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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 9:57am

Possible signs of life on Venus

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 8:56am

Bird genes are multitaskers, say scientists

Scientists  have found that although male and female birds have an almost identical set of genes, they function differently in each sex through a mechanism called alternative splicing.

Males and females of the same bird species can be strikingly different. For example, in addition to fundamental differences in reproduction, the sexes can show profound variation in behavior, colouration, metabolism, disease incidence and life history. The team wanted to understand how these remarkable differences develop despite males and females sharing mostly the same DNA.

One notable example of differences between male and female birds is in the peafowl, peacocks have magnificent plumage, whereas the female peahen is relatively dull. The peacock's long tail and bright colours evolved to help them attract mates, but having such eye-catching looks can come with negatives such as making them more noticeable to predators.

Features like this are beneficial to the males but may not be beneficial for females, so birds must find a way to evolve different characteristics. So researchers predicted that the secret to these differences must lie in understanding how the same genes are expressed and function differently in males and females.

The team studied the genomes of multiple bird species to understand how they expressed these different qualities in males and females.

Genes encode proteins, large complex molecules which drive processes in the body and are responsible for the function and structure of the body's tissues. Before genes can be used to make proteins, their DNA sequence is transcribed into RNA, an intermediary molecule that contains the instructions for making proteins.

The scientists found that males and females differ in how bits of RNA are stitched together, meaning that the same gene can produce a large number of distinct proteins and functions depending on which sex the gene is expressed in. This process is called alternative splicing. It is likely that this genetic process is really important for generating biodiversity, not only in birds but across the whole animal kingdom. The study  revealed hundreds of bird genes that use this method to enable the evolution of sex differences. The researchers showed that these genes have evolved remarkably rapidly as a result of the different selection pressures experienced by males and females.

https://academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-article/doi/10.1093/molbev/msa...

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-bird-genes-multitaskers-scientists.html

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 8:51am

New measurements show moon has hazardous radiation levels

Future moon explorers will be bombarded with two to three times more radiation than astronauts aboard the International Space Station, a health hazard that will require thick-walled shelters for protection, scientists reported  recently.

China's lander on the far side of the moon is providing the first full measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface, vital information for NASA and others aiming to send astronauts to the moon, the study noted.

Astronauts would get 200 to 1,000 times more radiation on the moon than what we experience on Earth—or five to 10 times more than passengers on a trans-Atlantic airline flight.

The difference is, however, that we're not on such a flight for as long as astronauts would be when they're exploring the moon. Cancer is the primary risk.

Humans are not really made for these radiation levels and should protect themselves when on the moon. Radiation levels should be pretty much the same all over the moon, except for near the walls of deep craters.

S. Zhang el al., First measurements of the radiation dose on the lunar surface, Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.aaz1334

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-moon.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 7:13am

 Secure nano-carrier delivers medications directly to cells

Medications often have unwanted side-effects. One reason is that they reach not only the unhealthy cells for which they are intended, but also reach and have an impact on healthy cells. Researchers  have now developed a stable nano-carrier for medications. A special mechanism makes sure the drugs are only released in diseased cells.

 Ceren Kimna et al, DNA Strands Trigger the Intracellular Release of Drugs from Mucin-Based Nanocarriers, ACS Nano (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c04035

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-nano-carrier-medications-cells.html?u...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 6:59am

The male Y chromosome does more than we thought

New light is being shed on a little-known role of Y chromosome genes, specific to males, that could explain why men suffer differently than women from various diseases, including COVID-19. This  discovery provides a better understanding of how male genes on the Y chromosome allow male cells to function differently from female cells. These results could help to shed some light on why some diseases occur differently in men and women.

Humans each have 23 pairs of chromosomes, including one pair of sex chromosomes. While females carry two X sex chromosomes, males carry one X and one Y chromosome. This male chromosome carries genes that females lack. Although these male genes are expressed in all cells of the body, their only confirmed role to date has been essentially limited to the functions of the sex organs.

In his study, scientists performed a genetic manipulation that inactivated two male genes on the Y chromosome, altering several signalling pathways that play important roles in certain functions of non-sex organ cells. For example, under stress, some of the affected mechanisms could influence the way in which cells in human hearts defend themselves against aggressions such as ischemia (reduced blood supply) or mechanical stress.

In addition, the study showed that these male genes performed their regulatory functions in a way that was unusual compared to the mechanisms generally used by most other genes on the non-sex chromosomes. Thus, instead of specifically activating certain genes by direct action at the genome level, the Y chromosome seems to affect cellular functions by acting on protein production.

The discovery of these differences in function may explain in part why the functions of male Y chromosome genes have so far been poorly understood.

Males differ from females in the manifestation, severity and consequences of most diseases. A recent example of this duality is COVID-19, which has a mortality rate twice as high in men than in women.

Christian F. Deschepper, Regulatory effects of the Uty/Ddx3y locus on neighboring chromosome Y genes and autosomal mRNA transcripts in adult mouse non-reproductive cells, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71447-3

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-male-chromosome-thought.html?utm_sour...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 6:57am

Research challenges conventional wisdom about key autism trait

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-conventional-wisdom-key-auti...

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Scientists capture light in a polymeric quasicrystal

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-scientists-capture-polymeric-quasicry...

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https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/how-neanderthals-lost-their...

How Neanderthals lost their Y chromosome

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Can fitness bands predict COVID-19 infection before you show symptoms? Probably not

WHOOP’s wearables make strong claims — but the science is still weak

https://massivesci.com/articles/whoop-wearable-fitness-tracker-covi...

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How microbes in a mother's intestines affect fetal neurodevelopment

https://researchnews.cc/news/2691/How-microbes-in-a-mother-s-intest...

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Dogs Deployed at Airport Can Detect COVID-19

https://www.sciencealert.com/dogs-deployed-at-helsinki-airport-can-...

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 The Massive 'Blob' Anomaly Has Our Fingerprints All Over It, Study Finds

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-foreboding-pacific-blob-anomaly-ha...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 6:39am

Materials scientists learn how to make liquid crystal shape-shift

A new 3-D-printing method will make it easier to manufacture and control the shape of soft robots, artificial muscles and wearable devices.  Researchers show that by controlling the printing temperature of liquid crystal elastomer, or LCE, they can control the material's degree of stiffness and ability to contract—also known as degree of actuation. What's more, they are able to change the stiffness of different areas in the same material by exposing it to heat.

As a proof of concept, the researchers 3-D-printed in a single print, with a single ink, structures whose stiffness and actuation varies by orders of magnitude, from zero to 30 percent. For example, one area of the LCE structure can contract like muscles; and another can be flexible, like tendons. The breakthrough was possible because the team studied LCE closely to better understand its material properties.

 "Three-dimensional printing of functionally graded liquid crystal elastomer" Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abc0034

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-materials-scientists-liquid-crystal-s...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 6:34am

Machine learning takes on synthetic biology: algorithms can bioengineer cells for you

Conventional methods of bioengineering are slow and laborious, with trial and error being the main approach.

So now scientists have developed a new tool that adapts machine learning algorithms to the needs of synthetic biology to guide development systematically. The innovation means scientists will not have to spend years developing a meticulous understanding of each part of a cell and what it does in order to manipulate it; instead, with a limited set of training data, the algorithms are able to predict how changes in a cell's DNA or biochemistry will affect its behaviour, then make recommendations for the next engineering cycle along with probabilistic predictions for attaining the desired goal. According to the developers of this technology, if you're able to create new cells to specification in a couple weeks or months instead of years, you could really revolutionize what you can do with bioengineering.

Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18008-4

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-machine-synthetic-biology-algorithms-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 26, 2020 at 6:20am

Using deep learning to control the unconsciousness level of patients in an anesthetic state

Researchers have been developing machine learning algorithms for an increasingly wide range of purposes. This includes algorithms that can be applied in healthcare settings, for instance helping clinicians to diagnose specific diseases or neuropsychiatric disorders or monitor the health of patients over time.

They have recently carried out a study investigating the possibility of using deep reinforcement learning to control the levels of unconsciousness of patients who require anesthesia for a medical procedure. They  made significant progress in understanding how anesthetic medications affect neural activity  and now  a multidisciplinary team is studying how to accurately determine anesthetic doses from neural recordings. They also we trained a neural network using the cross-entropy method, by repeatedly letting it run on simulated patients and encouraging actions that led to good outcomes.  developed a deep neural network and trained it to control anesthetic dosing using reinforcement learning within a simulated environment. 

Controlling level of unconsciousness by titrating Propofol with deep reinforcement learning. arXiv:2008.12333 [cs.LG]. arxiv.org/abs/2008.12333

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-09-deep-unconsciousness-patients-a...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 25, 2020 at 8:18am

How to embrace your scientific artistry Illustrations can help to get your research the attention it so richly deserves. Three scientific artists offer their advice about how to get started with the right tools, find inspiration and creat.... “One common issue at my zoological illustration and painting workshops is that scientists feel that they are not artistic enough — and artists feel that they are not scientific enough,” says illustrator Justine Hirten. “I encourage my students to accept themselves as legitimate members of both the creative and the scientific communities.”

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