Exercising the old away! -- Interview with Marissa Schafer about exercise decreasing senescent adipocytes!!

We all know the many benefits of exercise, and the evils of fast-food diet. Exercise makes us feel healthy, younger and more vital; while excess of double cheeseburgers gives the lethargic look with tired body. But how exactly does exercise lead to such benefits; and high fat diet lead to such deterioration?

Marissa Schafer and her colleagues at Mayo Clinic asked this simple, yet complex question. What they saw was that high-fat diet was increasing the proportion of senescent fat cells -- cells that are incapable of growing or diving. They saw that such cells were attracting immune system components, that could lead to adverse effects. Exercise on the other hand decreased the presence of such cells, excitingly even in the case of high-fat diet. So, if you have a hamburger, be sure to couple it with a 5k. To know more the exciting study, please listen to the interview with Marissa:


Please refer the following for more information:
Exercise Prevents Diet-induced Cellular Senescence in Adipose Tissue.
Schafer et al., Diabetes 2016.  

One ratio to rule them all! Interview with Leigh Harris about a unified principle regulating bacterial cell size!

We live in a 3D world, in which every object occupies space. Same is true for all cells. The size of biological objects is a ubiquitous property, about which very less is known. How do cells 'measure' their size and how do they regulate it in response to changing environment? These unanswered questions have far-reaching implications on every aspect of biology.

Leigh Harris and her colleagues set out to discover the principles regulating cell size in a simple model, bacteria. She used live imaging and quantitative analysis to accurate measure bacterial cell volume and surface area: two parameters implicated in size control. Excitingly, she was able to come up with a simple ratio: the rate of surface area to volume change, which defines the steady state size and shape of the cell. This presents a novel unified model for regulating bacterial size. Lets call Leigh to understand more about this principle!



To know about the story, please read:
Relative Rates of Surface and Volume Synthesis Set Bacterial Cell Size
Leigh and Theriot, Cell, 2 June 2016.

Not starving to death: Interview with Manqi Wang about glycemic control during fasting!

Have you ever missed a meal, maybe two. But your brain still keeps working, doesn't it. It still keeps getting the glucose it needs to think. Without this sustained blood glucose regulation during fasting, our body can go into a hypoglycemic shock that can be fatal. What regulates such important network.

Manqi Wang and her colleagues investigated the role of autonomous nervous system during prolonged starvation. They interestingly found that the reflex pathways plays an important role. Surprisingly, they see that the system is highly plastic and changes network strengths based on physiological demands. To learn more, please listen to Manqi!



For more information, please refer to:
Fasting induces a form of autonomic synaptic plasticity that prevents hypoglycemia.
Wang et al., PNAS 113.21 (2016): E3029-E3038.

Help fight kid's cancer!!

Kid's cancer might just be the most devastating thing on the planet. Help find a cure by donating a little as Vishnu Sreekumar and I bike to raise awareness. Every penny matters!!!

Please follow our team here (and contribute too :) ):
https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Teams/Letsdothis