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TS Digest
November 2022, Issue 2

November 2022, Issue 2 Table of Contents

This Issue

November 2022, Issue 2

Protecting Pregnancy

Understanding maternal immune changes could improve pregnancy outcomes

Feature

Illustration of pregnancy and the immune system

Modulating Immunity to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes

Tobias R. Kollmann, Arnaud Marchant, and Sing Sing Way | Nov 14, 2022 | 10+ min read

Aberrant immune activation, the main cause of prematurity and stillbirths, could be preventable through interventions such as maternal vaccination.

Freeze Frame

An international team of scientists used sensitive instruments to show that oil from human skin reacts with ozone to generate potent, free radicals. These chemicals can further react with most organic compounds present in the indoor environment to produce dangerous pollutants.

Caught on Camera

See some of the coolest images recently featured by The Scientist

Infographics

(Left) The optic lobes are thought to be involved in visual processing. In this study, researchers found that guppies with larger optic lobes more quickly learned a visual discrimination task—identifying which color well contained food. (Right) The fish telencephalon is thought to be involved in spatial learning, memory, and inhibitory control. Here, the researchers found that a larger telencephalon might enhance the fish’s cognitive flexibility, allowing them to more quickly associate food with a new color after the researchers switched it.

Infographic: Two Guppy Brain Regions May Help Them Learn Tasks

While guppies with larger optic lobes were champions at learning visual discrimination tasks, guppies with larger telencephalons fared better when researchers switched things up.

Illustration showing immunology during pregnancy

Infographic: How Immunology Can Influence Pregnancy Outcomes

Pregnancy-induced changes in the immune system are key to a successful birth. Understanding those changes could allow researchers to protect both mother and child.

The Literature

Fish Brain Region Size Correlates with Cognitive Flexibility

The relative sizes of specific parts of the guppy brain may explain why some fish are better at learning certain tasks than others.

A colored microscopy image showing cells that are dying in yellow and healthy cells in blue

Sweet Taste Receptors Regulate Proteins in Developing Fruit Flies

An unexpected find shows that sweet-sensing receptors also help epithelial cells in Drosophila larvae stay alive amid proteotoxic stress.

A closeup of a dead frog floating in water with aquatic plants underneath it

Chytrid Fungus Deploys Varying Strategies to Infect Amphibians

The ability to activate different sets of genes has likely helped the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis spread widely in amphibians, resulting in global population declines.

Careers

Green Lab Initiatives Take Root Around the World

Scientists, students, and administrative staff are working to bring about a cultural shift to mitigate the impact of research on the environment.

Reading Frames

Opinion: Are Cats Friends or Fiends?

In Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, I explore what it is that makes an animal a pest—and it has nothing to do with their behavior, but rather our own desires and beliefs about the natural world.