Hendrix Scientific Volume I

Volume I: The Genesis Issue

4. THE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ON TYPE-II DIABETES

6. ACCESS, DISEASE, AND DISABILITY: A DIALOGUE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING “NORMAL”

9. MORAL INJURY & PTSD

12. COMBATING CHYTRID

14. A PERSPECTIVE OF ALASKA

16. THE NEUROSCIENCE BEHIND MUSIC

18. HSS GENE EDITING

WRITER: ROWAN McCOLLUM

WRITER: NATALIE AIKMAN

WRITER: JACLYN REIFIESS

WRITER: GABBY NAPLES

WRITER: RAYAN SHUJA

ADVISOR: DR. J.D. GANTZ MISSION STATEMENT

HENDRIX SCIENTIFIC’S PURPOSE IS TO IMPROVE OUR ABILITIES TO COMMUNICATE SCIENCE IN A WAY THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. AS WE LEARN TO SYNTHESIZE SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSIONS, NEWS, AND RESEARCH AT HENDRIX AND BEYOND, WE WILL GRASP A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE OURSELVES.

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

CADE ENGLAND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As the founder of Hendrix Scientific, I am beyond excited to offer our first-ever issue to the Hendrix Community One of the reasons I came to Hendrix was because of how strongly the student body cares about the things they create. I wanted a space to share my passions with the community I love, and I saw that many others felt the same. So, we built one.

My love for science communication started early in high school. I went to bookstores after my classes to just sit on the floor of the natural science section and become completely engrossed in stories about my favorite biology topics. At that time in my life, I realized that many people do not think science is as fun or exciting as I do. Unfortunately, science is made inaccessible to a lot of people. Many scientists gatekeep knowledge by writing confusing jargon-filled papers that are only fun to read in a masochistic way. At Hendrix Scientific, we know what it’s like to feel inadequate or frustrated after reading something we could not understand. Science communication should spark passion and curiosity. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between the language of the scientific community and the world. Our goal at Hendrix Scientific is to prepare ourselves to push against lousy science communication in our future career fields. Many of our journeys in science could have turned out very differently if not for amazing science communicators on TV and throughout our lives. Therefore, we hope that by practicing effective science communication we can inspire people and connect them to the science we study and love.

I want to leave you, one of the first readers of Hendrix Scientific, with my favorite quote from science communicator and veterinarian, Dr. Chloe Buiting: “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world for the better - in my limited experience, they are usually the ones who do just that.”

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THE EFFECTS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE ON TYPE-II DIABETES

HOW EXERCISE CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE

SYDNEY GREENE

Over 37 million Americans suffer from diabetes mellitus, commonly referred to as diabetes. More than 90% of these cases are type-II diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that results from the inability of the pancreas to produce adequate amounts of insulin, eventually resulting in the inability of the individual to properly regulate their own blood sugar naturally. This has become an issue of greater concern as rates of obesity and insulin-dependent individuals have increased in recent years. The prevalence of this issue has been compounded by the amount of misinformation and conflicting recommendations that are readily found on the internet. This previous summer, I had a research internship with Dr. Kashif Latif of the AM Diabetes & Endocrinology Center as he began conducting a study of Medicare patients (ages 65+) with type-II diabetes who were involved in their on-site aerobic exercise classes. This study aims to collect data on patients who consistently attend these exercise classes to determine whether aerobic exercise has a significant effect on their treatment and management of type-II diabetes in patients 65 years old and older.

To fully understand the implications of this study, it is important to note the distinction between type-I and type-II diabetes, and why no patients with type-I were not considered as study subjects. Type-II diabetes differs from type-I diabetes in both cause and treatment. Type-I diabetes is caused by an autoimmune response in which the body attacks its own insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. This often results in the complete inability of the individual to produce their own metabolically useful insulin. On the other hand, type-II diabetes can be prevented and is often caused by prolonged obesity and high blood sugar that increases insulin resistance. In this case, the pancreas is still successfully producing insulin, but the insulin receptors on the surface of cells that regulate glucose uptake/release become insulin resistant and are not as responsive to the same levels of insulin. Over time, this can result in pancreatic fatigue from having to produce greater

and greater amounts of insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. As far as differences in disease management, type-I is typically treated with blood sugar monitoring and injections of synthetic insulin, whereas type-II is usually managed with improvements in diet, more exercise, and diabetes medications aimed at lowering blood glucose levels and improving insulin sensitivity (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2022).

Another key aspect of this study that may not be as widely known is the impact of muscle composition on the management of diabetes. Normal (non-diabetic) human muscle tissue is composed of equal amounts of type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers. Type 1 fibers, commonly referred to as “slow-twitch” fibers, require oxygen in order to properly function. In an oxygen-rich environment, type 1 muscle fibers can undergo oxidative phosphorylation, a process necessary to produce ATP, the currency of cellular energy (Talbot, J., & Maves, L., 2016). When there are more type 1 muscle fibers present, individuals have better endurance, better insulin responsiveness of the cells in the muscle tissue, and higher utilization of oxygen during exercise (Stuart, C.A., et al., 2013). Type 2 muscle fibers, commonly referred to as “fast-twitch” fibers, can be subdivided into mixed type 2a and mixed type 2x fibers. Type 2a fibers can switch between aerobic (oxygen rich) and anaerobic (oxygen deficient) ATP production (Talbot, J., & Maves, L., 2016). In a study that was conducted by the Quillen College of Medicine of East Tennessee State University, it was found that this muscle fiber type fatigued quicker than type 1 fibers due to less efficient glycolysis and ATP production, and contributed to less whole-body fat oxidation. It also appeared that there are fewer IRS-1 receptors and GLUT4 proteins (vital cellular structures responsible for insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake) in type 1 muscle tissue. Subjects with type-II diabetes had more than a two-fold increase in mixed type 2a muscle fibers (Stuart, C.A., et al., 2013). This means that patients with type-II diabetes have less available tissue to facilitate these key insulin pathway actions. The proportion of type 1 muscle fibers is also

negatively correlated with age, meaning that individuals with type-II diabetes who are older will have an increasingly difficult time managing their diabetes and type 1 muscle fiber composition (Stuart, C.A., et al., 2013).

As previously mentioned, most Americans who live with diabetes mellitus have the type-II delineation. Historically, allopathic disease management methods focused on treatment of the disease and any comorbidities after they become a concern rather than focusing on the prevention of complications. This study will enable the understanding of whether consistent aerobic exercise improves the ability of an older population of patients to manage their type-II diabetes. If aerobic exercise is found to improve patients’ ability to manage their diabetes, then new avenues of preventative treatments that reduce comorbidities and improve overall quality of life can be established.

To begin this study, a comprehensive database to organize patient information had to be designated. Though several options and formats were considered, an Excel workbook was selected to organize the data due to the platforms’ simplicity, accessibility, and data organization/ analysis capabilities. Then, metrics were chosen that would be monitored and analyzed to determine the outcome of the study. These metrics had to be directly indicative of the status of the patient’s diabetes management. We therefore selected metrics indicative of overall health, as well as metrics more specific to diabetes. The metrics we selected were BMI (body mass index), blood pressure, pulse, weight, A1C, and blood glucose levels. Values for these data points were collected for each patient during their regularly scheduled visits to the clinic. Baseline values for each of these points were recorded in the database for each patient using the metrics collected at their visit closest to their start time of the program. All subsequent values for each metric from visits after the date of the baseline visit were placed in the database and will continue in this fashion until the end of the study. Due to the policy of the clinic, visits for diabetes patients occur approximately every three months, enabling consistent data collection from

each patient for the duration of the study.

To draw a generalizable conclusion applicable for the large population of people living with type-II diabetes, many subjects need to be involved in the study and their metrics will need to be collected over a long period of time. Though it is currently too early to draw any conclusions, the current data trends look promising. The status of this study is ongoing and will continue for the foreseeable future until there is a statistically significant number of patients and data points to draw a general conclusion.

Hopefully, the results of this study will show that consistent aerobic exercise improves the disease management and quality of life of people with typeII diabetes. Once the study is complete, the findings can be used to help patients make educated decisions about their disease management, help prevent future diabetes related complications and make effective holistic health care more accessible to more people.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, December 16). Type 2 diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2. html#:~:text=Healthy%20eating%20is%20your%20recipe,adults%20 are%20also%20developing%20it.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, November 19). Type 2 diabetes. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/ diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351199

Stuart, C.A., McCurry, M.P., Marino, A., South, M.A., Howell, M.E., Layne, A.S.et al. (2013) Slow-twitch fiber proportion in skeletal muscle correlates with insulin responsiveness. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 98, 2027–2036 10.1210/jc.2012-3876

Talbot, J., & Maves, L. (2016). Skeletal muscle fiber type: using insights from muscle developmental biology to dissect targets for susceptibility and resistance to muscle disease. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews.

Developmental biology, 5 (4), 518–534. https://doi.org/10.1002/wdev.230

ACCESS, DISEASE, AND DISABILITY

A DIALOGUE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING “NORMAL”

ROWAN McCOLLUM

What does an accessible world look like? At first glance, perhaps it is an easy question to discuss. Defined, access seems straightforward. As a noun, access is defined as “the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance.” In a data-driven world, with medical and technological advancements increasing at seemingly rapid paces with each coming year, our definitions of disease and disability are shifting, and subsequently, our definition of access changes alongside them. What becomes admissible as normal human existence, as disability, or as disease, deviates from past conventions in both the medical and public eye. These alterations at times come at the misfortune of individuals whose ailments bring about designations unwelcome in the public eye, and while an accessible world is one that understands, at present the lived experience of those labeled “ill” or “disabled” is detached from the view of these words socially and culturally. The world understands truly very little about the nuances of human ailment, and at times, we seem to almost separate scientific definition, social expectation, and lived experience.

With definitions ever-shifting, and social notions creating a difficult, yet unavoidable hurdle, how do people navigate an environment that doesn’t seem to be able to admit them? Unfortunately, it is difficult not to grasp at straws in answering this question. There are seemingly endless conflicting ideas and lines of thought and struggling to put together a coherent solution is nearly expected. Social awareness of access is strikingly non-existent, and those individuals that need aid in accessing their environments are looked down upon as “abnormal”, creating a frustrating scenario.

Perhaps it is useful to first observe where our social concept of normal heralds from. The notion itself was introduced to sociology by August Comte, who borrowed it from pathology and defined it as on one hand an “average and factual state” and on the other a desirable state. “From the beginning of the nineteenth century the concept of

normality was used as a part of notion of progress and of the ideological consolidation of the middle classes as it seems to be able of imposing order on variations and to introduce the demarcation lines between the socially acceptable and the unacceptable” (Misztal 2002). A notion of progress, yet average at the same time? Conflicting, to say the least.

It is helpful to understand social conceptualizations of normal keeping the idea of a “desirable state” in mind, in order to frame an analysis of disease, disability, and access, as disease and disability are often viewed socially as “abnormal”. Indeed, even those individuals in need of additional resources to access their environments in a comfortable or enjoyable facet are looked upon as abnormal, or even undesirable, members of society. This makes the concept of normal a “specific cultural value judgement” (McGuire & Fritsch 2019). Keeping Comte’s initial definition of normal, and the tension it creates in constructing normal as a desirable state in mind, it is almost as if normal is viewed socially as the right way to be. Normal “keeps us in our places by helping us know how to be ourselves properly” (McGuire & Fritsch 2019). This lens, and the ideology it creates, however flawed, is the one which society often looks through in deciding upon acceptable modes of human existence.

This social conceptualization of normal is paramount in understanding how to rethink defining disease and creating access, and it finds itself nestled into not only colloquial discussion but in academic literature as well. Both the definitions of disability and disease are adversely affected by a flawed ideology surrounding normal as a concept.

“The definition of disability […] focuses not on the body but on the social; disability is something that a person possesses when dealing with other people or with physical spaces that are inaccessible” (Herndl 2005). In contrast, disease is often associated with the physical state of the body; that is, in medical terms, the disruption of the tedious balance of homeostasis that must be maintained to have a well-functioning organism. Both states of existence

are often conceptualized unfavorably under the lens of normalcy, in that they differ from that of acceptable forms of being. Regarding disease, our understanding is evershifting and limited by the reach of our scientific knowledge base, and as a result, the definition itself is undermined slightly as a flawed concept of “normal” is bundled in with what is intended as objective analysis.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to delineate from current scientific definitions of disease, however tricky it may be to remove social conventions from academic contexts. “In medical discourse, the name of a disease refers to the sum of the abnormal phenomena displayed by a group of living organisms in association with a specified common characteristic or set of characteristics by which they differ from the norm of their species in such a way as to place them at a biological disadvantage” (Toon 1981). This definition fails to understand the various nuances within the contexts in which the term “disease” is applied; colloquial usage involving this definition creates an unfortunate split into the desirable and undesirable. “There is the dichotomy between disease and non-disease, in which the term implies that the state of the organism is in some way undesirable, and requires if possible, to be changed” (Toon 1981). This use of language undermines the individual, emphasizing normal as the “right way to be”. Extending beyond disease, this sense of abnormality as undesirable within medical literature makes its mark on sociocultural ideologies surrounding disability; individuals who are labeled as “disabled” often find these ideologies surrounding desirability manifest in their everyday social lives.

Keeping in mind that disability often presents itself in social interactions, social conceptualizations then dictate the lived

experience of individuals regarded as disabled, and thus as a result, our distortion of “normal” plays an unfortunate role. For those that are disabled, it is their context that “is, or at least should be, also ours; if it isn’t it is because of barriers that ‘we’ have set up to exclude ‘them’” (Herndl 2005). However, we have established that there are implicit barriers set up through an underlying social bias towards normal as a desirable state in both academic literature and social interaction. How might our world look if these barriers were removed?

This question is one that is quite pertinent in the world of access intimacy, that is, the understanding of the needs of an individual, or “that elusive, hard to describe feeling when someone else “gets” your access needs” (Mingus 2017). Awareness regarding access intimacy can help to broaden the scope of social awareness, as an innate understanding of the needs of individuals is agreed upon, and as a result, some of the flawed logic surrounding the term normal is subverted. An environment that creates a setting of access intimacy is exemplified in Gallaudet University, an academic institution with a majority deaf or signing population. Gallaudet employs a distinct philosophy of design that is conducive to a visual medium of communication, while also serving as a largely “normal” (by our largely flawed definition) learning institution. Gallaudet not only serves to be more accessible for its deaf community members but also fosters a greater sense of social awareness in its residents. “That social awareness—not just for oneself but for the other—is a naturalized set of behaviors that come with the social work of sign” (Hendren 2020). At Gallaudet, access intimacy creates an environment where lack of hearing, viewed generally as an unfortunate abnormality, is in fact a quality contributing to a deeper form of social

© Prostock-studio / Adobe Stock

interaction. What has been viewed as a flaw, a nondesirable state, is conducive to desirable qualities. It seems that our definition of normal has some adjusting to do.

If we broaden our mindset and think more openly about what could be considered normative existence in society, we must also broaden our mindset about what is needed to construct an accessible world. Models such as Gallaudet University must be considered the staple, not the outlier. In continuation of this reasoning, our definition of disease and disability must be altered as well; we must aim to understand the nuances of defining disease and the ways in which a flawed “normal” creates a frustrating lived experience. Furthermore, these subtleties are intertwined, and it is not adequate to simply define disease as an ailment of the body, and disability as an ailment of the social, and separate the two items into vacuums through which to address. Definitions play a major role in not only social interaction and personal well-being, but also in funding and research opportunities/decisions; it is paramount to take caution in understanding them to broaden our mindsets academically, socially, and culturally, and create a new definition of an accessible world.

To answer our initial question, what does an accessible world really look like? An accessible world is not only one that understands the needs and difficulties of alternate ways of human existence, but also becomes a world that shifts what being “normal” truly is. An accessible world scrutinizes normalcy; it broadens the scope of social awareness and scientific inquiry to shape an understanding of being that not only analyzes, but inquires, and understands. In essence, an accessible world is nuanced; it understands the limitations that we place upon ourselves when we create concepts like normality, or stunted definitions of the words that bring power to our lives, and brings forth a newfound sense of awareness about what it means to be. An accessible world takes the broken logic of normalcy, the lack of social awareness around disability, and the troubling task of defining disease, and inserts a level of humanity that allows for recognition, realization, and most importantly, change.

Works Cited

McGuire, A., & Fritsch, K. (2019). Fashioning the ‘Normal’ Body. Power and Everyday Practices, 79-99.

Hendren, S. (2020) What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World. Riverhead Books, 94-130.

Mingus, M. (2017). Access intimacy, interdependence and disability justice. Leaving evidence, 12.

Herndl, D. P. (2005). Disease versus disability: the medical humanities and disability studies. PMLA, 120(2), 593-598.

Misztal, B. A. (2002). Rethinking the concept of normality: The criticism of Comte’s theory of normal existence. Polish Sociological Review, 189–202.

Toon, P. D. (1981). Definingdisease’—classification must be distinguished from evaluation. Journal of medical ethics, 7(4), 197-201.

© Viacheslav Yakobchuk / Adobe Stock

MORAL INJURY & PTSD

DOES RELIGION HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN RECOVERY?

NATALIE AIKMAN

Though the research is limited, through examining the concept of moral injury researchers have come to learn that there is a need for a new approach to tackling moral injury. Some researchers disagree on the definition of moral injury, but the generally agreed-upon definition is the outcome of people that have been exposed to traumatic events that violate their moral values (Griffin et al., 2019). Because the fine line between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury comes down to the presence of suicidal ideation, and there is not as vast of an amount of literature about moral injury as PTSD, most of the sources included in this paper focus on PTSD. The difference between PTSD and moral injury, though small, has beckoned the attention of spiritual leaders to aid in recovery for those spiritually affiliated and experiencing moral injury. There is a need for collaboration between mental and physical healthcare providers and theologians or spiritual leaders for people that have sought recovery of moral injury – especially in people that were associated or involved with a religious or spiritual group before experiencing a morally injurious event. This review will mainly focus on moral injury and how it pertains to veterans and active United States military members.

Moral Injury

Moral injury, as defined by Griffin et al. (2019), is the outcome that results from an individual having been exposed to traumatic events that violate their moral values. These traumatic events are referred to as potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). This may look like giving or taking orders that result in the death of a service comrade or violate the Geneva Convention, failing to report an atrocious act of violence seen committed against you or someone else, or using force to end civilian lives. (Syracuse University). Though, Kinghorn (2012) aims to include any consent or participation, whether explicit or tacit, of a morally injurious event as qualifying someone for potentially experiencing moral injury. Moral injury symptoms may

look like losing spiritual beliefs held before exposure to PMIEs, difficulty forgiving a Higher Power or oneself for acts committed, shame, guilt, anger, loss of trust in others or oneself, and/or suicidal ideations (Harris, 2021).

Moral Injury and PTSD

A literature review by Griffin et al. (2019) suggests that, because of the co-morbid symptoms of PTSD and moral injury, moral injury can require, for some people, more specialized recovery practices that include spiritual or religious components. Koenig (2018) suggests that the current therapies for PTSD may not seek to heal moral injury as effectively as they do certain components of PTSD like shame and guilt. To examine the relationship between moral injury symptoms and religiosity in veterans with PTSD symptoms, the authors of this study had the participants complete an assessment. The goal of this study was to create a scale to measure moral injury across 10 dimensions: feelings of betrayal, loss of meaning/ purpose, loss of trust, moral concerns, self-condemnation, guilt, shame, religious struggles, loss of religious faith/ hope, and difficulty forgiving. This scale had high internal reliability and a high test-retest reliability. Their results found a small nonsignificant relationship between moral injury and religiosity when the participant had low PTSD severity, but when the participant had high PTSD severity, the relationship between moral injury and religiosity was strong and positive. They also found that among veterans with severe PTSD, moral injury was inversely related to religiosity, but this relationship did not exist among participants with lower PTSD severity. On the other hand, the results of Park et al., (2017) found that positive religious/spirituality was associated with perceived posttraumatic growth, but not PTSD symptoms. A study by Wisco et al. (2017) sought to understand three types of potential moral injury events (transgressions by others, transgressions by self, and betrayal), to evaluate characteristics of moral injury in U.S. combat veterans, and examine the relationships between mental

disorders, suicidality, and PMIEs. The results found that transgressions by others had the highest average score on the Moral Injury Event Scale (MIES) followed by betrayal (which was significantly lower than transgressions by others) and transgression by self (Nash et al., 2013). This means that the severity of moral injury is experienced depends on the type of PMIE endured. The researchers suggested that, because of the moderate association, the Moral Injury Event Scale scores are related to but separate from combat severity. MIES scores were able to predict higher odds of mental disorders and suicidal ideation at the time of measurement. Higher betrayal was associated with higher odds of suicide attempts post-deployment

Though PTSD is separate from moral injury, veterans that have PTSD and experience moral injury have a higher risk of suicide (Bryan et al., 2018).Youssef et al. (2018) sought to examine the relationship between religious involvement, moral injury, and PTSD. Results found that moral injury symptoms were positively correlated with PTSD severity and negatively correlated with religious involvement – but religious involvement was weakly correlated with PTSD symptom severity. They also found religiosity helped block the effects of moral injury on PTSD for some veterans but not for all (depending on what theater they served in). Importantly, the authors discuss the difference between PTSD and moral injury: while moral injury and PTSD often are comorbidities, they should be treated as separate entities. Moral injury does not usually involve fear-based stressors, but rather a violation of held moral values. Along with these results, Koenig et al. (2018) found that religiosity was inversely related to moral injury for the participants who were either Christian or unaffiliated/agnostic/atheist, but this was not true for the veterans affiliated with nonChristian religious groups. This raises several questions that the current literature have not examined: What does the relationship between religiosity and moral injury look like for religious folks outside of the Christian faith, and does greater religiosity reduce moral injury symptoms, or do moral injury symptoms reduce religious affiliation?

Religious/Spiritual Recovery

While examining the impact of moral injury on the treatment of PTSD in U.S. combat veterans, Held et al. (2021) found that moral injury was not a significant predictor of changes (both positive and negative) in depression or PTSD symptoms over time. This article suggests that PTSD present in military veterans previously exposed to morally injurious events may be successfully treated with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). This CPT treatment has shown to improve symptoms of moral injury-based PTSD because of the presence of maladaptive cognitions (which is the focus of CPT). However, this review does not seek to answer the question of if moral injury itself can be treated with the same practices used for PTSD recovery.

Hodgson & Carey (2017) reviewed literature associated with moral injury to get a better understanding of the whole definition of moral injury and the need for different therapies. The presence of religiosity among veterans who experience moral injury makes room for using religiosity/ spirituality as a practice for treatment. Fritts (2013, as cited in Hodgson & Carey, 2017) questions the origins and prevalence of moral injury among veterans. They discuss the tough situation that veterans are put in: the military wants members willing and able to kill the opponent while still being moral -- and for religious folks, this is often difficult. The authors reveal that, among moral injury scholars, there is a desire for a more holistic recovery approach to treating moral injury. This looks like going beyond the depths of the originally accepted medical model to include disciplines, like religion and spirituality, that seeks to understand morality on a different level than psychology has. Fritts (2013, as cited in Hodgson & Carey, 2017) discusses that therapists are not usually priests, and priests are not usually behavioral scientists – and morally injured soldiers deserve the scientific and spiritual communities (as wholes) to work together. Cenker et al. (2021) completed a study to examine the role of spiritual/religious recovery patterns of those in the group categorized by those who

© Graphicroyalty/ Adobe Stock

have moral injury — intending to reduce types of distress from experiences stemming from military service. The results found increases in self-compassion and psychological health along with decreases in depression symptoms. They also found a decrease in religious/ spiritual struggles and an increase in post-traumatic growth after therapies were facilitated with both a chaplain and a psychologist. Other studies have shown that religious comfort was not related to measures of moral injury, but appraisals of religious struggles predicted other and selforiented facets of moral injury, (Lancaster & Miller, 2018). A study done examining healthcare professionals in China found that the importance of religion to the participants was positively correlated with moral injury symptoms and poor mental health. In the concluding remarks, the authors claim these findings as reasoning enough to begin the integration of religion/spirituality in treating mental health issues (Wang et al., 2020).

Conclusion

Though this literature review was limited by the amount of current research about PTSD and moral injury being treated with therapies including religious/spiritual practices, there have been several interesting findings. At its core, moral injury is still largely exploratory because there is a lack of research on moral injury separate from PTSD. This review did not seek to answer the question of if religion and spirituality have an important role in the recovery of moral injury, but it did review the current literature and begs the question of using religion/spirituality as a means of reducing effects of moral injury. Based on the literature that does pertain to the question, there is plenty of room for more research for a better understanding of how religion and spirituality can aid in the recovery of moral injury with particular attention to United States military members (specifically this population because this is the population of most of the moral injury research). Though this field is largely untouched by empirical research, Cognitive Processing Therapy has been found to aid in the reduction of moral injury-based PTSD. Research would benefit from conducting studies to examine other differences between PTSD and moral injury (other than suicidal ideation) as to make more clear distinctions between them for the purposes of reducing effects of moral injury.

Cenkner, D.P., Yeomans, P.D., Antal, C.J., & Scott, J.C. (2021). A pilot study of a moral injury group intervention co-facilitated by a chaplain and psychologist. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 34(2), 367-374. doi:10.1002/ jts.22642

Griffin, B. J., Purcell, N., Burkman, K., Litz, B.T., Bryan, C.J., Schmitzm, M., Willierme, C., Walsh, J., & Maguen, S. (2019). Moral injury: An intergrative review. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1(1), 1-13. https://doi. org/10.1002/jts.22362

Harris, J. I., Chamberlin, E. S., Engdahl, B., Ayre, A., Usset, T., & Mendez, D. (2021). Spiritually integrated interventions for PTSD and moral injury: A review. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 8(4), 196-212. DOI 10.1007/s40501-021-00248-w

Held, P., Klassen, B. J., Steigerwald, V. L., Smith, D. L., Bravo, K., Rozek, D. C., Van Horn, R., & Zalta, A. (2021). Do morally injurious experiences and index events negatively impact intensive PTSD treatment outcomes among combat veterans? European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1). DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1877026

Hodgson, T. J. & Carey, L. B. (2017). Moral injury and definitional clarity: Betrayal, spirituality and the role of chaplains. Journal of Religious Health, 56(4), 1212-1228. doi:10.1007/s10943-017-0407-z

Kinghorn, W. (2012). Combat trauma and moral fragmentation: A theological account of moral injury. Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, 32(2), 57-74. doi:10.1353/sce.2012.0041.

Koenig, H. G., Ames, D., Youssef, N. A., Oliver, J. P., Volk, F., Teng, E. J., Haynes, K., Erickson, Z. D., Arnold, I., O’Garo, K., & Pearce, M. (2018). The moral injury symptom scale–military version. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(1), 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0531-9

Koenig, H.G., Youssef, N.A., Ames, D., Oliver, J.P., Teng, E.J., Haynes, K., Erickson, Z.D., Arnold, I., Currier, J.M., O’Garo, K., & Pearce, M. (2018). Moral injury and religiosity in US veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 206(5), 325-331. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000798

Lancaster, S. & Miller, M. (2018). Moral decision making, religious strain, and the experience of moral injury. 1-29. DOI:10.31234/osf.io/dz7ev

Nash, W. P., Marino Caper, T. L., Mills, M. A., Au, T., Goldsmith, A., Litz, B. T. (2013). Psychometric evaluation of the moral injury events scale. Military Medicine, 178(1), 646- 652. DOI: 10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00017

Park, C.L., Smith, P.H., Lee, S.Y., Mazure, C.M., McKee, S.A., & Hoff, R. (2017). Positive and negative religious/spiritual coping and combat exposure as predictors of posstraumatic stress and perceived growth in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 9(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000086

Syracuse University. (n.d.). What is moral injury. The Moral Injury Project What is Moral Injury Comments. Retrieved April 17, 2022, from https:// moralinjuryproject.syr.edu/about-moral-injury/

Youssef, N. A., Boswell, E., Fiedler, S., Jump, R., Lee, E., Yassa, M., ... & O’Garo, K. (2018). Moral injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, and religious involvement among US veterans. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 30(2), 113121. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324867389

Wang, Z., Al Zaben, F., & Koenig, H. G. (2020). Religion/spirituality, moral injury, and mental health among health professionals in China. Research Square, 1(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-77800/v1

References

Bryan, A. O., Bryan, C. J., Morrow, C. E., Etienne, N., & Ray-Sannerud, B. (2014). Moral injury, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in a military sample. Traumatology, 20(3), 154-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ h0099852

Wisco, B.E., Marx, B.P., May, C.L., Martini, B., Krystal, J.H., Southwick, S.M., & Pietrzak, R.H. (2017). Moral injury in U.S. combat veterans: Results from the national health and resilience in veterans study. Depression & Anxiety, 34(4), 340-347. doi:10.1002/da.22614

COMBATING CHYTRID

HOW ONE DISEASE HAS CHANGED AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE

JACLYN REIFEISS

Batrachochytrim dendrobatidis, or chytrid fungus, is one of the most destructive forces to have influenced amphibian populations in the last halfcentury. Sweeping across Central America in the 1980’s, the fungus caused the mass death of amphibians and total eradication of at least 90 species. While the populations remaining have mechanisms to resist the fungus and may even be increasing in numbers, there are few studies in place which monitor the long-term changes in amphibian abundance and distribution. It is therefore difficult to fairly assess the health of these populations. To address this issue, Becca Burks and I spent two months establishing a long-term amphibian monitoring project in Costa Rica’s largest private reserve.

When designing a comprehensive study aimed at improving conservation efforts, understanding the history of chytrid fungus is crucial. Chytrid is one of many diseases that has been transferred globally throughout a specific species due to human influence. First identified in southern Africa in 1938, chytrid was prevalent in 2.7% of all frog species in the region (Weldon et al. 2004). The global spread of chytrid fungus is attributed to the exportation of one species – the African clawed frog – which was found to function well as a pregnancy test. When female frogs were injected with the urine of a pregnant woman, the human chorionic gonadotropin in the urine would cause the frog to ovulate. The African clawed frog proved to be an invaluable medicinal tool, and thousands of individuals were exported each year beginning in 1940. With the development of chemical pregnancy tests the trade for medicinal purposes declined – however, the species remains in high demand for their use in scientific studies as well as the pet trade (Measey 2017).

Chytrid was first detected outside of Africa in 1989 in Australia, and throughout the 1990’s the remainder of the world began to find chytrid within its amphibian populations. Later evidence suggested, however, that chytrid fungus began its spread through Central America in the 1980’s undetected by scientists.

This fungus is particularly lethal because it targets the

skin of amphibians, which is an integral part of maintaining homeostasis. As chytrid attaches to and degrades the keratinized portions of the skin of amphibians, gas exchange and fluid transport is disrupted. The resulting low sodium and potassium levels causes heart failure and death (CISR 2022). Today, chytrid fungus is recognized as the cause of sudden, catastrophic amphibian declines in Central America in the 1980’s. A 2019 study reported that the decline of at least 501 amphibian species across the planet is attributable to the spread of the fungus, and declines have continued through today (Scheele et al. 2019).

Reports of an amphibian comeback is largely based on the population trends of a few species. For example, Holdridge’s toad was believed to be extinct due to chytrid but was rediscovered in 2009 (Abarca 2010). Many regions of central America are lacking monitoring programs which would allow for a comprehensive understanding of amphibian population changes. This impacts our ability to select how and where to best spend conservation funds.

It is important that organizations overseeing large sections of land put long-term monitoring systems in place. The Children’s Eternal Rainforest (Bosque Eternode los Niños), located on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica, is the largest private reserve in the country. The reserve spans 55,800 acres and is home to a disproportionate percentage of the world’s biodiversity (ACMCR 2022). In June and July, Becca Burks and I served as interns at the reserve, working to establish the first long-term monitoring program of amphibians in the BEN.

Our work included the establishment of both stream and land survey transects at all four of the reserve’s stations. Between five and nine sites were established at each station. Every site was either a 100 meter land transect, a stream transect, or a listening point. Each type of site was designed to target a specific group of frogs. Leaf litter and arboreal species are abundant at land transects, while stream species such as the red-eyed stream frog and the emerald glass frog are likely to only be found at stream transects. Some species are rarely found below

the canopy, so we created points where we counted the number of frog calls within five minutes. This can give us an idea of their relative abundance across years. We worked with local scientists to determine where best to establish these transects to observe the highest species diversity. We then recorded each site location with a GPS unit so these specific locations can be revisited each year.

We surveyed every site two times throughout the summer. This allowed us to both establish a repeatable methods system and collect preliminary data on the species present at each station. Our results yielded 20 species total and two species at locations outside of their known range. Hendrix’s professor emeritus, Dr. Matthew Moran, will continue to perform these surveys every rainy season for the foreseeable future. Our data will allow the Monteverde Conservation League, which oversees the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, to implement well-informed conservation strategies that better serve some of its most threatened occupants.

Costa Rica has an incredible diversity of habitat, which results in a plethora of species endemic to small regions of the country. Much of this biodiversity is dependent upon amphibians as part of their food chain – keeping insect populations in check while providing a food source for a number of groups such as bats, snakes, and raptors. Because of their permeable skin and narrow environmental range, amphibians are used as indicator species which allow scientists to assess the health of an ecosystem. Many species, such as the red-eyed tree frog, are used as conservation flagships and continue to draw in funding for the conservation of their habitats. Amphibians are currently the most threatened vertebrate group, but are key species in maintaining habitat for the immense biodiversity of Central America. Our implementation of a long-term monitoring program designed to track amphibian populations will better our ability to protect amphibians and maintain the ecosystems within protected areas.

References

Abarca, J., Chaves, G.,García-Rodríguez, A., & Vargas, R. (2010). Reconsidering extinction: rediscovery of Incilius holdridgei (Anura: Bufonidae) in Costa Rica after 25 years. Herpetological Review, 41(2), 150.

Bosque Eterno de los Niños, La Reserva Privada más grande de Costa Rica. ACMCR. (2022, March 10). Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://acmcr.org/contenido/

Chytrid fungus. Center for Invasive Species Research. (2022). Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/chytridfungus

Measey, J. (2017). Where do African clawed frogs come from? An analysis of trade in live Xenopus laevis imported into the USA. Salamandra, 53(3), 398-404.

Scheele, B. C., Pasmans, F., Skerratt, L. F., Berger, L., Martel, A. N., Beukema, W., ... & Canessa, S. (2019). Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity. Science, 363(6434), 1459-1463.

Weldon, C., du Preez, L. H., Hyatt, A. D., Muller, R., & Speare, R. (2004). Origin of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(12), 2100-2105.

Photo by J.D. Gantz

Photo by J.D. Gantz

A PERSPECTIVE OF ALASKA

AN ODYSSEY REFLECTION

GABBY NAPLES

In July of 2022, I was a part of a group of eight students along with two professors, Dr. Gantz and Dr. Shanks, that got to go on an odyssey sponsored research trip to Alaska. We spent two weeks camping and traveling the state doing research on the flora and fauna of the region by means of exploration and more specific activities such as bug trapping, birding, and plant identification. The goal of the project was to pass this knowledge on in the form of educational material to be used in lesson plans for K-12 as well as less formal mediums such as blog posts.

The plan was to drive across Alaska, camp in a few National Parks, visit museums and research centers, and specifically spend several days camped on a peony farm to take part in data collection. This farm is owned by Dr. David Russell, Dave, and Jill Russell from Miami University, both of whom Dr. Gantz is friends with. Dave and Dr. Gantz are both experienced birders and took us on birding walks through the property and nearby locations where we kept a log using an app called eBird. We also used the iNaturalist app to identify plants and looked at bug traps located sporadically throughout the farm. The bug traps use alcohol

to capture and preserve the bugs where they can then be identified by hand. We also used a machine to process samples of the liquid and analyze the genetic material in the sample to make identifications. In the days that we weren’t camped out surrounded colorful and calculated rows of peonies, we were likely in one of Alaska’s eight National Parks. Of the eight, we camped and visited four of them including Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell-St. Elias. Denali was the only one we did not end up camping in. In those National Parks, as well as the hefty drives between them, we saw tons of wildlife including moose, porcupines, foxes, a grizzly bear, caribou, and even the incredibly rare musk oxen. Our professors made sure to pull over for all wildlife we saw as well as any views or places that looked interesting, which happened a lot. In the Kenai Fjords, we did a 7-hour boat tour where we saw glaciers, a pod of 21 humpback whales feeding, and other wildlife including sea lions, otters, many different birds, and seals. We visited a large animal research station where we learned about the captive musk oxen before we saw them in the wild, a seaside center on the coast gave me more information than I could ask for about fish, and we even

Photo by J.D. Gantz

got a private behind-the-scenes look at the bug collection of a museum from one of the only entomologists in the state of Alaska.

The camping aspect was one of my favorite parts of the trip, despite a few miscalculations on my part. The first one being that it got colder at night than I had expected, but it was an easy fix with a spare blanket the professors brought. The other was the 22 hours of sunlight. Luckily another student, Victoria, brought an extra sleep mask and it was a life saver. We got rained on a couple times, but it was nothing the tents couldn’t handle – at least for most of them. There seemed to be a tradeoff: there are no snakes in Alaska, however the bugs are another story. You could see the thick swarms of mosquitos everywhere you looked outside. The worst part of showering on the trip was that it washed the thick coating of bug spray we accumulated from frequent reapplications. Over the span of a few days, we partnered up and took turns cooking dinner for the group on my camp stove to give Gantz and Shanks a break. In our downtime, we spent time at cafes running into other long-distance travelers as well as chatting with locals. A couple of times we were able to drive to a hot spring and spend a nice evening relaxing. We also played lots of frisbee and threw plenty of tennis balls for the wonderful farm dog, Lokee.

Overall, I don’t think this trip could have gone better. We experienced Alaska in such a magnificent way that would not have been possible without the willingness of Dr. Gantz and Dr. Shanks to do whatever it took to give us the best experience.

Photo by Emerson Lejong

THE NEUROSCIENCE BEHIND MUSIC

HOW MUSIC GETS YOUR BLOOD PUMPING

NATALIE AIKMAN

Music is something that humans have used and enjoyed for centuries. Music aspires to tell stories to those that choose to listen. Though it presents itself in a plethora of varieties and styles, at its core, music, like any art form, seeks to evoke emotions. The emotions that music seeks to evoke depend on the genre and time period for which it was produced. For example, blues music became popular right after the American Civil War when African Americans in the deep south would get together to speak (or sing) about their hardships (and rightfully so). Music produced by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were thoroughly enjoyed during the American prohibition era when citizens had little vices to turn to in the 1920s. Songs like “I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel to Be Free)” by Nina Simone and “The Little Light of Mine” by Sam Cooke brought comfort for grieving Americans during the Civil Rights era. In the song “We Are the World”, big artists of all sorts of genres came together to produce the song to raise money to end the South African apartheid in 1985. Following the 9/11 attacks, music was produced by artists of all disciplines to aid grieving Americans in their time of despair. Artists have used their musical influence to attempt to shape the grounds of American politics to unite citizens on political topics—like The Chicks changing their name from “The Dixie Chicks” to bring attention to the discriminatory implication the word carries or Paul McCartney and John Lennon producing the song “Blackbird” as a message of hope following the attacks on the Little Rock Nine. Through all these movements and important time periods, music has provided a momentary escape from reality through evoking emotions during stressful situations. Music can evoke strong emotions for individuals for a variety of reasons. Though subjective to the individual person, music can increase blood flow and cause “chills” for some listeners. Blood and Zatorre (2001) used a PET scan to study the brain structures involved with intensely pleasant emotional responses to music.

Blood and Zatorre (2001) found that there was increased

cerebral (brain) blood flow while the chills were more intense in several areas. (Increased blood flow means that the brain region is being activated or used). The left ventral striatum, bilateral insula, the right orbitofrontal cortex, the thalamus, and the anterior cingulate cortex all had increased blood flow to them during the intense chills (that were caused by the student-selected music). What makes these results interesting is when you wonder why these brain regions were activated during a time when there was a strong emotional response to a student’s favorite classical music piece. The ventral striatum (and the orbitofrontal cortex) is activated in the brain when we are deciding if something is rewarding, and it is also involved in love and lust. Interestingly enough, love is more of an emotion-like state and lust is more of a motivational state or primal urge. This may imply that listening to music that gives you chills could produce similar physical responses to when you are lusting over something. The insula is highly involved with the brain’s recognition and response to disgust. The thalamus is the sensory relay station, meaning it processes all incoming sensory information except for smell. It makes sense that the thalamus is involved in the chills because the insula is the sensory relay station and it processes (almost) all information coming through the brain. The Anterior Cingulate Cortex is involved in decision-making and bodily response that are elicited by an emotional response. This makes sense, too, because the study was looking at the parts of the brain that had an increased blood flow when there was a strong emotional response to the music.

Though it is interesting to look at the parts of the brain that were activated during the intense emotional response (the chills), it is neat to also look at the brain regions that decreased in blood flow. (Decreased blood flow means that the brain region is not being activated or used as much). The brain structures that decreased in blood flow (in correlation with the chills) were the right Amygdala, the left Hippocampus, and the Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex. The amygdala’s function has to do with forming associations that deal with emotions. The amygdala is

physically close to the hippocampus, where episodic memories are formed. Episodic memories are memories that have specific events or information with them. An example of an episodic memory would be the day you had your first kiss or the day you started college. The ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) functions during emotional decision-making and intuitive emotional responses. The vmPFC tends to lead us to make deontological decisions, meaning do the least amount of harm. When looking at the brain regions that have less blood flow to them during the chills, it is interesting to think about the function of the brain regions involved (or literally not involved). It is surprising that the amygdala had less activation during an intensely emotional situation because the amygdala, stereotypically, has to do with emotions. The hippocampus not being involved is surprising, too, because it implies that the chills felt while listening to music are not making memories while they are occurring. The vmPFC not being involved is surprising because its function is decision-making and intuitive emotional responses. These results may imply the chills that we feel when listening to music may not be a product of our emotions but rather a logical cognitive process that we have yet to understand from an emotional perspective.

This article is important because it takes us (the scientific community and the general population) one step closer to understanding the neuroscience of listening to music— especially music with intense physical responses like the chills. This article adds to our understanding of brain functions, but it opens up a world of possibilities when furthering neuroscience research in relation to music. Participants’ heart rate, EMG, and RESP all increased significantly (enough to matter mathematically) during the peak of the chills when participants were listening to their chosen music. EMG stands for electromyography and it looks at the electrical activity in your body. RESP stands for respiration depth and that is looking at how deep or shallow someone breathes—a higher RESP would mean that someone is breathing more deeply and a lower RESP would mean that someone is not breathing as deeply. This is noteworthy because it means when someone has a strong emotional reaction (chills) to music, their breathing increases in depth (they are breathing deeper), their heart rate increases (blood is pumping around the body more), and the electrical signals around their body are firing more. Taking this a step further, there were not any significant changes in skin temperature measurement. This means that there was increased blood flow to the body but not enough to make the skin’s temperature change enough to matter mathematically. During the experiment, the participants rated the pleasantness and the emotional intensity of the music they chose that evoked chills in them.

The ratings of emotional intensity and pleasantness tended to be higher than the ratings of the intensity of the chills which implies that the chills cannot be experienced until a certain level of pleasantness and emotional intensity were met.

Ithink this topic is important for the general public to know about because most people listen to music in one way or another. Music presents itself in lots of ways from birds chirping outside to advertisements on streaming platforms or television. Though there is solid research concerning how people fall subject to advertisements, I think it would be interesting to look at pictures of the brain during advertisements involving music to see how we react to the video neurologically (in the brain). This article leaves me with several questions and a bunch of directions research could go to further understand the neuroscience of music. My first question is why the insula had increased blood flow while participants experienced the chills when the insula has to do with disgust and how we process it. The insula activation does not make sense to me because the insula is activated when we think about disgust. Oftentimes, anecdotally, when I am disgusted I will get chills similar to the ones I experience when I listen to music. My question is, are the chills I experience when I am disgusted the same chills that I experience when I listen to music? Is that why the insula is activated? My next question is what causes the chills? Is it the chords of the music? Are the chills caused by the words reminding us of intense emotions? There is a lack of reasoning for what particularly causes these chills and I think there could be interesting studies done that look at the specific components of music that cause the body chills. Lastly, several researchers have attempted to study the music and social bonding hypothesis (MSB) but none of them have looked at neuroimaging when studying the responses to music. The music and social bonding hypothesis is the theory that music has evolved as a system for humans to experience higher social bonding—since humans are social creatures. There seems to be a gap between the implications of the music and social bonding hypothesis and the neuroimaging research for how they relate to each other.

References

Blood, A.J., & Zatorre, R.J. (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion. PNAS, 98(20), 11818-11823. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.191355898.

HSS GENE EDITING

HOW CRISPR/CAS9 TECHNOLOGY HAS REVOLUTIONIZED DISEASE TREATMENT

RAYAN SHUJA

Recent headlines speak of the strides that have been made within gene therapy and how we are within a few years of mass adoption. While the scientific community has been steadily progressing towards treating gene related diseases and ailments, gene editing itself remains largely esoteric. Most people know as much about DNA as they learned in their high school biology classes and often feel too confused by the large body of scientific literature to pursue the matter in further depth.

The history of gene manipulation starts in 1953 when the work of Rosalind Franklin, a researcher at Birkbeck College in London, led to the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure (Synthego). By understanding the nature of DNA as having two different strands that wound around each other, the door was opened for other researchers to make further advancements in the field of genetics.

Two milestone events caused an explosion within the field of gene editing. The first was the cloning of Dolly the sheep, which both brought the field of genetic experimentation in the public eye and confirmed the ability of adult cells to be substantially altered. The second milestone, while not as widely talked about, is often referred to as ‘one of the greatest scientific feats in history’ – the Human Genome Project (Synthego). The project was an international effort to study and catalog the entire set of DNA of different organisms. In April 2003 it made headlines by constructing the first sequence of the human genome and providing scientists with fundamental information about what makes humans function (NHGRI). The completion of the Human Genome Project had a wild cascade effect within all fields of biology and chemistry, and paved the way for mass gene therapy and enhancing our ability to treat diseases from herpes to cancer (ASGCT).

Early on many scientists were quick to point out the profound ethical implications of altering the genetic code. In 1975 the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA was convened to help draft ethics guidelines concerning biotechnology, the effects of which are still felt in the

industry today (Synthego).

In 2012 the key mechanisms behind CRISPR were discovered by Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier associated with the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens and the University of California, Berkeley, and quickly became a functional mechanism for widespread gene editing (Science). CRISPR-Cas9 (often referred to as CRISPR) is a naturally occurring system in bacterial defense systems which chops up the DNA of would-be virus invaders. It does this through the Cas9 enzyme, which is able to act like a molecular scissor and precisely cut DNA in known locations

Through further research, scientists have developed methods that allow them to use these ‘scissors’ to cut DNA, and insert new pieces of DNA, and ‘glue’ the strands back together (Your Genome).

The first published use of CRISPR on human cells came in 2015 when Junjiu Huang of Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou tried to remove a gene responsible for a blood disease from embryos (Regalado 2020). While they did not mature into fetuses, it marked the shift from “designer babies” - a baby whose genes have been selected for a potentially altered - being a farcical dream to a legitimate possibility. A possibility which came true a mere three years later in late 2018 when He Jiankui, an associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, claimed to have created the first genetically modified babies (Cryranoski 2019). He removed a particular gene from the genetic code of a pair of twins in an attempt to prevent them from contracting the fathers’ HIV. While preliminary evidence supported the success of his operation, he was immediately lambasted by the entirety of the international community for flouting ethics guidelines and failing to properly ensure no unintended harm would come to the children - potentially unintentionally altering other parts of the genome . There were calls for an international moratorium on fetal genetic editing and the Chinese government put Jiankui in jail for 3 years. While the moratorium was never created it is still frowned upon by

the scientific community to perform any genetic editing of germ-line cells (Wolinetz & Collins 2019).

As a result, there came a greater focus on therapeutic gene editing for adults to potentially treat diseases such as Sickle-Cell Anemia and Muscular Dystrophy. Since the first approved human trials in 2018, we have now reached the point where earlier this year, in November, the CDC approved the first gene therapy to treat Hemophilia B (Ramesh 2022).

From the discovery of DNA all the way until the first available genetic therapy, humanity is on the verge of being able to remodel itself however it desires. From the treatment of genetic diseases of all varieties to the creation of designer babies, this is a turning point in our medical technology. Regardless of the degree to which neonatal editing is done, it will be one of the most pertinent moral dilemmas of the next generation - while we can’t predict the future, it looks like genetic editing will be integrated in one way or another.

References

Synthego (n.d.). History of Genetic Engineering and the Rise of Genome Editing Tools. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.synthego. com/learn/genome-engineering-history

National Human Genome Research Institute (n.d.). The Human Genome Project. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.genome.gov/ human-genome-project

ASGCT. (n.d.). Gene therapy basics. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://patienteducation.asgct.org/gene-therapy-101/gene-therapybasics

Science. (n.d.). CRISPR, the revolutionary genetic ‘scissors,’ honored by chemistry Nobel. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www. science.org/content/article/crispr-revolutionary-genetic-scissors-honoredchemistry-nobel

Your genome. (2022, February 8). What is CRISPR-Cas9?. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-iscrispr-cas9/

Regalado, A. (2020, April 2). Years before CRISPR babies, this man was the first to edit human embryos. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.technologyreview. com/2018/12/11/138290/years-before-crispr-babies-this-man-was-thefirst-to-edit-human-embryos/

Cyranoski, D. (2019, February 26). The CRISPR-baby scandal: What’s next for human gene-editing. Nature News. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00673-1

Wolinetz, C. D., & Collins, F. S. (2019, March). NIH supports call for moratorium on clinical uses of germline gene editing. Nature. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC6688589/

Ramesh, S. (2022, November 26). New US-approved gene therapy for haemophilia B world’s most expensive drug - $3.5 mn per dose. ThePrint. Retrieved January 13, 2023, from https://theprint.in/health/new-usapproved-gene-therapy-for-haemophilia-b-worlds-most-expensive-drug3-5-mn-per-dose/1236938/

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