The 2020 MacArthur Genius Awards have four biologists on the list.

The MacArthur Foundation has announced the winners of the 2020 MacArthur Fellows Award.
21 outstanding people have been awarded this year, including four scientists working in the life sciences.
photo source: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation MacArthur Awards, also known as the MacArthur Genius Award, recognize and encourage individual creativity.
, managing director of the Foundation this year, commented: "These 21 highly creative individuals provide a moment to celebrate.
them to ask key questions, develop innovative technologies and public policies, enrich our understanding of the human condition, and create works of art that inspire and inspire us.
"Let's take a look at four award-winning scientists in the field of life sciences: Dr. Nels: Studying the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary processes that drive host-pathogen interactions.Source:John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Nelles Eldes is an evolutionary geneticist who studies the interactions between hosts and pathogens and the evolutionary processes that enable organisms to attack or defend themselves better.
the conflict between the host and the pathogen is similar to an endless "arms race", in which the host continues to gain better immune defenses against attacks by microorganisms and viruses, while pathogens evolve to better evade defense mechanisms.
through a retrospective analysis of the evolutionary history of natural events and the evolution of microbial experiments in the laboratory, Dr. Elde has identified several molecular mechanisms that drive host and pathogen functions to adapt to rapid evolution.
his early work, he found that pox viruses, a double-stranded DNA virus, beat the immune responses of their mammalian hosts by amplification the genetic sequence of viral proteins that destroy host autoimmune proteins.
ability to amplification or shrink gene sequences allows viruses to evolve rapidly, responding to changes in host defenses.
recently, Dr. Elde found that transposable elements in the mammalian genome can spread gene regulatory sequences throughout the genome as a means of stimulating the evolution of immune defenses.
Elde's work has broad potential implications, helping to better understand host transformations, such as the transfer of new coronavirus from mammals to humans, and identifying potential drug targets in bacteria and viruses to treat emerging infectious diseases.
Damien Fair: Mapping the network connections in the human brain to improve understanding of how different brain regions communicate under normal and diseased conditions Photo Source: Dr. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Damien Fair, a cognitive neuroscientist who promotes our understanding of brain function during development.
combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), advanced mathematical techniques, and psychological and neuroscience expertise, Dr. Fair studied the connections of the brain in a resting state, as well as the inner or spontaneous neural activity of the brain.
' research has been able to more accurately observe how different regions of the brain communicate with each other and how such communication evolves at different stages of development, from infancy to adolescence.
' research is also improving understanding of atypical development, such as attention deficit ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
and his collaborators are building computational models to identify unique causal path path paths in specific ADHD and ASD patient substations.
this work has the potential to help design more individualized treatment options.
Recently, Dr. Fair is studying the environmental impacts of early life, such as mental stress, inflammation, or depression during pregnancy, and childhood experiences such as exercise, sleep habits, and social media, on networks of brain rest states in humans and animal models.
these studies will help us prevent mental illness throughout its life cycle.
Polina V. Lishko: Research guides the cellular processes of mammalian fertilization, opening up new channels for conception and the treatment of infertility Photo Source: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Dr. Paulina V. Lishko is a cell and developmental biologist who studies the molecular mechanisms that guide mammalian fertilization.
Using a series of genomic, biochemical, and physiological analyses, Dr. Lishko is clarifying the cellular processes that regulate the ability of sperm cells to move in a woman's reproductive channels, as well as the development of the top body, a cell device that allows sperm to penetrate the egg's protective layer, causing cells to fuse.
Though we already know that these functions depend on the regulation of trans-sperm cell membrane potentials, the tiny size and vigorous activity of sperm cells make it challenging to study ion channels that mediate these potential changes.
Lishko has developed electrophysiological techniques for sperm diaphragm clamps that can be used in sperm cells in any mammal, allowing for rigorous study of how cellular ion channels respond to chemical and mechanical signals in the female reproductive tract.
Lishko and her co-researchers found that namore-concentration progesterone activates a calcium ion channel called CatSper by interacting with a protein called APHD2, allowing calcium ions to flow into sperm to help them prepare for fertilization events.
in her work, she found that both pristimerin and lupeol, two plant sources, steroid-like steroids, inhibit catSper ion channels, thus avoiding high sperm activation.
, both inhibitors can prevent fertilization and may serve as a prototype for the pill.
Dr. Lishko's research is improving understanding of mammalian fertilization and opening up new avenues for treating human infertility and developing male-only or male-only contraceptives.
Dr. Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost: Synthesis of innovative small molecule compounds with bioactive and therapeutic potential to accelerate the development of antibiotics Photo: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Dr. Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost is a biochemist who studies the synthesis of innovative small molecules with bioactive or therapeutic potential.
nearly 70% of antibiotics used clinically, such as penicillin, are natural or natural product derivatives of biosynthetic pathways in bacteria and fungi.
most molecules or secondary metabolites from these pathways can only be synthesized under certain conditions and are difficult to replicate under typical laboratory culture conditions.
Using an existing library of small molecular compounds, Dr. Seyedsayamdost has developed a method called High-Channel Excitation Subfilter Screening (High-Channel Elicitor Screening, HiTES) that can quickly activate sub-metabolic pathways that are otherwise silent (or secret) to produce corresponding natural products.
then analyzed the structure and potential uses of these complex natural products using a range of techniques, including MRI spectroscopy, computational and analytical chemistry, and imaging mass spectrometography.
recent work, Dr. Seyedsayamdost's team sheds light on the molecular intralinks needed to give vancomycin unique structures and bioactive features.
is known as the "last resort" for treating persistent infections.
he has also developed a combination of chemical synthesis and enzymatic synthesis to speed up the discovery of antibiotics similar to vancomycin, but still effective against Vancomycin-resistant infections.
The emergence of new infectious diseases and the resistance of pathogenic bacteria to current antibiotic treatments is an important public health challenge facing the world, Dr. Seyedsayamdost's research is expanding the toolbox available to synthetic organic chemists and opening the door to a wide range of previously unknown compounds with potential therapeutic characteristics.
References: MacArthur Fellows. Retrieved October 9, 2020, from the public number of WeChat.