Organisms Research Articles

Identifying the Role of Individual Seal IAPP Amino Acids in Inhibiting the Aggregation of Human IAPP.

The progression of type 2 diabetes in humans appears to be linked to the loss of insulin-producing β-cells. One of the major contributors to β-cell loss is the formation of toxic human IAPP amyloid (hIAPP, Islet Amyloid Polypeptide, amylin) in the pancreas. Inhibiting the formation of toxic hIAPP amyloid could slow, if not prevent altogether, the progression of type 2 diabetes. Many non-human organisms also express amyloidogenic IAPP variants known to kill pancreatic cells and give rise to diabetes-like symptoms. Surprisingly, some of these non-human IAPP variants function as inhibitors of hIAPP aggregation, raising the possibility of developing non-human IAPP peptides into anti-diabetic therapeutic peptides. One such inhibitory IAPP variant is seal IAPP, which has been shown to inhibit hIAPP aggregation. Seal IAPP only differs from hIAPP by three amino acids. In this study, each of the six seal/human IAPP permutations was analyzed to identify the role of each of the three amino acid positions in inhibiting hIAPP aggregation. This study aimed toidentify the minimal amino acid substitutions to yield a peptide inhibitor of human IAPP aggregation. The goal of the study was to determine the minimal amino acid substitutions necessary to convert human IAPP into an amyloid-inhibiting peptide. The formation of toxic hIAPP amyloid was monitored using Thioflavin T binding assays, atomic force microscopy, and MTT cell rescue studies. One seal IAPP variant retained amyloid-inhibition activity, and two variants appeared to be more amyloidogenic and toxic than wild-type human IAPP. These results suggest that inhibition of hIAPP requires both the H18R and F23L substitutions of hIAPP.

Ifa Concept on Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution, expectedly, has been looked at from technological and scientific perspectives. However, this important subject has not been sufficiently examined from Ifá, the wisdom bag of the Yorùbá people of South-western Nigeria. Ifá corpus has revealed the importance of preserving the environment from being polluted. Ifá plays a leading role in teaching some ethics on socio-cultural and inter-personal relationships among the Yorùbá people but also their relationship to the ecosystem. The study will examine the concept of Ifá on the environment using Wande Abimbola's Ìjìnlẹ̀ Ohùn Ẹnu Ifá II, interpreting it with the mirror image approach of sociological framework. It will also evaluate the impact of pollution on the contemporary society. Finally, it will reveal the values of protecting the environment against any form of pollution which may hamper the healthy living of humans and non-human organisms in the environment.

Non-Reciprocity, Metastability, and Dynamic Reconfiguration in Co-Assembly of Active and Passive Particles.

Living organisms often exhibit non-reciprocal interactions where the forces acting on the objects are not equal in magnitude or opposite in direction. The combination of reciprocal and non-reciprocal interactions between synthetic building blocks remains largely unexplored. Here, out-of-equilibrium assemblies of non-motile isotropic passive and metal-patched motile active particles are formed by overlapping bulk interactions with directed self-propulsion. An external alternating current (AC) electric field generates concurrent dipolar and induced-charge electrophoretic forces between the particles which are evaluated using microscopy. The interaction force measurements allow to determine the degree of reciprocity in interactions, which is tunable by designing the active particle and its trajectory. While linearly-propelled active particles evade assembly with passive particles, helically propelled active particles form active-passive clusters with dynamic reconfiguration and long-lived metastability. Large clusters display programmable fluctuations and reconfigurability by controlling the fraction of active particles. The study establishes principles of integrating reciprocal and non-reciprocal interactions in guided colloidal assembly of reconfigurable metastable structures.

Strategic and Innovative Roles of lncRNAs Regulated by Naturally-derived Small Molecules in Cancer Therapy.

In the field of precision and personalized medicine, the next generation sequencing method has begun to take an active place as genome-wide screening applications in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Studies based on the determination of the therapeutic efficacy of personalized drug use in cancer treatment in the size of the transcriptome and its extension, lncRNA, have been increasing rapidly in recent years. Targeting and/or regulating noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) consisting of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are promising strategies for cancer treatment. Within the scope of rapidly increasing studies in recent years, it has been shown that many natural agents obtained from biological organisms can potentially alter the expression of many lncRNAs associated with oncogenic functions. Natural agents include effective small molecules that provide anti-cancer effects and have been used as chemotherapy drugs or in combination with standard anti-cancer drugs used in routine treatment. In this review, it was aimed to provide detailed information about the potential of natural agents to regulate and/or target non-coding RNAs and their mechanisms of action to provide an approach for cancer therapy. The discovery of novel anti-cancer targets and subsequent development of effective drugs or combination strategies that are still needed for most cancers will be promising for cancer treatment.

Ethereal Things Brought to Sensuous Immediacy: Dewey's Art as Experience and the Centrality of Aesthetics to Human Nature

Abstract John Dewey's second chapter of Art as Experience, “Ethereal Things,” captures in a nutshell a radically new approach to philosophy where the aesthetic takes center stage. The key is to see the aesthetic as something much broader than it is generally conceived. It covers not just art and nature, or even art, nature, and everyday life, but life itself, and in particular human life. But human life is seen as continuous with the life of the animal, the live creature interacting with its environment. Experience begins with sense perception that is, itself, a negotiation of past and present, where things are imbued with meaning as cause and effect are turned into intention and consequence. Experience also has a range going from mere mechanical perception and labeling towards something much more complex. The highest culmination of experience is a mystic-like consummation, a point at which experience is a joyous reward of expanding and enriched life. Dewey speaks of “the power of sense to absorb the most highly spiritualized ideas.” One can see him, in this regard, as the opposite of Plato, for whom the sensuous world, at best, imitates the world of Ideas. For Dewey, ethereal things are not eliminated but, rather, brought into the world of sense.

Application of Microbial Antagonists in Combination with Sodium Bicarbonate to Control Post-Harvest Diseases of Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium L.) and Plums (Prunus salicina Lindl.)

Postharvest diseases cause considerable losses of fruits and vegetables during transportation and storage, and synthetic fungicides are the first option for their prevention. However, promising alternatives to chemical fungicides are currently available, and several post-harvest diseases can be controlled using microbial antagonists. This study utilised a comprehensive methodology to assess the antagonistic and synergistic interactions between four yeasts and two bacteria in conjunction with sodium bicarbonate (SB) during the treatment of sweet cherries and plums. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of microbial antagonists and sodium bicarbonate on fruits. The in situ treatments showed a protective effect exerted by the antagonists P. guillermondii and H. uvarum, and their combination with SB. However, in vivo studies did not indicate enhanced efficacy when combined with this compound. In conclusion, the use of microbial antagonists in conjunction with SB has been successful in preventing post-harvest rot of cherries and plums. Tests conducted on live organisms have shown that microbial antagonists are viable alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the control of stone fruit rot.

Decades of IUCN recommendations for biocontrol of invasive pest on the Guam cycad: you can lead policy-makers to conservation proposals but you cannot make them follow

Guam’s cycad known as Cycas micronesica has been threatened by a coalition of invasive herbivore species, and the armored scale Aulacaspis yasumatsui has emerged as the primary threat. This lethal cycad pest invaded Guam in 2003, and the Species Survival Council of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) began publishing recommendations addressing protection of the cycad population in 2005. Sustained epidemic mortality caused the addition of C. micronesica to the United States Endangered Species Act in 2015. The need to establish a sustainable coalition of biological control organisms has been the constant advice throughout almost two decades of recommendations, yet the decision-makers who controlled the direction of policy and funding have not responded to the advice with success. Therefore, we describe the history of publications in which the IUCN has asserted that this singular conservation action is urgently required to save the cycad species. We then summarize contemporary recommendations to address the ongoing threats to this and other insular cycad species.

Pathways in Biomimicry to Enhance Solar Technology Capabilities

Efficiency, longevity, and cost-effectiveness in current solar modules are compromised in pursuit of best balancing one another. This report explores the potential of enhancing solar cell practicability through biomimicry. Like solar cells, biological organisms absorb heat during photosynthesis, positioning nature as an inherent source of inspiration to tackle current technological challenges. Significant improvements have been achieved by mimicking structures such as the leaf epidermis for multidirectional light capture, cell membranes for protective encapsulation, and butterfly wings for enhanced light absorption and reflection. For instance, incorporating a BT layer for thermoregulation mimics plant transpiration, enhancing cooling efficiency. Additionally, hierarchical structures inspired by leaf geometry increases angular robustness in both dye-sensitized solar cells and passive emitter and rear cells, and lipid biomolecule interactions shelter halide perovskites from environmental degradation. The nanostructures of butterfly wings also show promise in supporting thin film PVs to overcome conversion inefficiency. Lastly, the reflective properties of butterfly wings have led to advancements in solar concentrators, improving power-to-weight ratios. These examples highlight the untapped potential of biomimicry in furthering the viability and deployment of solar technologies.

LRR1 involved in the abscisic acid signaling pathway to regulate the early growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Living organisms possess the remarkable capacity to swiftly adapt to fluctuations in their environment. In the context of cell signal transduction, a significant challenge lies in ensuring the effective perception of external signals and the execution of appropriate responses. To investigate this phenomenon, a recent study utilized Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant and induced stress by administering abscisic acid (ABA), a plant hormone, to elucidate the involvement of leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase1 (LRR1) in ABA signaling pathways. Homozygous T-DNA insertion alleles for LRR1 and KIN7 were isolated. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to confirm the expression of the LRR1 gene. Subcellular localization and beta-glucuronidase (GUS) tissue labeling techniques were utilized to determine the expression pattern of the LRR1 gene in cells and tissues. Yeast two-hybrid complementation, bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay, and GST pull-down assays were conducted to validate the interaction of LRR1 proteins. Phenotypic analyses revealed that lrr1 and kin7 mutants are less sensitive to the inhibitory effects of ABA on germination and cotyledon greening that is seen in WT. Mutants LRR1 and kinase 7 (KIN7) exhibited resistance to ABA and displayed normal growth patterns under control conditions. The double mutant lrr1kin7 showed reduced responsiveness to ABA. Conversely, overexpression lines LRR1ox2 and LRR1ox10 demonstrated heightened sensitivity to ABA, resulting in severe growth reduction. qRT-PCR assay indicated that exogenous application of ABA led to significant down-regulation of ABI3, ABI4, and ABI5 transcription factors in LRR1 material compared to wild-type WT material. An investigation was conducted to determine the expression pattern and transcriptional level of LRR1 in Arabidopsis. The results revealed ubiquitous expression of LRR1 across all developmental stages and tissue tested. Subcellular localization assays confirmed the presence of LRR1 on the plasma membrane of cells. Furthermore, BiFC assay, yeast two-hybrid complementation, and GST pull-down assays demonstrated an interaction between LRR1 and PYL6 in vitro. These findings provide substantial insights into the involvement of LRR1 in the ABA signaling pathway while regulating seed germination and cotyledon greening during early development in Arabidopsis. This study significantly advances our understanding regarding the correlation between LRR1 and ABA signaling pathways with potential applications for enhancing crop stress resistance.

In a pickle: the pedagogical potentiality of fermentation

ABSTRACT Many people associate fermentation with provisions like kimchi, kombucha, sourdough, beer, wine, and sauerkraut. These sundries, many staples in various cultural gastronomies, have long been known to encourage various health benefits including gut probiotics, aid in digestion, and, among other wonders, nutrient accessibility. While these benefits are important, many scholars working in multispecies ethnographies have turned to non-human organisms (viruses, animals, and microbes) to continue critical conversations decentering human experience and reimagining epistemology, relationality, and ethics. This project positions fermentation – and the microbes and bacteria involved – as a site of pedagogical potentiality that resonates with notions of biophilia, relationality, and care. Using my own experiences with pickles (fermented!) and in Jewish delis as a kind of organic site of inquiry, this essay makes a case for the importance of environment for cultivating relational life.

Stiffness-tunable velvet worm-inspired soft adhesive robot.

Considering the characteristics and operating environment of remotely controlled miniature soft robots, achieving delicate adhesion control over various target surfaces is a substantial challenge. In particular, the ability to delicately grasp wrinkled and soft biological and nonbiological surfaces with low preload without causing damage is essential. The proposed adhesive robotic system, inspired by the secretions from a velvet worm, uses a structured magnetorheological material that exhibits precise adhesion control with stability and repeatability by the rapid stiffness change controlled by an external magnetic field. The proposed adhesion protocol involves controlling soft-state adhesion, maintaining a large contact area, and enhancing the elastic modulus, and the mechanical structure enhances the effectiveness of this protocol. Demonstrations of the remote adhesive robot include stable transportation in soft and wet organs, unscrewing a nut from a bolt, and supporting mouse tumor removal surgery. These results indicate the potential applicability of the soft adhesive robot in biomedical engineering, especially for targeting small-scale biological tissues and organisms.

Determination of Antioxidant Activity and Biochemical Content of Homalothecium philippeanum (Spruce) Schimp.

Living organisms produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the oxygen processing process. ROS damage biomolecules and causes oxidative stress. Antioxidants prevent cellular damage against these harmful effects of ROS by neutralizing free radicals. Medicinal plants provide a rich source of antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress and play an important role in the treatment of diseases. Bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols and flavonoids, protect cells against oxidative damage by neutralizing free radicals. Bryophytes, especially mosses, are one of the plant groups that attract attention in this area. Mosses show biologically active properties with secondary metabolites such as terpenes and flavonoids they contain. In this study, extraction of Homalothecium philippeanum moss with ethanol, methanol and n-hexane solvents was carried out and the biochemical content analysis of the extracts was investigated. 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-methylpropyl) ester was detected as the major component in the ethanol and methanol extracts of the H. philippeanum. Biologically active alkanes such as Tetradecane and Hexadecane were found in the n-hexane extract. The antioxidant activity of moss ethanol extract was investigated using the DPPH method and the EC50 value was determined as 7.084 mg/ml.

Parasitoids of Agrilus spp. in Europe: Anticipating the arrival of Agrilus planipennis

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is a woodboring beetle native to East Asia. It is highly invasive in North America, where it causes large-scale dieback of American ash species, Fraxinus spp. EAB is also invasive in Western Russia and Ukraine, and it continues to spread towards Central and Western Europe where all three native ash species are susceptible. Biological control approaches offer sustainable solutions to control invasive pests. In North America, four Asian parasitoid species that have coevolved with EAB have been introduced to control the pest. In Europe, many species of the genus Agrilus occur, and it is likely that at least some of their parasitoids will adopt EAB as a host as it spreads across the continent. However, parasitoids of Agrilus spp., are very poorly known in Europe because of the difficulty of studying the parasitoid complex of these solitary wood boring insects. In this review, we provide a literature overview of studies and records of European parasitoids of Agrilus spp. to provide a basis for future studies on the emerging parasitoid complex of EAB in Europe. Parasitoid records were found for 24 European species of Agrilus. Sixty-four parasitoid species were recorded, mostly larval parasitoids. However, it is likely that several of them are erroneous host-parasitoid associations or misidentifications, and the biology of most species and their role in the population dynamics of their hosts has been poorly studied. It is recommended to conduct pre-emptive studies on these parasitoids and their suitability as potential biological control organisms with EAB.

ECR Spotlight – Hosain Bagheri

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Hosain Bagheri is an author on ‘ Detecting subtle subterranean movement via laser speckle imaging’, published in JEB. Hosain conducted the research described in this article at Georgia Tech, USA under the supervision of Dr Goldman and Dr Goodisman. Hosain is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Daniel I. Goldman at Georgia Tech, investigating biological organisms through engineering and physics to deepen our understanding of biology and develop real-world applications for societal benefit.

Osmotic and phoretic competition explains chemotaxic assembly and sorting

Microscale objects responding to chemical gradients by migrating toward or away from a preferred species is a simple yet constitutive mechanism by which transport occurs in biological organisms. Synthetic chemotaxis provides key physical descriptions of simplified systems that can be used in biological models, or in the creation of advanced responsive material systems. In this article, we provide a quantitative framework for understanding synthetic chemotaxis of microparticles which involves a competition between phoresis and osmosis. We present separate quantitative measurements of phoresis and osmosis acting on individual taxing particles, finding that phoresis follows the long-predicted [Formula: see text] scaling while the osmotic contribution depends on the geometry and details of the system, and must be solved on a case-by-case basis. Through this, we are able to develop a more accurate picture of particle transport at the single particle level. Equipped with this approach, we go on to describe how high concentrations of particles in a symmetric chemical gradient grow close-packed hives that reach a steady-state size tunable through light intensity or particle size. Last, we demonstrate that mixed particles experiencing the same chemical gradient will selectively migrate toward or away depending on the nature of the particle surface, thereby locally sorting out a particular species. We anticipate these results will be important in describing both biological and synthetic chemotaxis in phoretic systems and should bring a wealth of studies that take advantage of competing osmotic flows to illicit unexpected dynamic active behavior.

Animal-Morphing Bio-Inspired Mechatronic Systems: Research Framework in Robot Design to Enhance Interplanetary Exploration on the Moon.

Over the past 50 years, the space race has potentially grown due to the development of sophisticated mechatronic systems. One of the most important is the bio-inspired mobile-planetary robots, actually for which there is no reported one that currently works physically on the Moon. Nonetheless, significant progress has been made to design biomimetic systems based on animal morphology adapted to sand (granular material) to test them in analog planetary environments, such as regolith simulants. Biomimetics and bio-inspired attributes contribute significantly to advancements across various industries by incorporating features from biological organisms, including autonomy, intelligence, adaptability, energy efficiency, self-repair, robustness, lightweight construction, and digging capabilities-all crucial for space systems. This study includes a scoping review, as of July 2024, focused on the design of animal-inspired robotic hardware for planetary exploration, supported by a bibliometric analysis of 482 papers indexed in Scopus. It also involves the classification and comparison of limbed and limbless animal-inspired robotic systems adapted for movement in soil and sand (locomotion methods such as grabbing-pushing, wriggling, undulating, and rolling) where the most published robots are inspired by worms, moles, snakes, lizards, crabs, and spiders. As a result of this research, this work presents a pioneering methodology for designing bio-inspired robots, justifying the application of biological morphologies for subsurface or surface lunar exploration. By highlighting the technical features of actuators, sensors, and mechanisms, this approach demonstrates the potential for advancing space robotics, by designing biomechatronic systems that mimic animal characteristics.

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human-Artificial Intelligence Convergence.

In this analytical review, we explore the potential impact of the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the biosphere and noosphere, suggesting that the trend may lead to a transformative event that could be termed "Human-AI integration." We argue that this integration could give rise to novel lifeforms, associations, and hierarchies, resulting in competitive advantages and increased complexity of structural organizations within both the biosphere and noosphere. Our central premise emphasizes the importance of human-AI integration as a global adaptive response crucial for our civilization's survival amidst a rapidly changing environment. The convergence may initially manifest itself through symbiotic, endosymbiotic, or other mutualistic relationships, such as domestication, contingent on the rate at which AI systems achieve autonomy and develop survival instincts akin to those of biological organisms. We investigate potential drivers of these scenarios, addressing the ethical and existential challenges arising from the AI-driven transformation of the biosphere and noosphere, and considering potential trade-offs. Additionally, we discuss the application of complexity and the balance between competition and cooperation to better comprehend and navigate these transformative scenarios.

Synaptic-like plasticity in 2D nanofluidic memristor from competitive bicationic transport.

Synaptic plasticity, the dynamic tuning of signal transmission strength between neurons, serves as a fundamental basis for memory and learning in biological organisms. This adaptive nature of synapses is considered one of the key features contributing to the superior energy efficiency of the brain. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations to demonstrate synaptic-like plasticity in a subnanoporous two-dimensional membrane. We show that a train of voltage spikes dynamically modifies the membrane's ionic permeability in a process involving competitive bicationic transport. This process is shown to be repeatable after a given resting period. Because of a combination of subnanometer pore size and the atomic thinness of the membrane, this system exhibits energy dissipation of 0.1 to 100 aJ per voltage spike, which is several orders of magnitude lower than 0.1 to 10 fJ per spike in the human synapse. We reveal the underlying physical mechanisms at molecular detail and investigate the local energetics underlying this apparent synaptic-like behavior.

Integrating Vision: From Neuroscience to Artificial Intelligence

Abstract. This review article explores the complex interplay between neuroscience and artificial intelligence, focusing on vision processing and its applications. It starts by outlining the biological basis of vision, delving into how visual information is processed and encoded in the brain. The discussion then transitions to artificial intelligence, particularly machine vision, highlighting the advancements and technologies that mimic biological processes. A critical analysis compares how visual information is utilized in both biological organisms and artificial systems, with an emphasis on cognitive functions and neural encoding. The challenges of integrating vision across various sensory modalities are examined, underscoring the technological and cognitive limitations currently faced. The review culminates by identifying potential research paths aimed at closing the gap between neuroscience and AI. This involves enhancing the understanding and functionality of vision in multisensory contexts, striving to foster a more comprehensive approach to artificial intelligence that mirrors the complexity of human perception.

Significant Chiral Asymmetry Observed in Neutral Amino Acid Ultraviolet Photolysis.

The origin of homochirality in biological organisms remains an open question. Some suggest that its origin might be extraterrestrial, specifically due to the exposure of chiral molecules to circularly polarized photons in interstellar space, which could cause an initial population imbalance leading to the homochirality observed today. However, this extraterrestrial hypothesis has not been widely accepted, largely due to the belief that molecular optical rotatory dispersion is too insignificant to create the substantial imbalance required for homochirality. Here we report experimental evidence that specific conformers of neutral amino acids exhibit significant asymmetry in the chiral destroying dissociation rate induced by circularly polarized photons. The observed anisotropy factor for the lowest energy conformer of leucine was remarkably large, reaching 0.1─a factor of 13 times larger than observed for zwitterionic leucine in solid films, and nearly 40 times greater than the anisotropy reported in the electronic absorption spectrum of gas-phase leucine ensembles at room temperature. This significant finding indicates that even if reported anisotropy values in the electronic absorption spectrum are low, the dissociation asymmetry of certain conformers can still be substantial. An anisotropy factor of 0.1 could result in an initial enantiomeric excess exceeding 10%, even with a 90% extent of reaction. This discovery suggests that asymmetric photodissociation of amino acids may have been a crucial factor in the emergence of biological homochirality.