UC Science Today

From colonizing microbiomes to lowering the risk of allergies, breastfeeding is well known to have many health benefits in children. But what’s happening on the cellular level is a little more uncertain. According to epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki of the University of California, San Francisco, early breastfeeding may in fact be linked to longer telomeres. These are the protective caps on our DNA. Shorter telomeres are known to increase the risk of chronic disease later on in life.

"Early exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding to 6 months of age were associated with longer telomeres when children entered kindergarten/elementary school. Cause we know from other studies that breastfeeding has a whole array of benefits – immunological, protective against respiratory illnesses, protective against obesity. But we don’t really know in all cases what the mechanism is. And so the fact that it’s impacting at the cellular level was very exciting."

This week on Science Today. University of California researchers are on the front lines when it comes to figuring out how the Zika virus makes its way to a fetus. Dr. Lenore Pereira of UC San Francisco, worked with UC Berkeley researchers, to show there are two routes used by Zika to make its way to a developing baby.

"We were able to isolate human cells from the placenta and infect them with Zika virus and show that the virus could replicate in cells that came from the placenta itself or from the fetal membranes."

The team also discovered that an existing antibiotic may be able to limit the damage wreaked by the virus. Meanwhile, UCSF researchers are also looking to keep healthy babies healthier later in life. Epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki discovered a link between breastfeeding and longer telomere length. Telomeres are the protective caps on our DNA and the shorter they are, the more risk of chronic disease.

"We know from other studies that breastfeeding has a whole array of benefits, but we don’t really know in all cases what that mechanism is and so the fact that it’s impacting at the cellular level was very exciting."

UC Berkeley chemists are also getting down to the level of neurons to find out just how the nutrient copper mediates conversations between cells. Chris Chang says they’ve been studying the interface between metals and neuroscience for a while.

"And the thing that we ended up finding was that copper is important for having brain cells communicate with each other normally."

Don’t miss the latest University of California research news. Subscribe to UC Science Today on iTunes or Stitcher. And don’t forget to look us up on Facebook. Until next time, I’m Larissa Branin.

Subscribe to Science Today:

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Stories mentioned in this roundup:

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/zika_infection

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/breastfeeding_benefits

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/copper_brain

From colonizing microbiomes to lowering the risk of allergies, breastfeeding is well known to have many health benefits in children. But what’s happening on the cellular level is a little more uncertain. According to epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki of the University of California, San Francisco, early breastfeeding may in fact be linked to longer telomeres. These are the protective caps on our DNA. Shorter telomeres are known to increase the risk of chronic disease later on in life.

"Early exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding to 6 months of age were associated with longer telomeres when children entered kindergarten/elementary school. Cause we know from other studies that breastfeeding has a whole array of benefits – immunological, protective against respiratory illnesses, protective against obesity. But we don’t really know in all cases what the mechanism is. And so the fact that it’s impacting at the cellular level was very exciting."

This week on Science Today. University of California researchers are on the front lines when it comes to figuring out how the Zika virus makes its way to a fetus. Dr. Lenore Pereira of UC San Francisco, worked with UC Berkeley researchers, to show there are two routes used by Zika to make its way to a developing baby.

"We were able to isolate human cells from the placenta and infect them with Zika virus and show that the virus could replicate in cells that came from the placenta itself or from the fetal membranes."

The team also discovered that an existing antibiotic may be able to limit the damage wreaked by the virus. Meanwhile, UCSF researchers are also looking to keep healthy babies healthier later in life. Epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki discovered a link between breastfeeding and longer telomere length. Telomeres are the protective caps on our DNA and the shorter they are, the more risk of chronic disease.

"We know from other studies that breastfeeding has a whole array of benefits, but we don’t really know in all cases what that mechanism is and so the fact that it’s impacting at the cellular level was very exciting."

UC Berkeley chemists are also getting down to the level of neurons to find out just how the nutrient copper mediates conversations between cells. Chris Chang says they’ve been studying the interface between metals and neuroscience for a while.

"And the thing that we ended up finding was that copper is important for having brain cells communicate with each other normally."

Don’t miss the latest University of California research news. Subscribe to UC Science Today on iTunes or Stitcher. And don’t forget to look us up on Facebook. Until next time, I’m Larissa Branin.

Subscribe to Science Today:

iTunes: apple.co/1TQBewD

Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/science-today

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ucsciencetoday

Stories mentioned in this roundup:

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/zika_infection

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/breastfeeding_benefits

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/copper_brain

Colonoscopies are beginning to take a more futuristic form, thanks to radiologist Judy Yee of the University of California, San Francisco. Yee has pioneered the use of CT colonographies to examine the colon using graphical software and images from a CT scan. And the sci-fi part? The scans can also be viewed as holograms.

"I have combined my interest in CT colonography with this novel visualization platform to be able to view the data in ways that allow us to pick up certain lesions of the colon easier. I started working on this holographic version because I thought it was a more intuitive way for radiologists and physicians to view anatomy of the body. It pulls the 2D data into what we call true-3D space, so that we could use not only visual cues but manual cues to manipulate the data in 360 degrees. And this is without any additional radiation to the patient."

That would cut down a routine colonoscopy from an all-day affair to just a few hours.

Colonoscopies are beginning to take a more futuristic form, thanks to radiologist Judy Yee of the University of California, San Francisco. Yee has pioneered the use of CT colonographies to examine the colon using graphical software and images from a CT scan. And the sci-fi part? The scans can also be viewed as holograms.

"I have combined my interest in CT colonography with this novel visualization platform to be able to view the data in ways that allow us to pick up certain lesions of the colon easier. I started working on this holographic version because I thought it was a more intuitive way for radiologists and physicians to view anatomy of the body. It pulls the 2D data into what we call true-3D space, so that we could use not only visual cues but manual cues to manipulate the data in 360 degrees. And this is without any additional radiation to the patient."

That would cut down a routine colonoscopy from an all-day affair to just a few hours.

When the world realized that the Zika virus could cause birth defects, the mechanism was mystery to both the public and scientists. But researchers like Lenore Pereira of the University of California, San Francisco, in a joint effort with the University of California, Berkeley, sought answers and found two routes used by Zika to make its way to a fetus.

"So we were able to isolate human cells from the placenta, and infect them with Zika virus, and show that the virus could replicate in cells that came from the placenta itself or from the fetal membranes. And the virus was very competent in growing and producing more of itself, which means that it could spread inside a placenta and across fetal membranes to infect the baby – either directly through the blood or maybe through the skin."

Pereira and her team also discovered a protein common to the placental cells that Zika could infect, as well as an antibiotic that could block this interaction. For Science Today, I’m Larissa Branin.

When the world realized that the Zika virus could cause birth defects, the mechanism was mystery to both the public and scientists. But researchers like Lenore Pereira of the University of California, San Francisco, in a joint effort with the University of California, Berkeley, sought answers and found two routes used by Zika to make its way to a fetus.

"So we were able to isolate human cells from the placenta, and infect them with Zika virus, and show that the virus could replicate in cells that came from the placenta itself or from the fetal membranes. And the virus was very competent in growing and producing more of itself, which means that it could spread inside a placenta and across fetal membranes to infect the baby – either directly through the blood or maybe through the skin."

Pereira and her team also discovered a protein common to the placental cells that Zika could infect, as well as an antibiotic that could block this interaction. For Science Today, I’m Larissa Branin.

For the first time, a team of scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California, Santa Cruz have successfully 3D-printed ultralight supercapacitors using an aerogel made out of graphene. Lab engineer Chen Zhu explains that this breakthrough opens the door to new, highly efficient energy storage systems for a range of applications, including smartphones, electric cars and implantable devices to name a few.

"If you have iPhone in the future, it can store the energy very quickly and release the energy very fast. So it has very wide applications. That’s why we are working on this because we want to use a new fabrication technique to fabricate the architectural design of the supercapacitor because currently most of the supercapacitor is a very thin film, just a 2D pattern. So, for the 3D, printing, that will improve the performance of the supercapacitor."

Narrator: It will also create unique electronics that are currently difficult or even impossible to make using other synthetic methods.

For the first time, a team of scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California, Santa Cruz have successfully 3D-printed ultralight supercapacitors using an aerogel made out of graphene. Lab engineer Chen Zhu explains that this breakthrough opens the door to new, highly efficient energy storage systems for a range of applications, including smartphones, electric cars and implantable devices to name a few.

"If you have iPhone in the future, it can store the energy very quickly and release the energy very fast. So it has very wide applications. That’s why we are working on this because we want to use a new fabrication technique to fabricate the architectural design of the supercapacitor because currently most of the supercapacitor is a very thin film, just a 2D pattern. So, for the 3D, printing, that will improve the performance of the supercapacitor."

Narrator: It will also create unique electronics that are currently difficult or even impossible to make using other synthetic methods.