Worldwide, people were exposed to an average of 86 days of life-threatening temperatures in 2022, according to The Lancet Countdown report last year.

The number of people over 65 who died from heat rose by 85 percent between the periods 1991-2000 and 2013-2022, the leading medical journal added.

Climate change caused by humans burning fossil fuels is increasing heat waves and other extreme weather events.
On the current trajectory, the world is on track to warm about 2.7C above the pre-industrial average by the end of this century, according to Climate Action Tracker.

The Lancet Countdown projected that under a 2C warming scenario, about five times as many people will die from the heat each year by 2050.

Source: AFP and other news agencies
Part 2

Sunlight and plastic: A risky combination for bottled water safety
Plastic water bottles are ubiquitous due to their convenience, yet they harbor potential risks. Sunlight exposure can lead these containers to degrade and emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are potentially detrimental to human health. The booming bottled water market underscores the urgency for safer alternatives. In response to these concerns, there is a pressing need for in-depth research into more secure materials and production methods for water containers.
New research published in Eco-Environment & Health, provides fresh insights into how sunlight can transform plastic water bottles into sources of air pollution.

The research analyzed the VOCs released from six types of plastic water bottles subjected to UV-A and sunlight. Results showed that all tested bottles emitted a complex mixture of alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, aldehydes, and acids, with significant variations in VOC composition and concentration among the bottles.

Notably, highly toxic VOCs, including carcinogens like n-hexadecane, were identified, highlighting serious health risks. Prolonged exposure scenarios indicated an increased concentration of VOCs, pointing to a growing cumulative risk.

This study not only casts light on the chemical stability of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles but also carries significant implications for public health and safety regulations. Understanding the conditions under which these VOCs are released can guide the improvement of manufacturing practices and material selection for bottled water containers.

Furthermore, it underscores the need for enhanced consumer awareness and stricter industry regulations to reduce exposure to these potentially harmful compounds.

Ruijuan Liu et al, Characterizing the photodegradation-induced release of volatile organic compounds from bottled water containers, Eco-Environment & Health (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.eehl.2024.01.005

Research suggests activity in the gut microbiome and brain shapes resiliency

A new health study has found that resilient people exhibit neural activity in the brain regions associated with improved cognition and regulating of emotions, and were more mindful and better at describing their feelings. The same group also exhibited gut microbiome activity linked to a healthy gut, with reduced inflammation and gut barrier.

For the study, rather than examine microbiome activity and composition linked to disease conditions—like anxiety and depression—the researchers wanted to flip the script and study the gut microbiome and brain in healthy, resilient people who effectively cope with different types of stress, including discrimination and social isolation.

"If we can identify what a healthy resilient brain and microbiome look like, then we can develop targeted interventions to those areas to reduce stress.

The researchers  focused on methods to cope with stress because research has shown that untreated stress can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. While stress is an inevitable part of life, studying how to handle stress can help prevent developing diseases.

To conduct the study, published in Nature Mental Health, the researchers surveyed 116 people about their resiliency—like trust in one's instincts and positive acceptance of change—and separated them into two groups. One group ranked high on the resiliency scale and the other group ranked low. The participants also underwent MRI imaging and gave stool samples two or three days before their scans.

The researchers found that people in the high resiliency group were less anxious and depressed, less prone to judge, and had activity in regions of the brain associated with emotional regulation and better cognition compared to the group with low resiliency.

The high resiliency group also had different microbiome activity than the low resiliency group. Namely, the high resiliency group's microbiomes excreted metabolites and exhibited gene activity associated with low inflammation and a strong and healthy gut barrier. A weak gut barrier, otherwise known as a leaky gut, is caused by inflammation and impairs the gut barrier's ability to absorb essential nutrients needed by the body while blocking toxins from entering the gut.

The researchers were surprised to find these microbiome signatures associated with the high resiliency group.

"Resilience truly is a whole-body phenomenon that not only affects your brain but also your microbiome and what metabolites that it is producing.

Only thing is we should have this whole community of the right microbes in our gut that exudes these therapeutic properties and biochemicals.

Stress-resilience impacts psychological wellbeing as evidenced by brain–gut microbiome interactions, Nature Mental Health (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44220-024-00266-6

Melamine sponges shed microplastics when scrubbed, study shows

Melamine sponges practically erase tough stains and scuffs through their unique abrasiveness and without additional cleaning products. But these "magic" sponges shed microplastic fibers when worn down.

Researchers publishing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology report that, worldwide, melamine sponges could release over a trillion microplastic fibers every month.

Melamine foam is made of poly(melamine-formaldehyde) polymer—a network of hard, plastic strands assembled into a soft, lightweight foam that's surprisingly abrasive, making it the perfect material for very scrubby sponges. But, as the sponges wear away from use, the foam breaks down into smaller pieces that can release microplastic fibers that wash into sewer systems.

Once released into the environment, the fibers can be consumed by wildlife and make their way into the food chain.

Researchers found that sponges made from denser foam wore down more slowly and produced fewer microplastic fibers than less dense sponges. They  determined that a single sponge releases approximately 6.5 million fibers per gram of worn-out sponge and assumed that all sponges sold, on average, are worn down by 10%.

To get a rough idea of how many fibers could be released per month, they looked at Amazon's monthly sales for August 2023. Assuming these numbers stay consistent, the team calculated that 1.55 trillion fibers from melamine sponges could be released every month. However, this number only takes into account one online retailer, so the actual amount could be even higher.

To help minimize the emission of microplastic fibers, the researchers recommend that manufactures create denser, tougher sponges that are more resistant to wear. Additionally, they suggest that consumers opt for natural cleaning products that do not use plastics and recommend installing filtration systems to capture sloughed-off microplastic fibers either in the home or in wastewater treatment plants.

Yu Su et al, Mechanochemical Formation of Poly(melamine-formaldehyde) Microplastic Fibers During Abrasion of Cleaning Sponges, Environmental Science & Technology (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c00846

How a microbe and a prebiotic work together against food allergies

What causes food allergies to develop? There's compelling evidence that suggests imbalances of the gut microbiome could be to blame, creating inflammation of the intestinal tract and a gut environment that's prone to food allergies.

Now, new research reveals a mutually beneficial relationship between an unassuming microbial species and the prebiotic lactulose—together, they encourage the production of an important metabolite known for its positive influence on gut health, butyrate, that's generated as bacteria feed in the gut.

Butyrate is a four-carbon molecule that has huge effects in the gut… this could have broad impacts for food allergies because it could pave the way to development of a synbiotic therapeutic that "addresses dysbiosis of the microbiome, rather than treating the response to an individual allergen."

In a paper published in Cell Host and Microbe,  researchers report that treatment with a concoction of A. caccae and the prebiotic lactulose increased butyrate levels in the intestinal tracts of mice, stifling allergic responses to cow's milk.

Lauren A. Hesser et al, A synbiotic of Anaerostipes caccae and lactulose prevents and treats food allergy in mice, Cell Host & Microbe (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.05.019

Stimulating the medial prefrontal cortex changes a person's perceived attractiveness, study suggests

Humans typically perceive others and themselves as more or less physically attractive, yet the neural underpinnings of these attractiveness-related perceptions remain widely unexplored. While some past studies found that stimulating the brain, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), can change a person's physical appearance, they did not determine whether it altered how attractive they were perceived to be by others.

Researchers at Montclair State University recently tried to answer this research question, by conducting a two-phase experiment involving human participants. Their findings, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, suggest that modulating activity in the MPFC using brain stimulation techniques changes how attractive one is perceived to be by others.

This research work  's aimed at answering two main research questions. The first was whether, after brain stimulation, a person would be perceived as more attractive. The second was whether they would themselves feel more attractive or confident in their appearance.

To do this, the researchers recruited a total of 440 participants, 10 of which took part in the first phase of their experiment and 430 of which in the second. In the first experimental phase, they stimulated the brain of 10 participants and then took a picture of them.

The researchers used five different conditions. They knew that the prefrontal cortex (the frontal part of the human brain) was the area of interest. So they sped up activity there (excitation). They also slowed activity there (inhibition). They then compared these two conditions with some controls.

They  found that people did not feel more attractive or more confident after their brain was stimulated. In other words, after receiving brain stimulation, participants reported feeling exactly the same about themselves as they did before the experiment.

During the second phase of the experiment, the researchers asked 430 new individuals to rate the pictures they had taken of the first 10 initial candidates, following brain stimulation. Remarkably, they found that the inhibition of the frontal cortex made people more attractive, while exciting it made them less attractive. In other words, people whose frontal cortex was inhibited using brain stimulation were rated as more attractive by others than those whose frontal cortex had been excited (i.e., speeding up activity of neurons in the region).

This is the first time that brain stimulation has been found to change attractiveness. Furthermore, this is one of the first, if not the first study that has had a large sample of people rate on any measure of a person following brain stimulation. Third, people become more attractive without experiencing any conscious change themselves. The changes in one's appearance took place in an unconscious manner

Part 1

Overall, the findings gathered by this research team suggest that changes in brain activity in the prefrontal cortex influence how one is perceived, particularly in terms of their physical attractiveness. Yet these changes were found to have no effect on how attractive the individuals with this change in activity perceive themselves to be, suggesting that internal perceptions are not a good indicator of how others perceive us.

Attraction is altered via modulation of the medial prefrontal cortex without explicit knowledge. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience(2024). DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1333733. www.frontiersin.org/journals/h … 024.1333733/abstract

Part 2

New study confirms forever chemicals are absorbed through human skin

A study of 17 commonly-used synthetic 'forever chemicals' has shown that these toxic substances can readily be absorbed through human skin.

New research, published in Environment International proves for the first time that a wide range of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances)—chemicals which do not break down in nature—can permeate the skin barrier and reach the body's bloodstream.

PFAS are used widely in industries and consumer products from school uniforms to personal care products because of their water and stain repellent properties. While some substances have been banned by government regulation, others are still widely used and their toxic effects have not yet been fully investigated.

PFAS are already known to enter the body through other routes, for example being breathed in or ingested via food or drinking water, and they are known to cause adverse health effects such as a lowered immune response to vaccination, impaired liver function and decreased birth weight.

It has commonly been thought that PFAS are unable to breach the skin barrier, although recent studies have shown links between the use of personal care products and PFAS concentrations in human blood and breast milk. The new study is the most comprehensive assessment yet undertaken of the absorption of PFAS into human skin and confirms that most of them can enter the body via this route.

Oddný Ragnarsdóttir et al, Dermal bioavailability of perfluoroalkyl substances using in vitro 3D human skin equivalent models, Environment International (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108772

Climate change makes India's monsoons erratic

Each year from June to September, a heavy band of rain makes its way from India's southwest coast to its northeastern borders, quenching farmers' thirsty fields.

India's monsoon season is arguably the single most important weather phenomenon for the country, and a good monsoon can noticeably boost the nation's economy and the livelihoods of its 120 million farmers. But human-caused climate change is making the rainfall more erratic, making it difficult for farmers to plant, grow and harvest crops on their rain-fed fields.

Either it rains too much within a short time or it doesn't rain at all. 

The Indian Meteorological Department had predicted good rainfall from the monsoon clouds earlier this year, but extreme heat in northern India stalled the rain's progress. The agency revised its predictions in June, saying the rainfall this year will be less than previously expected.

Many are looking for ways to adapt to this new, unpredictable reality. Experts suggest growing crops that need less water, better and more localized forecasting methods and protection against unexpected weather. But changing centuries-old ways of tending to the land won't be an easy task.

Part 1

India typically has two monsoons: one from June to September moving southwest to northeast, and another from October to December going the opposite direction.

But with more planet-warming gases in the air, the rain now only loosely follows this pattern. This is because the warmer air can hold more moisture from the Indian Ocean, and that rain then gets dumped all at once. It means the monsoon is punctuated with intense flooding and dry spells, rather than sustained rain throughout.

Landslides and flooding are increasing, alongside high temperatures and longer periods of drought that are adding to farmers' woes.

This  erratic rain is a significant blow to farmers' livelihood. Unless they adapt to this new uncertainty, the future looks bleak for them, unless science helps them.

Source: AP and other news agencies.

Part 2

CSIR-NIIST inks MoU with AIIMS for validating alternative tech for disposing biomedical waste

New Delhi, June 25: CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for validating the technology that offers a sustainable and energy-efficient alternative to current practices in disposing pathogenic biomedical waste.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the curtain raiser of CSIR’s ‘One Week One Theme’ (OWOT) programme at India Habitat Centre, here yesterday.

CSIR-NIIST has developed a dual disinfection-solidification system that can spontaneously disinfect and immobilize degradable pathogenic biomedical waste such as blood, urine, saliva, sputum, and laboratory disposables, besides imparting a pleasant natural fragrance to otherwise foul-smelling biomedical waste. 

CSIR-NIIST, a constituent laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, has developed the technology at its laboratory at Pappanamcode in Thiruvananthapuram.

The technology has the potential for far-reaching consequences in the global biomedical arena, as it can address the limitations of conventional technologies, including energy-intense incineration. It will be validated via a pilot-scale installation and accompanying R&D at the AIIMS. The two institutions will have a technical meeting for finalizing the specifications prior to initiation of the proposed study.

The developed technology has also been confirmed by expert third-parties for its antimicrobial action and non-toxic nature of the treated material. Soil studies have confirmed that the treated biomedical waste is superior to organic fertilizers like vermicompost.

 Part 1

CSIR-NIIST Director Dr C. Anandharamakrishnan and Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr M Srinivas, exchanged the MoU in the presence of Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Vice President, CSIR, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Secretary, DSIR and Director General, CSIR, Dr. N Kalaiselvi; and Director, CSIR-CBRI, Prof R. Pradeep Kumar, were also present. 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh said scientists need to look into how all those resources which have remained unexplored are going to do the value addition to carry India to the top pedestal.  

“Scientific community need to explore Himalayan and marine resources and we have an opportunity to explore further the lesser explored. That is going to add value as we are already saturated,” Dr. Singh added. 

Dr. Kalaiselvi said OWOT is one platform wherein CSIR can showcase to the entire nation innovative ideas based on seven themes.

 “These ideas will help us win the confidence of stakeholders. We’ll showcase to the entire world that CSIR will be the ultimate technology provider and help the nation stay itself as a leading capital on global arena as far as technology transfer is concerned,” Dr. Kalaiselvi added.       

CSIR-NIIST Director Dr C. Anandharamakrishnan said CSIR-NIIST is actively working on various waste management strategies, including biomedical waste, and environmental wellbeing.

“Global sustainability is our prime concern at CSIR-NIIST. The technology that we developed for converting pathogenic biomedical waste into value-added soil additives is a perfect example for the ‘Waste to Wealth’ concept,” he said.

Dr Anandharamakrishnan said CSIR-NIIST is committed to delivering sustainability in every technology with societal, national and global significance. It also targets an innovative solution for the safe and eco-friendly management of pathogenic biomedical waste through the present technology.

Biomedical waste, which includes potentially infectious and pathogenic materials, presents a significant challenge for proper management and disposal. As per a 2020 report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India produces around 774 tonnes of biomedical waste daily.

CSIR-NIIST has also developed an automated and integrated equipment to ensure minimal human exposure during any stage of pathogenic biomedical waste treatment. The equipment was displayed at a previous expo organized by CSIR at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital last year.

On the occasion, CSIR-NIIST also transferred the technology for manufacturing plant leather alternatives from agri waste (cactus) to startup Veganvista Corp Pvt Ltd., Ahmedabad. This technology assures reduction of carbon footprint and utilisation waste lands in arid and semi-arid regions for cactus cultivation and value addition to farmers in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Besides, CSIR-NIIST’s technology for making plant oil sourced bio-resin for paper coating was also transferred to a startup owned by Sanchit Gulati and his team, Panipat, Haryana, at the event.

The process knowhow developed on bio-resin coating from plant oils can replace single use plastic liner on paper and other cellulosic products to design an eco-friendly, green and sustainable packaging material with biodegradability and re-pulpability potential.

Part 2

Study links gut microbiome changes to increased risk of type 2 diabetes

The largest and most ethnically and geographically comprehensive investigation to date of the gut microbiome of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), prediabetes, and healthy glucose status has found that specific viruses and genetic variants within bacteria correspond with changes in gut microbiome function and T2D risk.

The microbiome is highly variable across different geographic locations and racial and ethnic groups. If you only study a small, homogeneous population, you will probably miss something.

The gut microbiome's relationship to complex, chronic, heterogeneous diseases like T2D is quite subtle. Much like studies of large human populations have been crucial for understanding human genetic variation, large and diverse populations are necessary—and increasingly feasible—for detailed microbiome variation studies as well.

T2D affects approximately 537 million people worldwide. In T2D, the body gradually loses its ability to regulate blood sugar effectively. Research over the last decade has linked changes in the gut microbiome—the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that inhabit our intestines—to the development of T2D. However, prior studies of the gut microbiome and its role in T2D have been too small and varied in study design to draw significant conclusions.

This study analyzed data from the newly established Microbiome and Cardiometabolic Disease Consortium (MicroCardio). The investigation included newly generated data and those originally captured during several other experiments, encompassing a total of 8,117 gut microbiome metagenomes from ethnically and geographically diverse participants.

People included in the study had T2D, prediabetes, or no changes in their blood sugar levels and hailed from several countries in the world. 

Part 1

With this large study, the researchers asked two questions. One is, 'What are the roles of species and strains that make up the gut microbiome in type 2 diabetes?' The other question is, 'What are these microbes doing?'"

When they analyzed this data, they found a relatively consistent set of microbial species linked to type 2 diabetes across their study populations. Many of those species have never been reported before.

To understand the role of these microbes in the gut, the team analyzed species' functional abilities. Different strains of a microbial species can have varied functions, like the ability to make a specific amino acid. The team found that certain strains had functions that may be linked to varied T2D disease risk.

One major functional difference they saw was that a strain of Prevotella copri—a common microbe in the gut that has the capacity to produce large amounts of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)—was more commonly seen in diabetes patients' gut microbiomes. Previous studies have shown that people with chronically high blood levels of BCAAs have a higher risk of obesity and T2D.

The researchers also found evidence suggesting that bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria—could be driving some of the changes they detected within certain strains of gut bacteria.

This could mean that the virus infects the bacteria and changes its function in a way that increases or decreases type 2 diabetes risk, but more work is needed to understand this connection.

In another analysis, the team studied a small subset of samples from patients newly diagnosed with T2D to assess microbiomes that are less likely to have been impacted by medication use or long-term high glucose status. Their results were similar to their larger findings.

The researchers firmly think that changes in the gut microbiome cause type 2 diabetes. The changes to the microbiome may happen first, and diabetes develops later, not the other way around—although future prospective or interventional studies are needed to prove this relation firmly. This is just one study.

If these microbial features are causal, we can find a way to change the microbiome and reduce type 2 diabetes risk. The microbiome is amenable to intervention—meaning you can change your microbiome, for example, with dietary changes, probiotics, or fecal transplants.

Part 2

One major limitation of the study is that, for the most part, it looked at patients' microbiomes at one point in time. It didn't look at changes to the gut microbiome or disease status over time. Future studies that build on this work include studying this link over an extended period and examining the strain-specific functions to understand better how they lead to T2D.

A benefit and a challenge of the human microbiome is that it is highly personalized. 

The fact that we each have highly distinct microbial communities and microbial genetics means that very large population studies are needed to find consistent patterns. But once we do, individual microbiomes have the potential to be reshaped to help reduce disease risk.

Mei, Z et al. Strain-Specific gut microbial signatures in Type 2 Diabetes Revealed by a Cross-Cohort Analysis of 8,117 Metagenomes, Nature Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03067-7

Part 3

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Scientists identify safe havens we must preserve to prevent 'the sixth great extinction of life on Earth'

In a new article, a coalition of conservationists and researchers have shown how we can protect Earth's remaining biodiversity by conserving just a tiny percentage of the planet's surface. This affordable, achievable plan would make it possible for us to preserve the most threatened species from extinction, safeguarding Earth's wildlife for the future.

Most species on Earth are rare, meaning that species either have very narrow ranges or they occur at very low densities or both. And rarity is very concentrated. In a recent study, zooming in on this rarity, researchers found that we need only about 1.2% of the Earth's surface to head off the sixth great extinction of life on Earth. 

To meet ambitious conservation goals, an additional 1.2 million square kilometers of land were protected between 2018 and 2023. But do these new conservation areas effectively protect critical biodiversity? Scientists estimated that the 2018-2023 expansion only covered 0.11 million square kilometers with range-limited and threatened species. Planning protected areas is crucial, ensuring that we target our efforts and resources as effectively as possible.

The scientists started by mapping the entire world, using six layers of global biodiversity data. By combining these layers of data with maps of existing protected areas and a fractional land cover analysis, using satellite images to identify the remaining habitat available to rare and threatened species, the scientists were able to identify the most critical, currently unprotected areas of biodiversity. They called these Conservation Imperatives: a global blueprint to help countries and regions plan conservation at a more local level.

These 16,825 sites, covering approximately 164 Mha, could prevent all predicted extinctions if they were adequately protected. Just protecting the sites found in the tropics could stave off most predicted extinctions. Additionally, 38% of Conservation Imperatives are very close to already-protected areas, which could make it easier to absorb them into protected areas or to find other ways of conserving them.

These sites are home to over 4,700 threatened species in some of the world's most biodiverse yet threatened ecosystems. These include not only mammals and birds that rely on large intact habitats, like the tamaraw in the Philippines and the Celebes crested macaque in Sulawesi, Indonesia, but also range-restricted amphibians and rare plant species.

To calculate the price of this protection, the scientists modeled a cost estimate using data from hundreds of land protection projects over 14 years, and accounting for the type and amount of land acquired as well as country-specific economic factors. These numbers are approximate because a variety of land purchase or long-term lease options, each with different costs, might work well for protecting Conservation Imperatives. Stakeholders worldwide, including indigenous peoples, communities with jurisdiction over Conservation Imperative sites, and other members of civil society, will need to decide which options work best for them.

Their analysis estimated that protecting the Conservation Imperatives in the tropics would cost approximately $34 billion per year over the next five years.

This represents less than 0.2% of the United States' GDP, less than 9% of the annual subsidies benefiting the global fossil fuel industry, and a fraction of the revenue generated from the mining and agroforestry industries each year.

Part 1

Preserving wildlife is also key to halting and reversing the climate crisis. Preserving biodiversity means protecting the Earth's forest cover, which acts as a carbon sink: by conserving carbon-rich, wildlife-rich forested regions, we protect both threatened species and humans. While securing Conservation Imperatives is only part of the work—for example, just purchasing land won't prevent poaching—it's the first critical step we need to take.

What will we bequeath to future generations? A healthy, vibrant Earth is critical for us to pass on. So we've got to get going. We've got to head off the extinction crisis. Conservation Imperatives drive us to do that.

Conservation Imperatives: securing the last unprotected terrestrial sites harboring irreplaceable biodiversity, Frontiers in Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fsci.2024.1349350. www.frontiersin.org/journals/s … ci.2024.1349350/full

Part 2

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Dietary fiber found to regulate gut bacteria's use of tryptophan, impacting health

We get healthy dietary fiber from consuming fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. But why is fiber so good for us? A team of researchers has discovered that dietary fiber plays a crucial role in determining the balance between the production of healthy and harmful substances by influencing the behavior of bacteria in the colon.

Researchers have now uncovered an essential part of why this is the case. Different types of bacteria inside our colon compete to utilize an essential amino acid called tryptophan. This competition may lead to either good or bad outcomes for our health.

The research, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, reveals that when we eat a lot of dietary fiber, gut bacteria help turn tryptophan into healthy substances. But if we don't eat enough fiber, tryptophan can be converted into harmful compounds by our gut bacteria.

These results emphasize that our dietary habits significantly influence the behavior of gut bacteria, creating a delicate balance between health-promoting and disease-associated activities. In the long term, the results can help us design dietary programs that prevent a range of diseases.

 Dietary fibre directs microbial tryptophan metabolism via metabolic interactions in the gut microbiota, Nature Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01737-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01737-3

China lunar probe returns to Earth with samples

A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.

The landing module of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft touched down at a predetermined site in Inner Mongolia recently, the China National Space Administration said, hailing the mission a "complete success".

It comes bearing soil and rocks from the side of the moon facing away from Earth, a poorly understood region that scientists say holds great research promise because its rugged features are less smoothed over by ancient lava flows than the near side.

That means the materials harvested there may help us to better understand how the moon formed and how it has evolved over time.

Source: Various news agencies

Researchers identify potential hazards in biosolid fertilizers

Fertilizers manufactured from the sludgy leftovers of wastewater treatment processes can contain traces of potentially hazardous organic chemicals, according to a new study.

The research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the chemical composition of so-called biosolids  and is the first step toward identifying common chemical contaminants that may need  regulation. 

Using analytical chemistry techniques capable of identifying thousands of chemicals, researchers screened 16 samples of biosolids from wastewater treatment facilities in nine U.S. and three Canadian cities. Samples contained traces of pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and a variety of fragrances. Among them were bisphenol A (BPA), commonly found in plastics, and carbamazepine, a drug used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

Using biosolids can be beneficial, the researchers said. They are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients that help plants grow. They require less energy to make than synthetic alternatives. And wastewater facilities can sell biosolids to generate revenue to offset treatment costs and reduce waste sent to landfills or incinerators.

But...

While direct contact with biosolids is likely limited to occupational exposures, the broader population could be exposed to contaminants absorbed by crops grown in such fertilizers, the researchers said.

The team plans to measure the identified compounds in the biosolids and vegetables grown in biosolid-amended soil to determine if their concentration levels warrant concern. The researchers are also investigating risks to farmers, landscapers, and composters who work with biosolids.

Combining non-targeted analysis with computer-based hazard comparison approaches to support prioritization of unregulated organic contaminants in biosolids, Environmental Science & Technology (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02934

2.6 million die annually due to alcohol: WHO

Alcohol kills nearly three million people annually, the World Health Organization said this week, adding that while the death rate had dropped slightly in recent years it remained "unacceptably high".

The United Nations health agency's latest report on alcohol and health said alcohol causes nearly one in 20 deaths globally each year, through drink driving, alcohol-induced violence and abuse, and a multitude of diseases and disorders.

The report said 2.6 million deaths were attributed to alcohol consumption in 2019—the latest available statistics—accounting for 4.7 percent of all deaths worldwide that year.

Nearly three-quarters of those deaths were in men, it said.

Substance use severely harms individual health, increasing the risk of chronic diseases,mental health conditions, and tragically resulting in millions of preventable deaths every year," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Drinking is linked to a slew of health conditions, including cirrhosis of the liver and some cancers.

Of all fatalities it caused in 2019, the report found that an estimated 1.6 million were from noncommunicable diseases.

Of these, 474,000 were from cardiovascular diseases, 401,000 from cancer and a huge 724,000 from injuries, including traffic accidents and self-harm.

Alcohol abuse also makes people more susceptible to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and pneumonia, the report found.

An estimated 209 million people lived with alcohol dependence in 2019—3.7 percent of the global population.

Source: AFP

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How gut bacteria affect cancer drugs
Gut microbiome discovery provides roadmap for life-saving cancer therapies
The balance between bacterial communities in the gut affects the likelihood of a positive response to drugs called checkpoint inhibitors.
The gut microbiome can usefully predict how people respond to certain immunotherapy drugs for treating cancer. Instead of singling out individual microbes, researchers showed that the overall balance between bacterial communities in the gut affects a person’s response. The team developed a scoring system based in part on the ratio between two different populations of gut microbes. When applied to hundreds of people with cancer, the score could mostly predict who would respond to immunotherapy. The work “is a breakthrough from a diagnostic point of view”.
The study might also improve the effectiveness of faecal microbiome transplants — when healthy volunteers donate bacterial samples to people who don’t respond well to certain drugs.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02070-9?utm_source=Live+...

Elusive ‘polar rain aurora’ spotted

Gigantic oddball aurora seen from Earth for the first time

As the solar wind dropped to a whisper for 28 hours in December 2022, scientists got the first-ever unimpeded view from Earth of the ‘polar rain aurora’. The rare phenomenon created a diffuse glow spanning more than 3,000 kilometres across the North Pole. Polar rain auroras form when electrons from the Sun's outermost atmosphere crash into Earth's atmosphere. Usually, the solar wind — a flood of other charged particles coming from the Sun — prevents their formation. They have only occasionally been spotted by satellites looking down on the poles from above.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02072-7?utm_source=Live+...

Iceland's volcano eruptions may last decades, researchers find

Iceland's ongoing volcanic eruptions may continue on and off for years to decades, threatening the country's most densely populated region and vital infrastructure, researchers predict from local earthquake and geochemical data.

The eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula have forced authorities to declare a state of emergency, with a series of eight eruptions having occurred since 2021. This southwestern region is home to 70% of the country's population, its only international airport, and several geothermal power plants that supply hot water and electricity. The most recent eruption from May through June triggered the evacuation of residents and visitors from the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, a popular tourist attraction, for the third time in more than two months.

Although Iceland sees regular eruptions because it sits above a volcanic hot spot, the Reykjanes Peninsula has been dormant for 800 years. Its last volcanic era continued over centuries, however, prompting scientists to predict the renewed volcanism to be the start of a long episode.

An international team of scientists has been watching the volcanoes over the past three years. Analyzing seismic tomography imaging and the composition of lava samples, they've uncovered parts of the geological processes behind the new volcanic era. They predict the region may have to prepare for recurring eruptions lasting years to decades and possibly centuries.

 The Fagradalsfjall and Sundhnúkur Fires of 2021-2024: a single magma reservoir under the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland?, Terra Nova (2024). DOI: 10.1111/ter.12733

'Wake-up call': third of adults not doing enough physical activity

Nearly a third of all adults are not doing enough physical activity, posing a growing threat to health across the world, a major study said this week.

More than 31 percent of adults—1.8 billion people—did not get the recommended amount of physical exercise in 2022, an increase of five percentage points from 2010, according to a study by the World Health Organization and other researchers.

"Physical inactivity is a silent threat to global health, contributing significantly to the burden of chronic diseases," said Ruediger Krech, director of the WHO's health promotion department.

"Unfortunately the world is not going in the right direction," he told an online press conference.

To be healthy, the WHO recommends all adults spend at least 150 minutes every week doing moderate-intensity physical activity—which can include walking, cycling or even heavy household chores—or at least 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise, such as running or competing in sport.

A combination of the two will also get people over the line.

A combination of the two will also get people over the line. Not getting this level of exercise increases the risk of people developing heart disease, diabetes, some cancers as well as mental health problems, Krech said.

If current trends continue, adult inactivity levels are projected to rise to 35 percent by 2030, according to the study in The Lancet Global Health.

This would fall far short of the WHO's goal of reducing physical inactivity by 15 percent by the end of the decade.

Fiona Bull, head of the WHO's physical activity unit, said the research was "a wake-up call that we're not doing enough".

Part 1

Inactivity rates varied widely between countries. For example, 66 percent of adults do not get enough physical activity in the United Arab Emirates, while the figure was under three percent in Malawi.

There was also a gender gap. Nearly 34 percent of women worldwide do not reach the activity threshold, compared to 29 percent of men.

There are "multiple causes" for activity rates declining overall, including that people are walking less, working at computers more and generally spending more leisure time looking at screens, Bull said.

Don't just sit on (your) chairs, get up and be active—every step counts!

 Tessa Strain et al, National, regional, and global trends in insufficient physical activity among adults from 2000 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 507 population-based surveys with 5·7 million participants, The Lancet Global Health (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00150-5

Part 2

How bioelectricity shapes muscle development

A new research work describes how nerve cells and muscle cells communicate through electrical signals during development—a phenomenon known as bioelectricity.

The communication, which takes place via specialized channels between cells, is vital for proper development and behavior. The study identifies specific genes that control the process, and pins down what happens when it goes wrong.

The finding offers clues to the genetic origins of muscle disorders in humans, and taps into longstanding questions in developmental biology.

Model organisms like mice, fruit flies and worms allow scientists to do experiments that aren't possible in humans, answering fundamental biological questions and providing guidance for more focused testing in humans.

Zebrafish were a promising addition to the scene. Zebrafish and humans share many genes, making the fish useful for testing the genetic underpinnings of human diseases and conditions. And because zebra fish embryos are transparent, scientists can watch development happen in real time under the microscope.

Zebrafish are the perfect species to study electrical communication. Thanks to their transparent embryos,  researchers can image electricity flowing through cells in real time.

Part 1

While hunting for zebrafish with different gap junction mutations, the researchers made an intriguing find: a zebrafish that couldn't move its tail properly. Usually, a zebrafish embryo will flop around and spontaneously flick its tail, but these fish didn't do that.
In healthy zebrafish, researchers can watch the electrical signals propagate through the gap junctions between muscle cells, like a plume of food dye diffusing into a cup of water. In fish with this mutation, the signals don't flow. The mutation was impairing electrical communication between the cells via the gap junctions.

And that communication breakdown led to improper muscular development, the team showed. In an ordinary healthy zebrafish, the muscle fibers are straight and orderly. In this zebrafish with this mutation, the muscle fibers are crinkly and wavy, like crepe paper streamers.

The researchers pinned the change on a mutation in a specific gene. Through a series of experiments, they showed that this gene, when functioning normally, makes the gap junction channels between muscle cells that allow the nervous system to coordinate the activity of early developing muscle. And without appropriate electrical signaling at the right time during development, the muscle fibers can't organize properly, causing crinkly muscle fibers and severe muscle defects.
So scientists figured out that this gap junction channel is a conduit—it allows electricity from the nerve cells to be sent out to muscle fibers.
More than a curiosity, though, the findings can help inform scientists' understanding of muscle development in humans. In disorders where muscles don't develop properly, faulty gap junction channels might be one cause, a link that was previously unknown.
The transfer of bioelectricity from one organ system to another is critical for development and adult function. Finding the genes that allow this to occur, understanding how they work, and exactly what goes wrong when communication is disrupted, will provide new insight into human disease.

Gap-junction-mediated bioelectric signaling required for slow muscle development and function in zebrafish, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.007. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(24)00759-0

Part 2

Biologists uncover how key carbohydrate-attachment mechanism malfunctions and causes various diseases

Researchers have uncovered how a structure in bodily carbohydrates (sugar chains or "glycans") that regulates how they attach themselves to other molecules interacts with key enzymes, and in so doing can contribute to a range of diseases.

One of the most essential bodily biochemical processes involves carbohydrates (sugar chains or "glycans") attaching themselves to proteins and fats (lipids), and when this process malfunctions, the risk of contracting a raft of diseases sharply increases. Researchers have recently discovered how a crucial enzyme's interaction with a small structure in glycans during this attachment can contribute to such breakdowns.

Their findings are described in a paper published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on June 4, 2024.

Part 1

Within organisms, the attachment of carbohydrates, or "glycans," onto proteins or lipids—a process called "glycosylation"—plays an essential role in a staggering number of physiological processes. It is necessary for cell recognition, cell signaling, immune response, protein folding, development and fertilization. Meanwhile, the slightest alteration in the structure of glycans can lead to or aggravate diseases from cancer and diabetes to Alzheimer's and muscular dystrophy.

Glycans and their associated processes are in fact so important that they get their own field: glycobiology. And within this discipline, almost all of the enzymes—the molecules that kick off or speed up chemical reactions—that are responsible for production of glycans in humans have been identified and categorized, as well as the various production processes, or "biosynthetic pathways."

Studying these mechanisms in detail is vital for disease process identification and controlling it.

Full details about the work can be found here: 

 Yuko Tokoro et al, LacdiNAc synthase B4GALNT3 has a unique PA14 domain and suppresses N-glycan capping, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107450

Part 2

Scientists discover genetic 'off switch' in legume plants that limits biological ability to source nutrients

A genetic "off switch" that shuts down the process in which legume plants convert atmospheric nitrogen into nutrients has been identified for the first time by a team of international scientists.

Legumes like beans, peas and lentils are unique among crops for their ability to interact with soil bacteria to convert or "fix" nitrogen into a usable form of nutrients. However, this energy-intensive biological process is reduced when nitrogen is already abundant in the soil either through natural processes or through the application of synthetic fertilizer.

The latest discovery of the genetic regulator that turns off nitrogen fixation when soil nitrate levels are high allowed scientists to remove the gene in model legumes, ensuring they continued to fix nitrogen regardless of the soil environment.

Increasing the biological ability of legumes to fix nitrogen could help increase crop growth and yield while also reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, which contribute to agriculture's environmental footprint.

Dugald Reid, Zinc mediates control of nitrogen fixation via transcription factor filamentation, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07607-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07607-6

Researchers discover how mitochondrial transfer restores heart muscle

Transferring mitochondria from a patient's healthy skeletal muscle to damaged, ischemic heart tissue has been shown to restore heart muscle, increase energy production, and improve ventricular function.

 Researchers realized the probability of recovery was much higher if they added mitochondria.

To date, 16 children have undergone autologous mitochondria transplantation. Of these, 80% were able to come off ECMO, compared with a historical rate of 40%.

But mitochondrial transfer has faced skepticism—in part because no one really knew why it works.

The researchers earlier thought that  it was mitochondria going into cells and taking over and generating all of the cell's power. But what didn't make sense was that they only needed very small amounts of mitochondria for the heart muscle to recover. The math didn't add up.

A new study published in the journal Nature, found a surprising explanation. The transferred mitochondria trigger the cell to destroy its low-performing mitochondria through autophagy—a kind of cellular housekeeping.

This gives cells a better pool of mitochondria, improving their bioenergetics and fitness. This insight could ultimately improve care for broad range of heart conditions.

The research team is now investigating whether mitochondrial transfer could improve the success of cardiac transplantation when the heart is donated after circulatory death (DCD). DCD hearts could potentially expand the donor pool, but have ischemic damage and thus are difficult to transplant. The researchers think treatment with mitochondria will help with their recovery.

Ruei-Zeng Lin et al, Mitochondrial transfer mediates endothelial cell engraftment through mitophagy, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07340-0

Scientists determine that connexin molecules allow cells to send messages to each other

Researchers have gained new knowledge of how drugs bind to connexin molecules. These molecules form channels that allow neighboring cells to send direct messages to one another. Dysfunctions of these channels are involved in neurological and cardiac diseases. The new understanding of how drugs bind and act on them should help develop therapies to treat such conditions.

Adjacent cells can communicate directly through relatively large channels called gap junctions, which allow cells to freely exchange small molecules and ions with each other or with the outside environment. In this way, they can coordinate activities in the tissues or organs that they compose and maintain homeostasis.

Such channels are created from proteins known as connexins. Six connexins situated in the cell membrane create a hemichannel; this hemichannel joins with a hemichannel in a neighboring cell to create a two-way channel.

When connexin channels do not work properly, they cause changes in intercellular communication that have been linked to many different diseases. These include cardiac arrhythmias, diseases of the central nervous system such as epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

As a result, the search is on for drugs that target connexins.

So understanding of the structure of connexins and how drugs bind to connexin channels to block or activate them is vital for treatment of these diseases. Indeed, of the 21 types of connexins known to exist in humans, few of them are currently evaluated as drug targets.

Find more information here:  Xinyue Ding et al, Structural basis of connexin-36 gap junction channel inhibition, Cell Discovery (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41421-024-00691-y

Lichen partnerships challenged by changes in climate

Lichen, which people may think of as a single organism, is in fact a community of several species that depend on each other for survival. Lichen symbiosis includes at least one fungus and one alga, along with other fungi and bacteria in roles that are still being investigated by biologists.

The continued health of lichens is vital to the future of our Northern forests because they provide a critical winter food source for many animals. They are also valuable "sentinels" of air quality and environmental health. For these reasons, scientists are eager to understand how they may be affected by climate change.

New research published in Science Advances from the University of Minnesota investigated symbiosis in boreal oak lichen, a variety widespread on several tree species across Minnesota and the Northwoods.

Using multiple research methods, the team found:

• The partner organisms that make up lichen symbioses are not always in sync—one organism may have an extreme response to changes in moisture while its partner remains unaffected.
• These differences may drive one partner to "go it alone" under some conditions, disrupting the symbiosis—other research has observed this in corals.
• The team used gas exchange data to show asymmetries in carbon balance are widespread across evolutionarily disparate lichen groups.

Part 1

At summer temperatures, wetting with anything more than water vapor leads to unsustainable carbon losses for boreal oak lichen, which may explain why it prefers humid environments like bogs. Scientists already knew this species is vulnerable to heating and drying, now we can start to understand exactly how and why—all key insights into the threats from future climate change.
n simple cases of symbiosis, such as a clownfish and a sea anemone, the needs of the partner organisms may be well-balanced and complimentary. The research shows that symbiosis in lichens is more complex, and each organism may react differently when faced with changing weather conditions or environmental stress.

"Unexpectedly, the alga just does its own thing: once active, it doesn't seem to respond at all to the major changes that the fungus undergoes when we add liquid water. It shouldn't be a surprise that the different organisms that make up lichen symbioses respond to different cues, but it has often been far too easy to lose sight of that when working with such seemingly closely integrated symbioses."

Future research will focus on unpacking when the components of lichen symbiosis are and aren't coordinated. The team hopes to better understand what each organism does under different circumstances.

 Abigail R. Meyer et al, Symbionts out of sync: Decoupled physiological responses are widespread and ecologically important in lichen associations, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado2783

Part 2

**

Why male mammals don't breast feed

New mathematical model sheds light on the absence of breastfeeding in male mammals

Being nursed by a single parent could be an evolutionary strategy to curb the spread of harmful microbes in mammals, according to a novel theory developed by mathematicians.

The rainforests of Malaysia are home to the only known case of a wild male mammal that produces milk. The Dayak fruit bat is a vanishingly rare case of male milk production, despite the fact that the potential for breastfeeding remains in place in most male mammals.

Male Dyak's fruit bats, Dyacopterus spadiceus, are able to feed their young milk from their own mammary glands. This species has one of the only known natural occurrences of paternal lactation.

In the 1970s, evolutionary theorists posited that the near absence of lactation in males, even though offspring could benefit from the extra nutrition provided, could be attributed to the uncertainty of paternity: As male mammals can't be sure they are the biological father, this reduces their evolutionary drive to invest heavily in offspring care, including breastfeeding.

Now, mathematicians from the University of York have suggested a complementary perspective. Their hypothesis, published in Nature Communications, suggests that the reason male mammals don't breastfeed might be driven by the rich community of microbes that lives in breast milk, which plays an important part in establishing the gut microbiome of the infant.

The theory demonstrates how the transmission of the milk microbiome from both parents would allow harmful microbes to spread through mammalian populations. Maternal-only lactation stops this, as restricting transmission of the milk microbiome to females in effect acts as a sieve, retaining just the microbes with beneficial effects.

When both parents are involved in feeding, the chance of a microbe being passed along and getting an initial foothold in a population is essentially doubled. So this new theory suggests selection against the transmission of harmful microbes through mammary milk could be an additional selection pressure against male lactation.

Breast milk is a living substance and it plays a key role in establishing the gut microbiome of mammals, which is a complex ecosystem of bacteria, viruses and fungi, along with their genetic material. This ecosystem plays a crucial role in health, including by helping to protect animals against disease, helping to digest food and in many other ways we are only just discovering.

While microbes are not inherently harmful or beneficial; it's their presence and abundance that dictate the overall health of this internal community. A 'wrong actor' at the early point of an animal's life could change the microbiome at a pivotal moment.

The mathematical model highlights the advantage of being fed by just one parent, but the researchers say it makes evolutionary sense for this to be the mother because there has already been an inevitable transmission of microbes during birth and perhaps also in the womb.

Part 1

This theory fits with a pattern of strategies mammals have adopted in an evolutionary bid to limit the spread of potentially harmful elements. Notably, in humans, mitochondrial DNA is exclusively passed down from the mother. This mechanism serves as a natural filter, maintaining genetic integrity by suppressing the proliferation of detrimental mutations. Additionally, the prevalence of monogamous relationships among certain species has been suggested as an adaptive response aimed at minimizing the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Maternal transmission as a microbial symbiont sieve, and the absence of lactation in male mammals, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49559-5

Part 2

What type of Gold nanoparticles kill cancer

Gold particles of the size of billionths of a meter are lethal to cancer cells. This fact has been known for a long time, as has a simple correlation: The smaller the nanoparticles used to fight the cancer cells, the faster they die. However, a more interesting, more complex picture of these interactions is emerging from the latest research  using a novel microscopic technique.

Smaller kills faster—this is what was previously thought about gold nanoparticles used to fight cancer cells. Scientists thought that small nanoparticles would simply find it easier to penetrate the interior of a cancer cell, where their presence would lead to metabolic disturbances and ultimately cell death.

The reality, however, turns out to be more complex, as demonstrated by research carried out by scientists.

Nanoparticles can be produced using a variety of methods, yielding particles of different sizes and shapes. Shortly after starting their own experiments with gold nanoparticles, researchers  noticed that biology does not follow the popular rule that their toxicity is greater the smaller they are.

Spherical nanoparticles of 10 nanometers in size  turned out to be practically harmless to the glioma cell line studied. However, high mortality was observed in cells exposed to nanoparticles as large as 200 nanometers, but with a star-shaped structure.

Elucidation of the stated contradiction became possible thanks to the use of the first holotomographic microscope.

Part 1

A typical CT scanner scans the human body using X-rays, and reconstructs its spatial internal structure section by section. In biology, a similar function has recently been performed by the holotomographic microscope. Here, cells are also swept by a beam of radiation, though not high-energy radiation, but electromagnetic radiation. Its energy is chosen so that the photons do not disturb cell metabolism.

The result of the scan is a set of holographic cross-sections containing information about the distribution of refractive index changes. Since light refracts differently on the cytoplasm and differently on the cell membrane or nucleus, it is possible to reconstruct a three-dimensional image of both the cell itself and its interior.

Unlike other high-resolution microscopy techniques, holotomography does not require the preparation of samples or the introduction of any foreign substances into the cells. The interactions of gold nanoparticles with cancer cells could therefore be observed directly in the incubator, where the latter were cultured, in an undisturbed environment--what's more, with nanometric resolution--from all sides simultaneously and practically in real time.

The unique features of holotomography allowed the physicists to determine the causes of the unexpected behavior of cancer cells in the presence of gold nanoparticles. A series of experiments was conducted on three cell lines: two glioma and one colon. Among others, it was observed that although the small, spherical nanoparticles easily penetrated the cancer cells, the cells regenerated and even started to divide again, despite the initial stress.

In the case of colon cancer cells, the gold nano particles were quickly pushed out of them. The situation was different for the large star-shaped nanoparticles. Their sharp tips perforated the cell membranes, most likely resulting in increasing oxidative stress inside the cells. When these cells could no longer cope with repairing the increasing damage, the mechanism of apoptosis, or programmed death, was triggered.

Researchers used the data from the  experiments to build a theoretical model of the process of nanoparticle deposition inside the cells under study. The final result is a differential equation into which suitably processed parameters can be substituted—for the time being only describing the shape and size of nanoparticles—to quickly determine how the uptake of the analyzed particles by cancer cells will proceed over a given period of time and how they kill the cancer cells.

Joanna Depciuch et al, Modeling Absorption Dynamics of Differently Shaped Gold Glioblastoma and Colon Cells Based on Refractive Index Distribution in Holotomographic Imaging, Small (2024). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202400778

Part 2

**

Kids given 'digital pacifiers' to calm tantrums fail to learn how to regulate emotions, study finds

Tantrums are part of growing up. How these outbursts of anger or frustration are managed, however, can impact children's emotional development.

An international team of researchers has investigated how giving children digital devices acting as "digital pacifiers" to avoid or manage tantrums impacts children's later anger management skills. They found that children who were routinely given digital devices when they threw a tantrum had more difficulties regulating their emotions. The researchers also stressed the importance of letting children experience negative emotions and the crucial role parents play in the process.

Children learn much about self-regulation—that is, affective, mental, and behavioral responses to certain situations—during their first few years of life. Some of these behaviors are about children's ability to choose a deliberate response over an automatic one. This is known as effortful control, which is learned from the environment, first and foremost through children's relationship with their parents.

In recent years, giving children digital devices like smart phones or tablets to control their responses to emotions, especially if they're negative, has become common. Children are fascinated by digital content, so this is an easy way to stop tantrums and it is very effective in the short term.

But researchers found  that when parents used digital emotion regulation more often, children showed poorer anger and frustration management skills. Children who were given devices more often as they experienced negative emotions also showed less effortful control at the follow-up assessment.

Tantrums cannot be cured by digital devices. And the researchers recommend new training and counseling methods  for parents. 

Cure for tantrums? Longitudinal associations between parental digital emotion regulation and children's self-regulatory skills, Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2024). DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2024.1276154

Most kids get antibiotics for pink eye, study shows. Experts say they're usually not needed

Doctors are prescribing antibiotics to most kids and teens who have pink eye, despite guidelines that discourage their use, researchers reported this week.

More than two-thirds of  children and teens who saw a doctor for pink eye left with a prescription for antibiotic eye drops, their research found. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that doctors do not routinely give out antibiotics for what's also called conjunctivitis, which usually clears up on its own.

Antibiotics don't work at all on viruses—the most common cause of pink eye. And even mild eye infections from bacteria will resolve on their own in most cases, the medical group says.

Pink eye is highly contagious and causes red, swollen and sometimes itchy eyes. Often, a chilled, wet towel and artificial tears are enough to ease symptoms.

But antibiotics shouldn't be overused if they aren't going to help. Moreover, the misuse can lead to resistance. 

There are more supportive measures you can take to make your child or you feel comfortable without resorting to antibiotic eye drops.

Daniel J. Shapiro et al, Antibiotic Treatment and Health Care Use in Children and Adolescents With Conjunctivitis, JAMA Ophthalmology (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.2211

The beginnings of fashion: Paleolithic eyed needles and the evolution of dress

A team of researchers led by an archaeologist  are the first to suggest that eyed needles were a new technological innovation used to adorn clothing for social and cultural purposes, marking the major shift from clothes as protection to clothes as an expression of identity.

Eyed needle tools are an important development in prehistory because they document a transition in the function of clothing from utilitarian to social purposes.

From stone tools that prepared animal skins for humans to use as thermal insulation, to the advent of bone awls and eyed needles to create fitted and adorned garments, why did we start to dress to express ourselves and to impress others?

Dr. Gilligan and his co-authors reinterpret the evidence of recent discoveries in the development of clothing in their new Science Advances paper, "Paleolithic eyed needles and the evolution of dress."

Why do we wear clothes? We assume that it's part of being human, but once you look at different cultures, you realize that people existed and functioned perfectly adequately in society without clothes. What intrigued the researchers 's the transition of clothing from being a physical necessity in certain environments, to a social necessity in all environments.

Part 1

The earliest known eyed needles appeared approximately 40,000 years ago in Siberia. One of the most iconic of Paleolithic artifacts from the Stone Age, eyed needles are more difficult to make when compared to bone awls, which sufficed for creating fitted clothing. Bone awls are tools made of animal bones that are sharpened to a point. Eyed needles are modified bone awls, with a perforated hole (eye) to facilitate the sewing of sinew or thread.
As evidence suggests bone awls were already being used to create tailored clothes, the innovation of eyed needles may reflect the production of more complex, layered clothing, as well as the adornment of clothes by attaching beads and other small decorative items onto garments.
We know that clothing up until the last glacial cycle was only used on an ad hoc basis. The classic tools that we associate with that are hide scrapers or stone scrapers, and we find them appearing and going away during the different phases of the last ice ages.
Clothing became an item of decoration because traditional body decoration methods, like body painting with ocher or deliberate scarification, weren't possible during the latter part of the last ice age in colder parts of Eurasia, as people were needing to wear clothes all the time to survive.

That's why the appearance of eyed needles is particularly important because it signals the use of clothing as decoration.
Eyed needles would have been especially useful for the very fine sewing that was required to decorate clothing."

Clothing therefore evolved to serve not only a practical necessity for protection and comfort against external elements, but also a social, aesthetic function for individual and cultural identity.

The regular wearing of clothing allowed larger and more complex societies to form, as people could relocate to colder climates while also cooperating with their tribe or community based on shared clothing styles and symbols. The skills associated with the production of clothing contributed to a more sustainable lifestyle and enhanced the long-term survival and prosperity of human communities.
Covering the human body regardless of climate is a social practice that has endured.

Ian Gilligan, Palaeolithic eyed needles and the evolution of dress, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp2887. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp2887

Part 2

Researchers discover 1 in 5 bacteria can break down plastic

Researchers discovered that nearly 20% of the bacterial strains they studied could degrade plastic, though they needed some encouragement to do so.

Some of the world's smallest organisms could play a significant role in solving the problem of plastic pollution. Increasingly, it is being discovered how certain bacteria can break down plastic into small particles, which can then be recycled.

Moreover, this research reveals that many more bacteria than previously thought can degrade certain types of plastics.

The external conditions are crucial because a plastic bottle doesn't just disappear when it lies in the soil for a while. Bacteria are like people in that sense. Just like us, they don't do things automatically; they need encouragement. People only start running when they are chased by a tiger.

Similarly, bacteria surrounded by a lot of sugar, and thus energy, won't do something that requires too much effort. However, if they are "hungry," they will. This was evident during lab experiments where  the researchers added plastic models to plates with bacteria. At one point, they even "fed" the bacteria perforated pieces of plastic.

 The researchers made two discoveries. First, they noticed that a remarkable number of bacteria could degrade plastics under the right conditions: as much as 18% of the strains studied. They also discovered that a gene called "Lipase A" plays a significant role. When it was present in large numbers, the organisms broke down plastic more quickly.

This research expands the pool of bacteria that we can potentially use to degrade plastic.

Jo-Anne Verschoor et al, Polyester degradation by soil bacteria: identification of conserved BHETase enzymes in Streptomyces, Communications Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06414-z

Risk of deadly fungus from climate change
Rising temperatures could cause mutations in fungi that mean they grow more aggressively or develop drug resistance. During a survey of fungal infections in 96 Chinese hospitals, researchers discovered a fungus, Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis, not seen before in humans. The infection was resistant to the two most common antifungal drugs — fluconazole and caspofungin. In the lab, when the fungus was exposed to higher temperatures, it quickly mutated and developed resistance against a third drug, amphotericin B, making it essentially untreatable. This is a remarkable and truly unexpected finding, which bodes badly for the future.

Pan-drug resistance and hypervirulence in a human fungal pathogen are enabled by mutagenesis induced by mammalian body temperature

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01720-y?utm_source=Live+...

How gut bacteria affect cancer drugs
A holistic view of the gut microbiome can help to predict how people with certain cancers will respond to a type of immunotherapy. Researchers developed a scoring system based on the ratio between two different populations of gut microbes: one linked to resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors and the other associated with positive responses. The score also included quantification of Akkermansia muciniphila, a microbe that has gained attention owing to its potential role in influencing immune responses. The work “is a breakthrough from a diagnostic point of view”.

Gut microbiome discovery provides roadmap for life-saving cancer therapies

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00538-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867424005385%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02070-9?utm_source=Live+...

Are viruses living organisms?

I saw several answers on Quora where people say viruses are not living.

But the question is really complicated. And Biologists are divided.

When the Nature journal recently conducted a poll, 14% of the readers who responded said they are undecided, 46 percent said viruses are living organisms, while 35% said, they are not living.

Some viewed viruses as in between chemistry and biology, because viruses can be considered dead or alive at different times. For example, a dormant virus in a test tube is not alive until it finds a host. Then it comes alive and replicates with the help of the host.

“Chemistry becomes biology when chemistry is self-replicating and evolving,” according to some biotechnologists . “Viruses fit very well to this definition. They just wait for the perfect conditions (a suitable host cell) to replicate and evolve. So viruses are 100% living organisms,” they say.

Others suggested that the real question is whether the word ‘alive’ has any scientific meaning at all. “The divide between live and dead material is artificially imposed by us as biologists and more generally by us as people,” they say. “We like categorising everything in neat little boxes, but nature is not so easily categorised.”

And the debate goes on!

Would you like to join?

But are questions in science decided using polls?

NO!

Source: Springer Nature