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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 8, 2020 at 6:15am

Buffer could limit environmental spread of antibiotic resistance

Many livestock receive antibiotics that protect against bacterial diseases. But over time, antibiotics also trigger the evolution of bacteria that can resist them. Those antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in turn, can pass along genes responsible for that resistance to other bacterial species, ultimately reducing the effectiveness of the drugs

When manure from livestock administered with antibiotics is applied as fertilizer, antibiotic resistance genes can enter soil and, following precipitation, run off into rivers and other bodies of water, furthering their spread.

A research team  ran experiments to evaluate the minimum distance between a manure slurry-covered field and surface water that would prevent the runoff of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes. The team found that levels of all three antibiotics it measured, along with seven of the 10 resistance genes, substantially decreased as that distance increased.

The researchers concluded that maintaining between 112 and 220 feet of distance would limit most runoff pollution across a no-till field rich in the clay soils .

Because that recommended distance is specific to the experimental site, the team recommended running similar experiments with varying field conditions, soil types, slopes and rainfall amounts to calibrate suitable distances elsewhere.

Maria C. Hall et al. Influence of Setback Distance on Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Runoff and Soil Following the Land Application of Swine Manure Slurry, Environmental Science & Technology (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b04834

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-buffer-limit-environmental-antibiotic...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 8, 2020 at 6:06am

Genetic study of proteins is a breakthrough in drug development for complex diseases

An innovative genetic study of blood protein levels by researchers has demonstrated how genetic data can be used to support drug target prioritization by identifying the causal effects of proteins on diseases.

Phenome-wide Mendelian randomization mapping the influence of the plasma proteome on complex diseases, Nature Genetics (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-0682-6 , www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-0682-6

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-genetic-proteins-breakthrough-drug-co...

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**New insight into mammalian stem cell evolution

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-insight-mammalian-stem-cell-evolution...

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** Methane-eating bacteria like nitrogen, too

Methane-eating bacteria can degrade ammonium in addition to methane, as discovered by microbiologists . Methane-eaters are important for the reduction of greenhouses gas emissions from volcanoes and other areas, but have not previously been linked with nitrogen emission.

Wouter Versantvoort et al., Multiheme hydroxylamine oxidoreductases produce NO during ammonia oxidation in methanotrophs. PNAS (2020). (to be published)

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-methane-eating-bacteria-nitrogen.html...

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Gulls pay attention to human eyes

Herring gulls notice where approaching humans are looking, and flee sooner when they're being watched, a new study shows.

Researchers approached gulls while either looking at the ground or directly at the birds.

Gulls were slower to move away when not being watched—allowing a human to get two metres closer on average.

Newly fledged gulls were just as likely to react to human gaze direction as older birds, suggesting they are born with this tendency or quickly learn it.

Madeleine Goumas et al. Herring gull aversion to gaze in urban and rural human settlements, Animal Behaviour (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.08.008

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-gulls-attention-human-eyes.html?utm_s...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 8, 2020 at 5:39am

MRI scans show brain reorganization during long space flights, but no neurodegeneration

An international team of researchers has found that long space flights can lead to some minor brain reorganization but no neurodegeneration.  

The group describes their study of the brains of cosmonauts returning from long-term missions aboard the International Space Station, and what they found.

The researchers found that the brain reorients itself during long space missions, essentially floating into different parts of the skull. This resulted in slight reorganization of the brain itself in response to the reorientation. The cosmonauts brains also responded in other ways to the unusual living environment—they acquired new motor skills and had better balance and coordination. The researchers also found that the reorientation did not result in neurodegeneration and that normal orientation was nearly restored seven months after the cosmonauts returned to Earth. They also confirmed fluid build-up behind the eyes as the reason for the loss of visual acuity during long space flights.

Steven Jillings et al. Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts' brains after long-duration spaceflight, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz9488

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-mri-scans-brain-space-flights.html?ut...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 8, 2020 at 5:29am

Children use both brain hemispheres to understand language, unlike adults

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-children-brain-hemispheres-l...

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Superconductors are super resilient to magnetic fields

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-superconductors-super-resilient-magne...

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Alternative leather from fungi

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-alternative-leather-fungi.html

Animal skin is an excellent material, but the tanning process of leather causes significant chromium emissions that are damaging to the environment and human health. Synthetic leathers also burden the environment and fail to match the quality and durability of animal leather. Therefore, new bio-based replacement materials are sought for leather. Researchers now are using fungal mycelium to produce skinlike material that would be suited for industrial production.

For centuries, fungi and polypores have been used for making skinlike fabrics and accessories in Europe. Designers and researchers are now reviving this tradition to find sustainable alternatives to replace leather.

Scientists have been studying fungi and other microbes and their use in industrial biotechnology for quite a while. In laboratory conditions, fungal mycelium can be used to rapidly produce skinlike material with quite similar feel and tensile strength as animal skin.

Some items made of fungus-based leather are already being produced for commercial markets.

The production process of fungus-based leather represents creativity at its best: organic waste can be used as raw material for synthetic leather. Fungal mycelium can produce skinlike material out of, for example, food waste.

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-alternative-leather-fungi.html

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Alternative-leather-fr...; - check %%

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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