In February NASA astronomers discovered­­ seven Earth-like planets, potentially harboring life, orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1, not too far from Earth.

Scientists have yet to discover life, or evidence of civilizations, on these or other planets. But in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, they often categorize hypothetical worlds according to the amount of energy their inhabitants could potentially harness.

They do this using what is known as the Kardashev scale. Named in 1964 for Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev, the scale takes energy use as the key indicator of a civilization’s advancement, and places those hypothetical civilizations in one of three categories:

• A Type 1 civilization—still a distant goal for Earth—utilizes all of the energy that reaches its planet from its parent star (in Earth’s case, the Sun).
• A Type 2 civilization is capable of using all the energy put out by its star and planetary system.
• A super-advanced Type 3 civilization harnesses all the energy of its home galaxy.

The Kardashev scale has been a gold standard classification system for thinking about “exo-civilizations” for decades. It does not, however, take into account how a civilization in turn affects its planet when it gathers and uses energy.

That omission is increasingly significant as, in the half-century since Kardashev proposed his classification scheme, evidence is accumulating that our energy-intensive, industrial civilization is affecting our planet.

Given those effects, can planets and civilizations co-exist for the long haul? And if so, how?

To answer these questions, a team of researchers led by Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy, devised a new classification scheme for the evolution of civilizations based on the idea that it’s not just how much energy you use, but how you use it that matters.

With this new scale, the researchers determined that in order to survive long-term, a civilization must learn to “think like a planet”—or risk the civilization’s demise.

“The Kardashev scale is concerned with extracting energy,” Frank says. “But what we’ve recognized with our classification scheme is that you can’t use energy without causing different kinds of waste. That waste feedbacks on the state of planet.”

In a paper in the journal Anthropocene, the researchers discuss this new classification system as a way of thinking about sustainability on a planetary scale.

“The discovery of seven new exoplanets orbiting the relatively close star TRAPPIST-1 forces us to rethink life on Earth,” says Marina Alberti of the University of Washington, a co-author on the paper. “It opens the possibility to broaden our understanding of planetary system dynamics and lays the foundations to explore a path to long-term sustainability.”

Read more here.

In a study published in Cell Death & Disease, University researchers show that healthy photoreceptor cells and cerebellar granule neuron cells were significantly more likely to survive chemotherapy in mice that had been genetically engineered to lack ALKBH7. ALKBH7 is one of several proteins that can trigger “regulated” cell death aimed at heading off the risk of mutation in both mice and humans.

But surprisingly, the improvement in brain cell survival rates occurred only in male mice, and was far more pronounced in males for photoreceptor cells as well.

“We don’t know why that is,” says Dragony Fu, an assistant professor of biology and corresponding author of the study. “But we have some potential leads.”

Fu suspects that additional genetic and molecular factors, including hormones and other cellular proteins, affect a cell’s response to chemotherapy. For example, the XY chromosome cells found in males have different mechanisms for triggering cell death than the XX chromosome cells found in females.

“So that brings up an intriguing point, that male and female cells die in different ways depending on what they are exposed to,” Fu says. “If you give a male and a female the same dose of chemotherapy, it could have completely different effects.”

Fu will continue to study the role of ALKBH7—now taking the possibility of sex-specific behaviors of the protein into account. Further research on ALKBH7 will help to determine:

• Whether there are certain cancers that arise from ALKBH7 deficiency.
• And if so, are there ways to selectively re-introduce the ALKBH7 protein—or other proteins that trigger cell death—into cancer cells but not in the normal cells?

In addition, in a previous study, Fu found that cells lacking ALKBH7 have a greater number of mutations after chemotherapy compared to cells with ALKBH7. “Thus, we have to weigh the cost/benefit of increasing the survival rate of normal cells with the increased risk of mutation and cancer,” he says.

“By gaining a better understanding of how cells respond to chemotherapy, we are hoping to make these therapies more targeted for certain kinds of cells, such as a cancer cells—and also, importantly, to lessen the affects they have on our normal cells,” Fu says.

Read more here.

The amount the average medical student will owe upon completing his or her degree has risen to almost $190,000, according to a Medical Center study. This study also indicates that debt is becoming more concentrated, potentially putting a career in medicine out of reach for students who do not come from wealthy backgrounds.

The study, which was co-authored by Benjamin George, a resident in neurology; Justin Grischkan, a medical student, and Ray Dorsey,  the David M. Levy Professor of Neurology, appears in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The new research finds that the average debt that medical school graduates carry has climbed from $161,739 in 2010 to $179,000 in 2016 (adjusted to 2016 U.S. dollars).  Students intending to specialize in emergency medicine, radiology, and psychiatry carried the most debt.

At the same time, the study shows an increase from 16 percent to 27 percent over the same period in the number of students who graduate from medical school debt free.  Specialties such as radiology, dermatology, neurology, OB/GYN, ophthalmology, and pathology saw the greatest increases in debt-free medical school graduates.

While this trend appears to be positive, a closer examination of the data indicates that wealth may play a factor.  Scholarship funding has declined among debt-free students, meaning that their education was likely paid for with personal contributions.  This finding suggests that a growing number of medical students come from wealthier backgrounds and, when paired with the overall increase in debt, indicates that medical education debt is actually being concentrated in fewer individuals.

The authors note that this growth and concentration of debt could make the upward mobility associated with a medical education unattainable for individuals who do not have the personal financial means and impair efforts to diversify the physician workforce.

(Over the last 20 years, researchers have been uncovering the complexity of lymphoma and the challenges it presents for treatment. The lymphoma program at Wilmot Cancer Institute is helping lead the search for answers. This installment is from a story at the institute’s Dialogue Blog.)

In lymphoma, the non-cancer cells in a tumor — known as the tumor microenvironment — play an important role in the course of the disease.

“Tumors don’t grow by themselves in the body,” explains Wilmot hematopathologist Richard Burack. “They have a lot of other cells mixed in with them, and the non-malignant part of a tumor is a powerful determinant of how these tumors will behave.”

Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system, and it happens that the lymphoma’s microenvironment is made up of other immune cells. Its composition can influence the course of a patient’s disease and how patients respond to treatment. To analyze these cells and their role, Burack has teamed up with Tim Mosmann, who directs the Medical Center’s Human Immunology Center and David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology.

They are testing if the type and number of immune cells in the blood predict the immune cells of the lymphoma’s microenvironment. Because the type and number of the immune cells in the microenvironment predicts how well immunotherapeutics work, their approach could potentially give doctors the information they need to personalize therapies.

Burack and Mosmann are also analyzing the microenvironment to understand more about what makes immunotherapies for lymphoma work.

“We don’t know if the efficacy of immunotherapies is based on the immune composition of the tumor or if it’s based on the patient’s overall immune status,” Burack says. “If we understand the relationship between the patient’s global immune system and the occurrence or recurrence of their lymphoma, we may have another marker to follow in patients that will tell us when start or reinitiate therapy.”

The Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC) will host its first symposium of the academic year today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Wegmans 1400.

This month’s featured speaker is Gregory Heyworth from the Department of English. He will discuss a variety of image capture and processing techniques and deep learning methods being developed to read damaged manuscripts and cultural heritage objects.

In addition, Numair Sani from the UR Health Lab will present an on-going research talk on the use of deep learning methods for osteoporosis screening from X-rays.

Lunch will be served.

Jinjiao Wang, assistant professor of nursing, will be the opening presenter at the School of Nursing’s Clinical and Research Grand Rounds. She will present “Trajectory of Frailty in Older Home Health Patients after Hospital Discharge: What Does It Mean for Nurses” from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, September 20, in Helen Wood Hall Room 1W510. Lunch will be provided (while it lasts). ASL Interpreters and other accommodations are available if requested one week in advance. Contact Teresa Burritt at 275-7883 or Teresa_Burritt@urmc.rochester.edu for assistance.

The Pre-doctoral Organization for the Neurosciences (PONS) invites you to a discussion of current Medical Center research with panelists Margot Mayer-Proschel and Chris Proschel of the ​Department of Biomedical Genetics, and  Ania Majewska and John Olschowka of the Department of Neuroscience from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, September 18 in LeChase Assembly Hall (G-9576).

Refreshments will be provided. For more information on upcoming Neuro-related events, please visit http://blogs.rochester.edu/pons/upcoming.

1. General HIV/AIDS Pilots

To support a broad range of highly innovative research projects and pilot studies that address key gaps in our understanding of HIV/AIDS and that address the NIH HIV/AIDS High Priority Research Topics designated by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Office of AIDS Research (OAR).

Up to two awards will be made for a 6-month period (end date no later than 4/30/18) with maximum funding of $20,000 in Direct Costs. Additional information and specific application requirements can be found in the full pilot announcement.

Applications are due no later than 5 p.m., October 9.

2. Joint funding through SMD, SON, and Program of Excellence

To support a broad range of highly innovative research projects and pilot studies that address key gaps in our understanding of HIV/AIDS and that address the NIH HIV/AIDS High Priority Research Topics and to facilitate collaborations between the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the School of Nursing.

One award will be made for a one-year period with maximum funding of $50,000 in Direct Costs. Additional information and specific application requirements can be found in the full pilot announcement.

Applications are due no later than 5 p.m., October 23.

Click here to find full pilot announcements for both categories of awards.

Today: CIRC research symposium. Gregory Heyworth from the Department of English will discuss a variety of image capture and processing techniques and deep learning methods being developed to read damaged manuscripts and cultural heritage objects. Numair Sani from the UR Health Lab will present an on-going research talk on the use of deep learning methods for osteoporosis screening from X-rays. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Wegmans 1400. Lunch will be served.

Sept. 17: Celebrating a Community of Diverse Students and Trainees at URMC. 1 to 4 p.m., Canalside Shelter, Genesee Valley Park. The event, for students, trainees,  and their families, is sponsored by the Medical Center, and includes food, fun, and games.

Sept. 18: PONS luncheon roundtable on glial biology with panelists Margot Mayer-Proschel and Chris Proschel of the ​Department of Biomedical Genetics, and  Ania Majewska and John Olschowka of the Department of Neuroscience. Noon to 1 p.m. LeChase Assembly Hall (G-9576). Refreshments will be provided. For more information on upcoming Neuro-related events, please visit http://blogs.rochester.edu/pons/upcoming.

Sept. 20: “Trajectory of Frailty in Older Home Health Patients after Hospital Discharge: What Does It Mean for Nurses” presented by Jinjiao Wang, assistant professor of nursing. Opening presenter, School of Nursing’s Clinical and Research Grand Rounds. 12:10 to 12:50 p.m.  Helen Wood Hall Room 1W510. Lunch will be provided (while it lasts). ASL Interpreters and other accommodations are available if requested one week in advance. Contact Teresa Burritt at 275-7883 or Teresa_Burritt@urmc.rochester.edu for assistance.

Sept. 25: Conference: The Road from Nanomedicine to Precision Medicine. Networking opportunities for physicians, scientists, engineers, lawyers, business professionals, technology transfer specialists, policy makers and venture capitalists from government, academia, and industry. Albany College of Pharmacy. Free. No registration. The University’s UNYTE Translational Research Network is partnering with Albany to produce the event. Click here for more information

Sept. 25: 5 p.m. deadline to submit initial abstracts for Novel Biostatistical and Epidemiologic Methods awards from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Click here to view the RFA.

Sept. 25 to 29: Early Stage Faculty Boot Camp to help senior instructors and assistant professors identify the skills they need for successful career advancement. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit the CTSI website for more details.

Sept. 27: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses Chemistry, by Weike Wang. Featuring Hochang (Ben) Lee, Department of Psychiatry Chair. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

Oct. 1: Deadline for applications for AS&E PumpPrimer II awards to stimulate extramural funding for projects otherwise difficult to launch. Click here for more information.

Oct. 9: 5 p.m. deadline to apply to Center for AIDS Research for pilot funding. Click here to find full pilot announcement.

Oct. 18: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses A Crack in Creation, by Jennifer Doudna. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

Oct. 23: 5 p.m. deadline to apply to Center for AIDS Research for joint funding through SMD, SON and Program of Excellence. Click here to find full pilot announcement.

Nov. 8: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses The Periodic Table, by Primo Levi. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.

Nov. 13: Initial abstracts due for Incubator Awards from the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Find more details and application instructions online.

Dec. 6: Science, Technology, and Culture book club discusses Weapons of Math Destruction, by Cathy O’Neil. 5 to 6 p.m. Humanities Center lobby (Rush Rhees Library). Email Emma_Grygotis@urmc.rochester.edu for more information.