Exercise Your Brain

Last May, Dr. Bibiana Campos-Seijo, Editor-in-Chief of C&EN, tweeted about her new world record in the deadlift for her age/weight category. The video clip of Bibiana lifting a 320-lb barbell was a powerful and literal reminder of how working the body can fuel the brain. Getting out of the lab to hit the gym, pool, basketball court, softball fieldor even the neighborhood sidewalkscan clear the chemist’s mind for new big ideas and enhance perspective on problems of the day. Such excursions can be social or solitary, competitive or collaborative, intense or meditative. No matter the medium, working out is an important component of our success when we are working in. To most, this is not news. It has long been known that exercise enhances cognitive function (for other examples, see here, here, and here). Identifying the molecular mechanisms that link physical exertion to brain health is an area of intense research effort, with several recent studies pointing to a role for circulating factors produced by muscle tissue that act directly on brain targets. Some have gone so far as to propose that exercise-emulating drugs might be created based on such findings. But most of us agree that the benefits of physical activity extend beyond biochemistry; working out changes the space between problems and solutions, giving us distance, clarity, and perspective that are so critical in a creative science like chemistry. We polled some colleagues including Editorial Advisory Board members, faculty, students, and postdocs to collect ideas for activities you can pursue when your brain needs recharging. Many chemists enjoy running, cycling, team sports, yoga, and more. Some labs organize group hikes or softball teams, and most universities and larger companies have on-site gyms of which to avail. There is even a fun trending topic on Twitter #RippedChemists for some of the true fitness die-hards (e.g., Bibiana). Here are some vignettes that testify to the diversity of ideas and the richness of experiences: Prof. Dr. Shana Sturla at ETH Zurich often finds scientific inspiration in a bicycle ride. She recalls “several examples of going to a conference, meeting somebody new, and going for a bike ride. I learn so much about the scientist and their research. We have come up with cool ideas, and made a deep bond. On one trip, I met a researcher with a tandem bicycle, that made for a really outstanding scientific brainstorming session.” Prof. Seth Cohen and the University of California, San Diego learned a new sport with colleagues. He tells us that “several of my chemistry faculty colleagues have taught me to play squash. This is a fun 1-on-1 sport and also provides an opportunity to bond with my colleagues and often discuss a little science. Probably more importantly, there’s nothing like morning exercise (at least for me), especially in a fun competitive game like squash, to help me clear my head and start my day fresh, thinking clearly, and excited to walk into my office/lab and start doing chemistry.” Prof. Sloan Siegrist Palmore at the University of Massachusetts came up with a new idea while on a run. She recalls, “We had observed that a mutant strain of the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes has dramatically different cell wall labeling from wild type when growing in host cells but not in broth culture. It was potentially really interesting but the mutation was known to impact the way that the host responded to infection, so it wasn’t clear whether the divergent labeling represented a bona fide bacterial adaptation or whether it was the result of altered host cell environment and probe uptake. During the run, I remembered an experiment that I had seen in a completely different context, where the investigators had mixed wild type Listeria expressing red fluorescent protein with a mutant that did not express this protein and co-infected host cells. It suddenly occurred to me that this would be a great way to control for potential differences in the host environment. We repeated the labeling experiment in a co-infection model and the results ended up being a critical figure in our paper.” Prof. Phil Baran at The Scripps Research Institute pumps iron to unwind. He says, “Going to the gym has been a regular part of my life for the past 20 years. I do weightlifting and cardio daily and boxing training with an ex-world champ on Sunday morning before the kids wake up. For me it’s a great time to decompress. Some of the most vivid thought experiments I’ve had come during or after a workout.”