This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Critical defects that compromise the nucleus during cell division could be the basis for the age-accelerating effects of people living with progeria. Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes premature aging. Affecting one in 8 million newborns worldwide, the disorder is extremely rare—and fatal. The rapid aging of the cardiovascular system causes death due to heart attack or stroke in patients by their mid-teens. Progeria is caused by a tiny point mutation in the lamin A gene. This gene is responsible for producing structural proteins called lamins, which form the scaffolding that holds the cell nucleus together. The mutated form of prelamin A called progerin destabilizes the cell nucleus—the genetic control center of cells. The result is the fast-aging effects observed in progeria. But the link from gene mutation to physical disorder has remained a mystery. Previous studies have looked only at models of progeria, not at actual patient cells..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling plays an important role in regulating cellular responses to external stimuli. GPCRs are so critical that they are a common pharmaceutical target, with 35% of available drugs targeting the receptors. But despite their importance, the mechanism underlying G protein selectivity for closely related Gαi proteins is unclear. In a recent study, researchers followed up on their previous finding that Gαi protein subunits prefer different lipid domains in the membrane. Using live-cell fluorescence microscopy techniques, they characterized the diffusion of Gαi subunits and the dopamine D2 long receptor isoform (D2R). They found that although Gαi protein subunits are very similar, the Gαi2 subunit displayed faster lateral diffusion than Gαi1. Distinct Gαi heterotrimers localized to different areas of the cell membrane, correlating with the efficiency of D2R-mediated inhibition of cAMP..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In many cell types, growth factor stimulation triggers the formation of structures called circular dorsal ruffles (CDRs). CDRs are large, rounded ruffles on the upper cell membrane that serve as platforms for PI3K–PIP3–AKT protein signaling and probably play a role in cell growth. CDRs are present in some types of cancer cells, but it’s unclear whether they contribute to cancer development. To find out, researchers recently treated six cancer cell lines and one normal cell line with two growth factors: epidermal growth factor and insulin. Both growth factors induced CDR formation in the Hep3B hepatocellular carcinoma line, but not in normal liver cells, other hepatocellular carcinoma cells, breast cancer cells, or pancreatic cancer cells. Closer analysis confirmed that growth factor receptor proteins were recruited to the CDRs and that the PI3K–PIP3–AKT pathway was activated at the ruffles..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The liver has a unique ability to regenerate after damage due to injury or disease. This regeneration relies primarily on the proliferation of hepatocytes, the main cells in the liver. Hepatocytes and many other liver cell types, including endothelial cells, bile duct cells, and immune cells, interact in a coordinated manner to enable repair. For example, liver endothelial cells promote the hepatocyte proliferation that’s necessary for regeneration, and hepatocytes activate a signaling pathway that promotes blood vessel growth to nourish the new liver tissue. If hepatocyte proliferation is impaired, an alternate pathway can direct liver regeneration through transformation of bile duct cells into hepatocytes. Liver endothelial cells promote this conversion process, helping to build the hepatocyte population. while connective tissue–forming cells encourage bile duct cell growth and proliferation, ensuring an ample supply of these cells..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Membrane-enclosed extracellular vesicles, exosomes, are a critical part of intercellular communication in many biological systems. However, the regulation and biological implications of exosome excretion and uptake remain unclear. A recent study examined the role of cellular retinoic acid (RA) binding protein (Crabp1) in exosome secretion and its relationship to receptor interacting protein 140 (RIP140), a pro-inflammatory transcription co-regulator. Crabp1 knockout mice consistently showed deficits in negative control of exosome secretion and exhibited increased vulnerability to systemic inflammation. Crabp1 knockout mice had significantly elevated RIP140-containing exosomes in their blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Cell culture experiments suggested that exosome secretion can transfer RIP140 from neurons to macrophages, where it promotes macrophage inflammatory polarization..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"_Clostridioides difficile_ infection (CDI), the most common hospital-acquired infection in the U.S., can cause severe diarrhea and even death, and more than 15% of infected individuals experience recurrent infection within 8 weeks. CDI is related to gut microbiome imbalance, but the factors that influence recurrence are not well understood. To identify potential predictors of recurrence, researchers sequenced and metabolically profiled the gut microbiomes of 53 patients with CDI over time. Compared to patients with no recurrence, patients with recurrent CDI had slower recovery of gut microbial diversity, and depletion of important anaerobic microbes, such as certain _Clostridium_ species. The patients with recurrent CDI also had delayed recovery of microbial metabolites in the gut, which was likely associated with dysfunction of the microbiome or of the host tissue..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The skin is the interface between the human body and the environment, and the different features in distinct skin regions, such as different temperatures, humidity levels, gland densities, and pH values, create a variety of niches that can support a diverse skin microbiome. This microbiome includes bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and even mites. A healthy skin microbiome helps maintain skin homeostasis, protects against pathogens, communicates with and trains the immune system, and affects wound healing. However, the skin microbiome can be influenced by many factors, including intrinsic factors like aging and extrinsic factors like cosmetic. Recent advances in molecular biology techniques and next-generation sequencing have drastically increased our understanding of the microorganisms that live on our skin, but the microbes are often still difficult to culture and study..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Spaceflight affects the human body in numerous ways, but one underexplored area is the mouth. The mouth is home to rich populations of bacteria and fungi which, studies have hinted, can undergo shifts during long and even short space missions. For the first time, researchers have tracked changes in the oral microbiome during and after spaceflight and examined how those changes might reawaken dormant viruses — a phenomenon long known to affect astronauts. The team analyzed saliva samples from 10 male astronauts for microbial makeup and for the presence of Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex, and varicella zoster virus. Only Epstein-Barr virus counts appeared to track with changes in microbial composition during spaceflight. For example, increased virus counts coincided with increased numbers of bacteria of the genus Gracilibacteria, while low counts coincided with increased numbers of members of Oribacteria and Hemophilus..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Many factors affect the evolution of species, but a new influence has recently been recognized. Gut microbes – tiny residents of the intestinal tracts of all animals – have wide-ranging effects on the physiology of their hosts and scientists are increasingly appreciating that diversification may actually be correlated with changes in the gut microbiota. However, the extent to which gut microbes evolve along with a host species remains unclear. A recent study examined this correlation using an ideal model – a system where evolution repeated itself in different geographic settings. Beginning with two groups of Nicaraguan cichlid fish that evolved in parallel in different crater lakes researchers sequenced microbes from fish guts and lake water to determine whether species diverged in parallel. They found that bacterial communities in fish were distinct from those in lake water..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Walking through the produce section at the grocery store, you are likely to find tomatoes of all shapes, sizes, and colors. One variety may be large and oblong with a hint of bitter flavor while another will have small, sweet fruits. This variance is primarily the result of genetic and chemical properties of the different varieties. But it turns out, environment also plays a role. A team of Italian scientists has shown that the molecular properties of tomatoes are strongly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and moisture. And changing these factors can, in turn, have pronounced effects on the physical and culinary qualities of the fruits – an important finding considering the pace of current climate change. To tease apart the interaction between genetics, environment, and organoleptic traits, the research team grew three tomato varieties in two different locations. This exposed the plants to varying levels of moisture, soil acidity, and temperature, among other conditions..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Skin microbes play fundamental roles in maintaining balance in the skin. An imbalance – microbial dysbiosis – is associated with the onset and progression of many common skin diseases. To better understand the functions of skin microbes, a recent study aimed to develop a catalog of skin microbiome reference genes. Using a sample of 822 skin samples from Han Chinese individuals, combined with 538 previously obtained North American samples, researchers constructed the integrated Human Skin Microbial Gene Catalog, or iHSMGC, comprising over 10 million genes. Using the catalog, they found that skin commensals such as Staphylococcus are an important reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Microbe- and skin site-specific ARG signatures were identified, as were differences between populations. Two patterns of microbial networks – “cutotypes” – were identified in the newly analyzed samples, with Moraxella osloensis and Cutibacterium acnes serving as markers of the cutotypes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Bacteria and other microorganisms cover nearly every surface on earth, including the surfaces we build and maintain. Ocean piers are unique sites at the intersection of terrestrial, aquatic, and human-built environments. Saltwater spray, inclement weather, and pollutants make piers a harsh environment for bacteria. Together, these factors suggest that piers house a unique microbiome. Researchers recently conducted a study to characterize the microbiomes found on pier surfaces. On nine piers along the coast of Hong Kong, the researchers found diverse microbiomes that were rich in novel bacterial species. Surface material (metal versus concrete) was the strongest factor influencing the bacterial community structure. Although the overall abundance was low, corrosion-associated bacteria were more prevalent on metal surfaces, and high-touch surfaces like handrails and poles had more human skin-associated microbes than other surfaces..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Built environment microbiomes are shaped by their occupants and the outside environment. These microbiomes can have a profound impact on the health of its occupants. The International Space Station (ISS) is a uniquely sealed environment, with only the arrival of crewmembers and supplies introducing new microbes. Monitoring the ISS microbiome is important to ensure astronaut health and spacecraft integrity. So, a recent study used samples from two long-term projects, Microbial Tracking 1 and 2, which sampled the same surfaces over two 14-month-long periods. The ISS surface microbiome was dominated by microbes associated with human skin. The most represented groups were Staphylococcus and Malassezia among bacteria and fungi, respectively. Community abundances shifted over time, but did not differ between surfaces. Overall, the metabolism genes tended towards amino acid utilization rather than carbohydrate metabolism..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The development of long-read sequencing has allowed for the generation of more complete and contiguous genomes in metagenomics studies. However, long-reads are more prone to sequencing errors than short-reads, and these errors can end up incorporated in the draft genomes. Combining short- and long-reads can overcome such errors, but is computationally taxing. To avoid this, researchers developed the ‘Hierarchical Clustering Based Hybrid Assembly (HCBHA) approach.’ This approach first groups the long- and short-reads into candidate bacterial haplotypes and then assembles each group separately, which reduces the computational demand . Researchers tested this framework on a microbiome from activated sludge, an important part of wastewater treatment. The highly complex microbiomes found in activated sludge remove pollutants from wastewater..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Bacteria and viruses are locked in a perpetual arms race. As bacterial viruses continuously try to penetrate and infect bacteria, bacteria are endlessly evolving anti-viral defense systems. Understanding how this struggle unfolds is critical, as bacteria are a vital component of many emerging biotechnologies and foods we eat. Scientists recently explored the battles that take place in cheese, where the presence of only a few species of bacteria makes an ideal, simple, and reproducible model system. The communities they analyzed harbored highly diverse defense mechanisms, even among nearly identical strains, suggesting rapid evolution. Additionally, the abundances of CRISPR spacers and their phage targets were correlated, suggesting that bacteria have genetic mechanisms for effectively defending against viral foes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Of all the forms of cancer, few are as aggressive as pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The discovery of a tumor in the pancreas is often accompanied by an extremely poor prognosis, even when surgery is an option. But a new technique could help doctors design better treatment strategies for patients with this type of cancer. A recent study carried out by researchers from France and the US highlights a promising new approach to rapidly distinguish pancreatic cancer cells from healthy ones and to predict a patient’s chances of survival after diagnosis. Such predictive power would allow physicians to better assess a patient’s surgical needs and recommend a more personalized treatment plan..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Most microbial biomass in the ocean is found in the deep sea. Deep-sea microbes are important agents for organic matter (OM) recycling and storage, but it’s unclear how these organisms cope with the fluctuating OM supply in the deep ocean, especially in the deepest areas: the hadal trenches. To learn more, a new study examined the metabolic potential of microbes in the phylum Chloroflexi using sediment samples from the Mariana Trench. Metagenomic sequencing revealed 6 novel species, 4 novel genera, 1 novel family, and 1 novel order of Chloroflexi in the sediment. Based on the sequences, the associated microbes were primarily OM consumers that could degrade various organic carbon (OC), sulfur, and halogenated compounds and could even metabolize degradation-resistant types of OM, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, or APM, is one of the most common surgeries for repairing knee damage – particularly for patients with meniscal tears. During the operation, surgeons often incidentally uncover additional damage to the surrounding cartilage in the form of chondral lesions. But despite the high prevalence of these lesions, their effects on postoperative outcomes aren’t clear. To better understand this relationship, a US-based research team has compared how patients with and without chondral lesions fare after APM. They’ve found that those going into surgery showing this damage have less successful recoveries. This conclusion was based on a fresh look at the results of a clinical trial known as the ChAMP trial. The trial had originally compared two methods for dealing with chondral lesions during APM: simple observation or debridement..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Many chronic diseases lead to organ fibrosis due to repeated tissue damage and repair cycles. Fibrosis stiffens the organs and causes inflammation that worsens disease, so new ways to diagnose and mitigate organ fibrosis are urgently needed. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) alter protein levels by binding to microRNAs and causing them to degrade. They also regulate transcription, interact with proteins, and even encode proteins themselves, as well as mediating crosstalk among organs as cargo in exosomes. Different circRNAs have a variety of roles in organ fibrosis, and exosomal circRNAs are potentially useful biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Aberrant circRNA expression is involved in fibrotic diseases including cardiac, liver, pulmonary, renal, and skin fibrosis. Although finding precise circRNA targets and developing treatments will require additional research, interfering with these circRNAs and delivering synthetic circRNAs is a promising strategy to reduce organ fibrosis in the future..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The immune systems of fish and other animals follow circadian rhythms related to light/dark cycles. In aquaculture, the light period is commonly lengthened to enhance growth and control reproduction, but the effects on fish immunity are unclear and parasite infestations and infectious diseases remain major challenges to the industry, so a better understanding of fish immunity is needed. Microbial communities living on fish's skin - their microbiome - can help defend against parasites and pathogens, but it is currently unknown if they too have daily rhythms. To learn more, researchers recently characterized the circadian dynamics of clock genes, immune genes, and microbes in the skin of rainbow trout. They found that skin immune gene expression and the skin microbiome exhibited daily rhythms. These rhythms were affected by both a change in photoperiod and infestation with lice (Argulus foliaceus), and fish under constant light were less able to defend themselves against lice infestation..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.