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Do current worries and concerns have you wound up? Are they affecting your concentration or sleep patterns? In my family, such things have wreaked havoc for weeks, causing meltdowns and feelings of being trapped. If you are restless, irritable, easily fatigued, have unexplained stomach pain or headaches, or cannot stem the flow of fearful thoughts, you are not alone. The pandemic, global contentions, supply chain issues, political strife, natural disasters, and other tensions have generated new levels of stress. Are you seeking natural ways to quiet the mind? To enhance feeling calm? And to focus your mind and efforts? Adding Thrivous Clarity and Serenity Stack to your daily routine incorporates scientifically-proven biochemical components to help improve mood, support cognition, fight fatigue, and enhance sleep quality. Clarity and Serenity Stack is designed to enhance mood and well-being along with supporting healthy aging. Breaking Down the Stack The ingredients contained in Thrivous Clarity and Thrivous Serenity have been subject to numerous clinical trials. Clinical trials use established scientific methods, techniques, and controls to generate reliable data. This includes selecting random participants, blind placebo controls, laboratory testing, and established evaluation measures. Not surprisingly, some ingredients contained in Clarity and Serenity have been clinically shown to support the system in more than one way. Thrivous provides links to associated clinical research data on its website for both Clarity and Serenity for public perusal. Here is a tabulated breakdown of the benefits of the ingredients contained in Thrivous Clarity and Serenity Stack. Ingredient Mood Cognition Energy Sleep Healthy Aging * L Theanine is well tolerated in large doses with no observed toxicity. Animal and human trials find improved sleep quality with 250-400 mg of daily L Theanine supplementation. ** Clarity contains 100% or more of the recommended daily value of every B Vitamin. Bacopa Monnieri (Clarity 320 mg) X X L Theanine* (Clarity 200 mg & Serenity 200 mg) X X X Rhodiola Rosea (Clarity 170 mg) X X X B Vitamins (Clarity**) X X Zinc (Clarity 11 mg) X X Ashwagandha (Serenity 300 mg) X X X Magnesium (Serenity 150 mg) X X X Melatonin (Serenity 5 mg) X X X Thrivous formulations use the latest scientific research at clinically-proven effective dosages. Clarity and Serenity Stack provides the best vitamin, mineral, and herbal combination to enhance mood, cognition, and healthy brain aging. Instead of hiding ingredient amounts in blends, Thrivous openly states product formulations for educated consumer consumption. Here at Thrivous, we believe informed consumers can better manage their well-being for healthy and happy living. More in-depth information regarding the formulation of Clarity and Serenity can be found in these articles: Enhance Cognitive Function with Thrivous Clarity Promote Restorative Sleep with Thrivous Serenity Make the Stack Work for You Clarity and Serenity Stack works best when taken in the following manner: Morning Dose: Take 2 Clarity capsules with your first meal of the day. The ingredients in Clarity normally take effect within one hour. Clarity becomes most effective within 2-3 months of daily use. Clarity is designed to be taken daily. Evening Dose: Take 2 Serenity capsules approximately an hour before heading to bed. The ingredients in Serenity normally take effect within 1 hour. Serenity is designed to be used nightly. Performance Days: We all have days when we need to perform at our absolute best. These days include exam days, presentation days, competition days, audition days, etc. On performance days, link the power of Thrivous Clarity with Thrivous Surge for an additional energy and focus boost. Surge is designed to be used occasionally. The Power of the Stack Mental health looms large in my immediate family. Linking cognitive therapy strategies with the regular use of Ashwagandha, L Theanine, Magnes ...

Scientists in China and Singapore have developed a novel artificial neuron. It can both release and receive dopamine. And it opens the door to using chemical signals in brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). “The brain’s native language is chemical, but current brain-machine interfaces all use an electrical language,” says Benhui Hu (Nanjing Medical University), as reported by New Scientist. “So we devised an artificial neuron to duplicate the way a real neuron communicates.” Organic neurons in the brain communicate by exchanging chemicals called " neurotransmitters " along communication channels called "synapses." A paper is published in Nature Electronics. The scientists describe an artificial neuron that can receive and release the neurotransmitter dopamine. The artificial neuron detects dopamine using an electrochemical sensor with a graphene and carbon nanotube electrode. If enough dopamine is detected by the sensor, a memristor triggers the release of more dopamine at the other end through a heat-activated hydrogel. The memristor can change the threshold strength of the input dopamine signal that is required to trigger the release of output dopamine. This is similar to how neurons in the brain change how much neurotransmitter is sent between connections in response to external stimuli. Such plasticity is essential for learning. “To chemically communicate with biological neurons, bioelectronics should at least possess three basic functionalities: neurotransmitter recognition, synaptic plasticity, and firing of action potentials and releasing of neurotransmitters,” note the scientists in the paper. The system responds to dopamine and releases dopamine in a chemical communication loop similar to the chemical communications between organic neurons. Experimenting with rat brain cells in the lab, the scientists have shown that the artificial neuron can trigger the controllable movement of a rat leg and robotic hand. “The scientists connected the chip to a nerve in a mouse’s leg,” explains SingularityHub. “Depending on the level of dopamine, the leg flexed... in another proof of concept, the team hooked up the chip to a robotic hand.” “This actually has quite a lot of potential for expanding into more sophisticated learning systems,” comments Yoeri van de Burgt (Eindhoven University of Technology), as reported by New Scientist. “You can do a lot of new cool things here.” The scientist explains that the current device is too big for applications to BMIs. But it could be used in prosthetic devices. Looking farther ahead, this research program could enable future BMIs to use chemical communications besides electric communications. “Such chemical BMIs could complement electrical BMIs, potentially allowing neuronal information to be correctly and comprehensively interpreted for use in neuroprosthetics, human-machine interactions, and cyborg construction,” say the scientists as reported by SingularityHub. There’s also the possibility that electrical BMIs could be unable to “comprehensively interpret human consciousness.” In this case, BMIs able to use the brain’s native chemical information could boost consciousness studies.

Nootropics are substances that enhance cognition and support healthy brain function. Sometimes people refer to them as "smart drugs" or the "limitless pill." They include various foods, nutraceuticals (supplements), and pharmaceuticals (drugs). Unfortunately none comes close to enabling any fiction-inspired capacities of superintelligence (yet), but some may make a practical difference for many people. I’ve used several nootropics for years. And I’m exploring ways to incorporate others into my diet, if they’re applicable to my personal situation and meet a few general criteria: First, I look for nootropics supported by multiple studies on humans – not just anecdotal evidence, one study, or studies on non-human animals. Although I've nothing against the health benefits of placebo, I prefer knowing that something more than only placebo is at work. Second, I look for nootropics with the highest ratios of efficacy to expense. Given innumerable options and a limited budget, I want to do more than just empty my wallet. Third, I look for nootropics that are legal and generally safe. If it'll put me in a hospital or a prison, it’s not worth it. Based on those criteria, I’ve compiled a list of top tier natural nootropics that actually work. These are, to the best of my knowledge, the most well-researched and effective nootropics available in the United States without a prescription. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Please consult a physician before and during use of these and other nootropics. 1) Ashwagandha Ashwagandha, also known as Withania Somnifera, is a plant in the nightshade family and cultivated in Asia. Supplements may enhance relaxation, according to multiple peer-reviewed, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies: Langade D, Kanchi S, Salve J, Debnath K, Ambegaokar D. Cureus. 2019 Sep 28;11(9):e5797. doi: 10.7759/cureus.5797. PMID: 31728244; PMCID: PMC6827862. Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Malvi H, Kodgule R. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Sep;98(37):e17186. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000017186. PMID: 31517876; PMCID: PMC6750292. Salve J, Pate S, Debnath K, Langade D. Cureus. 2019 Dec 25;11(12):e6466. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6466. PMID: 32021735; PMCID: PMC6979308. Chengappa KNR, Brar JS, Gannon JM, Schlicht PJ. J Clin Psychiatry. 2018 Jul 10;79(5):17m11826. doi: 10.4088/JCP.17m11826. PMID: 29995356. Choudhary D, Bhattacharyya S, Joshi K. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2017 Jan;22(1):96-106. doi: 10.1177/2156587216641830. Epub 2016 Apr 6. PMID: 27055824; PMCID: PMC5871210. Chandrasekhar K, Kapoor J, Anishetty S. Indian J Psychol Med. 2012 Jul;34(3):255-62. doi: 10.4103/0253-7176.106022. PMID: 23439798; PMCID: PMC3573577. Cooley K, Szczurko O, Perri D, Mills EJ, Bernhardt B, Zhou Q, Seely D. PLoS One. 2009 Aug 31;4(8):e6628. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006628. PMID: 19718255; PMCID: PMC2729375. Mahdi AA, Shukla KK, Ahmad MK, Rajender S, Shankhwar SN, Singh V, Dalela D. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Sep 29;2011:576962. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nep138. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 19789214; PMCID: PMC3136684. Andrade C, Aswath A, Chaturvedi SK, Srinivasa M, Raguram R. Indian J Psychiatry. 2000 Jul;42(3):295-301. PMID: 21407960; PMCID: PMC2958355. Ashwagandha supplements may also enhance energy, motivation, social functioning, and subjective well-being. Evidence for these effects may not be as reliable. See the Ashwagandha article at Examine.com for more studies and details. The KSM-66® extract of Ashwagandha is an ingredient in Thrivous Serenity Nightly Nootropic. 2) Bacopa Monnieri Bacopa Monnieri is a perennial creeping herb native to wetlands worldwide. Supplements may enhance memory, according to multiple peer-reviewed, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies: Benson S, Downey LA, Stough C, Wetherell M, Zangara A, Scholey A. Phytother Res. 2014 Apr;28(4):551-9. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5029. Epub 2013 Jun 21. PMID: 23788517. Downey LA, Kean J, Nemeh F, Lau A, Poll A, Gregory R, Murray M, Rour ...

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have developed complex bio-realistic computer models of individual neurons. They are also suitable for the simulation of large networks of neurons. "These models capture the shape, timing and speed of the electrical signals that neurons fire in order to communicate with each other, which is considered the basis of brain function," says research leader Costas Anastassiou in a press release issued by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "This lets us replicate brain activity at the single-cell level." A paper is published in Cell Reports. The researchers report that, to develop the models, they used two different sets of data on the mouse primary visual cortex. This is the area of the brain that processes information coming from the eyes. The first data set presented complete genetic pictures of tens of thousands of single cells. The second linked the electrical responses and physical characteristics of 230 cells from the same brain region. Machine learning methods have been used to integrate these two datasets. The researchers emphasize that, contrary to previously developed computer models of brain cells, the new models are suitable for computational optimizations that allow for the simulation of thousands of brain cells. The researchers report that they created bio-realistic models of 9,200 single neurons and their electrical activity. "This work represents a significant advancement in high-performance computing related to single-cell biophysics," says Keith Black, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai. "It also gives researchers the ability to search for relationships within and between cell types and to glean a deeper understanding of the function of cell types in the brain." These models of brain cells are both bio-realistic and suitable for high-performance computer simulation of brain networks. This combination is expected to be a key complement to laboratory experiments. "In laboratory experiments, the researcher doesn't control everything," explains Anastassiou. "Biology controls a lot. But in a computational simulation, all the parameters are under the creator's control. In a model, I can change one parameter and see how it affects another, something that is very hard to do in a biological experiment." The researchers are persuaded that this work brings together mathematics, statistics, and computer science to address all the important questions in biomedical research and healthcare. The new models could one day allow scientists to answer questions about neurological disorders, and even human intellect, that aren't possible to explore through biological experiments. "Ultimately, this computational direction will help us understand the deepest mysteries of the human brain,” concludes Jason Moore, chair of the Department of Computational Biomedicine at Cedars-Sinai.

Scientists at Yale University have restored blood circulation and other cellular functions in pigs a full hour after their deaths. After death, biochemical events triggered by a lack of blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients begin to destroy a body's cells and organs. But the Yale scientists have found ways to slow down this process. A research paper is published in Nature. It reports that, one hour after death, the application of a technology dubbed OrganEx to dead laboratory pigs “preserved tissue integrity, decreased cell death and restored selected molecular and cellular processes across multiple vital organs.” Six hours after treatment with OrganEx, the scientists found that certain key cellular functions were active in many areas of the pigs' bodies, including in the heart, liver, and kidneys. And some organ function had been restored. For instance, they found evidence of electrical activity in the heart, which retained the ability to contract. "We were also able to restore circulation throughout the body, which amazed us," says research leader Nenad Sestan in a press release issued by Yale University. "Under the microscope, it was difficult to tell the difference between a healthy organ and one which had been treated with OrganEx technology after death," says researcher Zvonimir Vrselja. OrganEX is built on a technology dubbed BrainEX, developed by the same Yale scientists. Previously in 2019, the application of BrainEx had restored circulation and certain cellular functions in the brain of a dead pig. OrganEX, a modified version of BrainEX, consists of a perfusion device similar to heart-lung machines and an experimental fluid. The fluid contains compounds that promote cellular health and suppress inflammation throughout the body. The first applications of this new technology could permit extending the health of human organs during surgery and expanding the availability of donor organs. “The goal isn’t to build a new-age Frankenstein,” notes SingularityHub. “Rather, it’s to help with the current organ transplant shortage and health emergencies caused by constricted blood flow.” Yet, of course, the possibility of more ambitious applications jumps immediately to mind. Nature has published an open access commentary on the research paper. Neuroethicist Nita Farahany says that the findings are stunning. “Although this study is preliminary, she says it suggests that some perceived limitations of the human body might be overcome in time.” The New York Times reports that Yale University has filed for a patent on the BrainEX and OrganEX technology. The next step, according to Sestan, will be to see if the organs function properly and could be successfully transplanted. “Some time after that, the researchers hope to test whether the method can repair damaged hearts or brains.” “It’s unbelievable, mind blowing,” said Farahany as reported by The New York Times. She added that the work raises questions about the definition of death. But the technology, a Yale bioethicist emphasized, is “very far away from use in humans.”

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have studied the impact of melatonin supplements on the amount of quality sleep in older adults. “Sleep deficiency becomes more common as people age, and, given the drawbacks to many prescription sleep aids, many older adults report taking melatonin,” says research leader Charles Czeisler in a press release issued by Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But we’ve had little evidence on the effects of melatonin on the sleep health of older adults. Our study provides new evidence and insight, and points to the importance of considering dosage and timing when it comes to the effects of supplements like melatonin, especially in older people.” A paper is published in The Journal of Pineal Research. It reports on the results of a month‐long study with 24 healthy participants older than 55 (13 women, 11 men). The study did not include participants who had a significant sleep disorder. The participants were randomly assigned to receive two weeks of a placebo pill and two weeks of either a low (0.3 mg) or high (5 mg) dose of melatonin 30 minutes before bedtime. When the participants were sleeping, the researchers recorded brain waves, eye movement, muscle tone, and other measures of sleep time and quality. In particular, the researchers focused on sleep efficiency, which is how long a person actually sleeps while in bed. An interesting feature of the study is that the participants were put on a 20 hour day-night cycle instead of the normal 24 hour cycle. This allowed the researchers to schedule bedtime periods both at day and night. The researchers found that the low 0.3 mg dose of melatonin had measurable effects only when sleep was scheduled during the biological day. But it did not lead to a statistically significant change in overall sleep time. On the other hand, the participants taking the high 5 mg dose of melatonin had a significant increase in total sleep time and sleep efficiency, regardless of whether sleep was scheduled during the day or night. Compared to the placebo, the high dose of melatonin increased total sleep time by more than 15 minutes for nighttime sleep and by half an hour for daytime sleep. “Melatonin should be further explored as a sleep aid for older adults,” concludes the paper. “It’s exciting to see evidence that melatonin may have an impact on sleep at night for older adults because we know that so many older people have trouble sleeping,” says researcher Jeanne Duffy. In fact, aging is associated with changes in sleep. And improving sleep may have important consequences for the health, cognition, and quality of life of older adults. Duffy recommends getting medical advice first. “[Before] taking a dietary supplement, it’s important for people to talk to their primary care physician and get a referral to a sleep specialist to rule out an undiagnosed sleep disorder,” he concludes. Because this study did not include people with known sleep disorders, the conclusions don’t necessarily apply to those. Thrivous develops Serenity Nightly Nootropic to enhance relaxation and sleep. Each serving provides a safe high dose of Melatonin, as well as complementary nutrients. Reflecting this study, Serenity may enhance sleep quality and promote better aging. It's available now online in the Thrivous website store.

Scientists at University of Washington and Harvard University have developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) software that can help create proteins. It may be useful for new vaccines, cancer treatments, or even tools for pulling carbon pollution out of the air. “The proteins we find in nature are amazing molecules, but designed proteins can do so much more,” says research co-leader David Baker in a press release issued by University of Washington. “In this work, we show that machine learning can be used to design proteins with a wide variety of functions.” The new AI-based approach to protein design is described in a research paper published in Science. It is inspired by the recent advances in AI, neural networks, and deep learning (subsets of AI) that have allowed researchers to create the text-generator GPT-3 and the image generator DALL-E. Both are frequently covered by the press and often hyped. These AI tools generate text and images from prompts. Proteins are sequences of chemical building blocks called amino acids, which perform critical functions in living organisms. The new AI software starts with a random sequence of amino acids. And it keeps changing the sequence until a final sequence that encodes the desired function is found. These final amino acid sequences encode proteins that can then be manufactured and studied in the laboratory. The scientists trained their neural networks using information from the Protein Data Bank. This is a large open database of three-dimensional structural data of large biological molecules, such as proteins. The team developed two approaches for designing proteins with new functions. “The first, dubbed ‘hallucination,’ is akin to DALL-E or other generative A.I. tools that produce new output based on simple prompts,” reads the press release. “The second, dubbed ‘inpainting,’ is analogous to the autocomplete feature found in modern search bars and email clients.” The scientists “start with the key features we want to see in a new protein, then let the software come up with the rest,” explains researcher Joseph L. Watson. A story is published in SingularityHub. It explains that much of the protein design effort is centered on specific hotspots embedded in proteins. These hotspots, or functional sites, are central to most of our basic biological processes. And they act as docks for other proteins or drugs. The scientists used the new AI software to design cancer drugs and vaccines against viruses. Among other designs, the AI software came out with a perfect match for an existing antibody against a common virus. This indicates that the approach is sound and could eventually help produce new drugs and vaccines. In other tests, the scientists designed functional sites for an enzyme, protein-binding proteins, and proteins that grab onto metal ions. This is related to how we absorb iron and other important metals, and could eventually permit fixing impairments of this important function. “These are very powerful new approaches, but there is still much room for improvement,” concludes Baker. “Designing high activity enzymes, for example, is still very challenging. But every month our methods just keep getting better! Deep learning transformed protein structure prediction in the past two years, we are now in the midst of a similar transformation of protein design.”

Scientists led by Yale School of Medicine have developed a new data analysis method to make epigenetic clocks substantially more reliable. Epigenetic clocks are biomarkers based on DNA methylation. They were developed to track aging in population studies, clinical trials, and personal health applications. Intended to measure biological age, epigenetic clocks predict age-related health issues. See our previous posts on epigenetic clocks. This approach, however, has so far been limited by noise. In fact, age measures done with previously developed epigenetic aging clocks can often differ by up to nine years when two or more measurements are estimated from the same blood sample. A new method developed by Morgan Levine and collaborators can be used to reduce this discrepancy almost entirely. See our previous post on Levine’s work. "Relatively little attention has been paid to the test-retest reliability of epigenetic clocks," says researcher Albert Higgins-Chen in a press release issued by Yale School of Medicine. "We found epigenetic clocks that could say you are biologically 50 years old on one test, and then 59 on the next. We started with existing, commonly used clocks, and found that a single change - the addition of a technique called principal component analysis - could preserve the aging signals while dramatically reducing noise." Principal component (PC) analysis is a statistical technique that can be successfully used to simplify the analysis of large data sets by extracting smaller data sets that still capture essential features of the original data with a better signal-to-noise ratio. In other words, PC analysis helps important features of the data stand out from the noise. The new method based on principal component analysis is described in a paper published in Nature Aging. An open preprint of the paper was posted to bioRxiv in 2021. "Now, for most tests, two measurements done at the same time will differ by less than a year,” adds Higgins-Chen. “This also means that a person’s longitudinal clock change is far more likely to reflect true biological aging rather than technical noise." "Here we show that technical noise produces deviations up to 9 years" between six standard epigenetic clocks, reads the abstract of the paper. "Our retrained PC versions of six clocks show agreement... within 1.5 years." The researchers are persuaded that the high reliability of PC-based clocks is critical for applications to personalized medicine. Aging researcher Josh Mitteldorf wrote a 2021 blog post with a readable explanation of the new method, and a commentary. “A new approach to methylation clocks from Morgan Levine uses massive computer resources and sophisticated mathematics,” he said. “I am enthusiastic about it, not just because it produces better results than previous methods, but because I suspect it is better aligned with the way that biological systems actually work.” Mitteldorf is co-author with Dorion Sagan of " Cracking the Aging Code: The New Science of Growing Old - And What It Means for Staying Young." I recommend this reference book on aging. It also covers biological clocks. Levine cautions that "while epigenetic clocks show a lot of promise as biomarkers of aging, we need to continually work to make these measures more reliable and valid if we want to someday use them to test interventions in aging and disease."

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine, and collaborating institutions have identified a molecule in the blood that is produced during exercise. It can effectively reduce food intake and obesity in laboratory mice. "We wanted to understand how exercise works at the molecular level to be able to capture some of its benefits," says researcher Jonathan Long in a press release issued by Baylor College of Medicine. "For example, older or frail people who cannot exercise enough, may one day benefit from taking a medication that can help slow down osteoporosis, heart disease or other conditions." A paper is published in Nature. It reports that exercise stimulates the production of a molecule called Lac-Phe. Conversely, a high dose of Lac-Phe, administered to fat mice, suppressed food intake by about 50% compared to control mice over a period of 12 hours, without affecting their movement or energy expenditure. Lac-Phe is a modified amino acid synthesized from lactate and phenylalanine. Lactate is a byproduct of strenuous exercise that is responsible for the burning sensation in muscles. And phenylalanine is an amino acid that is one of the building blocks of proteins. “In diet-induced obese mice, pharmacological-mediated increases in Lac-Phe reduces food intake without affecting movement or energy expenditure,” reads the paper. “Chronic administration of Lac-Phe decreases adiposity and body weight and improves glucose homeostasis. Conversely, genetic ablation of Lac-Phe biosynthesis in mice increases food intake and obesity following exercise training.” The researchers also found that an enzyme called CNDP2, that is involved in the production of Lac-Phe, plays an important role. Mice lacking this enzyme did not lose as much weight on an exercise regime as a control group on the same exercise plan. The findings improve our understanding of the physiological processes that underlie the interplay between exercise and hunger. In humans, sprint exercise, resistance training, and endurance training have been found to increase Lac-Phe. The researchers suggest that Lac-Phe regulates feeding and is associated with physical activity in many animal species. "Our next steps include finding more details about how Lac-Phe mediates its effects in the body, including the brain," says researcher Yong Xu. "Our goal is to learn to modulate this exercise pathway for therapeutic interventions." "Regular exercise has been proven to help weight loss, regulate appetite and improve the metabolic profile, especially for people who are overweight and obese," concludes Xu. "If we can understand the mechanism by which exercise triggers these benefits, then we are closer to helping many people improve their health." Weight loss pills, their repercussions, and this new finding are discussed in a Hackernoon podcast. “We may be on the brink of having a miracle pill to turn us all into skinny legends without having to sweat so much!” However, the idea “isn't to take exercise off the table but to benefit people who are physically unable to exercise adequately.”

Harvard bioengineers have advanced toward the fabrication of artificial hearts. "This work is a major step forward for organ biofabrication and brings us closer to our ultimate goal of building a human heart for transplant," says research leader Kit Parker in a press release issued by Harvard University. Unlike other organs, the heart cannot repair itself after injury. But tissue bioengineering could eventually enable the fabrication of an entire human heart for transplant. To build a human heart from the ground up, researchers need to replicate the unique structures that make up the heart. This includes recreating helical geometries, which create a twisting motion as the heart beats. A research paper is published in Science. It describes the first biohybrid model of human ventricles with helically aligned beating cardiac cells. And it shows that helical alignment dramatically increases how much blood the ventricle can pump with each contraction. The bioengineers used a new method of additive textile manufacturing called Focused Rotary Jet Spinning (FRJS). It's an additive manufacturing approach that enables rapid fabrication of micro/nanofiber scaffolds with programmable alignments in three-dimensional geometries, to control the alignment of spun fibers on which they could grow cardiac cells. Using FRJS, the bioengineers built helically aligned fibers with diameters ranging from several micrometers to hundreds of nanometers. "The human heart actually has multiple layers of helically aligned muscles with different angles of alignment," explains researcher Huibin Chang. "With FRJS, we can recreate those complex structures in a really precise way, forming single and even four chambered ventricle structures." Unlike 3D printing, which gets slower as features get smaller, FRJS can quickly spin fibers at the single micron scale. That's about fifty times smaller than a single human hair. This is important when it comes to building a heart from scratch. "Since 2003, our group has worked to understand the structure-function relationships of the heart and how disease pathologically compromises these relationships," says Parker. "In this case, we went back to address a never tested observation about the helical structure of the laminar architecture of the heart.” The observation, advanced by Edward Sallin in 1969, is that the heart's helical alignment is critical to pump large amounts of blood with each contraction. “Fortunately, Professor Sallin published a theoretical prediction more than a half century ago and we were able to build a new manufacturing platform that enabled us to test his hypothesis and address this centuries-old question," continues Parker. "Our goal was to build a model where we could test Sallin's hypothesis and study the relative importance of the heart's helical structure," adds researcher John Zimmerman. The bioengineers demonstrated that the process can be scaled up to the size of an actual human heart and even a whale heart. Harvard University has protected the intellectual property relating to this project and is exploring commercialization opportunities. Other applications for the FRJS platform are being explored.