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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 12:03pm

Sim shows how COVID virus infects cells

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 11:47am

COVID advances win Breakthrough prizes

Techniques that have helped scientists to understand COVID-19 have scooped two out of five of the most lucrative awards in science and.... “These two awards are for research that has had such an impact on the world that they elevate the stature of the Breakthrough Prize,” says chemical biologist Yamuna Krishnan. “They have been saving lives by the millions.” This year’s US$3-million Breakthrough prizes went to:

• Biochemists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who discovered how to smuggle genetic material called messenger RNA into cells, leading to the development of a new class of vaccine. Karikó recalls the scepticism surrounding her work in the 1990s that led to numerous grant-proposal and paper rejections (including the 2005 paper for which she is now being recognized), and forced her to take a demotion and a pay cut.
• Chemists Shankar Balasubramanian, David Klenerman and Pascal Mayer, who developed the next-generation sequencing technique that has been used to rapidly track variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
• Chemical biologist Jeffrey Kelly, for working out the part that protein misfolding plays in amyloidosis, a disease that can affect the heart and other organs and cause neurodegeneration — and for developing an effective treatment.
• Optical physicists Hidetoshi Katori and Jun Ye, for inventing the optical lattice clock — a device that would lose less than one second over 15 billion years, improving the precision of time measurements by 10,000 times.
• Mathematician Takuro Mochizuki, for extending the understanding of algebraic structures called ‘holonomic D-modules’ — which are related to certain types of differential equation — to deal with points at which the equations under study are not well defined.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02449-y?utm_source=Natur...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 11:21am

We Asked a NASA Scientist – Do Aliens Exist?

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 11:17am

Hydraulic jump

Scientists have long recognized that overshooting storm tops of moist air rising into the upper atmosphere can act like solid obstacles that block or redirect airflow. And it's been proposed that waves of moist air flowing over these tops can break and loft water into the stratosphere. But no research to date has explained how all the pieces fit together.

The new modeling suggests the explosion of turbulence in the atmosphere that accompanies plumed storms unfolds through a phenomenon called a hydraulic jump. The same mechanism is at play when rushing winds tumble over mountains and generate turbulence on the downslope side, or when water speeding smoothly down a dam's spillway abruptly bursts into froth upon joining slower-moving water below.

Leonardo DaVinci observed the phenomenon in flowing water as early as the 1500s, and ancient Romans may have sought to limit hydraulic jumps in aqueduct designs. But until now atmospheric scientists have only seen the dynamic induced by solid topography. The new modeling suggests a hydraulic jump can also be triggered by fluid obstacles in the atmosphere made almost entirely of air and which are changing shape every second, miles above the Earth's surface.

The simulations suggest the onset of the jump coincides with a surprisingly rapid injection of water vapor into the stratosphere, upwards of 7000 kilograms per second. That's two to four times higher than previous estimates. Once it reaches the overworld, water may stay there for days or weeks, potentially influencing the amount and quality of sunlight that reaches Earth via destruction of ozone in the stratosphere and warming the planet's surface. "In our simulations that exhibit plumes, water reaches deep into the stratosphere, where it possibly could have more of a long-term climate impact," said co-author Leigh Orf, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

According to O'Neill, high-altitude NASA research aircraft have only recently gained the ability to observe the three-dimensional winds at the tops of thunderstorms, and have not yet observed AACP production at close range. "We have the technology now to go verify our modeling results to see if they're realistic," O'Neill said. "That's really a sweet spot in science."

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the NASA Precipitation Measurement Mission and Ground Validation program.

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Story Source:

Materials provided by Stanford University. Original written by Josie Garthwaite. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Morgan E O’Neill, Leigh Orf, Gerald M. Heymsfield, Kelton Halbert. Hydraulic jump dynamics above supercell thunderstorms. Science, 2021; 373 (6560): 1248 DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3857

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210909141231.htm

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 11:16am

Supercell storms and exploding turbulence

The thunderstorms that spawn most tornadoes are known as supercells, a rare breed of storm with a rotating updraft that can hurtle skyward at speeds faster than 150 miles an hour, with enough power to punch through the usual lid on Earth's troposphere, the lowest layer of our atmosphere.

In weaker thunderstorms, rising currents of moist air tend to flatten and spread out upon reaching this lid, called the tropopause, forming an anvil-shaped cloud. A supercell thunderstorm's intense updraft presses the tropopause upward into the next layer of the atmosphere, creating what scientists call an overshooting top. "It's like a fountain pushing up against the next layer of our atmosphere," O'Neill said.

As winds in the upper atmosphere race over and around the protruding storm top, they sometimes kick up streams of water vapor and ice, which shoot into the stratosphere to form the tell-tale plume, technically called an Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume, or AACP.

The rising air of the overshooting top soon speeds back toward the troposphere, like a ball that accelerates downward after cresting aloft. At the same time, air is flowing over the dome in the stratosphere and then racing down the sheltered side.

Using computer simulations of idealized supercell thunderstorms, O'Neill and colleagues discovered that this excites a downslope windstorm at the tropopause, where wind speeds exceed 240 miles per hour. "Dry air descending from the stratosphere and moist air rising from the troposphere join in this very narrow, crazy-fast jet. The jet becomes unstable and the whole thing mixes and explodes in turbulence," O'Neill said. "These speeds at the storm top have never been observed or hypothesized before."

part2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 11:16am

Scientists solve mystery of icy plumes that may foretell deadly supercell storms

The most devastating tornadoes are often preceded by a cloudy plume of ice and water vapor billowing above a severe thunderstorm. New research reveals the mechanism for these plumes could be tied to 'hydraulic jumps' -- a phenomenon Leonardo Da Vinci observed more than 500 years ago.

When a cloudy plume of ice and water vapor billows up above the top of a severe thunderstorm, there's a good chance a violent tornado, high winds or hailstones bigger than golf balls will soon pelt the Earth below.

A new Stanford University-led study, published Sept. 10 in Science, reveals the physical mechanism for these plumes, which form above most of the world's most damaging tornadoes.

Previous research has shown they're easy to spot in satellite imagery, often 30 minutes or more before severe weather reaches the ground. "The question is, why is this plume associated with the worst conditions, and how does it exist in the first place? That's the gap that we are starting to fill," said atmospheric scientist Morgan O'Neill, lead author of the new study.

The research comes just over a week after supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes spun up among the remnants of Hurricane Ida as they barreled into the U.S. Northeast, compounding devastation wrought across the region by record-breaking rainfall and flash floods.

Understanding how and why plumes take shape above powerful thunderstorms could help forecasters recognize similar impending dangers and issue more accurate warnings without relying on Doppler radar systems, which can be knocked out by wind and hail -- and have blind spots even on good days. In many parts of the world, Doppler radar coverage is nonexistent.

"If there's going to be a terrible hurricane, we can see it from space. We can't see tornadoes because they're hidden below thunderstorm tops. We need to understand the tops better," said O'Neill, who is an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth).

part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 10, 2021 at 11:09am

Exposure to traffic noise linked to higher dementia risk

Exposure to noise from traffic on roads and railways over a long period is associated with a higher risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease, suggests a study published in The BMJ recently.

The researchers estimate that as many as 1,216 out of the 8,475 cases of dementia registered in Denmark in 2017 could be attributed to these noise exposures, indicating a great potential for dementia prevention through reduction in traffic related noise.

Worldwide, the number of people with dementia is expected to exceed 130 million by 2050, making it a costly and growing global health crisis. Besides well established risk factors, such as cardiovascular diseases and unhealthy lifestyle, environmental exposures may also play a role in the development of dementia.

Transportation noise is considered the second worst environmental risk factor for public health in Europe after air pollution, and around a fifth of the European population is exposed to transportation noise above the recommended level of 55 dB (decibels).

Studies have consistently linked transportation noise to various diseases and health conditions, such as coronary heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. There is, however, little research on transportation noise and dementia and findings are inconsistent.

To address this, researchers investigated the association between long term residential exposure to road traffic and railway noise and risk of dementia among two million adults aged over 60 and living in Denmark between 2004 and 2017.

The researchers estimated road traffic and railway noise at the most and least exposed sides (or façades) of all residential addresses in Denmark.

They then analyzed national health registers to identify cases of all-cause dementia and different types of dementia (Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and Parkinson's disease related dementia) over an average of 8.5 years.

They found 103,500 new cases of dementia during the study period.

After taking account of potentially influential factors related to residents and their neighborhoods, the researchers found that a 10-year average exposure to road traffic and railway noise at the most and least exposed sides of buildings was associated with a higher risk of all-cause dementia.

These associations showed a general pattern of higher risk with higher noise exposure, but with a leveling off or even small declines in risk at higher noise levels.

Further analysis by type of dementia showed both road traffic and railway noise were associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease—up to 27% higher for exposure to road traffic noise of 55 dB and up to 24% higher for exposure to railway noise of 50 dB compared with less than 40 dB.

However, only road traffic noise was associated with an increased risk of vascular dementia, and not railway noise.

 Residential exposure to transportation noise in Denmark and incidence of dementia: national cohort study, BMJ (2021). www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1954

Editorial: Noise exposure and dementia: a rising concern in ageing populations, www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2120

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-exposure-traffic-noise-linke...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 9, 2021 at 9:34am

Tea made with impure water tastes better

Chemical impurities in tap water can cause a thin film to form on the surface of a cup of tea, and these make it taste better than a drink made with pure water, according to researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Pour yourself a cup of tea and leave it to cool slightly, and you may see a film on the surface that cracks like sea ice when you disturb the cup. There are many factors that affect the formation of this film, the researchers say, but the primary one is calcium carbonate in the water. When tap water contains a high amount of minerals such as calcium carbonate, it is called hard water.

“Tap water in many regions comes from limestone aquifers, where calcium carbonate, a harmless compound that can make water taste ‘crisper’, is found.

Other factors that affect the formation of this film include milk, sugar or lemon added to the tea, the brewing temperature, and the concentration of the tea.

The team studied how the strength of the film changed with water hardness by placing a metal device on the surface of the tea and rotating it. “The rotation of that device is carefully controlled, and the resistance to rotation that the film applies is what allows us to determine its strength.

They found that the more calcium carbonate in the water, the stronger the film woul.... “If you were to make a cup of tea in perfectly pure water, it would not form a film at all, but the tea would taste quite bitter

The team’s findings could be useful in industrial settings, where creating conditions to form a strong film could improve the shelf life in packaged tea drinks.

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0059760

https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/put-down-the-filter-tea-made-w...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 9, 2021 at 8:10am

COVID, vaccine misinformation spread by hundreds of websites, analysis finds

More than 500 websites have promoted misinformation about the coronavirus—including debunked claims about vaccines, according to a firm that rates the credibility of websites.

NewsGuard announced Wednesday that, of the more than 6,700 websites it has analyzed, 519 have published false information about COVID-19. Some of the sites publish dubious health information or political conspiracy theories, while others were "created specifically to spread misinformation about COVID-19," the company says on its website.

It's become virtually impossible for people to tell the difference between a generally reliable site and an untrustworthy site. And that is why there is such a big business in publishing this information. They're all hoaxes that have gained traction, and we know that because we see them spreading from website to website. Some of the websites NewsGuard identified have become more popular online than trustworthy sources of information about COVID-19.

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-09-covid-vaccine-misinformation-hu...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 9, 2021 at 7:17am

Common medications accumulate in gut bacteria, which may reduce drug effectiveness and alter the gut microbiome

Common medications can accumulate in gut bacteria, a new study has found, altering bacterial function and potentially reducing the effectiveness of the drug. These interactions—seen for a variety of medications, such as depression, diabetes, and asthma drugs—could help researchers to better understand individual differences in drug effectiveness and side-effects, according to the study published in Nature.

It is known that bacteria can chemically modify some drugs, a process known as biotransformation. This study is the first to show that certain species of gut bacteria accumulate human drugs.

This could change the effectiveness of the drug both directly, as the accumulation could reduce the availability of the drug to the body, and indirectly, as altered bacterial function and composition could be linked to side-effects.

The human gut naturally contains communities of hundreds of different species of bacteria, which are important in health and disease, called the gut microbiome. The composition of bacterial species varies significantly between people and has previously been shown to be associated with a wide range of conditions including obesity, immune response, and mental health.

In this study, the researchers grew 25 common gut bacteria and studied how they interacted with 15 drugs that are taken orally. The drugs were chosen to represent a range of different types of common drugs, including antidepressant medications, which are known to affect individuals dissimilarly and cause side effects such as gut problems and weight gain.

The researchers tested how each of the 15 drugs interacted with the selected bacterial strains—a total of 375 bacteria-drug tests.

They found 70 interactions between the bacteria and the drugs studied—of which 29 had not been previously reported.

While earlier research has shown bacteria can chemically modify drugs, when the scientists studied these interactions further, they found that for 17 of the 29 new interactions, the drug accumulated within the bacteria without being modified.

 Bioaccumulation of therapeutic drugs by human gut bacteria, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03891-8 , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03891-8

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-common-medications-accumulat...

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