On The Trail of Physiology across America: First Stop, Arizona (Part 3)

While searching the website of The American Physiological Society, I discovered that there are local chapters of the society all across America. So I have decided to bring highlights from their meetings to you. We will be starting with the Arizona Physiological Society as they just held their annual meeting at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona.

Here are some highlights of current non-comparative physiology research from the meeting's abstracts:

Arsenic in Airways: Researchers at The University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) have been studying the effects of arsenic on the epithelial cells that line the human airway, which can alter immune defenses. Sherwood CL, Liguori A, Olsen C, Barcelo B, Burgess J, Lantz RC, and Boitano S. Arsenic Alters Barrier Properties in Human Airway Epithelial Cells. Visit Dr. Burgess, Lantz, and Boitano's websites.

Running Stress: Researchers at Midwestern University (Glendale, AZ) have been working to understand how different forms of exercise activate stress responses that can negatively affect the control of blood sugar in diabetic mice. Broderick T, Ghosh P, Tedeschi J, and Gunasekara G. The Stress Response of the db/db Mouse Subjected to Voluntary and Treadmill Run Training. Visit Midwestern University's website.

Dihydrotestosterone, an Antioxidant?: Researchers at The University of Arizona in Phoenix and Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) have discovered that dihydrotestosterone has antioxidant properties in human coronary vascular smooth muscle cells. Techapinyawat PA, Osterlund KL, and Gonzales RJ. Dihydrotestosterone Decreased Reactive Oxygen Species in Human Coronary Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells. Visit Dr. Gonzales' website.