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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:53am

China lunar probe returns to Earth with samples

A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.

The landing module of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft touched down at a predetermined site in Inner Mongolia recently, the China National Space Administration said, hailing the mission a "complete success".

It comes bearing soil and rocks from the side of the moon facing away from Earth, a poorly understood region that scientists say holds great research promise because its rugged features are less smoothed over by ancient lava flows than the near side.

That means the materials harvested there may help us to better understand how the moon formed and how it has evolved over time.

Source: Various news agencies

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:47am

Dietary fiber found to regulate gut bacteria's use of tryptophan, impacting health

We get healthy dietary fiber from consuming fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. But why is fiber so good for us? A team of researchers has discovered that dietary fiber plays a crucial role in determining the balance between the production of healthy and harmful substances by influencing the behavior of bacteria in the colon.

Researchers have now uncovered an essential part of why this is the case. Different types of bacteria inside our colon compete to utilize an essential amino acid called tryptophan. This competition may lead to either good or bad outcomes for our health.

The research, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, reveals that when we eat a lot of dietary fiber, gut bacteria help turn tryptophan into healthy substances. But if we don't eat enough fiber, tryptophan can be converted into harmful compounds by our gut bacteria.

These results emphasize that our dietary habits significantly influence the behavior of gut bacteria, creating a delicate balance between health-promoting and disease-associated activities. In the long term, the results can help us design dietary programs that prevent a range of diseases.

 Dietary fibre directs microbial tryptophan metabolism via metabolic interactions in the gut microbiota, Nature Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01737-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01737-3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:14am

Preserving wildlife is also key to halting and reversing the climate crisis. Preserving biodiversity means protecting the Earth's forest cover, which acts as a carbon sink: by conserving carbon-rich, wildlife-rich forested regions, we protect both threatened species and humans. While securing Conservation Imperatives is only part of the work—for example, just purchasing land won't prevent poaching—it's the first critical step we need to take.

What will we bequeath to future generations? A healthy, vibrant Earth is critical for us to pass on. So we've got to get going. We've got to head off the extinction crisis. Conservation Imperatives drive us to do that.

Conservation Imperatives: securing the last unprotected terrestrial sites harboring irreplaceable biodiversity, Frontiers in Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fsci.2024.1349350. www.frontiersin.org/journals/s … ci.2024.1349350/full

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:13am

Scientists identify safe havens we must preserve to prevent 'the sixth great extinction of life on Earth'

In a new article, a coalition of conservationists and researchers have shown how we can protect Earth's remaining biodiversity by conserving just a tiny percentage of the planet's surface. This affordable, achievable plan would make it possible for us to preserve the most threatened species from extinction, safeguarding Earth's wildlife for the future.

Most species on Earth are rare, meaning that species either have very narrow ranges or they occur at very low densities or both. And rarity is very concentrated. In a recent study, zooming in on this rarity, researchers found that we need only about 1.2% of the Earth's surface to head off the sixth great extinction of life on Earth. 

To meet ambitious conservation goals, an additional 1.2 million square kilometers of land were protected between 2018 and 2023. But do these new conservation areas effectively protect critical biodiversity? Scientists estimated that the 2018-2023 expansion only covered 0.11 million square kilometers with range-limited and threatened species. Planning protected areas is crucial, ensuring that we target our efforts and resources as effectively as possible.

The scientists started by mapping the entire world, using six layers of global biodiversity data. By combining these layers of data with maps of existing protected areas and a fractional land cover analysis, using satellite images to identify the remaining habitat available to rare and threatened species, the scientists were able to identify the most critical, currently unprotected areas of biodiversity. They called these Conservation Imperatives: a global blueprint to help countries and regions plan conservation at a more local level.

These 16,825 sites, covering approximately 164 Mha, could prevent all predicted extinctions if they were adequately protected. Just protecting the sites found in the tropics could stave off most predicted extinctions. Additionally, 38% of Conservation Imperatives are very close to already-protected areas, which could make it easier to absorb them into protected areas or to find other ways of conserving them.

These sites are home to over 4,700 threatened species in some of the world's most biodiverse yet threatened ecosystems. These include not only mammals and birds that rely on large intact habitats, like the tamaraw in the Philippines and the Celebes crested macaque in Sulawesi, Indonesia, but also range-restricted amphibians and rare plant species.

To calculate the price of this protection, the scientists modeled a cost estimate using data from hundreds of land protection projects over 14 years, and accounting for the type and amount of land acquired as well as country-specific economic factors. These numbers are approximate because a variety of land purchase or long-term lease options, each with different costs, might work well for protecting Conservation Imperatives. Stakeholders worldwide, including indigenous peoples, communities with jurisdiction over Conservation Imperative sites, and other members of civil society, will need to decide which options work best for them.

Their analysis estimated that protecting the Conservation Imperatives in the tropics would cost approximately $34 billion per year over the next five years.

This represents less than 0.2% of the United States' GDP, less than 9% of the annual subsidies benefiting the global fossil fuel industry, and a fraction of the revenue generated from the mining and agroforestry industries each year.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:06am

One major limitation of the study is that, for the most part, it looked at patients' microbiomes at one point in time. It didn't look at changes to the gut microbiome or disease status over time. Future studies that build on this work include studying this link over an extended period and examining the strain-specific functions to understand better how they lead to T2D.

A benefit and a challenge of the human microbiome is that it is highly personalized. 

The fact that we each have highly distinct microbial communities and microbial genetics means that very large population studies are needed to find consistent patterns. But once we do, individual microbiomes have the potential to be reshaped to help reduce disease risk.

Mei, Z et al. Strain-Specific gut microbial signatures in Type 2 Diabetes Revealed by a Cross-Cohort Analysis of 8,117 Metagenomes, Nature Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03067-7

Part 3

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 9:04am

With this large study, the researchers asked two questions. One is, 'What are the roles of species and strains that make up the gut microbiome in type 2 diabetes?' The other question is, 'What are these microbes doing?'"

When they analyzed this data, they found a relatively consistent set of microbial species linked to type 2 diabetes across their study populations. Many of those species have never been reported before.

To understand the role of these microbes in the gut, the team analyzed species' functional abilities. Different strains of a microbial species can have varied functions, like the ability to make a specific amino acid. The team found that certain strains had functions that may be linked to varied T2D disease risk.

One major functional difference they saw was that a strain of Prevotella copri—a common microbe in the gut that has the capacity to produce large amounts of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)—was more commonly seen in diabetes patients' gut microbiomes. Previous studies have shown that people with chronically high blood levels of BCAAs have a higher risk of obesity and T2D.

The researchers also found evidence suggesting that bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria—could be driving some of the changes they detected within certain strains of gut bacteria.

This could mean that the virus infects the bacteria and changes its function in a way that increases or decreases type 2 diabetes risk, but more work is needed to understand this connection.

In another analysis, the team studied a small subset of samples from patients newly diagnosed with T2D to assess microbiomes that are less likely to have been impacted by medication use or long-term high glucose status. Their results were similar to their larger findings.

The researchers firmly think that changes in the gut microbiome cause type 2 diabetes. The changes to the microbiome may happen first, and diabetes develops later, not the other way around—although future prospective or interventional studies are needed to prove this relation firmly. This is just one study.

If these microbial features are causal, we can find a way to change the microbiome and reduce type 2 diabetes risk. The microbiome is amenable to intervention—meaning you can change your microbiome, for example, with dietary changes, probiotics, or fecal transplants.

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 8:58am

Study links gut microbiome changes to increased risk of type 2 diabetes

The largest and most ethnically and geographically comprehensive investigation to date of the gut microbiome of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), prediabetes, and healthy glucose status has found that specific viruses and genetic variants within bacteria correspond with changes in gut microbiome function and T2D risk.

The microbiome is highly variable across different geographic locations and racial and ethnic groups. If you only study a small, homogeneous population, you will probably miss something.

The gut microbiome's relationship to complex, chronic, heterogeneous diseases like T2D is quite subtle. Much like studies of large human populations have been crucial for understanding human genetic variation, large and diverse populations are necessary—and increasingly feasible—for detailed microbiome variation studies as well.

T2D affects approximately 537 million people worldwide. In T2D, the body gradually loses its ability to regulate blood sugar effectively. Research over the last decade has linked changes in the gut microbiome—the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that inhabit our intestines—to the development of T2D. However, prior studies of the gut microbiome and its role in T2D have been too small and varied in study design to draw significant conclusions.

This study analyzed data from the newly established Microbiome and Cardiometabolic Disease Consortium (MicroCardio). The investigation included newly generated data and those originally captured during several other experiments, encompassing a total of 8,117 gut microbiome metagenomes from ethnically and geographically diverse participants.

People included in the study had T2D, prediabetes, or no changes in their blood sugar levels and hailed from several countries in the world. 

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 7:00am

CSIR-NIIST Director Dr C. Anandharamakrishnan and Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr M Srinivas, exchanged the MoU in the presence of Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Vice President, CSIR, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

 

Secretary, DSIR and Director General, CSIR, Dr. N Kalaiselvi; and Director, CSIR-CBRI, Prof R. Pradeep Kumar, were also present. 

 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh said scientists need to look into how all those resources which have remained unexplored are going to do the value addition to carry India to the top pedestal.  

 

“Scientific community need to explore Himalayan and marine resources and we have an opportunity to explore further the lesser explored. That is going to add value as we are already saturated,” Dr. Singh added. 

 

Dr. Kalaiselvi said OWOT is one platform wherein CSIR can showcase to the entire nation innovative ideas based on seven themes.

 

 “These ideas will help us win the confidence of stakeholders. We’ll showcase to the entire world that CSIR will be the ultimate technology provider and help the nation stay itself as a leading capital on global arena as far as technology transfer is concerned,” Dr. Kalaiselvi added.       

 

CSIR-NIIST Director Dr C. Anandharamakrishnan said CSIR-NIIST is actively working on various waste management strategies, including biomedical waste, and environmental wellbeing.

 

“Global sustainability is our prime concern at CSIR-NIIST. The technology that we developed for converting pathogenic biomedical waste into value-added soil additives is a perfect example for the ‘Waste to Wealth’ concept,” he said.

 

Dr Anandharamakrishnan said CSIR-NIIST is committed to delivering sustainability in every technology with societal, national and global significance. It also targets an innovative solution for the safe and eco-friendly management of pathogenic biomedical waste through the present technology.

 

Biomedical waste, which includes potentially infectious and pathogenic materials, presents a significant challenge for proper management and disposal. As per a 2020 report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India produces around 774 tonnes of biomedical waste daily.

 

CSIR-NIIST has also developed an automated and integrated equipment to ensure minimal human exposure during any stage of pathogenic biomedical waste treatment. The equipment was displayed at a previous expo organized by CSIR at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital last year.

 

 

On the occasion, CSIR-NIIST also transferred the technology for manufacturing plant leather alternatives from agri waste (cactus) to startup Veganvista Corp Pvt Ltd., Ahmedabad. This technology assures reduction of carbon footprint and utilisation waste lands in arid and semi-arid regions for cactus cultivation and value addition to farmers in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

 

Besides, CSIR-NIIST’s technology for making plant oil sourced bio-resin for paper coating was also transferred to a startup owned by Sanchit Gulati and his team, Panipat, Haryana, at the event.

 

The process knowhow developed on bio-resin coating from plant oils can replace single use plastic liner on paper and other cellulosic products to design an eco-friendly, green and sustainable packaging material with biodegradability and re-pulpability potential.

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 26, 2024 at 7:00am

CSIR-NIIST inks MoU with AIIMS for validating alternative tech for disposing biomedical waste

New Delhi, June 25: CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for validating the technology that offers a sustainable and energy-efficient alternative to current practices in disposing pathogenic biomedical waste.

 

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the curtain raiser of CSIR’s ‘One Week One Theme’ (OWOT) programme at India Habitat Centre, here yesterday.

 

CSIR-NIIST has developed a dual disinfection-solidification system that can spontaneously disinfect and immobilize degradable pathogenic biomedical waste such as blood, urine, saliva, sputum, and laboratory disposables, besides imparting a pleasant natural fragrance to otherwise foul-smelling biomedical waste. 

 

CSIR-NIIST, a constituent laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, has developed the technology at its laboratory at Pappanamcode in Thiruvananthapuram.

 

The technology has the potential for far-reaching consequences in the global biomedical arena, as it can address the limitations of conventional technologies, including energy-intense incineration. It will be validated via a pilot-scale installation and accompanying R&D at the AIIMS. The two institutions will have a technical meeting for finalizing the specifications prior to initiation of the proposed study.

 

The developed technology has also been confirmed by expert third-parties for its antimicrobial action and non-toxic nature of the treated material. Soil studies have confirmed that the treated biomedical waste is superior to organic fertilizers like vermicompost.

 Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 25, 2024 at 9:10am

India typically has two monsoons: one from June to September moving southwest to northeast, and another from October to December going the opposite direction.

But with more planet-warming gases in the air, the rain now only loosely follows this pattern. This is because the warmer air can hold more moisture from the Indian Ocean, and that rain then gets dumped all at once. It means the monsoon is punctuated with intense flooding and dry spells, rather than sustained rain throughout.

Landslides and flooding are increasing, alongside high temperatures and longer periods of drought that are adding to farmers' woes.

This  erratic rain is a significant blow to farmers' livelihood. Unless they adapt to this new uncertainty, the future looks bleak for them, unless science helps them.

Source: AP and other news agencies.

Part 2

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