Article 1: Pregnant women show a robust immune response to COVID vaccines, pass antibodies to newborns
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210325150127.htm
Summary:
The researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a study to find out how mRNA Covid-19 vaccines respond to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in pregnant and lactating women. The research was conducted on 131 women of reproductive age, where 84 were pregnant, 31 lactating, and 16 non-pregnant. All the women were given mRNA vaccines. Conducting the research was vital to understand whether mRNA vaccines have side effects on pregnant and lactating women. The Center for Disease Control indicated that pregnant women are likely to become severely ill with Covid-19 and can increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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The findings of the study indicate that all the women developed equal levels of antibodies after vaccination and the side effects were rare and comparable across the participants. The researchers also compared the level of antibodies induced due to vaccination and natural infection with Covid-19 on expectant women and found that vaccination induces a significantly higher level of antibodies compared to that induced by natural infection. The mRNA Covid-19 vaccines administered to women generated antibodies that were found in the umbilical cord, blood, and breast milk samples taken from the participants. The study reveals that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines can induce immunity to the mother and the unborn making it safe to include pregnant women in vaccination against Covid-19.
The study also aimed at finding out the immune response provided by the Pfizer vaccine compared to that of the Moderna vaccine. The study revealed that after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, the levels of mucosal antibodies (IgA) were significantly higher than those induced by the Pfizer vaccine after the second dose. Mucosal antibodies are essential because they fight against infections acquired through mucosal surfaces such as the nose, mouth, and eyes, for instance, SARS-CoV-2. Mucosal antibodies are also vital for pregnant and lactating mothers because IgA one of the main antibodies found in breastmilk that improves the immunity of infants.
Related to Biology:
The article relates to biology because we have learned the importance of vaccination and how the body responds by generating antibodies to help prevent infection. Vaccination enables the body to develop immunity; however, it can cause side effects, especially to expectant women. In the article, however, expectant and lactating women responded well to vaccines because the side effects were rare. The vaccines also extended immunity to the unborn through the placenta and indicate the connection between the mother and the unborn that we learn in biology.
What I've Learned:
By reading the article, I have learned that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines have no side effects on pregnant or lactating women contrary to previous information that vaccination could harm the unborn and the mother. I also learned that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines are very effective in inducing the development of antibodies that prevent expectant and lactating mothers from contracting infections such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is important to know that mRNA Covid-19 vaccines not only protect the mother but also the newborn through breastmilk and placenta.
Question:
Could mRNA Covid-19 vaccines cause long-term health complications?
Answer: The vaccines are tested in large clinical trials to assess their safety; however, more people are vaccinated against Covid-19 before clinicians find out whether there are rare or long-term side effects.
Answer obtained from: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/covid-19-vaccines-patients-frequently-asked-questions
Article 2: Vitamin A for nerve cells
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210331130913.htm
Summary:
The scientists and researchers of Medical Center Freiburg conducted an experiment to investigate if dendritic spines change when exposed to retinoic acid, vitamin A derivative. During communication, dendritic spines receive processes and transmit signals to neurons. Dendritic spines, therefore, play a critical role in constantly adapting to everyday experience and brain plasticity. Changes take place in the shape or number of dendritic spines when an individual learns something new or a person experiences mental illness such as dementia or depression. When experimenting to demonstrate synaptic plasticity in the human brain, the researchers used tiny samples of the human cerebral cortex that is usually removed during neurosurgical procedures for therapeutic reasons. The researchers treated the brain tissue with retinoic acid before analyzing the functional and structural properties of the neuron using electrophysiological and microscopic techniques.
The results of the experiment indicate that retinoic acid plays a critical role in increasing the size of the dendritic spine and also enhancing their ability to transmit signals between neurons. Retinoic acid which is a derivative of vitamin A is essential in the human brain because they act as messengers for synaptic plasticity. The findings of the experiment are essential because it has contributed to the identification of the primary mechanism of synaptic plasticity in the human brain. The results of the experiment also play a critical role in enabling the development of advanced therapeutic strategies that enables psychologists and psychiatrists to manage brain diseases such as depression more effectively.
Related to Biology:
The article is related to biology because in class we have learned about the importance of the nervous system in human beings and its role in transmitting signals from different parts of the body and also coordinating behavior. The dendritic synapse that the team was investigating in the experiment is part of the nervous system that we have been studying in our biology class. In biology, we have learned that neurons play a critical role in transmitting signals from the brain to other parts of the body. The article illustrates the effects of retinoic acid on the ability of the dendritic spine, which is part of the nervous, to transmit signals from the brain to other parts of the body. The article also relates to biology by focusing on the importance of retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, in the human body. In biology class, we have learned that retinoic acid plays a critical role in a developing nervous system by contributing to the specification, differentiation, and patterning of neural progenitors.
What I've Learned:
From the article, I have learned that dendritic spines play a critical role in receiving, processing, and transmitting the signal in the nervous system. Another essential thing to note is the changes that take place in dendritic spines, for instance, an increase in the number or shape of spines when an individual learns something new or suffering from a mental illness such as depression. I have learned that retinoic acid plays a vital role in enhancing the efficiency of the nervous system because it increases the size of dendritic spines and also strengthens their ability to transmit signals between the neurons. The most important thing to learn from reading the article is the importance of human brain plasticity and its contribution to the development of new therapeutic strategies that can be used to provide the solution to mental illness such as depression.
Question: if any, are there other roles that retinoic acid performs in the human body?
Answer: Retinoic acid has other critical roles in the human body; for instance, it serves as an intercellular messenger that affects gene transcriptions. Another role of retinoic acid is that it acts as a light-signaling neuromodulator and regulates the junction-mediated gap of retinal neurons in the human eye.
Answer obtained from: http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/topics/vitamina.html
Article 3: Photosynthesis could be as old as life itself
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210324142839.htm
Summary:
A team of researchers led by scientists from Imperial College London conducted a study about the evolution of photosynthesis. Previous studies indicate that some of the biological systems called Photosystem II that produce oxygen are very old, but they did not place that on the life history timeline. Photosystem II indicates evolution patterns belonging to the oldest known enzymes crucial for the existence and evolution of life. Two forms of photosynthesis convert sunlight into energy, the one that produces oxygen and the other that does not. The type of photosynthesis that produces oxygen is assumed to have evolved later with the emergence of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae approximately 2.5 billion years ago. The evolution of photosynthesis that produces oxygen is thought to be the primary factor for the emergence of complex life to have taken several billion to evolve.
The finding indicates that in some of the earliest bacteria, enzymes capable of performing oxygen-producing photosynthesis could have been present. The earliest evidence of life on earth is estimated to have been 3.4 billion years old even though, some studies indicated that life could be over 4 billion years. The first version of oxygen photosynthesis may have been simple, inefficient, and slow. Bacteria took approximately one billion years to perfect the process resulting in cyanobacteria evolution and two billion for animals and plants. The team of researchers made their discovery by tracing the molecular clock of primary photosynthesis aimed at estimating the rate of evolution of proteins based on the time between known evolutionary moments. The calculated rate of evolution can be extrapolated back in time to know when the proteins started evolving. Using the Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction method was critical in predicting the sequence of ancestral photosynthetic proteins necessary to measure the evolution period. The calculation of photosynthesis protein evolution indicated a nearly identical pattern of evolution with the oldest enzymes suggesting that they might have evolved similarly. Knowing the key evolution concerning the photosynthesis proteins is vital towards understanding life on earth and the using of photosynthesis solve some of the problems through synthetic biology.
Related to Biology:
The article is related to biology because in the semester we have learned how green plants convert sunlight into chemical energy necessary for fueling cellular activities through the process of photosynthesis. Green plants capture light energy from the sun and use it to convert water, carbon IV oxide, and minerals into oxygen and energy compound that keep the plant alive. the article also relates to biology because it talks about the enzymes and their importance in speeding up the rate of chemical reactions both in plants and animals.
What I've Learned:
From the article, I have learned that some of the earliest bacteria were capable of conducting photosynthesis. Measure the evolution of this activity using the Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction technique is another vital thing to learn from the article. I have also learned that biological systems responsible for performing oxygen production, for instance, photosystem II are extremely old. I also learned that the enzymes that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen were present in the earliest bacteria. Another essential thing to learn is the possibility of scientist measuring the evolution of photosynthesis by tracing the molecular clock to help estimate the rate that protein evolve.
Question: What happens in photosynthesis that does not produce oxygen?
Answer: Anoxygenic photosynthesis (photosynthesis that does not produce oxygen) is a complex process where plants and organisms capture light energy and convert it into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) using bacteriochlorophylls instead of chlorophyll. In the process, water is not used as an electron donor resulting in the formation of ATP and water as a byproduct.
Answer obtained from: https://www.livescience.com/51720-photosynthesis.html
References
Gray, K. J., Bordt, E. A., Atyeo, C., Deriso, E., Akinwunmi, B., & Young, N. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine response in pregnant and lactating women: a cohort study. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology . Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210325150127.htm
Lenz, M., Kruse, P., Eichler, A., Straehle, J., & Beck, J. (2021). All-trans retinoic acid induces synaptic plasticity in human cortical neurons. Elife, 10 , e63026. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210331130913.htm
Oliver, T., Sánchez-Baracaldo, P., Larkum, A. W., Rutherford, A. W., & Cardona, T. (2021). Time-resolved comparative molecular evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Bioenergetics, 1862(6) , 148400. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210324142839.htm
