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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 10:38am

Optical Wi-Fi allows for ultrafast underwater communications

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 10:33am

**Mutation leading to biological changes may play role in cancer

A new study from McGill University’s Goodman Cancer Research Centre (GCRC) has revealed significant biological changes in mice expressing an activated, mutant form of the Estrogen Receptor alpha (ER alpha), shedding new light on the role of this important gene in development and cancer. Over-expressed in approximately 70 % of breast cancer cases, the Estrogen Receptor is often associated with breast cancer therapy resistance when it mutates and therefore can contribute to poor patient outcomes. To understand how the biological effects of ER alpha mutations can lead to cancer, researchers at the GCRC have generated the first mouse model expressing one of these mutations early in development, bringing new insight on its effects on the development of the sexual organs.

https://researchnews.cc/news/2743/Mutation-leading-to-biological-ch...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 10:30am

Study finds that high levels of a growth factor increases risk for several cancers

A study of almost 400,000  participants has identified a new link between raised levels of the growth factor IGF-1 and increased thyroid cancer risk and has confirmed associations with breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. This could lead to new preventative strategies, including diet and lifestyle interventions.

IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) helps to support normal cell growth and development, processes which can lead to cancer if they become dysregulated.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-09-15-study-finds-high-levels-growth....

https://researchnews.cc/news/2729/Study-finds-that-high-levels-of-a...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 10:22am

Electrons that flow like water in ultra-pure graphene

Since its discovery in 2004, graphene has largely been known for its quantum properties. But recently, researchers discovered that electron flow in graphene at certain temperatures could be described using the very classical laws of hydrodynamics.

People observed that electrons in graphene flowed collectively, akin to water in a pipe. This was exciting not only because it provided a new playground to study electron interactions but also because it could also provide a new way to control electrons.”

Since that initial discovery, researchers wondered if the behavior could be replicated in other quantum materials.

Now, a team of researchers have classified different types of hydrodynamic behaviours which could arise in quantum materials where electrons flow collectively. This research opens the door to studying exotic physics and electron hydrodynamics in a range of new materials beyond graphene and paves the way for potentially interesting applications for extremely energy efficient electronics.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1788-9

https://researchnews.cc/news/2744/Electrons-that-flow-like-water-ar...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 10:15am

First Compelling Evidence of Organisms That Eat Viruses as a Food Source

Two types of single-celled organisms found drifting in the waters of the Gulf of Maine off North America's coast just might be the first true virophages known to science.

Researchers identified the virus grazers after sifting nearly 1,700 plankton cells collected from the waters of the gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, and amplifying the DNA inside each and every one to create individualised genomic libraries.

In the gulf sample, half of the libraries contained snippets of genes from 50 or more different viruses. In the Mediterranean sample it was closer to a third of the sample.

Most of the virus sequences appeared to be from bacteriophages – pathogens that invade and replicate inside bacterial cells.

Bacteria are a common food source for marine protozoans, so finding their dinner came pre-infected isn't much of a surprise.

But representatives belonging to groups known as choanozoans and picozoans, both collected from the waters off North America, stood out as a little unusual.

For one thing, in many cases there was not a shred of bacterial DNA in sight. Without any signs of a bacterial brunch, it's hard to know how bacteriophage genes might have ended up inside the planktons' cells.

More compelling still is that the two completely different phyla of protozoans shared near-identical viral sequences, making it hard to argue that infection was responsible.

While the evidence for a diet of virus snacks could be considered circumstantial, it's not unlike finding dark crumbs dusting your toddler's fingers near an empty box of Oreos. Nobody's going to blame you for being suspicious.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.524828/full

https://www.sciencealert.com/first-compelling-evidence-of-organisms...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 10:08am

Scientists Have Found The Molecule That Allows Bacteria to 'Exhale' Electricity

For mouthless, lungless bacteria, breathing is a bit more complicated than it is for humans. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; Geobacter - a ubiquitous, groundwater-dwelling genus of bacteria - swallow up organic waste and 'exhale' electrons, generating a tiny electric current in the process.

https://www.livescience.com/electron-breathing-geobacter-microbes.html

https://www.sciencealert.com/bacteria-in-mud-breathe-through-giant-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 9:46am

Researchers show conscious processes in birds' brains for the first time

By measuring brain signals, a neuroscience research group has demonstrated for the first time that corvid songbirds possess subjective experiences. Simultaneously recording behavior and brain activity enabled the group  to show that crows are capable of consciously perceiving sensory input. Until now this type of consciousness has only been witnessed in humans and other primates, which have completely different brain structures to birds.

For humans and our nearest relatives in the animal kingdom, the nonhuman primates, our ability to perceive things consciously is localized in the cerebral cortex. Over many years research has discussed whether animals with brains that are structured completely differently, without a cerebral cortex, are also endowed with conscious perception. Until now however there has been no experimental neurological data to support such a claim.

In order to track conscious processes in birds, the Tübingen scientists trained two crows: they had to signal whether they had seen a stimulus on a screen by moving their heads. Most of the stimuli were perceptually unambiguous: different trials presented either bright figures or no stimulus at all, and the crows reliably signaled the presence or absence of these stimuli, respectively. However, some stimuli were so faint that they were at the threshold of perception: for the same faint stimulus, the crows sometimes indicated that they had seen it, whereas in other cases they reported that there was no stimulus. Here, the subjective perception of the crows came into play.

While the crows responded to the visual stimuli, the researchers simultaneously recorded the activity of individual nerve cells in the brain. When the crows reported having seen something, the nerve cells were active in the period between presentation of the stimulus and the behavioral response. If they did not perceive a stimulus, the nerve cells remained silent. Surprisingly, it was possible to predict the subjective experience of the crows with regard to the stimulus based on the activity of the nerve cells.

These results conclusively show that nerve cells at higher processing levels of the crow's brain are influenced by subjective experience, or more precisely, produce subjective experiences."

This means that in terms of evolutionary history the origins of consciousness could be far older and more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously thought. the capability of conscious experience can be realized in differently structured brains and independently of the cerebral cortex.

Nieder et al., A neural correlate of sensory consciousness in a corvid bird. Science (2020). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.abb1447

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-conscious-birds-brains.html?utm_sourc...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 9:40am

Metformin treatment linked to slowed cognitive decline

Metformin is the first-line treatment for most cases of type 2 diabetes and one of the most commonly prescribed medications worldwide, with millions of individuals using it to optimize their blood glucose levels.

A new research study, conducted over six years 

 has revealed an additional effect: individuals with type 2 diabetes who used metformin experienced slower cognitive decline with lower dementia rates than those who did not use the medication.

The findings provide new hope for a means of reducing the risk of dementia in individuals with type 2 diabetes, and potentially those without diabetes who number nearly 47 million people worldwide.

Diabetes Care (2020). DOI: 10.2337/dc20-0892

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-metformin-treatment-linked-c...

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Scientists discover why tarantulas come in vivid blues and greens

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-scientists-tarantulas-vivid-blues-gre...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 9:30am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on September 28, 2020 at 9:27am

Ecologists confirm Alan Turing's theory for fairy circles

Fairy circles are one of nature's greatest enigmas and most visually stunning phenomena. An international research team has now, for the first time, collected detailed data to show that Alan Turing's model explains the striking vegetation patterns of the Australian fairy circles. In addition, the researchers showed that the grasses that make up these patterns act as "eco-engineers" to modify their own hostile and arid environment, thus keeping the ecosystem functioning.

Researchers used drone technology, spatial statistics, quadrat-based field mapping, and continuous data-recording from a field-weather station. With the drone and a multispectral camera, the researchers mapped the "vitality status" of the Triodia grasses (how strong and how well they grew) in five one-hectare plots and classified them into high- and low-vitality.

The systematic and detailed fieldwork enabled, for the first time in such an ecosystem, a comprehensive test of the 'Turing pattern' theory. Turing's concept was that in certain systems, due to random disturbances and a 'reaction-diffusion' mechanism, interaction between just two diffusible substances was enough to allow strongly patterned structures to spontaneously emerge. Physicists have used this model to explain the striking skin patterns in zebrafish or leopards for instance.

The data show that the unique gap pattern of the Australian fairy circles, which occur only in a small area east of the town of Newman, emerges from ecohydrological biomass-water feedbacks from the grasses. In fact, the fairy circles—with their large diameters of 4m, clay crusts from weathering and resultant water run-off—are a critical extra source of water for the dryland vegetation. Clumps of grasses increased shading and water infiltration around the nearby roots. With increasing years after fire, they merged more and more at the periphery of the vegetation gaps to form a barrier so that they could maximize their water uptake from the fairy circle's runoff. The protective plant cover of grasses could reduce soil-surface temperatures by about 25°C at the hottest time of the day, which facilitates the germination and growth of new grasses. In summary, the scientists found evidence both at the scale of the landscape and at much smaller scales that the grasses, with their cooperative growth dynamics, redistribute the water resources, modulate the physical environment, and thus function as "ecosystem engineers" to modify their own environment and better cope with the arid conditions.

Stephan Getzin et al, Bridging ecology and physics: Australian fairy circles regenerate following model assumptions on ecohydrological feedbacks, Journal of Ecology (2020). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13493

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-ecologists-alan-turing-theory-austral...

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