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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 1:03pm

Yeast gains power to harness light

The first light-powered brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been engineered. “It is extraordinary,” says biologist Felipe Santiago-Tirado. “To some extent, it’s like turning an animal into a plant.” A protein called rhodopsin was artificially inserted into yeast cells, giving the fungus the ability to use light as an energy source for some of its cellular functions. Under green light, light-powered yeast cells reproduce fast enough to outgrow normal yeast.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.06.519405v2

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AI-generated spam may soon be flooding your inbox—and it will be pe... Each day, messages from Nigerian princes, peddlers of wonder drugs and promoters of can't-miss investments choke email inboxes. Improvements to spam filters only seem to inspire new techniques to break through the protections.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 1:01pm

CAR-T Cells: Engineered Cancer Killers

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 12:56pm

Earpiece that speeds up recovery after a stroke

researchers have developed a smart earpiece that helps people relearn physical actions faster and more easily after a stroke. By stimulating the brain, the earpiece helps it rewire neural circuits.

Strokes are the number one cause of persistent physical impairment among adults worldwide. Sufferers often find it hard or even impossible to perform everyday physical actions like walking or reaching for something. One reason for this is that the stroke has damaged regions in the brain involved in making the necessary movements.

Initial clinical studies conducted by other scientists have shown that stimulating the vagus nerve plays a crucial role in rehabilitating regions of the brain damaged by a stroke. Such stimulation has allowed stroke patients to regain their movement faster and more effectively.

But until now, this has required patients to undergo an expensive operation, performed under general anaesthetic, to implant a stimulation device below the skin. Since it’s common practice to wait a full year after a stroke to carry out this procedure, patients are losing valuable time.

Now,  researchers  from the Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory have developed a new system that is set to make vagus nerve stimulation much easier and available much faster: Their earpiece emits subtle electrical impulses to activate the nerve in the outer ear, thus eliminating the need for a surgical procedure.

They ware able to show earlier that stimulating the vagus nerve wasn’t the only factor. The neuroscientist demonstrated that timing is also critical: the electrical impulses are particularly effective if administered while patients are attempting those motions that they have found difficult to perform since their stroke.

This helps the brain rewire motor neural circuits to compensate for malfunctions in regions damaged by the stroke. It’s like we’re reconfiguring the brain’s software: stimulating the nerve promotes neuroplasticity, aids the formation of new synapses and supports the relearning of physical actions.

What the researchers have done now is develop a movement sensor that works a bit like a smartwatch. Stroke patients wear this sensor wherever their motor function is impaired, for instance on their right arm. Using special software,  the sensor analyses the arm’s movements in real time and tells the earpiece when the patient moved their arm particularly well.

This triggers stimulation of the vagus nerve and the brain learns to recall the correct sequence of movements faster and more effectively. The technical term for this process is reinforcement learning.

Unlike previous treatment options, stroke patients can use the technology developed by the  researchers also without professional supervision. What’s more, the movement sensor will make it possible for physical therapists to monitor their patients’ progress conveniently using a smartphone. The  researchers expect this to yield further progress in treatment.

https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2023/04/earpiece-t...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 12:00pm

A gun that uses facial recognition can  reduce firearm deaths

 Kai Kloepfer is bringing his smart gun to market in what could be the first weapon to break a decades-old political and manufacturing "log jam" that has kept smart guns from mass production.

Kloepfer's Broomfield-based company, Biofire, on Thursday announced the sale of guns that use both fingerprint and facial recognition to make sure only authorized users can fire the weapon.

His goal is to reduce accidental deaths and suicides and to keep children from accessing their parents' weapons. The gun will allow people to have a weapon at hand but want to make sure children, visitors or criminals can't use it.

The gun is primarily marketed for use as a weapon for home defense, Kloepfer said. Gun owners must balance keeping a weapon easily accessible in case of emergency but also secure enough that others can't access it.

MediaNews Group, Inc.

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-04-gun-facial-recognition-firearm-...

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 11:40am

 Uses for Drones on the Farm 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 11:25am

Climate change may keep India from achieving its sustainable development goals

Heat waves in India are increasing in frequency, intensity and lethality, burdening public health, agriculture, and other socio-economic and cultural systems. A study published in PLOS Climate by  researchers suggests that heat waves made more likely by climate change may impede India's progress toward its sustainable development goals.

India has committed to achieving seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including no poverty, good health and well being, and decent work and economic growth. However, current climate vulnerability assessments may not fully capture how heat waves linked to climate change may impact SDG progress. In order to analyze India's climate vulnerability, and how climate change may impact SDG progress, researchers conducted an analytical evaluation of India's heat index (HI) with its climate vulnerability index, (CVI) a composite index using various indicators to account for socioeconomic, livelihood, and biophysical factors.

They accessed a publicly available dataset on state-level climate vulnerability indicators from the Indian Government's National Data & Analytics Platform to classify severity categories. The researchers then compared India's progress in SDG over 20 years (2001–2021) with extreme weather-related mortality from 2001–2021. The researchers found that heat waves have weakened SDG progress more than previously estimated and that current assessment metrics may not sufficiently capture the nuances of India's vulnerabilities to climate change impacts. For instance, in estimating HI, the study shows that nearly 90% of the country is in danger zone from heat wave impacts.

According to the CVI, about 20% of the country is highly vulnerable to climate change. Similar effects were observed for the national capital, where HI estimates shows almost all of Delhi is threatened by severe heat wave impacts, which is not reflected in its recent state action plan for climate change. However, this study had several limitations, for example the incongruent timeframe for CVI data (2019–2020) and heat index data (2022). Future studies should incorporate more recent data. According to the authors, "This study shows that heat waves make more Indian states vulnerable to climate change than previously estimated with the CVI. The heat waves in India and the Indian subcontinent become recurrent and long-lasting, it is high time that climate experts and policymakers reevaluate the metrics for assessing the country's climate vulnerability. This offers a scope for developing a holistic vulnerability measure through international cooperation and partnership."

Heat waves are getting more intense in India, putting 80% of the country's people in danger, which remains unaccounted for in its current climate vulnerability assessment. If this impact is not addressed immediately, India can slow its progress towards sustainable development goals.

 Lethal heatwaves are challenging India's sustainable development, PLOS Climate (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000156

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 11:17am

Nanoparticles provoke immune response against tumors but avoid side effects

Cancer drugs that stimulate the body's immune system to attack tumors are a promising way to treat many types of cancer. However, some of these drugs produce too much systemic inflammation when delivered intravenously, making them harmful to use in patients.

Researchers have now come up with a possible way to get around that obstacle. In a new study, they showed that when immunostimulatory prodrugs—inactive drugs that require activation in the body—are tuned for optimal activation timing, the drugs provoke the immune system to attack tumors without the side effects that occur when the active form of the drug is given.

The researchers designed prodrugs with bottlebrush-like structures based on a class of compounds called imidazoquinolines (IMDs). Mice treated with these bottlebrush prodrugs designed with optimized activation kinetics showed a significant reduction in tumor growth, with no side effects. The researchers hope that this approach could be used to boost immune system responses in cancer patients, especially when combined with other immunotherapy drugs or cancer vaccines.

Sachin Bhagchandani et al, Engineering kinetics of TLR7/8 agonist release from bottlebrush prodrugs enables tumor-focused immune stimulation, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg2239. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adg2239

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 20, 2023 at 11:10am

Stab-resistant fabric gains strength from carbon nanotubes, polyacrylate

Fabrics that resist knife cuts can help prevent injuries and save lives. But a sharp enough knife or a very forceful jab can get through some of these materials. Now, researchers report in ACS Applied Nano Materials that carbon nanotubes and polyacrylate strengthen conventional aramid to produce lightweight, soft fabrics that provide better protection. Applications include anti-stabbing clothing, helmets and insoles, as well as cut-resistant packaging.

Soft body armor is typically made from aramid, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, or carbon and glass fabrics. Their puncture resistance depends, in part, on the friction between yarn fibers within these materials. Up to a point, greater friction means greater protection. Manufacturers can boost friction by roughening the fiber surfaces, but that requires a complicated process, and product yield is low.

Alternatively, the bonding force between yarns can be enhanced by adding another component, such as a sheer thickening fluid (STF) or a polyurethane (PU) coating. But these composite fabrics can't simultaneously satisfy the requirements for thinness, flexibility and light weight. Researchers now  wanted to find another way to improve performance while satisfying these criteria.

The researchers tested a polyacrylate emulsion (PAE), STF and PU as coatings on aramid fabric. In simulated stabbing tests, aramid fabric coated with PAE outperformed the uncoated material used by itself or in combination with STF or PU. Carbon nanotubes are known to make composites tougher, and adding them to aramid/PAE further improved impact resistance. The research team says that's because the nanotubes created bridges between the fibers, thereby increasing friction. The nanotubes also formed a thin, protective network that dispersed stress away from the point of impact and helped prevent fiber disintegration. The new lightweight, flexible, puncture-resistant composite fabric could be useful in military and civilian applications, according to the researchers.

Wen-hua Cai et al, Polyacrylate and Carboxylic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Strengthened Aramid Fabrics as Flexible Puncture-Resistant Composites for Anti-Stabbing Applications, ACS Applied Nano Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.3c00738

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

The team tested the drug against the pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, which feature at the top of the World Health Organization's priority list. The treatment sequestered toxins released by the pathogens and disrupted their ability to communicate, reducing the formation of protective biofilms as explained in this short video:

While these experiments showed that the drug could effectively disarm these pathogens, the researchers also wanted to know if it could make them more vulnerable. Supplementing an antibiotic treatment with the new drug made the antibiotic effective at a lower dose. But more importantly, when the team treated bacteria with a combination of antibiotics and the new drug for two weeks, the bacteria didn't evolve resistance to the antibiotics, although they rapidly became resistant when exposed to the antibiotics alone.

This suggests that the new drug could be used to preserve the efficacy of the antibiotics we have left.

The drug interacts with part of the bacterial outer membrane, which is a strong barrier against antibiotics. The drug loosens the membrane and makes it more permeable. That means it's easier for antibiotics to get into the bacteria and kill them.

Having shown that the drug is effective against bacterial pathogens, the next step was to determine whether it could actually provide protection. To test that, human lung cells were exposed to toxins that cause inflammation and cellular damage. The drug directly sequestered the toxins and protected against inflammation and cellular damage. The researchers found similar protective results when mice were exposed to the toxins.

These findings open the door to an exciting new alternative to antibiotics, one that could potentially break the vicious cycle of antibiotic discovery and resistance. This treatment and others like it could provide the boost we need to keep ahead in our never-ending arms race with bacterial resistance.

 Christopher Jonkergouw et al, Repurposing host-guest chemistry to sequester virulence and eradicate biofilms in multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37749-6

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 19, 2023 at 11:16am

A potential treatment for multidrug-resistant bacteria

A new type of drug could provide a way to treat multidrug-resistant bacteria, according to a study published in Nature Communications. Instead of targeting the bacteria directly, the drug blocks key toxins involved in the infection process. This both reduces inflammation and makes the bacteria more vulnerable to antibiotics.

Antibiotics have been invaluable in the fight against bacterial infections, but bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to them. In the early days of antibiotics, bacteria took about 11 years on average to become resistant, but that figure has dropped to 2-3 years today. Many common bacterial infections are becoming resistant, and new antibiotics aren't being developed quickly enough to keep pace.

In 2019, 1.27 million deaths were directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance, and that number is expected to rise to 10 million per year in 2050. "We urgently need new tools to tackle these resistant infections. Despite this, no new antibiotics have been approved in decades, and there are just six currently under development that might sidestep resistance, only two of which target highly resistant bacteria.

A different approach would be to directly target the toxins and biofilms that pathogens use to establish the infection and cause inflammation, collectively called virulence factors. These virulence factors include small molecules that bacteria use to communicate and larger molecules that are part of their protective membrane. A drug that binds to these molecules could interfere with processes that are vital to the bacteria.

An international team led by researchers at Aalto went looking for drugs that could do just that. They found a good candidate after screening a library to identify molecules that interact with virulence factors but don't affect the bacteria's growth. Because the drug disarms the pathogen instead of killing it or halting its growth, this approach generates much weaker selection pressure for the development of resistant bacteria.

Part 1

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