Study: Plant-based diet can prevent, reverse form of heart disease in animals with hypertension

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Georgia State University

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Rami S. Najjar, corresponding author of the study, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State when the study was conducted and now a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University School of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology

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Credit: Georgia State University

ATLANTA — Eating a plant-based diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes can help prevent and reverse heart disease in rats that have high blood pressure, according to a study published by researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

The basic research study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, tested whether coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), a type of heart disease that occurs when there’s damage to the tiny blood vessels that regulate blood flow to heart tissue, could be reduced in rats with hypertension. The study also examined underlying mechanisms of CMD.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for CMD, which can lead to frequent chest pain, hospitalizations, heart failure and deaths. Uniquely, CMD afflicts women more severely than men, and women have higher rates of hospitalizations compared to men after diagnosis.

Therapeutic strategies for CMD are only moderately effective, and patients continue to have poor outcomes. Thus, new treatment approaches are urgently needed. This is one of the first studies to look at the role of diet in treating CMD, and the research team investigated the effects of a plant-based diet.

“We found that a plant-based diet both prevented the development of CMD and reversed established CMD in hypertensive rats, which translates well to the clinical setting,” said Rami S. Najjar, corresponding author of the study, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State when the study was conducted and now a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University School of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology.

“Interestingly, the beneficial effects of the plant-based diet in CMD occurred despite the persistence of hypertension, showing that the diet was having a targeted effect on the small blood vessels of the heart,” Najjar explained. “We believe this effect occurred due to improved function of blood vessel cells, counteracting the damaging effects of hypertension. When these cells are damaged, blood vessels in the heart contract and blood cannot flow well, the cause of chest pain in humans with CMD. However, the plant-based diet rescued the function of these cells, allowing blood vessels to dilate normally again. This is one of the first studies to show that diet can treat CMD. These exciting results support clinical trials to test plant-based diets in human CMD, and we hope to do this soon.”

This study fed female spontaneously hypertensive rats for six months either a control, refined diet, absent in plant foods, or a plant-based diet, which comprised 28 percent fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes. Importantly, both diets were matched for all nutrients, so the only known difference was the high antioxidant content of the plant-based diet. If a human ate this diet, it would contain one cup of black beans, one large red bell pepper, 1 ½ cups of Brussels sprouts, two lemons, one medium sweet potato, 1 ½ cups of walnuts and one cup of blueberries each day. After six months, a subgroup of rats eating the control diet was switched to the plant-based diet to treat CMD after it was established.

CMD was assessed by measuring coronary flow reserve, an approach used in the clinic. Researchers also used Georgia State’s recently established Advanced Translational Imaging Facility, using cardiac MRI to look at blood flow of the heart muscle. In addition, investigators isolated blood vessel cells from the heart to look at their function and examined markers of damage in heart tissue.

Additional authors of the study include Yanling Wang, Vu Ngo, Juan P. Tejada and Andrew T. Gewirtz of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State; Nedumangalam Hekmatyar of the Advanced Translational Imaging Facility at Georgia State; Hannah L. Lail, Jessica P. Danh, Desiree Wanders and Rafaela G. Feresin of the Department of Nutrition and the Department of Chemistry at Georgia State; and Puja K. Mehta of Emory University School of Medicine.

The study was funded by Najjar’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative postdoctoral grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

To read the study, visit https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.125.045515.

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Journal

Journal of the American Heart Association

DOI

10.1161/JAHA.125.045515 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Prevention and Reversal of Hypertension‐Induced Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction by a Plant‐Based Diet

Article Publication Date

11-Nov-2025

 

The future of corals – what X-rays can tell us

How exactly does the increasing acidification of the oceans in the wake of the climate crisis affects skeleton formation in corals? Tali Mass and Paul Zaslansky investigated it

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie

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Tali Mass is an experienced diver. Here she is securing the nets to collect planula larvae after the corals have spawned.

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Credit: Hagai Nativ

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Journal

Advanced Science

DOI

10.1002/advs.202508585 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animal tissue samples

Article Title

4D Insights into Coral Biomineralization: Effects of Ocean Acidification on the Early Skeleton Development of a Stony Coral.

Stony corals in the Red Sea are rich ecosystems, hosting various fish and other marine organisms. The reef is formed by countless coral animals (polyps). The corals live symbiotically with certain algae, which give them their vibrant colour.

Credit

Tali Mass

The tomographic reconstruction shows the 3D architecture of RADs (red/yellow) and TDs (semi-transparent gray) in coral primary polyps grown under normal (pH 8.2, left picture) and conditions of severe ocean acidification(pH 7.6, right picture).

Credit

Advanced Science (2025), DOI: 10.1002/advs.202508585

Corals-Video [VIDEO] 

Cross-sections of a 3D tomogram of a coral skeleton reveal clear differences between the structure under normal conditions (left) and in a more acidic environment (right), as is expected in 2100 without climate protection measures.

Credit

Advanced Science (2025), DOI: 10.1002/advs.202508585

 

Design Stories Warsaw

SWPS University

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The Design Stories Warsaw conference examines the practices of responsibility in design through five thematic panels.

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Credit: SWPS University

What challenges do designers face in a rapidly transforming world? How does the act of making become a dialogue between people, places, and resources? What is the role of museums and design pedagogy? Join us at the School of Form, SWPS University, for Design Stories Warsaw – a free conference highlighting women designers, creative innovation, and social responsibility.

Design Stories is part of the Looking Through Objects project, which explores women’s contributions to change through design and creative practices. The project includes a touring exhibition, lecture series, talks, and interviews organized in different locations across Poland, the UK, Belgium, and the Baltics.

The Design Stories Warsaw conference examines the practices of responsibility in design through five thematic panels. Topics include social challenges, material storytelling, collecting, and pedagogy. Together, the panels highlight how women designers shape cultural memory, foster collaboration, and reimagine design as a vehicle for storytelling, ethical reflection, and social transformation.

Thematic Panels

Panel 1: Networks of Responsibility

Design operates within webs of responsibility — to communities, environments, and future generations. This panel explores how designers use networks as platforms for activism, advocacy, and ethical action. From grassroots initiatives to global campaigns, the speakers will reflect on how communication tools, design methods, and collective practices can shift cultural and political narratives. What are the ethical limits of design activism? How can practitioners balance visibility and responsibility without reproducing systems of exclusion or exploitation?

Key words: activism · communication · ethics

Panel 2: Searching for Solutions

Design is often positioned as a discipline of problem-solving. But whose problems are we solving — and how? This panel considers how practitioners frame social, personal, and civilizational challenges in their work. Moving beyond surface-level fixes, the conversation will address the tension between pragmatic solutions and deeper systemic transformation. Are designers mediators between individual needs and collective futures, or does this responsibility extend beyond the discipline itself?

Key words: social issues · selfhood · civilization

Panel 3: Narratives in Making

Making is more than a process — it is a form of narrative. This panel examines how designers use material practices to tell stories, build collaborations, and reimagine tradition. Whether through ceramics, product design, or transnational practices, the speakers will share how material choices communicate values, histories, and futures. How does the act of making become a dialogue between people, places, and resources?

Key words: materials · storytelling · collaboration

Panel 4: Curating Design Futures

Museums are powerful agents in shaping how design is valued, remembered, and taught. This panel explores the role of institutions in collecting, exhibiting, and educating through design. Speakers will reflect on curatorial strategies that foreground underrepresented voices, challenge canonical narratives, and expand what counts as “design.” How can museums keep pace with the urgency of contemporary issues while also serving as archives of the past?

Key words: museums · collecting · education

Panel 5: Pedagogies of Practice

Design education is not just about skills — it is about shaping ways of thinking, reflecting, and engaging with the world. This panel brings together practitioners who experiment with methods that bridge disciplines, from sound and textiles to AI, robotics, and craft. Their practices open questions about how design pedagogy can embrace uncertainty, hybridity, and collaboration with more-than-human intelligences. What pedagogical models are needed to prepare future designers for the challenges of a rapidly transforming world?

Key words: methods · pedagogy · reflection

Design Stories Warsaw is a collaboration between the Royal College of Art and SWPS University, with the support of the British Council and in partnership with Disegno Journal. It is part of the British Council UK/Poland Cultural Season 2025.

The conference is free, but registration is required. Read more about program and panelists and sign up on our website.

 

SwRI uses machine learning to calibrate emissions control systems faster, more efficiently

Machine learning framework cuts control systems calibration time from weeks to hours

Southwest Research Institute

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Southwest Research Institute used machine learning tools to automatically calibrate SCR systems while fine-tuning controls to lower overall tailpipe NOx and ammonia emissions. Future work will expand optimization to the full aftertreatment system to further improve performance and compliance with upcoming regulations.

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Credit: Southwest Research Institute

SAN ANTONIO — November 12, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a method to automate the calibration of heavy-duty diesel truck emissions control systems using machine learning and algorithm-based optimization. The latest diesel aftertreatment systems often take weeks to calibrate. SwRI’s new method can calibrate them in as little as two hours.

“Manually calibrating selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems is labor-intensive, often taking six or more weeks of testing and work,” said Venkata Chundru, senior research engineer in SwRI’s Advanced Algorithms Section. “By combining advanced modeling with automated optimization, we can accelerate calibration and improve system performance while ensuring compliance with the upcoming standards.”

New U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards are scheduled to go into effect in 2027, governing the amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx) a vehicle can emit in proportion to energy used. SwRI has completed several projects that improve existing automotive technologies, bringing them to well within the new standards or exceeding them.

As a continuation of this work, SwRI’s Powertrain Engineering Division has developed a method to automate calibration of SCR systems for diesel engines. Most SCR systems control engines emissions using an ammonia-based solution, such as the urea-based diesel exhaust fluid injected into the exhaust stream. The dosed exhaust interacts with a catalyst, creating a chemical reaction that converts NOx into harmless water and nitrogen.

The project team created a physics-informed neural network machine learning model that learns from both data and the laws of physics, providing faster and more accurate results. By running simulations of an active SCR system, the team could fine-tune its urea dosing control to lower overall NOx and ammonia emissions and rapidly identify optimal settings for the engines. The model could then learn to identify these settings and map the calibration processes, allowing for full automation.

“Compared to manual calibration, the method we developed consistently delivered faster calibration timelines and improved NOx conversion efficiency, among other benefits, Chundru said. “It provides us with a scalable, cost-effective pathway for future heavy-duty applications.”

This project was funded through the Southwest Research Institute Internal Research and Development Program. In 2024, SwRI invested more than $11 million in tomorrow’s technology to broaden its knowledge base, expand its reputation as a leader in science and technology and encourage its staff’s professional development. To learn more, visit: Southwest Research Institute Internal R&D.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/automotive-transportation/automotive/emissions.