Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 12, 2023 at 9:23am

Bionic hand merges with user's nervous and skeletal systems, remaining functional after years of daily use

A woman's life took a dramatic turn when a farming accident claimed her right arm more than 20 years ago. Since then, she has endured excruciating phantom limb pain.

In addition to her intractable pain, she found that conventional prostheses were uncomfortable and unreliable, and thus of little help in daily life. All this changed when she received groundbreaking bionic technology that allowed her to wear a much more functional prosthesis comfortably all day. The higher integration between the bionics and her residual limb also relieved her pain. 

Mechanical attachment and reliable control are two of the biggest challenges in artificial limb replacement. People with limb loss often reject even the sophisticated prostheses commercially available due to these reasons, after experiencing painful and uncomfortable attachment with limited and unreliable controllability. A multidisciplinary group of engineers and surgeons solved these problems by developing a human–machine interface that allows the prosthesis to be comfortably attached to the user's skeleton via osseointegration, while also enabling electrical connection with the nervous system via electrodes implanted in nerves and muscles. This research is now published in the journal Science Robotics.

 Max Ortiz-Catalan et al, A highly integrated bionic hand with neural control and feedback for use in daily life, Science Robotics (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adf7360. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adf7360

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 11, 2023 at 9:57am

Сoconut shells can make concrete more durable

Scientists have found that concrete's compressive strength can be increased by 4.1% and its flexural strength by 3.4% by adding a small amount of coconut shell (only 5%). The material's performance increased by 6.1% compared to clear concrete. This effect is due to the fact that the cement paste—the bridge between all solid concrete particles—penetrates into the pores of the shell, firmly binding it with other components.

These results show that large amounts of coconut shell can be recycled without harm to the environment while improving the quality of building materials.

Sergey A. Stel'makh et al, Alteration of Structure and Characteristics of Concrete with Coconut Shell as a Substitution of a Part of Coarse Aggregate, Materials (2023). DOI: 10.3390/ma16124422

---

Animals find humans scarier than lions

Human voices evoke more fear among animals living in the South African savanna than do snarls from lions. Researchers set up speakers near 21 water holes, which played one of several sounds when triggered by animal movement. When they heard humans, giraffes, leopards, elephants and 16 other species were twice as li... as when they heard growling lions, barking dogs or guns. The researchers suggest that recordings of human voices could be used to keep animals away from areas where a lot of poaching happens.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01169-7?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=00a3d0b50b-briefing-dy-20231010&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-00a3d0b50b-44672165

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 11, 2023 at 9:53am

Study shows live plant pathogens can travel on dust across oceans

Plant pathogens can hitch rides on dust and remain viable, with the potential for traveling across the planet to infect areas far afield, a finding with important implications for global food security and for predicting future outbreaks.

A study, "Assessing Long-distance Atmospheric Transport of Soilborne Plant Pathogens," published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, is the first to provide computer modeling evidence to support the idea that massive dust storms can transport viable pathogenic spores across continents and oceans.

The researchers found that viable spores of the deadly fungal plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum (F. oxy) could be transported across the ocean and were likely deposited across a range of regions that include agricultural production zones.

The researchers found that this Godzilla ( a major dust storm) dust event could have potentially brought over 13,000 viable live spores, which is not a lot, but it's never been shown before, by any means, that viable soilborne pathogens could be transported trans-oceanically with dust.

Hannah Brodsky et al, Assessing long-distance atmospheric transport of soilborne plant pathogens, Environmental Research Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/acf50c

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 11, 2023 at 9:45am

How plant-derived nutrients can affect the gut and brain

Can plant-derived nutrients alter gut bacteria to affect brain function? Scientists investigated this question in a study of overweight adults.

Their findings, published in the journal Gut, suggest that dietary fiber can exert influence on both the composition of gut bacteria and the reward signals in the brain and associated food decision-making. Prebiotics are used to foster the colonization of beneficial bacteria in the gut. These indigestible dietary fibers are found in plant-derived foods such as onions, leeks, artichokes, wheat, bananas, and in high concentrations in chicory root. They support gut health by promoting the growth and activity of beneficial gut bacteria. Researchers have now investigated whether certain prebiotics can also influence brain function by improving communication between the gut microbiome and the brain.

The study shows consumption of high-dose dietary prebiotics leads to a reduction in reward-related brain activation in response to high-calorie food stimuli. The results suggest a potential link between gut health and brain function, in this case food decision-making.

The findings, derived from advanced neuroimaging, next-generation sequencing of gut bacteria, and combined analyses of potential metabolic pathways, suggest that functional microbial changes may underlie the altered brain response towards high-caloric food cues. 

A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms between the microbiome, gut, and brain could help to develop new strategies that promote healthier eating habits in people at risk.

Evelyn Medawar et al, Prebiotic diet changes neural correlates of food decision-making in overweight adults: a randomised controlled within-subject cross-over trial, Gut (2023). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-330365

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 11, 2023 at 9:31am

Evidence that albatrosses use infrasound to navigate long journeys

A new study  provides the first evidence that wandering albatrosses, one of the widest-ranging seabirds, may use infrasound to help them navigate long and featureless foraging trips covering thousands of miles.

Researchers show that albatrosses  orientate towards areas of "loud" microbarom infrasound when flying on long distance foraging trips. The paper published on this work is titled "Albatross movement suggests sensitivity to infrasound cues at sea."

Infrasound is a form of low-frequency sound that is inaudible to humans but is ubiquitous in the marine environment. Microbaroms are a type of infrasound associated with colliding ocean waves. Such wavy areas are also associated with strong winds, which albatrosses depend on to help them fly efficiently. The researchers used GPS trackers to determine the flight paths of 89 wandering albatrosses breeding in the Crozet Islands archipelago, Southern Ocean, over the course of their foraging trips to sea, which can last up to a month. They then compared these flight paths to modeled acoustic maps that the team had developed to represent the distribution of microbarom infrasound.

This revealed that wandering albatrosses orientate towards areas of "loud" microbarom infrasound when departing on bouts of directed flight, suggesting that they may perceive and respond to microbarom infrasound propagated over long distances.

 Natasha Gillies et al, Albatross movement suggests sensitivity to infrasound cues at sea, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218679120

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 11, 2023 at 8:59am

One of the metabolic quirks of pancreatic cancer is that it relies heavily on glutamine to produce energy for growth and survival. In the past, scientists have tried to block access to glutamine to slow the growth of pancreatic tumors, but this is easier said than done.

The new method relies on a molecule called DON that has structural similarities to glutamine but can't actually be used as a nutrient source. By studying mice, the research team found that DON significantly slowed pancreatic tumour growth and stopped the tumors from spreading.

Although DON was able to stop pancreatic tumors from using glutamine, pancreatic cancer cells can use other nutrients to grow in glutamine's absence. To combat this effect, the researchers combined DON with an existing cancer treatment that blocks the metabolism of asparagine, another important nutrient. The combined treatment had a synergistic effect, helping prevent the spread of pancreatic tumors to other distant organs, such as the liver and lungs.

This could be a game changer for pancreatic cancer, and a lot of the preclinical work needed to rationalize it and is already happening.

Maria Victoria Recouvreux et al, Glutamine mimicry suppresses tumor progression through asparagine metabolism in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, Nature Cancer (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43018-023-00649-1

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 11, 2023 at 8:57am

Copycat nutrient leaves pancreatic tumors starving

A study by scientists suggests an entirely new approach to treat pancreatic cancer. The research shows that feeding tumors a copycat of an important nutrient starves them of the fuel they need to survive and grow. The method, described in the journal Nature Cancer, has been used in early clinical trials for lung cancer. However, the unique properties of pancreatic cancer may make the strategy an even stronger candidate in the pancreas.

Pancreatic cancer relies on the nutrient glutamine much more than other cancers, so therapies that can interfere with tumors' ability to access glutamine could be highly effective.

Pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, accounting for only 3% of all cancers. However, it has one of the lowest survival rates among cancers: most people only live three to six months after being diagnosed with this disease.

One of the challenges of treating pancreatic cancer has to do with the physical properties of the tumors themselves.

Pancreatic tumors tend to be packed in dense connective tissue that keeps them encapsulated from the rest of the body and cuts off their supply of oxygen. As a consequence, these cancers develop unique metabolic properties compared to other tumors, and this is something we may be able to exploit with new treatments.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 10, 2023 at 11:12am

Why eyeballing four is easy but five is hard

Our brains use one mechanism to size up four or fewer items, and a different one f... — which is why doing the latter is so much harder. The brain contains specialized neurons that fire when we see a specific number of objects: some fire primarily when presented with one dot on a screen, for example. Brain scans of 17 people revealed that the neurons specializing in numbers of four or less responded very specifically and selectively to their preferred number. Neurons that specialize in five through nine responded strongly not only to their preferred number, but also to numbers immediately adjacent to it.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01709-3.epdf?sharing_tok...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 10, 2023 at 10:30am

Prior research has shown that exchange of material such as aerosols into the atmosphere can lead to a land-atmospheric feedback system, resulting in cooling of temperatures in a region, and subsequent changes in rainfall amounts. Likewise, irrigation efforts have been found to instigate land-atmosphere feedback as water from such systems evaporates into the atmosphere. Such systems have been found to have an impact on local hydrological cycles, and in some cases, can impact monsoon rains. These findings convinced the team on this new effort to take a closer look at the possible impact of interlinking rivers.

To estimate possible impacts, the team used causal delineation techniques along with general climate models that have been modified to focus specifically on India and its weather, and also a reanalysis of datasets built from land-atmosphere feedback systems that already exist in India.

The researchers found that land-atmosphere feedbacks from interlinked rivers could generate causal pathways between river basins in India—as one example, they found incidences of decreased rainfall in September (during monsoon season) by up to 12% in parts of the country that are already experiencing water shortages. They also found evidence of some areas experiencing more dryness during El Niño years. They conclude that more study is required before approving new river linking efforts.

Tejasvi Chauhan et al, River interlinking alters land-atmosphere feedback and changes the Indian summer monsoon, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41668-x

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on October 10, 2023 at 10:29am

Models suggest interlinking rivers in India to meet water demand may adversely impact monsoon rainfall amounts

A team of civil engineers and meteorologists at the Indian Institute of Technology, working with colleagues from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the University of Hyderabad, has found, via modeling, that a plan to interlink rivers in India to capture rain runoff could inadvertently have a negative impact on the amount and location of monsoon rainfall.

In their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the group used a variety of modeling techniques to test the possibility of unintended changes to weather patterns in India as interlinking projects are undertaken.

Officials in India have a clear problem on their hands—their country has a population of 1.4 billion people, the highest of any country in the world. And it is still growing. Such growth is presenting a host of problems, including how to feed so many people, sustain economic growth and manage water. This last problem has become dire—for India to feed its people, it must grow more food and that will require more water. But water availability is decreasing. To meet the demand, scientists and government officials have proposed and instigated a plan that entails digging canals between rivers to interlink them, with the idea of capturing more rainfall. Instead of allowing most of its rainfall to run off into rivers and then to the sea, the country plans to divert some of that water into other rivers that can be shunted into drier areas, where it can be used for irrigation. But doing so, the researchers on this new effort insist, could have unintended and perhaps disastrous side effects.

Part 1

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 331
• 332
• 333
• 334
• 335
• …
• 1084
• Next ›
• Page