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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 11:58am

Microplastics found in the brains of mice within hours of consumption

A team of environmental biologists  has found that it takes microplastics consumed by mice just a few hours to make their way to their brains.

In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes experiments they conducted with lab mice consuming water tainted with different sized microplastics, and what they learned by doing so.

Prior research has shown that microplastics have made their way into the environment to such an extent that they have made their way into the bodies of nearly everyone on Earth (*). It is still not known what harm consumption of such materials causes, but most in the medical field believe they are likely causing damage that is blamed on other sources. Still, many in the field suggest that there is enough evidence of possible health problems associated with microplastics that action should be taken globally to address their impact.

In this new effort, the research team sought to learn more about the medical impact of a mammal consuming different sizes of microplastics. The experiments consisted of feeding test mice water with different sized bits of fluorescent plastic in it, from micro to nano. They then tracked the progress of the plastic bits to see where they wound up in the bodies of the mice.

Knowing that the plastic would make its way from the digestive tract into the bloodstream, the researchers used two-photon microscopy to capture imagery of it inside blood vessels. Also, suspecting that the tiniest bits would make it into their brains, the team installed tiny windows in their skulls, allowing them to track the movement of the plastic in their brains.

In studying the imagery they created, the researchers were able to watch as the plastics made their way around the mice's bodies, eventually reaching their brains. They also noted that the plastic bits tended to get backed up, like cars in a traffic jam at different points. In taking a closer look at some of the backups in the brain, the researchers found that the plastic bits had been captured by immune cells, which led to even more backups.

Wondering if the plastic in their brains was causing any impairment, the researchers tested several of the mice and found that many of them experienced memory loss, reductions in motor skills and lower endurance.

*  Richard C. Thompson, Twenty years of microplastics pollution research—what have we learned?, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adl2746. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2746

Haipeng Huang et al, Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr8243

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 11:50am

Ocean-surface warming has more than quadrupled since the late-1980s, research shows

The rate of ocean warming has more than quadrupled over the past four decades, a new study has shown. Ocean temperatures were rising at about 0.06 degrees Celsius per decade in the late 1980s, but are now increasing at 0.27 degrees Celsius per decade.

Published 28 January 2025 in Environmental Research Letters, the study helps explain why 2023 and early 2024 saw unprecedented ocean temperatures.

This accelerating ocean warming is driven by the Earth's growing energy imbalance—whereby more energy from the sun is being absorbed in the Earth's system than is escaping back to space. This imbalance has roughly doubled since 2010, in part due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, and because the Earth is now reflecting less sunlight to space than before.

Global ocean temperatures hit record highs for 450 days straight in 2023 and early 2024. Some of this warmth came from El Niño, a natural warming event in the Pacific.

When scientists compared it to a similar El Niño in 2015–16, they found that the rest of the record warmth is explained by the sea surface warming up faster in the past 10 years than in earlier decades; 44% of the record warmth was attributable to the oceans absorbing heat at an accelerating rate.

Quantifying the acceleration of multidecadal global sea surface warming driven by Earth's energy imbalance, Environmental Research Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adaa8a

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 11:40am

Importantly, this effect becomes more pronounced in heavier nuclei that contain more nucleons. In the heaviest element examined—carbon-12, which has 12 nucleons—the three-nucleon force caused the energy gap to widen by a factor of 2.5.

This effect is so large that it has almost equal weighting to the impact of the two-nucleon force.
The three-nucleon force could play a key role in understanding how heavy elements form from the fusion of lighter elements in stars. As this force grows stronger in heavier nuclei, it increases their stability by creating larger energy gaps between nuclear shells.

This stability makes it more challenging for the nucleus to capture additional neutrons, which are essential for forming heavier elements. In cases where the nucleus already contains a "magic number" of protons or neutrons that completely fills its shells, the nucleus becomes exceptionally stable, which can further hinder the fusion process.
Finally, the researchers discovered another surprising effect of the three-nucleon force on nucleon spins. With only the two-nucleon force, the spin states of both nucleons can be measured individually. However, the three-nucleon force creates quantum entanglement, where two of the three nucleons have spins that exist in both states at once until measured.

Tokuro Fukui et al, Uncovering the mechanism of chiral three-nucleon force in driving spin-orbit splitting, Physics Letters B (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2024.138839

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 11:38am

An overlooked nuclear force helps keep matter stable, study reveals

Researchers have revealed how a special type of force within an atom's nucleus, known as the three-nucleon force, impacts nuclear stability. The study, published in Physics Letters B, provides insight into why certain nuclei are more stable than others and may help explain astrophysical processes, such as the formation of heavy elements within stars.

All matter is made of atoms, the building blocks of the universe. Most of an atom's mass is packed into its tiny nucleus, which contains protons and neutrons (known collectively as nucleons). Understanding how these nucleons interact to keep the nucleus stable and in a low energy state has been a central question in nuclear physics for over a century.

The most powerful nuclear force is the two-nucleon force, which attracts two nucleons at long range to pull them together and repels at short range to stop the nucleons from getting too close.

Scientists have formed a good understanding of the two-nucleon force and how it impacts nuclear stability. On the other hand, three-nucleon force, which is when three nucleons interact with each other simultaneously, is much more complicated and poorly understood.

The researchers describe nuclear forces by likening them to a game of catch. With the two-nucleon force, two players, or nucleons, interact by throwing a ball to each other. The ball, a subatomic particle called a meson, can vary in heaviness, with the lightest meson, known as a pion, responsible for the long-range attraction between nucleons.

With the three-nucleon force, there are three players, or nucleons, and balls, or mesons, are passed between them. At the same time as throwing and catching the balls, the players, or nucleons, also spin and move in an orbit within the nucleus.

Although the three-nucleon force has historically been considered to be of little significance when compared to the two-nucleon force, a growing number of recent studies have highlighted its importance. Now, this new study clarifies the mechanism of how the three-nucleon force enhances nuclear stability, and demonstrates that as the nucleus grows, the force gains in strength.

The researchers used advanced nuclear theory and supercomputer simulations to study the exchange of pions between three nucleons. They found that when two pions are exchanged between three nucleons, the nucleons are constrained in how they move and spin, with only four combinations possible. Their calculations revealed that one of these combinations, known as the "rank-1 component," plays a crucial role in promoting nuclear stability.

Increased stability occurs, the researchers explain, due to enhancing a process known as spin-orbit splitting. When nucleons spin and orbit in the same direction, the alignment of these nucleons leads to a reduction in energy. But when nucleons spin and orbit in opposing directions, these nucleons exist in a higher energy state. This means that nucleons "split" into different energy shells, providing the nucleus with a stable structure.

The supercomputer simulations showed that while the three-nucleon force increases the energy state of the nucleons with an aligned spin and orbit, it causes the nucleons with opposing spins and orbits to gain even more energy. This results in a larger energy gap between the shells, making the nuclei even more stable .

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 9:54am

Large magma bodies found beneath dormant volcanoes

New research challenges the long-standing belief that active volcanoes have large magma bodies that are expelled during eruptions and then dissipate over time as the volcanoes become dormant.

Researchers used seismic waves to identify magma chambers beneath the surface of six volcanoes of various sizes and dormancy within the Cascade Range, which includes half of the U.S. volcanoes designated by the U.S. Geological Survey as "very high threat." The team found that all of the volcanoes, including dormant ones, have persistent and large magma bodies.

The study was published in Nature Geoscience .

The results are surprising given that some of these volcanoes, such as the Crater Lake volcano in Oregon, have not been active in millennia.

Regardless of eruption frequency, we see large magma bodies beneath many volcanoes, the researchers said. It appears that these magma bodies exist beneath volcanoes over their whole lifetime, not just during an active state.

The fact that more volcanoes have sustained magma bodies is an important consideration for how researchers may monitor and predict future volcanic activity.

Guanning Pang et al, Long-lived partial melt beneath Cascade Range volcanoes, Nature Geoscience (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01630-y

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 9:50am

Yellowish nodules on the palms of a man in his 40s. Painless yellowish nodules were observed on the patient's palms (A) and elbows. B, Magnified view of the palmar lesions. These lesions are consistent with xanthelasma, likely resulting from severe hypercholesterolemia associated with a high-fat carnivore diet. Total cholesterol levels exceeded 1000 mg/dL. Credit: JAMA Cardiology (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2024.5209

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 3, 2025 at 9:45am

Man on carnivore diet develops yellowish nodules on his hands, feet and elbows

A trio of cardiologists, two at Tampa General Hospital and the third at the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center, have reported an incident of an adult man developing yellowish nodules on his hands, feet and elbows after adopting a carnivore diet.

In their paper published in the journal JAMA Cardiology, Konstantinos Marmagkiolis, Jaime Caballero, and Cezar Iliescu, describe the symptoms of a patient who had come to Tampa General seeking aid after experiencing yellowish nodules appearing on various parts of his body, and their diagnosis.

The patient, a man in his 40s, told the doctors that the nodules had appeared three weeks prior to his hospital visit. After questioning, they determined that the patient had adopted the so-called carnivore diet approximately eight months prior to the appearance of the nodules.

The carnivore diet is a fad diet based on eating large amounts of animal fats and very little of anything else. The patient in this case reported eating nearly 10 pounds of butter, cheese and other fatty foods every day since embarking on the diet—even going so far as to add fat to the hamburgers he consumed daily.

Blood tests showed the patient's cholesterol was approximately four times normal levels. The doctors diagnosed the patient with xanthelasma, a condition in which yellowish deposits of cholesterol build up in various parts of the body—in this case, on the palms, the soles of his feet and his elbows. His case had progressed to the point that some of the cholesterol was pushing through cracks in the skin.

The doctors advised the man to cut back on his fat intake. But they also noted that doing so would not get rid of the nodules—they required surgical excision or burning them with liquid nitrogen. They also reminded the patient that such high levels of cholesterol could lead to a host of other conditions such as cardiovascular disease, a greatly increased risk of stroke, and eventually, liver problems.

 Konstantinos Marmagkiolis et al, Yellowish Nodules on a Man Consuming a Carnivore Diet, JAMA Cardiology (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2024.5209

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 2, 2025 at 6:12pm

Astronomers Discover Exoplanets Falling Apart in Space

Astronomers have found two planets around two separate stars that are succumbing to their stars' intense heat. Both are disintegrating before our telescopic eyes, leaving trails of debris similar to a comet's. Both are ultra-short-period planets (USPs) that orbit their stars rapidly.

These planets are a rare sub-class of USPs that are not massive enough to hold onto their material. Astronomers know of only three other disintegrating planets.

USPs are known for their extremely rapid orbits, some completing an orbit in only a few hours. Since they're extremely close to their stars, they're subjected to intense heat, stellar radiation, and gravity.

Many USPs are tidally locked to their star, turning the star-facing side into an inferno. USPs seldom exceed two Earth radii, and astronomers think that about 1 in 200 Sun-like stars has one. They were only discovered recently and are pushing the boundaries of our understanding of planetary systems.

The new observations are in two new papers available at the pre-press site arxiv.org. One is "A Disintegrating Rocky Planet with Prominent Comet-like Tails Aroun..."

The second paper is "A Disintegrating Rocky World Shrouded in Dust and Gas: Mid-IR Obser..."

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 2, 2025 at 6:04pm

The scientist heroes that starved to protect their science

In his book The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad, author Simon Parkin tells the story of the city’s Plant Institute — the world’s first proper seed bank — during the 1941-1944 Nazi siege. “The institute’s staff members sacrificed themselves, one by one, to protect a collection for which the whole raison d’être was to one day save humanity from starvation,” writes reviewer Simon Ings. Despite unthinkable privation, Vadim Stepanovich Lekhnovich, the curator of the tuber collection, later said that “it wasn’t difficult not to eat the collection. It was impossible to eat this, your life’s work, the work of the lives of your colleagues.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00055-w?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 2, 2025 at 5:56pm

Mouse Created With Two Fathers And No Mother Survives to Adulthood

A mouse with no biological mother has survived to adulthood in China – a major scientific achievement that's been years in the making.

The feat was pulled off by a team of researchers in China using precise stem cell engineering.

This isn't the first time that scientists have created a mouse with two male parents. In 2023, researchers in Japan managed a similar feat using a different technique.

Before that, attempts to generate eggs from male stem cells proved unsuccessful. The motherless offspring, born through a female surrogate, are typically nonviable and show severe developmental defects.

Not so for the 'bi-paternal' mice recently created in China. These adult mammals are not capable of reproducing themselves, but they are healthier than their predecessors, without fatal feeding or respiratory difficulties.

That said, roughly half of their siblings failed to make it to adulthood, and nearly 90 percent of the viable embryos did not make it to birth, which means the success rate for the process can still be improved upon.

There's still a long way to go before the same sort of technique could be achieved in our own species, but the authors of the study say their work helps scientists better understand human congenital disorders caused by similar genetic issues.

https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(25)00005-0

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