CHAOS Divisions of Research

Peer-Reviewed CHAOS: Abridged

Complements from the Male Reproductive Tract

Everyone’s heard of sperm, but did you know the entire male reproductive system runs an immune ops campaign to keep them safe? This review dives into the overlooked role of complement proteins — nature’s molecular bouncers — guarding the goods from testis to semen, and calls out just how much we still don’t know about their backstage roles in fertility and immune regulation.

Sertoli Cells Express Accommodation, Survival, Immunoregulatory Factors when Exposed to Human Serum

Pig Sertoli cells just casually survive human complement attacks with no immunosuppressants — so we asked: what’s their secret? Turns out, these testicular legends rewire their gene expression when exposed to human serum, flipping switches on immune regulation, survival, and accommodation pathways. We found 62 genes throwing down in response and spotlighted key players like CCL2 and A20. Bonus: this xenograft survival story was so badass, it landed the cover.

The Sertoli Cell Complement Signature: A Suspected Mechanism in Xenograft Survival

Pig Sertoli cells don’t just survive complement—they flex on it. While other pig cells got wrecked, these testicular tanks not only lived, they protected their neighbors with secreted complement blockers. With 21 inhibitors and 25 other complement factors on deck, they’ve got redundancy like a damn firewall. These cells run immune interference like pros—and that’s huge for xenotransplant survival.

Supplementation of a Single Species Probiotic Does Not Affect Diversity and Composition of the Healthy Adult Gastrointestinal Microbiome

Turns out popping a single-species probiotic for 30 days doesn’t shake up your gut party if you’re already healthy—microbiomes stayed chill, no matter the pills. This preliminary data suggests your Bifidobacterium supplement might just be taking a scenic ride through your system without leaving much of a trace.

Metabolomic And Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) Changes During 24-hour Water-only Fast In The FEELGOOD Clinical Crossover Trials

Skip food for 24 hours and your body doesn't just grumble—it starts making biochemical power moves. In this study, intermittent fasting dropped TMAO levels (a known CAD villain), shifted over two dozen metabolites, and triggered short-term changes in amino acids and urea that hint at metabolic reprogramming. Sure, things bounce back after you eat, but this data suggests even brief fasting hits the system like a dress rehearsal for long-term health gains, reduced disease risk, and maybe even a longer, sharper life.

Peer-Reviewed CHAOS is where the data hits the page. These are the publications born from fieldwork, fire, and a whole lot of late nights with microbes and metal. This is just a taste of our work—wanna see it all? Smash that Unleash the Papers button.

Geohealth in Kentucky

This paper tears into traditional geohealth—the raw, sometimes uncomfortable reality that the geology around us can quietly shape disease risk, environmental exposure, and community resilience. Using Kentucky’s karst landscapes, legacy mining, flooding, radon, and microbial ecosystems as case studies, it shows how Earth systems, biology, and human health collide—and why understanding the ground beneath us isn’t academic curiosity, it’s survival science.

Kentucky Microbiome Map and Dataset

This dataset and interactive map expose Kentucky’s environment as a living system—tracking microbes, water quality, and landscape conditions across space instead of pretending health risks stop at county lines. Together, they turn raw field data into something you can see, explore, and interrogate, showing how geology, biology, and human activity overlap in ways that directly matter for public health, environmental risk, and real-world decision making.