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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 31, 2020 at 5:57am

To survive asteroid impact, algae adopted Mixotrophy

Modern relatives of the ancient algae also have chloroplasts, which enable them to use sunlight to make food from carbon dioxide and water. This ability to survive both by feeding on other organisms and through photosynthesis is called mixotrophy. Examples of the few land plants with this ability include Venus flytraps and sundews.

Mixotrophy was both the means of initial survival and then an advantage after the post-asteroid darkness lifted because of the abundant small pretty cells, likely survivor cyanobacteria. Tiny, seemingly harmless ocean plants survived the darkness of the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs by learning a ghoulish behaviour—eating other living creatures.

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Vast amounts of debris, soot, and aerosols shot into the atmosphere when an asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, plunging the planet into darkness, cooling the climate, and acidifying the oceans. Along with the dinosaurs on the land and giant reptiles in the ocean, the dominant species of marine algae were instantly wiped out—except for one rare type.

Researchers found that once the post-asteroid darkness cleared, these mixotrophic algae expanded from coastal shelf areas into the open ocean where they became a dominant life form for the next million years, helping to quickly rebuild the food chain. It also helped that larger creatures who would normally feed on these algae were initially absent in the post-extinction oceans.

Only much later did the algae evolve, losing the ability to eat other creatures and re-establishing themselves to become one of the dominant species of algae in today's ocean.

"Algal plankton turn to hunting to survive and recover from end-Cretaceous impact darkness" Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abc9123

https://phys.org/news/2020-10-survive-asteroid-impact-algae.html?ut...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 31, 2020 at 5:48am

Explaining dark matter without hypothetical undiscovered particles and without changing physical laws

https://sciencex.com/news/2020-10-dark-hypothetical-undiscovered-pa...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 10:24am

A Triple Threat Against Cancer
A three-in-one approach combining immune checkpoint inhibition, tumor microenvironment targeting and chemotherapy drugs could help tackle difficult-to-treat tumors.

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Tube-dwelling anemone toxins have pharmacological potential, mappin...

Researchers based in Brazil and the United States have completed the first-ever mapping exercise to profile the toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones, or cerianthids, a family of marine animals belonging to the same phylum (Cnidaria) as sea anemones, jellyfish and corals. The analysis revealed that the toxins that can act on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and cell walls, among other functions, paving the way to the discovery of novel medications.

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Scientists explain the paradox of quantum forces in nanodevices

Researchers from the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) have proposed a new approach to describe the interaction of metals with electromagnetic fluctuations (i.e., with random bursts of electric and magnetic fields). The obtained results have applications in both fundamental physics, and for creating nanodevices for various purposes. The article was published in the European Physical Journal C.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 10:13am

How malaria parasites hide from the human immune system

The parasite may turn genes on or off to allow the spleen to clean up infected blood cells

Malaria parasites survive tough times by not being too clingy.

During Africa’s dry season, when mosquitoes are scarce, malaria parasites have a hard time spreading to new hosts. So the parasites hide out in the human body by keeping the cells they infect from clinging to blood vessels, researchers report October 26 in Nature Medicine. This way, infected cells get removed from circulation and parasite levels in the body remain low, making people less sick and allowing the parasite to persist undetected. 

Doctors have long observed that symptoms of malaria, a deadly mosquito-borne infection, tend to wane during the dry season, which runs from January to May. But the reason has been unclear.

Keeping a low profile during dry months is a successful strategy for the parasite.

C. M. Andrade et al. Increased circulation time of Plasmodium falciparum underlies persistent asymptomatic infection in the dry season. Nature Medicine. Published online October 26, 2020. doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-1084-0.      

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/malaria-parasite-mosquitoes-gen...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 8:44am

New system uses floor vibrations to detect building occupants

Many buildings, manufacturing sites, shopping malls and other public spaces are equipped with occupant detection systems. These systems generally rely on cameras or occupants’ mobile phones. Such technologies infringe on privacy and may not function in emergencies such as fires. Scientists at ENAC’s Applied Computing and Mechanics Laboratory (IMAC) have developed an alternative approach. By installing sensors in a building’s floor slabs, we can measure the vibrations created by footsteps. That lets us calculate the number of people in the building as well as where they are located and their trajectory. The signals the sensors record can vary considerably depending on the person’s anatomy, walking speed, shoe type, health and mood.

This method uses advanced algorithms – or more specifically, support vector machines – to classify the signals recorded by the sensors. Some interpretation strategies were inspired by the convolutional neural networks often employed in pixel-based image recognition, and can identify the footstep characteristics of specific occupants.

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-floor-vibrations-occupants.html...'%20mobile%20phones.

https://researchnews.cc/news/3304/New-system-uses-floor-vibrations-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 8:09am

CRISPR turns normal body fat into a type that burns energy

Metabolic conditions linked to obesity could be treated by removing fat from a person, turning it into energy-burning “beige fat” using CRISPR gene editing and then implanting the altered fat back into the body, animal studies suggest.

It would be a personalised therapy for metabolic disease

 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2257655-crispr-turns-normal-bo...

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The spooky and dangerous side of black licorice

Black licorice may look and taste like an innocent treat, but this candy has a dark side. On Sept. 23, 2020, it was reported that black licorice was the culprit in the death of a 54-year-old man in Massachusetts. How could this be? Overdosing on licorice sounds more like a twisted tale than a plausible fact.

The unfortunate man who recently succumbed to excessive black licorice consumption is not alone. There are a smattering of similar case reports in medical journals, in which patients experience hypertension crisis, muscle breakdown or even death. Adverse reactions are most frequently seen in people over the age of 40 who are eating far more black licorice than the average person. In addition, they are usually consuming the product for prolonged periods of time. In the most recent case, the Massachusetts man had been eating a bag and a half of black licorice every day for three weeks.

Glycyrrhizin (also called glycyrrhizic acid) is the chemical in black licorice that gives the candy its signature flavor, but it also leads to its toxic effects.

https://theconversation.com/the-spooky-and-dangerous-side-of-black-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 7:42am

UN report says up to 850,000 animal viruses could be caught by humans, unless we protect nature

Human damage to biodiversity is leading us into a pandemic era. The virus that causes COVID-19, for example, is linked to similar viruses in bats, which may have been passed to humans via pangolins or another species.

Environmental destruction such as land clearing, deforestation, climate change, intense agriculture and the wildlife trade is putting humans into closer contact with wildlife. Animals carry microbes that can be transferred to people during these encounters.

A major report released today says up to 850,000 undiscovered viruses which could be transferred to humans are thought to exist in mammal and avian hosts.

The report, by The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), says to avoid future pandemics, humans must urgently transform our relationship with the environment.

https://theconversation.com/un-report-says-up-to-850-000-animal-vir...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 6:48am

**Identifying biomolecule fragments in ionising radiation

When living cells are bombarded with fast, heavy ions, their interactions with water molecules can produce randomly scattered 'secondary' electrons with a wide range of energies. These electrons can then go on to trigger potentially damaging reactions in nearby biological molecules, producing electrically charged fragments. So far, however, researchers have yet to determine the precise energies at which secondary electrons produce certain fragments. In a new study published in EPJ D, researchers in Japan led by Hidetsugu Tsuchida at Kyoto University define for the first time the precise exact ranges in which positively and negatively charged fragments can be produced.

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**Study shows comets impacted start of life on earth

The Big Bang may have started the universe, but it's likely that littler bangs played a key role in life on Earth, say Albion College Physics Professor Nicolle Zellner and Chemistry Professor Vanessa McCaffrey. They (along with former student Jayden Butler, '17) share their fascinating findings on the interspace dispersal of glycolaldehyde (GLA) in an article recently published by the journal Astrobiology.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 6:43am

New 'epigenetic' clock provides insight into how the human brain ages

While our circadian body clock dictates our preferred rhythm of sleep or wakefulness, a relatively new concept—the epigenetic clock—could inform us about how swiftly we age, and how prone we are to diseases of old age.

People age at different rates, with some individuals developing both characteristics and diseases related to aging earlier in life than others. Understanding more about this so-called 'biological age' could help us learn more about how we can prevent diseases associated with age, such as dementia. Epigenetic markers control the extent to which genes are switched on and off across the different cell-types and tissues that make up a human body. Unlike our genetic code, these epigenetic marks change over time, and these changes can be used to accurately predict biological age from a DNA sample. Now, scientists at the University of Exeter have developed a new epigenetic clock specifically for the human brain. As a result of using human brain tissue samples, the new clock is far more accurate than previous versions, that were based on blood samples or other tissues. The researchers hope that their new clock, published in Brain and funded by Alzheimer's Society, will provide insight into how accelerated aging in the brain might be associated with brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Recalibrating the epigenetic clock: implications for assessing biological age in the human cortex, Brain (2020). academic.oup.com/brain/article … 0.1093/brain/awaa334

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-epigenetic-clock-insight-hum...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 30, 2020 at 6:32am

Directly observing intracellular nanoparticle formation with nano-computed tomography

It is currently challenging to directly observe the formation of intracellular nanostructures in the lab. In a new report, a research team in chemistry, life sciences, medical engineering and science and technology, used a rationally designed small molecule abbreviated NBC-Iod-CBT (short for 4-nitrobenzyl carbamate–Cys(SEt)-Asp-Asp-Phe(iodine)–2-cyano-benzothiazole) and directly observed intracellular nanoparticle formation with nanocomputed tomography (nano-CT).

During the experiments, the glutathione (GSH) reduction and nitroreductase (NTR) cleavage mechanisms caused NBC-Iod-CBT molecules to undergo a click condensation reaction and self-assemble nanoparticles (NPs) as Iod-CBT-NPs. When the team conducted nano-CT imaging of NBC-Iod-CBT treated, nitroreductase-expressing HeLa cells in the lab, they showed the existence of self-assembled Iod-CBT-NPs in their cytoplasm. The new strategy is now published on Science Advances and will assist life scientists and bioengineers to understand the formation mechanisms of intracellular nanostructures.

Miaomiao Zhang et al. Directly observing intracellular nanoparticle formation with nanocomputed tomography, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3190

Hak Soo Choi et al. Design considerations for tumour-targeted nanoparticles, Nature Nanotechnology (2009). DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.314

Xiaohu Gao et al. In vivo cancer targeting and imaging with semiconductor quantum dots, Nature Biotechnology (2004). DOI: 10.1038/nbt994

https://phys.org/news/2020-10-intracellular-nanoparticle-formation-...

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