The Sciku Project

Menstrual health research
Uterus as sentinel
Tampon-based study.

by Debbie Lee

Leveraging power in the menstrualome, NextGenJane (NGJ) is unlocking the data of monthly cycles.

* As a hyper-responsive organ that responds to external and internal stimuli, from stress to disease, the uterus is a data trove.

* Menstrual blood contains early indicators of health and disease that’s difficult to get any other way.

* Members of the NGJ community mail their tampons using a patented, specially-designed collection kit.

* A survey is the beginning of this anonymised conversation with NGJ.

* The menstrual cycle is a convenient way to sample the uterus and advance the science of uterine biology.

* As a longitudinal study of women’s menstruation, a more sophisticated, molecular understanding of gynecological health will inprove medical diagnostics.

* More precise options for treatment is expected to deliver genomic insights and improved outcomes for endometriosis, fibroids, and other gynecological conditions.

For more information: https://www.nextgenjane.com/

Author bio:

Debbie Lee (@lee_debbie):
Writing from places light and dark,
awkward data nerd,
elegant word nerd,
dreaming in colour,
clumsily balancing love, hope,
kindness with pragmatic realism.

Read more of Debbie’s sciku here!

mix in some sugar
and the red only deepens
the leaves are changing

by Nancie Zivetz-Gertler

A poet with no background in the actual science of trees , writing haiku often leads me to learn unexpected things!

I was working with the kigo “changing leaves” and wondered why the reds are so red, why so breathtaking….

Then I discovered anthocyanins!

Extract from ‘Why do leaves change color in the fall?’:

“Most of the year, these leaves are green because of the chlorophyll they use to absorb energy from sunlight during photosynthesis. The leaves convert the energy into sugars to feed the tree.

As the season changes, temperatures drop and days get shorter. Trees get less direct sunlight, and the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down.

The lack of chlorophyll reveals yellow and orange pigments that were already in the leaves but masked during the warmer months. Darker red leaves are the result of a chemical change: Sugars that can get trapped in the leaves produce new pigments (called anthocyanins) that weren’t part of the leaf in the growing season. Some trees, like oaks and dogwoods, are likely to produce red leaves.

How much and how fast leaves transform varies by location on the globe. The best colors are produced when the weather is dry, sunny and cool. Places that are cloudy, damp or warm won’t see the same degree of changing color.”

Further reading:

‘Why do leaves change color in the fall?’, 2021, Smithsonian Story, available: https://www.si.edu/stories/why-do-leaves-change-color-fall

‘Autumn splendor: Why do leaves change color in the fall?’, 2017, STEMvisions Blog, Smithsonian Science Education Centre, available: https://ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/autumn-splendor-why-do-leaves-change-color-fall

‘Autumn Views: Art That Captures the Mood, Color, and Light of the Fall Season’, autumnal art from across the Smithsonian, available: https://www.si.edu/spotlight/autumn

Author bio:

Nancie Zivetz-Gertler, a poet and visual artist, studies Haiku in a community of poets with Clark Strand. Her work has been published in Haiku Pause, Tricycle Haiku Challenge, Asahi Haikuist Network, Folk ku, Haiku Avenue and Cold Moon Journal. A recently retired psychotherapist, she lives in Bend. Oregon.