A team of Brown University researchers, including Lu Lu, a Ph.D. student in Applied Mathematics, has developed a new computer model that simulates the way red blood cells become misshapen by sickle cell disease. The model, described in a paper published in Science Advances, could be useful in the preclinical evaluation of drugs aimed at preventing the sickling process. “There are currently only two drugs approved by the FDA for treating sickle cell disease, and they don’t work for everyone. We wanted to build a model that considers the entire sickling process and could be used to quickly and inexpensively pre-screen new drug candidates,” said Lu. Read more.

Brown University researchers, including Christina Bailey-Hytholt, a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering, have developed a simple method for isolating placental cells from cervical swabs. The technique, described in the journal Scientific Reports, could aid in developing less invasive ways of diagnosing genetic disorders in developing fetuses. The technique isolates trophoblast cells — placental cells that carry the complete fetal genome — by taking advantage of their tendency to settle to the bottom of microwell plates. Read more.

When acting as one part of a group charged with deciding how to punish someone — a jury, for example — individuals are swayed by their peers to punish more often than they would if deciding alone, a new study found. Jae-Young Son, a Psychology PhD student is first author on the paper, along with Oriel FeldmanHall, an assistant professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences who is senior researcher on the study. The research team conducted five experiments involving almost 400 participants. Four looked at individuals’ willingness to punish people who behaved selfishly in economic tasks, and another involved determining punishment recommendations for hypothetical perpetrators of crimes of varying severity. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports. Read more.

Ariel Deutsch, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, will join an astronaut who walked on the Moon and two top NASA scientists for a panel titled “Lunar Geology: Past, Present and Future.” As the celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing come to a close, Brown graduate student Ariel Deutsch is thinking about the future of lunar exploration — and NASA wants to hear what’s on her mind. Read more.