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Sean Nash

Scientists develop visual tool to help people group foods based on their levels of processing | ScienceDaily - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...240530182042.htm

images photos data VirginiaTech visual tools food biomedical health diet group people tool scientists potential research idea behavioralscience biology chemistry HSR-2025 HSR science

shared by Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24 - No Cached
  • Scientists studying ultra-processed foods have created a new tool for assessing the rewarding and reinforcing properties of foods that make up 58 percent of calories consumed in the United States. The foods have been linked to a wide range of negative health outcomes.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      I couldn't locate this imageset and associated tools online, but I am willing to bet they might make it available to us, and the generation of more future research in this area is a key purpose of this work.
  • provides a collection of carefully curated images of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods matched on 26 characteristics, including macronutrients, sodium, dietary fiber, calories, price, and visual characteristics such as a color and portion size
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      Perhaps we just need to get the full journal article to get the raw materials (images) created and used.
  • The scale has its detractors. "A major criticism of the NOVA scale is that it's difficult to use or that foods are classified differently by different people," said Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, corresponding author and assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. "We found that people with education in nutrition generally agreed on the food classifications, providing some data that it might not be a valid criticism."
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      See... this is the sort of thing I see as an opportunity. If the scale has detractors or isn't yet perfect, perhaps there is an opening here for a project. Perhaps there is even an opening to create something focused on teens (who I would argue are at most risk for the consumption of ultra-processed foods). This is an interesting area to me, not only behavioral science, but human diet in general.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • To develop the picture set, a team of psychologists, neuroscientists, and registered dietitians selected foods to represent either minimally processed or ultra-processed foods.
  • The foods were prepared in a lab, visually represented through professional photography, and controlled for consistency. Researchers also gathered price, food weights, and nutritional information -- calories, macronutrients, sodium, and dietary fiber -- for the food in each image.
  • researchers recruited 67 nutrition professionals and asked them to classify the foods as minimally or ultra-processed
  • "There is very little experimental research on ultra-processed foods, and part of what's been holding us back is better tools for measuring and assessing their effects,"
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      Another big GREEN flag that this is an area ripe for new and creative approaches!
  • The Virginia Tech team is making the pictures and associated data accessible through the Virginia Tech Data Repository of the Virginia Tech University Libraries. This will allow scientists to test hypotheses in behavioral economic and neuroimaging studies.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      This states that the images/research tools WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE (if not already). This is very cool. So, could the already-existing tool be leveraged in a novel way compared to what the researchers used it for, or does this provide somewhat of a template for someone to create a better or more-helpful tool perhaps for teens?
  • Story Source: Materials provided by Virginia Tech. Original written by Leigh Anne Kelley. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
  • Journal Reference: Zach Hutelin, Monica Ahrens, Mary Elizabeth Baugh, Mary E. Oster, Alexandra L. Hanlon, Alexandra G. DiFeliceantonio. Creation and validation of a NOVA scored picture set to evaluate ultra-processed foods.. Appetite, 2024; 198: 107358 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107358
nataliegomes

Do Invertebrates Have Emotions? | The Scientist Magazine® - 1 views

www.the-scientist.com/ertebrates-have-emotions-70067

HSR-2025 science biology behavioralscience invertebrates HSR questions potential research idea

shared by nataliegomes on 07 May 24 - No Cached
  • He adds that he doubts that the findings are applicable to other insect species, which still might act purely on instinct.
  • Invertebrate nervous systems, physiology, and sensory experiences are dissimilar to ours, and designing experiments to measure their emotions has been challenging. 
  • If the responses weren’t purely reflexive, it would open up the possibility that the animals could feel pain. 
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • After placing acetic acid—a mild irritant—on the crabs’ antennae, they found that the crabs rubbed their antennae against the glass of their aquarium, seemingly in an attempt to take the acid off.
    • nataliegomes
      nataliegomes on 07 May 24
       
      The use of an invisible irritant rather than a notable injury shows that they can feel the pain, instead of just noticing an injury to their body.
Sean Nash

Add to the many afterlives of coffee grounds: Toxic cleanup - 0 views

www.anthropocenemagazine.org/...f-coffee-grounds-toxic-cleanup

coffee pollution toxins environment ecology toxicity bentazone pesticide HSR HSR-2025 potential research idea environmental botany science questions biology

shared by Sean Nash on 15 May 24 - No Cached
  • The experts selected onion plants to test out this idea, known for their high sensitivity to toxins in the environment. In beakers of water containing bentazone, they grew onion root tissue, called meristems, measuring its cell division and root growth as a sign of health. 
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 15 May 24
       
      One of the things I want VERY badly for our program... is a set of equipment for histology... where we can take things like onion root tips and lock samples in wax, slice them incredibly thin (microslices), and then be able to mount them onto slides for analysis.
Sean Nash

Could the world famous Roman Baths help scientists counter the challenge of antibiotic resistance? | ScienceDaily - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...240531122536.htm

microbiology archea challenge resistance antibiotic HSR HSR-2025 science environmental questions biology potential research idea

shared by Sean Nash on 06 Jun 24 - No Cached
  • Proteobacteria and Firmicutes
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 06 Jun 24
       
      If we were able to sample various springs/baths in the midwest could we even culture strains like this, and then what would it take to identify them? You could compare that perhaps to total colony counts on Petri dishes.
  • a detailed examination of the bacterial and archaeal communities found within the waters of the popular tourist attraction in the city of Bath
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 06 Jun 24
       
      The Elms is a famous springwater bath locale here in Excelsior Springs, Missouri less than an hour away. Eureka Springs, Arkansas is another area nearby off the top of my head. This also has me asking general questions about other bathing scenarios that would not likely feature ancient microbes, like hot tubs, swimming pools, etc. I wonder about ALL of the variables that go into the conditions of these baths and how that might correlate to total numbers of bacteria as well as differing types. There isn't a TON of microbiology that we can do in the high school lab without help, but I do know that we are generally permitted to work with environmentally-found bacteria (like the little lab we did in the Addie unit).
  • Scientists collected samples of water, sediment and biofilm from locations within the Roman Baths complex including the King's Spring (where the waters reach around 45°C) and the Great Bath, where the temperatures are closer to 30°C.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 06 Jun 24
       
      This means they collected from the water column itself, but also biofilms (which would be found along the edges of containments walls, etc... in addition to sediment found at the bottom of natural spring sources.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The samples were then analysed using cutting edge sequencing technology and traditional culturing techniques were employed to isolate bacteria with antibiotic activity.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 06 Jun 24
       
      This obviously would require a significant bit of outside help. However, I'm still not sure we couldn't do more basic work that would be meaningful.
Sean Nash

A new breakthrough in understanding regeneration in a marine worm | ScienceDaily - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...240702135526.htm

shared by Sean Nash on 03 Jul 24 - No Cached
  • The sea worm Platynereis dumerilii is only a few centimetres long but has a remarkable ability: in just a few days, it can regenerate entire parts of its body after an injury or amputation.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 03 Jul 24
       
      Trevor Davids used the California blackworm, Lumbriculus variegatus, to examine the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on regeneration rate. Lumbroculus is a freshwater worm and easy to care for.
  • a research team led by a CNRS scientist1 has observed that gut cells play a role in the regeneration of the intestine as well as other tissues such as muscle and epidermis
  • Even more surprising, the team found that this ability of gut cells to regenerate other tissue varies according to their location: the closer they are to the posterior end of the worm, the greater the variety of cell types they can rebuild
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • This was tracked using different markers in particular by fluorescent beads ingested by the worms.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 03 Jul 24
       
      This is similar to what Grant Reed was trying to do with painted lady butterflies. He wanted to see the effects of ingesting plastic nanoparticles on their development and regeneration. The smart selection of fluorescent nanoparticles (which we purchased and still have) would allow the tracking of the particles using specialized microscopy.
  • Annelids, or 'segmented worms', which have only been studied in the last 20 years, are an ideal model for the study of regeneration, a process that is widespread in animals but still mysterious for scientists.
  • The research team will continue this work to determine whether cell types, other than gut cells, can play a role in regenerating a variety of cell types.
  • Journal Reference: Loïc Bideau, Zoé Velasquillo-Ramirez, Loeiza Baduel, Marianne Basso, Pascale Gilardi-Hebenstreit, Vanessa Ribes, Michel Vervoort, Eve Gazave. Variations in cell plasticity and proliferation underlie distinct modes of regeneration along the antero-posterior axis in the annelid Platynereis. Development, 2024; 151 (20) DOI: 10.1242/dev.202452
  • Sean Nash on 03 Jul 24
     
    There are elements of this study that connect to what Trevor Davids & Grant Reed were doing last year... but with a different model organism.
Caleb Jasper

A Surprise find: Soybean waste can be fish feed - 0 views

www.anthropocenemagazine.org/...uld-be-the-future-of-fish-feed

HSR environmental statistical analysis biology potential research idea botany

shared by Caleb Jasper on 08 May 24 - No Cached
  • fish feed. The wastewater from soybean
  • processing can be converted into a nourishing, protein-rich food for farmed Asian sea bass, a team of scientists has discovered.
  • They worked with a local food processing company to rescue hundreds of liters of soybean wastewater, which they discovered was rich in two types of protein-accumulating microbes in particular, known as Acidipropionibacterium and Propioniciclava.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • The sea bass that were fed the alternative microbe protein diet did have significantly lower weight to begin with, but that evened out as they grew. And, notably, the group that received the traditional feed diet had greater variability in their weight gain as they grew—whereas those fed the alternative microbe protein diet showed a more even accumulation of weight over the experiment’s course.
  • Meanwhile, the wastewater from other soybean uses goes unused—but according to the recent results, could feasibly tackle both of these sustainability challenges at once. Furthermore it’s not just soybean waste water, the researchers say: several agricultural processes create wastewater side streams that are rich in the combination of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus that’s needed to sustain a growing population of hungry, protein-accumulating bacteria.
  • Microbial community‐based protein from soybean‐processing wastewater as a sustainable alternative fish feed ingredient.
  • Caleb Jasper on 08 May 24
     
    Possible more efficient fish feed to reduce waste and benefit the environment as well as the economy.
Sean Nash

Dynamic microvilli sculpt bristles at nanometric scale | Nature Communications - 0 views

www.nature.com/...s41467-024-48044-3

3Dprinter 3D synthesis biomimicry biology chemistry physics engineering science HSR-2025 HSR potential research idea

shared by Sean Nash on 16 May 24 - No Cached
  • Scanning electron microscopy/SEM
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 16 May 24
       
      They had to use scanning electron microscopy to figure this out, yes. BUT... in scaling something like this up, we would not need such a thing!
  • The refractive index tomograms of isolated bristles were obtained by Nanolive 3D Cell Explorer, and raw data were deposited at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10207240.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 16 May 24
       
      This might be the way to dial in the measurement ratios to mimick something like this on a larger scale for some purpose. How do the worms use them? If this doesn't get it, we can ALWAYS email the actual scientists to see if they can send us this data to do what we're trying to do. They are usually VERY helpful in such things for creative and hard-working students.
  • Sean Nash on 16 May 24
     
    I am often thinking about biomimicry. I wonder if something like this process could be 3D printed at a larger scale... for another valuable use of some sort. (?)
  • Sean Nash on 16 May 24
     
    This one is a LOT of chew through, but it is super interesting to figure out how living things bioengineer such structures over millions of years of evolution. Biomimicry is simply us studying (and then mimicking) the most interesting things in nature... to enhance something in the human world. This article is the original journal article linked to and highlighted by one of the ScienceDaily stories from today.
Sean Nash

Study suggests 'biodegradable' teabags don't readily deteriorate in the environment and can adversely affect terrestrial species | ScienceDaily - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...240528115039.htm

biodegradable teabags manufacturing ecology environment polylactic acid plastic cellulose soil potential research idea engineering biology chemistry environmental science HSR-2025 HSR

shared by Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24 - No Cached
  • The research looked at commonly available teabags made using three different compositions of polylactic acid (PLA), which is derived from sources such as corn starch or sugar cane.
  • The teabags were buried in soil for seven months, and a range of techniques were then used to assess whether -- and to what extent -- they had deteriorated.
  • The study also examined the impacts of the discs cut from the teabags on a species of earthworm, Eisenia fetida, which has a critical role in soil nutrient turnover as it consumes organic matter.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Researchers found that being exposed to three different concentrations of teabag discs -- equivalent to the mass of half, one and two teabags -- resulted in up to 15% greater mortality, while some concentrations of PLA had a detrimental effect on earthworm reproduction.
  • It used analytical techniques such as size exclusion chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and scanning electron microscopy allowing scientists to examine not just how the teabags had changed visibly but also structurally.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      This sort of work could be done by visual analysis alone with a rubric of sorts, but once data is derived, reaching out to a local lab might provide access to some of these tools for a tighter analysis and an even more convincing project,
  • we've shown that when it is not properly disposed of, for example after seven months in the soil, its molecular structure remains intact
  • But it is with immense frustration that I see alternative and substitute materials entering the market without clear guidance on how their benefits might be realised. Even if consumers understand how to dispose of these products only around half of households in the UK currently have access to the necessary waste streams for the type of composting required.
  • It is essential we learn from the mistakes we made with plastic materials by testing and labelling these novel materials in relation to the prevailing waste management infrastructure.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 01 Jun 24
       
      Again, when you find a call for more research (aka: "learning" in this case) it is a good sign that you have found an area ripe for more work to be done.
  • "In this study PLA-based teabags did not fully deteriorate, and it seems that composting worms may be harmed by them. The lack of clear labelling can lead to consumers disposing of teabags in their compost, where any limit to complete degradation of the material raises the potential for plastics to enter the soil when compost is added to the garden, with potential impacts on garden wildlife and uptake by food plants."
emmarrogers

Frequent mowing puts poisonous weed into survival mode | ScienceDaily - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...240603195751.htm

HSR HSR-2025 behavior biology environmental potential research idea botany

shared by emmarrogers on 04 Jun 24 - No Cached
  • The taproot went down further
  • More spikes popped out on the stem
  • The flowers became more toxic
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Although studies have often highlighted weed fitness and defense traits resulting from disturbances like mowing, most were limited to foliar, or leaf, defenses, Kariyat said. That changed when Vasquez and fellow master's biology students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley monitored fields of mowed, unmowed and frequently mowed silverleaf nightshade in and around Edinburg, Texas.
  • "Alejandro's question was, 'how do these flowers differ between mowed and unmowed plants?'"
  • "You are trying to mow these plants so that the plants are getting eliminated," Kariyat said. "But what you are actually doing here, you are making them much worse, much stronger."
  • The observations of mowed, unmowed and frequently mowed areas with silverleaf nightshade provide evidence that could prompt further studies by weed scientists on best management practices, Kariyat said.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Jun 24
       
      Again... when you see a callout like this for more research in an area... especially one that might be feasible with some serious planning/organization... you might be on to something.
  • the study does provide more insight into the defensive capabilities of plants pitted against human disturbance
  • "Continuous mowing differentially affects floral defenses in the noxious and invasive weed Solanum elaeagnifolium in its native range."
  • Journal Reference: Alejandro Vasquez, Alexa Alaniz, Robert Dearth, Rupesh Kariyat. Continuous mowing differentially affects floral defenses in the noxious and invasive weed Solanum elaeagnifolium in its native range. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58672-w
  • Solanum ptychanthum or black nightshade, and Solanum carolinense, or Carolina horsenettle, also produce toxic berries and are native to Arkansas.
    • emmarrogers
      emmarrogers on 04 Jun 24
       
      Could we possibly research different types of weeds similar to the silver Nightshade, like one of these plants?
  • Sean Nash on 04 Jun 24
     
    There is a TON of data that can be measured & analyzed in a study like this. Easier to do in a less time-dependent way in the lab, but easier and more realistic (in vivo) to do if you have access to similar fields that are mowed and unmowed to differing extents. So many variables to examine and consider here for how plants may change physiologically based upon how we interact with them. This goes beyond that analogy I always use for fast evolution in Honors Biology: how dandelion populations become shorter based upon frequent mowing. This gets into the physiological responses. Very cool methinks.
Caleb Jasper

Racing drivers blink at the same points when going round a track | New Scientist - 0 views

www.newscientist.com/...oints-when-going-round-a-track

HSR-2025 science questions potential research idea behavioralscience

shared by Caleb Jasper on 13 Jun 24 - No Cached
Sean Nash liked it
  • Studying this further could help us better understand conditions where blinking rates change, such as Parkinson’s disease.
  • Caleb Jasper on 13 Jun 24
     
    Not a lot of information in this particular article here, however it does introduce a possible connection to Parkinson's disease. There are multiple links within the article containing a surplus of information around this subject that I will have to research further.
Kylie John

Ants perform life saving operations - the only animal other than humans known to do so | Live Science - 0 views

www.livescience.com/...her-than-humans-known-to-do-so

HSR-2025 HSR behavioralscience insects potential research idea

shared by Kylie John about 11 hours ago - No Cached
  • In experiments, they observed that the ants treated their nest members' femur injuries by cleaning the wound with their mouths before amputating the leg by repeatedly biting it, while the tibia wounds were treated with just cleaning.
    • Kylie John
      Kylie John about 11 hours ago
       
      I wonder how the ant functions after this. It mentions that later the survival rate goes up but is the ant still able to do everything it used to? Like how ants can carry a lot more than their body weight, does that change for the ant after it got amputated?
  • The scientists are now extending their research to other ant species that don't possess special antimicrobial glands to see if other ants have the ability to perform surgeries. 
    • Kylie John
      Kylie John about 11 hours ago
       
      Research oppurtunity?
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