A new technique makes skin invisible

Researchers have developed a new way to see organs within a body by rendering overlying tissues transparent to visible light. The counterintuitive process—a topical application of food-safe dye—was reversible in tests with animal subjects, and may ultimately apply to a wide range of medical diagnostics, from locating injuries to monitoring digestive disorders to identifying cancers.

The  researchers published the research, titled "Achieving optical transparency in live animals with absorbing molecules," in the Sept. 6, 2024, issue of Science.

Animation depicting the tissue transparency effect and how it might appear if tested with humans in the future. The latter part of the animation shows how photons interact with tissues at the cellular level, both with and without FD & C Yellow 5 saturation. Credit: Keyi "Onyx" Li/U.S. National Science Foundation

Part 1

To master the new technique, the researchers developed a way to predict how light interacts with dyed biological tissues.

Those predictions required a deep understanding of light scattering, as well as the process of refraction, where light changes speed and bends as it travels from one material into another.

Scattering is the reason we cannot see through our body: Fats, fluids within cells, proteins, and other materials each have a different refractive index, a property that dictates how significantly an incoming light wave will bend.

In most tissues, those materials are closely compacted together, so the varied refractive indices cause light to scatter as it passes through. It is the scattering effect that our eyes interpret as opaque, colored, biological materials.

The researchers realized if they wanted to make biological material transparent, they had to find a way to match the different refractive indices so light could travel through unimpeded.

Building upon fundamental insights from the field of optics, the researchers realized dyes that are the most effective at absorbing light can also be highly effective at directing light uniformly through a wide range of refractive indices.

One dye the researchers predicted would be particularly effective was tartrazine, the food dye more commonly known as FD & C Yellow 5. It turns out, they were correct: when dissolved into water and absorbed into tissues, tartrazine molecules are perfectly structured to match refractive indices and prevent light from scattering, resulting in transparency.

The researchers first tested their predictions with thin slices of chicken breast. As tartrazine concentrations increased, the refractive index of the fluid within the muscle cells rose until it matched the refractive index of the muscle proteins—the slice became transparent.

Then, the researchers gently rubbed a temporary tartrazine solution on mice. First, they applied the solution to the scalp, rendering the skin transparent to reveal blood vessels crisscrossing the brain. Next, they applied the solution to the abdomen, which faded within minutes to show contractions of the intestine and movements caused by heartbeats and breathing.

The technique resolved features at the scale of microns, and even enhanced microscope observations. When the dye was rinsed off, the tissues quickly returned to normal opacity. The tartrazine did not appear to have long-term effects, and any excess was excreted in waste within 48 hours.

The researchers suspect that injecting the dye should lead to even deeper views within organisms, with implications for both biology and medicine.

 Zihao Ou et al, Achieving optical transparency in live animals with absorbing molecules, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adm6869. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adm6869

The flaming carcasses of electrocuted birds keep starting wildfires

In the past two months alone, the flaming carcasses of electrocuted birds have ignited at least three wildfires in Colorado.

While the phenomenon sounds straight out of a cartoon, it's actually more common than you'd think, experts said. It's a big enough problem that electric utility companies brainstorm efforts to mitigate bird electrocution.

Researchers found no coordinated records or data illustrating how frequently electrocuted birds dropping off power lines spark wildfires, so they sifted through Google searches of avian-induced fires in the United States from 2014 to 2018 and found 44 reported cases.

California had the highest number of incidents at 15. Colorado had two in 2016—one in Littleton and one in Berthoud, the study found.

However, in July and August of this year, Colorado's Front Range has been the scene of at least three reported bird combustions resulting in wildfires.

Cities'   infrastructure can be attractive to birds for roosting and building nests and can post a collision or electrocution hazard to birds.

There are a couple of reasons why birds are increasingly meeting an end better suited for the "Final Destination" films.

It's partially because of climate change. An electrocuted bird is more likely to ignite a fire if conditions are dry and the regions face drought like conditions. 

In addition to climate, there is the human introduction of electrical utility equipment into the environment. 

Part 1

Birds can sit on one wire, no problem. But if a bird touches a second wire, it opens a path of electricity right through the bird's body, with a resulting zap that can be potent enough to send the bird up in flames.

Larger birds like hawks and eagles can be more at risk of electrocution because their wider wingspans put them at greater risk of touching two different wires simultaneously.
Sometimes smaller birds on the hunt for bugs will drive their beaks under insulated coverings in hopes of a snack, only to find an electrical jolt instead.
Source: MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Part 2
There are ways to design power poles and their accompanying structures to make them less susceptible to bird electrocution.
For new electrical poles designers can ensure enough space between "energized components" to allow birds to exist without touching two electrical components at once.

Outer solar system is more populated than previously thought
Survey observations using the Subaru Telescope's ultra-widefield prime focus camera have revealed that there may be a population of small bodies further out in the Kuiper Belt waiting to be discovered.
The results, which are important for an understanding of the formation of the solar system, were obtained through an international collaboration between the Subaru Telescope and the New Horizons spacecraft traveling through the outer solar system.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was launched in 2006 with the critical mission of observing the surfaces of outer solar system bodies up close for the first time in human history; it successfully completed a flyby of the Pluto system in 2015, and in 2019 it made a flyby of one of the Kuiper Belt objects, (486958) Arrokoth.

There have been five spacecraft that have flown to the outer solar system (including New Horizons), but New Horizons is the only spacecraft that has flown through the Kuiper Belt while observing Kuiper Belt objects.

When observing Kuiper Belt objects from the ground, we can only observe them at small solar phase angles (the angle between the sun, the object, and the observer). On the other hand, when observing a Kuiper Belt object from a spacecraft in the Kuiper Belt, the same object can be observed at various phase angles and its reflection characteristics can be used to estimate the surface properties of the object. This is something only New Horizons can do.

However, the camera on the spacecraft has a narrow field-of-view and cannot discover Kuiper Belt objects on its own. This is where the Subaru Telescope comes in. The Subaru Telescope uses its wide-field camera to find many Kuiper Belt objects and then narrow down the list of objects that the spacecraft can fly by and observe. This collaboration between New Horizons and the Subaru Telescope began in 2004.
Part 1

For observations conducted during 2004–2005 with Subaru Telescope's prime focus camera (Suprime-Cam), due to the orbital relationship between Pluto and the spacecraft, an area near the center of the Milky Way galaxy got caught in the background of the search area for Kuiper Belt objects.

Although it was extremely difficult to search for solar system objects with many background stars, the research team was able to find 24 Kuiper Belt objects.

Unfortunately, the Kuiper belt objects so far found during this observation require too much fuel for the spacecraft to flyby, but new ones at great distance may fall within the available fuel reach of New Horizons. In 2020, deeper observations began with Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the Subaru Telescope, and by 2023, there had been 239 Kuiper Belt objects discovered.

"The most exciting part of the HSC observations was the discovery of 11 objects at distances beyond the known Kuiper Belt.
Many of the objects discovered with HSC are located at distances of 30–55 astronomical units (au) from the sun (1 au corresponds to the distance between the sun and Earth) and are thought to be within the known Kuiper Belt.

Marc W. Buie et al, The New Horizons Extended Mission Target: Arrokoth Search and Discovery, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2403.04927

Wesley C. Fraser et al, Candidate Distant Trans-Neptunian Objects Detected by the New Horizons Subaru TNO Survey, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2407.21142

Part 2

Excessive light pollution may increase risk of Alzheimer's, especially in younger people

In some places around the globe, the lights never go off. Streetlights, roadway lighting, and illuminated signs can deter crime, make roads safer, and enhance landscaping. Undisrupted light, however, comes with ecological, behavioral, and health consequences. 

Researchers now  have investigated correlations between outside nightly light pollution and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

There is a positive association between AD prevalence and exposure to light at night, particularly in those under the age of 65, the researchers showed. Nightly light pollution—a modifiable environmental factor—may be an important risk factor for AD, they say.

The researchers studied light pollution maps of the lower 48 US states and incorporated medical data about variables known or believed to be risk factors for AD in their analysis. They generated nighttime intensity data for every state and divided them into five groups, from lowest to highest nighttime light intensity.
Their results showed that for people aged 65 and older, AD prevalence was more strongly correlated with nightly light pollution than some other disease factors, including alcohol abuse, chronic kidney disease, depression, and obesity. Other risk factors, like diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke were more strongly associated with AD than light pollution.
For people aged under 65, however, the researchers found that higher nighttime light intensity was associated with a greater AD prevalence than any other risk factor examined in the study. This could suggest that younger people may be particularly sensitive to the effects of light exposure at night, the researchers said.

It is unclear why younger people could be more vulnerable, but it could be due to individual differences in light sensitivity. Certain genotypes, which influence early-onset AD, impact the response to biological stressors which could account for increased vulnerability to the effects of nighttime light exposure. Additionally, younger people are more likely to live in urban areas and have lifestyles that may increase exposure to light at night.

The researchers hope that their findings can help educate people about the potential risks of light at night.

Robin M. Voigt et all, Outdoor Nighttime Light Exposure (Light Pollution) is Associated with Alzheimer's Disease, Frontiers in Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1378498

Hijacking the command center of the cell: Nuclear parasites

Most animals live in intimate relationships with bacteria. Some of these bacteria live inside the cells of their hosts, but only very few are able to live inside cell organelles (structures inside the cell, like organs in the body). One group of bacteria have figured out how to colonize the nuclei of their hosts, a remarkable feat given that the nucleus is the control center of the cell.

To date, nothing is known about the molecular and cellular processes that these intranuclear bacteria use to infect and reproduce in animal hosts. A group of scientists now presents the first in-depth analysis of an intranuclear parasite of animals in a study published in Nature Microbiology.

This intranuclear parasite, Candidatus endonucleobacter, infects the nuclei of deep-sea mussels from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps around the world. A single bacterial cell penetrates into the mussels' nucleus and then reproduces to over 80,000 cells, causing the nucleus to swell to 50 times its original size.

Using a suite of molecular and imaging methods, the scientists revealed that Ca. endonucleobacter lives on sugars, lipids and other cell components from its host. It does not digest its host nucleic acids, like many other intranuclear bacteria. This feeding strategy ensures that the host cell functions long enough to provide Ca. endonucleobacter with the nutrients it needs to reproduce in such massive numbers.

A common response of animal cells to infection is apoptosis—a suicide program that cells initiate when they are damaged or infected by bacteria or viruses.

Interestingly, these bacteria have come up with a sophisticated strategy to keep their host cells from killing themselves. They produce proteins that suppress apoptosis called inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs).

An arms race for the control of cell death then ensues: As the bacteria produce more and more IAPs, the host cell ramps up its production of proteins that induce apoptosis. Eventually, after the parasite has had enough time to multiply in masses, the host cell ruptures, releasing the bacteria and allowing them to infect new host cells.

This discovery expands our understanding of host-microbe interactions and highlights the complex strategies parasites have evolved to thrive in their hosts.

These findings could have broader implications for studying parasitic infections and immune evasion strategies in other organisms.

 An intranuclear bacterial parasite of deep-sea mussels expresses apoptosis inhibitors acquired from its host, Nature Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01808-5

AI helps distinguish dark matter from cosmic noise

Dark matter is the invisible force holding the universe together—or so we think. It makes up about 85% of all matter and around 27% of the universe's contents, but since we can't see it directly, we have to study its gravitational effects on galaxies and other cosmic structures. Despite decades of research, the true nature of dark matter remains one of science's most elusive questions.

According to a leading theory, dark matter might be a type of particle that barely interacts with anything else, except through gravity. But some scientists think these particles could occasionally interact with each other, a phenomenon known as self-interaction. Detecting such interactions would offer crucial clues about dark matter's properties.

However, distinguishing the subtle signs of dark matter self-interactions from other cosmic effects, like those caused by active galactic nuclei (AGN)—the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies—has been a major challenge. AGN feedback can push matter around in ways that are similar to the effects of dark matter, making it difficult to tell the two apart.

In a significant step forward, astronomers   have developed a deep-learning algorithm that can untangle these complex signals. The research is published in Nature Astronomy.

Their AI-based method is designed to differentiate between the effects of dark matter self-interactions and those of AGN feedback by analyzing images of galaxy clusters—vast collections of galaxies bound together by gravity. The innovation promises to greatly enhance the precision of dark matter studies.

A deep-learning algorithm to disentangle self-interacting dark matter and AGN feedback models, Nature Astronomy (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-024-02322-8

Tiny magnetic robots could treat bleeds in the brain

Researchers have created nanoscale robots which could be used to manage bleeds in the brain caused by aneurysms. The development could enable precise, relatively low-risk treatment of brain aneurysms, which cause around 500,000 deaths globally each year. The medical condition—a blood-filled bulge on a brain artery that can rupture and cause fatal bleeds—can also lead to stroke and disability.

The study points to a future where tiny robots could be remotely controlled to carry out complex tasks inside the human body—such as targeted drug delivery and organ repair—in a minimally invasive way, researchers say.

The researchers engineered magnetic nanorobots—about a twentieth the size of a human red blood cell—comprising blood-clotting drugs encased in a protective coating, designed to melt at precise temperatures. The work is published in the journal Small.

In lab tests, several hundred billion such bots were injected into an artery and then remotely guided as a swarm, using magnets and medical imaging, to the site of an aneurysm.

Magnetic sources outside the body then cause the robots to cluster together inside the aneurysm and be heated to their melting point, releasing a naturally occurring blood-clotting protein, which blocks the aneurysm to prevent or stem bleeding into the brain.

The international team of researchers successfully tested their devices in model aneurysms in the lab and in a small number of rabbits.

The team says that nanorobots show potential for transporting and releasing drug molecules to precise locations in the body without risk of leaking into the bloodstream—a key test of the technology's safety and efficacy.

The study could pave the way for further developments towards trials in people.

Jienan Wang et al, Nanoarchitectonic Engineering of Thermal‐Responsive Magnetic Nanorobot Collectives for Intracranial Aneurysm Therapy, Small (2024). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202400408

Low-cost nanomaterial technology can detect cancer genes with ultra-high sensitivity

A research team has  developed a technology that can detect cancer mutant genes in blood with the world's highest sensitivity of 0.000000001% based on plasmonic nanomaterials for optical signal amplification. The team tested blood samples from lung cancer patients (stages 1-4) and healthy individuals for EGFR mutations and achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 96%.

The work is published in the journal Small Science.

Previously utilized genetic analysis technologies had low analytical sensitivity to detect mutated genes compared to normal genes, making it difficult to accurately diagnose early-stage cancer patients. In addition, it was difficult to establish a quick treatment strategy and apply it to screening tests due to the high cost and long time required for analysis and the need for special equipment.

To overcome these challenges, the research team developed a low-cost analysis technology that can analyze various cancer mutations within the target gene region within one hour with an ultra-high sensitivity of 0.000000001%. This technology boasts the world's highest level of sensitivity, which is 100,000 times better than the highest level of 0.0001% among reported technologies, and through this, the possibility of early diagnosis was confirmed using the blood of lung cancer patients.

This technology combines nanomaterial technology that significantly improves the fluorescence signal, and primer/probe design that suppresses the fluorescence signal of normal genes, amplifying only the fluorescence signal of cancer mutant genes. This is because the accurate detection of even very small amounts of cancer mutated genes requires not only strong fluorescent signal expression technology but also precise discrimination of fine fluorescent signals.

The team fabricated a biochip in the form of a microarray capable of simultaneously detecting three mutant genes of EGFR (deletion, insertion, and point mutations) on a plasmonic substrate made of three-dimensional, high-density gold nanostructures. After evaluating the clinical performance of 43 domestic lung cancer patients (stages 1 to 4) and 40 normal groups, a clinical sensitivity of 93% for lung cancer patients and a clinical specificity of 100% for the normal group were confirmed.

This technology can play an important role in not only early diagnosis and detection of recurrence of cancer, but also in monitoring treatment effectiveness and establishing personalized treatment plans. In addition, liquid biopsy using blood is possible as an alternative to surgical tissue biopsy, reducing the burden on patients and simplifying the examination process. It can also serve as a regular screening test, ultimately improving the quality of cancer management and treatment.

Ji Young Lee et al, Highly Sensitive 3D‐Nanoplasmonic‐Based Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Multiplex Assay Chip for Liquid Biopsy, Small Science (2024). DOI: 10.1002/smsc.202400101

Researchers make sound waves travel in one direction only, with implications for electromagnetic wave technology

Researchers at ETH Zurich have managed to make sound waves travel only in one direction. In the future, this method could also be used in technical applications with electromagnetic waves.

Water, light and sound waves usually propagate in the same way forward as in a backward direction. As a consequence, when we are speaking to someone standing some distance away from us, that person can hear us as well as we can hear them. This is useful when having a conversation, but in some technical applications one would prefer the waves to be able to travel only in one direction—for instance, in order to avoid unwanted reflections of light or microwaves.

Ten years ago, researchers succeeded in suppressing sound wave propagation in the backward direction; however, this also attenuated the waves traveling forwards.

A team of researchers has now developed a method for preventing sound waves from traveling backward without deteriorating their propagation in the forward direction.

The basis of this one-way street for sound waves are self-oscillations, in which a dynamical system periodically repeats its behavior.

In the future, this method, which has recently been published in Nature Communications, could also be applied to electromagnetic waves.

Tiemo Pedergnana et al, Loss-compensated non-reciprocal scattering based on synchronization, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51373-y

Part 2

1.8 Billion Years of Plate Tectonics

Using information from inside the rocks on Earth's surface, researchers have reconstructed the plate tectonics of the planet over the last 1.8 billion years.

It is the first time Earth's geological record has been used like this, looking so far back in time. This has enabled us to make an attempt at mapping the planet over the last 40% of its history, which you can see in the animation below.

The work is now published in the open-access journal Geoscience Frontiers.

Mapping our planet through its long history creates a beautiful continental dance—mesmerizing in itself and a work of natural art.

It starts with the map of the world familiar to everyone. Then India rapidly moves south, followed by parts of Southeast Asia as the past continent of Gondwana forms in the Southern Hemisphere.

Around 200 million years ago (Ma or mega-annum in the reconstruction), when the dinosaurs walked the earth, Gondwana linked with North America, Europe and northern Asia to form a large supercontinent called Pangea.

Then, the reconstruction carries on back through time. Pangea and Gondwana were themselves formed from older plate collisions. As time rolls back, an earlier supercontinent called Rodinia appears. It doesn't stop here. Rodinia, in turn, is formed by the break-up of an even older supercontinent called Nuna about 1.35 billion years ago.

Part 1

Among the planets in the solar system, Earth is unique for having plate tectonics. Its rocky surface is split into fragments (plates) that grind into each other and create mountains, or split away and form chasms that are then filled with oceans.

Apart from causing earthquakes and volcanoes, plate tectonics also pushes up rocks from the deep earth into the heights of mountain ranges. This way, elements which were far underground can erode from the rocks and end up washing into rivers and oceans. From there, living things can make use of these elements.

Among these essential elements is phosphorus, which forms the framework of DNA molecules, and molybdenum, which is used by organisms to strip nitrogen out of the atmosphere and make proteins and amino acids—building blocks of life.

Plate tectonics also exposes rocks that react with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Rocks locking up carbon dioxide is the main control on Earth's climate over long time scales—much, much longer than the tumultuous climate change we are responsible for today.

Researchers discover an effective and environment-friendly disinfectant

A widely used disinfectant worldwide, chloroxylenol, has been associated with eco-toxicological threats in water environments due to its relatively high chemical stability and massive consumption. Researchers at the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have discovered a promising alternative known as 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone (2,6-DCQ), which works more effectively in combating certain common bacteria, fungi and viruses, and can be rapidly degraded and detoxified in receiving waters.

Their findings have been published in Nature Communications.

Jiarui Han et al, An effective and rapidly degradable disinfectant from disinfection byproducts, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48752-w

Study of older patients suggests 1 in 5 cases of dementia may be attributable to vision impairment

Prior research has found that there may be a connection between hearing loss in aging people and the onset of dementia. In a new study, a team of health care researchers and geriatric specialists  surveyed patient health care records and reported that approximately 1 in 5 cases of dementia could also be attributable to vision impairment in community-dwelling  adults aged 71 years or older.

The paper is published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

Scientists still do not know what causes dementia, but they strongly suspect that it might be tied to several factors, one of which might be sensory degradation. As the senses lose their sharpness, the hypothesis proposes, the brain must work harder to make sense of the external environment, all while undergoing its own aging process.

The result could be loss of cognitive and memory abilities. In this new effort, the researchers looked for such evidence in people over the age of 71 who have experienced at least one of three main types of vision impairment: near or distance acuity, or contrast sensitivity.

They found that approximately 19% of dementia cases could be attributable to one or more types of vision loss. This, they note, suggests that dementia could have been prevented in nearly 20% of cases if loss of vision had been addressed. They note that prior studies have shown that approximately 90% of vision problems in older people are correctable through glasses or surgery.

The research team acknowledges that their results are based on associations rather than proof because there is no way to prove any single cause of dementia. But they also suggest that the associations they found make a strong case for it.

Tidal Locking | Why Do We Only See One Side of the Moon?

Bat loss linked to death of human babies
When insect-eating bats are wiped out by ‘white nose syndrome’, farmers turn to pesticides for pest control — possibly leading to knock-on effects for human health. Researchers compared counties in the northeastern United States where the white nose fungus had killed most bats to those areas where the disease hadn’t yet spread. In places where bat populations had crashed, farmers used 31% more insecticides and infant deaths not due to accidents or homicides rose by 8% — numbers that the authors suggest might be linked. Where bats remained, there was no change in pesticide use or infant mortality.

The study is the “most convincing evidence to date” linking economic and health impacts with dramatic losses of a wild species.

Bats are good to have around a farm. They provide free pest control, with some species consuming 40% of their body weight each night in insects. The value of this service has been estimated at between $4 billion and $53 billion per year. So, it’s logical to assume farmers might compensate for a loss of bats by spraying more insecticides.

Infant mortality in all the counties: In places where the bat populations had crashed, deaths due to accident or homicides stayed the same. But other deaths, such as those caused by disease or birth defects, rose 8%. In counties with healthy bat populations, the numbers didn’t shift one way or another.

Several lines of evidence connect pesticides and other agrochemicals to human health risks.

That is why we say we - all living beings - are all dependent on one another for our survival.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg0344

https://www.science.org/content/article/my-jaw-dropped-bat-loss-lin...

Bacteria in your mouth Reproduce in a rare way

The microbial ecosystem nesting in your mouth is giving scientists a rare tool to learn about how bacteria multiply. One of the most common bacteria living in your dental plaque, a filamentous bacterium called Corynebacterium matruchotii, divides not into two daughter cells like most cell divisions but multiple new microbes in a rarer process called multiple fission.

A team of scientists observed single C. matruchotii cells dividing up into up to 14 new cells – a feat that can tell us how these organisms form the scaffolding that supports the hosts of other microbes that are dwelling in your mouth.

The Corynebacterium cells in dental plaque are like a big, bushy tree in the forest; they create a spatial structure that provides the habitat for many other species of bacteria around them.

Most bacteria and archaea reproduce via an asexual process called binary fission. The genetic material divides, and the cell itself then divides, resulting in two organisms where there was one.

Researchers saw the unusual cell division of C. matruchotii was not the normal binary kind, but much more prolific. And it does so in a very strange way.

First, the filament elongates at just one end, growing much longer than the usual size of the cell. It does so at a rate five times faster than other, closely related Corynebacterium species that live in the nose or on the skin.

Then, a number of dividing walls called septa form simultaneously, before the cell breaks apart into between 3 and 14 complete daughter cells.

Thanks to this strange process, a colony of C. matruchotii can grow very fast indeed, up to half a millimeter per day – which might help explain why plaque starts to return to your teeth within hours, no matter how strenuously you clean them.

Another interesting thing about C. matruchotii that might drive its strange growth and division is that it lacks a flagellum; the whip-like appendage other bacteria use to get around. Because it is fixed in place, its fast growth could be a means of exploring its environment and looking for sources of food, the researchers say.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2408654121

Scientists Discover Mosquitoes Are Using Infrared to Track Humans Down

There's something about us that mosquitoes just love. In addition to our smell, and our breath, our exposed skin acts as a kind of neon sign advertising that this blood bar is open for business.

That's because mosquitoes use infrared sensing in their antennae to track down their prey, a new study has found.
In many parts of the world, mosquito bites are more than an irritation, capable of spreading pathogens like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika virus. Malaria, spread by the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, caused more than 600,000 deaths in 2022, according to World Health Organization statistics.

To avoid serious disease, or even just a case of maddening itchiness, we humans are pretty keen to find ways to prevent mosquito bites.

Research found that mosquitoes use infrared detection – along with other cues we already knew about, like a nose for the CO2 in our breath, and certain body odours, to seek out hosts.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07848-5

A person's intelligence limits their computer proficiency more than previously thought, say researchers

A new study has found that intelligence, in the form of general cognitive abilities such as perception, thinking and remembering, is more important than hitherto thought at predicting a person's ability to complete common tasks with a PC. The study was published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies in August 2024.

This research findings are the first clear proof that cognitive abilities have a significant, independent and wide-ranging effect on people's ability to use a computer. Contrary to what was previously thought, cognitive abilities are as important as previous experience of computer use.

The findings have implications for digital equality, say the researchers, because everyday user interfaces have simply become too complex to use. Practice alone is no longer enough, with intelligence becoming an equally critical factor in predicting performance in computer tasks.

"It is clear that differences between individuals cannot be eliminated simply by means of training; in the future, user interfaces need to be streamlined for simpler use. This age-old goal has been forgotten at some point, and awkwardly designed interfaces have become a driver for the digital divide. We cannot promote a deeper and more equal use of computers in society unless we solve this basic problem, say the researchers. 

However, the research findings also show that age remains the most important factor in how well an individual can use applications. Older people clearly took more time to complete their tasks, and they also felt that the assignments were more burdensome.

 Erik Lintunen et al, Cognitive abilities predict performance in everyday computer tasks, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103354

Newly discovered antibody protects against all COVID-19 variants

Researchers have discovered an antibody able to neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as distantly related SARS-like coronaviruses that infect other animals.

As part of a new study on hybrid immunity to the virus, the large, multi-institution research team discovered and isolated a broadly neutralizing plasma antibody, called SC27, from a single patient. Using technology developed over several years of research into antibody response, the research team obtained the exact molecular sequence of the antibody, opening the possibility of manufacturing it on a larger scale for future treatments.

The discovery of SC27, and other antibodies like it in the future, will help us better protect the population against current and future COVID variants.

Protective antibodies bind to a part of the virus called the spike protein that acts as an anchor point for the virus to attach to and infect the cells in the body. By blocking the spike protein, the antibodies prevent this interaction and, therefore, also prevent infection.

Scientists after verifying  the properties of SC27 found that it recognized the different characteristics of the spike proteins in the many COVID variants.

In addition to the discovery of this antibody, the research found that hybrid immunity—a combination of both infection and vaccination—offers increased antibody-based protection against future exposure compared with infection or vaccination alone.

The researchers have filed a patent application for SC27.

William N. Voss et al, Hybrid immunity to SARS-CoV-2 arises from serological recall of IgG antibodies distinctly imprinted by infection or vaccination, Cell Reports Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101668

Scientists provided evidence for long-standing wave amplification theory

Physicists  have tested and provided evidence for  a 50-year-old theory for the first time using electro-magnetic waves. They have shown that the energy of waves can be increased by bouncing "twisted waves"—those with angular momentum—off of an object which is rotating in a specific way.

This is known as the "Zel'dovich effect," named after Soviet physicist Yakov Zel'dovich who developed a theory based on this idea in the 1970s. Until now, it was believed to be unobservable with electromagnetic fields.

The Zel'dovich effect works on the principle that waves with angular momentum, that would usually be absorbed by an object, actually become amplified by that object instead, if it is rotating at a fast enough angular velocity. In this case, the object is an aluminum cylinder and it must rotate faster than the frequency of the incoming radiation.

Although physicists successfully tested this theory in sound waves a few years ago, but until this most recent experiment it hadn't been proven with electromagnetic waves. Using relatively simple equipment—a resonant circuit interacting with a spinning metal cylinder—and by creating the specific conditions required, they have now been able to do this.

M. C. Braidotti et al, Amplification of electromagnetic fields by a rotating body, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49689-w

Newly identified biomarkers could reveal risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome

Researchers  are getting closer to being able to predict sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

In a study appearing in JAMA Pediatrics, they have identified signals in the metabolic system of infants who died of SIDS.

This study suggests that metabolic factors may play a crucial role in SIDS. These patterns could help identify children at higher risk, potentially saving lives in the future.

Each year about 1,300 infants under the age of 1 die from SIDS, and researchers still aren't sure what causes these unexpected deaths. What they do know is that there are likely multiple factors that play a role, including inadequate prenatal care, smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, structural racism and air pollution. Male babies have a higher rate of SIDS than girls.

Researchers are turning to biology to look for a cause of SIDS that can be screened for at birth or targeted with medication. Investigators in this study knew from previous research that the metabolic system—how bodies process and store energy—might play a part in SIDS. They decided to examine the role of the metabolic system more closely, and compare metabolic data taken from infants as part of a routine newborn screening.

They compared the data of infants who eventually died from SIDS with similar infants who lived.

In the 354 infants who died from SIDS, they found that there were some metabolic biomarkers that may be associated with increased risk. For example, infants with lower levels of C-3 and elevated levels of C-14OH appear to have a higher risk of dying from SIDS. These findings are in line with previous research that has found an association between enzymes of fatty acid oxidation, like these, and SIDS.

The scientists also found several other biomarkers that--when elevated--seemed to lead to a reduced risk of SIDS.

JAMA Pediatrics (2024). jamanetwork.com/journals/jamap … pediatrics.2024.3033

A patient tests positive for bird flu despite no known exposure to animals

A hospitalized patient in Missouri was infected with bird flu despite having had no known contact with dairy cows or other animals associated with an ongoing outbreak, health officials said last week.

The person tested positive for influenza A, and CDC officials later confirmed it to be bird flu. The person received antiviral medication and has since recovered and gone home, health officials said. It's not clear whether the hospitalization was caused by the bird flu infection or the person's existing health conditions.

The case raises questions about how the person was exposed to the virus. All the previous U.S. infections were among people who worked around cows and poultry.

The investigation is continuing, officials said.

It's the first case detected through routine influenza surveillance rather than through targeted efforts to identify people infected with bird flu through exposure to infected cows and poultry, officials said.

Source: News agencies

Nanoscale silver exhibits intrinsic self-healing abilities without external intervention

As an innovative concept in materials science and engineering, the inspiration for self-healing materials comes from living organisms that have the innate ability to self-heal. Along this line, the search for self-healing materials has been generally focused on "soft" materials like polymers and hydrogels. For solid-state metals, one may intuitively imagine that any form of self-healing will be much more difficult to achieve.

While a few past studies have showcased the self-healing behavior in metals that more or less requires the assistance of external triggers (e.g., by heating, mechanical stimulus, or electron beam irradiation), whether the autonomous self-healing can occur in metal solids without any external intervention remains a scientific curiosity.

Now in a new study published in Matter, researchers from the Institute of Physics (IOP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered that such an intrinsic and autonomous self-healing phenomenon can occur in nanoscale silver (Ag).

This study, which combines advanced in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, reveals that nanoscale Ag can autonomously repair itself from structural damage, such as nanocracks and nanopores, without external intervention.

This remarkable ability is observed not only at room temperature but also at frigid temperatures as low as 173 K. Notably, over the same damaging area, the repeated reversible self-healing cycles can also be achieved with the same level of efficiency.

Jianlin Wang et al, Direct observation of autonomous self-healing in silver, Matter (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2024.07.009

The earliest blacksmiths in the Bronze and Iron Ages figured out that when they deformed metal through bending or hammering, it became stronger. This process, known as work or strain hardening, is still used widely in metallurgy and manufacturing today to increase the strength of everything from car frames to overhead power wires. But materials scientists have never been able to watch this essential process unfold in real time—until now.

A team of scientists  have observed, for the first time, the detailed mechanisms driving the fundamental process of work hardening.

It's been impossible to observe work hardening in metals in real time because the atomic structures can only be observed through an electron microscope. Researchers can compare the structure before and after deformation but have had only a limited view into what happens during the process. Previous research has revealed that imperfections in the structure, known as dislocations, form a network of defects which cause the work hardening.

Part 1

To understand that critical part of the process, the research team turned to colloidal crystals—particles that are about 10,000 times larger than atoms and spontaneously form a crystal structure at high concentrations. These crystals are used to mimic atomic systems because they have the same structures, undergo the same phase transitions, and possess the same types of defects. Colloidal crystals, however, are very soft—even 100,000 times softer than Jell-O.

The researchers grew these colloidal crystals composed of millions of particles and observed each particle using a confocal optical microscope. When they applied a strain to these crystals, they could measure the motion of each and every particle.

Surprisingly, these colloidal crystals experience significant work hardening—even more strongly than any other material. In fact, when the difference in particle size is taken into account, these ultra-soft materials become much stronger than most metals.
It is the first time that work hardening has been observed in colloidal crystals; it reveals that the process is governed primarily by the geometry of the particles and the defects. The crystals became stronger because of the dislocation defects, how they interact and entangle with one another.

These observations reveal the universal mechanisms of work hardening which will also apply more generally to all materials.

Seongsoo Kim et al, Work hardening in colloidal crystals, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07453-6

Part 2

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Global study shows that most cities receive more rainfall than surrounding rural areas

The effect of urbanization on temperature is relatively well-known: cities are often measurably warmer than their surrounding rural areas. This is called the urban heat island effect. What fewer people know is that the urban heat island has a twin counterpart with similarly important consequences: the urban precipitation anomaly, where the presence of urban development measurably affects the amount of rainfall in an area.

In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers looked for evidence of precipitation anomalies in 1,056 cities across the globe and found that more than 60% of those cities receive more precipitation than their surrounding rural areas.

In some cases, the difference can be significant. For instance, researchers found that Houston, on average, will receive almost 5 inches more rain per year than its surrounding rural areas.

This could have wide-ranging implications, the most serious of which is worsened flash flooding in densely built urban areas.

Variation in urban rainfall is something scientists have known about for several decades, but never at a global scale. Previous studies only looked at certain cities and storm cases.

Urban areas tend to take rain from one location and concentrate it in another, much like a sponge that is being squeezed. If you were to pinch one part of the sponge, you would have water coming down more forcefully from one side. The amount of water you have in the sponge is the same, but because now you have that dynamic sort of squeezing the atmosphere, you have more ability to take the water out from that location.

Although it's less common, some urban areas actually receive less rainfall than their surrounding rural counterparts. This typically occurs in cities situated in valleys and lowlands, where precipitation patterns are controlled by nearby mountains. The cities where this is most pronounced include Seattle, Washington; Kyoto, Japan; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Part1

There are several reasons why most cities receive more rainfall than their rural neighbors.
One key factor is the presence of tall buildings, which block or slow down wind speeds. This leads to a convergence of air toward the city center.
The buildings further enhance this convergence by slowing the winds, resulting in a stronger upward motion of air. This upward motion promotes the condensation of water vapor and cloud formation, which are critical conditions for producing rainfall and precipitation.
Researchers found that population has the largest correlation with urban precipitation anomalies compared to other environmental and urbanization factors. This is because larger populations typically create denser and taller urban areas, along with more greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore more pronounced heat.
This phenomenon has implications for all cities heading into a future of climate change.
the increased chances of rainfall in cities combined with the impervious surfaces that make up their urban environments can be a recipe for flash flooding.

Niyogi, Dev, Global scale assessment of urban precipitation anomalies, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2311496121. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2311496121

Part2

Iron was life's 'primeval' metal, say scientists

Every living organism uses tiny quantities of metals to carry out biological functions, including breathing, transcribing DNA, turning food into energy, or any number of essential life processes.

Life has used metals in this way since single-celled organisms floated in Earth's earliest oceans. Nearly half of the enzymes—proteins that carry out chemical reactions in cells—within organisms require metals, many of which are transition metals named for the space they occupy in the periodic table.

Now, a team of scientists argue that iron was life's earliest, and sole, transition metal. Their study, titled "Iron: Life's primeval transition metal," is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

They argue that life only relied on metals that it could interact with, and the iron-rich early ocean would make other transition metals essentially invisible.

Early oceans were rich in iron—specifically, an ion of iron called Fe(II). Fe(II) can be readily dissolved in water and would have been the primary metal found in oceans during the Archean Eon, a geologic time period that began about 4 billion years ago and ended about 2.5 billion years ago.

The end of the Archean Eon was marked by something called the Great Oxygenation Event. At this time, life evolved the ability to perform oxygen-producing photosynthesis. Over the next billion years, Earth's ocean transformed from an iron-rich, anoxic sea to today's oxygenated body of water, according to the researchers. This also oxidized Fe(II) into Fe(III), rendering it insoluble.

Geologists knew of iron's ubiquity on Earth during this time, it wasn't until they began talking with Valentine that they realized how great an impact iron might have had on early life.

Life, in the face of orders of magnitude more iron than other metals, couldn't know to evolve toward such a sophisticated way of managing them. The fall of the abundance of iron forced life to manage these other metals to survive, but that also enabled new functions and the diversity of life we have today.

Johnson, Jena E., Iron: Life's primeval transition metal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318692121. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2318692121

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Plastic pollution hotspots pinpointed in new research—India ranks top due to high levels of uncollected waste

Researchers have used machine learning to identify the biggest plastic pollution hotspots across more than 50,000 towns, cities and rural areas worldwide. Their new global model reveals the most detailed picture of plastic pollution ever created with the highest environmental concentrations in India, predominantly because so much of its waste isn't collected.

Open burning of waste is prolific, accounting for 57% of all plastic pollution worldwide by weight. This involves burning waste on open fires without any controls to prevent hazardous emissions from reaching the environment or harming our health. This practice is popular, possibly because it seems to make the waste disappear, reducing the burden on waste management authorities and reducing the unsightliness of waste dumped on land.
India has emerged as the largest plastic polluter, emitting 9.3 million tons of plastic into the environment each year—one fifth of the total. That's 2.7 times more than the next two largest polluters, Nigeria and Indonesia.

India comes top because only 81% of its waste is collected. But, it also generates a lot more waste than some previous models have assumed. Official government sources estimate 0.12kg per person per day, but these estimates exclude many rural areas, so the real number is closer to 0.54kg per person per day. The combination of such a large amount of waste, large population and low collection rate creates the conditions under which plastic pollution flourishes.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07758-6

The Calls of Amazon Parrots are changing!

Some parrots in the Amazon no longer sound like they used to when they call out to each other through the trees.

Scientists studying the yellow-naped amazon (Amazona auropalliata) have noticed in the last few decades that these Pacific coast parrots are changing their 'accents'. While it could interfere with mating and reproduction, the researchers speculate it might actually be a positive sign of the birds adapting.

Like many other birds, yellow-naped parrots are known to have regional dialects. This means that different communities shriek, whistle, and screech in slightly different ways, depending on where they live.

Scientists have noticed this about the species since 1994, but between 2005 and 2016, researchers from New Mexico State University and the University of Pittsburgh (UPJ) at Johnstown have noticed a significant geographic shift.

The types of calls these parrots are making in different regions seem to be bleeding into one another.

Some calls that were recently heard in the north region, for instance, had only previously been heard in the south. In fact, some birds in the north were capable of producing both accents, researchers found, what they call a 'bilingual' skill.

This could possibly give the parrots a survival advantage. Birds that can communicate with more groups may be able to share more information, access foraging areas, or gain roosting privileges.

And that may be more important now than ever.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.0659

New Zealand's kākāpō developed different feather colors to evade predatory birds, genome sequencing shows

Evolution: Aotearoa New Zealand's flightless parrot, the kākāpō, evolved two different color types to potentially help them avoid detection by a now-extinct apex predator , researchers report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

The kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) is a nocturnal, flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand. It experienced severe population declines after European settlers introduced new predators. By 1995 there were just 51 individuals left, but intense conservation efforts have helped the species rebound to around 250 birds. Kākāpō come in one of two colors—green or olive—which occur in roughly equal proportions.

To understand how this color variation evolved and why it was maintained despite population declines, researchers analyzed genome sequence data for 168 individuals, representing nearly all living kākāpō at the time of sequencing. They identified two genetic variants that together explain color variation across all the kākāpō they studied.

Scanning electron microscopy showed that green and olive feathers reflect slightly different wavelengths of light because of differences in their microscopic structure. The researchers estimate that olive coloration first appeared around 1.93 million years ago, coinciding with the evolution of two predatory birds: Haast's eagle and Eyles' harrier.

Computer simulations suggest that whichever color was rarer would have been less likely to be detected by predators, explaining why both colors persisted in the kākāpō population over time.

The results suggest that kākāpō coloration evolved due to pressure from apex predators that hunted by sight. This variation has remained even after the predators went extinct, around 600 years ago.

The authors argue that understanding the origins of kākāpō coloration might have relevance to the conservation of this critically endangered species. They show that without intervention, kākāpō color variation could be lost within just 30 generations, but it would be unlikely to negatively impact the species today.

Urban L, Santure AW, Uddstrom L, Digby A, Vercoe D, Eason D, et al. (2024) The genetic basis of the kākāpō structural color polymorphism suggests balancing selection by an extinct apex predator. PLoS Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002755

Paleontologists discover fossil birds with teeth had seeds in their stomachs, indicating that they ate fruit

For paleontologists who study animals that lived long ago, fossilized remains tell only part of the story of an animal's life. While a well-preserved skeleton can provide hints at what an ancient animal ate or how it moved, irrefutable proof of these behaviors is hard to come by. But sometimes, scientists luck out with extraordinary fossils that preserve something beyond the animal's body.

In a study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers found fossilized seeds in the stomachs of one of the earliest birds. This discovery shows that these birds were eating fruits, despite a long-standing hypothesis that this species of bird feasted on fish (and more recent hypotheses it ate insects) with its incredibly strong teeth.

Longipteryx chaoyangensis lived 120 million years ago in what's now northeastern China. It's among the earliest known birds, and one of the strangest.

This bird is weird. It had a  long skull, and teeth only at the tip of its beak. 

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body, and Longipteryx's tooth enamel is 50 microns thick. That's the same thickness of the enamel on enormous predatory dinosaurs like Allosaurus that weighed 4,000 pounds, but Longipteryx is the size of a bluejay. 

Longipteryx was discovered in 2000, and at the time, scientists suggested that its kingfisher-like elongated skull meant that it too hunted fish. However, this hypothesis has been challenged by a number of scientists.

There are other fossil birds, like Yanornis, that ate fish, and scientists know because specimens have been found with preserved stomach contents, and fish tend to preserve well. Plus, these fish-eating birds had lots of teeth, all the way along their beaks, unlike how Longipteryx only has teeth at the very tip of its beak.

However, no specimens of Longipteryx had been found with fossilized food still in their stomachs for scientists to confirm what it ate— until now.

Since Longipteryx lived in a temperate climate, it probably wasn't eating fruits year-round;  scientists suspect that it had a mixed diet which included things like insects when fruits weren't available.

Part 1

Longipteryx is part of a larger group of prehistoric birds called the enantiornithines, and this discovery marks the first time that scientists have found any stomach contents from an enantiornithine in China's Jehol Biota despite thousands of uncovered fossils.

"It's always been weird that we didn't know what they were eating, but this study also hints at a bigger picture problem in paleontology, that physical characteristics of a fossil don't always tell the whole story about what the animal ate or how it lived.
Since Longipteryx apparently wasn't hunting for fish, that leaves a question: what was it using its long, pointy beak and crazy-strong teeth for? The thick enamel is overpowered, it seems to be weaponized.
Weaponized beaks in hummingbirds have evolved at least seven times, allowing them to compete for limited resources. Clark suggested the hypothesis that perhaps Longipteryx's teeth and beak also served as a weapon, perhaps evolving under social or sexual selection.

Direct evidence of frugivory in the Mesozoic bird Longipteryx contradicts morphological proxies for diet, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.012. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(24)01124-2

Part 2

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Researchers find live fungi, bacteria and viruses high in the Earth's atmosphere

A team of climate, health and atmospheric specialists  has found abundant live fungi, bacteria and viruses high in the Earth's atmosphere. In their study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group collected air samples from altitudes of 1,000–3,000 meters.

Prior research has shown that dust can travel thousands of miles in the atmosphere—large amounts of dust from Africa are carried to both North and South America, for example. Prior research has also shown that microbes that attach to dust can be carried equally far.

For this new study, the researchers wondered how high in the atmosphere microbes might be found and whether they could survive the trip. To learn more, they chartered a small plane that carried them aloft over parts of Japan, where they collected air samples at altitudes of 1,000–3,000 meters near the planetary boundary. They also gathered weather data related to the air column in areas where they had flown.
In an air-controlled lab, they conducted a DNA analysis on the microbes found in the samples as a way to identify what they were and also which types. They found examples of fungi, bacteria and viruses, many of which, the team noted, are hazardous to human health.

They also found that many of the microbes were still viable—they grew cultures of them in lab dishes. In all, the team found 266 types of fungi and 305 types of bacteria.

The researchers noted that many of both types were of the kind that are often found in soil or plants. They suspect that due to the geographic location of the microbes, the height at which they were found and the speed of the winds carrying them, that the majority of them came from China, which meant they had traveled at least 2,000 kilometers.

The research team suggests that bio-pathogens are capable of traveling thousands of kilometers at high altitudes, possibly representing a way to spread diseases.

Xavier Rodó et al, Microbial richness and air chemistry in aerosols above the PBL confirm 2,000-km long-distance transport of potential human pathogens, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2404191121

Psychologists argue conscientiousness outshines willpower in predicting success

According to some psychologists, the field of psychological science has a problem with the concept of self-control. It has named self-control both a "trait"—a key facet of personality involving attributes like conscientiousness, grit and the ability to tolerate delayed gratification—and a "state," a fleeting condition that can best be described as willpower. These two concepts are at odds with one another and are often confused, the authors report.

Conscientiousness  is the quality of wishing to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly.

Self-control is a cherished quality. People who have lots of it are celebrated and seen as morally righteous. 

Many studies find that people who score highly on various measures of conscientiousness do better than their peers academically and financially and tend to live healthier lives.

This led psychologists to conflate momentary will power with the other characteristics that make conscientious people successful, the researchers said.

People assumed that highly conscientious people simply engage their willpower more often than their less-conscientious peers. But this is not the case. Conscientious people do not control themselves more than others. In fact, studies have shown that they spend less time restraining wayward desires. This was a surprise when it was discovered more than a decade ago.

The misguided emphasis on willpower led to interventions designed to increase it, with the goal of also strengthening conscientiousness. This approach occasionally yielded some positive short-term results, the researchers said. But in the long term, such changes tend to erode.

People usually revert to their baseline levels of willpower and conscientiousness Willpower is generally fragile, unreliable and weak.

The science strongly suggests that other aspects of "trait self-control" are more likely to contribute to the lifelong benefits associated with this trait.

Perhaps it's their industriousness or organizational skills. Or maybe it's their ability to persist in pursuit of a goal.

Success in life might be the result of engaging less in day-to-day willpower and more in cold calculation before a temptation is ever met, the researchers said. Maybe conscientiousness is explained not by exerting willpower, but by avoiding the need to exert it in the first place.

Michael Inzlicht et al, The fable of state self-control, Current Opinion in Psychology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101848

Researchers bend DNA strands with light, revealing a new way to study the genome

With the flick of a light, researchers have found a way to rearrange life's basic tapestry, bending DNA strands back on themselves to reveal the material nature of the genome.

Scientists have long debated about the physics of chromosomes—structures at the deepest interior of a cell that are made of long DNA strands tightly coiled around millions of proteins. Do they behave more like a liquid, a solid, or something in between?

Much progress in understanding and treating disease depends on the answer.

A research team has now developed a way to probe chromosomes and quantify their mechanical properties: how much force is required to move parts of it around and how well it snaps back to its original position.

The answer to the material question, according to their findings, is that in some ways the chromosome acts like an elastic material and in other ways it acts like a fluid. By leveraging that insight in exacting detail, the team was able to physically manipulate DNA in new and precisely controlled ways.

They published their findings in the journal Cell on August 20.

The key to the new method lies in the researchers' ability to generate tiny liquid-like droplets within a cell's nucleus. The droplets form like oil in water and grow larger when exposed to a specific wavelength of blue light.

Because the droplets are initiated at a programmable protein—a modified version of the protein used in the gene editing tool known as CRISPR—they can also attach the droplet to DNA in precise locations, targeting genes of interest.

With their ability to control this process using light, the team found a way to grow two droplets stuck to different sequences, merge the two droplets together, and finally shrink the resulting droplet, pulling the genes together as the droplet recedes. The entire process takes about 10 minutes.

Physically repositioning DNA in this way represents a completely new direction for engineering cells to improve health and could lead to new treatments for disease, according to the researchers. For example, they showed that they could pull two distant genes toward each other until the genes touch.

Established theory predicts this could lead to greater control over gene expression or gene regulation—life's most fundamental processes.

Amy R. Strom et al, Condensate interfacial forces reposition DNA loci and probe chromatin viscoelasticity, Cell (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.07.034

Long-term exercisers have 'healthier' belly fat, study reveals

People with obesity who are long-time exercisers have healthier belly fat tissue and can store fat there more effectively than nonexercisers with obesity, according to a new study from a team of researchers.

The study, "Long-term exercise training has positive effects on adipose tissue ...," appears Sept. 10 in Nature Metabolism.

The research team also grew fat tissue in the lab from cells collected from both exercisers and nonexercisers, and cells from the exercisers developed into a tissue that stored fat more effectively.

The findings indicate that in addition to being a means to expend calories, exercising regularly for several months to years seems to modify your fat tissue in ways that allows you to store your body fat more healthfully if or when you do experience some weight gain––as nearly everyone does as we get older.

They found that the exercisers had distinct structural and biological characteristics in their fat tissue that increased the capacity to store fat there. The nonexercisers did not have those characteristics. Specifically, the exercisers had more blood vessels, mitochondria and beneficial proteins, and less of a type of collagen that can interfere with metabolism and fewer cells that cause inflammation.

This matters because the healthiest place to store fat is the fat tissue just under the skin where the samples were taken, called subcutaneous adipose tissue. Increasing the capacity to store fat here through exercise reduces the need to store fat in unhealthy places, like in the fat tissue around the organs or in the organs themselves.

Cheehoon Ahn et al, Years of endurance exercise training remodel abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue in adults with overweight or obesity, Nature Metabolism (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s42255-024-01103-x

Archaeologists discover an ancient Neanderthal lineage that remained isolated for over 50,000 years

A fossilized Neanderthal discovered in a cave system in the Rhône Valley, France, represents an ancient and previously undescribed lineage that diverged from other currently known Neanderthals around 100,000 years ago and remained genetically isolated for more than 50,000 years.

Genomic analysis indicates that the Neanderthal, nicknamed "Thorin" in reference to the Tolkien character, lived between 42,000–50,000 years ago in a small, isolated community.

The discovery, published September 11 in the journal Cell Genomics, could shed light on the still-enigmatic reasons for the species' extinction and suggests that late Neanderthals had more population structure than previously thought.

Until now, the story has been that at the time of the extinction there was just one Neanderthal population that was genetically homogeneous, but now we know that there were at least two populations present at that time.

The Thorin population spent 50,000 years without exchanging genes with other Neanderthal populations.

We thus have 50 millennia during which two Neanderthal populations, living about ten days' walk from each other, coexisted while completely ignoring each other. This would be unimaginable for a Sapiens and reveals that Neanderthals must have biologically conceived our world very differently from us Sapiens.

 Long genetic and social isolation in Neanderthals before their extinction, Cell Genomics (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100593. www.cell.com/cell-genomics/ful … 2666-979X(24)00177-0

Scientists cool positronium to near absolute zero for antimatter research

Most atoms are made from positively charged protons, neutral neutrons and negatively charged electrons. Positronium is an exotic atom composed of a single negative electron and a positively charged antimatter positron. It is naturally very short-lived, but researchers  successfully cooled and slowed down samples of positronium using carefully tuned lasers.

The findings are published in the journal Nature. They hope this research will help others explore exotic forms of matter, and that such research might unlock the secrets of antimatter.

Some of our universe is missing. You may have heard such a bizarre statement if you've read much about cosmology in the last few decades. The reason scientists say this is because almost all the stuff we see in the universe is made from matter, including you and the planet you're standing on.

However, for a long time we've known about antimatter, which, as the name suggests, is sort of the opposite of regular matter, in that antimatter particles share the same mass and other properties of their matter counterparts, but have an opposite charge. When matter and antimatter particles collide, they annihilate, and it's widely believed they were created in equal amounts at the dawn of time. But that's not what we see now.

Modern physics only accounts for a part of the total energy of the universe. The study of antimatter might help us account for this discrepancy, and we've just taken a big step in this direction with our latest research.

Researchers have successfully slowed and cooled down exotic atoms of positronium, which is 50% antimatter. This means that, for the first time, it can be explored in ways previously impossible, and that will necessarily include a deeper study of antimatter.

Positronium is one of the few atoms made up entirely of only two elementary particles, which allows for such exact calculations.

Kosuke Yoshioka, Cooling positronium to ultralow velocities with a chirped laser pulse train, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07912-0. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07912-0

Using this bone in a new way could have helped early humans, like Australopithecus, go from walking on all fours to walking upright, the researchers say.

In the new study, scientists used statistical modeling to examine the presence of three sesamoid bones in the knee—the cyamella, medial fabella and lateral fabella—using research published over the last one hundred years.

The scientists discovered that primates with faballae were 50 times more likely to have ancestors who also had them. The team also found that the medial and lateral fabella almost always develop in pairs, except in rare cases like humans, who only have a lateral fabella.

Further analyses suggest hominoids may have evolved a way to grow fabellae different from other primates, which could explain why humans can grow a lateral fabella without a medial one, but other primates cannot. This could unite over a century of research, where scientists have debated how these bones evolved.

The distinct evolutionary pathway of the fabella 're-emerging' in humans could point to an evolutionary change that helped the ancestors of humans walk upright.

The evolution of the knee sesamoids in Primates: A systematic review and phylogenetic meta-analysis, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0774. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi … .1098/rspb.2024.0774

Cleaner wrasse check their body size in mirror before deciding whether to fight, research demonstrates

Consciousness: Being aware of your body and environment

Self-awareness: Recognizing your consciousness, and understanding your own character, feelings, motives, and desires.

 A research team has demonstrated that bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) check their body size in a mirror before choosing whether to attack fish that are slightly larger or smaller than themselves.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, suggests that bluestreak cleaner wrasse possess some mental states (e.g., mental body image, standards, intentions, goals), that are elements of private self-awareness.

Researchers reported the cleaner wrasse could identify photographs of itself as itself, based on its face through mirror self-recognition.
The cleaner wrasse's behaviour of going to look in the mirror installed in a tank when necessary indicated the possibility that the fish were using the mirror to check their own body size against that of other fish and predict the outcome of fights.

The results that fish can use the mirror as a tool can help clarify the similarities between human and non-human animal self-awareness and provide important clues to elucidate how self-awareness has evolved.

 Cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition capacity precisely realize their body size based on their mental image, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-70138-7

Four plants eaten by gorillas, also used in traditional medicine, provide clues for new drug discovery

Four plants consumed by wild gorillas in Gabon and used by local communities in traditional medicine show antibacterial and antioxidant properties, find researchers.

Wild great apes often consume medicinal plants that can treat their ailments. The same plants are often used by local people in traditional medicine.
To investigate, researchers observed the behavior of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park in Gabon and recorded the plants they ate. Next, they interviewed 27 people living in the nearby village of Doussala, including traditional healers and herbalists, about the plants that were used in local traditional medicine.

The team identified four native plant species that are both consumed by gorillas and used in traditional medicine: the fromager tree (Ceiba pentandra), giant yellow mulberry (Myrianthus arboreus), African teak (Milicia excelsa) and fig trees (Ficus). They tested bark samples of each plant for antibacterial and antioxidant properties and investigated their chemical composition.

The researchers found that the bark of all four plants had antibacterial activity against at least one multidrug-resistant strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli. The fromager tree showed "remarkable activity" against all tested E.coli strains. All four plants contained compounds that have medicinal effects, including phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, and proanthocyanidins. However, it's not clear if gorillas consume these plants for medicinal or other reasons.

But Zoopharmacognosy* is one of these new approaches, aimed at discovering new drugs.

*  the study of how animals self-medicate by selecting and consuming plants, soils, and insects with medicinal properties.

Here are some examples of animals that self-medicate:

Pregnant lemurs: Nibble on tamarind leaves to help with milk production

Chacma baboons: Eat small amounts of leaves from specific plants that have stimulant properties

Dogs and cats: May eat grass to relieve nausea, even though they can't digest it because they lack the necessary enzymes.

Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of plants consumed by western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Gabon, PLoS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306957

The 'crystal balls' that can predict eruptions of volcanoes: Crystals hold a secret history of volcanoes—and clues about future eruptions

Imagine you had a crystal ball that revealed when a volcano would next erupt. For the hundreds of millions of people around the world who live near active volcanoes, it would be an extremely useful device. As it turns out, certain crystals really can help us forecast volcanic eruptions. These crystals are produced in molten rock as it travels from deep inside Earth to the surface.

With increasingly sophisticated scientific methods, we can extract a secret history of volcanoes from these crystals—the why, where and when of past eruptions.

These historical records can help us interpret if signs of volcano unrest, such as earthquakes tracking the movement of magma towards the surface, may lead to an eruption. So, as I explain in a new column in Nature Geoscience, we are getting closer to having crystal balls (for volcanoes, at least).

Teresa Ubide, Volcanic crystal balls, Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01509-y

Smart mouthguard allows users to control devices with their tongue and teeth

Recent technological advances have enabled the development of a wide range of electronic devices designed to improve people's quality of life and assist them in completing their everyday activities. Most existing devices are operated via touch screens, keyboards, mouse pads and other hand-based interfaces.

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a smart mouthguard that could allow people to operate their devices using their mouth, instead of their fingers. This new device, introduced in a paper in Nature Electronics, could also allow dentists to collect medical data from inside their patients' mouths and help to monitor the recovery of athletes or enhance their performance.

Bo Hou et al, A tactile oral pad based on carbon nanotubes for multimodal haptic interaction, Nature Electronics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-024-01234-9.

Climate change-triggered landslide unleashes a 650-foot mega-tsunami

In September 2023, scientists around the world detected a mysterious seismic signal that lasted for nine straight days. An international team of scientists, including seismologists Alice Gabriel and Carl Ebeling of UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography came together to solve the mystery.

A study published in Science provides the stunning solution: In an East Greenland fjord, a mountaintop collapsed into the sea and triggered a mega-tsunami about 200 meters (650 feet) tall. The giant wave rocked back and forth inside the narrow fjord for nine days, generating the seismic waves that reverberated through Earth's crust, baffling scientists around the world.

This rhythmic sloshing is a phenomenon known as a seiche. Fortunately, no people were hurt, but the waves destroyed some $200,000 in infrastructure at an unoccupied research station on Ella Island.

Climate change set the stage for the landslide by melting the glacier at the base of the mountain, destabilizing the more than 25 million cubic meters (33 million cubic yards) of rock and ice—enough to fill 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools—that ultimately crashed into the sea. As climate change continues to melt Earth's polar regions it could lead to an increase in large, destructive landslides such as this one.

Climate change is shifting what is typical on Earth, and it can set unusual events like this into motion.

When seismic monitoring networks first detected this signal in September 2023, it was puzzling for two main reasons. First, the signal looked nothing like the busy squiggle that earthquakes produce on seismographs. Instead, it oscillated with a 92-second-interval between its peaks, too slow for humans to perceive. Second, the signal stayed strong for days on end, where more common seismic events weaken more rapidly.

Part 1

The global community of Earth scientists started buzzing with online discussion of what could be causing the strange seismic waves. The discussion turned up reports of a huge landslide in a remote Greenland fjord that occurred on Sept. 16, around the time the seismic signal was first detected.

To figure out if and how these two phenomena might be connected, scientists combined seismic recordings from around the world, field measurements, satellite imagery and computer simulations to reconstruct the extraordinary events.

The team, comprised of 68 scientists from 41 research institutions, analyzed satellite and on-the-ground imagery to document the enormous volume of rock and ice in the landslide that triggered the tsunami. They also analyzed the seismic waves to model the dynamics and trajectory of the rock-ice avalanche as it moved down the glacial gully and into the fjord.

To understand the tsunami and resulting seiche, the researchers used supercomputers to create high-resolution simulations of the events.
Ultimately, these simulations were able to closely match the real-world tsunami's height as well as the long-lasting seiche's slow oscillations.

By integrating these diverse data sources, the researchers determined that the nine-day seismic signal was caused by the massive landslide and resulting seiche within Greenland's Dickson Fjord.
The study's findings demonstrate the complex, cascading hazards posed by climate change on Earth.

The essence of science is trying to answer a question we don't know the answer to—that's why this was so exciting to work on, say the scientists who found this.

Kristian Svennevig, A rockslide-generated tsunami in a Greenland fjord rang the Earth for 9 days, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adm9247. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adm9247

Ozone pollution reduces yearly tropical forest growth by 5.1%, study finds

Ozone gas is reducing the growth of tropical forests—leaving an estimated 290 million tonnes of carbon uncaptured each year, new research shows.

The ozone layer in the stratosphere shields our planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation—and protecting it is one of the major successes of environmental action.

But ozone at ground level—formed by the combination of pollutants from human activities in the presence of sunlight—interferes with plants' ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Ozone is also harmful to human health.

The new study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, calculates that ground-level ozone reduces new yearly growth in tropical forests by 5.1% on average.

The effect is stronger in some regions—with Asia's tropical forests losing 10.9% of new growth.

Tropical forests are vital "carbon sinks"—capturing and storing carbon dioxide that would otherwise stay in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.

Tropical forests play a crucial role in mopping up our carbon dioxide emissions.

This study shows that air pollution can jeopardize this critical ecosystem service.

Urbanization, industrialization, burning fossil fuels and fires have led to an increase in "precursor" molecules—such as nitrogen oxides—that form ozone.

Reduced productivity and carbon drawdown of tropical forests from ground-level ozone exposure, Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01530-1