Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 29, 2020 at 9:22am

Virtual reality helps measure vulnerability to stress

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 12:13pm

Is Origin Of Life All About Energy?

What is the origin of life? It’s a question scientists, philosophers and theologians have debated for centuries. If you believe one widely accepted scientific theory, life on Earth was one big happy accident, overcoming the astronomical odds against it. But a new notion is rocking the scientific world, claiming that's not the case at all.

Thermodynamics of evolution and Darwinism According to thermodynamic theory, evolution (1978) is a spontaneous process that develops within living systems in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. However, this process takes place against the background of non-spontaneous changes in the same systems - processes that are initiated by the environment. These non-spontaneous processes cannot be predicted by thermodynamics. Thus, Darwinism, the physical foundation of which is hierarchical thermodynamics, only partially determines the direction of the evolution of living beings. Evolution tends to develop according to the second law of thermodynamics, when the environment has relatively little effect on this evolutionary development. In the event of abrupt changes in the environment, evolutionary changes are unpredictable. Thermodynamics sets the trend of evolutionary changes only at certain stages of evolution. In this regard, in general, the theory of Darwinism, as a theory that establishes the direction of evolution, has limited application. This explanation does not require the use of the concept of artificial intelligence. The presented considerations make it possible to assert that life in the universe is characterized by practically infinite biological diversity, including the diversity of civilizations, in appropriate conditions within the framework of thermodynamics. Gladyshev G.P. J Thermodyn Catal, 2017, 8: 2 DOI: 10,4172 / 2157-7544.100018, Life - A Complex Spontaneous Process Takes Place against the Background of Non-Spontaneous Processes Initiated by the Environment P. S. It is interesting to note that in the work “On Growth and Form,” D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson argued that organisms are shaped less by adaptive evolutionary function and more by deep mathematical laws. To understand his argument, you need only look at the combs made by bees. One gets the impression that D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson argued that mathematical laws (thermodynamics) and environment (adaptation) determine evolution.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 12:02pm

The Health Risks of Space: Scientists Just Unveiled The Biggest Study Yet

Space is a hostile place. We may have developed the technology to launch astronauts into orbit and get them home safely, but scientists are still figuring out how space travel affects human health, especially over the long haul. 

That's essential before any planned missions to Mars go ahead, to assure the health and safety of the astronauts aboard those momentous flights.

We already know from astronaut studies – perhaps most famously, NASA's Twins Study co-starring identical twins Scott and Mark Kelly – that extended space time affects blood flow to the brain, alters the gut microbiome, increases inflammation and causes blurred vision, brittle bones, and muscle wasting. 

Mouse studies simulating spaceflight have also suggested that heading into space ages the immune system and damages the brain.

Now, in a huge collective effort, scientists have published a giant trove of almost 30 papers investigating the health risks associated with space travel.

The collection amounts to the largest set of space biology data ever produced, and features some hefty analyses of observations from space-going flies, worms, mice, and of course, astronauts.  Some of the results reaffirm what we knew about space-related health problems, while other studies provide new insights, clarify previous results, or have found ways to improve future experiments.

The health perils of space travel start with the G forces felt by astronauts on lift-off, and continue with the exposure to hazardous space radiation and microgravity while in space.

On the treacherous journey to Mars, for example, astronauts will go far beyond Earth's protective magnetosphere and be exposed to cosmic radiation during the significant stretch of time it will take for them to venture out to our nearest planetary neighbour and return. Many of the studies published in this collection have pooled or re-analysed data from previous experiments made available to researchers through open-access data portals 

https://www.cell.com/c/the-biology-of-spaceflight

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-mass-dump-of-30-new-papers-explores-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 11:28am

Novel magnetic spray transforms objects into millirobots for biomedical applications

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 11:25am

Is it a bird? Is it a bee? No, it's a lizard pollinating South Africa's 'hidden flower'

How a chance encounter with a ‘weird plant’ in the Drakensberg mountains led to a startling discovery

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/25/is-it-a-bird-is...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 11:18am

Physicists invent printable superconducting device

Superconducting devices such as SQUIDS (Superconducting Quantum Interferometry Device) can perform ultra-sensitive measurements of magnetic fields. Leiden physicsts invented a method to 3-D-print these and other superconducting devices in minutes.

How to Print a Quantum Device in Less than 30 Minutes

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 10:11am

Gut microbes: The key to normal sleep

A detailed study in mice revealed the extent to which bacteria can change the environment and contents of the intestines, which ultimately impacts behaviours like sleep.

Researchers gave a group of mice a powerful cocktail of antibiotics for four weeks, which depleted them of intestinal microorganisms. Then, they compared intestinal contents between these mice and control mice who had the same diet.

Digestion breaks food down into bits and pieces called metabolites. The researchers found significant differences between metabolites in the microbiota-depleted mice and the control mice. They found more than 200 metabolite differences between mouse groups. About 60 normal metabolites were missing in the microbiota-depleted mice, and the others differed in the amount, some more and some less than in the control mice.

The team next set out to determine what these metabolites normally do. Using metabolome set enrichment analysis, they found that the biological pathways most affected by the antibiotic treatment were those involved in making neurotransmitters, the molecules that cells in the brain use to communicate with each other. For example, the tryptophan–serotonin pathway was almost totally shut down; the microbiota-depleted mice had more tryptophan than controls, but almost zero serotonin. This shows that without important gut microbes, the mice could not make any serotonin from the tryptophan they were eating. The team also found that the mice were deficient in vitamin B6 metabolites, which accelerate production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. The team also analyzed how the mice slept by looking at brain activity in EEGs. They found that compared with the control mice, the microbiota-depleted mice had more REM and non-REM sleep at night—when mice are supposed to be active—and less non-REM sleep during the day—when mice should be mostly sleeping. The number of REM sleep episodes was higher both during the day and at night, whereas the number of non-REM episodes was higher during the day. In other words, the microbiota-depleted mice switched between sleep/wake stages more frequently than the controls.

So blame your gut microbes if you can't sleep properly and thank them if you can!

Yukino Ogawa et al. Gut microbiota depletion by chronic antibiotic treatment alters the sleep/wake architecture and sleep EEG power spectra in mice, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76562-9

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-gut-microbes-key.html?utm_so...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 7:16am

Immune responses during embryo development could increase risk of schizophrenia

 Research has often highlighted the effects that immune activation in pregnant women can have on the development of human embryos, for instance increasing the risk of a child developing psychiatric disorders later in life. The neural mechanisms underpinning these effects, however, remained largely unclear till now.

Researchers  have recently carried out a study investigating the impact that the activation of microglia (i.e., a specialized cell population that removes damaged neurons or infections) can have on an embryo's development of a specific class of neurons that regulates information processing, known as cortical interneurons. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that activated microglia can cause metabolic disruptions that adversely impact the development of cortical interneurons. Interestingly, in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia these disruptions could persist when the microglia are no longer activated.

They found found that the metabolism of cortical interneurons is compromised under inflammatory condition during development, which showed prolonged impact in cortical interneurons derived from schizophrenia iPSCs but not healthy control iPSCs. These findings highlight the existence of interactions between schizophrenia genetic backgrounds and environmental risk factors.

Activated microglia cause metabolic disruptions in developmental cortical interneurons that persist in interneurons from individuals with schizophrenia. Nature Neuroscience(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-00724-1

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-immune-responses-embryo-schi...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 28, 2020 at 6:54am

Understanding Skull Base Tumors

https://www.uhhospitals.org/health-information/health-and-wellness-....

--

Periodic table: scientists propose new way of ordering the elements

https://theconversation.com/periodic-table-scientists-propose-new-w...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 27, 2020 at 11:44am

Miniscule robots of metal and plastic

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 477
• 478
• 479
• 480
• 481
• …
• 845
• Next ›
• Page