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Global meta-analysis shows action is needed to halt genetic diversity loss
Abstract Mitigating loss of genetic diversity is a major global biodiversity challenge1–4. To meet recent international commitments to maintain genetic diversity within species5,6, we need to understand relationships between threats, conservation management and genetic diversity change. Here we conduct a global analysis of genetic diversity change via meta-analysis of all available temporal measures of genetic diversity from more than three decades of research. We show that within-population genetic diversity is being lost over timescales likely to have been impacted by human activities, and that some conservation actions may mitigate this loss. Our dataset includes 628 species (animals, plants, fungi and chromists) across all terrestrial and most marine realms on Earth. Threats impacted two-thirds of the populations that we analysed, and less than half of the populations analysed received conservation management. Genetic diversity loss occurs globally and is a realistic prediction for many species, especially birds and mammals, in the face of threats such as land use change, disease, abiotic natural phenomena and harvesting or harassment. Conservation strategies designed to improve environmental conditions, increase population growth rates and introduce new individuals (for example, restoring connectivity or performing translocations) may maintain or even increase genetic diversity. Our findings underscore the urgent need for active, genetically informed conservation interventions to halt genetic diversity loss.
Resilience and the Fallacy of “One Size Fits All”
The 1925 debate about adopting the word ‘scientist’ heats up
Why is it so hard to rewrite a genome?
A giant leap for machine translation could be even bigger
Don’t overlook the mental-health costs of California’s wildfires
Editorial Expression of Concern: 53BP1 is a reader of the DNA-damage-induced H2A Lys 15 ubiquitin mark
Charles Darwin saw the importance of development in evolution
Migraine is more than a headache — a radical rethink offers hope to one billion people
Conservation strategies aided by assessment of global genetic diversity
Satellite DNA shapes dictate pericentromere packaging in female meiosis
A novel methodology for detecting separated endodontic instruments using a combination of algorithms in post-processing CBCT software
Study on the optimization of hydrodynamic characteristics and pollutant removal efficiency in integrated vertical flow constructed wetlands
Ultrabroadband solar absorber design using graphene-based Al-InSb-Ag MIM structure for renewable energy generation
Activation dynamics study of trapped platelets using a lab-built optical tweezers micro-Raman spectrometer
Abstract It is well documented that platelet disorders can result from various causes and can lead to different disease conditions such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), thrombocythemia, thrombocytopenia, Autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and even cancer, to name a few. The diagnosis of many of these diseases mainly depends on imaging examinations, clinical analysis and neuropsychological tests, these may be time taking procedures and, have a high chances of false positive/false negative results. The Raman tweezers spectroscopy can provide trust worthy results without much time delay. In the present study the activation dynamics of platelets were studied and observed that the activation leads to biochemical and morphological changes, such as the formation of filopodia on the platelet surface, transformation in the shape from discoid to spherical, and translocation of aminophospholipids from inner leaflet to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. The Raman bands corresponding to phospholipids shows remarkable intensity variations during activation. The detailed knowledge regarding the activation dynamics of platelets will be important in monitoring CVDs, ADs, etc. and this paper illustrates a prospective method that can be incorporated into clinical settings in the near future to study and analyze platelet activation. This study will be the first to display the trapping of platelets in its live form to study their activation dynamics using an in-house assembled optical tweezers micro-Raman spectrometer.
Hemodynamics are associated with subsequent lumen remodeling and clinical maturation of hemodialysis arteriovenous fistula
Abstract The pathogenesis of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) maturation failure is unclear. We evaluated the associations of wall shear stress (WSS) with subsequent AVF remodeling and clinical maturation using regression models in this prospective cohort study. Participants underwent duplex ultrasound at postoperative Day 1, Week 2, and Week 6 to measure AVF blood flow rate and diameter of the draining vein and proximal artery. The median vein WSS of 602 participants decreased from Day 1 to Week 6 (from 33.4 to 21.6 dyne/cm2) but did not change noticeably for the artery (from 58.4 to 55.1 dyne/cm2). WSS was positively associated with subsequent lumen expansion, with doubling of Day-1 WSS presaging a 9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 5%-14%; P < 0.001) greater Day 1-to-Week 6 increase in vein lumen cross-sectional area and a 5% (95% CI: 1%-10%; P = 0.020) greater increase in artery lumen area. The odds of unassisted clinical maturation increased by 45% (95% CI: 11%-89%; P = 0.006) with each doubling of Day-1 vein WSS, and by 82% (95% CI: 39%-250%; P < 0.001) with each doubling of Day-1 artery WSS. These findings show that WSS was positively associated with subsequent lumen expansion and AVF unassisted clinical maturation.