Experts Provide Tips on How to Wear a Mask Without Fogging Glasses or Short Breath

 https://www.sciencealert.com/experts-provide-tips-on-how-to-wear-a-...

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L-type calcium channel blockers may contribute to heart failure, study finds

L-type calcium channel blockers (LCCBs)—the most widely used drugs for treating hypertension—may harm the heart as much as help it, according to a new study.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-l-type-calcium-channel-block...

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-drug-delivery-particles-neur...

Novel drug delivery particles use neurotransmitters as a 'passport' into the brain

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-coronavirus-cells-1.html?utm...

Coronavirus makes changes that cause cells not to recognize it

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Genetic mutations help super bug become highly resistant to antibiotics

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-genetic-mutations-super-bug-highly.ht...

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 https://phys.org/news/2020-07-scientists-key-restricting-antibiotic...

Scientists discover key to restricting antibiotic resistant bacteria

Coronavirus makes changes that cause cells not to recognize it

With an alarm code, we can enter a building without bells going off. It turns out that the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has the same advantage entering cells. It possesses the code to waltz right in.

How can the coronavirus achieves this?

The scientists resolved the structure of an enzyme called nsp16, which the virus produces and then uses to modify its messenger RNA cap. It's a camouflage. Because of the modifications, which fool the cell, the resulting viral messenger RNA is now considered as part of the cell's own code and not foreign.

How do scientists overcome this? 

Deciphering the 3-D structure of nsp16 paves the way for rational design of antiviral drugs for COVID-19 and other emerging coronavirus infections. The drugs, new small molecules, would inhibit nsp16 from making the modifications. The immune system would then pounce on the invading virus, recognizing it as foreign.

Structural basis of RNA cap modification by SARS-CoV-2, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17496-8

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-coronavirus-cells-1.html?utm...

Neanderthal gene linked to increased pain sensitivity

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02202-x?utm_source=Natur...

Quantum Tunneling Is Not Instantaneous, Physicists Show

A new experiment tracks the transit time of particles burrowing through barriers, revealing previously unknown details of a deeply counterintuitive phenomenon

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-tunneling-is-not...

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How the Bits of Quantum Gravity Can Buzz

In cell studies, seaweed extract outperforms remdesivir in blocking COVID-19 virus

Heparin, a common anitcoagulent, could also form basis of a viral trap for SARS-CoV-2

In a test of antiviral effectiveness against the virus that causes COVID-19, an extract from edible seaweeds substantially outperformed remdesivir, the current standard antiviral used to combat the disease.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200724104228.htm

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How COVID-19 Causes Loss of Smell

How to test whether your home made face mask works properly or not

https://theconversation.com/does-your-homemade-mask-work-142675

To get an idea of how much this might happen, a simple test involving trying to blow out a candle directly in front of the wearer could be tried. Initially, the distance coupled with the strength of exhalation could be investigated, but then face coverings made from different materials and critically with different numbers of layers could be tried. The design of face covering that made it hardest to divert the candle flame will probably provide the best barrier for projecting the virus forward and through the face covering.

To prevent the next pandemic, we might need to cut down fewer trees

Study weighs costs of reducing virus spillover from animals against the toll of disease outbreak

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-p...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-phage-therapy-potential-prosthetic-jo...

Phage therapy shows potential for treating prosthetic joint infections

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https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-find-a-new-way-to-show-mass...

Physicists Find a New Way to Reveal The Strange, Wave-Like Nature of Massive Molecules

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/sunscreen-chemicals-accumulate-in-body...

Sunscreen Chemicals Accumulate in Body at High Levels

Seismic waves help scientists 'see' chemical changes beneath a watershed

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-seismic-scientists-chemical-beneath-w...

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Designer nanozymes for reactive-oxygen species scavenging anti-inflammatory therapy

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-nanozymes-reactive-oxygen-species-sca...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-high-capacity-oil-adsorbing-mats-depl...

High-capacity oil-adsorbing mats could be deployed in oil spill emergencies to limit ecological damage

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-scientists-publish-seminal-impact-nan...

Scientists publish seminal study into impact of nanoparticles on living species

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-strategy-therapies-brain.html?utm_sou...

Developing a new strategy to selectively deliver therapies to the brain

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https://physicsworld.com/a/earths-atmosphere-rings-like-a-giant-bel...

Earth’s atmosphere rings like a giant bell, say researchers

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https://elifesciences.org/articles/60080?utm_source=content_alert&a...

Meta-Research: The growth of acronyms in the scientific literature

Abstract

Psychologists show that embedding primes in a person's speech can influence people's decision making

psychologists found that embedding primes in a person's speech and gestures can influence people's decision-making

In both psychology and magic circles, primes are known as actions or words that unconsciously influence the thinking of another person One example is a policeman interrogating a witness tapping his ring while inquiring about jewelry a suspect might have been wearing. It is a technique magicians have used for years. They prime a person or audience by giving them subtle verbal or physical clues to get them to choose a number during a guessing trick, or a card during a card trick. In this new effort, the researchers tested the practice to see if it actually works.

The experiments involved asking volunteers to watch a live or taped performance of a person who, unbeknownst to them, was trying to prime them. The research began with 90 volunteers who were split into two groups. One group watched Pailhès (who is also an amateur magician) perform a live magic act—the other group watched a video version of the same act on a laptop. The act consisted of attempting to get the crowd of observers to pick a predesignated card—the three of diamonds.

As part of the routine, she mimicked an act by British illusionist Derren Brown in which he asks a member of the crowd to mentally transmit the correct card to the others in the crowd. He also asks the crowd to think about a bright, vivid colored card (more descriptive of a red card than a black one). He also mimes the shape of a diamond with his hands and asks the audience to think of the little numbers at the corners (ruling out double digits and face cards) and even draws the number "3" in the air with his hands—and asks the audience to imagine things in the middle as he says, "boom, boom, boom."

After mimicking this act, the researchers asked the audience members to write down a card by suit and number, which they turned in. Inspection of the cards showed that 17.8 percent of the audience members chose the three of diamonds—38.9 percent chose a three of any suit and 33.3 percent chose a diamond of any number, results that were far better than chance.

Alice Pailhès et al. Influencing choices with conversational primes: How a magic trick unconsciously influences card choices, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000682117

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-psychologists-embedding-prim...

Researchers create 'decoy' coatings that trick infrared cameras

Light can sometimes play tricks on our eyes. If you look at a shiny surface, what you see will largely depend on the surrounding environment and lighting conditions.

Researchers have now taken ocular distortion a step further, finding a way to imbed visual "decoys" into surfaces of objects in a way that can fool people into thinking they detect a specific image in the infrared that actually isn't there.

Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but can be detected by a range of devices, such as night-vision goggles and thermal-imaging cameras. In this work,researchers can effectively tune target objects into emitting the same infrared radiation as the surrounding environment, making them invisible to infrared detection devices.

But what makes the researchers' work particularly novel is that they can manipulate the coatings in a way that a person trying to view the object with such a device would instead see a false image.

"This structure offers a general platform for unprecedented manipulation and processing of infrared signals. 

 this method provides better, more consistent camouflage because the product is mechanically flexible, power free and inherently self-adaptive to temporal fluctuation as well as spatial variation of the target temperature.

Additionally, by manipulating the configuration and composition of tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide on coatings applied to the PE tape, researchers can create an infrared decoy.

"How we grow the material changes the image people ultimately think they see.

This kind of technology could prove useful for military and intelligence agencies, as they seek to thwart increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies that pose a threat to national security. It might also incubate future encryption technology, allowing information to be safely concealed from unauthorized access.

Kechao Tang et al. A Thermal Radiation Modulation Platform by Emissivity Engineering with Graded Metal–Insulator Transition, Advanced Materials (2020). DOI: 10.1002/adma.201907071

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-decoy-coatings-infrared-cameras.html?...

Testing Chernobyl fungi as a radiation shield for astronauts

How can astronauts survive high radiations during interplanetary travel? 

A team of researchers has tested the viability of using a type of fungus found growing in some of the destroyed nuclear reactors at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant site to shield astronauts from radiation.

Some fungi are able to flourish in a very highly radioactive place here on Earth—inside the destroyed reactors at the Chernobyl site in Ukraine. Testing of several types of the fungi has showed that they not only survive in the former reactors, but actually flourish. They have the ability to absorb radiation and to convert it into energy for their own use. To look into the possibility of using such types of fungus as a shield for humans, the researchers arranged with NASA to send a sample of one of the types of fungus found at Chernobyl—cladosporium sphaerospermum—to the International Space Station.

Once the fungus sample arrived at the ISS, astronauts monitored the petri dish set up by the researchers. One side of the petri dish was coated with the fungus; the other side had no fungus and served as a control. A detector was affixed to the back of the petri dish to measure radiation coming through. The detector was monitored for 30 days. The researchers found that the side of the petri dish that was covered with fungus reduced radiation levels coming through the dish by approximately 2% compared to the control side. That alone is inadequate as a safety shield, but the experiment serves as an indicator of what might be possible. On its own, the fungus is known to grow, which means a rocket carrying humans could carry just a small amount with them. Once on Mars, the fungus could be cultivated on a shield structure and allowed to thicken, offering perhaps one layer of protection very nearly free of charge.

Graham K. Shunk et al. A Self-Replicating Radiation-Shield for Human Deep-Space Exploration: Radiotrophic Fungi can Attenuate Ionizing Radiation aboard the International Space Station, bioRxiv (2020). DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.16.205534

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-chernobyl-fungi-shield-astronauts.htm...

 Study: Mask-Wearing Moms with COVID-19 Can Safely Nurse Babies

None of the breastfed infants in the study tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within the first two weeks of life.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/study-mask-wearing-moms-...

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Microbial Signatures in Blood Are Associated with Various Cancers

A study suggests the potential for a noninvasive diagnostic that could detect tumors early and differentiate between disease types.

https://www.the-scientist.com/the-literature/microbial-signatures-i...

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https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-our-plastic-waste-problem-...

Scientists Show How Bad Our Plastic Waste Problem Could Get by 2040

A scientist's mesmerizing animation shows how our entire solar system orbits an unseen center — and it's not the sun

A scientist's mesmerizing animation shows how our entire solar system orbits an unseen center — and it's not the sun: That center of mass is called the barycenter

Randomness theory could hold key to internet security

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-07-randomness-theory-key-internet....

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Study reveals how renegade protein interrupts brain cell function in Alzheimer's disease

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-reveals-renegade-protein-bra...

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-airway-cells-regeneration-ag...

How airway cells work together in regeneration and aging

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-billion-animals-affected-australia-bu...

Estimated 3 billion animals affected by Australia bushfires: study

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** Medieval medicine remedy could provide new treatment for modern day infections

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-medieval-medicine-remedy-treatment-mo...

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 First Meta-Analysis Confirms Link Between Lithium in Drinking Water And Suicide Rates

https://www.sciencealert.com/first-meta-review-of-its-kind-confirms...

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AI Analysed Over 11,000 Couples' Relationships. This Is What It Found

https://www.sciencealert.com/ai-analysed-over-11-000-couples-relati...

New study reveals how day- and night-biting mosquitoes respond differently to colours of light and time of day

Researchers found that night- versus day-biting species of mosquitoes are behaviorally attracted and repelled by different colors of light at different times of day. Mosquitoes are among major disease vectors impacting humans and animals around the world and the findings have important implications for using light to control them.

The team studied mosquito species that bite in the daytime (Aedes aegypti, aka the Yellow Fever mosquito) and those that bite at night (Anopheles coluzzi, a member of the Anopheles gambiae family, the major vector for malaria). They found distinct responses to ultra violet and other colors of light between the two species. Researchers also found light preference is dependent on the mosquito's sex and species, the time of day and the colour of the light.

Insects are non-specifically attracted to ultraviolet light, hence the widespread use of ultraviolet light "bug zappers" for insect control. this research  found that day-biting mosquitoes are attracted to a wide range of light spectra during the daytime, whereas night-biting mosquitoes are strongly photophobic to short-wavelength light during the daytime. Therefore, timing and light spectra are critical for species-specific light control of harmful mosquitoes.

The new work shows that day-biting mosquitoes, particularly females that require blood meals for their fertilized eggs, are attracted to light during the day regardless of spectra. In contrast, night-biting mosquitoes specifically avoid ultraviolet (UV) and blue light during the day. Previous work using fruit flies (which are related to mosquitoes) has determined the light sensors and circadian molecular mechanisms for light mediated attraction/avoidance behaviours. Accordingly, molecular disruption of the circadian clock severely interferes with light-evoked attraction and avoidance behaviours in mosquitoes. At present, light-based insect controls do not take into consideration the day versus night behavioural profiles that change with daily light and dark cycles.

Light is the primary regulator of circadian rhythms and evokes a wide range of time-of-day specific behaviours. By gaining an understanding of how insects respond to short wavelength light in a species-specific manner, we can develop new, environmentally friendly alternatives to controlling harmful insects more effectively and reduce the need for environmentally damaging toxic pesticides.

Lisa S. Baik et al, Circadian Regulation of Light-Evoked Attraction and Avoidance Behaviors in Daytime- versus Nighttime-Biting Mosquitoes, Current Biology (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.010

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-reveals-day-night-biting-mosquitoes-d...

Discovery will allow more sophisticated work at nanoscale

The movement of fluids through small capillaries and channels is crucial for processes ranging from blood flow through the brain to power generation and electronic cooling systems, but that movement often stops when the channel is smaller than 10 nanometers.

Researchers have reported a new understanding of the process and why some fluids stagnate in these tiny channels, as well as a new way to stimulate the fluid flow by using a small increase in temperature or voltage to promote mass and ion transport.

The work explores the movement of fluids with lower surface tension, which allows the bonds between molecules to break apart when forced into narrow channels, stopping the process of fluid transport, known as capillary wicking. 

This capillary force drives liquid flow in small channels and is the critical mechanism for mass transport in nature and technology—that is, in situations ranging from blood flow in the human brain to the movement of water and nutrients from soil to plant roots and leaves, as well as in industrial processes.

But differences in the surface tension of some fluids causes the wicking process—and therefore, the movement of the fluid—to stop when those channels are smaller than 10 nanometers. The researchers reported that it is possible to prompt continued flow by manipulating the surface tension through small stimuli, such as raising the temperature or using a small amount of voltage.

The temperature even slightly can activate movement by changing surface tension, which they dubbed "nanogates." Depending on the liquid, raising the temperature between 2 degrees Centigrade and 3 degrees C is enough to mobilize the fluid.The surface tension can be changed through different variables.

The simplest one is temperature. If you change temperature of the fluid, you can activate this fluid flow again." The process can be fine-tuned to move the fluid, or just specific ions within it, offering promise for more sophisticated work at nanoscale.

"The surface tension nanogates promise platforms to govern nanoscale functionality of a wide spectrum of systems, and applications can be foreseen in drug delivery, energy conversion, power generation, seawater desalination, and ionic separation.

Masoumeh Nazari et al. Surface Tension Nanogates for Controlled Ion Transport, ACS Applied Nano Materials (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.0c01304

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-discovery-sophisticated-nanoscale.htm...

Researchers have for the first time measured a fundamental property of magnets called magnon polarization—and in the process, are making progress towards building low-energy devices.

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-probing-properties-magnetic-quasi-par...

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CERN experiment reports first evidence for ultra-rare process that could lead to new physics

Scientists at CERN have reported on their first significant evidence for a process predicted by theory, paving the way for searches for evidence of new physics in particle processes that could explain dark matter and other mysteries of the universe.

the first significant experimental evidence for the ultra-rare decay of the charged kaon into a charged pion and two neutrinos, (i.e. K⁺ → π⁺νν).

The decay process is important in cutting-edge physics research because it is so sensitive to deviations from theoretical predictions. This means that it is one of the most interesting things to observe for physicists looking for evidence to supports alternative theoretical model in particle physics.

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-cern-evidence-ultra-rare-physics.html...

Scientists reveal an explosive secret hidden beneath seemingly trustworthy volcanoes

An international team of volcanologists working on remote islands in the Galápagos Archipelago has found that volcanoes which reliably produce small basaltic lava eruptions hide chemically diverse magmas in their underground plumbing systems—including some with the potential to generate explosive activity.

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-scientists-reveal-explosive-secret-hi...

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Microbiologists clarify relationship between microbial diversity and soil carbon storage:

shifts in the diversity of soil microbial communities can change the soil's ability to sequester carbon, where it usually helps to regulate climate.

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-microbiologists-relationship-microbia...

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** https://phys.org/news/2020-07-pesticides-crops-hydrophobic-pollutan...

Pesticides can protect crops from hydrophobic pollutants

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** https://www.sciencenews.org/article/black-hole-circling-wormhole-we...

A black hole circling a wormhole would emit weird gravitational waves

Hypothetical tunnels in spacetime could show up in LIGO and Virgo data

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**Vaccine nationalism: Coronavirus: how countries aim to get the vaccine first by cutting opaque supply deals

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-how-countries-aim-to-get-th...

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‘Vaccine nationalism’ threatens global plan to distribute COVID-19 shots fairly

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/vaccine-nationalism-threate...

The Brittle Star That Sees with Its Body

It turns out that eyes aren’t necessary for vision

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-brittle-star-that-se...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-method-properties-complex-quantum.htm...

A method to predict the properties of complex quantum systems

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-remnant-ancient-globular-cluster-kind...

Discovered: Remnant of ancient globular cluster that's 'the last of its kind'

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-encode-consortium-rna-sequences-invol...

RNA sequences that are involved in regulating gene expression have been identified

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-giant-atoms-enable-quantum.html?utm_s...

'Giant atoms' enable quantum processing and communication in one

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-decline-bees-pollinators-threatens-cr...

Decline of bees, other pollinators threatens crop yields

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-uncover-cells-interact-proteins-wound...

Researchers uncover how cells interact with supporting proteins to heal wounds

Gold nanosensor spots difference between dengue, Zika

A new class of nanosensor developed in Brazil could more accurately identify dengue and Zika infections, a task that is complicated by their genetic similarities and which can result in misdiagnosis. The technique uses gold nanoparticles and can "observe" viruses at the atomic level.

Dengue is a disease that kills—and can do so quickly if the right diagnosis is not made. As for Zika, it offers risks for fetuses to develop microcephaly, and we can't let pregnant women spend seven or eight months wondering whether they have the virus or not

Belonging to the Flavivirus genus in the Flaviviridae family, Zika and dengue viruses share more than 50 percent similarity in their amino acid sequence. Both viruses are spread by mosquitos and can have long-term side effects. The Flaviviridae virus family was named after the yellow fever virus and comes from the Latin word for golden, or yellow, in color.

Diagnosing dengue virus infections is a high priority in countries affected by annual epidemics of dengue fever. The correct diagnostic is essential for patient managing and prognostic as there are no specific antiviral drugs to treat the infection.

It is almost impossible to differentiate between dengue and Zika viruses.

A serologic test that detects antibodies against dengue also captures Zika-generated antibodies. Scientists call this 'cross-reactivity'. 

There is also no specific antiviral treatment for Zika and the search for a vaccine is ongoing.

Virus differentiation is important to accurately measure the real impact of both diseases on public health. The most widely used blood test, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), is limited in its ability to tell the difference between the viruses.

As dengue has four variations, known as serotypes, the team created four different nanoparticles and covered each of them with a different dengue protein. They applied ELISA serum and a blood sample. The researchers found that sample antibodies bound with the viruses' proteins, changing the pattern of electrons on the gold nanoparticle surface.

The researchers  could see this change by applying certain frequencies of light on the nanoparticle's surface. Dengue proteins absorbed light—Zika ones did not.

The study argues that the gold nanoparticle-based test is more precise than other blood antibody tests because of its high sensitivity and capacity to identify which virus has been detected. The fact that this test doesn't require reagents and uses ELISA equipment, which is widely available and low cost.

Alice F. Versiani et al. Nanosensors based on LSPR are able to serologically differentiate dengue from Zika infections, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68357-9

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-gold-nanosensor-difference-dengue-zik...

Research team exactly solves experimental puzzle in high temperature superconductivity

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-team-experimental-puzzle-high-tempera...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-simulating-quantum-butterfly-effect-r...

Simulating quantum 'time travel' disproves butterfly effect in quantum realm

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Microbes revived after 100 million years

Scientists have managed to wake up microbes that have been buried deep beneath the sea floor — apparently in a dormant state — since dinosaurs walked on Earth

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17330-1?utm_source=Natur...

Meta-Research: International authorship and collaboration across bioRxiv preprints

Preprints are becoming well established in the life sciences, but relatively little is known about the demographics of the researchers who post preprints and those who do not, or about the collaborations between preprint authors. Here, based on an analysis of 67,885 preprints posted on bioRxiv, it was found that some countries, notably the United States and the United Kingdom, are overrepresented on bioRxiv relative to their overall scientific output, while other countries (including China, Russia, and Turkey) show lower levels of bioRxiv adoption. This research also describes a set of ‘contributor countries’ (including Uganda, Croatia and Thailand): researchers from these countries appear almost exclusively as non-senior authors on international collaborations. They also found multiple journals that publish a disproportionate number of preprints from some countries, a dynamic that almost always benefits manuscripts from the US.

https://elifesciences.org/articles/58496?utm_source=content_alert&a...

‘Keystone’ Species Key To Rebuilding Gut Microbiota After Antibiotics The discovery of gut bacteria critical to restoring gut health offers new insights into microbiome recovery after antibiotic treatment.

https://www.asianscientist.com/2020/07/in-the-lab/keystone-gut-micr...

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Some Uninfected People Have T-Cell Immunity To COVID-19 Researchers were surprised to find memory T-cells in people with no history of SARS, COVID-19, or contact with SARS or COVID-19 patients.

https://www.asianscientist.com/2020/07/health/memory-t-cell-immunit...

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New Report Identifies The 'Greatest Risk' to Human Health, And It's Not a Virus. It is air pollution!

https://www.sciencealert.com/air-pollution-greatest-risk-to-global-...

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Scientists Start Assembling The World's Largest Nuclear Fusion Experiment It'll be 10 times hotter than the Sun.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-start-assembling-the-world-...

Ancient mountain formation and monsoons helped create a modern biodiversity hotspot

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-ancient-mountain-formation-monsoons-m...

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Origami microbots: Centuries-old artform guides cutting-edge advances in tiny machines

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-07-origami-microbots-centuries-old...

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Fear conditioning: Transcranial stimulation to prevent fear memories from returning

A research group from the University of Bologna has succeeded in modifying the negative effect of a returning memory that triggers fear, and developed a new non-invasive experimental protocol. The result of this study, published in the journal Current Biology, is an innovative protocol that combines fear conditioning—a stimulus associated with something unpleasant that induces a negative memory—and the neurostimulation of a specific site of the prefrontal cortex.

This process alters the perception of an unpleasant (aversive) event so that it will no longer induce fear. "This experimental protocol combining transcranial stimulation and memory reconsolidation allowed us to modify an aversive memory that the participants had learned the day before," explains Sara Borgomaneri, a researcher at the University of Bologna and first author of the study. "This result has relevant repercussions for understanding how memory works. It might even lead to the development of new therapies to deal with traumatic memories."

Borgomaneri et al., State-dependent TMS over prefrontal cortex disrupts fear memory reconsolidation and prevents the return of fear. Current Biology, (2020).

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-transcranial-memories.html?u...

Cosmic tango between the very small and the very large

While Einstein's theory of general relativity can explain a large array of fascinating astrophysical and cosmological phenomena, some aspects of the properties of the universe at the largest-scales remain a mystery. A new study using loop quantum cosmology—a theory that uses quantum mechanics to extend gravitational physics beyond Einstein's theory of general relativity—accounts for two major mysteries. While the differences in the theories occur at the tiniest of scales—much smaller than even a proton—they have consequences at the largest of accessible scales in the universe. The study, which appears online July 29 in the journal Physical Review Letters, also provides new predictions about the universe that future satellite missions could test.

While a zoomed-out picture of the universe looks fairly uniform, it does have a large-scale structure, for example because galaxies and dark matter are not uniformly distributed throughout the universe. The origin of this structure has been traced back to the tiny inhomogeneities observed in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)—radiation that was emitted when the universe was 380 thousand years young that we can still see today. But the CMB itself has three puzzling features that are considered anomalies because they are difficult to explain using known physics.

"While seeing one of these anomalies may not be that statistically remarkable, seeing two or more together suggests we live in an exceptional universe.

A recent study in the journal Nature Astronomy proposed an explanation for one of these anomalies that raised so many additional concerns, they flagged a 'possible crisis in cosmology.' Using quantum loop cosmology, however, we have resolved two of these anomalies naturally, avoiding that potential crisis."

Research over the last three decades has greatly improved our understanding of the early universe, including how the inhomogeneities in the CMB were produced in the first place. These inhomogeneities are a result of inevitable quantum fluctuations in the early universe. During a highly accelerated phase of expansion at very early times—known as inflation—these primordial, miniscule fluctuations were stretched under gravity's influence and seeded the observed inhomogeneities in the CMB.

Abhay Ashtekar et al, Alleviating the Tension in the Cosmic Microwave Background using Planck-Scale Physics, Physical Review Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.051302

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-cosmic-tango-small-large.html?utm_sou...

Stay or leave? A tale of two virus strategies revealed by math

As small and relatively simple as they may be, even viruses have strategies. Now, researchers in Japan report that they can evaluate two of these strategies through a combination of biology and math, providing a new tool for insight into viruses that could be used to develop better treatments.

Unable to reproduce on their own, viruses replicate by infecting a living organism's cells and getting the cells to make copies of them. Two main options exist for copies of a virus's genetic structure made in the cell: stay in the cell as a template for making even more copies or get packaged as a new virus and leave in an attempt to infect other cells.

Each option comes with trade-offs, so an individual virus's strategy of how much weight to place on each one should directly influence the progression of an infection and any health problems it may cause.

"While such strategies are expected to be in play, showing the existence of the strategy itself has been difficult.

Mathematical model the behavior of two hepatitis C virus strains now provides a means to evaluate two such strategies.

While one of the studied virus strains causes severe and sudden symptoms, the other is a genetically modified version developed in the laboratory to increase virus production, which is important for creating stocks of viruses for the development of treatments and vaccines.

By finding the range of model parameters that reasonably reproduce the experimentally observed results, they could quantify differences in behavior between the two strains. In particular, they estimated that the fraction of replicated genetic code packaged by the lab-developed strain to make new viruses was three times that for the other strain, indicating the preference of a leave strategy for the former and a stay strategy for the latter.

"The stay strategy initially produces copies of the genetic code faster, while the leave strategy emphasizes newly infecting cells,

Such strategies may be common in other chronic virus infections, and understanding them could help us develop effective therapeutic methods to counter individual virus strategies

"Should a viral genome stay in the host cell or leave? A quantitative dynamics study of how hepatitis C virus deals with this dilemma," PLOS Biology (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000562

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-tale-virus-strategies-revealed-math.html

Chemists craft molecular scalpels to clear unwanted proteins from cell surfaces

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-chemists-craft-molecular-scalpels-unw...

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-stem-cells-optic-nerve-enabl...

Researchers discover stem cells in the optic nerve that enable preservation of vision

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-nano-sponges-solid-acid-carbon-dioxid...

Nano-sponges of solid acid transform carbon dioxide to fuel and plastic waste to chemicals

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Scientists test a 'bispecific' antibody that helps T cells zero in on treatment-resistant cancers

Although immunotherapy has achieved increasing prominence in the panoply of innovative cancer treatments, it remains an imperfect tool—too many tumors simply do not respond.

To the rescue is an evolving class of engineered proteins that go by the unusual name of bispecific antibodies. As their name implies, these proteins have dual recognition capability: They are engineered to home in on a T cell surface receptor as well as bind to the surface antigen of a cancer cell itself. The aim is to bring the two types of cells together and to activate the tumor annihilating capability of T cells.

Regeneron's anticancer innovation has grown out of a sobering reality: Certain cancers have developed deceptive strategies allowing them to resist immunotherapy. Resistance among cancers is as daunting a concern as infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria.

Several common cancers have a noteworthy history of thwarting checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, a treatment that relies on the strength of T cells to kill tumors. The investigational bispecific antibodies are designed to help overcome cancer-cell resistance.

Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy is itself an innovative form of cancer therapy that relies on drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. This class of therapeutics is designed to treat multiple forms of cancer by engaging the body's immune system—its T cells—to recognize and attack malignant cells. Keytruda, a medication that helped revolutionize the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer, is a checkpoint inhibitor.

All checkpoint inhibitors are based on a deceptively simple principle: Cancer cells possess a protein dubbed PD-L1. T cells have a surface protein called PD1. Tricky cancer cells use their PD-L1 proteins to elude T cells, to get past the guards—the checkpoints—an activity that allows tumors to proliferate and spread.

Multiple cancers that range from Hodgkins lymphoma to lung, bladder, ovarian and kidney cancers may initially respond to checkpoint inhibitors, but soon develop resistance. The Regeneron team studied two bispecific antibodies that each target a T cell protein dubbed CD28. At the same time, they analyzed two tumor-specific antigens. The bispecific antibodies attracted both T cells and the cancer antigens, enhancing the potential of cancer cell death by T cells.

Waite and colleagues found that bispecific antibodies enhanced the effectiveness of treating the anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade in mouse models. The scientists also say the combination sensitized, previously resistant tumors to treatment. The bispecific antibodies showed few signs of toxicity and did not provoke dangerous systemic responses from T cells.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-scientists-bispecific-antibo...

Janelle C. Waite et al. Tumor-targeted CD28 bispecific antibodies enhance the antitumor efficacy of PD-1 immunotherapy, Science Translational Medicine (2020). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aba2325

How human sperm really swim: New research challenges centuries-old assumption

A breakthrough in fertility science by researchers from Bristol and Mexico has shattered the universally accepted view of how sperm 'swim'.

More than three hundred years after Antonie van Leeuwenhoek used one of the earliest microscopes to describe human sperm as having a "tail, which, when swimming, lashes with a snakelike movement, like eels in water", scientists have revealed this is an optical illusion.

Using state-of-the-art 3-D microscopy and mathematics, now scientists

have pioneered the reconstruction of the true movement of the sperm tail in 3-D.

Using a high-speed camera capable of recording over 55,000 frames in one second, and a microscope stage with a piezoelectric device to move the sample up and down at an incredibly high rate, they were able to scan the sperm swimming freely in 3-D.

The ground-breaking study, published in the journal Science Advances, reveals the sperm tail is in fact wonky and only wiggles on one side. While this should mean the sperm's one-sided stroke would have it swimming in circles, sperm have found a clever way to adapt and swim forwards. Human sperm figured out if they roll as they swim, much like playful otters corkscrewing through water, their one-sided stoke would average itself out, and they would swim forwards. The sperms' rapid and highly synchronized spinning causes an illusion when seen from above with 2-D microscopes—the tail appears to have a side-to-side symmetric movement, "like eels in water", as described by Leeuwenhoek in the 17th century.

The present discovery shows sperm have developed a swimming technique to compensate for their lop-sidedness and in doing so have ingeniously solved a mathematical puzzle at a microscopic scale: by creating symmetry out of asymmetry. The otter-like spinning of human sperm is however complex: the sperm head spins at the same time that the sperm tail rotates around the swimming direction. This is known in physics as precession, much like when the orbits of Earth and Mars precess around the sun.

This discovery will revolutionize our understanding of sperm motility and its impact on natural fertilization. So little is known about the intricate environment inside the female reproductive tract and how sperm swimming impinge on fertilization. These new tools open our eyes to the amazing capabilities sperm have.

"Human sperm uses asymmetric and anisotropic flagellar controls to regulate swimming symmetry and cell steering" Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba5168

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-human-sperm-centuries-old-assumption....

Cell competition in the thymus is crucial in a healthy organism

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-cell-competition-thymus-crucial-healt...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-secret-quantum.html?utm_source=nwlett...

Sharing a secret... the quantum way

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https://phys.org/news/2020-07-reveals-hard-polyester.html?utm_sourc...

Research reveals why it's hard to get the smell out of polyester

Why does that favourite shirt, the one you've been wearing around the house since COVID-19 started, still stink, even after regular washing?

Chances are it contains polyester, which means that funky smell isn't going to go away, according to a new University of Alberta study.

Laundering experiments showed that odorants—smelly compunds like those in sweat—are more attracted to polyester than to other fabrics like cotton, and don't completely wash out.

"We found that polyester isn't easily releasing those sweaty-smelling compounds, and repeated wearing puts more of them into the fibre, so over time there's this buildup of odour. 

Polyester and cotton knit fabrics were soiled with three odorants and then put through several wash cycles with various detergents; laundering proved more effective at removing the stinky compounds from cotton than from polyester, according to the study, published in the Textile Research Journal.

Polyester is a non-polar fibre—meaning it repels water—which is why it dries quickly, but that also means it naturally attracts oil from our skin, which can lead to body odour. 

The good news is, that favourite stinky shirt will probably only get to a certain level of smelliness. Between five and 10 wash cycles, there were no significant differences in the amounts of odorants extracted from the fabric, the study showed.

The research gives more insight into why popular solutions like antimicrobial textiles only partly address the issue of stinky fabrics.

Not everyone will wind up with permanently smelly polyester clothing. It depends on their personal body chemistry.

M Mukhtar Abdul-Bari et al. Retention and release of odorants in cotton and polyester fabrics following multiple soil/wash procedures, Textile Research Journal (2020). DOI: 10.1177/0040517520914411

Scientists put visions of letters in blind people’s brains

Stimulating the brain in specific ways can generate mental images of simple shapes

https://massivesci.com/articles/visual-cortex-letters-electrical-st...

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Paralyzed man has sense of touch restored by brain-machine interface

This is the first BMI to restore movement and touch simultaneously

https://massivesci.com/articles/bmi-brain-machine-interface-burkhar...

https://theconversation.com/climate-denial-hasnt-gone-away-heres-ho...

Climate denial hasn’t gone away – here’s how to spot arguments for delaying climate action

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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/jul/30/herd-immunity-i...

Herd immunity in India may generate only in pockets, can be short-lived: Scientists

Concerns about Waning COVID-19 Immunity Are Likely Overblown

The decline seen in some studies is normal, experts say. But scientists must wait to see whether infection confers long-term protection

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/concerns-about-waning-co...

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https://theconversation.com/stonehenge-how-we-revealed-the-original...

Stonehenge: how scientists revealed the original source of the biggest stones

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https://theconversation.com/10-things-we-do-that-puzzle-and-scare-h...

10 things we do that puzzle and scare horses

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https://www.sciencealert.com/paediatricians-explain-what-we-know-ab...

Do Children Spread COVID-19? Paediatricians Break Down What We Know So Far

The Science Behind Mental Toughness

Insects feel persistent pain after injury, evidence suggests

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190712120244.htm

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How to protect yourself from media manipulation on energy issues and other contentious matters

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-media-energy-issues-contentious.html

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Scientists uncover a new RNA-modifying enzyme

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-cell-scientists-uncover-rna-modifying...

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Scientists Create Giant “Artificial Atoms” to Enable Quantum Processing and Communication in One

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-scientists-create-giant-artificial-ato...

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Hydroxychloroquine can’t stop COVID-19. It’s time to move on, scientists say

An abundance of scientific data shows that the drug isn’t an effective COVID-19 treatment

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-19-coronavirus-hydroxychl...

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https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-why-hydroxychloroquine-doesn-t-...

Here's Why Hydroxychloroquine Doesn't Block The Coronavirus in Human Lung Cells

Wasps can  attack and kill a baby bird

Humans Might Be So Sickly Because We Evolved to Avoid a Single Devastating Disease

https://www.sciencealert.com/we-evolved-a-way-to-beat-a-deadly-infe...

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https://www.sciencealert.com/the-discovery-of-a-rare-glassy-metal-c...

Scientists Discover Strange 'Glassy' State of Metal That Could Boost Lithium Batteries

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-theaitre-theatre-written-machin...

A theatre play written entirely by machines

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** Early Mars was covered in ice sheets, not flowing rivers: study

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-early-mars-ice-sheets-rivers.html?utm...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-08-hair-haircut.html?utm_source=nwletter...

Your hair knows (or shows) what you eat and how much your haircut costs

Trying to answer the most difficult questions: A new test to investigate the origin of cosmic structure $$

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-cosmic.html?utm_source=nwletter&u...

Daniel Green et al. Signals of a Quantum Universe, Physical Review Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.251302

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-energy-demands-limit-brains-...

Energy demands limit our brains' information processing capacity

Our brains have an upper limit on how much they can process at once due to a constant but limited energy supply, according to a new UCL study using a brain imaging method that measures cellular metabolism.

The study found that paying attention can change how the brain allocates its limited energy; as the brain uses more energy in processing what we attend to, less energy is supplied to processing outside our attention focus.

It takes a lot of energy to run the human brain. We know that the brain constantly uses around 20% of our metabolic energy, even while we rest our mind, and yet it's widely believed that this constant but limited supply of energy does not increase when there is more for our mind to process.

"If there's a hard limit on energy supply to the brain, we suspected that the brain may handle challenging tasks by diverting energy away from other functions, and prioritizing the focus of our attention. findings suggest that the brain does indeed allocate less energy to the neurons that respond to information outside the focus of our attention when our task becomes harder. This explains why we experience inattentional blindness and deafness even to critical information that we really want to be aware of.

Journal of Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2368-19.2020

Scientists discover secret behind Earth's biodiversity hotspots

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-secret-earth-biodiversity-...

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-verge.html?utm_source=nwletter&...

Computer programmers may soon design the ultimate program: A program that designs programs.

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-method-defend-smart-home-cybera...

Researchers develope new method to defend against smart home cyberattacks

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** Microplastics: tiny crustaceans can fragment them into even smaller nanoplastics

https://theconversation.com/microplastics-tiny-crustaceans-can-frag...

When a Black Hole Fails to Do Its Job? find out what happens in this video

Protection against terrorist attacks with homemade explosives

Terrorist attacks often feature the use of homemade explosives. For the police and security forces to be able to take appropriate precautions and assess the damage after an attack, they need access to the right kind of tools. A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI, has now developed a sophisticated risk-analysis system to help prevent such attacks. At the same time, the software-based system assists with the forensic investigation of such incidents. It can therefore support the police to foil attacks with homemade explosives and protect the public at major gatherings and other events.

Researchers developed a software tool that analyzes and quantifies the expected damage from a homemade bomb with almost no need for reconstruction. This gives the police a system that helps not only with the prevention of an attack but also with the forensic assessment of the potential damage. 

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-terrorist-homemade-explosives.h...

Antioxidant-rich foods like black tea, chocolate, and berries may increase risk for certain cancers, new study finds

Cancer in the small intestine is quite rare, whereas colo-rectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death for men and women. What is it about the colon that seems to attract cancer?

Cancer mutations are not necessarily bad actors in and of themselves. In fact, in certain micro-environments like the gut, these mutations can actually help the body to fight cancer, not spread it. However, if the gut microbiome produces high levels of metabolites, like those found in certain bacteria and antioxidant-rich foods like black tea and hot cocoa, then it acts as a particularly hospitable environment to mutated genes and will accelerate the growth of bowel cancers.

Researchers kept gut microbiomes in mind as they took a closer look at gastrointestinal cancers, and may have found the reason why only 2% of cancers take root in the small intestine, whereas a whopping 98% of cancers take place in the colon. One major difference between these two organs is their levels of gut bacteria: the small intestine contains few, whereas the colon contains multitudes.

Scientists are beginning to pay more and more attention to the role gut microbiomes play in our health: both their positive effects and, in this case, their sometimes pernicious role in aiding and abetting disease

TP53 is a gene found in every cell. It produces a protein called p53 which acts as the cell's barrier, suppressing genetic mutations in the cell. However, when p53 becomes damaged, it no longer protects the cell; quite the opposite: It drives the cancer, helping tumors spread and grow.

What's in this flora that makes colon cancer spread so quickly? A close analysis identified the culprit: gut flora that produces metabolites, aka "antioxidants", which are found in high concentrations in foods such as black tea, hot chocolate, nuts and berries. Tellingly, when the scientists fed mice an antioxidant-rich diet, their gut flora accelerated p53's cancer-driver mode. This finding is of particular concern to those patients with a family history of colorectal cancer.

The extent to which microbiomes affect cancer mutations—in some cases, entirely changing their nature is quite alarming.

The gut microbiome switches mutant p53 from tumor-suppressive to oncogenic, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2541-0 , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2541-0

Does Coronavirus Linger? What We Know About How Viruses Hide in The Brain And Testes

https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-we-know-so-far-about-chron...

A chronic or persistent infection continues for months or even years, during which time virus is being continually produced, albeit in many cases at low levels. Frequently these infections occur in a so-called immune privileged site.

There are a few places in the body that are less accessible to the immune system and where it is difficult to eradicate all viral infections. These include the central nervous system, the testes and the eye.

It is thought that the evolutionary advantage to having an immune privileged region is that it protects a site like the brain, for example, from being damaged by the inflammation that results when the immune system battles an infection.

An immune privileged site not only is difficult for the immune system to enter, it also limits proteins that increase inflammation. The reason is that while inflammation helps kill a pathogen, it can also damage an organ such as the eye, brain or testes.

The result is an uneasy truce where inflammation is limited but infection continues to fester.

But there is another way that a virus can hide in the body and reemerge later.

A latent viral infection occurs when the virus is present within an infected cell but dormant and not multiplying. In a latent virus, the entire viral genome is present, and infectious virus can be produced if latency ends and the infections becomes active.

The latent virus may integrate into the human genome – as does HIV, for example – or exist in the nucleus as a self-replicating piece of DNA called an episome.

A latent virus can reactivate and produce infectious viruses, and this can occur months to decades after the initial infection. Perhaps the best example of this is chickenpox, which although seemingly eradicated by the immune system can reactivate and cause herpes zoster decades later.

Fortunately, chickenpox and zoster are now prevented by vaccination. To be infected with a virus capable of producing a latent infection is to be infected for the rest of your life.

Malignant bone cancer diagnosed in a dinosaur for the first time

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-malignant-cancer-dinosaur.html?utm_so...

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https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-blood-baby-brain-hours-birth...

Blood test could diagnose baby brain damage just hours after birth

An early blood test could detect which babies deprived of oxygen at birth are at risk of serious neurodisabilities like cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

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Large study confirms vitamin D does not reduce risk of depression in adults

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-large-vitamin-d-depression-a...

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https://phys.org/news/2020-08-cern-indications-rare-higgs-boson.htm...

CERN experiments announce first indications of a rare Higgs boson process

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-windows-thumbs-ccleaner.html?ut...

Windows 10 turns thumbs down on CCleaner

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https://theconversation.com/these-dogs-are-trained-to-sniff-out-the...

Dogs are being trained to sniff out the coronavirus. Most have a 100% success rate

Why microwaving liquids is different from other heating techniques, and how this issue can be resolved

Water heated in a microwave just isn't the same. 

Typically, when a liquid is being warmed, the heating source—a stove, for example—heats the container from below. By a process called convection, as the liquid toward the bottom of the container warms up, it becomes less dense and moves to the top, allowing a cooler section of the liquid to contact the source. This ultimately results in a uniform temperature throughout the glass.

Inside a microwave, however, the electric field acting as the heating source exists everywhere. Because the entire glass itself is also warming up, the convection process does not occur, and the liquid at the top of the container ends up being much hotter than the liquid at the bottom.

By designing a silver plating to go along the rim of a glass, the group was able to shield the effects of the microwave at the surface of the liquid. The silver acts as a guide for the waves, reducing the electric field at the top and effectively blocking the heating. This creates a convection process similar to traditional approaches, resulting in a more uniform temperature.

Placing silver in the microwave may seem like a dangerous idea, but similar metal structures with finely tuned geometry to avoid ignition have already been safely used for microwave steam pots and rice cookers.

"After carefully designing the metal structure at the appropriate size, the metal edge, which is prone to ignition, is located at weak field strength, where it can completely avoid ignition, so it is still safe. 

Solids don't undergo convection, so getting your leftovers to warm up uniformly is a completely different challenge.

"For solids, there is no simple way to design a bowl or plate in order to achieve a much better heating result. 

We can change the field distribution, but the change is very small, so the improvement is limited."

The group is considering other ways to improve nonuniformity in solid foods

"Multiphysics analysis for unusual heat convection in microwave heating liquid," AIP Advances (2020). aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0013295

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-microwaving-liquids-techniques-issue....

Droplet spread from humans doesn't always follow airflow

The flow physics of someone coughing is complex, involving turbulent jets and droplet evaporation.

And the rise of COVID-19 has revealed the gaps in our knowledge of the physics of transmission and mitigation strategies."

One such gap in the physics is a clear, simple description of where individual droplets go when ejected.

As a person breathes, they emit droplets of various sizes that don't necessarily follow the airflow faithfully.

"We represent breathing as a point source of both air and droplets and include a point sink to model the effect of extraction of air and droplets. 

To take their size and density differences into account, we use the Maxey-Riley equation, which describes the motion of a small but finite-sized rigid sphere through a fluid."

This work gives researchers a general framework to understand the droplet dispersion. The model simplicity demonstrates that bimodality could actually be a property of the droplets themselves, and the group provides formulas to predict when such droplets will have short ranges.

"Our study shows there isn't a linear relation between droplet size and displacement—with both small and large droplets traveling further than medium-sized ones

We can't afford to be complacent about small droplets. PPE is an effective barrier to large droplets but may be less effective for small ones."

As a solution, Mehendale came up with the idea of creating an aerosol extractor device. The team is working on plans to manufacture the aerosol extractor to keep clinicians safe during a wide range of aerosol-generating procedures routinely performed in medicine and dentistry. Extraction units placed near the droplet sources can effectively trap droplets, if their diameters fall below that of a human hair.

"This has important implications for the COVID-19 pandemic," said Cummins. "Larger droplets would be easily captured by PPE, such as masks and face shields. But smaller droplets may penetrate some forms of PPE, so an extractor could help reduce the weakness in our current defense against COVID-19 and future pandemics."

Mehendale said a better understanding of the droplet behavior will help "inform the safety guidelines for aerosol-generating procedures, and it will be relevant during the current and future pandemics, as well as for other infectious diseases. This mathematical model may also serve as the basis of modeling the impact on droplet dispersion of ventilation systems existing within a range of clinical spaces."

 "The dispersion of spherical droplets in source-sink flows and their relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic," Physics of Fluids, aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0021427

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-droplet-humans-doesnt-airflow.html?ut...

Casimir force used to control and manipulate objects

The weirdness of quantum physics. In reality a perfect vacuum does not exist—even in empty space at zero temperature, virtual particles, like photons, flicker in and out of existence.

"These fluctuations interact with objects placed in vacuum and are actually enhanced in magnitude as temperature is increased, causing a measurable force from "nothing"—otherwise known as the Casimir force.

This is handy because we live at room temperature. We have now shown it's also possible to use the force to do cool things. But to do that, we need to develop precision technology that allows us control and manipulate objects with this force.

Researchers were able to measure the Casimir force and manipulate the objects through a precision microwave photonic cavity, known as a re-entrant cavity, at room-temperature, using a setup with a thin metallic membrane separated from the re-entrant cavity, exquisitely controlled to roughly the width of a grain of dust.

"Because of the Casimir force between the objects, the metallic membrane, which flexed back and forth, had its spring-like oscillations significantly modified and was used to manipulate the properties of the membrane and re-entrant cavity system in a unique way.

"This allowed orders of magnitudes of improvement in force sensitivity and the ability to control the mechanical state of the membrane."

J. M. Pate et al. Casimir spring and dilution in macroscopic cavity optomechanics, Nature Physics (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-020-0975-9

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-casimir.html?utm_source=nwletter&...

Indian vaccine producer Bet Big on Head Start in Coronavirus Vaccine Race

The world’s largest vaccine producer, the Serum Institute, announced a plan to make hundreds of millions of doses of an unproven inoculation. It’s a gamble with a huge upside. And huge risks.

The Serum Institute of India makes 1.5 billion doses of vaccines every year. It has put its might behind the coronavirus-vaccine candidate being develo..., UK, and is preparing to produce 500 doses each minute in the hopes that trials will prove the vaccine’s efficacy. The company’s output will be split 50–50 between India and the rest of the world, with a focus on poorer countries.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/world/asia/coronavirus-vaccine-i...