Risk of infection due to airborne virus in classroom environments lacking mechanical ventilation.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the role of indoor environments on disease transmission. However, our understanding of how transmission occurred evolved as the pandemic progressed. Enclosed spaces where pathogen-laden aerosols accumulate were strongly linked to increased transmission events.

Understanding natural isotopic variations in cultured cancer cells.

Rationale: Natural variations in the abundance of the stable isotopes of nitrogen (δN) and carbon (δC) offer valuable insights into metabolic fluxes. In the wake of strong interest in cancer metabolism, recent research has revealed δN and δC variations in cancerous compared to non-cancerous tissues and cell lines. However, our understanding of natural isotopic variations in cultured mammalian cells, particularly in relation to metabolism, remains limited.

Community metabolic modeling of host-microbiota interactions through multi-objective optimization.

The human gut microbiota comprises various microorganisms engaged in intricate interactions among themselves and with the host, affecting its health. While advancements in omics technologies have led to the inference of clear associations between microbiome composition and health conditions, we usually lack a causal and mechanistic understanding of these associations. For modeling mechanisms driving the interactions, we simulated the organism's metabolism using genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs).