The Alter Nobis : the collective artist as a Heterotopia

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Drug screening in human PSC-cardiac organoids identifies pro-proliferative compounds acting via the mevalonate pathway

We have previously developed a high-throughput bioengineered human cardiac organoid (hCO) platform, which provides functional contractile tissue with biological properties similar to native heart tissue, including mature, cell-cycle-arrested cardiomyocytes. In this study, we perform functional screening of 105 small molecules with pro-regenerative potential. Our findings reveal surprising discordance between our hCO system and traditional 2D assays. In addition, functional analyses uncovered detrimental effects of many hit compounds. Two pro-proliferative small molecules without detrimental impacts on cardiac function were identified. High-throughput proteomics in hCO revealed synergistic activation of the mevalonate pathway and a cell-cycle network by the pro-proliferative compounds. Cell-cycle reentry in hCO and in vivo required the mevalonate pathway as inhibition of the mevalonate pathway with a statin attenuated pro-proliferative effects. This study highlights the utility of human cardiac organoids for pro-regenerative drug development, including identification of underlying biological mechanisms and minimization of adverse side effects. Hudson, Porrello, et al. perform drug screening in human mini-hearts to identify compounds that promote human heart muscle cell proliferation. Drug screening also eliminated potential side effects on heart rhythm and function. Induction of heart muscle cell proliferation required activation of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway

Teaching Painting: How Can Painting be Taught in Art Schools

The ways in which painting is taught within art schools and academies have undergone several significant changes in recent years. As the barriers between media have eroded into more fluid borders, art schools have responded by adapting and evolving. Many painting departments have been absorbed into general fine art courses, but the development of specialist painting courses and pathways still continues. How have these courses defined and redefined themselves to reflect the current artistic landscape, and how can painting maintain an identity within nonspecialist approaches? This book includes contributions by Maggie Ayliffe and Christian Mieves, senior lecturers at Wolverhampton School of Art, who write about their Dirty Practice workshop that introduces risk and open-ended approaches to painting; Ian Gonczarow, who discusses how painting can be approached and taught in a post-analogue world; and Sarah Horton and Sarah Longworth-West, who detail their series of workshops that encourage a quick rotation through different, overlapping approaches to producing work