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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 22, 2021 at 8:01am

Study finds calcium precisely directs blood flow in the brain

Unlike the rest of the body, there is not enough real estate in the brain for stored energy. Instead, the brain relies on the hundreds of miles of blood vessels within it to supply fresh energy via the blood. Yet, how the brain expresses a need for more energy during increased activity and then directs its blood supply to specific hot spots was, until now, poorly understood.

Now,  researchers have shown how the brain communicates to blood vessels when in need of energy, and how these blood vessels respond by relaxing or constricting to direct blood flow to specific brain regions.

If the brain does not get blood to where it needs it when it needs it, the neurons become stressed, and over time they deteriorate ultimately leading to cognitive decline and memory problems.

Large arteries feed medium-sized vessels known as arterioles that then feed even tinier capillaries—so small that only a single blood cell can pass through at once. In a 2017 Nature Neuroscience paper, the researchers showed that electrical pulses coursing through the capillaries direct blood flow from the medium-sized arterioles supplying large regions of the brain. For this latest paper, the team studied the fine-tuning of blood as it flows through the capillaries to precisely regulate energy supply to tiny regions in the brain.

There seem to be two mechanisms working in tandem to ensure that energy in the form of blood makes it to specific regions of the brain: one broad and the other precise. The first electrical mechanism is like a crude sledgehammer approach to get more blood to the general vicinity of the increased brain activity by controlling the medium-sized arterioles, and then capillary calcium signals ensure exquisite fine-tuning to make sure the blood gets to exactly the right place at the right time through the tiny capillaries.

"Local IP3 receptor–mediated Ca2+ signals compound to direct blood flow in brain capillaries" Science Advances (2021). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abh0101

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-calcium-precisely-blood-brai...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 22, 2021 at 7:56am

Microbially produced fibers: Stronger than steel, tougher than Kevlar

Spider silk is said to be one of the strongest, toughest materials on the Earth. Now engineers  have designed amyloid silk hybrid proteins and produced them in engineered bacteria. The resulting fibers are stronger and tougher than some natural spider silks.

The artificial silk—dubbed "polymeric amyloid" fiber—was not technically produced by researchers, but by bacteria that were genetically engineered in the lab.

Jingyao Li et al, Microbially Synthesized Polymeric Amyloid Fiber Promotes β-Nanocrystal Formation and Displays Gigapascal Tensile Strength, ACS Nano (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c02944

https://phys.org/news/2021-07-microbially-fibers-stronger-steel-tou...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 21, 2021 at 10:37am

Quantum Computers, Explained With Quantum Physics

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 21, 2021 at 10:36am

The Standard Model

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 21, 2021 at 9:07am

Scientists create world's thinnest magnet

The development of an ultrathin magnet that operates at room temperature could lead to new applications in computing and electronics—such as high-density, compact spintronic memory devices—and new tools for the study of quantum physics.

The ultrathin magnet, which was recently reported in the journal Nature Communications , could make big advances in next-gen memories, computing, spintronics, and quantum physics.

This discovery is exciting because it not only makes 2-D magnetismpossible at room temperature, but it also uncovers a new mechanism to realize 2-D magnetic materials.

zinc oxide's free electrons could act as an intermediary that ensures the magnetic cobalt atoms in the new 2-D device continue pointing in the same direction—and thus stay magnetic—even when the host, in this case the semiconductor zinc oxide, is a nonmagnetic material.

Rui Chen et al, Tunable room-temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped two-dimensional van der Waals ZnO, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24247-w

https://phys.org/news/2021-07-scientists-world-thinnest-magnet.html...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2021 at 2:49pm

Common Medication Used to Reduce Cholesterol Levels May Reduce COVI... (UCSD Health, 7/15/21)

Common cholesterol drugs statins may lower death risk from COVID-19 (Seeking Alpha, 7/19/21)

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2021 at 11:34am

No more broken mobile screens: Bengal researchers develop self-healing material

The research on the material, that scientists said can repair themselves within milliseconds when fractured, has made it to the coveted Science journal.

A group of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, developed a new class of materials that they claim can repair themselves when fractured, within milliseconds.

The research has also made it to the coveted Science journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The scientists claimed that the highly crystalline materials, when broken into pieces, can self-heal and re-join in a matter of a second, and repair themselves so precisely that they become indistinguishable from the undisturbed materials.

The scientists hope that the discovery can spark a revolution in the field of digital technology, such as broken screens of gadgets and other new-age technologies.

The researchers said materials applied in technologies undergo mechanical impacts which often make the devices irreparable. The idea prompted the team to delve deep in search of self-repairing materials to enhance the longevity of the devices without external intervention.

Researchers developed a new class of solid materials that with a head-to-tail (positive end-to-negative end) polar arrangement in the crystalline state generates opposite electrical potentials at the fractured surfaces. These charges allow instant recombination and self-repair of the broken crystals without any external help. The scientists said that during the repair, fractured pieces travel with a honeybee wing-like motion with acceleration comparable to diesel cars.

Another team from IISER  used a custom-designed state-of-the-art polarisation microscopic system to probe and quantify the structural order of the piezoelectric self-healing organic crystals with nanometer-scale spatial resolution.

The scientists said that these crystals, which belong to a general class of piezoelectric materials, can generate electricity under pressure, which in turn can heal and retain their crystalline nature which is important for many applications.

**

https://www.hindustantimes.com/science/no-more-broken-mobile-screen...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2021 at 10:43am

NASA Lucy mission's message to the future

In the 1970s four spacecraft began their one-way trips out of our Solar System. As the first human-built objects to ever venture into interstellar space, NASA chose to place plaques on Pioneer 10 and 11 and golden records on Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft to serve as messages to any alien spacefarers that may someday encounter these spacecraft. Continuing this legacy, NASA's Lucy spacecraft will carry a similar plaque. However, because Lucy will not be venturing outside of our Solar System, Lucy's plaque is a time-capsule featuring messages to our descendants.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2021 at 10:32am

SCI-COM: 

An exciting career pathway for connecting Science to the Masses

CSIR‐NISCAIR offers doctoral degree and post graduate courses in Science & Technology Communication

http://niscair.res.in/researchandeducation/acsir

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 20, 2021 at 10:21am

Massive DNA 'borg' structures perplex scientists

Researchers say they have discovered unique and exciting DNA strands in the mud — others aren’t sure of their novelty.

Scientists analysing samples from muddy sites in the western United States have found novel DNA structures that seem to scavenge and ‘assimilate’ genes from microorganisms in their environment, much like the fictional Star Trek ‘Borg’ aliens who assimilate the knowledge and technology of other species.

These extra-long DNA strands, which the scientists named in honour of the aliens, join a diverse collection of genetic structures — circular plasmids, for example — known as extrachromosomal elements (ECEs). Most microbes have one or two chromosomes that encode their primary genetic blueprint. But they can host, and often share between them, many distinct ECEs. These carry non-essential but useful genes, such as those for antibiotic resistance.

Borgs are a previously unknown, unique and “absolutely fascinating” type of ECE. Borgs are DNA structures “not like any that’s been seen before”. Most scientists agree that the find is exciting, but some have questioned whether Borgs really are unique, noting similarities between them and other large ECEs.

Their vast size, ranging between more than 600,000 and about 1 million DNA base pairs in length, is one feature that distinguishes Borgs from many other ECEs. In fact, Borgs are so huge that they are up to one-third of the length of the main chromosome in their host microbes.

More here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01947-3?utm_source=Natur...

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