• WHAT talk 11.12.22

    From littoral.homo@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 11 04:32:44 2022
    Dear One and All,

    Please consider yourself most cordially invited to the 14th in our WHAT Talks series, next Sunday, 11th December, at 10pm West Australian Time, (2pm in the UK).  

    The Zoom link is at the end of this email. Please feel free to copy it to anyone who you think might be interested in why we are so different from our chimpanzee and gorilla cousins generally, and in particular why we, alone tend to be born with a
    peculiar coating of cheesy wax. Note that the invite to the meeting states at 9:30 pm start (in WA time) but this is just to allow the speaker and a few other people to join early. 

    A "waiting room" system will be in operation so if you do join early, please be patient while we test everything before allowing people "in". 

    The meeting is scheduled to start on the hour at 10pm West Australian time, 2pm in the UK, 3pm Central European time and 8 am in Chicago in the USA from where Tom will be giving the talk. 

    Please check local times for any daylight-saving alterations.

    It is scheduled to last about an hour.  

    Jump to the end if you want to go straight to the link.  

    Read on if you want to read more about Tom and his talk. 

    image.png

    Tom Brenna, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics, of Chemistry, and of Human Nutrition at the Dell Medical School and College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, and Professor Emeritus of Human Nutrition, of Food Science, and of
    Chemistry after 28 years as an active faculty member at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. His group’s basic research into the chemical, biochemical, metabolic, genetic and ecological aspects of fatty acids have had a decisive influence on modern
    knowledge of these key nutrients. Their work has led to modification of the accepted biochemical pathways for endogenous synthesis of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA). Recent research has clarified the molecular biology of human
    synthesis of branched chain fatty acids as well as food sources of these compounds. This work has been in concert with many ongoing contributions to the analytical mass spectrometry of fatty acids and related lipids.

    His decade of research on the PUFA content of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods used to rehabilitate children afflicted with severe acute malnutrition showed improved long term neurocognitive development, leading to 2021 changes in WHO international food
    policy. In the 1990s, his group’s basic research studies on omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids contributed to the US FDA’s approval of DHA and arachidonic acid in US infant formulas. He has contributed to numerous policy efforts, including being a
    member of the 2015 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and the most recent (2011) FAO/WHO Expert Panel on Fats and Fatty Acids. He was President of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL), serving on its
    executive committee until 2021. He will receive the 2023 Supelco AOCS Research Award recognizing outstanding original research in fats, oils, lipid chemistry or biochemistry; previously he was honored with the Ralph Holman (2021) and the Herbert Dutton (
    2020) Awards, all by the American Oil Chemists Society. He is the fourth scientist to be honored with both American Society for Nutrition’s Osborne and Mendel Award for outstanding contributions to basic research in nutrition (2017) and the ASN’s
    Robert Herman Award for advancement of clinical nutrition (2013).

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/j. thomas.brenna.1/bibliography/public/

    https://dellmed.utexas.edu/directory/tom-brenna

    https://www.human.cornell.edu/people/jtb4

    Algis Kuliukas is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

    Topic: WHAT Talk #14 Tom Brenna
    Time: Dec 11, 2022 01:30 PM London

    Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82048483360?pwd=cjEwdk5rRzdvUGxYaXloRTB2bmJaZz09

    Meeting ID: 820 4848 3360
    Passcode: 621947
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    --
    Best regards 
    Geriausi linkėjimai 
    З найкращими побажаннями

    Algis Kuliukas

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From littoral.homo@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 11 09:51:45 2022
    Dear One and All, Please consider yourself most cordially invited to the 14th in our WHAT Talks series, next Sunday, 11th Dec., at 10pm West Australian Time, (2pm in the UK). ... Algis Kuliukas

    Prof.Tom Brenna just delivered a very interesting & intriguing lecture.

    Vernix caseosa is a "vernish" fat layer, rich in branched-chain fatty acids (BC-FAs), over the skin of human newborns.
    AFAWK it's not seen in other primates or most mammals, except e.g. in (Californian & other?) sealions & possibly in walruses:
    has it something to do with being born on the beach? But why?? protecting against certain infections??
    I used to think it protected the newborn's skin in (sea?) water, but that's not very likely: sealions have protecting fur.

    Knowing the answer might be important for reconstructing early-Pleistocene human evolution?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From littoral.homo@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 11 15:15:57 2022
    Prof.Odent just sent us this:

    Dear Marc, dear friends,
    The point is to interpret the abundance of “corneocytes” in vernix caseosa. They work like sponges and are obviously protective in case of immersion in hypertonic water. As early as 2000, a team of American dermatologists wanted to develop a
    protective cream for premature babies: they were highly interested in the corneocytes of vernix caseosa.
    Don Bowen, the marine biologist from Nova Scotia who revealed that the pups of seals have vernix, noticed that harbour seals, which swim with their mothers within minutes of being born, have more vernix than other seals: they are better adapted to sudden
    immersion in hypertonic water. Michel Odent

    ______


    Dear One and All, Please consider yourself most cordially invited to the 14th in our WHAT Talks series, next Sunday, 11th Dec., at 10pm West Australian Time, (2pm in the UK). ... Algis Kuliukas

    Prof.Tom Brenna just delivered a very interesting & intriguing lecture. Vernix caseosa is a "vernish" fat layer, rich in branched-chain fatty acids (BC-FAs), over the skin of human newborns.
    AFAWK it's not seen in other primates or most mammals, except e.g. in (Californian & other?) sealions & possibly in walruses:
    has it something to do with being born on the beach? But why?? protecting against certain infections??
    I used to think it protected the newborn's skin in (sea?) water, but that's not very likely: sealions have protecting fur.
    Knowing the answer might be important for reconstructing early-Pleistocene human evolution?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)