Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 2, 2022 at 12:10pm

Could carbon monoxide foam help fight inflammation?

Carbon monoxide is best known as a potentially deadly gas. However, in small doses it also has beneficial qualities: It has been shown to reduce inflammation and can help stimulate tissue regeneration.

We’ve known for years that carbon monoxide can impart beneficial effects in all sorts of disease pathologies, when given as an inhaled gas. However, it’s been a challenge to use it in the clinic, for a number of reasons related to safe and reproducible administration, and health care workers’ concerns, which has led to people wanting to find other ways to administer it.

A team of researchers  has now devised a novel way to deliver carbon monoxide to the body while bypassing its potentially hazardous effects. Inspired by techniques used in molecular gastronomy, they were able to incorporate carbon monoxide into stable foams that can be delivered to the digestive tract.

In a study of mice, the researchers showed that these foams reduced inflammation of the colon and helped to reverse acute liver failure caused by acetaminophen overdose. The new technique, described earlier this week in a Science Translational Medicine paper, could also be used to deliver other therapeutic gases, the researchers say.

The ability to deliver a gas opens up whole new opportunities of how we think of therapeutics. We generally don’t think of a gas as a therapeutic that you would take orally (or that could be administered rectally), so this offers an exciting new way to think about how we can help patients.

Since the late 1990s, researchers have been studying the therapeutic effects of low doses of carbon monoxide. The gas has been shown to impart beneficial effects in preventing rejection of transplanted organs, reducing tumor growth, and modulating inflammation and acute tissue injury.

When inhaled at high concentrations, carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in the blood and prevents the body from obtaining enough oxygen, which can lead to serious health effects and even death. However, at lower doses, it has beneficial effects such as reducing inflammation and promoting tissue regeneration.

To tackle the challenge of delivering a gas, researchers  came up with the idea of incorporating the gas into a foam, much the way that chefs use carbon dioxide to create foams infused with fruits, vegetables, or other flavours.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 2, 2022 at 10:20am

A  new COVID-19 antibody detection method that does not require a blood sample

A key challenge in limiting the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is identifying infected individuals. Now, investigators  have developed a new antibody-based method for the rapid and reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 that does not require a blood sample.

The ineffective identification of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals has severely limited the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the high rate of asymptomatic infections (16%–38%) has exacerbated this situation. The predominant detection method to date collects samples by swabbing the nose and throat. However, the application of this method is limited by its long detection time (4–6 hours), high cost, and requirement for specialized equipment and medical personnel, particularly in resource-limited countries.

An alternative and complementary method for the confirmation of COVID-19 infection involves the detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. Testing strips based on gold nanoparticles are currently in widespread use for point-of-care testing in many countries. They produce sensitive and reliable results within 10–20 minutes, but they require blood samples collected via a finger prick using a lancing device. This is painful and increases the risk of infection or cross-contamination, and the used kit components present a potential biohazard risk.

To develop a minimally invasive detection assay that would avoid these drawbacks, researchers explored the idea of sampling and testing the interstitial fluid (ISF), which is located in the epidermis and dermis layers of human skin. Although the antibody levels in the ISF are approximately 15%–25% of those in blood, it was still feasible that anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibodies could be detected and that ISF could act as a direct substitute for blood sampling."

After demonstrating that ISF could be suitable for antibody detection, the researchers developed an innovative approach to both sample and test the ISF. They first developed biodegradable porous microneedles made of polylactic acid that draws up the ISF from human skin. 

Then, they constructed a paper-based immunoassay biosensor for the detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. By integrating these two elements, the researchers created a compact patch capable of on-site detection of the antibodies within 3 minutes (result from in vitro tests).

This novel detection device has great potential that is safe and acceptable to patients for the rapid screening of COVID-19 and many other infectious diseases. It holds promise for use in many countries regardless of their wealth, which is a key aim for the global management of infectious disease.

Anti SARS CoV 2 IgM/IgG antibodies detection using a patch sensor containing porous microneedles and a paper based immunoassay, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14725-6

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 1, 2022 at 12:18pm

Asynchronous Reality — where everything remains real except the flow of time

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 1, 2022 at 12:14pm

Scientists discover norovirus and other 'stomach viruses' can spread through saliva

A class of viruses known to cause severe diarrheal diseases—including the one famous for widespread outbreaks on cruise ships—can grow in the salivary glands of mice and spread through their saliva, scientists have discovered. The findings show that a new route of transmission exists for these common viruses, which afflict billions of people each year worldwide and can be deadly.

The transmission of these so-called enteric viruses through saliva suggests that coughing, talking, sneezing, sharing food and utensils, and even kissing all have the potential for spreading the viruses. The new findings still need to be confirmed in human studies.

The findings, which appear in the journal Nature, could lead to better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases caused by these viruses, potentially saving lives.

Researchers have known for some time that enteric viruses, such as noroviruses and rotaviruses, can spread by eating food or drinking liquids contaminated with fecal matter containing these viruses. Enteric viruses were thought to bypass the salivary gland and target the intestines, exiting later through feces. Although some scientists have suspected there may be another route of transmission, this theory remained largely untested until now.

Now researchers will need to confirm that salivary transmission of enteric viruses is possible in humans. If they find that it is, the researchers said, they may also discover that this route of transmission is even more common than the conventional route. A finding such as that could help explain, they said, why the high number of enteric virus infections each year worldwide fails to adequately account for fecal contamination as the sole transmission route.

https://www.mlo-online.com/disease/infectious-disease/article/21272...

https://researchnews.cc/news/14014/Scientists-discover-norovirus-an...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 1, 2022 at 9:46am

Turning methane into methanol under ambient conditions using light

An international team of researchers has developed a fast and economical method of converting methane, or natural gas, into liquid methanol at ambient temperature and pressure. The method takes place under continuous flow over a photo-catalytic material using visible light to drive the conversion.

To help observe how the process works and how selective it is, the researchers used neutron scattering at the VISION instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source.

The method involves a continuous flow of methane/oxygen-saturated water over a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) catalyst. The MOF is porous and contains different components that each have a role in absorbing light, transferring electrons and activating and bringing together methane and oxygen. The liquid methanol is easily extracted from the water. Such a process has commonly been considered "a holy grail of catalysis" and is an area of focus for research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Details of the team's findings, titled "Direct photo-oxidation of methane to methanol over a mono-iron hydroxyl site," are published in Nature Materials.

 Sihai Yang, Direct photo-oxidation of methane to methanol over a mono-iron hydroxyl site, Nature Materials (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01279-1. www.nature.com/articles/s41563-022-01279-1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 30, 2022 at 11:48am

Tearless onions

How are they created and do they actually work?

Slicing through an onion damages cells, causing enzymes and other substances that are normally kept apart to spill out and react together. In standard onions the result is a sulphur-containing chemical called syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which resembles tear gas. This forms an irritating acid when it comes into contact with water in your eyes.

Some research groups have created onions that are genetically modified to lack an enzyme that leads to syn-propanethial-S-oxide, but these have not yet made it to market.

The tearless onions – Sunions – now in shops were created by repeatedly cross-breeding milder varieties containing lower levels of pyruvate. This substance is a by-product of the same reaction that forms syn-propanethial-S-oxide and also has a good measure of pungency.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 30, 2022 at 10:29am

First known case of COVID from a cat Scientists in Thailand have established that a cat passed SARS-CoV-2 to a veterinary surgeon. Given the scale of the pandemic and the close contact between cats and people, some researchers are not surprised. But establishing the direction of viral spread — from cat to person or from person to cat — is tricky. In this case, a cat belonging to a COVID-19-positive family sneezed in the face o.... Such cases of cat-to-human transmission are probably rare, and researchers emphasize that people should care for their cats — and perhaps take extra precautions when handling cats that might be infected — and not abandon them. Reference: Emerging Infectious Diseases paper

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 30, 2022 at 9:21am

Life in the Earth's interior is as productive as in some ocean waters

Terrestrial and marine habitats have been considered the ecosystems with the highest primary production on Earth by far. Microscopic algae in the upper layers of the oceans and plants on land bind atmospheric carbon (CO₂) and produce plant material driven by photosynthesis. Since sunlight does not penetrate into the subsurface, hardly any such primary production is to be expected.

However, genetic analyses of microorganisms in groundwater have indicated that even here many microorganisms are capable of primary production. In the absence of light, they must obtain the energy from oxidizing inorganic compounds, like from reduced sulfur of the surrounding rocks. However, the role of primary producers in the subsurface had never been confirmed before.

Groundwater is one of our most important sources of clean drinking water. The groundwater environment of the carbonate aquifers alone, which is the focus of the study, provides about ten percent of the world's drinking water. With this in mind, the researchers carried out measurements of microbial microorganism carbon fixation in a subsurface aquifer, 5 to 90 meters belowground.

Based on the measured carbon fixation rates, the researchers conservatively extrapolated global primary production in carbonate groundwater to be 110 million metric tons of carbon per year. Collectively, the net primary productivity of approximately 66 percent of the planet's groundwater reservoirs would total 260 million metric tons of carbon per year, which is approximately 0.5 percent that of marine systems and 0.25 percent of global net primary production estimates.

Since there is very little energy available in these nutrient-poor and permanently dark habitats, even a small percentage of the global primary production is a surprise.

The researchers also sought to identify the microorganisms responsible for fixing carbon and generating new biomass within the aquifer. Metagenomic analyses point to a highly abundant microorganism not closely related to previously studied bacteria, within an uncharacterized order of Nitrospiria. As food, these organisms are thought to form the basis of life for the entire groundwater ecosystem with all of its thousands of microbial species, similar to the role algae play in the oceans or plants on land.

Kirsten Küsel, Carbon fixation rates in groundwater similar to those in oligotrophic marine systems, Nature Geoscience (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-022-00968-5. www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00968-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 29, 2022 at 11:57am

Bacteria's shapeshifting behaviour clue to new treatments for urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections are both very common and potentially very dangerous. Thousands of women  suffer from a UTI in their lifetime, and most of these women will have an infection requiring treatment with antibiotics. 

Around 80 percent of UTIs are caused by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), which is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. E. coli-related death due to antimicrobial resistance is the leading cause of bacterial fatalities worldwide.

In a bid to aid discovery of new treatment options, researchers are using state-of-the-art microscopy to pinpoint how these bacteria spread and multiply.

The latest research examined the shapeshifting behavior of UPEC. During a UTI infection cycle, the bacteria form spaghetti-like filaments hundreds of times their normal lengths before reverting to their original form.

The study, which is published in Nature Communications, used a human bladder cell infection model to generate the filaments, and look at their reversal back to rod shape.

While we don't fully understand why they do this extreme lifestyle make-over, we know they must revert to their original size before they can reinfect new bladder cells.

Researchers  used advanced microscopy to follow two key cell division proteins and their localisation dynamics during reversal. We found that the normal rules for regulation of cell division in bacteria does not fully apply in filaments.

By giving the first clues into how the reversal of filamentation is regulated during infection, scientists may be laying the foundation for identifying new ways to combat UTIs.

 The long filaments formed by the bacteria appeared to break open the infected human cells, through a previously unknown mechanism called infection-related filamentation (IRF).

The devastating eruption of these bacteria from the cells of the bladder that they invade probably contributes to the extensive damage and pain experienced during a UTI.

If scientists identify why and how the bacteria shifts their shapes this enables alternative treatments or preventions.

 Bill Söderström et al, Assembly dynamics of FtsZ and DamX during infection-related filamentation and division in uropathogenic E. coli, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31378-1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 29, 2022 at 9:35am

The analyses carried out now yielded many interesting findings. Most notably, the results showed that the functional connectivity between large-scale brain networks can predict age with good accuracy and that it varies across the lifespan. More specifically, they found that the connectivity between ECN and DMN brain regions accounts for a significant portion of age variability.

Interestingly, the researchers found that when they also included the SN (a set of brain regions that selects salient external or internal stimuli for the brain to focus its attention on) in their analyses, they could predict a person's age with even greater accuracy. In the future, their work could help to better understand the brain connectivity  patterns associated with the decline in cognitive abilities observed in older age.

Evangelia G. Chrysikou et al, Large-scale network connectivity as a predictor of age: Evidence across the adult lifespan from the Cam-CAN data set, Psychology and Aging (2022). DOI: 10.1037/pag0000683

Part 2

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 259
• 260
• 261
• 262
• 263
• …
• 855
• Next ›
• Page