#Department of Biology and Biochemistry

[xtruss]

Study: Drinking One Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar Each Day Linked to Weight Loss in Younger Adults

— By Sarah Garone, NDTR | March 28, 2024 | Fact Checked By Nick Blackmer

Fast Facts:

A recent study on Lebanese teens and young adults linked drinking apple cider vinegar with significant weight loss after 12 weeks

Despite its promising results, the study had some important limitations

While apple cider vinegar may impact weight loss, it's not a substitute for healthy diet and regular exercise

Drinking apple cider vinegar has become a popular way to lose weight in recent years, but can it really help people slim down?

A new study found that Lebanese teenagers and young adults who drank up to one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar daily for 12 weeks dropped an average of 15 pounds.1

The research, published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention, & Health, also found that participants had lower blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels at the end of the three-month period.

Previous research has assessed the tangy drink’s ability to reduce weight in older adults, but this is the first study to test the strategy in younger people.

“This age group was selected to address the lack of research on ACV’s effects specifically in younger individuals, and to intervene early in life to potentially prevent long-term health complications associated with obesity,” study author Rony Abou-Khalil, PhD, head of the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Jounieh, Lebanon, told Health.

While the research may make it seem like a daily shot of apple cider vinegar could be an effective weight-loss tool, some experts caution against making too much of the study given its considerable limitations.

Here’s what you need to know about the study, the potential side effects of drinking too much apple cider vinegar and other expert-endorsed ways to lose weight.

Nadine Greeff/Stocksy

The Potential Link Between Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss

Abou-Khalil said the researchers set out to assess a potential solution to obesity that would align with the growing interest in non-pharmaceuticals. “We were motivated to explore potential natural remedies for weight reduction that could offer safe and effective alternatives to traditional interventions,” he said.

They decided to test apple cider vinegar, made from crushed and fermented apples and long used as a health tonic.

The team recruited 120 participants aged 12 to 25. They divided them into four groups and instructed people in three of the groups to drink either 5, 10, or 15 milliliters (ml) of apple cider vinegar in the morning. (For reference, 15 ml is equal to about one tablespoon.) The fourth group drank a placebo.

When the study began, the average weight of participants was about 173 pounds. After 12 weeks, researchers found that the apple cider vinegar groups shed weight overall.

The group that drank 15 ml daily lost the most, dropping its average to about 155 pounds. Those who drank 10 ml reduced their average weight to 159 pounds, and the group that consumed 5 ml dropped to an average of 163 pounds. All three groups had a decline in waist and hip circumference and body mass index (BMI).

The team also discovered significant improvements in blood glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels.

The study is the first to assess apple cider vinegar’s impact on health besides weight. It’s also the only one to examine how the drink affects younger people—though other research has tested whether it helps older adults shed pounds.

A small (but often-cited) 2009 trial found that consuming 1 or 2 tablespoons of the tangy drink daily resulted in modest weight loss of 2 to 4 pounds after three months.2 In another small study, researchers gave apple cider vinegar to people on both calorie-restricted and regular diets. After 12 weeks, both groups had lost weight, but those who consumed ACV had lost more.3

Why Might Apple Cider Vinegar Help People Shed Pounds?

Abou-Khalil said it’s unclear what’s behind apple cider vinegar’s potential effect on weight loss, but he has some theories.

“One proposed mechanism is that ACV may help to increase feelings of satiety, leading to reduced calorie intake,” he noted. “Additionally, ACV has been suggested to influence metabolism and insulin sensitivity, potentially contributing to Fat Oxidation and reduced Fat Storage.”

Approaching the Study’s Results With Caution

While it may seem exciting that something as simple as a daily dose of apple cider vinegar could lead to weight loss, Abou-Khalil acknowledged that the research has some limitations.

For one, twelve weeks may not have been enough to pinpoint a firm association between apple cider vinegar and weight loss, Abou-Khalil said. “Longer-term studies may provide insights into the sustainability of the observed effects and whether any changes are maintained over time,” he added.

It’s also difficult to generalize the findings given the study’s small size, focus only on adolescents and young adults, and lack of diversity among participants. “Our study focused on the Lebanese population, and cultural and dietary practices may vary among different ethnic groups,” Abou-Khalil said.

Melissa Mitri, MS, RDN, a private practice dietitian and weight loss expert unaffiliated with the study, echoed that sentiment. “There is not enough evidence to date that apple cider vinegar will lead to weight loss in diverse groups of people,” she told Health.

Are There Downsides to Taking Apple Cider Vinegar Every Day?

Consuming Apple Cider Vinegar on a daily basis can bring on some Unpleasant Side Effects.

Apple cider vinegar can “Degrade Tooth Enamel and Irritate the Esophagus,” Mitri said, which is why she recommends diluting it in water if you decide to drink it.

A daily shot of ACV might also cause nausea and slow down digestion, which could pose a problem for people whose digestion is already slower due to Gastroparesis or Prescription Weight Loss Medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

Apple cider vinegar could also interact with other medicines, such as insulin, diuretics, and laxatives, Mitri said. That’s why it’s important to consult a doctor before trying apple cider vinegar if you’re taking these or any other medications.

“Lastly, it is Not Advised for Those with Kidney Disease, as its High Acidity can Strain the Kidneys,” Mitri said.

Effective Weight-Loss Strategies

A daily dose of apple cider vinegar may help you lose weight, but other strategies are far more tried and true.

“To lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit, i.e., take in fewer calories than you burn,” Mitri explained. “You can do this by reducing your calorie intake in your diet, exercising more, or, ideally, combining both.”

Ultimately, these old standbys are probably a surer path to long-term weight loss than jumping on the apple cider vinegar trend.

[niranjandotus]

Top Ukrainian female Scientists, Doctors, Mathematicans, Economists, Artists, Athletes, Leaders, Astronauts, Military Leaders, etc.

The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska who won Fields Medal — the highest honor for a mathematician.

Selected few famous Ukrainian scientists 

We decided to talk about outstanding Ukrainian women who've changed and continue to change the world of science to show that girls can do anything.

Maryna Viazovska, a mathematician

Ukrainian scientist, doctor of natural sciences. Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska, who currently works at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, received the Salem Prize 2016, which is extremely prestigious for mathematicians. The commission awarded the prize to Maryna Viazovska for her world-class discovery. Ukrainian solved a problem that scientists have been working on for more than 400 years, i.e. packing spheres in 8-dimensional space, and co-authored the one in 24-dimensional space. Previously, the problem of packing spheres was solved only for spaces with three or fewer dimensions.

Yuliia Bezvershenko, a physicist

Ukrainian scientist in theoretical physics, popularizer of science, public figure, Ph.D. of physic and mathematical sciences, Yuliia Bezvershenko is included in the list of TOP-20 Ukrainian women in STEM for 2018-2019. Yuliia deals with mathematical methods applied to the problems of dynamics of quantum systems in external fields and control of quantum systems. She is convinced and proves that one can practice theoretical physics with passion.

According to Yuliia, at one time she heard an important thing from her mentor: you can be yourself in any field! Therefore, one shouldn't be afraid of stereotypes and prejudices of others.

If you're a girl, a woman, no matter where, no matter how old you are, and your heart is in science, don't be afraid. Go there boldly. After all, nothing will stop a woman, ready to work and conduct scientific discoveries.

Mariia Bailiak, a biologist

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biotechnology in Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University. Scientist Mariia Bailiak studies biochemistry and researches the influence of various plants and substances on the aging process. Mariia Bailiak's discoveries concern, for instance, the increase of stress resistance and the general condition of living organisms (and therefore, us and you, and it's good news: stress resistance doesn't hurt anyone), and anti-aging substances. Thanks to her intensive work, Mariia is in the Top 10 successful Ukrainian women scientists.

Olha Brovarets, a biophysicist

Ukrainian biophysicist, Doctor of Physic and Mathematical Sciences, winner of the Scopus Awards Ukraine in the nomination "Best team of scientists who achieved significant scientific results without Western collaborations" and the President of Ukraine Award for Young Scientists, and a leading researcher in the Department of Molecular and Quantum Biophysics Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Olha is the youngest doctor habilitatus in Ukraine; she became a doctor at 29. Olha is now 34 years old and she continues to study biophysics: her discoveries give an understanding of the mechanisms of cancer and many other diseases caused by mutations. It was Olha who calculated the pattern of mutations in DNA leading to cancer and many other diseases.

Nana Voitenko, a biologist

Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, neurobiologist, head of the department of sensory signaling of the Bohomolets Institute of Physiology of NAS of Ukraine. Nana Voitenko has been researching pain for more than 20 years. What do we know about pain? For most people on Earth, pain is something they'd like to get rid of as soon as possible if they feel it. Nana Voitenko deals with the nature of pain, as it occurs and spreads in the human's central and peripheral nervous systems. In the laboratory, Voitenko and her colleagues managed to develop an experimental treatment that affects only those cells involved in pain syndromes. Besides, Nana Voitenko is actively promoting science: she's a lecturer at the "Days of Science" initiative, was a lecturer at TED-x Kyiv in 2013, and the organizer of the "Week of Knowledge about the Brain." Science is close, and it's accessible to everyone.

Ella Libanova, an economist

Scientist in socioeconomics, demography, and labor economics, academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Honored Economist of Ukraine. Ella Libanova is an academician-secretary of the economics department of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and, by the way, the first and only female member of the presidium of the National Academy of Sciences for 102 years of its work. She teaches social statistics at the Faculty of Economics of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; introduced a method for measuring human development at the region level, used by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine for annual calculations.

Nina Virchenko, a mathematician

Professor of the Department of Mathematical Analysis and Probability Theory, Doctor of Physic and Mathematical Sciences Nina Virchenko is one of the most famous Ukrainian mathematicians. She is the author of more than 500 scientific and methodological works, including 20 books published in Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Japanese. Nina Virchenko is recognized not only in Ukraine but also abroad; she's a member of the Australian, American, Belgian, Edinburgh, London mathematical societies. In the end, it's not surprising, because mathematics knows no boundaries and recognizes all the achievements, wherever you obtain them.

Nina Virchenko's fate wasn't easy: at 18 in 1948, she was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag camps for preparing a "political conspiracy, revolt" and participating in the "Ukrainian-nationalist gang." Years in the camps didn't stop the future doctor from achieving her dreams. In 1964, she defended her Ph.D. and her Dr. habil. dissertation in Kyiv in 1988.

Nataliia Vynohrad, an epidemiologist

Epidemiologist, professor, doctor of medical sciences, Nataliia Vynohrad manages the Department of Epidemiology of Lviv National Medical University. She's an expert of the World Health Organization in responding to epidemic threats and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on epidemiology, an adviser to the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine on anti-epidemic protection and biosafety. Agree, you can't find a more relevant profession in 2020-2021. Once an ordinary girl from a village in the Khmelnytskyi region, and now the author of 305 scientific papers, and 8 copyright certificates for inventions and patents of Ukraine, proves that nothing is impossible for a girl who knows what she wants.

Nataliia Polonska-Vasylenko, a historian

From the early 20th century until the end of her life in the 1970s, our first heroine studied the history and archeology of Ukraine, both in Ukraine and later in exile in Germany and the Czech Republic. In a historically troublesome time for Ukraine, she became one of the leading representatives of the state school in Ukrainian historiography, that is, she promoted the idea of ​​independence and continuity of the Ukrainian historical process. Nataliia Polonska-Vasylenko is the author of almost 200 scientific works on the history of Zaporizhzhia and Southern Ukraine, which remain relevant to this day.

Valentyna Radzymovska, a biologist

One of the most prominent names in our history is Valentyna Radzymovska, a professor, doctor of medical and physiological sciences, founder of the Ukrainian school of physiologists and biochemists, and a public figure. The Soviet authorities repressed Valentyna Radzymovska for her political activities and participation in the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine in the 1930s. However, it didn't prevent her from becoming the author of more than 60 works on biochemistry, pathophysiology, pediatrics, psychoneurology, physiology, and phthisiology. Like the previous scientist in our article, she left Ukraine in 1945, emigrating first to Germany and then to the United States.

Radzymovska contributed hugely to the study of tuberculosis and its treatment in children.

Nina Morozhenko, a physicist

Although the sun is the closest star to us, it still hides many fascinating mysteries. Ukrainian astronomer, helio physicist, doctor of physic and mathematical sciences, author of 56 scientific works, Nina Morozhenko devoted her entire life to studying the structure of our guide light and the processes taking place on it. After all, everything happening on the Sun affects many areas of human activity. Without studying the sun, it's impossible to understand not only what the future holds for our civilization but also what is happening in space, i.e. on the distant stars the humanity is so eager to reach. Nina Morozhenko's scientific works on solar prominences were the first in the world and gave rise to scientific research by helio physicists from many countries. The Ukrainian researcher's significant contribution to the physics of the sun once again demonstrates that physics isn't a purely "male" science.

[mindblowingscience]

It's a simple question that sounds a little like a modest proposal: "Should we cut down all the oak trees?" asks Tom Sharkey, a University Distinguished Professor in the Plant Resilience Institute at Michigan State University. Sharkey also works at the MSU-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory and in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. To be clear, Sharkey isn't sincerely suggesting that we should cut down all the oaks. Still, his question was an earnest one, prompted by his team's latest research, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team discovered that on a warming planet, plants like oaks and poplars will emit more of a compound that exacerbates poor air quality, contributing to problematic particulate matter and low-atmosphere ozone. The rub is that the same compound, called isoprene, can also improve the quality of clean air while making plants more resistant to stressors including insects and high temperatures. "Do we want plants to make more isoprene so they're more resilient, or do we want them making less so it's not making air pollution worse? What's the right balance?" Sharkey asks. "Those are really the fundamental questions driving this work. The more we understand, the more effectively we can answer them."

Continue Reading.

[harmonia-university]

Interview with Dr. Jelle Wauters, from the Department of Biology!

Do you have a specialization of some kind (types, wildlife, etc.) or do you just general biology? - @nobetternamethanthat2 , anonymous

My research is mainly related to type genetics! Although every Weavile is an ice type, the potency and the ability to control those ice powers may vary between individuals. I also study type-related diseases as they seem to be genetically passed down as well. During the Domestication era, this kind of variance was extremely rare among Pokemon. Nowadays, Pokemon have at least a bit of human DNA in them, and this seems to have affected some family lineages. So this is a bit of a new phenomenon that a lot of research is being put into.

What got you into biology? Why do you like it, do you have a favourite thing about it? - @megamannickblog , @ecoxlar-maybe, @theonlycampix , @tailsluigi

Well for my specific interest, I've been around Pokemon who suffer from type-related deficiencies all my life. I am actually one of them! My ice powers are very weak, almost nonexistent. I always wanted to know the science behind that so I decided to get more into it.

Biology is so fascinating as a whole though! There are so many different species of Pokemon with their own quirks and abilities, it's fun to learn about how every single one works. Even Pokemon that seem man-made and robotic, they have their own central nervous systems, digestive systems, etc. I think the diversity pulled me in too.

Is there any part of the curriculum you look forward to teaching most? -anonymous

When teaching my Type biology classes I am always excited to talk about the genetics behind it of course! It is only a small portion of the course, a lot of it is on the more “physical” side of things, how the powers are generated, how it affects our bodies and stuff like that. But it is nice to talk about my specific interest, even for a bit…

Do you have a least and favourite part about teaching biology? - @neonellie

I think my favourite part is being able to educate passionate students about something I am passionate about as well. It's hard to think of a least favourite aspect. Probably the grading, but I don't know anyone who enjoys that.

If you had to pick another subject to teach what would you pick? - @ecoxlar-maybe

Biology related? Probably the anatomy of different kinds of Pokemon. Non biology related, maybe chemistry? Biochemistry. Oh, I made that related to biology. Haha!

What's your biggest achievement during your time as a student? - @smartguy18

Oh, I've done many many research projects as a student! I guess the one I'm most proud of is the work I did with one of my professors on grass type decay. Some grass types inherit a trait that makes their body decay quite fast…like a flower that is constantly deprived of water. I worked on trying to identify what gene causes this. It is a topic very significant to me!

How did you end up teaching at Harmonia? Did you grow up around Arboria, what brought you here? -Bijoux from @redolentgrove , Minuy600

Oh, I didn't grow up here! I grew up in a region overseas called Rhinia. Honestly I was desperate to look for anywhere that would take me in. Harmonia University was the first one that got back to me, I had heard good things about it so I decided to come here! And I don't regret it!

How do you deal with rowdy students? -anonymous

Oh, I barely get any. I usually teach upper year students and grad students. They are usually pretty well-behaved. There's the occasional dispute with grades and stuff like that but I think the best thing to do is to listen, stay as calm as possible and try to reach common ground.

What do you do in your free time? - @dawnnotsomom, @askgodmotherdaringdo

I love sports! Especially winter sports, such as figure skating and snowboarding. During other seasons I like to hit the badminton court. Other than that, I building and painting figurines.

Do you like video games? If so, what genres? -anonymous

I do play occasionally. Mostly farming and city-building sims.

Your hair always looks really pretty. Do you have a specific morning routine to keep yourself looking so nice? If not, have you tried experimenting recently with your fashion at all? - @missclovercat

Haha, thank you! My hair is naturally puffy like this due to my mother being a Flareon. A little wash and blow dry gets it like this! I'm not really one to experiment with fashion at all, anything comfortable and keeps me cool works.

Do you have anyone special in your life? - @wevelocityteampresents-blog

Oh hoho….yes….I have two! My lovely wife and daughter. I wouldn't know how to live without them.

This isn't a question but @winguontheweb has said that they love that you look like pink lemonade!

Oh! Well…thank you! That is quite the compliment. I love pink lemonade, haha!

Any tips for someone who wants to learn biology? -Wil from @ask-the-shiny-pokemons

Well, you're interested - that's a great start! If there's an aspect of biology you're interested in, such as microbiology, genetics, anatomy, etc… the easiest thing to do is just look up resources to learn about that topic! You may want to borrow books about it in the library, listen to lectures, watch educational videos, etc. Then you can expand to other topics! Soon enough you'll be an expert!

That concludes the interview! Do you have any closing remarks?

[realcleverscience]

interesting microbiome research:

"To investigate this, researchers at the University of Oxford tested 100 different gut bacteria strains individually and in combination for their ability to limit the growth of two harmful bacterial pathogens: Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella enterica. Individual gut bacteria showed a very poor ability to restrict the spread of either pathogen. But when communities of up to 50 species were cultured together, the pathogens grew up to 1000 times less effectively than when cultured with any individual species. This 'community protection effect' was seen regardless of whether the bacteria were cultured together in vials, or in 'germ-free' mice (which had no resident gut bacteria at the start of the experiments).

Author Professor Kevin Foster (Departments of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Oxford) said: 'These results clearly demonstrate that colonization resistance is a collective property of microbiome communities; in other words, a single strain is protective only when in combination with others.'...

The researchers demonstrated that protective bacterial communities block pathogen growth by consuming the nutrients that the pathogen needs. By assessing the genomes of the different bacterial species, they found that the most protective communities were composed of species with highly similar protein compositions to the pathogenic species. They also used metabolic profiling to demonstrate that the protective species had similar demands for carbon sources as the pathogens."

[materialsscienceandengineering]

New details about the strongest spider silk in the world

Many researchers dream of deciphering the amazing ability of spiders to create super strong, super light, and super flexible silk threads—but so far, no one has been able to replicate the spiders' work. Should it one day become possible to produce a synthetic material with the same properties, a whole new world of possibilities may open: Artificial spider silk could replace materials like Kevlar, polyester, and carbon fiber in industries and be used, for example, to make lightweight and flexible bulletproof vests. Postdoc and biophysicist Irina Iachina from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), is involved in this race to uncover the recipe for super silk. She has been fascinated by spider silk since her time as a master's student at SDU, and currently, she is researching the topic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston with support from the Villum Foundation. As part of her research, she is collaborating with associate professor and biophysicist Jonathan Brewer at SDU, who is an expert in using various types of microscopes to peer into biological structures.

Read more.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Jason L. Riley

Published: Sep 5, 2023

Yes, this is another September “back to school” column. My apologies. But someone needs to keep pointing out that our national debate over which books to allow in classrooms, or how to teach slavery to middle-schoolers, is far less consequential than the continuing inability of most youngsters to read or do math at grade level.

In Florida, where GOP governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has taken lumps for a couple sentences in a 200-page black-history curriculum, only 39% of Miami-Dade County fourth-graders are proficient in reading, according to a Miami Herald report last year on standardized test results. By eighth grade the number drops to 31%, and math scores are just as bad. Who cares if kids have access to books by Toni Morrison or Jodi Picoult if most of them can’t comprehend the contents?

These dismal outcomes have persisted nationwide for decades, and the racial achievement gap is even more disturbing. The U.S. Education Department reported last year that in 2022 the average reading score for black fourth-graders in New York on the National Assessment of Educational Progress trailed that of white fourth graders by 29 points. This “performance gap was not significantly different from that in 1998,” the report added.

The progressive left’s response to these outcomes has been to wage war on meritocracy rather than focus on improving instruction. The goal is to eliminate gifted-and-talented middle-school programs, high-school entrance exams and the use of the SAT in college admissions. One defense of racial preferences in education for black students is that recipients, including those who go into teaching, are more likely to work in low-income minority communities after graduation. That’s true, but is it what economically disadvantaged students really need, more second-rate teachers?

In his lively autobiography, “Up From the Projects,” the late economist Walter Williams related an incident from his teaching days at California State University, Los Angeles in the late 1960s. A black student approached him at the end of the course and said he needed a B to graduate. The student told Williams that he wanted to teach school in Watts, a predominantly black section of Los Angeles. Williams replied that Watts didn’t need any more mediocre educators. He added, jokingly, “If you’d said San Fernando Valley”—a predominantly white area back then—“I’d have given you the B.”

Williams was appalled that many of his academic colleagues were holding their black students to lower standards. “There was no more effective way to mislead black students and discredit whatever legitimate achievements they might make than giving them phony grades and ultimately fraudulent diplomas,” he wrote. Sadly, the downstream effects of lax standards for black students that concerned him more than 50 years ago have only gotten worse.

Medical students in all 50 states must pass a licensure exam before they can practice. The exam has three parts, and Step 1 is administered at the end of the second year of medical school. It measures your grasp of basic science topics—anatomy, biology, biochemistry, pharmacology—and is highly predictive of how you will perform in medical school going forward.

A student’s numerical score on the Step 1 exam has long been the most important tool in evaluating candidates for the most competitive medical disciplines and residency programs. Three years ago, representatives of the nation’s leading medical groups voted to scrap numerical scores and report the results of the Step 1 exam as pass/fail.

The reason is simple, according to Stanley Goldfarb, an academic physician and former associate dean of curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. In a recent book on how social-justice activism has affected medical training, “Take Two Aspirin and Call Me By My Pronouns,” Dr. Goldfarb explained that black students underperform on the Step 1 exam. “The solution to the fact that white students score better on the exam was to eliminate reporting scores,” he wrote, which “makes about as much sense as Major League Baseball eliminating batting averages to assure that no ethnic cohort outperforms the others.”

Dr. Goldfarb’s book has an amusing title—which comes from an op-ed he wrote for this paper in 2019—but what it describes is nothing to laugh at. Those who complain about racial disparities in medical outcomes might consider how racial double standards contribute to them. Medical schools have been pressured to relax admission standards for diversity purposes, which has led to the relaxation of grading standards and licensure requirements.

Black doctors are more likely than white doctors to practice in medically underserved areas, but low-income blacks need second-rate doctors even less than they need second-rate teachers. For whatever reason, it seems lost on progressives that addressing the racial achievement gap in K-12 education would go a long way toward addressing the one in medical school.

[ Via: https://archive.is/HXGgR ]

==

[ Source: National Student Group Scores and Score Gaps (Reading, Grade 4) ]

[ Source: National Student Group Scores and Score Gaps (Math, Grade 4) ]

[ Source: National Student Group Scores and Score Gaps (Reading, Grade 12) ]

[ Source: National Student Group Scores and Score Gaps (Math, Grade 12) ]

This is honestly the thing that's the most troubling. There are activists in schools masquerading as teachers who insist it's a moral imperative to teach young children complicated postmodern intersectional conspiracy theories, yet can't - or won't - actually teach those same kids to read.

"Antiracist" teachers behaving like black kids don't need to learn to read, and it's more important that they understand their place in a perverted conception of social hierarchy, is a disturbing rehabilitation of the KKK's golden years.

[bpod-bpod]

Cellular Directors

Fruit fly model reveals molecular signals that control the organisation of growth with neighbouring cells and layering in tissues – insight for greater understanding of epithelial tumour development

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Aiguo Tian and colleagues

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Tulane University School of Medicine, Louisiana Cancer Research Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in EMBO Reports, November 2023

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[spiritualworldsblog]

Consciousness: the Concept of Mind and the Transcendence of Conventional Thought'

Book Introduction

To write a treatise about the human Consciousness is tantamount to saying that the treatise is going to be based on the concrete evidence of the existence of ghosts, precisely because this subject is highly abstract. Besides which, there are many schools of thought and different methods as to how this subject may be treated, many of which completely contradict each other. The aim of this book will therefore be to try to find another way to better understand this human phenomenon, which in turn deals with yet another phenomenon which is even broader in scope though both are connected: the Cosmic Consciousness.

To start off, it should be understood that when we human beings look at the world around us we perceive not actual reality as it is, but a personalised world and from this individual perspective a personal hypothesis of this world is eventually born which then needs to be investigated. This is besides the fact that all that we do and experience in our lives involves mental events that we are not usually conscious of. For instance, as these words are being written down, my brain is sending signals to my nervous system so that I can utilise the keyboard to write down these words. This mechanism is known as mental-to-physical causation, which means that the mind and the body work together so that in a split second a person reacts according to what needs to be done.

However, this mental/physical mechanism goes beyond this function so that on some occasions what the brain thinks becomes manifest in the human body, as set forth by the American professor of biochemistry Dr Norman Cousins (1915-1990), “beliefs become biology”.1 This means that when there is an external suggestion (an idea that is born from the surrounding world) it can be changed into an internal expectation and the latter can then manifest itself in the human body, for example in the form of a psychosomatic condition.

Some of these theories are part of a general concept that is known as Emergentism which says that once a number of biological and neural processes in the brain reach a number of complexities, then phenomenal events emerge from them such as the human Consciousness through which a person thinks and reacts in an almost automatic manner.

It is obvious at this point that this argument begins to take on a complicated aspect and it is due to this that many philosophers in the past looked at the brain and the human mind (or Consciousness) in different ways. For example, the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (1596-1650) maintained that while the mind and the body are two different departments, they relate perfectly with each other. In his Sixth Meditation, taken from his treatise Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), Descartes wrote thus:

“The mind is not immediately affected by all parts of the body, but only by the brain, or perhaps just by one small part of the brain... Every time this part of the brain is in a given state, it presents the same signals to the mind, even though the other parts of the body may be in a different condition at the time...”...

[queerholmcs]

is organic chemistry really that bad? every time someone tells me how terrible it is the little spite demon in my head says "well /i/ would be perfect at it 😤"

if so, what makes it so bad?

i do think organic chemistry is really neat as a concept, and there's really cool stuff happening there—but i scraped through ochem lectures at uni by the skin of my teeth. (which is why i focus on analytical chemistry (love of my life) and ended up in the inorganic department for my doctoral work.)

for some people it's really their thing, and everything clicks for them! i personally had a problem where i would do horribly on the exams, and people would say "oh well you can't just memorize the reactions, you have to understand the mechanisms and do the electron-pushing" and i'd be like "...yeah ok but i thought i did understand it." because i'm definitely better at understanding concepts than memorizing reactions. but the exam scores would prove me wrong. (the wet lab portions of the courses, however—enjoyed those and did fairly well. loved some hands-on work. i do also find amusing the aspect of ochem where you can go from "ok so in theory, on paper, this is the reaction that happens" to "if you actually run this reaction in a lab, you will generate about eight different products. you will get a 10% yield if you are lucky. have fun isolating your desired product.")

i think the difficulty is just that you have to understand the whole mechanism, and how slight differences in the initial structure of the starting material or reagent can result in very different outcomes. i've heard people who loved ochem say that the issue is just that it's taught horribly (similar to what i've heard about upper-level maths courses), but i think it just doesn't mesh with my brain very well for whatever reason. at least in the "you need to Know all of this and answer an exam correctly" setting; i do still enjoy reading an occasional paper about new reactions they're doing, or something. and the mechanisms are cool to look at, as long as i don't have to come up with them on my own.

like, look at this! you can explain why it is that when you mix two things in acidic conditions, you get a new thing, based on electrons and atoms and bonds! and then ochem concepts get applied to biology and you get biochemistry, to explain how the human body works the way it does, from dna to proteins to how drugs get metabolized! (insert "chemistry is the most foundational of all sciences" spiel here. don't tell the physicists i said that. it's a joke.)

anyway. regardless of why ochem has the reputation it does: once a course has that notoriety—good luck changing that public opinion, lol. (realising as i'm getting to the end of this that a bit of that probably also comes from ochem being like a 4th/5th-year premed type course requirement, where you've got a bunch of people taking it who truly probably don't need to know the ins and outs of drug synthesis and might be having a hard time finding it relevant to their work? i was a chem major, so i had it as a 1st/2nd-year course. and also i was a chem major.)

[kcthefirebreathing-bitchqueen]

Sexual Selection

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

warnings: reader and spence being horny, mutual pining, thoughts of masturbation (m), wet daydream (f), asking for pictures (non-sexually) via text

You and spencer spent the next two months chatting regularly via the dating app at first but at some point, it had graduated to text messages.

You discussed everything about yourselves, you were a third year phd candidate in the biology and chemistry department, he was a chemistry and criminology professor for undergrads. Though neither of them bothered to disclose where they studied or taught.

At some point they began talking on the phone through all hours of the night, just bonding over the little things they had in common or disecting a weird fact about the laws of nature that no one else had bothered to care about.

One day, you guys got on the subject of your style preferences and so now it was a tradition almost to send one another a daily picture of your outfit. You found yourself trying to find any excuse to show skin in your photos in hopes that this was more than an intellectual connection.

To see if your heart stood a chance, you decided to test your theory and switch it up.

You

···

I was thinking about this for today, what do you think?

Spencer

Hmm.. I like it but I think I need to see it on you to really know.

Oh god, oh geez, that definitley means he's into you, right? I mean you met him on a DATING app so you would assume thats why you're interacting in the first place. You don't know, this is all too confusing.

You snapped a photo of you in the outfit, but not before fussing with your hair and make up until you felt confident enough to send this man a picture.

Spencer

I think I feel jealous of anyone that gets to see you wear that in person.

The way that message made you feel made you realize how desparately you needed to get laid.

---------------------------------------------------

This semester you decided to TA for the new chemistry professor since you knew your way around the department, having studied biochemistry here for undergrad. But as you walked into the new professor's office your insides liquified.

Behind the rich mahogany desk, surrounded by more books than you thought was reasonable, was none other than Spencer,29 from Zazo.

He had not yet noticed your presence so you continued to look at him and try to confirm that this is the man who called you "not just a pretty face" with a damn winky face that made your throat tighten and your more sensitive bits to heat. Yep, you definitely needed to get laid.

The moment he looked up from his extremely large book (which you werent certain was even written in English) it was confirmed. As his brown irises were swallowed by his black pupils, his eyes slightly widened with something that looked halfway between recognition, surprise, and horror. His eyes raked down your body, snagging on each item of clothing that his brain recognized as the outfit you had sent him.

"Hi, Dr. Reid... I'm um- I'm y/n." He looked at you as if to say what the hell are you doing at my place of work "Your TA! Im your TA for the semester!" He stared back at you dumbstruck, at a loss for words. You held out your hand "Its- uh- its nice to meet you!" you say, cheeks heating and hand slightly wavering.

You watched him as he schooled his features back into neutrality as he shook your hand. Sparks danced along your hand and wrist as his skin slid over yours.

You looked down at the interlocked hands and you blushed at the sight of his hand. With long, lithe fingers and a wide palm that almost swallowed yours whole in comparison. And Jesus the veins in this mans hands. It made your brain wonder, if his hands felt like this on your palm just imagine what they'd feel like if they were somewhere else.

You could almost feel his hands wandering to your waist and around your thighs and in between your thighs... How soft they would feel teasing your entrance and pushing inside of you.

His voice that clearly belonged to someone of a burdeningly high IQ said "Uh, h-hi y/n. I'm um, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. Its nice to meet you."

Unbearable silence fell after that and you blurted "look I can resign and you can hire someone else if that makes you more comfortable and I-"

"No, no. We're both adults and we can be mature about this."

Did that mean he wanted to pretend that everything was platonic between the two of you? If so, you'd rather resign.

The tension was audible in your voice when you said "Okay, yeah for sure."

---

*Spencer's POV*

He was so beyond fucked. This beautiful girl that has been taking up much of his dreams, both day and night, and now he had to act like a normal human around her for an entire semester? He wasn't sure he would be able to withhold his attraction let alone keep it a secret.

It was inconceivable for him to hide his attraction to a girl that made his cock ache everytime she sent a picture of herself in the mirror under the guise of a fit check. So badly that the only relief would be to rub one out in the bathroom before doing anything else.

If a still, two dimensional portrayal of you had that impact on him, it had nothing on what seeing you in person in that tiny tank top did to him.

Immediately, he knew he needed to be with her in more ways than one.

And while, yes, she was very visually appealing, it had more to do with what happened in her head. He had never met someone so smart and beautiful in his life.

He was in for one rocky semester.

[vincentcatagainsttheworld]

#Repost @debharkness FB page THE BOOK OF LIFE read along, ch 13-15 “It’s scary as hell, I know,” Chris continued in a gentler tone. “We’d all rather hide somewhere safe and let someone else make the tough decisions. But somebody is going to have to stand up and fight for what’s right. Fernando tells me you’re a pretty impressive warrior.” -THE BOOK OF LIFE Origin of name: Roberts is of Norman origin, meaning “bright fame.” Date of birth: November 7, 1974 Astrological sign: Scorpio Physical description: Dark brown eyes, walnut-colored skin, high cheekbones angled under straight brows, a deep voice, and a wrestler’s strong build A member of: Yale University faculty, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Family and romantic relationships: From an African American family in Alabama. Chris is not married. Personal history: Christopher Roberts is Diana’s closest friend and her colleague at Yale University, where they met when they both began teaching there. -THE WORLD OF ALL SOULS 👉Let’s discuss. What did you notice when you read these chapters? In the comments below, please share your observations, favorite quotes, musings, questions, half-baked ideas, or deep dives with the rest of us! (see comments for some of my favorite quotes) If this is your first time reading THE BOOK OF LIFE, what did you think? What are your questions? If this is your 2nd, 3rd…100th time reading TBOL, did you discover anything new? Did you discover anything new from your dive into THE WORLD OF ALL SOULS? Cat #TBOLch13 #TBOLch14 #TBOLch15 #TBOLreadalong2023 #TheBookOfLife #TheWorldOfAllSouls https://www.instagram.com/p/Co-M3vmIgt2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mysticetus]

thank you so so so much for the detailed ask!!! i've recently considered going into that field and that information / suggestion is super helpful for my decision :) i didn't know you were a biology major! that's so cool! how has it been so far? what kind of courses you took in high school do you use now / what do you feel are specific essential areas? i hope that doesn't sound like a strange question to ask, i've got some memory issues and knowing what specifically to focus on before i get into college could help a lot :)

no problem its not often i get to talk about the work that i do so im glad to write stuff.

when it comes to academic advice i have to preface it by saying things depend greatly on what is available to you, since “biology major” can fall under a ton of different things and im not sure theres a universal system for it … some examples ive seen are biology BS (bachelor of science) which is more useful for microbiology and if you want to go into research, biochemistry, or the medical field … biology BA (bachelor of art) which is better for macrobiology like zoology, and people looking to go into education. Theres also ecology and evolutionary biology, and more specific majors like botany, marine bio, etc ….

or your college might just have a single biology major. it really depends. my college happens to have a robust bio department and thats the main reason i wanted to go here. they usually have information on offered majors on their website but i assume youre looking at that anyway lol.

A nice piece of advice i received from someone in the field was when i attended the necropsy of an adult female sea lion, the woman performing it recommended we get a general biology degree rather than marine biology, since general bio offers you more opportunity. For example if you want to work in like… idaho studying golden eagles or kansas looking at salamander species you cant much use a marine bio degree for that. But a general bio degree is helpful in most marine bio environments. (Also marine bio is extremely competitive and the work is usually expensive but thats another conversation…)

in high school the class most useful to me was definitely physiology which was a science elective for me. It went over like…bone names and organ systems and how muscles work and all that … its still useful to me. You could also look into APES (ap environmental science) if thats something available to you. but generally i think you should take classes that are interesting to you! bio is a huge field and you may discover something really amazing if you just follow your nose.

and high school isnt all there is, you could see if theres a local museum or wildlife rescue center that takes youth workers/volunteers. More often than not facilities like this are non profit and depend on volunteer work so they might have something available. For paying jobs you could look into pet stores, sounds weird but there was an aquarium store in my town that had tons of species and the employees there are mostly really nerdy teenagers. similar situation with a reptile store near me, they literally breed chicks to feed the snakes. animal husbandry is a great way to observe like. Feeding behaviors and ecological roles. Doing work in actual places where a bio degree is applied helped inform my decision and i also learned a lot on the job. i never really freaked out about extracurriculars i just did this stuff because it seemed cool but it definitely helps with getting into college in the first place.

hope this helps

[cammie-morgan-goode]

Where do you think Liz went to college and what course?

Let me talk about my girl Elizabeth Sutton! We love the Bookworm! (I don’t get enough asks about her)

As per usual, I looked up some college shtuff and did some research. We know that she ended up working at Gallagher and working with Dr. Fibs in the research department. With that being said, I really wanna say that she studied computer science and technology. Maybe even cyber forensics.

The top colleges I think she at least got inquiries about for Computer Science:

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Stanford in California

Tsingua University in China

CalTech (California Institute of Technology)

Now for Courses:

-Computational Science and Systems Biology at MIT

-Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT

-Computer Science and Security at Stanford

-Data Science at Stanford

-Advanced Biochemical Engineering at Stanford

-Electronic Information Science and Technology at Tsinghua

-Software Engineering at Tsinghua

-Chemical Engineering and Industrial Biological Engineering at Tsinghua

-Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at CalTech

-Computation and Neural Systems at CalTech

-Control and Dynamical Systems at CalTech

——-

The top colleges I think she at least got inquiries about for Cyber Forensics:

Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania

Champlain in Vermont

University of Cambridge in Europe

Now for Courses:

-C++ Programming for Engineers at CMU

-Introduction to Scientific Computing at CMU

-Computational Analysis of Transport Phenomena at CMU

-Engineering Computation at CMU

-Global IT & Ethics at Champlain in VT

-Advanced Programming at Champlain in VT

-Networking & Security at Champlain in VT

-Ethical Hacking at Champlain in VT

-Blockchain & Cybersecurity at Champlain in VT

-Cybersecurity at Cambridge

I really think that Liz is just so crazy smart that she took on several course loads for multiple colleges!

[ivf-surgeon-doctor-in-ahmedabad]

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[ramblingsofamadblob]

Multiverse AU Faculty:

Dr. Makoto Hanon:

He was head of the governments science program before he suddenly became President over night. He now man’s and overseas project unearth. (Cough doctor Hemlock)

Dr. Stirling Pierce:

Head of project unearth and top executive in the governments science department. She is reserved and cold, no nonsense because she knows mistakes can lead to loosing a student.

Teaches: General Supervision, Simulations, Chemistry/Biochemistry

Dr. Laquanna Silver and Pico the Frog:

A government scientist who has made great scientific accomplishments (that aren’t ethically questionable for once because she’s just that great) She’s sweet, Cooky, and motherly, the Therapist of project unearth. Also very openly gay but more the half the faculty is gay so. Pico is her pet frog.

Teaches: Marine Biology and ocean sciences, Chemistry/Biochemistry

Captain:

The supervisor and head of security for project unearth. The students don’t know his name everyone refers to him as captain.

Teaches: General supervision, Survival (not taught till after the second round of eliminations)

Coah Dillan Sanches:

An award winning free diver with a marine biology degree who teaches the aquatics corses. He just wants students to call him Coach or Coach Dillan. Chris is his boyfriend, that’s how the program reached out to him. He’s chill, down to earth, kind of has that big brother attitude. Teaches: Feild Training, Aquatics

Dr. Chris Graham

A new scientist in the program who just recently finished up his internship and medical degree. He and Dillan are dating. He goes by Dr. Chris not Graham. He’s very awkward but enthusiastic about his works and can go on tangents for days. He’s very scatter brained. He greatly values students safety. Teaches: Medicine, Team Skills

Captain Sam Antos AKA Cap

Adrenaline junkie and submarine expert. Despite his massive himbo energy he is actually very smart. He’s boisterous outgoing and has great faith in the students, which means he might throw them into danger but I’m sure it’s fine. Him and his husband Yam are two of the older employees .

Teaches: Piloting/submersible training, General studies

Dr. Yam Antos:

One of the leaders in the governments technological advancements, works closely with other worldly materials. Bro is basically peso, shy, awkward, but very compassionate, becomes super serious when someone is inured. Him and his husband Sam are two of the older employees.

Teaches: Engineering, Tech skills, general studies

(Darth maul is secretly hiding as an employee in the facility don’t ask me why) —————————————————————————