Abstract

Physarum polycephalum is a species of slime mold that spends most of its life cycle as a plasmodium, a unicellular multinucleated amoeboid. This species of slime mold is well known for its spatial memory. Oats, quinoa, and barley have a lot of protein and nutrients; therefore, they were used to feed the slime mold. Other studies tested the memory or growth of slime mold. This experiment compared both slime mold growth and memory using oats, quinoa, and barley. It was hypothesized that barley would make the slime mold grow the quickest and largest due to its high protein concentration. Into 3 Petri dishes a drop of water, a culture of slime mold, and each food source was placed. The slime mold was then placed in a shoebox, with graph paper taped to the bottom, to make sure there was minimal light on it. After sections were cut out and placed into the remaining petri dishes with the same food sources it grew in and then placed into a Lego maze with the food sources to track the time of its memory. While barley and oats tied for overall growth after 48-hours, barley-fed plasmodium grew much faster than oats-fed. For the maze and memory part of the experiment, due to timing, that part could not yet be done. Future work includes testing the slime mold's growth in a maze to discover how long it takes for the slime mold to find its food, depending on the food source.

Abstract

Caffeine is one of the most consumed stimulants in the world, being available in beverages such as coffee, chocolate, tea and energizers. It is a molecule used at the pharmacological level as an analgesic and causes psychostimulant effects related to decreased sleepiness, increased attention, modulation of memory and cognitive performance; In addition, it is recognized for the improvement of sports performance, among others (1). The relationship between sleep and caffeine has been widely investigated, it has been established that this methylxanthine can prolong sleep latency, generate less total sleep time with decreased deep sleep and a parallel increase in light sleep (2). Then, a review is presented that addresses the effect of caffeine on the polysomnographic stages of sleep and on the biological interactions that this substance presents in the adenosine receptors to which it joins; In addition, the genetic variations of these receptors will be taken into account, as possible causes of the changes induced by caffeine in sleep.

Abstract

Opportunistic fungi of the Candida species have been associated with a broad spectrum of human infections with significant morbidity and mortality rates, ranging from superficial skin infections to deep or disseminated candidiasis. To combat this microorganism, antifungals are used, substances capable of specifically attacking fungi. Among them, the most commonly used are azoles, molecules characterized by an azole ring with various substituents, however, there has been widespread resistance to this type of antifungal agents. The objective of this review is to describe the main mechanisms of resistance to azole antifungals in fungal species of the genus Candida.