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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 12:34pm

In a 2019 literature review, another set of researchers concluded that "collectively, experimental findings indicate that the connection between oral health and cognition cannot be underestimated".

This growing body of research has huge implications both for our understanding of the body, and for preventative intervention strategies in public health.

Of course, the battle against conditions like Alzheimer's cannot be reduced solely to oral health. Many factors contribute to the onset of dementia, and it would be wrong to overstate the impact of the mouth on this process.

Nevertheless, the evidence is clear that oral health interventions can help in the fight against cognitive decline, and clinicians have a key role to play in spreading this message.

https://www.sciencealert.com/expert-reveals-a-surprising-link-betwe...

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 12:34pm

A Surprising Link Between Oral Health And Your Brain

A new study  has once again raised questions about the relationship between oral health and brain health; which most experts agree are surprisingly interconnected.

It investigated whether problems in the mouth like periodontitis (gum disease) and tooth loss can increase the risk of neurodegenerative disorders like stroke,

 Alzheimer's, and other forms of dementia.

The results were clear: both issues are associated with a faster rate of atrophy in the hippocampus – the part of the brain that governs memory, learning, and emotion. This is a significant result, however it is not the first time such a link has been made.

a US study of more than 40,000 adults enrolled in the UK Biobank research project found that poor oral health appears to be a key risk factor for stroke and dementia.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 12:29pm

Scientists Destroy 99% of Cancer Cells in The Lab Using Vibrating Molecules

Scientists have discovered a new way to destroy cancer cells. Stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light caused them to vibrate in sync, enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells. Aminocyanine molecules are already used in bioimaging as synthetic dyes. Commonly used in low doses to detect cancer, they stay stable in water and are very good at attaching themselves to the outside of cells. The new approach is a marked improvement over another kind of cancer-killing molecular machine previously developed, called Feringa-type motors, which could also break the structures of problematic cells. It is a whole new generation of molecular machines that scientists call molecular jackhammers. They are more than one million times faster in their mechanical motion than the former Feringa-type motors, and they can be activated with near-infrared light rather than visible light. The use of near-infrared light is important because it enables scientists to get deeper into the body. Cancer in bones and organs could potentially be treated without needing surgery to get to the cancer growth. In tests on cultured, lab-grown cancer cells, the molecular jackhammer method scored a 99 percent hit rate at destroying the cells. The approach was also tested on mice with melanoma tumors, and half the animals became cancer-free. The structure and chemical properties of aminocyanine molecules mean they stay in sync with the right stimulus – such as near-infrared light. When in motion, the electrons inside the molecules form what's known as plasmons, collectively vibrating entities that drive movement across the whole of the molecule.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-023-01383-y

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 11:44am

The results of their study were made available online on 5 November 2023 in Environmental Pollution, following Prof. Ok's two critical reviews published under the collection "Plastics in the Environment" in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment.

The ML algorithms were programmed to predict the influence of MPs on soil properties and found that different MP factors, such as type, size, shape, and dosage, significantly altered soil properties. Specifically, MP size was identified as a major factor that affects soil properties. Besides this, the shape, type, and dosage of MP was also found to distinctly influence the soils' chemical properties.

This pioneering study contributes essential data to support informed decision-making on plastic waste management, aligning with the global focus on sustainability and ESG principles. It underscores the importance of innovative research in guiding corporate sustainability efforts, where plastic-related issues are a growing concern. The application of ML techniques to this problem demonstrates the potential for advanced technology to drive sustainable practices and create a greener, more eco-conscious future.

These quantitative insights into the influence of MPs on soil characteristics represents a breakthrough in comprehending and mitigating the plastic waste dilemma. The study's utilization of ML algorithms marks a groundbreaking shift from traditionally complex and resource-intensive methods for predicting and interpreting the impact of MPs on soil properties.

 Piumi Amasha Withana et al, Machine learning prediction and interpretation of the impact of microplastics on soil properties, Environmental Pollution (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122833

Part2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 11:42am

AI predicts the influence of microplastics on soil properties

Plastic waste and its buildup in nature has become a major environmental concern in recent times. While plastic pollution in the oceans is undoubtedly a problem, the presence of plastics in soils around the world is also known to cause severe environmental and health issues.

As plastics fragment into smaller pieces known as microplastics (MPs) in the soil through natural and anthropogenic processes, they drastically alter soil properties. Moreover, they are also absorbed by plants, potentially entering human food chain and causing health complications.

Grasping the impact of MPs on soil properties bears significant relevance for corporate sustainability, notably within the "Environmental" aspect of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals. Global corporations are often confronted with mounting expectations to embrace eco-friendly strategies, with a particular emphasis on handling plastic-related concerns being the core of these initiatives.

However, the underlying mechanisms governing the environmental impact of soil MPs still remain unknown. Soil-MP interactions are complex due to soil heterogeneity and MP diversity, challenging prediction and mitigation of their effects on soil properties.

To address this paucity in research on soil MPs, a team of scientists 

used machine learning (ML) algorithms to assess and predict the influence of MPs on soil properties.

ML is a dynamic and transformative field of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses algorithms and models to learn and make predictions from vast datasets with great accuracy. Using ML to comprehensively understand the role of MPs in soil systems is time- and resource-efficient and provides a foundation for future research on this subject.

part1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 11:35am

The intestinal microbiome is a potential source of biomarkers. The researchers "previously reported that antibody responses to gut commensal bacteria were associated with type 1 diabetes diagnosis, suggesting that certain antimicrobial immune responses may help predict disease onset."

Quin Yuhui Xie et al, Immune responses to gut bacteria associated with time to diagnosis and clinical response to T cell–directed therapy for type 1 diabetes prevention, Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adh0353

part3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 11:34am

Once known as juvenile diabetes because the disorder most frequently begins in childhood, the condition is linked to a constellation of potential causes. The disorder is tied to a turncoat immune system, which destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. Destruction of beta cells leads to lifelong insulin dependence.

Doctors say there are two other possible causes of type 1 diabetes: a genetic predisposition to the disease, and exposure to certain viruses. Either way—faulty DNA or viral exposure—the end result is a T cell attack on beta cells in the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is categorized as an autoimmune disease, but is more precisely defined as an autoinflammatory condition.

"Immune-targeted therapies have efficacy for treatment of autoinflammatory diseases. 

For example, treatment with the T cell–specific anti-CD3 antibody teplizumab delayed disease onset in participants at high risk for type 1 diabetes in the TrialNet 10 trial.

"However, heterogeneity in therapeutic responses in TrialNet-10 and other immunotherapy trials identifies gaps in understanding disease progression and treatment responses.

The FDA approved tepluzimab in November of 2022 amid findings that revealed not all patients in the TN-10 study experienced the same benefits. The reason for that discrepancy.

may be explained by specific commensal bacteria. Commensal bacteria are so-called "friendly bacteria." They make up the microbiota, a diverse community numbering in the trillions inhabiting mucosal and epidermal surfaces in humans. These bacteria play critical roles in defense against pathogens and apparently in response to the drug teplizumab.

Researchers  investigated anti-commensal antibody responses against a panel of taxonomically diverse intestinal bacteria species in sera from TN-10 participants before and after teplizumab or placebo treatment. They theorized that differences in patients' responses might be explained by anti-commensal antibodies directed against commensal microbes in the gut microbiome. The team then analyzed antibody profiles in 228 serum samples from 63 participants in the TN-10 trial before and after teplizumab treatment.

Patients who had longer-lived antibody responses to three species of gut bacteria—Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecalis, and Dialister invisus—had more time on teplizumab treatment before being diagnosed as having type 1 diabetes. Clinical trial data revealed that patients with stronger immune responses against the three gut microbes tended to gain the most benefit from the drug's disease-delaying effects.

part2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 28, 2023 at 11:23am

Gut microbes may determine patients' response to a drug that delays onset of type 1 diabetes

The microbiome offers a motherlode of data about health and disease, and new findings suggest that antibodies to gut microbes can determine how well patients respond to a new monoclonal antibody drug that delays the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Increasingly, scientists are finding that the gut microbiome has unexpected relationships with health and disease. Research into the gut-brain axis, for example, has unveiled a surprising relationship between gut microbes and mental health. But medical investigators say the list is longer and the link to gut microbes equally complex.

Now, clinical trial data have allowed researchers to track how the gut microbiome can influence patients' response to tepluzimab, a medication that delays type 1 diabetes. The monoclonal antibody therapy targets T cells and prevents them from destroying insulin-producing beta cells. The antibody is the first treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration to postpone the metabolic disorder in high-risk individuals.

The FDA approved the drug based on results from a randomized clinical trial known as TrialNet-10 study, or the TN-10 study for short. Medical investigators from the University of Toronto revisited the TN-10 trial, studying more than 200 blood samples from 63 participants before and after teplizumab treatment. Findings from the Toronto analysis, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, casts a new spotlight on the immune system's relationship with the microbiome, revealing how gut microbes can shape the progression of type 1 diabetes. With this new knowledge in hand, clinicians may better pinpoint patients who are most likely to respond to teplizumab.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 27, 2023 at 10:12am

Could One Physics Theory Unlock the Mysteries of the Brain?

The ability of the phenomenon of criticality to explain the sudden emergence of new properties in complex systems has fascinated scientists in recent decades. When systems are balanced at their “critical point,” small changes in individual units can trigger outsized events, just as falling pebbles can start an avalanche. That abrupt shift in behavior describes the phase changes of water from ice to liquid to gas, but it’s also relevant to many other situations, from flocks of starlings on the wing to stock market crashes. In the 1990s, the physicist Per Bak and other scientists suggested that the brain might be operating near its own critical point. Ever since then, neuroscientists have been searching for evidence of fractal patterns and power laws at work in the brain’s networks of neurons. What was once a fringe theory has begun to attract more mainstream attention, with researchers now hunting for mechanisms capable of tuning brains toward criticality.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on December 26, 2023 at 11:42am

Hormone secreted by fetus causes morning sickness: study

A hormone produced by the human fetus is to blame for morning sickness in pregnant women, a study has found, paving the way to possible prevention and treatment.

Nausea and vomiting affect approximately 70 percent of pregnant women, according to the study published in Nature recently  by researchers.

 In its worst form, hyperemesis gravidarum, the nausea and vomiting is so severe that women are unable to eat or drink normally. The culprit is a hormone produced by the fetus—a protein known as GDF15. But how sick the mother feels depends on a combination of how much of the hormone is produced by the fetus and how much exposure the mother had to this hormone before becoming pregnant.

The discovery points to a potential way to prevent pregnancy sickness by exposing mothers to GDF15 ahead of pregnancy to build up their resilience. It makes us more confident that preventing GDF15 from accessing its highly specific receptor in the mother's brain will ultimately form the basis for an effective and safe way of treating this disorder.

Stephen O'Rahilly, Gdf15 linked to maternal risk of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06921-9. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06921-9

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