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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 20, 2021 at 10:11am

Researchers discover hidden SARS-CoV-2 'gate' that opens to allow COVID infection

Since the early days of the COVID pandemic, scientists have aggressively pursued the secrets of the mechanisms that allow severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to enter and infect healthy human cells.

Researchers  have discovered how glycans—molecules that make up a sugary residue around the edges of the spike protein—act as infection gateways. They essentially figured out how the spike actually opens and infects. The research team's gate discovery opens potential avenues for new therapeutics to counter SARS-CoV-2 infection. If glycan gates could be pharmacologically locked in the closed position, then the virus is effectively prevented from opening to entry and infection.

A glycan gate controls opening of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, Nature Chemistry (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41557-021-00758-3 , www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00758-3

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-hidden-sars-cov-gate-covid-infection....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 20, 2021 at 9:56am

This exotic particle had an out-of-body experience; these scientists took a picture of it

Scientists have taken the clearest picture yet of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called quantum spin liquid (QSL).

The achievement could facilitate the development of superfast quantum computers and energy-efficient superconductors.

The scientists are the first to capture an image of how electrons in a QSL decompose into spin-like particles called spinons and charge-like particles called chargons.

 Ruan, W., Chen, Y., Tang, S. et al. Evidence for quantum spin liquid behaviour in single-layer 1T-TaSe2 from scanning tunnelling microscopy. Nat. Phys. (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01321-0 , www.nature.com/articles/s41567-021-01321-0

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-exotic-particle-out-of-body-scientist...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 20, 2021 at 9:53am

Scientists harness human protein to deliver molecular medicines to cells

Researchers have developed a new way to deliver molecular therapies to cells. The system, called SEND, can be programmed to encapsulate and deliver different RNA cargoes. SEND harnesses natural proteins in the body that form virus-like particles and bind RNA, and it may provoke less of an immune response than other delivery approaches.

Segel M, Lash B, et al. Mammalian retrovirus-like protein PEG10 packages its own mRNA and can be pseudotyped for intercellular mRNA delivery. Science. Online August 19, 2021. DOI: 10.1126/science.abg6155

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-scientists-harness-human-pro...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 20, 2021 at 9:28am

Rattlesnake rattles trick human ears

Rattlesnakes increase their rattling rate as potential threats approach, and this abrupt switch to a high-frequency mode makes listeners, including humans, think they're closer than they actually are, researchers report August 19th in the journal Current Biology.

The acoustic display of rattlesnakes, which has been interpreted for decades as a simple acoustic warning signal about the presence of the snake, is in fact a far more intricate interspecies communication signal. The sudden switch to the high-frequency mode acts as a smart signal fooling the listener  about its actual distance to the sound source. The misinterpretation of distance by the listener thereby creates a distance safety margin.

Additional results showed that rattlesnakes adapt their rattling rate in response to the approach velocity of an object rather than its size.

Snakes do not just rattle to advertise their presence, but they evolved an innovative solution: a sonic distance warning device similar to the one included in cars while driving backwards.

Current Biology, Forsthofer and Schutte et al.: "Frequency modulation of rattlesnake acoustic display affects acoustic distance perception in humans" www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(21)00973-8 , DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.018

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Rattlesnakes vigorously shake their tails to warn other animals of their presence. Past studies have shown that rattling varies in frequency, but little is known about the behavioral relevance of this phenomenon or what message it sends to listeners. Researchers noticed that rattling increased in frequency when they approached rattlesnakes but decreased when they walked away.

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-rattlesnake-rattles-human-ears.html?u...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 20, 2021 at 9:23am

First steerable catheter developed for brain surgery

A team of engineers and physicians has developed a steerable catheter that for the first time will give neurosurgeons the ability to steer the device in any direction they want while navigating the brain's arteries and blood vessels. The device was inspired by nature, specifically insect legs and flagella—tail-like structures that allow microscopic organisms such as bacteria to swim.

The steerable catheter was successfully tested in pigs .

Tilvawala Gopesh et al, Soft robotic steerable microcatheter for the endovascular treatment of cerebral disorders, Science Robotics (2021). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abf0601https://techxplore.com/news/2021-08...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 18, 2021 at 11:30am

 Preserve a Strawberry Forever?

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 18, 2021 at 10:33am

Cities are making mammals bigger

A new study shows urbanization is causing many mammal species to grow bigger, possibly because of readily available food in places packed with people.

The finding runs counter to many scientists' hypothesis that cities would trigger mammals to get smaller over time. Buildings and roads trap and re-emit a greater degree of heat than green landscapes, causing cities to have higher temperatures than their surroundings, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect.. Animals in warmer climates tend to be smaller than the same species in colder environments, a classic biological principle called Bergmann's Rule.

But  researchers discovered an unexpected pattern when they analyzed nearly 140,500 measurements of body length and mass from more than 100 North American mammal species collected over 80 years: City-dwelling mammals are both longer and heftier than their rural counterparts.

In theory, animals in cities should be getting smaller because of these heat island effects, but the researchers didn't find evidence for this happening in mammals. This paper is a good argument for why we can't assume Bergmann's Rule or climate alone is important in determining the size of animals.

Maggie M. Hantak et al, Mammalian body size is determined by interactions between climate, urbanization, and ecological traits, Communications Biology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02505-3

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-cities-mammals-bigger.html?utm_source...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 18, 2021 at 10:20am

The secret of the Stradivari violin confirmed

New research  has confirmed that renowned violin maker Antonio Stradivari and others treated their instruments with chemicals that produced their unique sound, and several of these chemicals have been identified for the first time.

Joseph Nagyvary, professor emeritus of biochemistry at Texas A&M, who first proposed the theory that chemicals used in making the violins—not so much the skill of making the instrument itself—was the reason Stradivari and others, such as Guarneri del Gesu, made instruments whose sound has not been equaled in over 200 years. An international team led by Hwan-Ching Tai, professor of chemistry at National Taiwan University, has had their findings published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

About 40 years ago at Texas A&M, Nagyvary was the first to prove a theory that he had spent years researching: that a primary reason for the pristine sound, beyond the fine craftsmanship, was the chemicals Stradivari and others used to treat their instruments due to a worm infestation at the time.

Their  research over many years has been based on the assumption that the wood of the great masters underwent an aggressive chemical treatment, and this had a direct role in creating the great sound of the Stradivari and the Guarneri.

These findings were verified in a review by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific organization.

The current findings of the research team show that borax, zinc, copper and alum—along with lime water—were used to treat the wood used in the instruments.

The presence of these chemicals all points to collaboration between the violin makers and the local drugstore and druggist at the time. Both Stradivari and Guarneri would have wanted to treat their violins to prevent worms from eating away the wood because worm infestations were very widespread at that time."

He said that each violin maker probably used his own home-grown methods when treating the wood.

"This new study reveals that Stradivari and Guarneri had their own individual proprietary method of wood processing, to which they could have attributed a considerable significance," he said. "They could have come to realize that the special salts they used for impregnation of the wood also imparted to it some beneficial mechanical strength and acoustical advantages. These methods were kept secret. There were no patents in those times. How the wood was manipulated with chemicals was impossible to guess by the visual inspection of the finished product.

He said that the varnish recipes were not secret because the varnish itself is not a critical determinant of tone quality. In contrast, the process of how the fresh spruce planks were treated and processed with a variety of water-based chemical treatments is critical for the sound of the finished violin.

Such knowledge was needed to gain a "competitive advantage" over other instrument makers.

 Cheng‐Kuan Su et al, Materials Engineering of Violin Soundboards by Stradivari and Guarneri, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2021). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202105252

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-secret-stradivari-violin.html?utm_sou...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 18, 2021 at 10:11am

Three in four say climate 'tipping points' close

Some 73 percent of people now believe that Earth's climate is approaching abrupt and irreversible "tipping points" due to human activity, according to a global opinion poll released on17th August, 2021.

Scientists are increasingly concerned that some feedback loops in nature—such as irreversible melting of icesheets or permafrost—may be close to being triggered as mankind's mind-boggling carbon emissions show no signs of slowing, despite a pandemic.

The IPCC report warned that Earth is on course to be 1.5C hotter than pre-industrial times around 2030—a full decade earlier than it projected just three years ago.

Tuesday's survey, conducted by the Global Commons Alliance and Ipsos MORI, found four out of five respondents wanted to do more to protect the planet.

The world is not sleepwalking towards catastrophe. People know we are taking colossal risks, they want to do more and they want their governments to do more, polls say.

Tuesday's survey showed that people in developing nations were more likely to be willing to protect nature and the climate than those in richer countries.

Ninety-five percent of respondents in Indonesia, and 94 percent in South Africa, said they would do more for the planet, compared with just 70 percent and 74 percent in Germany and the United States, respectively.

https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/global-commons-survey-attitu...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 18, 2021 at 10:07am

Majority of climate change news coverage now accurate: study

Two decades ago, print media frequently gave equal credence to both legitimate climate experts and outlier climate deniers. But researchers found in more recent years that the media around the globe actually got it right most of the time. However, facts now outweigh a debate.

Nine out of ten media stories accurately reported the science on human contributions to climate change. It's not portrayed as a two-sided debate anymore.

Lucy McAllister et al, Balance as bias, resolute on the retreat? Updates & analyses of newspaper coverage in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada over the past 15 years, Environmental Research Letters (2021). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac14eb

https://phys.org/news/2021-08-majority-climate-news-coverage-accura...

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