SARS-CoV-2 Is an Electricity-Driven Virus.

One of the most important and challenging biological events of recent times has been the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. Since the underpinning argument behind this book is the ubiquity of electrical forces driving multiple disparate biological events, consideration of key aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins is included. Electrical regulation of spike protein, nucleocapsid protein, membrane protein, and envelope protein is included, with several of their activities regulated by LLPS and the multivalent and π-cation and π-π electrical forces that drive phase separation.

Synaptic Physiology Depends on Electrical Forces and Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation.

Pre- and post-synaptic events are regulated by liquid-liquid phase separation and this phenomenon requires multiple electrical forces. Both axonal transport and the organization of postsynaptic excitatory and inhibitory receptors are regulated by LLPS, with its mandatory electrical drivers ultimately determining our cognitive health and capacity.

Neurological Diseases can be Regulated by Phase Separation.

Several neurological diseases arise from abnormal protein aggregation within neurones and this is closely regulated by phase separation. One such is motor neurone disease and aberrant aggregation of superoxide dismutase. Again these events are regulated by electrical forces that are examined.

Epigenetic Regulation Via Electrical Forces.

Multiple epigenetic modulations occur to chromatin rather than to DNA itself and these influence gene expression or gene silencing profoundly. Both the creation of these post-translational modifications and the mechanisms of their readout are regulated significantly by electrical forces several of which are discussed. They are also influenced by phase separation which itself is driven by electrical forces.

Spatially Regulated Electrical Forces for Biological Catalysis.

It is now well-recognized that biological catalysis depends crucially on spatially regulated electrical forces for optimal efficiency. Several examples of the mechanisms underpinning this will be covered, as will the experimental evidence that oriented electrical fields can enhance specific chemical reactions.

Making Proteins with Electricity.

Ribosomes use multiple electrical forces to regulate new protein construction, to ensure efficient protein cotranslation, chaperoning, and folding. When these electrical regulatory forces are disrupted as in point charge mutations, specific disease occurs from aberrantly folded proteins. α1 antitrypsin deficiency is perhaps the best-known misfolded protein disease and is covered in some detail.

Nucleic Acids and Electrical Signals.

Nucleic acids are highly charged, and electrical forces are involved heavily in how our DNA is compacted and packaged into such a small space, how chromosomes are formed, and how DNA damage is repaired. In addition, electrical forces are crucial to the formation of non-canonical DNA structures called G-Quadruplexes which play multiple biological roles.

How Electricity Prevents Us from Bleeding to Death.

Rapid tissue repair is also needed in the event of damage to blood vessels. Most of the essential steps that prevent us from bleeding to death involve the functions of Von Willebrand factor (VWF) and many of these are dependent on electrical forces.

Electrical Forces Regulate Single-Cell Wound Healing.

Damage to the cell membrane can be life threatening for single-celled organisms. Several mechanisms of single-cell wound healing occur and aspects of these are regulated by electrical forces.

Membrane Surface Charge, Phospholipids, and Protein Localization.

Cell membranes contain multiple charged lipids that bind proteins dynamically and their spatial organization on the inner/outer membrane leaflet, or in spatially localized areas has considerable biological importance. Myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) proteins and their roles as electrostatic switches are one example covered. Cell surface charge needs to be monitored and regulated continually and the roles of lipid flippases and scramblases and their electrical regulation also are considered.

The Link between Oxygen and Basement Membranes.

Epithelial tissues and the basement membranes they sit on did not appear for billions of years. Their appearance was delayed most likely by a lack of oxygen, which is required for collagen synthesis, and which only began to build up following the Great Oxygenation Event ~ 2.4 billion years ago.

Electrical Forces in Lumen Formation.

Epithelial sheets evolved the capacity to fold and reform to create a lumen and therefore new environments. For humans, forming a lumen during gastrulation has been viewed as perhaps the most crucial biological process of our life and it is regulated by multiple electrical forces.

Epithelia Are Scaffolds for Electricity-Dependent Molecular Interactions.

Once multicellularity was thriving, a key development involved the emergence of epithelial layers that separated "inside" from "outside". Most epithelia then generate their own transepithelial electrical signals. So electrical forces were instrumental in the development of epithelial tissues, which themselves generate further electrical signals.

Multicellularity and Electrical Forces.

Multiple single-celled life forms existed for millennia before some individual cells found ways of gathering together to form multicellular organisms. Several of the key elements that drove this step-change in life on Earth involved electrical forces.

Long-Distance Electron Transport in Unicellular Organisms and Biofilms.

Electrical forces are widespread in single-celled organisms and underpin sophisticated communication systems. Bacterial biofilm colonies, for example, attract new members electrically. Bacteria also join together end to end and engage in long-distance electron transport along bacterial filaments over centimetres.

Electricity in the Creation of Life.

How did life come into existence? How was the first membrane formed on Earth? And where? What were the conditions that promoted membrane creation and how were electrical forces essential for this to occur?

Electricity in Space and on Earth.

This covers the roles of electrical forces in space, in creating planets, including the Earth and in creating the conditions on Earth that make life possible.

Electrical Forces in Biology Across Distances.

This first chapter covers essentials needed to understand the multiple roles of electrical forces that impinge on biology, over very different distances. Other less familiar electrical forces are also covered in the last chapter.

A Chromosome-level genome assembly of the alpine medicinal plant Bergenia purpurascens (Saxifragaceae).

Mountain ecosystems harbor high levels of biodiversity, but the genetic mechanisms underlying adaptation to harsh alpine conditions remain largely unknown. Bergenia purpurascens (Saxifragaceae) is an important alpine endemic species of the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains (HHM), with this species being used as a source of medicine and as an ornamental plant. In this study, we generated a high-quality genome assembly comprising scaffolds representing the 17 chromosomes, with a total length of 650.

A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare.

The concept of animal welfare is evolving due to progress in our scientific understanding of animal biology and changing societal expectations. Animal welfare science has been primarily concerned with minimizing suffering, but there is growing interest in also promoting positive experiences, grouped under the term positive animal welfare (PAW). However, there are discrepancies in the use of the term PAW.

Temperate grassland conversion to conifer forest destabilises mineral soil carbon stocks.

Tree-planting is increasingly presented as a cost-effective strategy to maximise ecosystem carbon (C) storage and thus mitigate climate change. Its success largely depends on the associated response of soil C stocks, where most terrestrial C is stored. Yet, we lack a precise understanding of how soil C stocks develop following tree planting, and particularly how it affects the form in which soil C is stored and its associated stability and resistance to climate change.

Longitudinal observational (single cohort) study on the causes of trypanocide failure in cases of African animal trypanosomosis in cattle near wildlife protected areas of Northern Tanzania.

African animal trypanosomosis (AAT) in cattle is primarily managed through trypanocide administration and insecticide application. Trypanocides can be used for both treatment and prophylaxis, but failure is often reported; this may occur due to resistance, substandard drugs, or inappropriate administration. This study in Tanzania aims to quantify reasons for trypanocide failure.

Immunohistochemical analysis of 147 cases of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: refining the immunohistochemical profile of LG-ESS on a large, molecularly confirmed series.

Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LG-ESS) can present diagnostic challenges, due to its overlapping morphological features with other uterine mesenchymal tumors. Misdiagnosis rates remain significant, and immunohistochemical data for LG-ESS are limited to small series and inconsistent antibody panels. This study aimed to refine the IHC profile of LG-ESS by analyzing a large, molecularly confirmed series of 147 cases using a panel of 24 antibodies, including newer markers like transgelin and smoothelin.

"Undisciplined and a Moral Danger": Fright, Idleness and Immorality as Attributions of "Imbecile Children" in Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

From the second half of the nineteenth-century treatment of "imbecile" children in Britain underwent significant change. Examining the period from 1870 to 1920 when imbecility became a discrete category, and a matter of concern in policy and practice, this paper focuses on conceptualizations around fright, idleness, morality, and parental mental state as behavioral, emotional, and psychological causes and attributions of "imbecility" in children. I view this in light of the Victorian emotional culture of "care and control," which was driven by a shift in cost-cutting and fear of the impact of "imbecile children" on society, justifying exclusions, defining boundaries, and driving change.

Education Research: Making a Tweetorial Fly: Features of Educational Social Media Posts Associated With High Sharing and Engagement.

Background And Objectives: Social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) are increasingly used in medical education. Characteristics of tweetorials (threaded teaching posts) associated with higher degrees of engagement are unknown. We sought to understand features of neurology-themed tweetorials associated with high sharing and engagement.