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

Why We Need a Volcanic Eruption of Data

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 10, 2021 at 7:22am

The invisible killer lurking in our consumer products

Consumer products such as food, cosmetics and clothes might be filled with nanomaterials, unbeknownst to us. The use of nanomaterials remains unregulated and they do not show up in lists of ingredients. This is a cause of concern since nanomaterials can be more dangerous than COVID-19 in the long term if no safety action is taken: They are tricky to measure, they enter the food chain, and most alarmingly, they can penetrate cells and accumulate in organs.

Thanks to applications of nanotechnology, many diseases could soon be eradicated; additionally, engineers are developing materials that are 100 times stronger than steel, batteries that last 10 times longer than before, solar panels that yield twice as much energy than old ones, advanced skin care products, and self-cleaning cars, windows and clothes.

Nanotechnology has the potential to become the next industrial revolution. The global market for nanomaterials is growing.

Yet, nanomaterials and their use in consumer products can be problematic. A new study published in Nature Communications recently sheds light on possible harms and what happens to them when they enter an organism. An international team of researchers developed a sensitive method to find and trace nanomaterials in blood and tissues, and traced nanomaterials across an aquatic food chain, from microorganisms to fish, a major source of food in many countries. This method can open new horizons for taking safety actions.

nanomaterials bind strongly to microorganisms, which are a source of food for other organisms, and this is the way they can enter our food chain. Once inside an organism, nanomaterials can change their shape and size and turn into a more dangerous material that can easily penetrate cells and spread to other organs. When looking at different organs of an organism, it was found that nanomaterials tend to accumulate especially in the brain.

According to the researchers, nanomaterials are also difficult to measure: Their levels in an organism cannot be measured only by using their mass, which is the standard method for measuring other chemicals for regulations. The findings emphasize the importance of assessing the risk of nanomaterials before they are introduced to consumer products in large amounts. A better understanding of nanomaterials and their risks can help policy makers to introduce stricter rules on their use and on the way they are listed in product ingredient labels.

It could be that you are already using nanomaterials in your food, clothes, cosmetic products, etc., but you still don't see any mention of them in the ingredient list. Why? Because they are still unregulated and because they are so small that we simply can't measure them once they're in products.

Particle number-based trophic transfer of gold nanomaterials in an aquatic food chain. Nature Communications (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21164-w

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-invisible-killer-lurking-consumer-pro...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 10, 2021 at 7:08am

Biologists uncover forests' unexpected role in climate change

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth's atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Richard Thomas and alumnus Justin Mathias (BS Biology, '13 and Ph.D. Biology, '20) synthesized published tree ring studies. They found that increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past century have caused an uptick in trees' water-use efficiency, the ratio of carbon dioxide taken up by photosynthesis to the water lost by transpiration—the act of trees "breathing out" water vapor.

We think of forests as providing ecosystem services. Those services can be a lot of different things—recreation, timber, industry. We demonstrate how forests perform another important service: acting as sinks for carbon dioxide. Our research shows that forests consume large amounts of carbon dioxide globally. Without that, more carbon dioxide would go into the air and build up in the atmosphere even more than it already is, which could exacerbate climate change. Our work shows yet another important reason to preserve and maintain our forests and keep them healthy."

Justin M. Mathias et al. Global tree intrinsic water use efficiency is enhanced by increased atmospheric CO2 and modulated by climate and plant functional types, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014286118

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-biologists-uncover-forests-unexpected...

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 10, 2021 at 7:01am

How virally derived transposons are domesticated to evolve new forms of life

About half of our genome is made up of transposable elements (TEs), also known as transposons. These 'jumping genes' are short stretches of DNA that have the unique ability to duplicate themselves and change their position within our code. While these philanderings play an essential role in the evolution of the species, if unchecked, transposons can wreak havoc on the genome.

Although the transcription and proliferation of TEs is usually constrained by DNA methylation or other repressive chromatin amendments, TEs sometimes escape these countermeasures. For example, at certain periods of germ cell gametogenesis and early embryonic development, many epigenetic controls are wiped clean during scheduled system-wide reboots. Fortunately, cells have a backup mechanism known as the PIWI/piRNA pathway which can repress TEs. A recent paper in Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology investigates the many ways in which piRNAs can silence TEs, and defines new mechanisms by which they might also control gene expression.

Pei-Hsuan Wu et al. Defining the functions of PIWI-interacting RNAs, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41580-021-00336-y

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-virally-derived-transposons-domestica...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 9, 2021 at 9:43am

Rare blast's remains discovered in Milky Way's center

Astronomers may have found our galaxy's first example of an unusual kind of stellar explosion. This discovery, made with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, adds to the understanding of how some stars shatter and seed the universe with elements critical for life on Earth.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 9, 2021 at 9:27am

Glacier breaks in India's Himalayas linked to global warming

Indian rescue crews struggled to reach trapped victims Sunday after part of a glacier in the Himalayas broke off and released a torrent of water and debris that slammed into two hydroelectric plants. At least nine people were killed and 140 were missing in a disaster experts said appeared to point to global warming.

Video from India's northern state of Uttarakhand showed the muddy, concrete-gray floodwaters tumbling through a valley and surging into a dam, breaking it into pieces with little resistance before roaring on downstream. The flood turned the countryside into what looked like an ash-colored moonscape.

The flood was caused when a portion of Nanda Devi glacier snapped off in the morning, releasing water trapped behind it. It rushed down the mountain and into other bodies of water, forcing the evacuation of many villages along the banks of the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers. A hydroelectric plant on the Alaknanda was destroyed, and a plant under construction on the Dhauliganga was damaged.

Scientists have long known that global warming is contributing to the melting and the breakup of the world's glaciers.Scientists have long known that global warming is contributing to the melting and the breakup of the world's glaciers. While data on the cause of the disaster was not yet available, "this looks very much like a climate change event as the glaciers are melting due to global warming”, according to experts.

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-glacier-india-himalayas.html?utm_sour...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 9, 2021 at 9:14am

Plate tectonic evolution from 1 Billion years ago to the present.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 9, 2021 at 9:09am

'Magnetic graphene' forms a new kind of magnetism

Researchers have identified a new form of magnetism in so-called magnetic graphene, which could point the way toward understanding superconductivity in this unusual type of material.

They were able to control the conductivity and magnetism of iron thiophosphate (FePS₃), a two-dimensional material which undergoes a transition from an insulator to a metal when compressed. This class of magnetic materials offers new routes to understanding the physics of new magnetic states and superconductivity.

Using new high-pressure techniques, the researchers have shown what happens to magnetic graphene during the transition from insulator to conductor and into its unconventional metallic state, realized only under ultra-high pressure conditions. When the material becomes metallic, it remains magnetic, which is contrary to previous results and provides clues as to how the electrical conduction in the metallic phase works. The newly discovered high-pressure magnetic phase likely forms a precursor to superconductivity so understanding its mechanisms is vital.

Their results, published in the journal Physical Review X, also suggest a way that new materials could be engineered to have combined conduction and magnetic properties, which could be useful in the development of new technologies such as spintronics, which could transform the way in which computers process information.

Matthew J. Coak et al. 'Emergent Magnetic Phases in Pressure-Tuned van der Waals Antiferromagnet FePS₃.' Physical Review X (2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.11.011024

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-magnetic-graphene-kind-magnetism.html...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 9, 2021 at 8:59am

How rocks rusted on Earth and turned red

How did rocks rust on Earth and turn red in some areas? A study has shed new light on the important phenomenon and will help address questions about the Late Triassic climate more than 200 million years ago, when greenhouse gas levels were high enough to be a model for what our planet may be like in the future.

All of the red color we see in rocks in some parts of the globe is due to the natural mineral hematite. As far as we know, there are only a few places where this red hematite phenomenon is very widespread: one being the geologic 'red beds' on Earth and another is the surface of Mars. this new study takes a significant step forward toward understanding how long it takes for redness to form, the chemical reactions involved and the role hematite plays.

The hematite is indeed old and probably resulted from the interactions between the ancient soils and climate change.

Christopher J. Lepre el al., "Hematite reconstruction of Late Triassic hydroclimate over the Colorado Plateau," PNAS (2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2004343118

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-rusted-earth-red.html?utm_source=nwle...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 9, 2021 at 8:25am

Uncovering how some corals resist bleaching
Coral reefs are beautiful and diverse ecosystems that power the economies of many coastal communities. They're also facing threats that are driving their decline, including the planet's warming waters. This threat hit extreme levels in 2015, when high temperatures were turning corals white around the globe.
Hidden in the aftermath of this extreme event, however, were biochemical clues as to why some corals bleached while others were resistant, information that could help reefs better weather warming waters in the future. These clues have now been uncovered by researchers.
The researchers discovered chemical signatures in the corals' biology, or biomarkers, that are present in organisms that were most resistant to the bleaching. This previously hidden insight could help researchers and conservationists better restore and protect reefs around the world.

Usually, we think of biomarkers as signatures of disease, but this could be a signature of health. This could help us restore reefs with the most resistant stock.Corals are symbiotic communities where coral animal cells build homes for algae that provide them energy and create their colors. When corals bleach, however, the algae are lost and leave behind skeletons that are susceptible to disease and death.This symbiosis also plays a role in a coral's resistance and resilience to bleaching.
Neighboring corals could behave completely differently in response to high temperatures. One coral could bleach completely while its neighbor maintained a healthy golden hue.
Researchers now thoroughly analyzed the biochemicals of corals collected from this biological library using a method called metabolomics. The corals are completely different in their chemistry, but you can't tell until you run the mass spec and they did just that now.
The team found that corals that were resistant to bleaching and those that were susceptible hosted two different communities of algae. The distinguishing feature between these algal populations was found in their cells, in compounds known as lipids.
The researchers' metabolomic analysis detected two different lipid formulations. Bleaching-resistant corals featured algae that have what are known as saturated lipids. Susceptible corals had more unsaturated lipids.This knowledge can be used to protect corals in the future. Conservation biology has some of the more successful stories in modern scientific history
Metabolomic signatures of coral bleaching history, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01388-7 , www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01388-7
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-uncovering-corals-resist.html?utm_sou...

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