By using high-resolution sensors on a tree’s stems and time-lapse photography, UBC Okanagan researchers can watch for the visual clues some trees present when water stressed.

With the arrival of spring a few weeks ago, new buds and colours on the trees started to appear.

Along with that new growth, a UBC Okanagan researcher has determined that some trees in spring also provide simple, visual clues—raised or lowered branches—to indicate that they are rehydrating or water-stressed.

Dr. Magali Nehemy studies forest hydrology with UBCO’s Department of Earth and Environmental Science in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. Her latest paper, published in Hydrological Processes, examined how tree branches shift as they start to rehydrate when winter ends.

“Spring rehydration is one of the key transitions in forest ecosystems,” says Dr. Nehemy. “It marks the moment when trees begin to restore internal water reserves and prepare for the growing season.”

Using high-resolution sensors on the tree’s stems and time-lapse photography, the researchers recorded branch movements of balsam fir while the trees rehydrated during snowmelt and rainfall events. During drier periods, the branches gradually drooped downward, indicating a deficit in the tree’s water.

The study took place from early March to mid-May on a grove of balsam fir in Ontario’s Muskoka region. Using sensors, the researchers took stem radius measurements every 15 minutes. This data reveals cycles of contraction and expansion related to water loss and replenishment within the tree. At the same time, images captured by time-lapse cameras showed subtle but consistent changes in branch positions. The two signals closely tracked each other, she says.

“When the stems expanded—indicating rehydration—branches lifted. When water stress increased, branches drooped.”

As climate change impacts the amount and timing of snowmelt and water availability in northern forests, understanding these plant–water interactions is becoming increasingly important. Simple processes visible to the naked eye—such as whether branches are lifting or drooping—may offer another window into how forests respond to changing environmental conditions, she explains.

“Interestingly, freeze–thaw cycles on cold spring nights caused sharp changes in stem size but had little effect on branch orientation,” she adds. “This suggests that branch posture reflects longer-term water status rather than short-term temperature fluctuations.”

The findings also raise questions about how different species respond. In the same forest, nearby deciduous trees without leaves showed little or no branch movement, while evergreen conifers showed clear posture changes.

The idea that plants move in response to their environment has fascinated scientists for centuries, dating back to Charles Darwin’s studies of plant movement in the 19th century. Yet many aspects of these movements remain poorly understood.

“Branch movement is not a replacement for scientific instruments such as dendrometers or plant water sensors,” says Dr. Nehemy. “But it could offer a visual, low-cost indicator of tree hydration, and this is especially useful for field observations or ecosystem monitoring.”

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A fire practitioner monitors fire behaviour on a prescribed fire in the Kootenays. The prescribed fire was planned for ecosystem restoration and to protect critical infrastructure.

From an early age, we are taught to fear fire without understanding the essential role it plays in supporting ecological resilience.

The new $8M Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program, co-developed by UBC’s Okanagan campus and the Weston Family Foundation, will address a critical gap in Canada’s ability to use and scale prescribed fire as a land management and ecological restoration tool.

Canada’s diverse ecosystems have evolved over thousands of years to rely on fire to support biodiversity, ecological health and resilience. Over time, changes to land management practices, including the widespread suppression and exclusion of fire, have left these ecosystems out of balance. As vegetation builds up, it acts like kindling, allowing fires to become more intense and harder to control, contributing to increasingly devastating and severe wildfires across Canada.

Prescribed fire is a safe, planned, and proven land management tool used to enhance the health of our ecosystems, support biodiversity and reduce wildfire severity and risk. Despite its demonstrated benefits, the value of prescribed fire is not widely recognized or understood. As a result, it is vastly underused in Canada and is widely constrained by the limited availability of training, mentorship and opportunities to gain operational experience in the field.

“The compounding effects of climate change and extreme wildfire events call for more proactive, planned and land-driven management tools to support healthy, wildfire resilient landscapes,” says Garfield Mitchell, Chair of the Weston Family Foundation. “This program directly addresses the skills and training gap that has been long overlooked to strengthen our capacity for widespread and responsible use of prescribed fire in Canada.”

The Prescribed Fire Training Program will educate and train practitioners across Canada through regional hubs, tailoring prescribed fire training to meet the needs of Canada’s diverse and varied landscapes, and delivering significant community safety and ecological benefits nationwide.

There are five regional hubs: Western, Northern, Central, Eastern and Atlantic Canada. These  hubs will ensure approaches reflect local ecosystems, governance structures and operational realities. The program further emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration and evidence-informed practice, while respecting and supporting Indigenous-led fire stewardship and cultural fire practices.

“Canada’s ability to expand the use of prescribed fire has been constrained by a lack of coordinated training and clear pathways to operational experience,” says Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, Assistant Professor in UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science and the director of the Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program. “This program provides the leadership and structure needed to establish national standards, deliver regionally grounded training and build the capacity required to apply prescribed fire safely, responsibly and at scale.”

As the frequency and severity of wildfires increase, the safe and responsible use of prescribed fire can counter adverse effects on communities and the environment by reducing risk and keeping our landscapes healthy and resilient.

Learn more about the Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program at: rxfire.ca

A driptorch, a tool used by fire practioners to apply fire, rests beside a prescribed fire in the Kootenays.

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A new study has determined that intermittent fasting can help people with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Intermittent fasting has become a popular diet trend. But new research from a collaboration between UBC Okanagan and the University of Calgary has determined it can also have health benefits for people living with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Dr. Natasha Haskey is a registered dietitian and clinical researcher within the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science’s Department of Biology. She recently co-authored a study examining how overweight people with Crohn’s fared when they fasted for 16 hours a day but consumed their usual diet during the remaining eight hours of that day.

It was the first randomized controlled trial to examine intermittent fasting for people with Crohn’s, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.

“We wanted to see whether eating within a set time window each day could help this particular group of people,” explains Dr. Haskey. “We were curious whether this way of eating could improve symptoms, reduce visceral fat, which is fat around the organs, lower inflammation and support a healthier gut. And our preliminary research suggests it does.”

Crohn’s disease is often complicated by excess visceral fat, which is linked to increased inflammation, reduced response to biologic therapies and higher rates of surgical complications. Despite this, lifestyle strategies that specifically address the accumulation of body fat and metabolic dysfunction have been understudied for people with Crohn’s.

Dr. Maitreyi Raman, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, is the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

“Crohn’s disease reflects a chronic imbalance in the body’s immune responses,” says Dr. Raman. “We’re beginning to see how metabolic health, gut microbes and immune pathways interact—and how eating patterns may help restore that balance.”

The study, published recently in Gastroenterology, shows promising results, adds Dr. Raman. The participants who tried intermittent fasting noticed a significant decrease in their body mass index, while those who did not fast, maintained or increased their body mass.

Notably, these changes occurred while both groups consumed the same number of daily calories and similar foods. Those who fasted also reported a reduction in their symptoms—a 40 per cent drop in stool frequency and a 50 per cent reduction in abdominal discomfort.

“The people who fasted lost weight and visceral fat, showed signs not only in clinical disease improvement but also reduced inflammation,” says Dr. Raman. “Importantly, these changes occurred without making any dietary changes. The only change they made was when they ate.”

In addition to feeling better, people in the intermittent fasting group showed important improvements in their metabolism. Proteins released from fat tissue—which help control metabolism, appetite, and heart and immune health—shifted in a healthier direction. In a subgroup, deep visceral fat also went down, while it actually increased in those who did not fast.

“These findings suggest that intermittent fasting group might help reduce symptoms, support weight loss and improve overall health in people with Crohn’s,” says Dr. Haskey. “Intermittent fasting won’t replace medication, and it’s not a cure, but it may be a useful, low-cost and accessible tool for those who are overweight and living with Crohn’s disease, along with other treatments. More research is needed, but the results look promising.”

The study was supported by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation through a Litwin IBD Pioneers Grant and the Inflammation, Microbiome, and Alimentation: Gastro-Intestinal and Neuropsychiatric Effects Chronic Disease Network.

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Rebecca Booth, Dr. Anna Ordog and Dr. Alex Hill with the DRAO 15m telescope behind them. Photo courtesy of the National Research Council of Canada/Conseil National de Recherches Canada.

A UBC Okanagan-led research project has given a group of international scientists their clearest view yet of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, revealing that it is far more complex than previously believed.

Dr. Alex Hill, Assistant Professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science at UBCO, specializes in radio astronomy. Working at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO), near Penticton, his team used data from the DRAO 15-metre telescope to complete the first broadband map of Faraday rotation, a phenomenon that scientists use to track magnetic fields across the northern sky.

The dataset, known as Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory GMIMS of the northern sky (DRAGONS) and led by former UBCO postdoctoral researcher Dr. Anna Ordog, captures polarized radio emissions across a wide range of frequencies, allowing astronomers to see magnetic structures that were previously invisible. This research is part of a larger initiative called the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS), initiated by Dr. Tom Landecker, an astronomer at DRAO and adjunct professor at both UBCO and the University of Calgary.

“With our new dataset, we can look at the polarized emissions from within the galaxy itself, and we see that the magnetic field has a lot of structure to it,” Dr. Ordog explains. “DRAGONS is the first to show this level of complexity on such large spatial scales and across the entire northern sky.”

The work builds on a theoretical insight first proposed in 1966, which showed that polarized radio waves observed at many frequencies enable measurements of the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way’s magnetic field. At the time, the technology needed to observe this effect across wide frequency ranges did not exist. Modern broadband telescopes, including the DRAO 15m telescope, have made this research possible.

The project was the first scientific use of the 15m telescope, which DRAO originally built as a prototype antenna for the SKA—a large radio telescope currently under construction in Southern Africa and Western Australia. Dr. Ordog led the setup for the DRAGONS project, supported by five students from UBCO and the University of Calgary, along with the expertise of DRAO engineers and technologists.

“The 15m is the ideal instrument for this all-sky survey of large-scale magnetized structures—it can scan rapidly, effectively ‘painting’ a map of the polarized sky in just six months,” she says. “Having the 15m so close to UBCO allowed students to contribute to hands-on testing in preparation for the survey.”

UBCO students analyzed “first light” signals from the instrument, developed algorithms to identify human-made radio interference and assessed the survey data quality.

The study, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, tracks how polarized radio waves twist as they travel through the galaxy, revealing the strength, structure and direction of magnetic fields along the line of sight. This survey shows that more than half the sky contains complex magnetic structures rather than simple, uniform fields.

Dr. Landecker says the biggest surprise for the researchers was just how much of the sky is what is known as “Faraday complex”.

“With our new dataset, we can look at the polarized emission from within the galaxy itself, and we can see that the magnetic field has much more structure to it than we could detect with earlier observation methods,” says Dr. Landecker, who is also the leader of a larger effort to map magnetic fields in three dimensions and an astronomer emeritus at DRAO.

“DRAGONS is like a compass, telling us how matter and magnetic fields in the galaxy are organized and how the magnetic field interacts with bubbles created by supernova explosions, spiral arms and other parts of the galaxy in ways that have never been possible before.”

Magnetic fields shape how stars are formed and how galaxies evolve, explains Dr. Hill.

“For decades, we could only measure the Milky Way’s magnetic field in a very averaged, simplified way,” says Dr. Hill. “But its magnetic field is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding how the universe and everything in it operates and came into being.”

Already, the DRAGONS data have been used in a study of the mysterious large-scale reversal in the galactic magnetic field. This latest study was led by University of Calgary doctoral student Rebecca Booth and published in an accompanying paper in The Astrophysical Journal this week. This is a good example of how the dataset will provide opportunities for continued research in this field, says Dr. Ordog.

“DRAGONS is part of a new generation of radio surveys that allow scientists to map the Milky Way’s three-dimensional magnetic field structure in the space between the stars,” she adds. “It is an important Canadian contribution to the global astronomical community.”

The DRAO 15m telescope at work scanning the sky for the DRAGONS survey. The data collected by this survey is a new generation of radio surveys that allow scientists to continue mapping the Milky Way and its three-dimensional magnetic field structure. Photo courtesy of Luca Galler.

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The meandering course of Shoshone Creek in Dixie Valley, Nevada, is one of the key watercourses considered in the study, as it displays well-developed meanders in the absence of vegetation. Photo Credit: Dr. Alessandro Ielpi

Scientists have long believed that rivers form bends with the help of plants that stabilize and anchor their banks.

This theory is rooted in the evidence that rivers became more winding or “sinuous” around 425 million years ago—about the same time that land plants first evolved.

But research recently published in Science is putting a new twist on that theory. UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Alessandro Ielpi co-authored the paper with Michael Hasson, a Stanford University doctoral student. Dr. Ielpi, Associate Professor of Geomorphology and the newly-appointed Forest Renewal BC Watershed Enhancement Research Chair in UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, is a long-term collaborator with the Stanford Earth and Planetary Research Group.

Here, Dr. Ielpi explains why this new study is making researchers rethink their long-held beliefs.

What makes this research significant?

Most of the world’s population lives in river lowlands, many of which are occupied by meandering rivers. The more we understand how plants influence these rivers, the better we can plan for life in regions facing deforestation, wildfires and climate change—factors that affect vegetation along river banks and riparian corridors. These kinds of adaptations can save us from costly damages or even loss of life in response to floods.

What are the key discoveries in this new research?

Many geoscientists believe that the evolution of plants caused major changes in how rivers behave. In particular, ancient river rocks suggest that rivers became more winding around the time land plants first appeared.

This led scientists to believe that the rise of vegetation caused rivers to start meandering, owing to stabilization of their banks by roots. But recent studies of modern, active meandering rivers in desert areas challenge this notion, showing that well-cemented banks alone can sustain meandering. In this study, we suggest that while vegetation isn’t needed for meanders to form, it does affect how their shape and direction change over time.

What rivers did you study for this work?

We studied more than 4,400 river bends from 49 rivers around the world to get clear results across different climates and ecological regions. This includes rivers in desert environments almost entirely barren of any type of vegetation year-round, such as the Great Basin in the western USA and the Altiplano-Puna Plateau of South America. For comparison, we also looked at rivers in vegetated regions, including Alaska, the eastern USA and Oceania.

How was this determined?

By analyzing satellite images of active rivers, we found that vegetation along the banks changes the direction in which meanders grow, favouring outward growth instead of downstream-ward growth of meanders. This also helps explain why it has been difficult to identify meandering river deposits that are physically older than the rise of vegetation on Earth.

To learn more about this research, visit: sustainability.stanford.edu/news/rise-plant-life-changed-how-rivers-move-study-shows

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New federal funding continues to support the partnership between UBCO and the First Nations Emergency Services Society, where the two work together with AI models to help predict hotspots. FNESS photo.

A partnership between UBC Okanagan and the First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS) to develop new technologies supporting Indigenous fire stewardship received a funding boost yesterday.

The federal government is contributing more than $2.3 million to support the partnership, part of Natural Resources Canada’s Build and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program, which provided $41.7 million for 20 projects across Canada—all with the common goal of protecting Canadians from the increased threat of wildfire.

“Protecting the safety, health and economic wellbeing of communities across Canada is a top priority as we face the ongoing threat of wildfires,” says The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

“Our government is leading efforts to strengthen wildfire management and reduce wildfire risks in Canada,” he adds. “Today’s announcement will allow us to prepare for future challenges by advancing wildfire knowledge, accelerating risk and mitigation strategies and supporting Indigenous fire stewardship to build resilience and protect Canadian families and homes.”

The funding will support Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, Assistant Professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, and his continued work with the FNESS.

“By weaving Indigenous knowledge and values with new fire-risk sensor technology and predictive models, this project will help mitigate the risk of severe wildfire to Indigenous, economic and natural resource values, and contribute to the restoration of cultural and prescribed fire practices on traditional territories,” says Dr. Bourbonnais.

This includes deploying 150 fire-risk sensors in collaboration with First Nations communities in British Columbia. Data from the sensors will then be used in AI predictive models developed by UBCO researchers to forecast wildfire risk and potential fire behaviour.

Mapping of values and infrastructure integrated with the established fire risk will support the development of integrated fire management frameworks centred on the needs of the community, explains Matt Nelson, FNESS Integrated Fire Management Supervisor.

“This support from Natural Resources Canada is a game-changer. This funding allows UBCO and FNESS to work collaboratively with First Nations communities on holistic fire mitigation,” he says. “By combining Indigenous knowledge with new technology, we’re helping to predict wildfire risk while respecting and integrating traditional fire practices. This initiative is about empowering communities to protect their land and their people.”

The funding will support the UBCO-FNESS project through to 2028.

Yesterday, along with the Build and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program, the government also announced an additional $3.9 million in grants for 10 Indigenous-led projects.

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A satellite image representing remote sensing technology. UBCO’s new segmentation method helps researchers detect wildfire sparks and other small-scale changes in satellite data.

A group of UBC Okanagan students has helped create technology that could improve how doctors and scientists detect everything from tumours to wildfires. 

Working under the guidance of Associate Professor Xiaoping Shi from UBCO’s Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, the students designed and tested a system called an adaptive multiple change point energy-based model segmentation (MEBS). 

This method uses advanced mathematics to pick out important details in complex or noisy images, the kind that often confuse existing detection methods. 

“This project gave us a chance to work on something that can make a real difference,” says Jiatao Zhong, a UBCO master’s student and lead author of the study. “It’s exciting to know that what we built could help doctors spot illnesses sooner and help scientists track wildfires more effectively.” 

The work, recently published in Scientific Reports, shows that MEBS can help health professionals find signs of disease in medical scans, assist plant scientists in tracking cell growth and give wildfire monitors a faster way to identify hotspots from space. 

“Our students played a big role in building and refining this model, and they had a chance to apply it to real-world problems,” says Dr. Shi. “The skills they gained in programming, data analysis and applied mathematics will give them an edge in their future careers.” 

The team’s research showed success across several key areas: 

• In medical scans by detecting tumours and fluid buildup in X-rays and mammograms with greater clarity than standard tools. 

• In wildfire monitoring by picking out small but critical sparks in satellite images, which can lead to faster response times. 

• In biological research by helping scientists count and track cells in plant studies, important for agriculture and growth research.  

Dr. Yuejiao Fu collaborated with Dr. Shi on the paper while the student team—Zhong, Shiyin Du, Canruo Shen, Yiting Chen, Medha Naidu and Min Gao—worked on tasks ranging from coding and testing to running experiments on medical and satellite images.  

Together, they demonstrated that MEBS can do what many existing tools cannot: automatically adapt when an image does not follow typical patterns, improving accuracy without extra manual work. 

Most image tools use fixed rules that don’t always work in the real world. Medical scans and satellite images are often noisy or inconsistent.  

MEBS stands out because it adapts to the image itself—detecting subtle shifts and dividing complex visuals into useful sections. This leads to more accurate results for doctors, scientists and wildfire monitors alike. 

The project was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and UBC Okanagan’s Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation. 

Breast tumour detection in a mammogram using UBCO’s adaptive image segmentation method. The MEBS model outperformed other tools in identifying subtle, multi-region tumours.

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UBCO master’s student Hongyuan Zhang and Dr. Isaac Li prepare decoy DNA samples as part of their latest research, work that explores the visualization and manipulation of nanoscale interactions within living systems.

Researchers at UBC Okanagan have made two major discoveries that are set to revolutionize how scientists observe and measure molecular forces within living cells.

Published recently in two leading scientific journals—Advanced Science and Angewandte Chemie—these discoveries significantly advance the field of molecular mechanobiology. These breakthroughs offer unprecedented precision and durability in force imaging, explains Dr. Isaac Li, Associate Professor of Chemistry with the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science.

Led by Dr. Li, Canada Research Chair in Single-Molecule Biophysics and Mechanobiology, the research team created qtPAINT—a groundbreaking imaging technology.

qtPAINT is the first imaging method that can measure molecular forces with nanometre-level spatial precision and minute-scale time resolution. It works by combining DNA-based molecular tension probes with advanced microscopy, giving researchers a clearer view of how tiny mechanical forces behave inside living cells in real time.

“Tiny molecular forces drive many important functions in the body like fighting infections, healing wounds and cancer progression,” explains Dr. Seongho Kim, lead author of the qtPAINT study. “Before qtPAINT, researchers could see where these forces were happening, but we couldn’t measure how strong they were or how they changed over time.”

After the success of qtPAINT, Dr. Li’s team tackled a long-standing challenge that limited the use of DNA-based tension probes: their rapid degradation by natural enzymes called DNases.

Dr. Li explains that the tension probes help scientists watch and measure these tiny mechanical forces taking place within cells in real time, revealing how they communicate and behave.

The team’s second paper introduces a simple yet powerful solution called “decoy DNA,” where extra strands of harmless DNA are added to experiments to act as sacrificial targets for DNases. This approach significantly extends the lifespan of functional tension probes from just a few hours to more than 24 hours, or even several days.

This approach greatly improves the stability and accuracy of cellular force measurements, says Hongyuan Zhang, lead author of the decoy DNA study.

“Rather than using complex and costly chemical modifications, our approach is more like distracting predators with these decoys,” says Zhang. This protects our DNA probes and significantly improves the quality and duration of our measurements.”

Together, these two breakthroughs place UBCO researchers at the forefront of molecular force imaging and give scientists powerful and affordable tools to explore the mechanics of life.

“Longer-lasting, quantitative force imaging gives researchers the ability to delve deeper into complex biological systems, potentially driving new breakthroughs in cancer research, immunology and regenerative medicine,” adds Dr. Li.

His lab specializes in single-molecule biophysics and mechanobiology, developing advanced methods to visualize and manipulate molecular forces within living cells. The research includes designing mechanosensitive DNA nanostructures—tiny DNA-based tools that respond to physical forces—to control how cells move and sense their environment, as well as developing high-throughput biophysical assays for use in drug screening and diagnostics.

The lab takes an interdisciplinary approach—combining cell biology, biochemistry, biophysics, nanotechnology and bioengineering—to create a unique platform for transformative scientific discoveries.

“Our goal has always been to develop effective and accessible tools,” says Dr. Li. “These studies reflect our ongoing effort to develop technologies that support meaningful discoveries across many areas of science.”

Dr. Li’s research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Research Chair program and Michael Smith Health Research BC. His research reflects UBCO’s commitment to fostering groundbreaking research that delivers meaningful real-world outcomes.

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Dr Gino DiLabio and doctoral student Hossein Khalilian discuss their research paper about how quantum Coulombic interactions can manage and prevent unwanted cell damage from free radicals. The image created for this research made the cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

A new study, published by a team of UBC Okanagan chemistry researchers, is creating a major rethink of how enzymes work. And how a quantum phenomenon helps an important enzyme control essential yet dangerous molecules.

Enzymes, also known as biocatalysts, are the tiny machines behind every process in living things, explains study co-author Hossein Khalilian, a doctoral student in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science’s Department of Chemistry. Enzymes make molecules that are crucial to life, while also breaking down molecules that are bad or unnecessary for us.

Radical enzymes represent an important class of biocatalysts that generate extremely unstable molecules—called free radicals—to enable a wide range of biochemical reactions. Free radicals are often negatively viewed, explains Khalilian. Uncontrolled ones contribute to serious conditions like cancer, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. Yet, these molecules are essential for many biological functions and the body produces them as part of normal cellular functions.

The research, featured on the front cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, reveals that nature has developed a clever way to control these free radicals—using little-known quantum Coulombic interactions to manage them and prevent unwanted damage.

The researchers focused on an enzyme called viperin, which plays a role in the body’s immune response by producing and controlling highly reactive radicals that Khalilian describes as chemical loose cannons.

“While radicals can be useful, they can also cause serious damage if they’re not carefully controlled,” he says. “We’ve known for some time that viperin uses radicals to perform its function. But we didn’t expect to find quantum mechanical effects play such an important role in keeping that radical in check.”

Khalilian, who studies enzymes using computer modelling, explains that viperin is an antiviral enzyme activated as part of the immune response to many viruses. While running computer simulations to investigate viperin’s behaviour, he discovered that it uses a range of strategies, including previously unknown quantum Coulombic interactions, to get the radicals under control.

The Coulombic interaction is an electrostatic force between positive and negative charges, like the force that creates static electricity. The simulations reveal that the quantum version of these interactions is a key strategy employed by nature in radical enzymes to control the free radicals they use.

“This was something unexpected,” says Khalilian. “The radical was being gently held in place by Coulombic interactions to perform only the desired reaction. Like a magnetic tug, these forces are enough to stabilize the radical just long enough for the enzyme to do its job.”

Normally, he says, radicals like to move around or react with other things quickly, but in this case, something was keeping it still.

“These interactions are hard to see, and easy to overlook,” says Khalilian. “But it turns out it’s crucial. Without it, the radical would be too unstable to manage. It’s exciting because this is the first time quantum interactions have been shown to be this important in an enzyme. It gives us a new lens to look at biochemical reactions.”

This study provides evidence that the quantum Coulombic effect is likely a universal yet underappreciated feature of radical enzymes. The discovery could lead to new ways to design drugs, enzymes and catalysts.

The work doesn’t stop there, as principal investigator Dr. Gino DiLabio says ongoing studies are exploring whether this effect applies to other radical enzymes. If confirmed, it could reshape the traditional understanding of catalysis and boost advancements in biotechnology.

“Many modern medicines rely on reactions involving radicals,” Dr. DiLabio adds. “If we understand how nature controls them, we can also do it—perhaps more safely or effectively.”

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Dr. Emmanuel Osei has developed a way to 3D print tissue that resembles a living lung. This work could change how lung disease is studied and improve health options for those living with the illness.

UBC Okanagan researchers have developed a 3D bio-printed model that closely mimics the complexity of natural lung tissue, an innovation that could transform how scientists study lung disease and develop new treatments.

Dr. Emmanuel Osei, Assistant Professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, says the model produces tissue that closely resembles the complexity of a human lung, enabling improved testing of respiratory diseases and drug development.

“To conduct our research and the testing that’s required—where we’re studying the mechanisms of complex lung diseases to eventually find new drug targets—we need to be able to make models that are comparable to human tissues.”

The research team used a bioink composed of light-sensitive polymer-modified gelatin and a polymer called polyethylene glycol diacrylate to 3D print a hydrogel that includes multiple cell types and channels to recreate vessels, mimicking the structure of a human airway.

Once printed, the hydrogel performs much like the complex mechanical properties of lung tissue, improving how researchers study cellular responses to stimuli.

“Our goal was to create a more physiologically relevant in vitro model of the human airway,” says Dr. Osei, who also works with UBC’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation. “By integrating vascular components, we can better simulate the lung environment, which is crucial for studying diseases and testing therapeutics.”

Dr. Osei explains that when someone has lung cancer, a surgeon—with the patient’s consent—can remove the cancerous section along with some normal lung tissue and provide these samples to researchers.

“However, a researcher has no control over how much tissue they will receive,” he explains. “They might get a small piece of tissue, which they bring to the lab and add various chemicals for testing. Now, with 3D bioprinting, we can isolate cells from these donated tissues and potentially recreate additional tissue and test samples to conduct research in our labs and not rely on or wait for contributed tissues.”

Dr. Osei says many forms of lung disease currently have no cure, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. Being able to establish models that allow for testing is a significant advancement in respiratory disease research and drug development.

Published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering in collaboration with Mitacs and supported by Providence Health Care, the study is a step toward assessing aspects of lung diseases such as scarring and inflammation, and may lead to future cures for various illnesses.

The paper detailed tests, including exposing the bio-printed 3D model to cigarette smoke extract, allowing the researchers to observe increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines, or markers of inflammatory responses to nicotine in lung tissue.

“The fact that we’ve been able to create the model, then use particular triggers like cigarette smoke, to demonstrate how the model will react and mimic aspects of lung disease is a significant advancement in studying complex mechanisms of lung disease that will aid in studying how we treat them,” says Dr. Osei.

“Our model is complex, but due to the reproducibility and optimal nature of bio-printing, it can be adapted to include additional cell types or patient-derived cells, making it a powerful tool for personalized medicine and disease modelling.”

Dr. Osei notes that moving forward with this work puts his research team in a unique position to collaborate with colleagues such as UBC’s Immunobiology Eminence Research Excellence Cluster, biotechnology companies and those with an interest in advancing bioartificial models.

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