Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 17, 2022 at 7:20am

Getting bacteria and yeast to talk to each other, thanks to a 'nanotranslator'

Cells communicate with one another in the language of chemistry, but those from different kingdoms, such as bacteria and yeast, speak dialects virtually unintelligible to the other. By learning how microbes "talk," researchers hope to one day manipulate their behavior to protect against disease, for example. Efforts like this are in their infancy, but in a new study in ACS' Nano Letters, researchers describe the first system that enables two unrelated organisms to communicate.

In nature, many cells send and receive chemical signals. This strategy allows bacteria to regulate their behavior, fungi to mate and human cells to notify each other of threats. This type of chemical communication has inspired researchers to devise their own means to join these conversations so they can give cells instructions. While some studies have examined micro- or nano-scale particles that communicate with one type of cell, the use of particles to enable communication between two different types of cells has not been explored. Antoni Llopis-Lorente, Ramón Martínez-Máñez and colleagues wanted to create a nano-scale translating device so they could send a chemical signal between members of two different kingdoms of life—something that rarely happens in the natural world.

The team built the nanotranslator from silica nanoparticles loaded with two molecules: one that reacts with glucose, and another molecule called phleomycin. The signaling system they constructed had two steps, which they tested independently then put together. First, the researchers initiated a signal by exposing E. coli to lactose. The bacteria converted the lactose into glucose, which reacted with the nanotranslator. Next, this device released phleomycin, another messenger compound. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae detected the phleomycin and responded by fluorescing, something they had been genetically engineered to do. The researchers envision many possible applications for similar nanotranslator-based communication systems. For example, these devices could be used to tell cells to turn off certain processes and to switch on others, or to alter the activity of human immune cells to treat disease, the researchers say.

Beatriz de Luis et al, Nanoprogrammed Cross-Kingdom Communication Between Living Microorganisms Nano Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02435. doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02435

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-bacteria-yeast-nanotranslator.html?ut...

**

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 16, 2022 at 6:38am

The blood samples were collected on two occasions, at three to five months after SARS-CoV-2 infection and after 12 months. At three to five months, around 16 percent reported persistent mild symptoms while the rest were symptom-free. At 12 months, none reported persistent symptoms and there was no longer any difference in inflammatory markers between those with previous COVID-19 infection and the healthy control group.

 Mild COVID-19 imprints a long-term inflammatory eicosanoid- and chemokine memory in monocyte-derived macrophages, Mucosal Immunology, online March 15, 2022, DOI: 10.1038/s41385-021-00482-8

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-elevated-inflammation-persis...

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 16, 2022 at 6:38am

Long Covid: Elevated inflammation persists in immune cells months after mild COVID-19

There is a lack of understanding as to why some people suffer from long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19 infection. Long-term symptoms are relatively common after severe COVID-19 infection but may also affect some individuals with previous mild disease. A new study now demonstrates that a certain type of immune cells called macrophages show altered inflammatory and metabolic expression several months after mild COVID-19. The findings are published in the journal Mucosal Immunology.

The macrophages from people with mild COVID-19 exhibit an altered inflammatory and metabolic expression for three to five months post-infection. Even though the majority of these people don't have any persistent symptoms, their immune system 's more sensitive than that of their healthy counterparts.

To examine this aspect, the researchers in the current study analyzed blood samples from 68 people with previous mild COVID-19 infection and a control group of 36 people who had not had COVID-19.

The researchers isolated the macrophages in the laboratory and stimulated them with spike protein, steroids, and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a molecule that triggers the immune system. The cells were then RNA-sequenced to measure active genes. The researchers also measured the presence of eicosanoid signaling molecules, which are a fundamental feature of inflammation.

It is not surprising to find a large number of eicosanoid molecules in people with COVID-19 as the disease causes inflammation, but it was surprising that they were still being produced in high quantities several months after the infection, according to the researchers.

The study also showed a higher concentration of leukotrienes, which are a type of pro-inflammatory molecules known for causing asthma. It's very striking that the concentration of leukotrienes remains elevated in macrophages in people who have had mild COVID-19.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 15, 2022 at 6:43am

Is sunscreen bad for coral reefs?

Lathering up with sunscreen before enjoying a cooling dip can lead to harmful chemicals getting washed out to sea.

Over the last decade, scientific studies have shed light on the toxic effects that many widely-used sunscreen ingredients can have on coral reefs. To date, this research has focused mostly on how chemical UV filters, such as oxybenzone, can lead to coral bleaching and disrupt coral reproduction. As a result, some countries have banned these ingredients. But scientists caution that there is still a lot we don’t know.

Many products using mineral rather than chemical filters are now marketed as ‘reef-friendly’, but these alternative ingredients haven’t undergone proper scrutiny, and the wider impacts of sunscreen components on marine and freshwater environments are still largely unknown.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/is-sunscreen-bad-for-coral-reef...

--

Could you protect astronauts from cosmic radiation by creating a magnetic field around their spaceship?

Dangerous energetic particles emitted by the Sun are mostly deflected by the Earth’s protective magnetic bubble, called the magnetosphere, or absorbed by the atmosphere. Astronauts outside this relatively safe environment, on the Moon or Mars, for example, would require some other means of protection if they are to avoid the harmful effects of this radiation.

It has been demonstrated that a 1 Tesla magnet (similar to the strength of magnets in an MRI machine) would be able to provide a magnetic shield about 100-200m across. This is technically feasible and would be capable of deflecting the majority of harmful solar particles.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/could-a-magnetic-field-protect-a...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 15, 2022 at 6:30am

Hot springs reveal where continental plates collide beneath Tibet

In the classic example of mountain-building, the Indian and Asian continental plates crashed—and continue colliding today—to form the world's largest and highest geologic structures: the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau.

Despite the importance of these formations, which influence the global climate through atmospheric circulation and seasonal monsoons, experts have proposed contradicting theories about how tectonic plates below the surface created the iconic behemoths. Now, using geochemical data from 225 hot springs, scientists have mapped the boundary between the Indian and Asian continental plates, shedding light on processes occurring deep below the surface. The findings, which have implications for mineral formation, appear in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Limited underthrusting of India below Tibet: He/He analysis of thermal springs locates the mantle suture in continental collision, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2113877119.

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-hot-reveal-continental-plates-collide...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 15, 2022 at 6:20am

Spider silk could stabilize cancer-suppressing protein

You know the relationship between crab and the cancer. But do you know how spider and cancer are related now?

The p53 protein protects our cells from cancer and is an interesting target for cancer treatments. The problem is, however, that it breaks down rapidly in the cell. Researchers  have now found an unusual way of stabilizing the protein and making it more potent. By adding a spider silk protein to p53, they show that it is possible to create a protein that is more stable and capable of killing cancer cells. The study is published in the journal Structure.

p53 plays a key role in the body's defense against cancer, in part by discovering and preventing genetic mutations that can lead to cancer. If a cell is lacking functional p53, it quickly becomes a cancer cell that starts to divide uncontrollably. Researchers around the world are therefore trying to develop cancer treatments that in some way target p53.

The problem is that cells only make small amounts of p53 and then quickly break it down as it is a very large and disordered protein. 

Researchers have been inspired by how nature creates stable proteins and have used spider silk protein to stabilize p53. Spider silk consists of long chains of highly stable proteins, and is one of nature's strongest polymers.

The researchers attached a small section of a synthetic spider silk protein onto the human p53 protein. When they then introduced it into cells, they found that the cells started to produce it in large quantities. The new protein also proved to be more stable than ordinary p53 and capable of killing cancer cells. Using electron microscopy, computer simulations, and mass spectrometry, they were able to show that the likely reason for this was the way the spider silk part managed to give structure to p53's disordered sections.

The researchers now plan to study the protein's structure in detail and how its different parts interact to prevent cancer. They also hope to find out how the cells are affected by the new potent p53 protein and how well they tolerate its spider-silk component. Creating a more stable variant of p53 in cells is a promising approach to cancer therapy, and now we have a tool for this that's worth exploring.

 Michael Landreh, A 'spindle and thread'-mechanism unblocks p53 translation by modulating N-terminal disorder, Structure (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2022.02.013. www.cell.com/structure/fulltex … 0969-2126(22)00049-1

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-spider-silk-stabilize-cancer-suppress...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 14, 2022 at 8:56am

Physicists show how frequencies can easily be multiplied without special circuitry

Digital technologies and devices are  responsible for about ten percent of global electricity consumption, and the trend is rising sharply. It is therefore necessary to develop more efficient components for information processing.

A new discovery by physicists could make certain components in computers and smartphones obsolete. The team has succeeded in directly converting frequencies to higher ranges in a common magnetic material without the need for additional components. Frequency multiplication is a fundamental process in modern electronics. The team reports on its research in the latest issue of Science.

Non-linear electronic circuits are typically used to generate the high-frequency gigahertz signals needed to operate today's devices. The research team has now found a way to do this within a magnetic material without the electronic components that are usually used for this. Instead, the magnetization is excited by a low-frequency megahertz source. Using the newly discovered effect, the source generates several frequency components, each of which is a multiple of the excitation frequency. These cover a range of six octaves and reach up to several gigahertz. 

The discovery could also help make digital technologies more energy efficient in the future. 

Chris Koerner, Rouven Dreyer, Martin Wagener, Niklas Liebing, Hans G. Bauer, Georg Woltersdorf. Frequency multiplication by collective nanoscale spin-wave dynamics. Science, 2022; 375 (6585): 1165 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm6044

https://researchnews.cc/news/12096/Physicists-show-how-frequencies-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 13, 2022 at 2:39pm

Baby Receives Heart Transplant With a Life-Changing Twist to Counter Organ Rejection

A baby in North Carolina has received a first-of-its-kind heart transplant that may prevent his body from rejecting the organ without the need for lifelong drugs to suppress the immune system. The child, Easton Sinnamon, is the first person to receive a heart transplant along with implantation of thymus tissue from the same donor, according to a statement from Duke University, where the procedure was performed. Because the thymus plays an important role in immune system function – in particular, teaching the body to recognize its own cells and tissues versus foreign invaders – it's possible that this combination transplant could allow the child's body to accept the new heart as part of itself instead of treating it as a foreign organ.

Much more research is needed to see if this combination transplant allows Easton to live without immunosuppressive drugs – which are typically necessary in transplant patients to stop the body from rejecting the organ — as well as whether it could work for other transplant recipients.

If the approach proves successful, it could potentially "be applied to all solid organs down the road

Novel Procedure Could Change Future of Transplant

Tests taken 172 days after the transplant show that the thymus tissue is working to produce immune cells known as T-cells in Easton's body, according to Duke University.

Although Easton is currently taking immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection, his doctors will attempt to taper him off the drugs in the next few months to see if his body treats the new organ as "self."

https://www.livescience.com/infant-heart-thymus-transplant

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 13, 2022 at 12:49pm

Bioengineers  tackle ovarian and colorectal cancer with disease-fighting implants

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on March 12, 2022 at 11:59am

Study: Cancer drugs might be able to target tuberculosis

An unexpected link between tuberculosis and cancer may lead to new drug treatments for the bacterial disease that kills more than 1.5 million people each year, according to a study led by researchers .

The study found that lesions called granulomas in the lungs of people with active tuberculosis infections are packed with proteins known to tamp down the body's immune response to cancer cells or infection. Some types of cancer drugs target these immunosuppressive proteins. Because these medications are widely used in cancer patients, the researchers expect that clinical trials can be launched quickly to test whether they can combat tuberculosis infection.

The study suggests that unless you address the presence of these immunosuppressive proteins, you're not going to get an effective recruitment of the immune system to fight the bacteria.

Erin F. McCaffrey et al, The immunoregulatory landscape of human tuberculosis granulomas, Nature Immunology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41590-021-01121-x

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-cancer-drugs-tuberculosis.ht...

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 286
• 287
• 288
• 289
• 290
• …
• 855
• Next ›
• Page