Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 12:29pm

Science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside its domain value judgments of all kinds remain 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 12:07pm

Einstein stood on the shoulders of giants In The Einsteinian Revolution, two eminent experts on Einstein’s life and his theory of relativity — physicist Hanoch Gutfreund and historian of science Jürgen Renn — offer an original and penetrating analysis of Einstein’s unparalleled contributions. “The book is much more than another product of the Einstein industry,” writes historian Helge Kragh. “By setting his work in the long arc of the evolution of scientific knowledge, Gutfreund and Renn dispel the popular myth of Einstein as an unconventional scientific genius who single-handedly created modern physics from scratch — and by pure thought alone.” Nature

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 12:06pm

How chronic stress harms the gut

Researchers have revealed one of the mind-body connections that links stress to gastrointestinal flare-ups. In mice, Lactobacillus bacteria  which naturally occur in the gut and proliferate under stressful conditions produce a chemical that disrupts teh production of  intestine-protecting cells. The team also found elevated levels of Lactobacillus, and the harmful chemical, in the faeces of people with depression. When we suffer from stress, our gut microbiome is also suffering from stress. 

Nature
 Cell Metabolism 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 11:47am

Why coffee beans taste different

Differences in the flavours of Arabica coffee varieties aren’t because of variations in individual genes. Rather, they seem to be mainly the result of wholesale swapping, deletion and rearrangement.... The most complete sequencing yet of Coffea arabica’s genome reveals that the levels of single-‘letter’ variations in the plant’s DNA “are anywhere from 10 to 100 times lower than any other species”, says plant geneticist and study co-author Michele Morgante.

Nature
 Nature Communications paper

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 11:43am

Researchers observe tiny pseudoscorpion riding on a scorpion

Researchers recently  documented the first observation of phoresy involving a myrmecophile pseudo-scorpion on a myrmecophile scorpion.

Phoresy, a well-established phenomenon among pseudoscorpions, involves their attachment to hosts for dispersal into new environments. Documented instances of phoresy include pseudoscorpions attaching themselves to various hosts, ranging from mammals and birds to different insect orders and even other arachnids.

The study focused on pseudoscorpions belonging to an endemic Withiidae species, Nannowithius wahrmani, observed clinging onto the endemic scorpion species Birulatus israelensis in Israel. The research paper, titled "Hitching a ride on a scorpion: the first record of phoresy of a myrmecophile pseudoscorpion on a myrmecophile scorpion," is published in Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters.

Sharon Warburg et al, Hitching a ride on a scorpion: the first record of phoresy of a myrmecophile pseudoscorpion on a myrmecophile scorpion, Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters (2024). DOI: 10.30963/aramit6605

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 10:05am

Co-stimulatory signaling domains have been added to newer generations of CAR T cells to improve their ability to produce more T cells after infusion and survive longer in the circulation.

Credit: Brentjens R, et al. “Driving CAR T cells forward.” Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2016 13, 370–383.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 10:04am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 10:03am

Difference between T cells and CAR T cells

CAR T cells are made by collecting T cells from the patient and re-engineering them in the laboratory to produce proteins on their surface called chimeric antigen receptors, or CARs. The CARs recognize and bind to specific proteins, or antigens, on the surface of cancer cells.

These receptors are synthetic molecules, they don't exist naturally.

After the revamped T cells are “expanded” into the millions in the laboratory, they’re then infused back into the patient. If all goes as planned, the CAR T cells will continue to multiply in the patient's body and, with guidance from their engineered receptor, recognize and kill any cancer cells that harbor the target antigen on their surfaces.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/research/car-t-cells#....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 9:55am

With modification, CAR T cells can attack senescent cells, leading to slower aging in mice

Researchers have discovered that T cells can be reprogrammed to fight aging, so to speak. Given the right set of genetic modifications, these white blood cells can attack another group of cells known as senescent cells. These cells are thought to be responsible for many of the diseases we grapple with later in life.

Senescent cells are those that stop replicating. As we age, they build up in our bodies, resulting in harmful inflammation. While several drugs currently exist that can eliminate these cells, many must be taken repeatedly over time.
As an alternative, scientists turned to a "living" drug called CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T cells. They discovered CAR T cells could be manipulated to eliminate senescent cells in mice. As a result, the mice ended up living healthier lives. They had lower body weight, improved metabolism and glucose tolerance, and increased physical activity. All benefits came without any tissue damage or toxicity.
If we give it to aged mice, they rejuvenate. If we give it to young mice, they age slower. No other therapy right now can do this.
Perhaps the greatest power of CAR T cells is their longevity. The team found that just one dose at a young age can have lifelong effects. That single treatment can protect against conditions that commonly occur later in life, like obesity and diabetes.
T cells have the ability to develop memory and persist in your body for really long periods, which is very different from a chemical drug. With CAR T cells, you have the potential of getting this one treatment, and then that's it. For chronic pathologies, that's a huge advantage. Think about patients who need treatment multiple times per day versus you get an infusion, and then you're good to go for multiple years.
CAR T cells have been used to treat a variety of blood cancers, receiving FDA approval for this purpose in 2017. But this team is one of the first scientists to show that CAR T cells' medical potential goes even further than cancer.

Nature Aging (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-023-00560-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2024 at 9:50am

So they turned to the concept of high-entropy design to come up with a porous ceramic material that achieved a good balance between strength and heat resistance without the usual downsides.

High-entropy design focuses on the use of equal measures of multiple elements that can be used to create stronger, more heat-resistant and more stable components.

The researchers developed a material that achieved the demanding insulation and weight criteria for aerospace flight. Their new ceramic creation, which goes by the unassuming name 9PHEB—9-cation porous high-entropy diboride—provides "exceptional thermal stability" and "ultrahigh compressive strength," the researchers said.

"High-quality interfaces, characterized by strong bonding without defects or amorphous phases, can promote the rapid force transfer along the building block and to many other ones through connections upon loading, leading to a significant enhancement of mechanical strength," the report said.

 Zihao Wen et al, Ultrastrong and High Thermal Insulating Porous High‐Entropy Ceramics up to 2000 °C, Advanced Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202311870

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