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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 19, 2023 at 11:43am

For The First Time, an Eerie Green Glow Has Been Detected in The Night Sky of Mars

For the first time, a soft green glow has been detected in the night sky of Mars that we'd be able to see with our human eyes.

As it orbits Mars, the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission has spotted the Martian night sky glowing in light in the optical spectrum.

And the light is so bright in the polar regions that human explorers might even be able to use it to see, if the night is clear of clouds. These observations are unexpected and interesting for future trips to the Red Planet.

Actually, nightglow is a relatively common phenomenon in the atmospheres of the Solar System. A number of things can cause our atmosphere to emit its own light at night, but few things more than our own Sun. During the day, sunlight splits apart molecules in a process called photodissociation. However, on the night side of the atmosphere, away from the harsh radiation of the Sun, the loose atoms can recombine into molecules, releasing their excess energy as photons as they do so.

Here on Earth, the nightglow is visible from space as layers of green, golden, and even reddish light, depending on the molecules involved.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 10:51am

No evidence for widespread transmission of viruses by African bats, says study

The scientific community and the public alike have often been presented with portrayals of bats as carriers of numerous dangerous viruses that are passed onto humans. In a paper published in Biology Letters, an international team of biologists, virologists and conservationists challenge this narrative surrounding bats.

Contrary to widely held beliefs, this comprehensive review of published studies finds no evidence, outside of Marburg and Sosuga virus, that African bat species serve as reservoirs or bridging hosts for viruses that spillover to humans and cause significant disease.

The research team,  examined the available literature, specifically focusing on viruses detected in bats in Africa. They meticulously reviewed 162 papers published between 1978 and 2020 and, based on data from more than 80,000 individual bats from 167 bat species, did not find substantial evidence that any bat species, other than the Egyptian rousette, plays a central role in the transmission of viruses to humans in this region.

The researchers found no evidence to support the prevailing narrative that bats harbour viruses that are transmitted to humans. On the contrary, their findings reveal only two bat-virus systems in which transmission is clearly documented.

The findings highlight the need for a more nuanced and informed approach to public discourse surrounding the role of wildlife in disease emergence." The authors thus propose a scheme to aid standardized evaluation of virus hosts in the future and call for greater interdisciplinary collaborations in bat-virus studies.

The researchers also state that instead of broadly stating bats harbour the Marburg virus, it is more accurate to specify that the Egyptian rousette, a specific bat species, hosts the Marburg virus. This phrasing preserves accuracy and avoids incorrectly associating all bat species with the Marburg virus.

This  will contribute to a more accurate understanding of the complex dynamics between wildlife, particularly bats, and human health.

Their study also raises concerns about the impact of reiterated research communication linking bats and viruses, based on missing evidence, on the public perception of bats, as well as human-bat conflicts and bat conservation efforts. Fear and active prosecution of bats are increasing dramatically and it is likely that populations are declining.

 Careful and scientifically sound communication of results as well as balancing potential risks against benefits will be crucial to allow humans and bats to live side by side in our changing world. The implications of this research extend beyond Africa, encouraging a more thoughtful and evidence-based approach to the study of zoonotic diseases worldwide.

 Natalie Weber et al, Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats, Biology Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0358

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 9:43am

Researchers found that nanoparticles of the plastic polystyrene—typically found in single use items such as disposable drinking cups and cutlery—attract the accumulation of the protein known as alpha-synuclein.

The study's most surprising findings are the tight bonds formed between the plastic and the protein within the area of the neuron where these accumulations are congregating, the lysosome.

Researchers said the plastic-protein accumulations happened across three different models performed in the study—in test tubes, cultured neurons, and mouse models of Parkinson's disease. The questions remain about how such interactions might be happening within humans and whether the type of  plastic might play a role.

While microplastic and nanoplastic contaminants are being closely evaluated for their potential impact in cancer and autoimmune diseases, the striking nature of the interactions the researchers could observe in their models suggest a need for evaluating increasing nanoplastic contaminants on Parkinson's disease and dementia risk and progression.

Zhiyong Liu et al, Anionic nanoplastic contaminants promote Parkinson's disease–associated α-synuclein aggregation, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi8716. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi8716

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 9:41am

Nanoplastics promote conditions for Parkinson's across various lab models, study shows

Nanoplastics interact with a particular protein that is naturally found in the brain, creating changes linked to Parkinson's disease and some types of dementia.

In a study appearing Nov. 17 in Science Advances,  researchers report that the findings create a foundation for a new area of investigation, fueled by the timely impact of environmental factors on human biology.

Parkinson's disease has been called the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world. Numerous lines of data suggest environmental factors might play a prominent role in Parkinson's disease, but such factors have for the most part not been identified till now.

Improperly disposed plastics have been shown to break into very small pieces and accumulate in water and food supplies, and were found in the blood of most adults in a recent study.

This new study suggests that the emergence of micro and nanoplastics in the environment might represent a new toxin challenge with respect to Parkinson's disease risk and progression. This is especially concerning given the predicted increase in concentrations of these contaminants in our water and food supplies.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 9:35am

To kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes efficiently, just add soap!

Could the solution to the decades-long battle against malaria be as simple as soap? In a new study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, scientists  have made a compelling case for it.

A research team has found that adding small quantities of liquid soap to some classes of pesticides can boost their potency by more than 10-fold. The discovery is promising news as malaria-carrying mosquitoes display an increasing resistance to current insecticides.

Both laboratory tests and field trials have shown that neonicotinoids, a special class of insecticide, are a promising alternative to target populations showing resistance to existing insecticides. Neonicotinoids, however, do not kill some mosquito species unless their potency is boosted. In this case, the researchers say, soap is the boosting substance.

Colince Kamdem et al, Vegetable oil-based surfactants are adjuvants that enhance the efficacy of neonicotinoid insecticides and can bias susceptibility testing in adult mosquitoes, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (2023).

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 7:52am

In this new study,  the researchers addressed whether they could similarly use heat to shift the charge and generate electricity. They edited the genetic code of the viruses to include a specific protein sequence that is attracted to nickel. This way, the viruses would bind to and stand straight up on a thin nickel-coated plate, like a city block of skyscrapers. Then, they blasted these viral cities with heat, either with fire or a laser. As the proteins melted and unfolded, the proteins’ charges became unbalanced, generating voltage. The heat induced a polarization change, and the polarization change induced the electric potential.

Although the naturally occurring helical protein produces some pyroelectricity, the researchers wanted to see if they could give the molecule some added spark. To do this, they genetically altered the bacteriophage to add a string of glutamate, a negatively charged building block of proteins, into the outside of the coat protein.^1,4 When the researchers turned up the heat, the added glutamate amplified the polarization change, more than doubling the pyroelectricity of the normal protein.

“The very fact that they can genetically mutate the virus and make them pyroelectric—it's fascinating work, according to some physicists.

To demonstrate the practical applications of their supercharged virus, the research team generated electrical signatures that flag the presence of hazardous chemicals. To do this, they engineered the protein coat to bind xylene. Then when they heat blasted the bacteriophages, the proteins shapeshifted and produced more electricity. By detecting this difference in electricity, the authors say that the viruses could act as biosensors for harmful gases. 

1. Kim H, et al. Virus-based pyroelectricity. Adv Mater. 2023;35(46):e2305503.
2. Piccolino M. Luigi Galvani and animal electricity: Two centuries after the found.... Trends Neurosci. 1997;20(10):443-448.
3. Lee BY, et al. Virus-based piezoelectric energy generation. Nat Nanotechnol. 2012;7(6):351-356.
4. Lee JH, et al. Vertical self-assembly of polarized phage nanostructure for energy .... Nano Lett. 2019;19(4):2661-2667.

part2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 7:47am

A Virus that Generates Electricity 

Melting a bacteriophage’s coat of proteins turns it into a tiny power plant, which could fire up the discovery of new bioengineered devices.

Our bodies are alive with electrical signals that allow us to contract muscles and sense the world. The complex brain orchestrates these processes, but it turns out that even simpler biological entities generate electricity. In a new study published in Advanced Materials, researchers reported that a bioengineered virus generated electricity when exposed to heat, a phenomenon known as pyroelectricity. By working with viruses, the researchers hope to better understand bioelectricity in the human body and apply this knowledge to power novel biomaterials.

The M13 bacteriophage, a rod-shaped virus that infects bacteria, is adorned in a molecular coat, woven from nearly 3,000 copies of a helical protein. The protein is positively charged on the inside and negatively charged on the outside, but the arrangement of the thick protein coat balances out the charges. 

Over a decade ago, a research team put the squeeze on the coat proteins, which caused the bacteriophage to exhibit piezoelectricity—the ability to transform mechanical force into electricity.  When the researchers applied pressure to the viruses, the coat proteins changed shape, breaking the charge symmetry and becoming polarized, which generated an electric field and induced a current.

part1  

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 18, 2023 at 7:33am

What happens when AI eats itself?

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 17, 2023 at 12:29pm

Light, not just heat, might spur water to evaporate

If real, the effect might be occurring naturally all over the world

Green light means “go.” That might apply to evaporating water molecules too.

Visible light, especially that of a greenish hue, might spur water to evaporate, researchers report in the Nov. 7 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In experiments, water evaporating under visible light showed a higher evaporation rate than possible based on heat alone.

Coupled with other observations, they say, the finding suggests that when light shines on water, individual particles of light, or photons, can sever the bonds that connect water molecules, releasing clusters of molecules into the air.

In the new study, the researchers shone light on water contained in porous hydrogels, materials that greedily sop up water. The proposed effect occurs where air meets water, and the hydrogels the researchers studied contain innumerable crannies where the two meet, allowing the water to be cleaved off and escape. In some cases, the evaporation rate was more than double the expectation based on heat. What’s more, the evaporation rate varied with the wavelength of the light. Green light produced the highest evaporation rate.

Y. Tu et al. Plausible photomolecular effect leading to water evaporation exceed.... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 120, November 7, 2023, e2312751120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2312751120.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 17, 2023 at 11:27am

They used social marketing—a process that focuses on changing behavior to improve health using strategies from the commercial marketing world—to create a faster, more cost-effective plan to directly educate the people responsible for the manufacturing and repairing of the pumps.

The researchers worked with local staff to build the capacity and skill set of technicians, while overseeing and facilitating work on the pumps to ensure they understood how to remove and replace the leaded pump components. Additionally, to understand the impact of this intervention, they worked with local health practitioners to measure blood lead levels of small children who drank water from the pumps before and after the leaded pump components were replaced.

Of the 55 children tested, 87 percent experienced a significant decrease in blood lead levels once leaded components were removed from the pumps.

Adaline M. Buerck et al, Reductions in Children's Blood Lead Levels from a Drinking-Water Intervention in Madagascar, Sub-Saharan Africa, Environmental Science & Technology (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c03774

Part 2

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