and J. T. Cacioppo. “Differential Impairment of Cognitive and Affective Mentalizing Abilities in Neurodegenerative Dementias: Evidence from Behavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Mild Cognitive Impairment.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2016, vol. 50(4), pp. 1011-1022. doi: https://doi.org/10.3233/ JAD-150605.

[12] Francis, S., E. T. Rolls, R. Bowtell, F. McGlone, J. O’Doherty, A. Browning, S. Clare, and E. Smith. “The representation of pleasant touch in the brain and its relationship with taste and olfactory areas.” Neu roReport, 1999, vol. 10(3), pp. 453-459. doi: https:// doi.org/10.1097/00001756199902250-00003.

[13] Funk, C. M. and M. S. Gazzaniga. “The functional brain architecture of human morality.” Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2009, vol. 19(6), pp. 678-681. doi: https://doi. org/10.1016/j.conb.2009.09.011.

[14] He, D., C. I. Workman, X. He, and A. Chatterjee. “What is good is beautiful (and what isn’t, isn’t): How moral character affects perceived facial attractiveness.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2022. doi: https:// psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ aca0000454.

[15] Ishizu, T., and S. Zeki. “A neurobiological enquiry into the origins of our experience of the sublime and beautiful.” frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014, vol. 8, article 891. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/ fnhum.2014.00891.

[16] Kawabata, H. and S. Zeki. “Neural Correlates of Beauty.” Journal of Neu rophysiology, 2004, vol. 91(4), pp. 1699-1705. doi: https://doi.org/10.1152/ jn.00696.2003.

[17] Kliem, E., M. Forster, and H. Leder. “Aesthetic Preference for Negative ly-Valenced Artworks Remains Stable in Pathological Aging: A Comparison Between Cognitively Impaired Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Controls.” frontiers in Psychology, 2022, vol. 13. doi: https://doi. org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.879833.

[18] Kravitz, D. J., C. S. Peng, and C. I. Baker. “Real-World Scene Represen tations in High-Level Visual Cortex: It’s the Spaces More Than the Places.” Journal of Neuroscience, 2011, vol. 31(20), pp. 7322-7333. doi: https://doi. org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4588-10.2011.

[19] Magsamen, S. “Your Brain on Art: The Case for Neuroaesthetics.” Cere brum, 2019, vol. 7(19). Mak, M. Y. and S. T. Ng. “The art and science of Feng Shui–a study on architects’ perception.” Building and Environment, 2005, vol. 40(3), pp. 427-434. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2004.07.016.

[20] Mummery, C. J., K. Patterson, C. J. Price, J. Ashburner, R. S. Frack owiak, and J. R. Hodges. “A voxel-based morphometry study of semantic dementia: relationship between temporal lobe atrophy and semantic memory.” Annals of Neurology, 2001, vol. 47(1), pp. 36-45. doi: https://doi. org/10.1002/1531-8249(200001)47:1<36::AID-ANA8>3.0.CO;2-L.

[21] Rhodes, G. “The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty.” Annual Re view of Psychology, 2006, vol. 57, pp. 199-226. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/ annurev.psych.57.102904.190208.

[21] Rolls, E. T. “The Orbitofrontal Cortex and Reward.” Cerebral Cortex, 2000, vol. 10(3), pp. 284-294. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/10.3.284.

[22] Roubal, J., G. Francesetti, and M. Gecele. “Aesthetic Diagnosis in Gestalt Therapy.” Behavioral Sciences, 2017, vol. 7(4), article 70. doi: https://doi. org/10.3390/bs7040070.

[23] van Leeuwen, J. E. P., J. Boomgaard, D. Bzdok, S. J. Crutch, and J. D. Warren. “More Than Meets The Eye: Art Engages the Social Brain.” frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022, vol. 16. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/ fnins.2022.738865.

[24] Vessel, E. A., G. G. Starr, and N. Rubin. “The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network.” frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 6. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00066.

[25] Wang, T., L. Mo, C. Mo, L. H. Tan, J. S. Cant, L. Zhong, G. Cupchik. “Is moral beauty different from facial beauty? Evidence from an fMRI study.” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2015, vol. 10(6), pp. 814-823. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu123.

[26] Workman, C., S. Humphries, F. Hartung, and G. K. Aguirre. “Morality is in the eye of the beholder: the neurocognitive basis of the “anomalou-is-bad” stereotype.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2021, vol. 1494(1), pp. 1-15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14575.

[27] Zaidel, D. W. “Neuroesthetics is not just about art.” frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015, vol. 9, article 80. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fn hum.2015.00080.

[28] Zaidel, D. W. and M. Nadal. “Brain Intersections of Aesthetics and Mor als: Perspectives from Biology, Neuroscience, and Evolution.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 2011, vol. 54(3), pp. 367-380. doi: https://doi. org/10.1353/pbm.2011.0032.

WritteN

By Abel Lindley desigNed By William Dougherty

STEMinist

By: Alia Bly

STEM is a community of historical exclu sivity—a series of disciplines built on the homogeneity of racial and gender identity. However, STEM has seen great progress in the immersion of an inclusive array of valu able individuals throughout its development, and the Oxford STEMinists hope to drive this progress forward to ensure STEM has a place for anyone who works to claim it. As an orga nization, STEMinists believes that equality in STEM must exist for all individuals regardless of gender identity, race, and socioeconom ic status. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are reliant upon forward thought and constant growth; a parallel sense of progress and inclusivity should—and must—be expected of the minds who make such excellence possible.

STEMinists hosts a variety of events through out the academic year such as discussion panels with former students and industry professionals, fundraising nights for youth science organizations, tutoring programs for local elementary school students, and informational sessions regarding post-grad opportunities like medical school. Emory and Oxford are foundational aspects of scientific excellence. If you are interested in ensuring these sectors of Emory’s culture advocate for the intrinsic, vital diversity of the student body within STEM, join us! STEMinists has a place for you and all the uniquities you carry.

Voting in Science Panel Student

By: Sahithi Gangaram

The Voting in Science panel was a great opportunity for me as a first-year in my first semester at Oxford to interact with passionate Oxford science professors, including Dr. Taliaferro-Smith, Dr. Devon Goss, Dr. Hage, and many more. The event had a construc tive, large discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election, and the role of politics in science. Especially during a very turbulent and emotion-filled year, I think many students, including myself, had a lot of questions on the ongoing and evolving science around COVID-19, and this discussion panel offered the best time to ask those questions. For instance, I was very curious about the professors’ opinions on how many Americans were pointing out the discrep ancies in scientific studies on COVID-19 as a reason to see leading scientists addressing the pandemic as untrustworthy, and how we college students could increase public awareness of science or public health.

Covington Academy Tutoring Student

By: Maylynn Hu

Being able to work with the Covington Academy students over Zoom as a part of the STEMinists tutoring program was while challenging over Zoom, still fulfilling and incredibly fun. The way STEMinists organized the tutoring sessions, with easy access to student schedules, the material they needed to cover, and the assignments/tests they needed to pre pare for, made the whole experience very easy. I had a great time working with middle school students on algebra, from converting between improper and mixed fractions to working with x in an equation; one student even made my day by saying that he liked doing math with me and that I made it fun! As some one who wouldn’t say math was my favorite subject in the world back in middle school, that was super awesome to hear. I had a great time working in the STEMinists tutoring program with Covington Acad emy, and I would love to be a part of the program again should they continue to run it this year.

Molnupiravir Battling COVID-19

One Pill at a Time

We have been fighting off COVID-19 with masks, vaccines, and even travel bans. Despite all of this, the virus still runs rampant– mutating from the original SARS-CoV-2 strain into a plethora of variants as we speak.

Currently, about twelve variants are being monitored by the CDC, two of which are variants of concern, including the infamous Delta and now, Omicron variant that has been taking the United States by storm (Mahase 2021, 1-2). And while vaccinations provide the best protection against variant strains, the fear of these variants growing resistant to our current courses of treatment persists.

So, how do we alleviate this fear and the formation of variants in general? And where do we go from here when it comes to battling this pandemic? In comes molnupiravir, a brand new antiviral prodrug that targets SARS-CoV-2 and all of its variant strains.

Molnupiravir, unlike vaccines or booster shots, is a pill about the size of a jellybean. But to understand how this drug works, we need to break down how COVID-19 spreads and where molnupiravir attacks on a more biological scale. Imagine someone with COVID-19 coughs in your direction, and you unknowingly touch your T-Zone, the area comprising your eyes, nose, and mouth. The virus would enter your body, and breach your cell membranes with RNA, a single-stranded form of ribonucleic acids containing the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 in microscopic packages (Masters 2006, 193–292). This RNA would then be released, replicating through more viral cell copies and translating into proteins that set a foundation for new viruses (Meador, 2021). These cell copies then transmit RNA into other cells, creating an ever-growing coronavirus infection that spreads to others.

Now, consider this same example, but after ingesting molnupiravir. COVID-19 RNA will still breach the cell membrane, allowing some replication to occur in viral cells, but once activated, any further SARS-CoV-2 replication is in hibited through a process called lethal mutagenesis (Meador, 2021).

This inhibition begins when an enzyme called RNA-depen dant polymerase stops viral replication by adding mutations to the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 RNA (Abdelnabi et. al, 2021). One of the most notable mutations with molnupiravir is the substitution of cytosine (C) nucleotides with uracil (U) (Malone & Campbell, 2021, 706-708). These mutations will then accumulate, so even if the SARS-CoV-2 strain proceeds to translation, the newly formed virus becomes dysfunctional and is killed altogether.

With no COVID-19 RNA replicated in the body, there is no template for variant creation to begin with. Thus, by imple menting molnupiravir’s use of lethal mutagenesis, the problem of infinite variants no longer becomes a concern (Durland et. al, 2021). This process applies to any of COVID-19’s variants since all viral RNA, not just one type of strain, is attacked–promoting effective inhibition regardless of variant type.

Molnupiravir’s prowess on a microscopic level was quickly recognized and has expanded to a federal standpoint as this pill can disable the spread of COVID-19 altogether, while vac cines can only train immune responses with a dummy version of the virus. As of now, the effectiveness of the drug has been attested by Pfizer, commercialized by Merck, and has been deemed well-tolerated in human clinical trials without sig nificant side effects (Painter et. al, 2021). Even Emory, whose researchers discovered this drug in the first place, has

officially begun endorsing the license of molnupiravir, as it will address unmet medical needs and reduce hospitaliza tions in greater Atlanta (Ahn, 2021). By December 2021, molnupiravir became FDA-authorized for COVID-19 treat ment, but we must understand some potential conflicts as the prodrug inches towards mass-market distribution.

One is the unlikely possibility of herd immunity in the United States. To date, only 68.4% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (Nudgga et. al, 2021). Would the anti-vax community’s response to the molnupiravir pill be the same as it’s been with vaccination requirements and mask mandates? And will molnupiravir be affordable enough to the average citizen, or at least covered by health insurance policies?

References

[1] Abdelnabi, R., Foo, C.S., De Jonghe, S., Maes, P., Neyts, J., Wey nand, B., Molnupiravir Inhibits Replication of the Emerging SARSCoV-2 Variants of Concern in a Hamster Infection Model, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 224, Issue 5, 1 September 2021, Pages 749–753, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab361

[2] Ahn, G. (2021, October 27). Emory supports Medicines Patent Pool and Merck license agreement for Molnupiravir to treat COVID-19. Retrieved November 05, 2021, from https://news.emory.edu/stories/2021/10/molnupiravir_emory_waive_roy alties _covid_19/index.html?utm_source=ebulletin&utm_medium=e mail&utm_camp aign=Dooley_Report_EB_271021

[3] Baraniuk, C. (2021, August 09). Covid-19: How effective are vac cines against the delta variant? Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1960?int_source=trendmd&int_ medi um=cpc&int_campaign=usage-042019

[4] Bull, J., Sanjuán, R., [email protected], C., J. J. BullThe Institute for Cellular and Molecular BiologySection of Integrative Biology, T., R. Sanjuán Section of Integrative Biology, T., & C. O. Wilke [email protected]The Institute for Cellular and Molecular BiologyCenter for Computational Biology and BioinformaticsSection of Integrative Biology, T. (2007, March 15). Theo ry of lethal mutagenesis for viruses. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/JVI.01624-06

[5] Durland, J. (2021, September 21). Genetics, mutagenesis. Re trieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/ NBK560519/

[6] Gordon, C., Tchesnokov, E., Schinazi, R., & Götte, M. (2021, May 11). Molnupiravir promotes SARS-COV-2 mutagenesis via the RNA template. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021925821005639

Written by: Manju Karthikeyan Layout by: Christian Lee

[7] Haseltine, W. (2021, October 08). Anti-covid drugs are coming, but at what cost? Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/10/08/anti-coviddrugs-a re-coming-but-at-what-cost/?sh=3364200477a1

[8] Hossain, M., Hassanzadeganroudsari, M., & Apostolopoulos, V. (2021, June). The emergence of new strains of SARS-COV-2. what does it mean for covid-19 vaccines? Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8074646/

[9] Mahase, E. (2021, August 19). Covid-19: How many variants are there, and what do we know about them? Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1971

[10] Malone, B., & Campbell, E. (2021, September 13). Molnupiravir: Coding for catastrophe. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-021-00657-8

[11] Masters P. S. (2006). The molecular biology of coronaviruses. Advances in virus research, 66, 193–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/S00653527(06)66005-3

[12] Menéndez-Arias, L. (2021, June 09). Decoding molnupiravir-in duced mutagenesis in SARS-COV-2. Retrieved October 23, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021925821006670

[13] Ndugga, N. (2021, November 17). Latest data on covid-19 vaccina tions by race/ethnicity. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-oncovid-19-v accinations-by-race-ethnicity/

[14] Painter, W. P., Holman, W., Bush, J. A., Almazedi, F., Malik, H., Eraut, N. C., . . . Painter, G. R. (2021). Human safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of molnupiravir, a novel broad-spectrum oral antiviral agent with activity against SARS-COV-2. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 65(5). doi:10.1128/aac.02428-20

[15] SARS-COV-2 variant classifications and definitions. (2021, December 1). Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://www.cdc. gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant-classifications.html?C DC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavi rus%2F2019-ncov%2Fvariants%2Fvariant-info.html

SPOTLIGHT

FEATURE: DR.SMITH

BY: CATHERINE ZHANG AND ELLIE NADELMANN

DR. SMITH

Dr. Smith, who leads Independent Research and Discovery in Biolo gy course, an integrat ed laboratory course where research topics vary per semester, at Oxford reveals why she pursued research in STEM and what it’s like being a women of color in a white-male domi nated industry.

Why do you think it’s important for students to get involved in research at an early undergraduate level, and in what ways have you seen the effects of this course on your previous students?

I think everyone should be exposed to research because it makes you look at the world completely differently. It not only encourages you to probe for further information, but it’s also one of the best ways to learn new knowledge. There’s nothing like learning by doing (that’s my teaching philosophy), and I think students learn more, appreciate it more, and retain more if they can be actively involved.

With my course in particular, I regularly hear from students years after and how their experiences were impacted by my course. There’s a process for it: approach everything with some skepticism and work through it by asking the right questions, look at the right sources, and know how to form your own thoughts based on the evidence you’ve gathered. If you learn those skills early in your academic career, it makes you a more holistic practitioner because if you’ve actually had real experience and you’re able to have a deeper and wider lense to look to help people.

Can you tell us a bit about your own research and your motivation for pursuing it?

The reason I do breast cancer research is very personal. During my undergrad, I was dating my now-husband whose oldest and only sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. We had many questions, but I knew how to research and try to find answers. It was at that time when I realized the information that’s out there about breast cancer, in

Black and Hispanic women in particular, is lacking (making up only ~5% of the breast cancer research out there at the time). We know that minority populations don’t necessarily respond to treatment the same way as their Caucasian counterparts, so we needed specific information tailored to the community. Unfortunately, we lost her within five years of diagnosis. Her and my husband were really close and being the oldest in my family, I felt like I had an older sister for a small period of time too. So I decided to switch my focus to research in breast cancer, specifically, breast cancer in women of color. There could be ten of me, people that look like me, doing the research that’s important for my community, but it’s not enough. I need people who aren’t the minority to buy into this and invest in this. It’s an ongoing process of reaching that partnership.

We noticed you’re involved in a lot of initiatives outside of the classroom: SciOx, OxCancer, etc. What motivates you to facilitate these initiatives on campus and why do you think they’re important?

Liberal arts is very important to me, and I really didn’t know what liberal arts was when I first entered college. It wasn’t until I took one of my favorite courses I’ve ever taken, an African-Caribbean literature course, when I really opened my eyes up to the world beyond science. So, I try to be engaged and involved in these initiatives that will provide some of these other skills. Just being able to lead initiatives that provide a variety of opportunities and help students find their strengths across disciplines is fantastic. Also, the moments when students achieve goals or learn something about themselves they didn’t even know they could do—those are always great for me.

What has been your experience at Emory/Oxford considering its status as a PWI (Predominantly white institution)?

A person of color at a PWI may not be the norm, but Emory has been very good to me. I’ve worked at both the Atlanta and Oxford campuses and both have had inclusive and welcoming environments. Based on where Emory is positioned in Atlanta as well as the people that work there make it more diverse, even as a PWI. This makes it a more inclusive environment. The switch from the Atlanta to the Oxford campus would have been more pronounced if I were a student as your experiences are both on campus and off campus, but after the school day I get in my car and drive home. I still see the Confederate flags planted on the porches of homes I drive past in Oxford, but I don’t let it impact my work at Oxford as I feel isolated from the discrimination present off campus. I certainly don’t feel as comfortable in general in Oxford than in Atlanta because of the demographics, but I was born and raised in South Alabama so it’s not like I haven’t experienced it before. Although, the thought of my students having to deal with that gives me shivers.

Your life as a professor, mother, and researcher seems like a lot to balance, and could be overwhelming at times. What do you do to enjoy yourself and relax?

What I enjoy is my family time. When I’m at Oxford at work, I go 100%. I give it my all. But when I leave Oxford, I shut it down. And I learned this from my children, both seniors, one in high school and the other in college. Before I began my work, I talked to faculty members, mostly female faculty members with families, about their strategy; how they balanced their work life with their family life. I tried to get a game plan. They told me “always make time for your family”. So I did. When I come home, my computers don’t come open, bags don’t come open. I cook, engage with the kids, bring them to practice, have dinner … all that stuff. And then, after they’re down, I pick up my stuff and work for a few hours here and there. I need to save and protect those times with my family.

I also really value forming connections with my students. Every spring, a few of my students that have participated in individual research present their research at the research symposium at the Atlanta campus. We all drive there, they present their research, and then I take them all out to dinner.

Lastly, what advice would you give to a female aspiring to pursue STEM, and specifically research?

Unfortunately, STEM is still a very white-male dominated

industry, and now more white and Asian male. If you look at the undergraduate STEM majors, there are a lot more women. But as you go through the pipeline, it shifts until you have the men practicing at a higher level.

Personally, I grew up with 5 brothers, 7 uncles, and tons of male cousins. I grew up around men all my life. I had to learn early on as a female how to hold my own around men. When you get into the mindset of ‘Oh, I can’t do that because that’s for men,’ you limit yourself automatically. You don’t hear any men say I can’t do that because that’s for women; they have confidence and attitude. That’s how we [women] have to be, and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, because they will try. Especially if you are a woman of color, they will try.

While working at another university in a lab researching prostate cancer, there was a clash between who I was going to answer to, both options being men. I don’t answer to anybody. I’m here to do the research, get paid, and to advance science. I was told by one of the men that I was not cut out for research and that I should reconsider my career. I had two options: either curse him and punch him, or walk out the door. So I walked out the door, but before I left I said something I have lived by since. I can show you better than I can tell you. I then left the office and started searching for other jobs, which is how I ended up at Emory.

But my advice to anybody, regardless of if you’re a woman, but especially if you’re a woman, is the only way to get men to think differently and give you the honor that you deserve, is to have the credentials. You have to have your paperwork, you have to have your crap together. Because that’s all they respect. The minute I show them my track record, regardless of what I say, they can do nothing but give me the respect I deserve. It shouldn’t be like that, but it is. Education is a level playing field. Your words aren’t going to mean anything… show them.

Humans, Are They Still Unique?

Written by Masin Kearny Designed by Audrika Chattaraj

Our society is framed by skylines, with suburban houses stretching endlessly in every direction, intruding upon habitats that were once untouched by human life and fragmenting environments that

Procrastination occurs because humans feel less of a reward after completing a task sooner rather than later (Zentall et al., 2019). By delaying an anxietyinducing task, people tend to feel a greater sense of relief once the task is finally completed. Although this habitual phenomenon is experienced by many humans, comparisons can be drawn between a student who is avoiding writing their final paper and a pigeon who is avoiding a similarly aversive, or unpleasant, task. In order to test the procrastinating tendencies of pigeons, Zentall and his team performed an experiment that required pigeons to walk from a start panel to a goal panel with a response key located at some point between the two panels. The study tested whether or not the pigeons preferred to peck a response key at a location closer to the start panel or closer to the end panel. The pigeons demonstrated

The different laughs of the chimpanzees showcase that the tendency to laugh in order to be polite is a mannerism not limited to just humans. The strengthening of social connections through purposeful laughter adds depth to the relationships within chimpanzee populations, showing an emotional intelligence resembling that of humans. Not only are the chimpanzees able to interpret their own emotions, but they are able to recognize the mood of those around them and act in a way that corresponds with the energy of the situation. By understanding the positive impact contagious laughter has on their relationships and repeating this behavior, they prove to possess a skill in pattern recognition that resembles the logical processing of a person.

The association of words with mental categories is a strategy performed by humans that enables linguistic communication and facilitates the acquisition of knowledge (Lupyan 2006). The art of label-making as an inherently human behavior was questioned by a study executed by Slobodchickoff and his team where the warning calls of prairie dogs were analyzed after exposure to humans wearing different color shirts (Slobodchikoff et al., 2008). References

Davila-Ross, M., Allcock, B., Thomas, C., & Bard, K. A. (2011). Aping expressions? Chimpanzees produce distinct laugh types when responding to laughter of others. Emotion, 11(5), 1013–1020. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022594

Hyers, L. L. (2006). Myths used to legitimize the exploitation of animals: An application of social dominance theory. Anthrozoös, 19(3), 194–210. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279306785415538

Jacobs, G. H., & Pulliam, K. A. (1973). Vision in the prairie dog: Spectral sensitivity and color vision. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 84(2), 240–245. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0035323

Laurance, W. F., Lovejoy, T. E., Vasconcelos, H. L., Bruna, E. M., Didham, R. K., Stouffer, P. C., Gascon, C., Bierregaard, R. O., Laurance, S. G., & Sampaio, E. (2002). Ecosystem decay of Amazonian Forest Fragments: A 22-year investigation. Conservation Biology, 16(3), 605–618. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.15231739.2002.01025.x

Lupyan, G. (2006). Labels facilitate learning of novel categories. The Evolution of Language. https://doi org/10.1142/9789812774262_0025

Provine, R. R. (1992). Contagious laughter: Laughter is a sufficient stimulus for laughs and smiles. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 30(1), 1–4. https://doi. org/10.3758/bf03330380

Slobodchikoff, C. N., Paseka, A., & Verdolin, J. L. (2008). Prairie dog alarm calls encode labels about Predator colors. Animal Cognition, 12(3), 435–439. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10071-008-0203-y

Zentall, T. R., Peng, D., House, D., & Halloran, M. (2019). Animal procrastination: Pigeons choose to defer experiencing an aversive gap or a peck requirement. Learning & Behavior, 48(2), 246–253. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13420-019-00397-2

Prairie dogs see wavelengths of light within the blue and yellow spectrums, which correlates with the results of the study where they exhibited unique calls in response to humans wearing yellow/ green shirts versus blue shirts (Jacobs & Pulliam, 1973) (Slobodchikoff et al., 2008). These specialized calls for different types of predators demonstrate the implementation of category labels into the language of the prairie dogs, showcasing the ability for species other than humans to communicate through a complex system of descriptions and characterizations (Slobodchikoff et al., 2008). The prairie dogs are able to share knowledge about the differences between approaching predators through their various calls, resembling the human capability to communicat knowledge through language. This ability to internalize slight differences between each predator and these characteristics to each other highlights a complexity in the interactions of prairie dogs on a scale similar to the interaction of humans with each other and their environment. The intellectual capabilities of these pigeons, chimpanzees, and prairie dogs pose the question: are we really that different? What justifications do we have for viewing the world through a human-centric lens? Where should we draw the line between ourselves and animals? The ethics behind human interaction with animals should constantly be brought into question, with the interactions between our scientists, our philosophers, our political leaders, and the general public regulating the role that animals should play in our lives, as well as the role that we should play in the lives of animals.