Saturday, October 8, 2022

CUBE Medicine context2curriculum: Earthworms and Pulmonary critical care

Medicine CUBE is a positive cross connection toward a broader collaboration in conversational learning. 


Glossary :

CUBE : Collaboratively Understanding Biology Education .More here : https://www.hbcse.tifr.res.in/research-development/collaboratively-understanding-biology-education-cube






The conversations below have been accessed from the stem CUBE and then sorted topic wise (as relevant to Medicine CUBE and copied here for fair use by medicine CUBE members. All copyright of the conversations below belongs to stem CUBE members and will be eventually also shared in their open access platforms as posted on a related topic earlier here :  https://metastudio.org/t/how-to-find-earthworms/13588

Oct 7, 2022 Smiti 

Today we discussed about *earthworm* that *@⁨Misbah Shaikh⁩ from Elphinstone college, Mumbai @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ from KJ Somaiya College, Mumbai and @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩ from St. Peter's college, Kolenchery are culturing.*
• It started with *Misbah* where she told about *2 cup cultures* that she has.
• Then @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ join and told about her cultures like *from where her collaborators collected the earthworm* and how *she's maintaining them.*
• Then we discussed about *how to look for earthworms around* and what they eat in soil, *do they eat soil as whole or they pick and choose what they like from soil?*
• Then @⁨K❣️R@N ⛱️⁩ talked about *7th standard kids from muradabad* who started culturing earthworms recently and how they made their cup cultures we also *compared different cup cultures* made by cubist, using *notebook paper, news paper, tissue paper, etc.*
• Then we discussed *how earthworms get nutrition from tissue paper and what would missing?*


• This is a picture taken by @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ where we can see that there is some *pinkish portion near the tail region* and that looks like it's newly formed.. *Sign of regeneration.* 
• Also we can see the color change in paper and *small piece of paper that looks like earthworms have eaten* and made such small pieces of the paper. 
• Also we can see the *excreta of earthworm* so that means that earthworm are eating paper. 
• At the *end misbah was asked to tell her little secret* on how *she has been culturing earthworms in this simple set up for an year now!??*
• @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩ @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ @⁨Theertha⁩ please add your points if I missed something and @⁨~ Mohammed Owais⁩ @⁨😶‍🌫️ Ich⁩ @⁨Aashutosh Mule⁩ @⁨Himanshu Joshi⁩ @⁨+91 79770 49914⁩ @⁨+91 80976 50315⁩ and others please comment

[10/7, 11:20 PM] Theertha : How this earthworm in this  cupculture getting other nutrients like Lipids,Vitamins ,Proteins!? @⁨Misbah Shaikh⁩ @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩
[10/7, 11:33 PM] Owais : Since how long are you Culturing the earthworm in tissue paper? @⁨Smiti⁩ and any reason of amputation before regeneration?
[10/7, 11:44 PM] Aiswarya : In soil earthworms feed on organic debris.They are the major decomposers of the dead and decaying organic matter. They also feed upon microorganisms like bacteria , fungi, nematodes, protozoans etc...These microorganisms are responsible for the decompostion of debris. By feeding on them earthworms obtain their nutrition, ie, they extract the minerals and vitamins from microbes in addition to cellulose.




In case of tissuepaper culture things are different. We know tissue paper  contains cellulose which the worms digest. But how do they get other essential nutrients?

A fresh sheet of tissue paper will usually have chemical like products that PREVENT decomposition  or just imagine packs of toilet rolls going bad in bathroom cupboards because of the humidity....

The protection isn't super effective and doesn't last too long once wet. So when we use wet tissuepaper for culture, the microbes slowly starts decomposing it. By feeding on these microbes alongside with the decayed paper particles( cellulose ), they enrich their nutrition.

[10/8, 8:56 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: By the way, what is the *CUBE Medicine group's comments* on this year's Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine? @⁨Rakesh Biswas⁩

[10/8, 9:55 AM] Rakesh Biswas: Our current physiological functioning as humans is related to the genes that our past ancestors carried dating 70,000 years back.

That is the implication of Paabo's work in terms of understanding how the current human form reacts to antigens or other life inputs perhaps but then the CUBE discussion here tells me that there is a lot CUBE medicine has to learn from even more ancient systems such as snails, catterpillars, earthworms, plants and bacteria because while the human genome is important it also carries the genome not just of it's human ancestors but also their long chain of phylogenic ancestors beginning with unicellular beings.

[10/8, 9:01 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: Let's describe this photo @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ 
Let's involve all collaborators of CUBE Somaiya with the *latest understanding about Earthworm model system*, after yesterday's involved discussion, including *what could be the Immediate and Short term objectives*. @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩ @⁨Misbah Shaikh⁩ @⁨Theertha⁩
[10/8, 9:07 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: Why wetness is important for respiration?
*Can Earthworm be a model for understanding human respiration*? 
If so, how? If not, why not? @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩
[10/8, 9:11 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: @⁨Smiti⁩ Let's make a *map of Earthworm Model System Collaborators*, as you understand it.
Let's develop it further as and when we get to know of others involved in Earthworm Model system.👍@⁨Smiti⁩
[10/8, 9:13 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: How do we design experiment to study *Food Preference Assay in Earthworms* @⁨Smiti⁩ @⁨Theertha⁩ in lines of Caterpillar Food Preference Assay?

[10/8, 10:41 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: *Excellent critical summary on the current Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for cubists to understand and ask for more*.
@⁨shalinisharma⁩ @⁨😶‍🌫️ Ich⁩ @⁨Theertha⁩ @⁨Smiti⁩ and all others.
[10/8, 10:51 AM] +91 94837 16348: Then what is the source of protein for earthworm in the tissue culture?
@⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩ @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ @⁨Aliza Khan⁩
[10/8, 10:56 AM] : Lets work on developing a wise design for culturing earthworms considering all the adequate supply of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals for earthworm to thrive without any problem
@⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩ @⁨Aliza Khan⁩ @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ @⁨Misbah Shaikh⁩ and other earthworm groups

[10/8, 10:57 AM] Arunan Tata Institute: *Can amino acids and fatty acids be synthesized from intermediary compounds* in Carbohydrate metabolism?  @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩ @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩ and others.


[10/8, 10:59 AM] +91 94837 16348: Indeed Metastudio can serve the purpose of ready reference for newcomers who wish to pursue research..
*The most important thing we all should be vigilant while writing in Metastudio is to quote references for your statements*


[10/8, 3:10 PM] Rakesh Biswas: 👆Protein and fat From the microorganisms?


[10/8, 3:16 PM] Himanshu : Great! 
Does these microorganisms are adequate to fulfil protein and fat requirements of an eartworm?
Is this the only source of protein and fats in cup culture? 
Can this be translated to human beings ?
Like which microorganisms should we eat to fulfill our  protien and fat requirements?
@⁨Rakesh Biswas⁩ @⁨Aliza Khan⁩ @⁨Aiswarya Jayan⁩


[10/8, 3:17 PM] Rakesh Biswas: Great question with lots of implications for citizen astronauts (one of the chief current drivers for citizen science). 👍


[10/8, 3:22 PM] Rakesh Biswas: Quoting from the reference below :

"There is experimental evidence that microorganisms provide food for earthworms. Bacteria are of minor importance in the diet, algae are of moderate importance; protozoa and fungi are major sources of nutrients. Worms, produced under sterile conditions, could live on individual cultures of certain bacteria, fungi and protozoa, but grew best on various mixtures of microorganisms."


[10/8, 4:17 PM] Arunan Tata Institute: How do we exchange Oxygen and CO2 of the blood in the lungs? @⁨Dikshaaa🧀⁩


[10/8, 6:39 PM] Dikshaa : Alveoli in our lungs, exchange the oxygen and carbon dioxide during the process of respiration

[10/8, 8:14 PM] Rakesh Biswas: Yes humans are a little different as far as ventilatory mechanics are concerned, which is largely about reaching the gas exchange area deep inside their thoracic cage, which in case of earthworms is simply the skin. 

Would be great if we could breathe through our skin like earthworms and one can't rule out that possibility for citizen astronauts in the near future. 

We medical cubists do have a lot of trouble with the gas exchange in humans that we take care of daily and as it is deep inside the chest it normally requires strong muscles to deliver the gases in and out of but even though technology helps us with positive pressure pumps called ventilators, their role in facilitating alveolar gas exchange is minimal and this is the reason you can see how in our chatshala archived herehttps://youtu.be/y9QMgXNm9so since covid times, we are struggling to help maintain alveolar gas exchange in our patients, with the currently limited science that we have to work with. 


Wish I could see your chatshala archives sometime. Do share the links if they are being archived.







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