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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

The researchers wanted to know if the same was true for humans. To find out, they first conducted animal experiments to find the right ingredients that would stimulate the gut biome and then made a supplement with the best of them. They then gave the supplement they had developed to 64 children suffering from severe malnutrition in several hospitals in Bangladesh.

Another 64 children also suffering from severe malnutrition were given RUFs. All the children in the study were assessed over the following three months. The research team found that those children receiving the biome-enhancing supplements gained weight faster than the children given RUFs.

They also found that those children receiving the new supplements had higher concentrations of the types of proteins in their blood that are needed for the proper growth of bones, muscles, and nerve cells in the brain.
The researchers conclude by suggesting that giving malnourished children biome-enhancing food can not only speed up recovery time but also prevent stunted growth.

Steven J. Hartman et al, A microbiome-directed therapeutic food for children recovering from severe acute malnutrition, Science Translational Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adn2366

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

Microbiome-directed food speeds recovery in children with severe acute malnutrition, trial finds

A team of biologists, nutritionists and gut biome specialists has found via a trial run at several hospitals  that giving children suffering from severe malnutrition a microbiome-based food helps them recover faster than giving them ready-to-use therapeutic or supplementary foods (RUFs).

For many years, the standard of care for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition has been feeding them RUFs, which are generally made by mixing peanuts, oil, butter, and sugar into a quantity of powdered milk. Such a mix provides a lot of calories in a hurry, helping children who are starving recover as quickly as possible.

In this new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers have found that a different kind of food might be a better option.

Several years ago, researchers discovered that when children experience a severe lack of food, in addition to losing weight and an ability to ward off diseases, their intestinal biome becomes less diverse—without food to process, gut bacteria levels dwindle. Experiments with mice showed that those who were malnourished who were given food designed to ramp up the biome gained weight faster than those who were placed on just a high-calorie diet.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

Using the data, the scientists created a timeline of what happened in the seconds and minutes after impact.
After the impact and the central uplift forming, the soft sediments surrounding the crater flowed inwards towards the evacuated crater floor, creating a visible 'brim.'
The earthquake shaking caused by the impact appears to have liquefied the sediments below the seabed across the entire plateau, causing faults to form below the seabed.
The impact was also associated with large landslides as the plateau margin collapsed below the ocean.

As well as this, there is evidence for a train of tsunami waves going away from, then back towards the crater, with large resurge scars preserving evidence of this catastrophic event.
Humans have never witnessed an asteroid of this size crashing into Earth.

 Uisdean Nicholson et al, 3D anatomy of the Cretaceous–Paleogene age Nadir Crater, Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01700-4

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

Five-mile asteroid impact crater below Atlantic captured in 'exquisite' detail by seismic data

New images of an asteroid impact crater buried deep below the floor of the Atlantic Ocean have been published recently by researchers.

 The images confirm the 9km Nadir Crater, located 300m under the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, was caused by an asteroid smashing into Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period around 66 million years ago. That's the same age as the dinosaur-killing 200 km wide, Chicxulub impact crater in Mexico.

The images have helped the researchers determine what happened in the minutes following impact: The formation of an initial bowl-shaped crater, rocks turned to a fluid-like state and flowing upwards to the crater floor, the creation of a damage zone covering thousands of square kilometers beyond the crater, and an 800-meter-plus high tsunami that would have traveled across the Atlantic ocean.

The data revealed a depression more than 8.5km wide, which could be an asteroid impact crater. The data suggested it was from an asteroid hundreds of meters wide hitting the planet around 66 million years ago.

High-resolution, 3D seismic data was captured by TGS, a global geophysical company and shared with geologists. The data proves that an asteroid caused the Nadir Crater.

Craters on the surface are usually heavily eroded and we can only see what is exposed, whereas craters on other planetary bodies usually only show the surface expression.

These data allow us to image this fully in three dimensions and peel back the layers of sedimentary rock to look at the crater at all levels.

The new images paint a picture of the catastrophic event.

 The asteroid  was 450–500m wide, because of the larger crater size as shown by the 3D data.

Researchers can also tell it came from about 20–40 degrees to the northeast, because of spiraling thrust-generated ridges surrounding the crater's central peak—those are only formed following a low-angle oblique impact.

It would have hit Earth at about 20 km per second, or 72,000 km per hour.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 2, 2024 at 6:10am

Pathogens are thriving in the plastisphere

Plastic pollution is creating a ‘plastisphere’: a widespread habitat that includes pathogenic viruses and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, a group of environmental researchers highlights. The problem has no easy fix, but the ecosystems of the plastisphere must be thoroughly studied, with..., if we’re to mitigate the risks posed by the pathogens lurking within.

Nature | 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 2, 2024 at 5:43am

Taking cues from another successful Pitt project that used electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to restore arm function in individuals affected by stroke, scientists hypothesized that stimulating the motor thalamus—a structure nested deep in the brain that acts as a key relay hub of movement control—using DBS could help restore movements that are essential for tasks of daily living, such as object grasping.

However, because the theory has not been tested before, they first had to test it in monkeys, which are the only animals that have the same organization of the connections between the motor cortex and the muscles as humans.
To understand the mechanism of how DBS of the motor thalamus helps improve voluntary arm movement and to finesse the specific location of the implant and the optimal stimulation frequency, researchers implanted the FDA-approved stimulation device into monkeys that had brain lesions affecting how effectively they could use their hands.

As soon as the stimulation was turned on, it significantly improved activation of muscles and grip force. Importantly, no involuntary movement was observed.

To verify that the procedure could benefit humans, the same stimulation parameters were used in a patient who was set to undergo DBS implantation into the motor thalamus to help with arm tremors caused by brain injury from a serious motor vehicle accident that resulted in severe paralysis in both arms.

As soon as the stimulation was turned on again, the range and strength of arm motion was immediately improved. The participant was able to lift a moderately heavy weight and reach, grasp and lift a drinking cup more efficiently and smoothly than without the stimulation.

To help bring this technology to more patients in the clinic, researchers are now working to test the long-term effects of DBS and determine whether chronic stimulation could further improve arm and hand function in individuals affected by traumatic brain injury or stroke.

Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52477-1. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52477-1

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 2, 2024 at 5:42am

Deep brain stimulation shows immediate improvement in arm and hand function post-brain injury

Deep brain stimulation may provide immediate improvement in arm and hand strength and function weakened by traumatic brain injury or stroke, researchers reported recently in Nature Communications.

Encouraging results from extensive tests in monkeys and humans open a path for a new clinical application of an already widely used brain stimulation technology and offer insights into neural mechanisms underlying movement deficits caused by brain injury.

Brain lesions caused by serious brain trauma or stroke can disrupt neural connections between the motor cortex, a key brain region essential for controlling voluntary movement, and the muscles. Weakening of these connections prevents effective activation of muscles and results in movement deficits, including partial or complete arm and hand paralysis.

To boost the activation of existing but weakened connections, researchers proposed using deep brain stimulation (DBS), a surgical procedure that involves placing tiny electrodes in specific areas of the brain to deliver electrical impulses that regulate abnormal brain activity. Over the past several decades, DBS has revolutionized the treatment of neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease by providing a way to control symptoms that were once difficult to manage with medication alone.

DBS has been life-changing for many patients. Now, thanks to ongoing advancements in the safety and precision of these devices, DBS is being explored as a promising option for helping stroke survivors recover their motor functions.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 1, 2024 at 11:50am

There arethree main types of blood cancers:

• Leukemias are cancers of the white blood cells in the bone marrow and blood and, rarely, the lymphatic system. The abnormal production of white blood cells can interfere with the body's ability to fight infections. There are several types of leukemia, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
• Lymphomas are cancers of immune cells called lymphocytes. The two main types of lymphoma are Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These cancers can be slow-growing or fast-growing, and can be found in various parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, spleen and bone marrow.
• Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a cancer of the plasma cells, immune cells that are found in the bone marrow. When myeloma cells multiply, this can lead to bone damage, anemia, kidney problems, high blood calcium levels and a weakened immune system.

Common symptoms include: Fever, Drenching night sweats, Persistent fatigue, Weakness Bone/joint pain, Unexplained weight loss, Swollen lymph nodes, liver or spleen ,Anemia.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 1, 2024 at 11:47am

The fungal infection valley fever

Some areas of the U.S. are experiencing a recent uptick in cases of a fungal lung infection called valley fever. 

Valley fever is a fungus. It lives in the soil, and it's endemic, or known to be in regions in the Southwest, such as Arizona, lower California, New Mexico and parts of Mexico.

Valley fever is transmitted via inhalation of spores from the soil, especially during dusty months or high-dust exposure, such as in construction zones.

"Initial symptoms of valley fever can be cough, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, sometimes a rash and joint aches, and also associated fatigue.

Most people with a healthy immune system can fight off valley fever naturally, but those with immune problems or on certain medications may be at higher risk.

The people getting really significant illness are those that have immune problems, or if you have diabetes or if you're on immune-suppressing medications can really put you at risk.

The best way to prevent valley fever is to avoid high-dust exposure.

If at all possible, if it's really dusty outside and you can really see the dust in the air, try to stay indoors and try to avoid that inhalation of that high-dust exposure.

Source: Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 1, 2024 at 11:38am

Six dead from Marburg viral disease in Rwanda

Six people have been killed in Rwanda in an outbreak of Marburg virus, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, the country's health ministry said recently.

The highly virulent microbe causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

Marburg is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes Ebola, which has wreaked havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa.

Neighboring Tanzania reported cases of the disease in 2023, while Uganda experienced its last outbreak in 2017. The three countries share porous borders.

The suspected natural source of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, which carries the pathogen but does not fall sick from it.

The animals can pass the virus to primates in close proximity, including humans, and human-to-human transmission then occurs through contact with blood or other body fluids.

Fatality rates in confirmed cases have ranged from 24 percent to 88 percent in previous outbreaks, depending on the virus strain and case management, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There are currently no vaccines or antiviral treatments, but potential treatments, including blood products, immune and drug therapies, as well as early candidate vaccines, are being evaluated.

Source: AFP

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