Biologists discover a gene critical to the development of columbines' iconic spurs

Once in a while, over the history of life, a new trait evolves that leads to an explosion of diversity in a group of organisms. Take wings, for instance. Every group of animals that evolved them has spun off into a host of different species—birds, bats, insects and pterosaurs. Scientists call these "key innovations."

Understanding the development of key innovations is critical to understanding the evolution of the amazing array of organisms on Earth. Most of these happened deep in the distant past, making them difficult to study from a genetic perspective. Fortunately, one group of plants has acquired just such a trait in the past few million years.

Columbines, with their elegant nectar spurs, promise scientists an opportunity to investigate the genetic changes that underpin a key innovation. 

After much research scientists have identified a gene critical to the development of these structures. And to their knowledge, this is among the first key innovations for which a critical developmental gene has been identified and named POPOVICH. 

 Evangeline S. Ballerini el al., "POPOVICH, encoding a C2H2 zinc-finger transcription factor, plays a central role in the development of a key innovation, floral nectar spurs, in Aquilegia," PNAS (2020). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2006912117

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-biologists-gene-critical-columbines-i...

Autistic people's nerve cells differ before birth

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that researchers are now tracing back to prenatal development, even though the disorder is not diagnosed until at least 18 months of age. A new study now shows in human brain cells that the atypical development starts at the very earliest stages of brain organization, at the level of individual brain cells.

In a new study researchers used induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, to model early brain development. Their findings indicate that brain cells from autistic people develop differently to those from typical individuals.

The researchers isolated hair samples from nine autistic people and six typical people. By treating the cells with an array of growth factors, the scientists were able to drive the hair cells to become nerve cells, or neurons—much like those found in either the cortex or the midbrain region. iPSCs retain the genetic identity of the person from which they came and the cells re-start their development as it would have happened in the womb, providing a window into that person's brain development.

At various stages, the authors examined the developing cells' appearance and sequenced their RNA, to see which genes the cells were expressing.

At day 9, developing neurons from typical people formed "neural rosettes," an intricate, dandelion-like shape indicative of typically developing neurons. Cells from autistic people formed smaller rosettes or did not form rosettes at all. And key developmental genes were expressed at lower levels in cells from autistic people.

At days 21 and 35, the cells from typical and autistic people differed significantly in a number of ways, suggesting that the makeup of neurons in the cortex differs in the autistic and typically developing brain.

Dwaipayan Adhya et al, Atypical Neurogenesis in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells From Autistic Individuals, Biological Psychiatry (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.06.014

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-autistic-people-nerve-cells-...

COVID-19 pooling test method identifies asymptomatic carriers

A new COVID-19 pooling test  identifies all positive subjects, including asymptomatic carriers. P-BEST, an algorithmic method for pooling-based efficient SARS-CoV-2 testing, was developed by a group of researchers.

Approximately 10 to 30% of COVID-19-infected patients are asymptomatic and significant viral spread can occur days before symptom onset.

 This new single-stage diagnostic test will help prevent the spread of the disease by identifying these patients sooner and at a lower cost using significantly fewer tests."

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-covid-pooling-method-asympto...

Velcro method for more precise binding of drug particles

In order to deliver drug particles to the right place in the body—a field known as nanomedicine—selectivity plays an important role. After all, the drug only has to attach itself to the cells that need it. A theory from 2011 predicts that selectivity is not only based on the type of receptor, but also on the number and strength of the receptors on the cell. Researchers  are now proving this experimentally.

Cells interact with each other through receptors and ligands. They fit on each other like a key in a lock; a ligand of one cell only fits on the appropriate target receptor of the other cell. The field of nanomedicine makes use of this by imitating ligands that fit the receptors of the diseased cell that needs the drug.

The theory now proven  is based on this: In 2011, Daan Frenkel and his group in Cambridge used a theoretical model to predict that not only the type of ligands and receptors play a major role, but also the number and strength. This means that even weak ligands can bind, as long as there are enough receptors present on the surface of the target cell.

Compare it to Velcro. If one hook is fastened, the strip does not stick immediately. Only when several hooks are fastened does the bond become strong enough. This is also how it works in the human body; the weak binding of a ligand on a receptor becomes enormously strong the more there are.

And that's a useful feature for nanomedicine. Diseased cells do not always have different receptors than healthy cells, but they often have more receptors on their cell walls. By developing the drug in such a way that it only sticks to cells with a lot of receptors, you can still distinguish between diseased and healthy cells. This makes it possible to send the drug particles more precisely to the diseased cells in the body.

It 's now experimentally demonstrated with particles that many weak ligands give a high selectivity: The particles only bind if there are exactly enough receptors present. This creates a threshold value," explains van IJzendoorn. The researchers carried out a binding experiment for this purpose, designing particles with either receptor DNA or ligand DNA on its surface.

A magnetic field first pulled the particles toward each other, and after some time, released them. Van IJzendoorn: "This allowed us to optically measure how many particles had developed a strong molecular binding with each other."

By varying the number of DNA molecules and the strength of the ligand-receptor binding, not only were the researchers able to see how many bindings were needed for the particles to stay bonded, but also to observe the emergence of the  threshold value.

M. R. W. Scheepers el al., Multivalent weak interactions enhance selectivity of interparticle binding, PNAS (2020). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2003968117

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-velcro-method-precise-drug-particles....

Application of two engineering nanomaterials provides novel way to improve salt tolerance in plants

In a study published in Environmental Science: Nano, researchers showed the promoting effects of single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) and ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on plant growth and salt tolerance in Sophora alopecuroides seedlings. The researchers showed that changes in metabolomic profiling by SWCNHs and ZnO NPs contributed to salt tolerance in Sophora alopecuroides seedlings.

jinpeng wan et al. Comparative physiological and metabolomics analysis reveals that single-walled carbon nanohorns and ZnO nanoparticles affect salt tolerance in Sophora alopecuroides, Environmental Science: Nano (2020). DOI: 10.1039/D0EN00582G

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-application-nanomaterials-salt-tolera...

Adapting ideas from quantum physics to calculate alternative interventions for infection and cancer

Findings from a new study show for the first time how ideas from quantum physics can help develop novel drug interventions for bacterial infections and cancer.

demonstrated that principles of quantum control, a field of quantum physics used in computing applications, can be translated and applied to biological problems. They constructed a mathematical algorithm  that can be used to design and speed-up specific interventions to prevent or overturn drug resistance.

Typically cells in the presence of drugs evolve according to Darwinian natural selection: mutants that are resistant to the drug can outcompete their susceptible neighbors, dominating the population. Counterintuitively, one can also co-opt this process to achieve the opposite result, ultimately defeating drug resistance. For example, a mutation that causes resistance to one drug may cause extreme susceptibility to another, a phenomenon known as collateral sensitivity.

"If that mutant is initially only a small fraction of the population, we can use the first drug to encourage its dominance, and then apply the second drug to rapidly wipe out the infection

we also know that the first stage can be slow: mutations occur at random times, and waiting long enough until the mutant fully takes over could compromise treatment effectiveness and patient outcomes. The time it takes to ensure these interventions are successful has been a significant limitation to adopting evolutionary medicine into clinical practice.

Speeding up this process is where quantum physics can provide inspiration. "The randomness of mutations in evolution has intriguing mathematical parallels to the randomness of quantum phenomena,

This randomness makes it challenging to reliably and quickly drive a quantum system from one state to another. Solving this driving problem is an essential ingredient in certain kinds of quantum computing. Our new study exploits these parallels, translating a particular quantum technique known as counterdiabatic driving into the language of evolutionary biology

The researchers created a mathematical algorithm to calculate this intervention in evolutionary medicine applications. The algorithm's output is a prescription for dynamically altering the drug dosages or types to stay on the target path. The team demonstrated their technique by using it to manipulate evolution in simulations of living cells. These simulations were based on experimental data from an earlier study on a set of mutants showing varying degrees of resistance to anti-malarial drugs.

Controlling the speed and trajectory of evolution with counterdiabatic driving, Nature Physics (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-020-0989-3 , www.nature.com/articles/s41567-020-0989-3

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ideas-quantum-physics-alternative-int...

Ocean hitchhiker's sucker mechanism offers potential for underwater adhesion

A new study has revealed how remora suckerfish detach themselves from the surfaces they've clung to—and how the mechanism could provide inspiration for future reversible underwater adhesion devices.

Marine organisms mainly use two methods of adhesion in submerged environments: chemical adhesion and suction adhesion. Remora's hitchhiking behaviour uses suction adhesion and requires these fishes to be capable of both attaching and detaching regularly, but their detachment remains poorly understood.

Understanding detachment is essential in studying biological adhesive systems. It is also becoming increasingly important in many engineering applications such as surface peeling (surface painting, coating and transfer printing). Researchers  explored how a remora detaches to expand the understanding of this biological system, and to see how it could be applied to artificial adhesion mechanisms.

Siqi Wang et al. Detachment of the remora suckerfish disc: kinematics and a bio-inspired robotic model, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics (2020). DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ab9418

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ocean-hitchhiker-sucker-mechanism-pot...

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**Study suggests hot nights pose greater threat to public health th...

Hong Kong has been experiencing hotter summers and more scorcher days in recent years due to climate change and heat island effect. Amid the increasing number of "hot nights," it is found that consecutive "hot nights" are more detrimental to human health than "very hot days," although the actual temperature does not reach the level of daytime, according to a collaborative research conducted by the Institute of Future Cities at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as researchers from the University of Hong Kong. The research also identified that lack of urban greenery and poor air ventilation in a high-density context are factors that lead to more "hot nights" than "hot days" in some areas. The team suggests that better urban planning and building design are long-term mitigation measures.

 Amid the increasing number of "hot nights," it is found that consecutive "hot nights" are more detrimental to human health than "very hot days," although the actual temperature does not reach the level of daytime, according to a collaborative research . The research also identified that lack of urban greenery and poor air ventilation in a high-density context are factors that lead to more "hot nights" than "hot days" in some areas. 

Apparently consecutive "hot nights" brought more health problems compared with "very hot days," especially for five or more consecutive "hot nights." It was also found that when consecutive "very hot days" were joined with consecutive "hot nights," such as two consecutive "very hot days" with three "hot nights," the health impact was significantly amplified, compared with only consecutive "very hot days." Moreover, females and older adults were determined to be relatively more vulnerable to extreme hot weather.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-hot-nights-pose-greater-threat.html?u...

Restricting sleep may affect emotional reactions

Locust swarm could improve collision avoidance

Plagues of locusts, containing millions of insects, fly across the sky to attack crops, but the individual insects do not collide with each other within these massive swarms. Now a team of engineers is creating a low-power collision detector that mimics the locust avoidance response and could help robots, drones and even self-driving cars avoid collisions.

Mechanism of locusts: Locusts are unusual because they use a single, specialized neuron, called the Lobula Giant Movement Detector (LGMD), to avoid collisions.

The neuron receives two different signals. An image of an approaching locust falls on the avoiding locust's eye. The closer the invading locust gets, the larger the image and the stronger this excitation signal becomes. The other input is the change in angular velocity of the invading locust with respect to the avoiding locust.

Because the neuron has two branches, the locust computes the changes in these two inputs and realizes that something is going to collide.  So the avoiding locust changes direction.

The researchers developed a compact, nanoscale collision detector using monolayer molybdenum sulfide as a photodetector. They placed the photo detector on top of a programmable floating gate memory architecture that can mimic the locust's  neuron response using only a tiny amount of energy.

A low-power biomimetic collision detector based on an in-memory molybdenum disulfide photodetector, Nature Electronics (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-020-00466-9 , www.nature.com/articles/s41928-020-00466-9

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-locust-swarm-collision.html?utm...

**Using a smartphone and audio software to pick a physical lock

A trio of researchers has found a way to pick an ordinary physical lock using a smartphone with special software

With traditional locks, such as those found on the front doors of most homes, a person inserts the proper (metal) key and then turns it. Doing so pushes up a series of pins in the lock by a certain amount based on the ridges on the key. When the pins are pushed in a way that matches a preset condition, the tumbler can turn, retracting the metal piece of the door assembly from its berth, allowing the door to open. In this new effort, the researchers have found that it is possible to record the sounds made as the key comes into contact with the pins and then as the pins move upward, and use software to recreate the conditions that produce the same noises. Those conditions can be used to fabricate a metal key to unlock the door. The result is a system the team calls SpiKey, which involves use of a smartphone to record lock clicks, decipher them and then create a key signature for use in creating a new metal key.

Soundarya Ramesh et al. Listen to Your Key, Proceedings of the 21st International Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (2020). DOI: 10.1145/3376897.3377853 . PDF.

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-smartphone-audio-software-physi...

Covid-19 news: Researchers find first case of coronavirus reinfection

Researchers say they have detected the first case of coronavirus reinfection

A 33-year-old man from Hong Kong was infected again 4½ months after he first caught the coronavirus

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong say they have documented the first case of a person being reinfected with the coronavirus. The team analysed virus samples taken from a man when he first tested positive for the coronavirus in late March, and again when he tested positive for a second time in mid-August. They discovered several differences in the sequences of the virus from the first and second infections, suggesting the man had been infected with two separate strains of the virus, rather than one long-lasting infection. Their findings have been accepted for publication in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.

Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-research...

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-confirmed-case-reinfection....

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** Could COVID-19 in wastewater be infectious?

International Study Led by Researchers at Ben-Gurion University Indicates Wastewater Containing COVID-19 May Be A Serious Threat

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/aabu-cci082320.php

Deshka S. Foster et al. Elucidating the fundamental fibrotic processes driving abdominal adhesion formation, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17883-1

Scientists Are Figuring Out What Happens in The Skin When You Have Eczema

Scientists have pinpointed a bunch of processes that go wrong in the skin for people who have eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis), and it could help us figure out how to combat this chronic condition.

Earlier, researchers found a strong link between people lacking in a certain skin protein, and the risk of developing eczema. And in 2017, scientists built on those results to show exactly what goes wrong, and their results could even take us closer to an eczema cure.

For the past decade, scientists have known that eczema is associated with a genetic lack of filaggrin (filament aggregating protein) in the skin. This protein helps shape individual skin cells, and plays an important role in our skin's barrier function.

If a person has a genetic mutation that prevents proper filaggrin supply, they can develop skin conditions such as eczema or ichthyosis vulgaris, where skin cells don't shed, and instead pile up in a pattern that looks like fish scales.

But until recently, researchers weren't sure how eczema actually develops when filaggrin is lacking.

The breakthrough came in 2016, when scientists from Newcastle University in the UK in collaboration with GSK Stiefel tracked down a series of proteins and molecular pathways that lead to this insufferable skin problem.

They found that this deficiency alone could trigger a host of molecular changes in important regulatory mechanisms in the skin. This affected things like cell structure, barrier function, and even how cells got inflamed and responded to stress

They found that several of the proteins they detected were similarly altered in only those with eczema - just like the lab-based model had demonstrated.

Once scientists know for sure what goes on in the skin if you have the faulty filaggrin gene, they can start looking for drugs that can stop that from happening.

The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-are-figuring-out-what-happe...

The False Logic behind Science Denial

Those who argue that COVID-19 isn’t a real threat are mirroring bogus attacks on global warming and evolution

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-false-logic-behind-s...  

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How Birds Evolved Their Incredible Diversity

An analysis of 391 skulls shows that birds evolved surprisingly slowly, compared with their dinosaur forerunners

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-birds-evolved-their-...

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Origami-inspired miniature manipulator improves precision and control of teleoperated surgical procedures

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-origami-inspired-miniature-prec...

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** 'Earth breathing': mountain erosion a missing piece in the climate puzzle

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-earth-mountain-erosion-piece-climate....

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Digging your own digital grave: How should you manage the data you leave behind?

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-digital-grave.html?utm_source=n...

New imaging technique helps resolve nanodomains, chemical composition in cell membranes

Jin Lu et al. Single‐Molecule 3D Orientation Imaging Reveals Nanoscale Compositional Heterogeneity in Lipid Membranes, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2020). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202006207

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-imaging-technique-nanodomains-chemica...

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Nanoengineered biosensors for early disease detection

Researchers have developed a cheaper, faster and ultrasensitive biosensors that use nanoengineered porous gold which more effectively detect early signs of disease, improving patient outcomes. This new diagnostic technique allows for direct detection of disease-specific miRNA, which wasn't previously possible.

This is especially important for patients at an early stage of a disease such as cancer, who do not have detectable amounts of other biomarkers, but may have a detectable quantity of exosomal miRNA biomarker.

The platform was nanoengineered by the team to read samples of blood, urine, saliva or plasma through a surface covered in a gold film, which has millions of tiny pores.

Hyunsoo Lim et al. A universal approach for the synthesis of mesoporous gold, palladium and platinum films for applications in electrocatalysis, Nature Protocols (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-0359-8

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-nanoengineered-biosensors-early-disea...

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Physicists discover new two-dimensional ferroelectric material just two atoms thick

Two-dimensional materials are ultrathin membranes that hold promise for novel optoelectronic, thermal, and mechanical applications, including ultra-thin data-storage devices that would be both foldable and information dense.

Ferroelectric materials are those with an intrinsic dipole moment—a measure of the separation of positive and negative charges—that can be switched by an electric field.

Salvador Barraza-Lopez et al. Water Splits To Degrade Two-Dimensional Group-IV Monochalcogenides in Nanoseconds, ACS Central Science (2018). DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.8b00589

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-physicists-two-dimensional-material.h...

Galactic bar paradox resolved in cosmic dance

New light has been shed on a mysterious and long-standing conundrum at the very heart of our galaxy. The new work offers a potential solution to the so-called "Galactic bar paradox," whereby different observations produce contradictory estimates of the motion of the central regions of the Milky Way.

The majority of spiral galaxies, like our home the Milky Way, host a large bar-like structure of stars in their center. Knowledge of the true bar size and rotational speed is crucial for understanding how galaxies form and evolve, as well as how they form similar bars throughout the universe.

However our galaxy's bar size and rotational speed have been strongly contested in the last 5 years; while studies of the motions of stars near the Sun find a bar that is both fast and small, direct observations of the Galactic central region agree on one that is significantly slower and larger.

The new study, by an international team of scientists suggests an insightful solution to this discrepancy. Analyzing state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulations of the Milky Way, they show that both the bar's size and its rotational speed fluctuate rapidly in time, causing the bar to appear up to twice as long and rotate 20 percent faster at certain times.

The bar pulsations result from its regular encounters with the Galactic spiral arms, in what can be described as a "cosmic dance." As the bar and spiral arm approach each other, their mutual attraction due to gravity makes the bar slow down and the spiral speed up. Once connected, the two structures move as one and the bar appears much longer and slower than it actually is. As the dancers split apart, the bar speeds up while the spiral slows back down.

T Hilmi et al. Fluctuations in galactic bar parameters due to bar–spiral interaction, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2020). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa1934

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-galactic-bar-paradox-cosmic.html?utm_...

Ancient star explosions revealed in the deep sea

A mystery surrounding the space around our solar system is unfolding thanks to evidence of supernovae found in deep-sea sediments.

A new study  shows the Earth has been traveling for the last 33,000 years through a cloud of faintly radioactive dust.

These clouds could be remnants of previous supernova explosions, a powerful and super bright explosion of a star.

The researchers searched through several deep-sea sediments from two different locations that date back 33,000 years using the extreme sensitivity of HIAF's mass spectrometer. They found clear traces of the isotope iron-60, which is formed when stars die in supernova explosions.

Iron-60 is radioactive and completely decays away within 15 million years, which means any iron-60 found on the earth must have been formed much later than the rest of the 4.6-billion-year old earth and arrived here from nearby supernovae before settling on the ocean floor.

found traces of iron-60 at about 2.6 million years ago, and possibly another at around 6 million years ago, suggesting earth had traveled through fallout clouds from nearby supernovae.

For the last few thousand years the solar system has been moving through a denser cloud of gas and dust, known as the local interstellar cloud, (LIC), whose origins are unclear. If this cloud had originated during the past few million years from a supernova, it would contain iron-60, and so the team decided to search more recent sediment to find out.

Sure enough, there was iron-60 in the sediment at extremely low levels—equating to radioactivity levels in space far below the Earth's natural background levels—and the distribution of the iron-60 matched earth's recent travel through the local interstellar cloud. But the iron-60 extended further back and was spread throughout the entire 33,000 year measurement period.

The lack of correlation with the solar system's time in the current local interstellar cloud seems to pose more questions than it answers. Firstly, if the cloud was not formed by a supernova, where did it come from? And secondly, why is there iron-60 so evenly spread throughout space?

There are recent papers that suggest iron-60 trapped in dust particles might bounce around in the interstellar medium.

So the iron-60 could originate from even older supernovae explosions, and what we measure is some kind of echo. More data is required to resolve these details.

A. Wallner et al. 60Fe deposition during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene echoes past supernova activity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1916769117

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ancient-star-explosions-revealed-deep...

Reverse dieting: slowly increasing calories won’t prevent weight regain – but may have other benefits

https://theconversation.com/reverse-dieting-slowly-increasing-calor...  

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India is key for global access to a COVID-19 vaccine – here’s why

New treatments aim to treat COVID-19 early, before it gets serious

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

Some promising treatments may block the coronavirus from entering cells or from multiplying

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Disease Tolerance: Why Do Some People Weather Coronavirus Infection Unscathed?

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-some-people-weath...

https://undark.org/2020/08/24/covid-19-infection-asymptomatic/

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Two major microbial groups living deep underground can't breathe

A new scientific study has revealed unique life strategies of two major groups of microbes that live below Earth's surface. These groups, originally thought to rely on symbiotic relationships with other organisms, may also live independently and use an ancient mode of energy production.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200825110626.htm

Scientific research video

Cosmic rays may soon hinder the progress of quantum computing

Microscopic robots 'walk' thanks to laser tech

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-microscopic-robots-laser-tech.h...

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Meteorite strikes may create unexpected form of silica

When a meteorite hurtles through the atmosphere and crashes to Earth, how does its violent impact alter the minerals found at the landing site? What can the short-lived chemical phases created by these extreme impacts teach scientists about the minerals existing at the high-temperature and pressure conditions found deep inside the planet?

Quartz is made up of one silicon atom and two oxygen atoms arranged in a tetrahedral lattice structure. Because these elements are also common in the silicate-rich mantle of the Earth, discovering the changes quartz undergoes at high-pressure and -temperature conditions, like those found in the Earth's interior, could also reveal details about the planet's geologic history.

When a material is subjected to extreme pressures and temperatures, its internal atomic structure can be re-shaped, causing its properties to shift. For example, both graphite and diamond are made from carbon. But graphite, which forms at low pressure, is soft and opaque, and diamond, which forms at high pressure, is super-hard and transparent. The different arrangements of carbon atoms determine their structures and their properties, and that in turn affects how we engage with and use them.

when subjected to a dynamic shock of greater than 300,000 times normal atmospheric pressure, quartz undergoes a transition to a novel disordered crystalline phase, whose structure is intermediate between fully crystalline stishovite and a fully disordered glass. However, the new structure cannot last once the burst of intense pressure has subsided.

"Structural response of α-quartz under plate-impact shock compression" Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abb3913

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-meteorite-unexpected-silica.html?utm_...

How plants tackle infection

Plants have a unique ability to safeguard themselves against pathogens by closing their pores—but until now, no one knew quite how they did it. Scientists have known that a flood of calcium into the cells surrounding the pores triggers them to close, but how the calcium entered the cells was unclear.

After a new study scientists reveal that a protein called OSCA1.3 forms a channel that leaks calcium into the cells surrounding a plant's pores, and they determined that a known immune system protein triggers the process.

"The calcium-permeable channel OSCA1.3 regulates plant stomatal immunity," Nature (2020). dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2702-1

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-door-infection.html?utm_source=nwlett...

Bacteria could survive travel between Earth and Mars under certain conditions

Imagine microscopic life-forms, such as bacteria, transported through space, and landing on another planet. The bacteria finding suitable conditions for its survival could then start multiplying again, sparking life at the other side of the universe. This theory, called "panspermia", support the possibility that microbes may migrate between planets and distribute life in the universe. Long controversial, this theory implies that bacteria would survive the long journey in outer space, resisting to space vacuum, temperature fluctuations, and space radiations.

Scientists now tested the survival of the radioresistant bacteria Deinococcus in space. The study shows that thick aggregates can provide sufficient protection for the survival of bacteria during several years in the harsh space environment.

They came to this conclusion by placing dried Deinococcus aggregates in exposure panels outside of the International Space Station (ISS). The samples of different thicknesses were exposed to space environment for one, two, or three years and then tested for their survival.

After three years, the researchers found that all aggregates superior to 0.5 mm partially survived to space conditions. Observations suggest that while the bacteria at the surface of the aggregate died, it created a protective layer for the bacteria beneath ensuring the survival of the colony. Using the survival data at one, two, and three years of exposure, the researchers estimated that a pellet thicker than 0.5 mm would have survived between 15 and 45 years on the ISS. The design of the experiment allowed the researcher to extrapolate and predict that a colony of 1 mm of diameter could potentially survive up to 8 years in outer space conditions.

The results suggest that radioresistant Deinococcus could survive during the travel from Earth to Mars and vice versa, which is several months or years in the shortest orbit

Yuko Kawaguchi et al, DNA Damage and Survival Time Course of Deinococcal Cell Pellets During 3 Years of Exposure to Outer Space, Frontiers in Microbiology (2020). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02050

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bacteria-survive-earth-mars-aggregate...

**Unlocking the mysteries of the brain

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-mysteries-brain.html?utm_sou...

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** Fires 'poisoning air' in Amazon: study

Rampant fires in the Amazon are "poisoning the air" of the world's biggest rainforest, causing a sharp rise in respiratory emergencies in a region already hit hard by COVID-19. People in the region are being hospitalized for respiratory distress driven by inhaling smoke-polluted air.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-poisoning-air-amazon.html?utm_source=...

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Scientists use fruit peel to turn old batteries into new

Zhuoran Wu et al. Repurposing of Fruit Peel Waste as a Green Reductant for Recycling of Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries, Environmental Science & Technology (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c02873

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-scientists-fruit-batteries.html...

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**  Uncontrolled molecule sparks rare liver cancer

Jason Z. Zhang et al. Phase Separation of a PKA Regulatory Subunit Controls cAMP Compartmentation and Oncogenic Signaling, Cell (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.07.043

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-uncontrolled-molecule-rare-liver-canc...

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Report suggests ways to avoid satellites ruining telescope images but ‘there is no place to hide’

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/report-suggests-ways-avoid-...

Domesticated chickens have smaller brains

Researchers  suggest a process by which the timid junglefowl from the rain forest could have become today's domesticated chicken. When the scientists selectively bred the junglefowl with least fear of humans for 10 generations, the offspring acquired smaller brains and found it easier to become accustomed to frightening but non-hazardous events. The results shed new light over how domestication may have changed animals so much in a relatively short time.

Chickens are the most common birds on Earth. There are currently more than 20 billion individuals on the planet. All of them have come from the Red Junglefowl, originally found in south-east Asia. This species was tamed and domesticated by humans approximately 10,000 years ago. The results of the current study show that when our ancestors selected the tamest individuals for breeding, they may at the same time have unconsciously selected birds with a different brain—one that may have been more suitable for a life among humans. 

result of the breeding was that the brains of the domesticated birds gradually became smaller relative to body size, which mirrors what has happened to modern domesticated chickens during the domestication process. The change was particularly pronounced in the brain stem, a primitive part of the brain that is involved in, among other things, certain stress reactions. The brain stem was relatively smaller in animals that were not overly timid.

Rebecca Katajamaa et al. Selection for reduced fear in red junglefowl changes brain composition and affects fear memory, Royal Society Open Science (2020). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200628

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-domesticated-chickens-smaller-brains....

Japan researchers say ozone effective in neutralising corona virus. It can used in hospital conditions . ozone gas in concentrations of 0.05 to 0.1 parts per million 
(ppm), levels considered harmless to humans, could kill the  virus without harming living beings. It is effective in high humidity conditions.

The experiment used an ozone generator in a sealed chamber with a sample of coronavirus. The potency of the virus declined by more than 90% when subjected to low level ozone for 10 hours. Transmission of the novel coronavirus may be reduced by continuous, low-concentration ozone treatment, even in environments where people are present, using this kind of system.

Ozone, a type of oxygen molecule, is known to inactivate many pathogens, and previously experiments have shown that high concentrations.

https://in.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ozone/japan-re...

vaping may increase your risk of developing COVID-19

Vaping increases the number of receptors that allow coronavirus to invade your cells and compromises your immune system.

https://theconversation.com/why-vaping-may-increase-your-risk-of-de...

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Four scenarios on how we might develop immunity to Covid-19

https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/25/four-scenarios-on-how-we-might-...

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Some COVID-19 Patients Lack Key Structures for Antibody Creation

An absence of germinal centers—which arise during infections to produce long-lived antibody-generating cells—might explain rapidly waning antibody levels in the disease.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/some-covid-19-patients-l...

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Strange Forms of Vitamins Called 'Antivitamins' May Fight Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

https://www.sciencealert.com/antivitamins-show-promise-in-tackling-...

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** A Vast Radio 'Bridge' Has Been Found Connecting 2 Galaxy Clusters About to Merge **

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-vast-radio-bridge-has-been-found-con...

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A fall shattered his body. These medical marvels pieced him back together.

Supernovae could enable the discovery of new Muonic physics

A supernova, the explosion of a white-dwarf or massive star, can create as much light as billions of normal stars. This transient astronomical phenomenon can occur at any point after a star has reached its final evolutionary stages.

Supernovae are thought to be associated with extreme physical conditions, far more extreme than those observed during any other known astrophysical phenomenon in the universe, excluding the Big Bang. In supernovae that involve a massive star, the star's core can collapse into a neutron star, while the rest of it is expelled in the explosion.

During these violent stellar explosions, temperatures in the newborn neutron star can reach over 600 billion degrees, and densities can be up to 10 times greater than those in atomic nuclei. The hot neutron star resulting from this type of supernova is a significant source of neutrinos and could thus be an ideal model for particle physics studies.

The role of   muons, particles that resemble electrons but have far larger masses, could play in the cooling of supernova remnants and can make overcome  "supernova cooling constraint" ( exotic particles like nutrinos  that cool as they take time to come to earth from supernova). Supernovae could be powerful laboratory models to hunt for new muonic physics, something that was not fully appreciated until now.

Robert Bollig et al. Muons in Supernovae: Implications for the Axion-Muon Coupling, Physical Review Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.051104

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-supernovae-enable-discovery-muonic-ph...

**Sulfur-scavenging bacteria could be key to making common component in plastic

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-sulfur-scavenging-bacteria-key-common...

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**Meteorite study suggests Earth may have been wet since it formed

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-meteorite-earth.html?utm_source=nwlet...

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soon, your car will park itself in urban garages

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-car-urban-garages.html?utm_sour...

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** Our energy hunger is tethered to our economic past: study

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-energy-hunger-tethered-economic.html?...

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**Increase in release of underground CO2 emissions in Italy tied to earthquakes

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-underground-co2-emissions-italy-tied....

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Hubble maps giant halo around Andromeda Galaxy

scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have mapped the immense envelope of gas, called a halo, surrounding the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor. Scientists were surprised to find that this tenuous, nearly invisible halo of diffuse plasma extends 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy—about halfway to our Milky Way—and as far as 2 million light-years in some directions. This means that Andromeda's halo is already bumping into the halo of our own galaxy.

They also found that the halo has a layered structure, with two main nested and distinct shells of gas.

Nicolas Lehner et al. Project AMIGA: The Circumgalactic Medium of Andromeda, The Astrophysical Journal (2020). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aba49c

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-hubble-giant-halo-andromeda-galaxy.ht...

How vitamin C could help over 50s retain muscle mass

Vitamin C could be the key to better muscles in later life—according to new research.

A study published recently  shows that older people who eat plenty of vitamin C—commonly found in citrus fruits, berries and vegetables—have the best skeletal muscle mass.

This is important because people tend to lose skeletal muscle mass as they get older—leading to sarcopenia (a condition characterised by loss of skeletal muscle mass and function), frailty, physical disability, type-2 diabetes, and reduced quality of life. Vitamin C consumption is linked with skeletal muscle mass. It helps defend the cells and tissues that make up the body from potentially harmful free radical substances. Unopposed these free radicals can contribute to the destruction of muscle, thus speeding up age-related decline. This study found people with the highest amounts of vitamin C in their diet or blood had the greatest estimated skeletal muscle mass, compared to those with the lowest amounts.

 'Lower dietary and circulating vitamin C in middle and older aged men and women are associated with lower estimated skeletal muscle mass' is published in the Journal of Nutrition on August 27, 2020.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-vitamin-50s-retain-muscle-ma...

Vitamin D deficiency and poor muscle function in the over-60s

 Research  that vitamin D deficiency is an important determinant of poor skeletal muscle function in adults aged 60 years and over. Maintaining skeletal muscle function throughout life is a crucial component of successful aging, in promoting independence, mobility, quality of life and reducing falls and frailty. While resistance exercise is known to preserve muscle function, there is growing evidence that adequate vitamin D status may also be protective.

• The prevalence of muscle weakness was twice as high among older adults with vitamin D deficiency (40.4 percent) compared with vitamin D adequacy (21.6 percent).
• Similarly, impaired "muscle performance" was three times higher in older adults with vitamin D deficiency (25.2 percent) compared with vitamin D adequacy (7.9 percent).
• Based on more complex statistical analysis, the study showed that vitamin D deficiency significantly increased the likelihood of impaired muscle strength and performance.
• The study confirmed the associated benefits of physical activity. Older adults partaking in regular moderate physical activity had significantly lower likelihood of poor muscle strength and physical performance.
• In summary, vitamin D deficiency was associated with impaired muscle strength and performance in a large study of community-dwelling older people.
• It is generally accepted that vitamin D deficiency (at the 25(OH)D <30 nmol/L cut-off) should be reversed to prevent bone disease, this strategy may also protect skeletal muscle function in ageing.

Niamh Aspell et al.

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Impaired Muscle Strength And Physical Performance In Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings From The English Longitudinal Study Of Ageing

, Clinical Interventions in Aging (2019). DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S222143

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-vitamin-d-deficiency-poor-mu...

Brain gain: Early stimulation gives mice life-long benefits

Mice that grow up in stimulating environments not only become smarter and more curious but are also more likely to develop individualized "personalities," a new study showed .

These behavioural differences become imprinted on their genomes and remain even when the rodents are put back in standard cages, indicating that early-life experiences can have long-lasting benefits to their brains.

Sara Zocher et al. Early-life environmental enrichment generates persistent individualized behavior in mice, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb1478

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-brain-gain-early-mice-life-long.html?...

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Study reveals how animals adapt between seasons

Scientists have discovered how a biological switch helps animals make the seasonal changes crucial for survival, such as growing a warm winter coat and adjusting body temperatures.

The findings reveal how the brain responds to short and long days to allow animals to adapt to changing conditions and governs vital behavior such as breeding cycles.

Researchers say the study in sheep could help explain the timings of seasonal adaptations in a number of species such as birds, reptiles and mammals.

The body's internal clock choreographs cycles in hormone levels and affects traits such as sleep and hunger. These alter over the course of the day—known as circadian rhythms —and are influenced by genetics.

Similar rhythms are also seen seasonally, but until now it was unclear how genes play a role in the biological changes that fluctuate between winter and summer.

this study found that 

found that one of two possible biological mechanisms is activated within the pituitary gland  depending on whether the day is long or short.

In summer when nights are long, the brain generates hormones that cause a cascade of gene activity leading to biological characteristics associated with summer.

When nights are short in winter, the switch is flipped—night-time hormones are released for longer, triggering biological processes linked to winter. The study found that in the sheep brain, both processes involve a circadian gene known as BMAL2, which is found in many animals but whose role in the seasonal clock was previously unknown.

S. H. Wood et al, Circadian clock mechanism driving mammalian photoperiodism, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18061-z

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-daylight-reveals-animals-seasons.html...

Ocean acidification causing coral 'osteoporosis' on iconic reefs

Scientists have long suspected that ocean acidification is affecting corals' ability to build their skeletons, but it has been challenging to isolate its effect from that of simultaneous warming ocean temperatures, which also influence coral growth. New research from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals the distinct impact that ocean acidification is having on coral growth on some of the world's iconic reefs.

Researchers show a significant reduction in the density of coral skeleton along much of the Great Barrier Reef—the world's largest coral reef system—and also on two reefs in the South China Sea, which they attribute largely to the increasing acidity of the waters surrounding these reefs since 1950.

This is the first unambiguous detection and attribution of 'ocean acidification's 'impact on coral growth.

Ocean Acidification has Impacted Coral Growth on the Great Barrier Reef. Geophysical Research Letters, doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086761

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ocean-acidification-coral-osteoporosi...

CRISPR treatment inserted directly into the body for first time

Demonstrating vortices as Brownian particles in turbulent flows

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-vortices-brownian-particles-turbulent...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Demonstrating-vortices...

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Fossil trees on Peru's Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental change

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-fossil-trees-peru-central-andean.html...

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New malaria transmission patterns emerge

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-malaria-transmission-pattern...

How cells can find their way through the human body

A team of researchers  has discovered how cells are able to travel so accurately through the human body

In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes a theory they developed to explain cell orienteering and how they tested it using mazes.

When the body is injured, such as being poked with a needle, the immune system responds by sending white blood cells to kill any bacteria that might be trying to enter through the wound. But how do the cells know how to find the wound? Prior research has shown that cells use chemicals in the body known as chemoattractants to navigate short distances. White blood cells can sense and move toward them—but it only works for short distances. In this new effort, the researchers found that cells can use such chemoattractants in a different way to navigate longer and more complicated pathways.

The researchers theorized that certain cells navigate by breaking down chemoattractants that are close to them. They then sense the degree to which the chemoattractants are replenished, and most importantly, in which direction. By noting the position of the new chemoattractants, they are able to move toward their desired destination. As an example, a white blood cell working its way to a wound upon finding a fork in the road would choose the path with the most or newest chemoattractants after it breaks them down in both directions.

Seeing around corners: Cells solve mazes and respond at a distance using attractant breakdown, Science  28 Aug 2020: Vol. 369, Issue 6507, eaay9792 , DOI: 10.1126/science.aay9792 , science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6507/eaay9792

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-cells-human-body.html?utm_source=nwle...

Energy firm says its nuclear-waste fueled diamond batteries could last thousands of years

These surreal claims are being made by a California-based battery company that says successful early test results recently competed on a nano-diamond battery brings them closer to realizing such claims.

The key to their revolutionary batteries is radioactive nuclear waste. There are massive quantities of leftover nuclear waste from nuclear plant facilities. Such waste is extremely toxic, lasts thousands of years and poses a challenge when it comes to disposing of it (burying and encasing it) safely.

The company, NDB, says it can safely utilize this waste to generate power in its nano diamond batteries. It can achieve this by processing graphite nuclear waste into a pure form and then converting it into diamonds. As the waste product enveloped by the diamond decays, it interacts with the carbon to generate a small electric current.

Depending on the power drain, the battery, which never needs recharging, would last for a user's lifetime, and beyond.

It could be used for common mobile devices, medical products, satellites and could provide energy in hard-to-reach locations or remote areas where routine maintenance would be difficult.

Good ideas …. nuclear-waste fueled diamond batteries that could last thousands of years

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-energy-firm-nuclear-waste-fuele...

Preventing infection, facilitating healing: New biomaterials from spider silk

New biomaterials developed by researchers eliminate risk of infection and facilitate healing processes.

A research team  has succeeded in combining these material properties which are highly relevant to biomedicine. These nanostructured materials are based on spider silk proteins. They prevent colonization by bacteria and fungi, but at the same time proactively assist in the regeneration of human tissue. They are therefore ideal for implants, wound dressings, prostheses, contact lenses, and other everyday aids.

Using biotechnologically produced spider silk proteins, they have developed a material that prevents the adhesion of pathogenic microbes. Even streptococci, resistant to multiple antibacterial agents (MRSA), have no chance of settling on the material surface. Biofilms growing on medical instruments, sports equipment, contact lenses, prostheses, and other everyday objects may therefore soon be history.

Moreover, the materials are designed to simultaneously aid the adhesion and proliferation of human cells on their surface. If they can be used for e.g. wound dressings, skin replacement, or implants, they proactively support the regeneration of damaged or lost tissue. 

 Sushma Kumari et al, Engineered spider silk-based 2D and 3D materials prevent microbial infestation, Materials Today (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2020.06.009

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-infection-biomaterials-spider-silk.ht...

Brain circuit activated by hunger makes starved fish fight for longer

Depriving a zebrafish of food for six days boosts its chances of winning a fight against a well-fed fish because starvation activates a certain pathway in its brain, neuroscientists have shown. This finding could well have implications for other animals and humans since the neural pathway is conserved across species.

In this  study by a research team has found that in 75% of fights, the hungry zebrafish emerges as the victor!

In an earlier study, the team had discovered that a zebrafish would tend to win fights when a specific pathway originating in a brain structure called the habenula was activated, whereas it would have a propensity to lose fights if another pathway in the same region was activated.

There is logic to this finding. Hungry fish are more motivated to obtain food And since winners of fights secure more resources such as food, it makes sense that starved fish try harder to win fights.

Hunger may cause similar effects in people too.

hunger activated the winner pathway in the habenula via a neuropeptide called orexin. Orexin is well known for its role in regulating sleep and appetite, but it had not previously been implicated with social behaviors such as fighting. It was also the first time that orexin has been shown to regulate the expression of specific genes.

Haruna Nakajo et al. Hunger Potentiates the Habenular Winner Pathway for Social Conflict by Orexin-Promoted Biased Alternative Splicing of the AMPA Receptor Gene, Cell Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107790

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-brain-circuit-hunger-starved-fish.htm...

Screening of the effects of a pathogenic fungus

The pathogenic fungus Candida auris, which first surfaced in 2009, is proving challenging to control. It is resistant to many fungicides and not easy to diagnose. Researchers now have discovered that the human immune system recognizes the fungus well. However, the fungus is especially dangerous for people with compromised immunity. The study has been able to pin-point the fungus' Achilles heel for new, effective drugs. 

n 2009, an unknown fungus was discovered in the infected ear of a seventy-year-old Japanese woman; this was called Candida auris. Where C. auris suddenly came from was not clear, but soon after that, different strains appeared all over the world. It turned out to be a persistent, difficult to control fungus, which was also usually resistant to fungicides.

A careful study of the human immune response to the C auris infection demonstrated that specific components of the cell wall of the fungus play an essential role in this recognition. These are unique structures that you do not encounter with other fungi. Those specific chemical structures stimulate the immune system enough to take action and clear the fungus.

Mariolina Bruno et al, Transcriptional and functional insights into the host immune response against the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris, Nature Microbiology (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-020-0780-3

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-international-screening-effects-patho...

Medial prefrontal cortex regions involved when the brain decides whether to continue a behavior or change it

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-medial-prefrontal-cortex-reg...

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Zika Infection Increases Risk of Severe Dengue Fever

A study of Nicaraguan children links prior Zika virus infection with aggravated dengue fever symptoms.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/zika-infection-increases...

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 Modeling Study Flags Species Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

Some critically endangered animals are on the list.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/modeling-study-flags-spe...

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The First-Ever Quantum Simulation of a Chemical Reaction

https://www.sciencealert.com/google-claims-the-first-ever-simulatio...

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 Can Vaccines for Wildlife Prevent Human Pandemics?

Four things you need to know about hurricanes

How Birds Evolved Their Incredible Diversity

An analysis of 391 skulls shows that birds evolved surprisingly slowly, compared with their dinosaur forerunners

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-birds-evolved-their-...

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Sex differences in COVID-19 immune responses affect patient outcomes

When comparing male and female patients, the researchers found key differences in the immune response during the early phases of infection. These differences included higher levels for men of several types of inflammatory proteins called cytokines, including two known as IL-8 and IL-18. Cytokines are deployed as part of the body’s innate immune reaction. This is a first general counterattack to invading pathogens, in which immune cells are called to the site of an infection, creating inflammation of the affected tissue as a physical barrier against the invading pathogen to promote healing.

However, in severe cases of COVID-19, an excessive buildup of cytokines, referred to as a “cytokine storm,” causes fluid to build up in the lungs, depriving the body of oxygen and potentially leading to shock, tissue damage, and multiple organ failure. The earlier higher concentrations of cytokines in men make these outcomes more likely.

In contrast, the researchers found that female patients had more robust activation than men of T-cells, white blood cells of the adaptive immune system that can recognize individual invading viruses and eliminate them.

Observations of patients over time revealed that poor T-cell responses in men led to worsening of the disease. When female patients had highly elevated innate cytokine levels, they too did worse. In addition, older men — but not older women — were observed to have significantly worse T-cell responses than younger patients.

Based on these findings, the researchers suggest exploring therapeutic interventions and vaccine strategies that elevate T-cell immune response to the virus in male patients and that dampen innate immune activation during early stages of the disease in female patients.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2700-3

https://researchnews.cc/news/2239/Sex-differences-in-COVID-19-immun...

Microbes Living Deep Below Earth's Surface Could Be Remnants of Ancient Life Forms

There's an enormous variety of life thriving deep beneath Earth's surface. A new analysis of two major groups of subsurface microbes has now revealed that their evolutionary path to life in the dark has been more curious than we expected.

In our planet's first 2 billion years of existence, there was no oxygen in the atmosphere. Once the air on our blue planet changed, not all life forms adapted, with many microbes retreating into less oxygenated parts of the planet.

Patescibacteria and DPANN are two ubiquitous groups of such subsurface microbes - bacteria and archaea, respectively - that appear to have very simple genomes. This has led many to suspect that without the ability to breathe oxygen, these microbes might need to rely on complex interactions with other organisms to supplement their simple lifestyles. 

Now, it seems we may not be giving them enough credit. New research indicates that instead of having a symbiotic dependency on other major groups of organisms, most Patescibacteria and DPANN live as completely free cells. 

These microbes [..] are really special, really exciting examples of the early evolution of life.

They may be remnants of ancient forms of life that had been hiding and thriving in the Earth's subsurface for billions of years

https://www.sciencealert.com/these-two-groups-of-microbes-can-t-bre...

Physicists Just Found a New Quantum Paradox That Casts Doubt on a Pillar of Reality

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Perhaps not, some say.

And if someone is there to hear it? If you think that means it obviously did make a sound, you might need to revise that opinion.

Research shows stimulating tuft cell production reverses intestinal inflammation

Researchers for the first time been able to trigger the specific immune system response required to reverse the course of small intestinal inflammation by inducing production of tuft cells, very rare epithelial cells that sense and respond to parasites. The breakthrough has the potential to provide Crohn’s disease and inflammatory bowel disease patients a safe alternative to what’s known as helminthic therapy, wherein parasitic organisms are introduced to the body to stimulate an immune response and calm inflammation.

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2020/08/28/vanderbilt-research-shows-st...

https://researchnews.cc/news/2247/Vanderbilt-research-shows-stimula...

Crabs Shell Exchange:

As a hermit crab grows its shell becomes a tighter fit so eventually the crabs need to move into a bigger one, leading to an amazing exchange. Watch how this happens ….

An infant with caudal appendage (tail)

There are several human atavisms that reflect our common genetic heritage with other mammals. One of the most striking is the existence of the rare ‘true human tail’. It is a rare event with fewer than 40 cases reported in the literature. The authors report a case of an infant born with the true tail. A 3-month-old baby girl, presented with an 11 cm long tail, which was successfully surgically removed. Human embryos normally have a prenatal tail, which disappears in the course of embryogenesis by programmed cell death. Recent advances in genetic research reveal that ‘of those organs lost, in evolution, most species carry ‘genetic blue prints’. Thus, rarely the appearance of ancient organs like tail may be the result of re-expression of these switched off gene.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339178/

https://biologydictionary.net/vestigial-structures/#:~:text=Vestigi....