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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 1, 2023 at 11:51am

A mineral produced by plate tectonics has a global cooling effect, study finds

Geologists have found that a clay mineral on the seafloor, called smectite, has a surprisingly powerful ability to sequester carbon over millions of years.

Under a microscope, a single grain of the clay resembles the folds of an accordion. These folds are known to be effective traps for organic carbon. 

Now, the researchers have shown that the carbon-trapping clays are a product of plate tectonics: When oceanic crust crushes against a continental plate, it can bring rocks to the surface that, over time, can weather into minerals including smectite. Eventually, the clay sediment settles back in the ocean, where the minerals trap bits of dead organisms in their microscopic folds. This keeps the organic carbon from being consumed by microbes and expelled back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Over millions of years, smectite can have a global effect, helping to cool the entire planet. Through a series of analyses, the researchers showed that smectite was likely produced after several major tectonic events over the last 500 million years. During each tectonic event, the clays trapped enough carbon to cool the Earth and induce the subsequent ice age.

The findings are the first to show that plate tectonics can trigger ice ages through the production of carbon-trapping smectite.

"Palaeozoic cooling modulated by ophiolite weathering through organic carbon preservation", Nature Geoscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01342-9

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 30, 2023 at 1:08pm

Reducing fatal bird collisions

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 30, 2023 at 11:17am

Nanodiamonds can block tumor metastasis in mice, study shows

Nanodiamonds are 2–8 nm carbon nanoparticles, which can be easily functionalized with various chemical groups like carboxylic groups or drugs. Previous research has shown that actively dividing cells are more likely to absorb nanodiamonds and that epithelial cells treated with carboxylic nanodiamonds lose the ability to migrate across cell-permeable cellulose membranes.

Researchers explored whether nanodiamonds might block tumor metastasis, a process that requires cell migration to new areas. The research is published in the journal PNAS Nexus. 

The authors treated B16F10 melanoma cells with carboxylic nanodiamonds in culture and tested their ability to migrate and invade across polycarbonate membranes with 8-µm pores. The authors found that the nanodiamonds blocked the ability of melanoma cells to migrate, while untreated tumor cells were able to pass through the membrane.

Based on gene expression evidence, the authors hypothesize that the tiny carbon nanodiamonds may inhibit the breaking away of cancer cells from the primary tumor mass—as well as block subsequent steps of metastasis such as the physical movement of cells and their ability to enter blood vessels.

According to the authors, nanodiamonds should be further explored as a possible therapeutic agent for cancer metastasis.

 Sushreesangita P Behera et al, Carboxyl nanodiamonds inhibit melanoma tumor metastases by blocking cellular motility and invasiveness, PNAS Nexus (2023). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad359

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 30, 2023 at 11:12am

Scientists discover rare six-planet system that moves in strange synchrony

Scientists have discovered a rare sight in a nearby star system: Six planets orbiting their central star in a rhythmic beat. The planets move in an orbital waltz that repeats itself so precisely that it can be readily set to music.

A rare case of an "in sync" gravitational lockstep, the system could offer deep insight into planet formationand evolution.

The analysis, led by UChicago scientist Rafael Luque, was published Nov. 29 in Nature.

The six planets orbit a star known as HD110067, which lies around 100 light-years away in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices.

In 2020, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) detected dips in the star's brightness that indicated planets were passing in front of the star's surface. Combining data from both TESS and the European Space Agency's CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops), a team of researchers analyzed the data and discovered a first-of-its-kind configuration.

While multi-planet systems are common in our galaxy, those in a tight gravitational formation known as "resonance" are observed by astronomers far less often.

In this case, the planet closest to the star makes three orbits for every two of the next planet out—called a 3/2 resonance—a pattern that is repeated among the four closest planets. Among the outermost planets, a pattern of four orbits for every three of the next planet out (a 4/3 resonance) is repeated twice.

And these resonant orbits are rock-solid: The planets likely have been performing this same rhythmic dance since the system formed billions of years ago, the scientists said.

Orbitally resonant systems are extremely important to find because they tell astronomers about the formation and subsequent evolution of the planetary system. Planets around stars tend to form in resonance but can be easily perturbed. For example, a very massive planet, a close encounter with a passing star, or a giant impact event can all disrupt the careful balance.

As a result, many of the multi-planet systems known to astronomers are not in resonance but look close enough that they could have been resonant once. However, multi-planet systems preserving their resonance are rare.

Rafael Luque, A resonant sextuplet of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright star HD 110067, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06692-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06692-3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 29, 2023 at 12:48pm

Meta AI develops a non-invasive method to decode speech from brain activity

Recent technological advancements have opened invaluable opportunities for assisting people who are experiencing impairments or disabilities. For instance, they have enabled the creation of tools to support physical rehabilitation, to practice social skills, and to provide daily assistance with specific tasks.

Recent technological advancements have opened invaluable opportunities for assisting people who are experiencing impairments or disabilities. For instance, they have enabled the creation of tools to support physical rehabilitation, to practice social skills, and to provide daily assistance with specific tasks. Researchers at Meta AI recently developed a promising and non-invasive method to decode speech from a person's brain activity, which could allow people who are unable to speak to relay their thoughts via a computer interface. Their proposed method, presented in Nature Machine Intelligence, merges the use of an imaging technique and machine learning.

Alexandre Défossez et al, Decoding speech perception from non-invasive brain recordings, Nature Machine Intelligence (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-023-00714-5.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2023 at 12:22pm

How to make waves eat themselves
Physicists have demonstrated that two cavities carved into the side of a channel can totally dissipate the energy of incoming waves. In a model set-up with real water, researchers were able to achieve ‘perfect absorption’ — in which the waves completely cancelled themselves out as they bounced off the cavity walls — with waves of a frequency of 2.9 Hertz. The finding hints at the possibility of designing structures to protect coastlines or harvest wave energy.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.204002

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2023 at 12:21pm

Chocolate discharges the same chemical in your body as when you feel love.
Chocolate raises levels of phenylethylamine (PEA), “the love chemical”. This chemical gets our hearts pumping, increases blood pressure, heart, and respiratory rates, and increases feelings of joy
Chocolate releases this neurochemical of pleasure in our brains. Dopamine kick starts a brain messenger chemical called DARP-32 that activates hormones. This is the chemical that surges through us when we are embraced by someone we love.
Chocolate contains tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin. Serotonin is our other feel good chemical. It diminishes anxiety and increases our ability to fight stress. Many antidepressants work by increasing serotonin levels.
So those who are not in love go eat chocolates and be happy.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2023 at 10:41am

Worrying about the present and future of our warming planet has also provoked rising anxiety, depression and even post-traumatic stress—particularly for people already struggling with these disorders, psychologists have warned.

In the first 10 months of the year, people searched online for the term "climate anxiety" 27 times more than during the same period in 2017, according to data from Google Trends cited by the BBC this week.

Source: 

The Lancet and AFP

Part 4

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2023 at 10:40am

Almost 99 percent of the world's population breathes air that exceeds the WHO's guidelines for air pollution.

Outdoor air pollution driven by fossil fuel emissions kills more than four million people every year, according to the WHO.

It increases the risk of respiratory diseases, strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes and other health problems, posing a threat that has been compared to tobacco.

The damage is caused partly by PM2.5 microparticles, which are mostly from fossil fuels. People breathe these tiny particles into their lungs, where they can then enter the bloodstream.

While spikes in air pollution, such as extremes seen in India's capital New Delhi earlier this month, trigger respiratory problems and allergies, long-term exposure is believed to be even more harmful.

The changing climate means that mosquitoes, birds and mammals will roam beyond their previous habitats, raising the threat that they could spread infectious diseases with them.

Mosquito-borne diseases that pose a greater risk of spreading due to climate change include dengue, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile virus and malaria.

The transmission potential for dengue alone will increase by 36 percent with 2°C warming, The Lancet Countdown report warned.

Storms and floods create stagnant water that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and also increase the risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhea.

Scientists also fear that mammals straying into new areas could share diseases with each other, potentially creating new viruses that could then jump over to humans.

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2023 at 10:38am

Heat is believed to have caused more than 70,000 deaths in Europe during summer last year, researchers said this week, revising the previous number up from 62,000.

Worldwide, people were exposed to an average of 86 days of life-threatening temperatures last year, according to The Lancet Countdown report earlier this week.

The number of people over 65 who died from heat rose by 85 percent from 1991-2000 to 2013-2022, it added.

And by 2050, more than five times more people will die from the heat each year under a 2°C warming scenario, The Lancet Countdown projected.

More droughts will also drive rising hunger. Under the scenario of 2°C warming by the end of the century, 520 million more people will experience moderate or severe food insecurity by 2050.

Meanwhile, other extreme weather events such as storms, floods and fires will continue to threaten the health of people across the world.

Part 2

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