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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 27, 2024 at 10:56am

Biologists uncover how key carbohydrate-attachment mechanism malfunctions and causes various diseases

Researchers have uncovered how a structure in bodily carbohydrates (sugar chains or "glycans") that regulates how they attach themselves to other molecules interacts with key enzymes, and in so doing can contribute to a range of diseases.

One of the most essential bodily biochemical processes involves carbohydrates (sugar chains or "glycans") attaching themselves to proteins and fats (lipids), and when this process malfunctions, the risk of contracting a raft of diseases sharply increases. Researchers have recently discovered how a crucial enzyme's interaction with a small structure in glycans during this attachment can contribute to such breakdowns.

Their findings are described in a paper published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on June 4, 2024.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 27, 2024 at 10:19am

While hunting for zebrafish with different gap junction mutations, the researchers made an intriguing find: a zebrafish that couldn't move its tail properly. Usually, a zebrafish embryo will flop around and spontaneously flick its tail, but these fish didn't do that.
In healthy zebrafish, researchers can watch the electrical signals propagate through the gap junctions between muscle cells, like a plume of food dye diffusing into a cup of water. In fish with this mutation, the signals don't flow. The mutation was impairing electrical communication between the cells via the gap junctions.

And that communication breakdown led to improper muscular development, the team showed. In an ordinary healthy zebrafish, the muscle fibers are straight and orderly. In this zebrafish with this mutation, the muscle fibers are crinkly and wavy, like crepe paper streamers.

The researchers pinned the change on a mutation in a specific gene. Through a series of experiments, they showed that this gene, when functioning normally, makes the gap junction channels between muscle cells that allow the nervous system to coordinate the activity of early developing muscle. And without appropriate electrical signaling at the right time during development, the muscle fibers can't organize properly, causing crinkly muscle fibers and severe muscle defects.
So scientists figured out that this gap junction channel is a conduit—it allows electricity from the nerve cells to be sent out to muscle fibers.
More than a curiosity, though, the findings can help inform scientists' understanding of muscle development in humans. In disorders where muscles don't develop properly, faulty gap junction channels might be one cause, a link that was previously unknown.
The transfer of bioelectricity from one organ system to another is critical for development and adult function. Finding the genes that allow this to occur, understanding how they work, and exactly what goes wrong when communication is disrupted, will provide new insight into human disease.

Gap-junction-mediated bioelectric signaling required for slow muscle development and function in zebrafish, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.007. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(24)00759-0

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 27, 2024 at 10:16am

How bioelectricity shapes muscle development

A new research work describes how nerve cells and muscle cells communicate through electrical signals during development—a phenomenon known as bioelectricity.

The communication, which takes place via specialized channels between cells, is vital for proper development and behavior. The study identifies specific genes that control the process, and pins down what happens when it goes wrong.

The finding offers clues to the genetic origins of muscle disorders in humans, and taps into longstanding questions in developmental biology.

Model organisms like mice, fruit flies and worms allow scientists to do experiments that aren't possible in humans, answering fundamental biological questions and providing guidance for more focused testing in humans.

Zebrafish were a promising addition to the scene. Zebrafish and humans share many genes, making the fish useful for testing the genetic underpinnings of human diseases and conditions. And because zebra fish embryos are transparent, scientists can watch development happen in real time under the microscope.

Zebrafish are the perfect species to study electrical communication. Thanks to their transparent embryos,  researchers can image electricity flowing through cells in real time.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 27, 2024 at 10:06am

Inactivity rates varied widely between countries. For example, 66 percent of adults do not get enough physical activity in the United Arab Emirates, while the figure was under three percent in Malawi.

There was also a gender gap. Nearly 34 percent of women worldwide do not reach the activity threshold, compared to 29 percent of men.

There are "multiple causes" for activity rates declining overall, including that people are walking less, working at computers more and generally spending more leisure time looking at screens, Bull said.

Don't just sit on (your) chairs, get up and be active—every step counts!

 Tessa Strain et al, National, regional, and global trends in insufficient physical activity among adults from 2000 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 507 population-based surveys with 5·7 million participants, The Lancet Global Health (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00150-5

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 27, 2024 at 10:05am

'Wake-up call': third of adults not doing enough physical activity

Nearly a third of all adults are not doing enough physical activity, posing a growing threat to health across the world, a major study said this week.

More than 31 percent of adults—1.8 billion people—did not get the recommended amount of physical exercise in 2022, an increase of five percentage points from 2010, according to a study by the World Health Organization and other researchers.

"Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health, contributing significantly to the burden of chronic diseases," said Ruediger Krech, director of the WHO's health promotion department.

"Unfortunately the world is not going in the right direction," he told an online press conference.

To be healthy, the WHO recommends all adults spend at least 150 minutes every week doing moderate-intensity physical activity—which can include walking, cycling or even heavy household chores—or at least 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise, such as running or competing in sport.

A combination of the two will also get people over the line.

A combination of the two will also get people over the line. Not getting this level of exercise increases the risk of people developing heart disease, diabetes, some cancers as well as mental health problems, Krech said.

If current trends continue, adult inactivity levels are projected to rise to 35 percent by 2030, according to the study in The Lancet Global Health.

This would fall far short of the WHO's goal of reducing physical inactivity by 15 percent by the end of the decade.

Fiona Bull, head of the WHO's physical activity unit, said the research was "a wake-up call that we're not doing enough".

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 27, 2024 at 9:56am

Iceland's volcano eruptions may last decades, researchers find

Iceland's ongoing volcanic eruptions may continue on and off for years to decades, threatening the country's most densely populated region and vital infrastructure, researchers predict from local earthquake and geochemical data.

The eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula have forced authorities to declare a state of emergency, with a series of eight eruptions having occurred since 2021. This southwestern region is home to 70% of the country's population, its only international airport, and several geothermal power plants that supply hot water and electricity. The most recent eruption from May through June triggered the evacuation of residents and visitors from the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, a popular tourist attraction, for the third time in more than two months.

Although Iceland sees regular eruptions because it sits above a volcanic hot spot, the Reykjanes Peninsula has been dormant for 800 years. Its last volcanic era continued over centuries, however, prompting scientists to predict the renewed volcanism to be the start of a long episode.

An international team of scientists has been watching the volcanoes over the past three years. Analyzing seismic tomography imaging and the composition of lava samples, they've uncovered parts of the geological processes behind the new volcanic era. They predict the region may have to prepare for recurring eruptions lasting years to decades and possibly centuries.

 The Fagradalsfjall and Sundhnúkur Fires of 2021-2024: a single magma reservoir under the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland?, Terra Nova (2024). DOI: 10.1111/ter.12733

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 11:21am

Elusive ‘polar rain aurora’ spotted

Gigantic oddball aurora seen from Earth for the first time

A camera captured the vast, diffuse glow produced after the solar wind dropped to a whisper.

As the solar wind dropped to a whisper for 28 hours in December 2022, scientists got the first-ever unimpeded view from Earth of the ‘polar rain aurora’. The rare phenomenon created a diffuse glow spanning more than 3,000 kilometres across the North Pole. Polar rain auroras form when electrons from the Sun's outermost atmosphere crash into Earth's atmosphere. Usually, the solar wind — a flood of other charged particles coming from the Sun — prevents their formation. They have only occasionally been spotted by satellites looking down on the poles from above.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02072-7?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 11:18am

How gut bacteria affect cancer drugs
Gut microbiome discovery provides roadmap for life-saving cancer therapies
The balance between bacterial communities in the gut affects the likelihood of a positive response to drugs called checkpoint inhibitors.
The gut microbiome can usefully predict how people respond to certain immunotherapy drugs for treating cancer. Instead of singling out individual microbes, researchers showed that the overall balance between bacterial communities in the gut affects a person’s response. The team developed a scoring system based in part on the ratio between two different populations of gut microbes. When applied to hundreds of people with cancer, the score could mostly predict who would respond to immunotherapy. The work “is a breakthrough from a diagnostic point of view”.
The study might also improve the effectiveness of faecal microbiome transplants — when healthy volunteers donate bacterial samples to people who don’t respond well to certain drugs.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02070-9?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 10:35am

2.6 million die annually due to alcohol: WHO

Alcohol kills nearly three million people annually, the World Health Organization said this week, adding that while the death rate had dropped slightly in recent years it remained "unacceptably high".

The United Nations health agency's latest report on alcohol and health said alcohol causes nearly one in 20 deaths globally each year, through drink driving, alcohol-induced violence and abuse, and a multitude of diseases and disorders.

The report said 2.6 million deaths were attributed to alcohol consumption in 2019—the latest available statistics—accounting for 4.7 percent of all deaths worldwide that year.

Nearly three-quarters of those deaths were in men, it said.

Substance use severely harms individual health, increasing the risk of chronic diseases,mental health conditions, and tragically resulting in millions of preventable deaths every year," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Drinking is linked to a slew of health conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver and some cancers.

Of all fatalities it caused in 2019, the report found that an estimated 1.6 million were from noncommunicable diseases.

Of these, 474,000 were from cardiovascular diseases, 401,000 from cancer and a huge 724,000 from injuries, including traffic accidents and self-harm.

Alcohol abuse also makes people more susceptible to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia, the report found.

An estimated 209 million people lived with alcohol dependence in 2019—3.7 percent of the global population.

Source: AFP

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:58am

Researchers identify potential hazards in biosolid fertilizers

Fertilizers manufactured from the sludgy leftovers of wastewater treatment processes can contain traces of potentially hazardous organic chemicals, according to a new study.

The research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the chemical composition of so-called biosolids  and is the first step toward identifying common chemical contaminants that may need  regulation. 

Using analytical chemistry techniques capable of identifying thousands of chemicals, researchers screened 16 samples of biosolids from wastewater treatment facilities in nine U.S. and three Canadian cities. Samples contained traces of pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and a variety of fragrances. Among them were bisphenol A (BPA), commonly found in plastics, and carbamazepine, a drug used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

Using biosolids can be beneficial, the researchers said. They are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients that help plants grow. They require less energy to make than synthetic alternatives. And wastewater facilities can sell biosolids to generate revenue to offset treatment costs and reduce waste sent to landfills or incinerators.

But...

While direct contact with biosolids is likely limited to occupational exposures, the broader population could be exposed to contaminants absorbed by crops grown in such fertilizers, the researchers said.

The team plans to measure the identified compounds in the biosolids and vegetables grown in biosolid-amended soil to determine if their concentration levels warrant concern. The researchers are also investigating risks to farmers, landscapers, and composters who work with biosolids.

Combining non-targeted analysis with computer-based hazard comparison approaches to support prioritization of unregulated organic contaminants in biosolids, Environmental Science & Technology (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02934

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