BSD is the journal of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (
@OSSDTweets
) and a publication of the Society for Women's Health Research (
@SWHR
).
New article: Contrasting with other studies in rhesus monkeys, this study suggests that the previously documented
#sexdifferences
are likely context dependent – questioning the existence of a strong
#biological
basis to sex differences in toy preferences:
This
@NYTHealth
article explores why placental health is critical to the health of a pregnancy and cites a
@BiologySexDiff
paper that found 58 genes that are expressed differently in female and male fetuses during the first trimester.
#sexdifferences
How do you determine whether to consider and analyze for sex & gender in your research? Check out these decision trees presented by
@cara_tannenbaum
at
#OSSD2021
.
@OSSDtweets
This new review examines the role of
#androgens
in modulating the HPA axis & contributing to
#SexDifferences
in stress responses. Research into androgen mechanisms may provide insight into sex disparities in stress-related
#MentalHealth
issues.
@zuloagalab
Women experience adverse drug reactions nearly 2x as often as men & new research in
@BiologySexDiff
shows
#sexdifferences
in drug pharmacokinetics strongly predict sex-specific adverse reactions for women.
@OSSDtweets
Dr. Barbara Stranger, at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, gives the keynote address at
#OSSD2022
. Dr. Stranger and her team use statistical
#genetics
, and her presentation is "Sex differences at the molecular level: Lessons from the human transcriptome".
New article: Despite mounting recognition of the importance of sex consideration in the
#biomedical
fields, male- and female-specific metabolic signatures have not been identified. This review focuses on the
#metabolic
differences related to sex:
New article: Authors hypothesized that the sex chromosomes (XX and XY) interaction with testosterone plays a role in arterial stiffening, based on the understanding that sex
#hormones
&
#chromosomes
play a vital role in cardiovascular disease. Read more:
Studying
#sexdifferences
continues to help improve our understanding of basic biological principles & foster development of therapeutic and diagnostic tools that are sex-specific. As the year closes, take a look at some of the most accessed articles on the BSD site:
While
#sexdifferences
in
#COVID19
are increasingly recognized globally, how sex differences shape immune responses to COVID-19 remains understudied. Researchers examined sex differences in the immune response to COVID-19. Read the new article:
BSD is seeking primary
#research
or review articles addressing
#sexdifferences
in development influenced by environmental, social, genetic, hormonal, other biological factors, for the "Sex Differences in Development" collection. Submissions due Dec 1 2022:
I was wondering why with all the mandates on
#SABV
and
#SGBA
we don't have more articles on sex differences. So we did a little in depth study. Here's a little sneak peak at some data. Very few studies are using
#SABV
to its potential for prime discovery.
New article: "The evidence presented here that
#female
subjects are less variable overall than males should encourage inclusion of Sex as a Biological Variable
#SABV
in preference to only including one sex in a study," authors write. Read more:
New article: Sex differences in the human brain are a reality. Reproducible sex-based group differences in regional brain volume discussed here. More work needed to understand causes and functional consequences
@AlexDeCasien
@bogglerapture
@elisa_guma
:
Twice as many women suffer from major depressive disorder than men, but the underlying mechanisms of
#depression
&
#sexdifferences
in these mechanisms are poorly understood. This paper reviews what is known & what research is needed to address these gaps.
New article: Authors investigate potential sex differences in glutamatergic transmission within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) with the goal of determining if there are baseline
#sexdifferences
in transmission and
#diseases
:
In "Sex Differences in the Trajectories of Cardiovascular Risk in Midlife," Dr. Samar El Khoudary reminds us normal
#bloodpressure
for men is not always the same as normal BP for
#women
, raising the question of if we should have different BP measurements for women.
#OSSD2022
Founded in 2010 to focus on all aspects of
#sexdifferences
, BSD remains unlike any other scientific journal as it works to improve understandings of sex differences & foster development of sex-specific tools. For
#WomensHistoryMonth
, check out some of BSD's earliest articles:
Earlier this month
@ShanskyLab
and
@AnneZMurphy
published a piece in
@sciam
outlining the need for journals to incorporate more guidelines on
#SABV
justification while reporting research.
"Liisa Galea says that funding specifically for women’s health would draw more researchers’ attention to the area. 'If you put a pot of gold at the end of a funding rainbow, researchers are going to go for it.'"
@OSSDtweets
@LiisaGalea
Read more in
@Nature
for
#WomensHealthMonth
Monday is the start of
@OSSDtweets
virtual meeting! Register for 4 days of lectures, symposia, and poster presentations on various aspects of
#SABV
research.
Dr. Karyn Frick, Dr. Kristen Zuloaga, Dr. Rachel Buckley, & Dr. Paulo Pires presented their research during the "Endocrine aging and novel hormone therapies: impacts on physiology and the brain" session
#OSSD2022
#Cardiovascular
disease differs in women & men, likely due in part to genetic & molecular
#sexdifferences
in cardiac remodeling. This
@BiologySexDiff
review summarizes what we know about sex differences in remodeling & role of sex hormones like estrogen.
A study examining the influence of sex on expression of essential mitochondrial proteins in mice concludes that both sex & age are important parameters that should be considered by researchers studying the mechanistic aspects of diseases.
#SexDifferences
A new study shows distinct
#sexdifferences
in the composition of the
#gut
#microbiota
in mice, which may be associated with the different sensitivities of male & female mice to metabolic disorders in response to a high-fat diet.
#microbiome
Jill Becker,
@women_neurosci
, from the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute at University of Michigan, opened her “Sex differences in addiction” presentation by explaining
#sexdifferences
are not strictly a bimodal distribution.
#OSSD2022
New research finds that in healthy neuronal cells, androgens & estrogens appear protective against oxidative stress insults, but in unhealthy cells, sex hormones have negative effects on cell viability by exacerbating oxidative stress-induced cell loss.
"Women have a higher incidence of stress related disorders including
#depression
and generalized
#anxiety
disorder, and epigenetic mechanisms likely contribute to this
#SexDifference
," these 2013 authors write. Read more this
#StressAwarenessMonth
:
"Ignoring sex as a biological variable discards potentially valuable insights into the clinical evidence of gender bias in disorders of the brain,"
@PegMcC
writes in
@PsychToday
blog post exploring the debate around
#sexdifferences
in the brain.
#SABV
New article: Authors "aimed to determine if
#menopause
worsens cognitive impairment in vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia." They hypothesized menopause causes metabolic dysfunction & increases cognitive impairment in a mouse model:
"Neuroscientist Liisa Galea is not surprised by the findings of Mirin’s study on funding for women’s health. 'Unfortunately it is really undervalued, understudied,'" writes
@Nature
.
#WomensHealthMonth
@OSSDtweets
@LiisaGalea
Save The Date! Join Biology of Sex Differences Editor-in-Chief Jill B. Becker, PhD
@women_neurosci
and
@SWHR
for a free webinar on June 5 all about
#SABV
and elevating
#SexAndGender
in publishing academic research. Register today:
Read a profile on our new Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Jill Becker (
@women_neurosci
). Dr. Becker joins us with +30 years of experience in
#SABV
neuroscience research. She was a founding member of
@OSSDtweets
and was honored for her work last year by
@SWHR
!
A new
@BiologySexDiff
meta-analysis suggests that carrying a male fetus is accompanied with a higher cardiovascular and metabolic load for the mother, resulting in maternal
#pregnancy
complications and adverse health in later life.
#sexdifferences
"The
#research
in this journal is part of the knowledge we need to treat
#women
as well as we can—and to treat men better too," said Biology of Sex Differences editor-in-chief Dr. Jill Becker
@women_neurosci
. Read more on
@SWHR
's blog:
#sexdifferences
Congratulations
@amy_inkster
— winner of the
@BiologySexDiff
Best Poster Prize at the
@OSSDtweets
annual meeting for her poster on sex-specific patterns of autosomal DNA methylation in the human placenta. Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog on her work!
At
#OSSD2021
,
@cara_tannenbaum
kicks off the first session sharing the story behind the publication of this important
@nature
perspective explaining the importance of considering sex and gender in research:
@OSSDtweets
New article: Authors here developed a scoring system to evaluate the inclusion of biological sex in manuscripts published in
#Diabetes
, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association. Read the findings:
Congrats to Dr. Jill Becker, who has spent her career working to understand how
#sexdifferences
impact brain health & treatment. Learn more about her groundbreaking work in this video!
@women_neurosci
@OSSDtweets
Female participants have historically been excluded from studies based on the idea that ovulatory cycle introduces variability. Researchers at
@UCSanDiego
found results that negated this notion using data from a population at
@NEIU
.
#SABV
Read more:
The
@OSSDtweets
2024 Travel Award categories are now open! The OSSD currently offers numerous awards to trainees, with the goal of supporting a diverse attendance at the annual meeting in May. Check out the awards and apply today:
Female lung adenocarcinoma patients (LUAD) (a subtype of
#lungcancer
) have a higher incidence but better long-term survival rate than males, with unknown reasons. A new study aims to identify prognosis-related genes for patients of different sexes:
In case you missed it: We have a new Editor in Chief, Dr. Jill Becker!
@women_neurosci
Dr. Becker is a pioneer in
#SABV
research, & is a founding member of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (
@OSSDtweets
). Read more on Dr. Becker:
Study shows older men w/ APOE4 allele may be more vulnerable to cognitive decline after surgery & anesthesia than older women w/ APOE4, building on prior research indicating APOE4 has sex-based health implications that may affect treatment.
#sexdifferences
The
#SABV
101 Workshop's "Sex differences in drug response" presentation by Karen Reue, University of California, explored
#sexdifferences
in
#statin
use. “I’ve spoken about the effects of one drug, but I hope these findings will be helpful for other drugs," Reue said.
#OSSD2022
Women w/
#Alzheimers
tend to have higher Tau levels than men, especially
#APOE4
carriers.
@BiologySexDiff
study suggests women's usually lower
#testosterone
may predispose them to Tau & contribute to AD's higher prevalence/more aggressive profile in women.
.
@OSSDtweets
recognized their
#OSSD2022
Award winners this evening. Awardees included:
2022
@NIH_ORWH
Policy Travel Award Winners:
Laura Pritschet, University of California, Santa Barbara
Jillian Scheer, Syracuse University
Despite the importance of sex &
#gender
considerations in
#healthresearch
, they are rarely integrated into
#researchdesign
and reporting. This assessment of the inclusion of sex and gender in published reporting guidelines showed low use rates:
#DYK
Biology of Sex Differences is the official journal of
@OSSDtweets
? OSSD strives to facilitate interdisciplinary
#research
on
#sexandgender
differences at all levels of biological organization, among other goals. Follow OSSD today to learn more.
New article:
#Females
are more likely to present with
#anxiety
disorders such as PTSD compared to males. Authors examined
#sexdifferences
in contextual pattern separation, functional connectivity, & activation of new
#neurons
during fear memory:
New review by
@sabraklein1998
&
@RosemaryJMorgan
: "There is a critical need for research that addresses the biological (i.e., sex) as well as sociocultural (i.e., gender) causes of male-female disparities in
#immunotherapy
responses, toxicities & outcomes"
During the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Workshop,
@OSSDtweets
’s EDI Committee discussed what
#DEI
means to the work of OSSD and its members. The audience discussed
#diversity
challenges & opportunities in scientific literacy, resource access, mentorship, and more.
#OSSD2022
New study finds
#sexdifferences
in effects of a hormonal treatment in obese mice, beginning to fill a gap in knowledge caused by previously studying only male subjects.
#SABV
Biology of Sex Differences is calling for submissions to our Collection on Sex Differences and Similarities in the Human Brain! Due Dec 2023.
Topics may include structural and functional sex-based divergences, behavior, neurological disorders, etc.
New review looks at key
#sexdifferences
in gut
#microbiome
interactions with four primary determinants of cardiovascular disease: impaired glucose regulation, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity.
@alexrazavi
Check out takeaways from Laura Pritschet's presentation "The Scientific Body of Knowledge – Whose Body Does It Serve? Factoring women’s health into human brain imaging" in the thread below.
@laura_pritschet
@NIH_ORWH
#OSSD2022
The
@NIH_ORWH
Science Policy Scholar Travel Award was established in 2019 with the goal of creating change in policy related to
#womenshealth
& supporting junior investigators attending
#OSSD2022
.
Laura Pritschet, UCSB, is attending with the Travel Award this year.
During "Sex Bias Signaling and Activity of the Coerulear-cortical Network", Dr. Rita Valentino stated locus coeruleus (LC) activity is biased in
#females
towards enhanced stress-induced activation.
#OSSD2022
Her team's work is funded by
@NIMHgov
@NIDAnews
@NIDDKgov
#NARSAD
.
A new review highlights in vitro work studying
#sexdifferences
& the role of sex steroids in shaping mammalian neural stem cell biology, showing the novel role of sex steroid hormone influence in early brain development & throughout adulthood.
Here is an interesting tidbit of
#SABV
history that gets less discussed. From the turn of the 20th c to the 1960s, sex in animal was not reported. Then a rapid switch to male dominance. That male-only studies were near 0 prior to then suggests it was males the whole time.
Have you saved your seat for this
#SexAndGender
webinar?
Join Biology of Sex Differences Editor-in-Chief Jill B. Becker, PhD
@women_neurosci
and
@SWHR
for a free webinar on June 5 all about
#SABV
in publishing academic research. Register today:
Research has shown that women w/ the APOE4 allele are at greater risk for developing
#Alzheimers
than APOE4+ men. Surprisingly, a new study shows the APOE4+ men demonstrated worse cognitive decline than the women after exposure to surgery & anesthesia.
This new report validates an animal model of increased binge intake and higher motivation to seek & consume sugar in
#women
. Further studies may inform sex-specific treatment strategies for disordered eating and other conditions like substance use disorder
New article: Literature is mixed on the effects of biological (birth-assigned sex (BAS), sex hormones) and socio-cultural (gender identity, gender roles, sexual orientation) factors. Authors assessed the influence of sex
#hormones
on cognitive performance:
New research in rats examines gene expression profiles of
#PTSD
-relevant tissues (blood, amygdala & hippocampus) to identify sex-specific and shared mechanisms associated with individual differences in response to recent
#trauma
exposure.
#sexdifferences
Males and females are clearly different on many aspects of
#muscular
health and physiology, and these
#SexDifferences
can greatly influence the development and progression of various muscle atrophies. Learn more in this review article.
New article: Researchers conducted a parallel study to evaluate
#sexdifferences
in postprandial appetite ratings and
#ghrelin
concentration. Findings may be important for nutritional strategy to prevent and treat
#obesity
and eating disorders:
New study suggests a novel strategy for using
#gene
detection in human
#DNA
samples to determine of biological sex in people across different ethnicities.
Today is the first day that
#biomedical
researchers can apply for NIH's first sex- and gender-focused R01 grant!
@NIH
hopes to award up to 7 grants totaling $3 million over the next 2 years.
#sexdifferences
New study shows female rats have a significantly larger number of neurons that produce a hormone involved in protecting an organism from stress in a brain area implicated in anxiety and fear.
#sexdifferences
Learn more about future outlooks and opportunities for engagement with
@BiologySexDiff
at this talk with our Editor in Chief, Dr. Jill Becker . You do NOT have to be a member to register (follow instructions on page).
#SABV
@OSSDtweets
Register below:
Registration is NOW OPEN for the Organization of the Study of Sex Differences 2019 annual meeting, taking place May 5-8 in Washington, DC. Check out the event lineup and register today!
@OSSDtweets
#sexdifferences
New article: Authors focus on the interaction between
#SexHormones
and the gut
#microbiota
– in particular, its role in gut barrier integrity, inflammatory status, and the gut–brain axis, with relevance in the development of metabolic diseases:
Thank you
@OSSDtweets
for a wonderful Annual Meeting this week! We loved hearing all about the work being done & opportunities to advance
#sexdifferences
research.
Sign up for article alerts from
@BiologySexDiff
to get the latest on sex differences:
New article: Authors found "genes associated with key biological pathways including cell proliferation, immune response and drug metabolism are differentially regulated between males and females in both healthy lung tissue and tumor."
New article: Authors examined
#SexDifferences
in synaptic plasticity & excitatory transmission in nucleus accumbens, which may explain "potential mechanisms driving behavioral differences in motivated behavior & psychiatric disease"