Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku in Japanese, is a term coined by Tomohide Akiyama for the simple practice of connecting to and taking in nature through most if not all of the physical senses [1]. By reengaging with nature we reattune ourselves with its rhythms and reinvigorate our bodies by stepping back into harmony. As Dr. Qing Li has spoken to, universal scripture is written in nature for the holy book of God is the natural world itself [2].
Spending time in a tranquil, outdoor setting allows for ‘involuntary attention’ or ‘soft fascination’ whereby the mind may rest and our capacity for clear cognition may be restored [3]. Forest medicine kindles our faculty of self-healing, and in 1984, Dr. Roger Ulrich published a paper in the journal Science which reported that patients assigned to hospital rooms with windows looking out on a natural scene experienced enhanced recovery from surgery (multiple subsequent studies confirmed his findings) [4]. As the work of Dr. Richard Taylor has shown, viewing of the fractal patterns ubiquitous in nature can reduce physiological stress and beneficially alter brain wave activity [5] [6]. Being a student of Plato, Aristotle surely understood the health-giving and divine quality of the living world when he stated that “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” Through forest bathing we gift ourselves with the original means of aromatherapy and inhale an abundance of phytoncides from surrounding trees and plants [7]. Phytoncides are volatile compounds that can have antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects and which play vital roles in air purification and communication within ecosystems [8] [9]. The air around rivers, streams, and woodlands is also rich with negatively-charged ions, a healthy uptake of which can protect the body against stress exposure, exert an anti-cancer effect, and enhance activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase [10] [11] [12]. Forest bathing also brings us into contact with the healthy microbes we have coevolved with, one example of such being Mycobacterium vaccae. Mycobacterium vaccae is a nonpathogenic mycobacterium species found normally in healthy soil that can serve as a beneficial psychobiotic when ingested or inhaled [13]. Mycobacterium vaccae can notably impact the gut-brain axis and bring about a decrease in anxiety, an increase in learning efficacy, and an improvement in immune responses (mycobacteria have been studied as immunotherapy agents) [14] [15]. Furthermore, M. vaccae has shown promise in the treatment of allergic disorders, and it can be argued that a lack of being exposed to this mycobacterium from our modern way of living is partly responsible for the heightened prevalence of allergic disorders we now see [16] [17] [18]. Through various means, the practice of shinrin-yoku is also capable of lowering both blood pressure and blood glucose, bettering depression and mental health, boosting the number of natural killer cells and the making of intracellular anti-cancer proteins, raising parasympathetic tone and lowering cortisol, dropping LDL cholesterol, heightening working memory performance, and simply improving overall well-being [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]. In conclusion, connecting with nature irrefutably profits the mind, body, and spirit, and there is no doubt that forest medicine will continue to grow as a beautiful bestowal in both healthcare and transcendentality [29]. References:
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CRISPR is an acronym for ‘clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,’ which are nucleotide sequences and spacers found in specialized regions of DNA from prokaryotic organisms (usually single-celled bacteria or archaea that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles) [1]. These regions are accompanied by Cas proteins and together they make up antiviral utilities which detect and degrade exogenous DNA and RNA from infiltrating viruses (there is also evidence of CRISPR-Cas systems helping with endogenous transcriptional control) [2]. CRISPR sequences originate in prokaryotes from past viral infections or plasmid exposures, and Cas (CRISPR-associated) proteins are enzymes that use CRISPR sequences to specifically locate and cleave matching or complimentary DNA fragments to thwart subsequent infection or unwanted genome alterations through the uptake of foreign nucleic acids [3] [4].
The CRISPR-Cas system can be hijacked or differently employed as a gene therapy tool, and this fact has led to the development of a gene editing technology named CRISPR-Cas9 (in which one particular Cas protein, Cas9, is utilized) [5]. CRISPR-Cas9 allows for targeted DNA deletions, insertions, and substitutions, and thus can be compared to a word processor’s cut and paste function. Viral means and non-viral means (like lipid- or polymer-based nanocarriers) for delivering the CRISPR-Cas9 vehicle to target cells currently exist (note that viral vectors carry a risk of cancer induction and violent immune responses) [6]. And a related technology involving nuclease-deactivated Cas9 (CRISPR-dCas9), can be used to epigenetically alter the activity of a particular gene without the normal DNA-cutting action of Cas9 [7]. CRISPR-Cas9 is not a perfect instrument however, as there can be variable accuracy and efficiency issues. And because gene editing literally consists of making changes to an organism’s genetic code, there are major ethical concerns with its extrapolated use (beyond simply correcting genetic defects in those with an inherited genetic disease and into extensions like germline engineering) [8]. Now, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) stands as an inherited genetic disease in which mutations in the DMD gene typically cause a failure to manufacture the protein dystrophin, an integral component of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex found in heart and skeletal muscle cells that serves as a cytoskeleton-extracellular matrix bridge [9]. Without the mechanical stabilization and signaling roles of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, cardiac and skeletal myocytes degenerate with use and progressive muscle wasting results [10]. DMD patients typically experience cardiac or respiratory failure during the third or fourth decade of life resulting in premature death [11]. The correction of DMD mutations via exon skipping or exon deletion with the use of CRISPR-Cas9 can restore expression of the dystrophin protein and rescue the function of cardiac and skeletal muscle cells, and this has been safely demonstrated in mouse models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy [12] [13] [14]. Other strategies for remedying DMD mutations with the help of CRISPR-Cas9 are available too [15]. DMD mutations have also been corrected using CRISPR-Cas9 in human cells in vitro [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]. And dystrophin expression and improved muscle histology have been seen in a canine model of DMD [21]. While thousands of DMD mutations have been identified in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, CRISPR technologies have exhibited efficacy in restoring dystrophin expression in human cells, and thus offer great promise for an otherwise incurable disease [22]. In conclusion, even though CRISPR systems remain highly advantageous because they are capable of permanently fixing genetic defects in those with DMD, there is an unpredictability to gene editing, and undesired mutations, off-target effects, and dangerous immune responses can be seen [23]. Genetic mosaicism has helped teach us that the human genome is much more malleable than previously believed, which carries with it both good and bad potentials [24]. Gene editing has the capacity to powerfully treat and even rectify many inherited genetic diseases, but certainly we must be careful to not get lured into playing God. Kept within strict boundaries, gene therapy can continue to grow into a medical revolution, and very soon, CRISPR systems may become easily accessible to those who truly need them. References:
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AuthorDenton Coleman is an Exercise Physiologist and Medical Researcher. Archives
October 2023
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