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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:36am

Study shows autoantibodies behind lifelong risk of viral infection

A new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that about 2% of the population develop autoantibodies against type 1 interferons, mostly later in life. This makes individuals more susceptible to viral diseases like COVID-19. The study  is based on an analysis of a large collection of historical blood samples.

Virus infections trigger the cells of the immune system to release type 1 interferons. These proteins act as early messengers that warn uninfected cells and tissues that a virus is spreading. This allows cells to prepare themselves so that they are ready to fight the virus when it reaches them.

In individuals with a compromised type 1 interferon system, severe viral infections can occur because the body cannot mount a full defense. Recent research has shown that about 5 to 15% of people who are in hospital with severe COVID-19 or influenza have a deficiency in their type 1 interferon response. This is because their blood contains autoantibodies—antibodies that target a person's own structures—that bind type 1 interferons and stop the messenger from functioning.

analyzed the blood samples for the presence of autoantibodies against type 1 interferons to find out who had developed the autoantibodies, when this occurred, and how long these autoantibodies lasted in the blood.

The analysis revealed that around 2% of individuals produced autoantibodies against type 1 interferons in their lifetime and that this typically occurred between the ages of 60 to 65. This confirms prior studies that reported that the prevalence of autoantibodies against type 1 interferons might increase with age.

Next, by studying clinical data, researchers were also able to understand which factors contributed to the development of autoantibodies against type 1 interferons. The individuals who developed them appeared to be prone to also producing antibodies against other proteins formed by their own bodies. This so-called loss of self-tolerance can occur in some people as they age.

These individuals may produce antibodies against their own type 1 interferons because they are both prone to making autoantibodies and are exposed to high levels of type 1 interferons, for example, because their immune system produces interferons against other infections at the time. 

Part1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:30am

Intensive farming could raise risk of new pandemics, researchers warn

Industrialized farming is often thought to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from animals to humans) because of better control, biosecurity and separation of livestock.

A new study examines the effect of social and economic factors—which are often overlooked in traditional assessments. 

It finds that the effects of intensifying agriculture are at best uncertain and at worst may contribute to EID (emerging infectious disease) risk.

The risks of emergence and transmission depend on multiple factors, including contact between humans and animals, and how we use land.

Livestock farming plays a potentially significant role in those risks, shaping landscapes and providing hosts that can act as the source or amplifiers of emerging pathogens.

While such risks are usually assessed in terms of microbiological, ecological and veterinary sciences, the new study highlights the need to consider social, economic and political factors.

Disease is always more than a matter of pathogen transmission, contact and contagion.

The founding myth in intensive farming is that we separate livestock from wildlife and thereby shut off the risk of diseases passing between them.

"But these farms exist in the real world—so buildings and fences can get damaged, wildlife like rats or wild birds can get in, and workers move around. In short, there will always be accidents.

"Once social, economic and political factors are taken into account, the pandemic risk posed by intensive farming is concerning."

The paper highlights the expansion of intensive farming and the resulting environmental degradation as factors which can raise EID risks.

It also says intensification leads to a "mixed landscape"—with a variety of farming practices and types—which creates the "worst of all possible worlds in terms of EID risk."

On biosecurity, the paper says some farm businesses find the costs "debilitating," while regional variations also have an impact.

The researches say,' we need to reconsider the socio-cultural impacts of intensifying farm animal production on planetary health, environmental sustainability and animal welfare issues.'

Understanding the roles of economy and society in the relative risks of zoonosis emergence from livestock, Royal Society Open Science (2024). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231709. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231709

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:22am

Smart soil can water and feed itself

A newly engineered type of soil can capture water out of thin air to keep plants hydrated and manage controlled release of fertilizer for a constant supply of nutrients.

Underpinning this exciting smart soil system is a hydrogel material developed by researchers. In experiments, the hydrogel-infused soil led to the growth of larger, healthier plants, compared to regular soil, all while using less water and fertilizer.

This new gel technology can reduce the burden on farmers by decreasing the need for frequent irrigation and fertilization. 

The technology is also versatile enough to be adopted across a wide range of climates, from arid regions to temperate areas.

The research was published recently in ACS Materials Letters

In experiments, plants rooted in the hydrogel soil saw a 138% increase in stem length compared to a control group in regular soil. And the modified soil can achieve approximately 40% water savings, significantly reducing the need for frequent irrigation and ensuring robust crop development. This research builds on previous discoveries involving hydrogels that can pull water from the atmosphere and make farming more efficient.

Jungjoon Park et al, Self-Irrigation and Slow-Release Fertilizer Hydrogels for Sustainable Agriculture, ACS Materials Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.4c01120

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:56am

Low-cost cellphone-based Raman spectrometer system can identify unknown biological molecules within minutes

Imagine knowing what berry or mushroom is safe to eat during a hike or swiftly detecting pathogens in a hospital setting that would traditionally require days to identify.

Identification and detection of drugs, chemicals and biological molecules invisible to the human eye can be made possible through the combined technology of a cellphone camera and a Raman spectrometer—a powerful laser chemical analysis method.

This new invention allows the user to make non-invasive identifications of potentially harmful chemicals or materials in the field, especially in remote areas where laboratory spectrometers cannot be used due to their size and power needs.

This new Raman spectrometer system integrates lenses, a diode laser and a diffraction grating—a small thin square-shaped surface that scatters light for analysis—in combination with a camera from a cellphone to record the Raman spectrum. Peaks in the spectrum provide detailed data about the chemical composition and molecular structure of a substance, depending on their intensities and positions.

To use the device, a cellphone is placed behind the transmission grating with the camera facing the grating, ready to record the Raman spectrum. A laser shoots a beam into a sample of unknown material, such as a bacterium, on a slide. The camera records the spectrum, and when paired with an appropriate cellphone application/database, this handheld instrument can enable rapid materials identification on site.

https://today.tamu.edu/2024/07/16/pocket-sized-invention-revolution...)%20for%20further%20analysis.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:47am

Producing heat energy from captured carbon

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:14am

Researchers found that where apparel was sold is not necessarily where plastic waste leaks into the environment. For apparel originally sold in high-income countries like the United States, Japan and many others, most of the resulting pollution happened in lower-income countries where these pieces of clothing might be sold in the secondary market.

This finding points to a major concern with how people in higher-income countries consume apparel.

Anna Kounina et al, The global apparel industry is a significant yet overlooked source of plastic leakage, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49441-4

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:13am

Apparel industry leaks millions of tons of plastic into environment each year, study finds

A study has found that waste from the global apparel industry is leaking millions of tons of plastic into the environment each year—an overlooked pollution source which may be getting worse over time.

The findings are detailed in a recent study by researchers, which found that global apparel consumption resulted in over 20 million tons of plastic waste in 2019. Around 40% of that waste may have been improperly managed and become environmental pollution, a process known as "plastic leakage."

Textile waste was divided between two sources; clothing made from synthetic materials like polyester, nylon and acrylic, and clothing made from cotton and other natural fibers. Researchers looked at plastic waste generated across an apparel product's "value chain," which refers to the entire lifecycle of a product—including, for example, not only the piece of apparel itself, but the plastics used to wrap it.

Much of the plastic waste that leaks into the environment comes from clothes that are thrown away, especially synthetic apparel. There is also waste from manufacturing, packaging and even from tire abrasion during transport, as well as microplastics which get pulled into the water when we wash our clothes.

Researchers found that synthetic apparel was by far the largest source of plastic waste. 

As opposed to the end-of-life plastic waste created by discarded synthetic apparel, plastic waste from cotton and other fibers came almost entirely from the plastic used in packaging.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 9:46am

New study finds early detection of miRNAs in maternal blood may offer potential for predicting preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy. With preeclampsia,  a woman might have high blood pressure, high levels of protein in urine that indicate kidney damage (proteinuria), or other signs of organ damage.

Pre-eclampsia is thought to be caused by the placenta not developing properly due to a problem with the blood vessels supplying it.

Without treatment, preeclampsia can cause serious health problems for the pregnant woman and her baby, and can even cause seizures or death. Health problems for pregnant people who have preeclampsia include: Kidney, liver and brain damage. Problems with how their blood clots.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a significant contributor to the increase in maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It can also  result in premature birth with associated morbidities for the infants as well.

A new study by researchers  finds that early detection of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) packaged in vesicles may offer the opportunity to predict preeclampsia in pregnant people before clinical symptoms manifest.

The study identifies the potential of a specific set of miRNAs within extracellular vesicles (EVs)—tiny particles that transfer information between cells—as a noninvasive biomarker for preeclampsia.

Compared to women with healthy pregnancies, women with preeclampsia had miRNAs found within EVs in early pregnancy. Researchers identified 148 miRNAs with differential abundance in preeclampsia EVs: 12 in higher amounts and 135 in lower amounts compared to EVs from healthy pregnancies. Specific groups of miRNAs showed clear differences in how many were present in EVs from women with preeclampsia.

The EVs taken from the blood of pregnant women with preeclampsia contained a group of microRNAs starting as early as the first to the second trimester of pregnancy. These miRNAs follow a specific pattern throughout pregnancy that changes when preeclampsia develops. Some miRNAs originate from the placenta and act as messengers between the placenta and other organs in the body.

The researchers say this panel of miRNAs has the potential to predict the development of symptoms of preeclampsia, especially late-onset preeclampsia.

The findings suggest a future in which miRNAs within EVs could transform the current monitoring and care of mothers everywhere. They would serve as noninvasive biomarkers for early detection of preeclampsia in pregnancy and significantly enhance the understanding of the condition's pathophysiology.

Circulating Extracellular Vesicular MicroRNA Signatures in Early Gestation Show an Association with Subsequent Clinical Features of Pre-Eclampsia, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64057-w

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 8:50am

During meiosis, chromosomes break apart and recombine, resulting in new combinations of gene copies. After these so-called crossover events occur, chromosomes are randomly shuffled through cell divisions.

In parthenogenetic reproduction, a clonal line draws from two identical chromosomal sets, so you expect to lose a lot of diversity during each cycle.

To understand how this may not be true for clonal raider ants, the researchers focused on mother-daughter and sister-sister pairs of ants. To make sure they had true family duos, they tracked transgenic ants that fluoresce red when viewed through a microscope—a breakthrough method of genetic manipulation developed in Kronauer's lab by researcher Taylor Hart. These pairs were the only animals in their colonies to glow.

Using linked-read genetic sequencing—which allows the reconstruction of whole chromosome sequences—they found that no genetic diversity was lost from mother to daughter. However, the daughter's genomes showed evidence of crossovers. In all, they documented 144 crossover events, and only one showed a loss of genetic diversity.

That's because the chromosomes that have recombined with each other are always inherited together. This co-inheritance could explain how this species continues to survive. In clonal raider ants, it's 800% more likely to occur than would be expected from a random roll of the genetic dice.

This strategy for retaining genetic diversity has never been documented before. Its existence suggests there may be more ways to get around random genetic inheritance than we knew. One well-known deviation from random inheritance, for example, is when "selfish" genes promote their own propagation over other genes, essentially rigging the game in their favor.

But this deviation can't account for clonal raider ant reproduction, which is "unselfish" because no gene has an advantage; all gene copies are co-inherited. Whether this strategy of unselfish inheritance occurs in other animals—including sexually reproducing species—is unknown.

This finding highlights the usefulness of studying species with unusual reproductive biology.

Kip D. Lacy et al, Co-inheritance of recombined chromatids maintains heterozygosity in a parthenogenetic ant, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02455-z

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 8:43am

Asexual reproduction usually leads to a lack of genetic diversity. Not for these ants

Genetic diversity is essential to the survival of a species. It's easy enough to maintain if a species reproduces sexually; an egg and a sperm combine genetic material from two creatures into one, forming a genomically robust offspring with two distinct versions of the species' genome.

Without that combination of different genetic makeups, asexually reproducing species typically suffer from a lack of diversity that can doom them to a limited run on Earth. One such animal should be the clonal raider ant, which produces daughter after genetically identical daughter directly from an unfertilized ovum through parthenogenesis, a method of asexual reproduction in which the offspring inherits two sets of genetically identical chromosomes from its mother.

Over time, the random inheritance of these chromosomes on endless repeat should lead to catastrophic loss of genetic distinctiveness and eventual species collapse. And yet this blind, queenless insect—a native of Bangladesh that is now found in tropical settings around the world—seems to be surviving just fine. How is that possible?

As researchers at Rockefeller University recently discovered, the clonal raider ant doesn't gamble when it comes to passing along its genes. Instead, it ensures that offspring inherit two distinct versions of its entire genome, largely preserving the genetic diversity present in the ancient founder of each clonal line.

In theory, this shouldn't work: Chromosomes are thought to randomly shuffle during meiosis, the type of cell division used to produce sperm and egg cells during reproduction in all animals, plants, and fungi. Yet in this animal, the process seems to be anything but random, as they reported in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Yes, clonal raider ants are avoiding the loss of genetic diversity that otherwise routinely results from parthenogenesis. Maybe this diversity enables the survival of the species.

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