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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 8, 2020 at 5:28am

Stone forest ( Image credit: Google images)

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 8, 2020 at 5:24am

How stone forests get their spikes

Stone forests—pointed rock formations resembling trees that populate regions of China, Madagascar, and many other locations worldwide—are as majestic as they are mysterious, created by uncertain forces that give them their shape.

A team of scientists has now shed new light on how these natural structures are created. Through a series of simulations and experiments, they show how flowing water carves ultra-sharp spikes in landforms. In their study, the scientists simulated the formation of these pinnacles over time through a mathematical model and computer simulations that took into account how dissolving produces flows and how these flows also affect dissolving and thus reshaping of a formation.

To confirm the validity of their simulations, the researchers conducted a series of experiments in NYU's Applied Mathematics Lab. Here, the scientists replicated the formation of these natural structures by creating sugar-based pinnacles, mimicking soluble rocks that compose karst and similar topographies, and submerging them in tanks of water. Interestingly, no flows had to be imposed, since the dissolving process itself created the flow patterns needed to carve spikes.

The experimental results reflected those of the simulations, thereby supporting the accuracy of the researchers' model (see "Video2ExperimentSimulation" in the below drive). The authors speculate that these same events happen—albeit far more slowly—when minerals are submerged under water, which later recedes to reveal stone pinnacles and stone forests.

 Jinzi Mac Huang el al., "Ultra-sharp pinnacles sculpted by natural convective dissolution," PNAS (2020). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2001524117

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-stone-forests-spikes.html?utm_source=...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 7, 2020 at 8:02am

Cosmonaut Brain Scans Show Space Does Weird Things to Motor Skills And Vision

https://www.sciencealert.com/cosmonaut-brain-study-shows-how-space-...

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Patients with COVID-19 shouldn’t have to die alone. Here’s how a loved one could be there at the end

We can strike a balance between minimising transmission risk and practising compassion to allow loved ones to visit patients with COVID-19 in ICU at the end of their lives.

https://theconversation.com/patients-with-covid-19-shouldnt-have-to...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 7, 2020 at 5:30am

 Researchers find a cause and possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome

Scientists have discovered an underlying mechanism for Fragile X syndrome — a leading cause of autism and the primary genetic driver of intellectual disability — as well as a drug that reversed the underlying abnormality and autism-like behaviors in mice. Their research appears in the Sept. 3 edition of the journal Cell.

Fragile X, a genetic disorder linked to the X chromosome, leads to learning disabilities, cognitive impairment, and many features of autism, including social difficulties. Approximately one in 7,000 males and one in 11,000 females have the syndrome. Fragile X typically becomes evident in children by age 2.

The new Yale study deepens basic understanding of the syndrome and demonstrates early promise for a previously unexplored avenue for treatment.

In the study researchers focused on a protein called adenosine triphosphate synthase, which is present in nearly all cells in the body. It uses energy from food to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that is a major energy source for cells.

In Fragile X syndrome, cells’ ATP-making function is abnormal,the team found. Specifically, the cells’ mitochondria — which process fuel to make ATP — have a leaky inner membrane.

This leaky membrane is making the process of ATP production inefficient. In Fragile X neurons, the synapses fail to mature during development. The synapses remain in an immature state and this seems to be related to their immature metabolism. 
When a leak in the cell’s mitochondria short-circuits efficient functioning of the synapse, memory, learning and typical brain development are all compromised.

Source: https://news.yale.edu/2020/09/03/yale-researchers-find-cause-and-po...

https://researchnews.cc/news/2359/Yale-researchers-find-a-cause-and...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 6, 2020 at 9:30am

The amazing phenomenon of sonic booms

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2020 at 6:51am

By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity

Recent major surveys show that reductions in genomic complexity — including the loss of key genes — have successfully shaped the evolution of life throughout history.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/by-losing-genes-life-often-evolved-m...

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Mathematicians Report New Discovery About the Dodecahedron

Three mathematicians have resolved a fundamental question about straight paths on the 12-sided Platonic solid.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-report-new-discovery-...

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2020 at 6:21am

Did you know lime juice burns your skin in the sun? Find out why ….

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2020 at 6:14am

Scientists develop new compound which kills both types of antibiotic resistant superbugs

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-scientists-compound-antibiotic-resist...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Scientists-develop-new...    check %%

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Plant protein discovery could reduce need for fertilizer

Researchers have discovered how a protein in plant roots controls the uptake of minerals and water, a finding which could improve the tolerance of agricultural crops to climate change and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.

Guilhem Reyt et al, Uclacyanin Proteins Are Required for Lignified Nanodomain Formation within Casparian Strips, Current Biology (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.095

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-protein-discovery-fertilizer.html?utm...

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India will supply coronavirus vaccines to the world — will its people benefit?

The country will struggle to make and distribute enough doses to control its own massive outbreak, scientists say.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02507-x?utm_source=Natur...

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Scientists just created the first lab-grown human breast milk

This may spell the beginning of the end for infant formula

https://massivesci.com/articles/cultured-breastmilk-biomilq-new-har...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2020 at 5:57am

Uncovering the genetics behind heart attacks that surprise young, healthy women

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-uncovering-genetics-heart-yo...

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Researchers identify nanobody that may prevent COVID-19 infection

Researchers  have identified a small neutralizing antibody, a so-called nanobody, that has the capacity to block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells. The researchers think this nanobody has the potential to be developed as an antiviral treatment against COVID-19.

An alpaca nanobody neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by blocking receptor interaction, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18174-5 , www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18174-5

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-nanobody-covid-infection.html?utm_sou...

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Nano particles for healthy tissue

"Eat your vitamins" might be replaced with "ingest your ceramic nano-particles" in the future as space research is giving more weight to the idea that nanoscopic particles could help protect cells from common causes of damage.

Oxidative stress occurs in our bodies when cells lose the natural balance of electrons in the molecules that we are made of. This is a common and constant occurrence that is part of our metabolism but also plays a role in the aging process  and several pathological conditions, such as heart failure, muscle atrophy and Parkinson's disease.

The best advice for keeping your body in balance and avoiding oxidative stress is still to have a healthy diet and eat enough vitamins, but nanoparticles are showing promising results in keeping cells in shape.

When in space, astronauts have been shown to suffer from more oxidative stress due to the extra radiation they receive and as a by-product of floating in weightlessness, so researchers in Italy were keen to see if nanoparticles would have the same protective effect on cells on the International Space Station as on Earth.

The effect the researchers observed seems to imply that nanoparticles work better and longer than traditional antioxidants such as vitamins.

Giada Graziana Genchi et al. Modulation of gene expression in rat muscle cells following treatment with nanoceria in different gravity regimes, Nanomedicine (2018). DOI: 10.2217/nnm-2018-0316

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-nano-particles-healthy-tissue.html?ut...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 5, 2020 at 5:51am

The genetics of blood: A global perspective

What's the risk of different human populations to develop a disease? To find out, a team of researchers created an international consortium to study the blood of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

By testing more than 45 million genetic variations in each participant, they have found more than 5,000 mutations in human DNA that affect the blood characteristics of populations around the world.

Close to 750,000 participants from five major populations—European, African, Hispanic, East Asian and South Asian—were tested to see the effect of genetic mutations on characteristics in their blood.

These characteristics include such things as hemoglobin concentration and platelet counts.

Each human population is subject to different environments. 

Over thousands of years these environmental pressures have resulted in the progressive appearance of variations in DNA, called genetic mutations, which can influence our physical characteristics, such as skin size or color, but also our risk of getting certain diseases.

This observation (of how the environment affects how people's appearance and health vary in different parts of the world) represents the cornerstone of the theory of evolution by natural selection proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859.

This new study shows  that the vast majority of mutations associated with blood cells were common to all five major population groups.

he researchers also found about 100 mutations whose effect was restricted to certain populations and which, it turns out, are not found in people of European descent.

For example, in individuals of South Asian origin, the researchers identified a mutation in the interleukin-7 gene that stimulates the secretion of this molecule and thus increases the levels of lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell in the immune system) circulating in their blood.

Of course, this kind of mutation can affect the health of people of South Asian origin, it 's hypothesised.  It's thought that this mutation could influence their capacity to resist certain infections or develop diseases like blood cancer.

By comparing the genetic results obtained in each population, the researchers were able to prioritize certain genes that appear to have an overall effect on blood cell production.

This will make it possible, over the long term, to improve ways of predicting the risk of suffering from certain diseases and to develop new, more effective treatments.

Ming-Huei Chen et al, Trans-ethnic and Ancestry-Specific Blood-Cell Genetics in 746,667 Individuals from 5 Global Populations, Cell (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.045

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-genetics-blood-global-perspe...

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