We've been off this platform for a while and are officially hopping over to Bluesky: @squishyphysics.bsky.social.

Nice job Victor and Sean presenting your work in the lab at yesterday's @sacstate NSM Poster Symposium!

Want to read our latest paper on the gut-brain axis and gut tissue mechanics in Drosophila? You can download it for free through August 20 here!.(or see a brief summary of the work here: .

Thank you for reading! I hope you will give the paper a read once it is published in full in the coming weeks! I also invite you to reach out to me with inquiries about accessing the paper or discussing the work. A big thank you to everyone involved in the project!.

(I was still teaching classes online from my kitchen table at home at the time). Reflecting on this journey and knowing what it took to get here makes it all the more satisfying to see the work in print.

I still remember dropping off our NI DAQ cards on Jeff’s doorstep so that he could test his Labview code (face-to-face contact was not permitted), and me finally getting cleared to go work in lab to collect data on an otherwise abandoned campus.

4. This project was a long journey, as research projects often are – the initial proposal for funding to acquire the equipment was submitted in 2019 (almost exactly five years ago this summer). It felt even longer due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

3. So many students were involved in the work. The final paper features 16 @sacstate student authors, including two @SacStatePhysics majors, Jeffery Cavanaugh and Prince Yadav.

2. The questions we sought to answer took me in a whole new and exciting direction of research. I loved rediscovering the joy and excitement of embarking on new and unknown projects.

The gut-brain axis is well studied, but by combining techniques from physics and biology, we gained new hitherto unappreciated insights, and the outcome was better because of it. It’s this kind of cross-disciplinary collaboration that I love about working in biological physics.

Seeing this project reach publication is also personally very meaningful, for several reasons:.1. This project to me beautifully encompasses the idea of convergence science, where people of different disciplines and trainings come together to tackle a scientific problem.

We’re still not certain what the underlying mechanism behind the change in mechanics is, though we have ideas! Nonetheless, we demonstrate that intestinal tissue mechanics is a novel and potentially important element of the gut-brain communication loop.

To characterize mechanics, we dissected the flies and pulled their gut tissue using an Aurora Scientific force transducer and length controller. The mutant guts were initially softer, but underwent substantial strain stiffening and withstood higher force and strain.

We investigated flies carrying a mutation in the gene “kismet,” an orthologous gene to human neurodevelopmental disorder risk genes. The mutant flies had a reduced gut microbiome diversity, and performed worse in courtship assays sensitive to changes in neuronal functioning.

The role of intestinal tissue mechanics in this communication loop is not well characterized. Do genetic mutations affect both the microbiome and the mechanical properties of the tissue? Do the tissue mechanics impact what bacteria can colonize the gut? We don’t really know!

One way is through the gut-brain communication axis: the bacteria in your gut influences your brain and neuronal development, and vice versa! For example, a disrupted gut microbiome is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.

First, the science: Your body is host to a plethora of symbiotic bacteria! The amount and balance of bacterial species inhabiting your body are essential to your health, and impact your health and physiology in a variety of ways.

I am delighted to share that our work investigating the gut-brain axis published in Biophysical Journal! I’m very excited to share the science and our findings. Let me take you through the journey and the science! A 🧵:.

Summer sample preparation has kicked off! This summer, @SacStatePhysics students Sean Currier and Victor Hernandez will be doing high-precision mechanical characterization of plastics fishing line and biodegradable alternatives.

As any physicist would, I love spherical cows, so the gift is definitely appreciated! Here he is next to my other physics gadgets I keep on my bookshelf, including my Stirling engine, my Galton board, and my Euler disk.