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The Hindu
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
With sports becoming a profession, youngsters should look for opportunities: Javagal Srinath
With sports gradually turning into a profession in India, youngsters should look for career opportunities in the field, said former international cricketer Javagal Srinath. Participating as a chief guest at the inauguration of a two-day national workshop on 'An integrated approach to athletic performance through nutrition, gut health, psychology, rehabilitation and anti-doping awareness' organized by the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at JSSAHER's School of Life Sciences in Mysuru on May 26, Mr. Srinath recalled that information on training, nutrition, psychology was not as easily available when he was a cricketer in the earlier '90s. 'People used to hide information,' he said while claiming that they did not have any information about the training programmes for sports in the United States, England, Australia. 'We did not know what type of training was given for cricketers, more specifically for bowlers, in Australia, which has a sporting culture,' he said. Training for sports in India, which did not have a sporting culture, was 'incomparable' to the training in Australia, he said. While sportspersons like him in India were only practising on the field, besides lifting weights in the gym, their counterparts in other countries were undergoing advanced and in-depth training programmes, he said. However, with the facilities, opportunities and infrastructure for sports presently available for sports in the country, Indians can now aim for the top. Underscoring the importance of nutrition, Mr. Srinath said sports professionals should be able to guide aspiring sportspersons on what would go wrong if one messes up with nutrition, which is key for performance. Mr. Srinath cited the example of leading cricketer Virat Kohli, who he said watches 'every morsel of food he consumes' and 'its calories' based on whether it would slow him down or help him do better on the field. 'We should look up to such people,' he said. Mr. Srinath also emphasised the importance of psychology for every facet of life, including the performance of a sportsperson. Dr. Raveesha K. A., Dean of Faculty of Life Sciences, JSSAHER, said the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics was starting MSc programme in Sports Nutrition and Management at a time when India is aiming to host Olympics. Such facilities will help create supporting ancillary facilities to ensure there is sufficient manpower to hold such events. The two-day workshop will promote efforts to improve athletic performance of an individual through nutrition and other facets, like psychology, rehabilitation and anti-doping awareness, he said. He pointed out that it is not enough to provide proteins and other nutrients to an individual. It is equally important to customise it to an individual's physiology and biochemistry, as everybody does not come from the same genetic background. 'People come from different genetic backgrounds, cultures, food habits,' he said.
South China Morning Post
28-04-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Scientists in Hong Kong offer new hope into treatment of Huntington's Disease
A research team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has discovered a new underlying mechanism and possible therapeutic target for Huntington's Disease, a rare, incurable disease that can cause twitching movements and cognitive decline. Advertisement The team of the School of Life Sciences at CUHK revealed on Monday that they had found a 4.5-fold increase in the level of a protein called PAPD5 in the brains of patients with Huntington's Disease compared to healthy individuals, which contributed to neuronal apoptosis, or nerve cell death. Their research showed that blocking the activity of PAPD5 could reduce these harmful effects, opening up new possibilities for developing medication. The research paper was published in the international journal Nature Communications on April 9. 'We provide a new angle to understand the underlying mechanism. This PAPD5-mediated pathway was first uncovered in our study. It has not been reported before,' said Stephen Chen Zhefan, the assistant professor at the School of Life Sciences at CUHK and the lead author of the paper. Advertisement 'In addition to strengthening our understanding of the disease mechanisms, we also propose a new target for the future, a therapeutic development against Huntington's Disease.'
Forbes
12-04-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Traffic Noise Provokes ‘Road Rage' In Male Galápagos Warblers
Yellow warblers near busy roads become increasingly aggressive when traffic drowns out their territorial songs, and noise pollution could trigger fights. A pair of Galapagos Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia aureola; Female, left; male, right). (NOTE: ... More This image has been cropped from the original. Credit: Çağlar Akçay / Anglia Ruskin University) A recent study has found that songbirds in the Galapagos Islands are changing their behavior because of human noise. Basically, birds exposed to vehicles moving along a roadway were found to show increased territorial aggression and to sing louder songs. 'Birds use song during territorial defense as an aggressive signal,' explained the study's co-author Çağlar Akçay, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Life Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, where he studies animal behavior and communication. 'However, if external noise, such as traffic, interferes with the signaling, effectively blocking this communication channel, increasing physical aggression would be an appropriate response,' Dr Akçay added. Increased physical aggression has consequences. A 2020 study found that the mortality rate of wild songbirds along roads in the Galápagos Islands was much higher than in other natural areas (ref). This earlier study provided the researchers with the motivation to form an international collaboration to ask how this growing threat could be minimized. Topographic and bathymetric map of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. (Credit: Eric Gaba, translated by ... More NordNordWest / CC BY-SA 3.0) The Galápagos Islands or Islas Galápagos in Spanish, are a remote archipelago of consisting of 16 volcanic islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean located roughly 900 km (560 miles) off the coast of Ecuador and clustered around the equator. They were visited by Charles Darwin in September 1835 when he was just 22 years old. These islands are home to many species of birds and animals that are found nowhere else in the world, and are well-known for their giant tortoises, which comprise 15 subspecies (13 extant and 2 extinct). Tragically, these giant tortoises were almost all wiped out by humans (who ate them) along with their pests, particularly black and brown rats and domesticated goats (which competed for scarce food and destroyed the fragile habitat). Today, these islands are widely viewed as a natural living laboratory by scientists, particularly evolutionary biologists, ever since its finches inspired Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection. However, despite their scientific importance, recent decades have seen significant human population growth. Along with a rise in tourism, the permanent human population is increasing by over 6% per year, leading to more and more vehicle traffic on the islands' roads. This increased vehicle traffic is leading to large increases in birds are killed by automobiles. Amongst those fatalities, Galapagos yellow warblers are far-and-away the most common victims. 'An earlier study by Garcia-Carrasco et al (2020) found that 70% of the roadkill on the main road in Santa Cruz are yellow warblers (ref),' Dr Akçay pointed out in email. Adult male Galapagos Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia aureola), singing. (Credit: Alper ... More Yelimlieş.) Galapagos yellow warblers will look familiar to most birders: they are a subspecies of the migratory yellow warbler, Setophaga petechia, which is the most widespread species of Setophaga warblers in the New World. They breed throughout almost all of North America and the Caribbean, and even in the northern parts of South America – including the Galapagos, where they are resident. In the Galapagos, the yellow warbler, Setophaga petechia aureola, differs somewhat in appearance from its mainland cousins by having a rust-colored cap on its head. Its genetic divergence is low, probably because it colonized the archipelago relatively recently; less than 300,000 yrs ago. These warblers are insectivorous, and thus, they likely also face human pressures from growing pesticide use. The study was co-led by both Leon Hohl and Alper Yelimlies, who were volunteers in the lab of senior author, organismal systems biologist Sonia Kleindorfer, at the University of Vienna. Professor Kleindorfer is an expert on how animal behavior shapes evolutionary dynamics in birds and parasites. (Mr Yelimlieş is now a graduate student in Professor Kleindorfer's lab.) A yellow warbler catching flies from atop a Galápagos tortoise whilst it was munching grass. ... More (Credit: Matthew Roth / CC BY-NC 2.0) In this study, Dr Akçay and collaborators asked whether Galápagos yellow warblers show increased aggression and flexibility in their song when confronted with a simulated intruder under conditions of experimentally increased traffic noise depending on their experience with such noise. To do this, the researchers studied the behaviors of 38 males on two islands within the Galápagos Archipelago, Floreana and Santa Cruz. Whilst 20 of the study birds lived within 50 meters of the nearest road, 18 others nested more than 100 meters away from traffic. Dr Akçay and collaborators placed a speaker in the territory of each study male, and played two different recorded soundtracks on different days. One soundtrack featured the song of another male Galápagos yellow warbler, whilst the other featured traffic sounds in addition to warbler songs. The males that lived near busy roadways behaved more aggressively than those living farther away by approaching the speaker closely and repeatedly swooping low over it, probably in search of the intruder. By contrast, males that lived farther away from roads were less aggressive when traffic noises were present in addition to warbler songs. Were these birds afraid of the unfamiliar traffic noises? Dr Akçay and collaborators also reported that males living on the more densely populated Santa Cruz Island sang for longer periods of time when traffic sounds were present, whilst the reverse was true for those warblers on the more sparsely populated Floreana Island. And yet, the effect of living on a roadside territory was noticeable even on tiny Floreana Island, which has a total population of roughly 10 vehicles, suggesting even minimal traffic affects the birds' responses to noise. 'Our results show that the change in aggressive responses in yellow warblers occurred mainly near roads,' Dr Akçay reported. 'Birds occupying roadside territories on both islands, and therefore having regular experience of traffic noise, may have learned to increase physical aggression when the territorial intrusion was accompanied by traffic noise.' In addition to escalating their physical aggression, Galápagos yellow warblers living on the more populous island of Santa Cruz increased the duration of their song when confronted by traffic noise. 'We also found some evidence of birds trying to cope with noise by adjusting their song, with yellow warblers in all habitats increasing the minimum frequency of their songs to help them be heard above the traffic noise,' Dr Akçay reported. These findings indicate that an individual bird's previous experience with traffic noise motivates them to adapt and adjust relevant features of their songs. How did the female warblers react to traffic noises? 'Unfortunately, the responses of females to anthropogenic noise have been understudied,' Dr Akçay replied in email. 'During breeding, females are quite unresponsive to territory intrusions, yet during non-breeding they are as aggressive as male warblers,' Dr Akçay pointed out in email. 'These make the same questions (whether aggression or songs are affected by noise) relevant for females as well. We are currently working on several studies on female song and duetting in this species including a follow-up study to this one investigating the influence of noise on female warblers and pair defense behavior.' What are the most important lessons to be learned from this study? 'Our study shows the importance of considering behavioral plasticity in conservation efforts and developing strategies to mitigate the effects of noise pollution on wildlife,' Dr Akçay explained. 'It also highlights the significant impact of human activities on wildlife behavior, even in relatively remote locations such as the Galápagos Islands.' Leon Hohl, Alper Yelimlieş, Çağlar Akçay, and Sonia Kleindorfer (2025). Galápagos yellow warblers differ in behavioural plasticity in response to traffic noise depending on proximity to road, Animal Behaviour | doi:10.1016/
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘DataBack': The fight for genomic data sovereignty
Daniel Herrera CarbajalICT TEMPE, Arizona — For Krystal Tsosie, tribal sovereignty is in her DNA. A geneticist, epidemiologist and advocate, Tsosie, Diné, is an accomplished scientist who has made it her mission to bring sovereignty to Native peoples' genomic data. She calls it a 'DataBack' movement, working to return control of Indigenous DNA information to individuals and their tribes. SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. 'Too often, researchers believe that they should have access to all data, that they should be able to download the totality of data sets onto local machines.' said Tsosie, an assistant professor at Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences. 'And what's happened unfortunately, time and time again, is the researchers will share that data with other colleagues or even their doctoral students, to conduct research that the Indigenous community members just didn't consent to.' Genomic data is used for a variety of studies from disease research to population genetics. Essentially, it is DNA that can be used to study genetic variations across different populations. Tsosie's DataBack movement is focused on genomic health equity, part of which means informing people if and how their data is being used. For Indigenous peoples, one person's genomic data can identify a large portion of relatives due to smaller population sizes and large families, according to Tsosie. Because of the impact one person can have on their nation, Tsosie believes it also should also be a right afforded to tribal nations. 'If a data point is collected from Indigenous peoples or Indigenous individuals, that person in that community should have the right to understand or to dictate what happens with that data, or at least consent to the use of that data in other contexts,' Tsosie told ICT. 'But also Indigenous nations as peoples and communities have a communal right to also understand who's using their data, to specifically consent to different types of data usages,' she said. 'That's inherent for Indigenous nations. That's their sovereign right, whether or not colonial powers — for instance, the federal government and really, any colonial government — understand. It is up to all people, including governments, to understand that that's implicit to being a member of an Indigenous nation and that Indigenous nations have the right and authority to steward the data from their own people.' Tsosie grew up playing in the streams near her maternal grandmother's home on the Navajo Nation, where there was no electricity. 'My mom's side of the family is from Shonto, Arizona, and that's where I spent a huge portion of my upbringing,' she said. 'And in summers on the weekends I would spend this time at my maternal grandmother's house.' She remembers looking up and seeing the sky full of stars when her grandmother and the elders would be outside conversing with only the light of a kerosene lamp illuminating their faces. 'I loved it,' she said. 'I remember having to chop firewood and run a bath with water that was siphoned from a well that was several miles away, and just herding sheep. And also playing with horses all day.' In her adolescence, Tsosie grew up wanting to be a doctor and along the way became interested in what causes diseases, specifically in Indigenous peoples. Tsosie had many internships, including at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and at the virology department at the Arizona Department of Health. By the age of 24, Tsosie had published works and obtained two patents for devices that would help with early detection of cancer and with delivering drugs at a lower toxicity level. She was on her way to becoming a full-fledged doctor, and had been admitted into one of the nation's top molecular doctoral programs. That's when her plans changed. 'I got there on the East Coast, and I hated it,' she said. 'I absolutely hated it, because mentors didn't know what to do with me. They thought that it shouldn't matter that I'm Native American because that type of ethnic descriptor really shouldn't have any bearing on my research, whereas I felt like it was absolutely important to understand the cultural context and upbringing of the people that I want to service with my research. And there was just a fundamental disconnect between those conducting the research and those on which research has been perpetuated on.' Tsosie decided to go back to Arizona State University, intending to never step foot into a lab again. Back in Arizona, she learned the importance of genomics and genomic data approaches. At Arizona State University, Tsosie has a team of postgraduate and doctoral students, all dedicated to the autonomy of Indigenous peoples' data. The Tsosie lab began last year and is made up of 12 members, nine of whom are Indigenous. Each researcher under Tsosie's guidance is conducting their own unique research, from building a framework for exercising and operationalizing Indigenous data sovereignty for neurological data to looking into the ethical and cultural considerations related to ordinary research for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, known as CRISPR. How the data is controlled has been an ongoing issue, she said. 'This has been problematic in the past,' she said. 'For instance, the Havasupai nation sued the Arizona Board of Regents because they brokered a trust relationship with a researcher to conduct studies related to Type 2 diabetes, and the research team ended up studying other things like schizophrenia, which especially then, had a stigma attached. And population migration narratives that were culturally incongruent with their own origin narratives.' The fight for the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples' data means the need for more Indigenous scientists and leaders, Tsosie said. 'We need more Indigenous scientists and Indigenous leaders who understand the importance of these decisions and wrest control back into Indigenous hands, to hold Indigenous DNA on our lands,' Tsosie said. 'We also need a global recognition of scholars and researchers and even public policy makers in different spheres to understand that Indigenous data sovereignty is a thing. It's a right of our people to exercise authority, agency and autonomy related to our people's DNA and our data.' For Tsosie, the DataBack movement is just the tip of the iceberg for what she wants for Indigenous people. 'I envision an Indigenous data future in which Indigenous peoples have the authority over their own data and are thinking about writing policies that become codified by tribal law,' Tsosie said. 'That we start thinking about Indigenous digital sovereignties so we start thinking about translating the ethics and the policy and governance into data infrastructures that benefit Indigenous peoples.' 'I'm talking about Indigenous-led and -managed and -stewarded biobanks and data repositories,' she continued. 'I'm talking about Indigenous apps that are being developed for Indigenous nations. 'We owe it to ourselves and our next generations to ensure that our data benefits us.' Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
