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How can the microscopic creatures, tardigrades, also called water bearers, help contribute to developing new medical treatments? This is what a recent study published in Protein Science hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated how tardigrade proteins could replace certain medical treatments when refrigerating those treatments are unavailable, specifically regarding stem cell treatments, and could possibly slow the aging process.

One reason tardigrades are an intriguing option is due to their ability to start and stop suspended animation when presented with outside stressors. Now, researchers are attempting to introduce tardigrade proteins in human cells, and the researchers have found some surprising results.

“Amazingly, when we introduce these proteins into human cells, they gel and slow down metabolism, just like in tardigrades,” said Dr. Silvia Sanchez-Martinez, who is a Senior Research Scientist at University of Wyoming and lead author of the study. “Furthermore, just like tardigrades, when you put human cells that have these proteins into biostasis, they become more resistant to stresses, conferring some of the tardigrades’ abilities to the human cells.”

The results of the team’s research showed that the approach, targeting a subset of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that increase with age, rebalanced blood-cell production and reduced age-related immune decline. The treatment significantly improved the ability of geriatric animals’ immune systems to tackle a new virus, and to respond to vaccination, enabling the animals to fight off a new viral threat months later.

“This is a real paradigm shift—researchers and clinicians should think in a new way about the immune system and aging,” said Stanford postdoctoral scholar Jason Ross, MD, PhD. “The idea that it’s possible to tune the entire immune system of millions of cells simply by affecting the function of such a rare population is surprising and exciting.”

Weissman, who is professor of pathology and of developmental biology, and Kim Hasenkrug, PhD, the chief of Rocky Mountain Laboratories’ Retroviral Immunology Section, are senior authors of the team’s published study in Nature, titled “Depleting myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells rejuvenates aged immunity.” Ross and Lara Myers, PhD, a research fellow at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, are lead authors of the report, in which the team concluded, “The clinical development of safe protocols to rebalance HSCs could have broad effects on a number of age-associated issues.”

“The increases in THC levels found in cannabis could mimic some of the more pronounced effects that we see for people who are slower metabolizers,” said Dr. Christal Davis.


How can genetics influence cannabis consumption? This is what a recent study published in Addictive Behaviors hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated a link between how genetic variances influence how a person metabolizes THC, which could not only determine future use but also the chances of succumbing to cannabis use disorder, or CUD. This study holds the potential to help cannabis users, medical professionals, legislators, and the public better understand the physiological influences of cannabis use, even at the molecular level.

For the study, the researchers enlisted 54 participants between 18–25 years of age, 38 of whom suffered from CUD while the remaining 16 suffered from non-CUD substance abuse. It has been determined that individuals aged 18–25 have a three times greater likelihood of having CUD compared to individuals over the age of 26. After obtaining blood samples from each participant, the researchers tested them for differences in gene markers, specifically pertaining to THC-metabolizing enzymes. Additionally, each participant was instructed to fill out a questionnaire regarding their experiences with cannabis use and how it makes them feel when they use it.

In the end, the researchers found notable differences between men and women participants, specifically regarding how young women with CUD were found to metabolize THC at slower rates than young women who did not suffer from CUD. For the men, the researchers discovered negative reports from cannabis use with those who also metabolized THC at slower rates, which was the same for both sexes. Additionally, the researchers’ found CUD was more prevalent in individuals who started using cannabis when teenagers, as well. The researchers concluded that proper treatment options for CUD could be proposed due to lack of genetic testing.

Researchers in the US have developed a synthetic molecular structure called the Ribo-T, and it can be placed inside a living cell to produce specialised proteins and enzymes at almost the same efficiency as an actual ribosome.

Found inside all living cells, ribosomes are dense, complex structures that catalyse a constant stream of protein chains by linking amino acids together in the order specified by messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. These cellular workhorses are basically in charge of decoding your DNA, and now scientists have manufactured a molecular device that can not only produce protein chains in a test-tube almost as well as a real ribosome, but can also churn out enough protein in bacterial cells without any natural ribosomes to keep them alive.

The team, with researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University, says not only will the Ribo-T help them to better understand how our own ribosomes function, but it could lead to more effective drugs and next-gen biomaterials, with these little protein factors churning out whatever we need.