Study highlights the role of astrocytes in the formation of remote memories

Memories from a distant past, also known as remote memories, can guide the present and future behavior of humans and other living organisms on Earth. In psychology and neuroscience, the term "remote memories" refers to all memories related to events that took place from a few weeks to decades in the past.

Earlier studies have explored the neural underpinnings of remote memories or tried to identify brain  regions that could be involved in how they are formed and maintained over time. So far, most findings have suggested that the interaction between the hippocampus and frontal cortical brain regions plays a key role in the consolidation of these memories.

Past observations suggest that the interaction between these brain regions changes as time goes by and as memories go from being recent (i.e., a few years old) to remote. The exact time when these brain regions become involved in the formation of a memory and for how long they remain important to its endurance, however, is still poorly understood.

Astrocytes are star-shaped cells that are known to have several functions, including the regulation of the metabolism, detoxification, tissue repair and providing nutrients to neurons. Recent studies have found that these cells can also change synaptic activity in the brain, thus impacting neuronal circuits at multiple levels.

A number of new observations that shed light on the unique contribution of these cells in enabling the formation of remote memories in mice, and potentially also humans have been made now. They provide further evidence that astrocytes can shape neuronal networks in intricate ways and affect many cognitive functions, including the acquisition of remote memories.

Adi Kol et al. Astrocytes contribute to remote memory formation by modulating hippocampal–cortical communication during learning, Nature Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0679-6

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-highlights-role-astrocytes-f...

A lack of oxygen in tumors promotes metastasis

Metastases are formed by cancer cells that break away from the primary tumor. A research group at the University of Basel has now identified lack of oxygen as the trigger for this process. The results reveal an important relationship between the oxygen supply to tumors and the formation of metastases. This research may open up new treatment strategies for cancer.

The chances of recovery significantly worsen when a tumor metastasizes. Previous research has shown that metastases are formed by clusters of cancer cells that separate from the primary tumor and migrate to new tissue through the bloodstream. However, thus far little has been known about why these clusters of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) leave the tumor in the first place.

It has been shown now   that a lack of oxygen is responsible for the separation of CTC clusters from the tumor. This is an important starting point for the development of new cancer treatments.

It turned out that different areas of a tumor are supplied with different levels of oxygen: cancer cells with a lack of oxygen were found wherever the tumor had comparatively fewer blood vessels—in the core of the tumor as well as in clearly defined peripheral areas. Next, the research team investigated the CTC clusters that had separated from these tumors and found that they similarly suffered from a lack of oxygen. This led to the conclusion that cells leave the tumor if they do not receive enough oxygen. "It's as though too many people are crowded together in a small space. A few will go outside to find some fresh air.

Further experiments showed that these CTC clusters with a lack of oxygen are particularly dangerous: in comparison to clusters with normal oxygen content, they formed metastases faster and shortened the mice's survival time. "If a tumor does not have enough oxygen, these CTC clusters, which have a particularly high potential to develop metastases, will break away.

This insight led the researchers to take a closer look at the effect of what is called proangiogenic treatment: they stimulated the formation of blood vessels, thus boosting the supply of oxygen to the tumor cells. As expected, the number of separating CTC clusters dropped, the mice formed fewer metastases, and they lived longer—but at the same time, the primary tumor increased in size significantly.

 Cell Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108105

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-lack-oxygen-tumors-metastasi...

No signs of alien technology in 10 million star systems

A radio telescope in outback Western Australia has completed the deepest and broadest search at low frequencies for alien technologies, scanning a patch of sky known to include at least 10 million stars.

Astronomers used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA)telescope to explore hundreds of times more broadly than any previous search for extraterrestrial life.

The study, published  recently observed the sky around the Vela constellation. But in this part of the Universe at least, it appears other civilisations are elusive, if they exist.   The telescope was searching for powerful radio emissions at frequencies similar to FM radio frequencies, that could indicate the presence of an intelligent source.

These possible emissions are known as 'technosignatures'. With this dataset, the study found no technosignatures—no sign of intelligent life.

''A SETI Survey of the Vela Region using the Murchison Widefield Array: Orders of Magnitude Expansion in Search Space', published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA)  on September 8th, 2020. arxiv.org/pdf/2009.03267.pdf

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-australian-telescope-alien-technology...

High Blood Pressure And Diabetes Could Alter Brain Structure, Slowing Down Cognition

https://www.sciencealert.com/study-suggests-diabetes-and-high-blood...

--

Terahertz receiver for 6G wireless communications

Future wireless networks of the 6th generation (6G) will consist of a multitude of small radio cells that need to be connected by broadband communication links. In this context, wireless transmission at THz frequencies represents a particularly attractive and flexible solution. Researchers have now developed a novel concept for low-cost terahertz receivers.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200908122517.htm

Wringing out Water on the ISS - for Science!

Massive halo finally explains stream of gas swirling around the Milky Way

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-massive-halo-stream-gas-swirling.html...

--

Physicists explain mysterious dark matter deficiency in galaxy pair

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-physicists-mysterious-dark-deficiency...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Massive-halo-finally-e...; --check  %%%%

----

 A gold nanoparticle nearly cloaked by a single molecule

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-gold-nanoparticle-cloaked-molecule.ht...

--

New Hubble data suggests there is an ingredient missing from current dark matter theories

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-hubble-ingredient-current-dark-theori...

--

Engineered 'nanobodies' block SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells

Researchers have designed a molecule that sticks tightly to the coronavirus spike protein, preventing the virus from infecting cells. The molecule might someday be used in an aerosolized drug to treat or prevent COVID-19. It's modeled after the simple, compact antibodies found in some animals such as llamas, alpacas, and camels.

Immune cells produce antibodies in response to infection, but it takes time for that response to develop. Lab-made antibodies could knock a virus out before it gains a foothold.

Michael Schoof et al. An ultra-potent synthetic nanobody neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by locking Spike into an inactive conformation, (2020). DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.08.238469

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-nanobodies-block-sars-cov-infecting-h...

How hydrogen becomes a metal inside giant planets

Dense metallic hydrogen—a phase of hydrogen which behaves like an electrical conductor—makes up the interior of giant planets. By combining artificial intelligence and quantum mechanics, researchers now have found how hydrogen becomes a metal under the extreme pressure conditions of these planets.

Researchers used machine learning to mimic the interactions between hydrogen atoms in order to overcome the size and timescale limitations of even the most powerful supercomputers. They found that instead of happening as a sudden, or first-order, transition, the hydrogen changes in a smooth and gradual way.

Hydrogen, consisting of one proton and one electron, is both the simplest and the most abundant element in the Universe. It is the dominant component of the interior of the giant planets in our solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—as well as exoplanets orbiting other stars.

At the surfaces of giant planets, hydrogen remains a molecular gas. Moving deeper into the interiors of giant planets however, the pressure exceeds millions of standard atmospheres. Under this extreme compression, hydrogen undergoes a phase transition: the covalent bonds inside hydrogen molecules break, and the gas becomes a metal that conducts electricity.

 Evidence for supercritical behaviour of high-pressure liquid hydrogen, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2677-y , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2677-y

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-ai-hydrogen-metal-giant-planets.html?...

Gene activation discovery

Human genes spring into action through instructions delivered by the precise order of our DNA, directed by the four different types of individual links, or "bases," coded A, C, G and T.

Nearly 25% of our genes are widely known to be transcribed by sequences that resemble TATAAA, which is called the "TATA box." How the other three-quarters are turned on, or promoted, has remained a mystery due to the enormous number of DNA base sequence possibilities, which has kept the activation information shrouded.

Now, with the help of artificial intelligence, researchers have identified a DNA activation code that's used at least as frequently as the TATA box in humans. Their discovery, which they termed the downstream core promoter region (DPR), could eventually be used to control gene activation in biotechnology and biomedical applications.

The researchers made a pool of 500,000 random versions of DNA sequences and evaluated the DPR activity of each. From there, 200,000 versions were used to create a machine learning model that could accurately predict DPR activity in human DNA.

These results clearly revealed the existence of the DPR motif in human genes. Moreover, the frequency of occurrence of the DPR appears to be comparable to that of the TATA box. In addition, they observed an intriguing duality between the DPR and TATA. Genes that are activated with TATA box sequences lack DPR sequences, and vice versa.

Identification of the human DPR core promoter element using machine learning, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2689-7 , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2689-7

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-machine-aids-gene-discovery.html?utm_...

Sound waves replace human hands in petri dish experiments

Mechanical engineers  have demonstrated a set of prototypes for manipulating particles and cells in a Petri dish using sound waves. The devices, known in the scientific community as "acoustic tweezers," are the first foray into making these types of tools, which have thus far been relegated to laboratories with specific equipment and expertise, available for use in a wide array of settings.

Acoustic tweezers are a powerful, versatile set of tools that use sound waves to manipulate bioparticles ranging from nanometer-sized extracellular vesicles to millimeter-sized multicellular organisms. Over the past several decades, the capabilities of acoustic tweezers have expanded from simplistic particle trapping to the precise rotation and translation of cells and organisms in three dimensions.

"Generating multifunctional acoustic tweezers in Petri dishes for contactless, precise manipulation of bioparticles" Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb0494

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-human-petri-dish.html?utm_source=nwle...

Nobel prize-winning economics of climate change is misleading and dangerous – here’s why

https://theconversation.com/nobel-prize-winning-economics-of-climat...

--

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-australia-environmental-scientists-si...

How Australia's environmental scientists are being silenced

https://theconversation.com/research-reveals-shocking-detail-on-how...

--

How Bermuda Triangle became a mystery ....

https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-the-bermuda-triang...

--

Nine mistakes we make about the pandemic

From false dichotomies — save lives or save the economy? — to the ‘prevention paradox’ that breeds complacency when public-health measures work, many of us suffer from conceptual errors when it comes to coronavirus.

--

Space Could Be Littered With Eerie Transparent Stars Made Entirely of Bosons

https://www.sciencealert.com/there-could-be-transparent-stars-made-...

The Most Common Pain Relief Drug in The World Induces Risky Behaviour, Study Suggests

Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol and sold widely under the brand names Tylenol and Panadol, also increases risk-taking, according to a new study that measured changes in people's behaviour when under the influence of the common over-the-counter medication.

https://academic.oup.com/scan/advance-article/doi/10.1093/scan/nsaa...

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-most-common-pain-relief-drug-in-th...

--

Researchers document the 'life cycle' of a volcano

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-document-life-volcano.html?utm_source...

--

German study highlights carbon footprint of video streaming

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-german-highlights-carbon-footprint-vi...

Quirky response to magnetism presents quantum physics mystery

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-quirky-response-magnetism-quantum-phy...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Quirky-response-to-mag...    - check %%

--

Researchers reveal a much richer picture of the past with new DNA recovery technique

Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new technique to tease ancient DNA from soil, pulling the genomes of hundreds of animals and thousands of plants—many of them long extinct—from less than a gram of sediment.

The DNA extraction method, outlined in the journal Quarternary Research, allows scientists to reconstruct the most advanced picture ever of environments that existed thousands of years ago.

The researchers analyzed permafrost samples from four sites in the Yukon, each representing different points in the Pleistocene-Halocene transition, which occurred approximately 11,000 years ago.

This transition featured the extinction of a large number of animal species such as mammoths, mastodons and ground sloths, and the new process has yielded some surprising new information about the way events unfolded, say the researchers.

Tyler J. Murchie et al, Optimizing extraction and targeted capture of ancient environmental DNA for reconstructing past environments using the PalaeoChip Arctic-1.0 bait-set, Quaternary Research (2020). DOI: 10.1017/qua.2020.59

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-reveal-richer-picture-dna-recovery.ht...

At least 28 extinctions prevented by conservation action in recent decades

Conservation action has prevented the global extinction of at least 28 bird and mammal species since 1993, a study  has shown.

The species include Puerto Rican Amazon Amazona vittata, Przewalski's Horse Equus ferus, Alagoas Antwren Myrmotherula snowi, Iberian Lynx Lynx pardinus, and Black Stilt Himantopus novaezelandiae, among others.

an international team of scientists have estimated the number of bird and mammal species that would have disappeared forever without the efforts of conservationists in recent decades.

The researchers found that 21-32 bird and 7-16 mammal species extinctions have been prevented since 1993, with the ranges reflecting the uncertainty inherent in estimating what might have happened under hypothetical circumstances.

Bolam, F.C, Mair, L., Angelico, M., Brooks, T.M, Burgman, M., McGowan, P. J. K & Hermes, C. et al. (2020). How many bird and mammal extinctions has recent conservation action prevented? Conservation Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1111/conl.12762

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-extinctions-action-decades.html?utm_s...

Study finds humans are behind costly, increasing risk of wildfire to millions of homes

People are starting almost all the wildfires that threaten U.S. homes, according to an innovative new analysis combining housing and wildfire data. Through activities like debris burning, equipment use and arson, humans were responsible for igniting 97% of home-threatening wildfires, a University of Colorado Boulder-led team reported this week in the journal Fire.

Nathan Mietkiewicz et al, In the Line of Fire: Consequences of Human-Ignited Wildfires to Homes in the U.S. (1992–2015), Fire (2020). DOI: 10.3390/fire3030050

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-humans-costly-wildfire-millions-homes...

Big 'particle accelerator' in the sky!

The Earth's magnetic field traps high-energy particles. When the first satellites were launched into space, scientists led by James Van Allen unexpectedly discovered the high-energy particle radiation regions, which were later named after its discoverer: the Van Allen Radiation Belts. Visualized, these look like two donut-shaped regions encompassing the planet.

Now, a new study led by researchers from GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences shows that electrons in the radiation belts can be accelerated to very high speeds locally. The study shows that magnetosphere works as a very efficient particle accelerator, speeding up electrons to so-called ultra-relativistic energies.

To better understand the origin of the Van Allen Belts, in 2012, NASA launched the Van Allen Probes twin spacecraft to traverse this most harsh environment and conduct detailed measurements in this hazardous region. The measurements included a full range of particles moving at different speeds and in different directions, and plasma waves. Plasma waves are similar to the waves that we see on the water surface, but are invisible to the naked eye. They can be compared to ripples in the electric and magnetic field.

Recent observations revealed that the energy of electrons in the belts can go up to so called ultra-relativistic energies. These electrons, with temperatures above 100 billion degrees Fahrenheit, move so quickly that their energy of motion is much higher than their energy of rest given by Einstein's famous formula E=mc². They are so fast that the time significantly slows down for these particles.

Scientists were surprised to find these ultra-relativistic electrons and assumed that such high energies can be only reached by a combination of two processes: the inward transport of particles from the outer regions of the magnetosphere, which accelerates them, and a local acceleration of particles by plasma waves.

However, the new study shows that electrons reach such incredible energies locally, in the heart of the belts, by taking all this energy from plasma waves. This process turns out to be extremely efficient. The unexpected discovery of how acceleration of particles to ultra-relativistic energies operates in the near-Earth space may help scientists understand the fundamental processes of acceleration on the sun, near outer planets, and even in the distant corners of the universe, where space probes cannot reach.

Hayley Allison, Yuri Shprits: "Local heating of radiation belt electrons to ultra-relativistic energies" Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18053-z

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-giant-particle-sky.html?utm_source=nw...

The Astounding Fact About The Universe - Neil Degrasse Tyson

"Using noise to fight noise": 

Sick of city din? Try 'noise-cancelling headphones' for your flat

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-09-sick-city-din-noise-cancelling-...

--

5 ways our immune responses to COVID vaccines are unique

https://theconversation.com/5-ways-our-immune-responses-to-covid-va...

--

Carbon-rich exoplanets may be made of diamonds

When stars and planets are formed, they do so from the same cloud of gas, so their bulk compositions are similar. A star with a lower carbon to oxygen ratio will have planets like Earth, comprised of silicates and oxides with a very small diamond content (Earth's diamond content is about 0.001%).

But exoplanets around stars with a higher carbon to oxygen ratio than our sun are more likely to be carbon-rich.Researchers hypothesized that these carbon-rich exoplanets could convert to diamond and silicate, if water (which is abundant in the universe) were present, creating a diamond-rich composition.

H. Allen-Sutter et al, Oxidation of the Interiors of Carbide Exoplanets, The Planetary Science Journal (2020). DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/abaa3e

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-carbon-rich-exoplanets-diamonds.html?...

--

Terroir: can a crop’s environment shape a food’s smell and taste? Scientists explore whether terroir leaves a lasting imprint

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/terroir-food-crops-environment-...

--

More than 90% of protected areas are disconnected

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-areas-disconnected.html?utm_source=nw...

--

To repair a damaged heart, three cells are better than one

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-heart-cells.html?utm_source=...

Infection higher in hospital cleaners than ICU staff: report

Intensive care medics were significantly less likely to have been infected with COVID-19 than cleaners and other healthcare workers in departments deemed lower risk, according to a study of several British hospitals at the peak of the pandemic.

The research also found that people of black, Asian and minority ethnicity were nearly twice as likely to have been infected as white colleagues.

It follows several studies suggesting race, income and allocation of personal protective equipment (PPE) create biases in the burden of infections.

Researchers said the results could be because those working in intensive therapy units (ITU) were prioritised for the highest level of masks and other equipment.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and asymptomatic viral carriage in healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study, Thorax (2020). DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215414

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-infection-higher-hospital-cl...

Researchers quantify worldwide loss of phosphorus due to soil erosion for the first time

Phosphorus is essential for agriculture, yet this important plant nutrient is increasingly being lost from soils around the world. The primary cause is soil erosion, reports an international research team.

The world's food production depends directly on phosphorus. However, this plant nutrient is not unlimited, originating from finite geological reserves.

Erosion flushes mineral-bound phosphorus out of agricultural soils into wetlands and water bodies, where the excess of nutrients (called eutrophication) harms the aquatic plant and animal communities. The researchers were able to validate their calculations using globally published measurement data on phosphorus content in rivers: The elevated phosphorus content in waters mirrors the calculated loss of phosphorus in the soil in the respective region.

Mineral fertilizers can replace the lost phosphorus in the fields, but not all countries are equally able to use them.

 Christine Alewell et al. Global phosphorus shortage will be aggravated by soil erosion, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18326-7

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-quantify-worldwide-loss-phosphorus-du...

https://www.livescience.com/65117-do-elephant-tusks-or-rhino-horns-....

Computational modelling explains why blues and greens are brightest colous in nature

Researchers have shown why intense, pure red colors in nature are mainly produced by pigments, instead of the structural color that produces bright blue and green hues.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used a numerical experiment to determine the limits of matt structural color—a phenomenon which is responsible for some of the most intense colors in nature—and found that it extends only as far as blue and green in the visible spectrum. The results, published in PNAS, could be useful in the development of non-toxic paints or coatings with intense color that never fades.

Structural color, which is seen in some bird feathers, butterfly wings or insects, is not caused by pigments or dyes, but internal structure alone. The appearance of the color, whether matt or iridescent, will depending on how the structures are arranged at the nanoscale.

Ordered, or crystalline, structures result in iridescent colors, which change when viewed from different angles. Disordered, or correlated, structures result in angle-independent matt colors, which look the same from any viewing angle. Since structural color does not fade, these angle-independent matt colors would be highly useful for applications such as paints or coatings, where metallic effects are not wanted.

In addition to their intensity and resistance to fading, a matt paint which uses structural color would also be far more environmentally-friendly, as toxic dyes and pigments would not be needed.

Gianni Jacucci et al, The limitations of extending nature's color palette in correlated, disordered systems, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2010486117

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-blues-greens-brightest-colous-nature....

How plants ensure regular seed spacing

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-regular-seed-spacing.html?utm_source=...

--

Could there be a form of life inside stars?

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-life-stars.html?utm_source=nwletter&a...

--

Wildlife in 'catastrophic decline' due to human destruction, scientists warn

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54091048?utm_source=Na...

--

The Science Behind Mysterious Orange Skies 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2020/09/10/the-scienc...

--

Dark matter clumps in galaxy clusters bend light surprisingly well

Not only is the mysterious substance invisible, but it’s also not all where we thought it was

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dark-matter-clumps-galaxy-clust...

Halving the risk of infection following surgery

Surgeons could dramatically reduce the risk of infection after an operation by simply changing the antiseptic they use.

New analysis by the University of Leeds and the University of Bern of more than 14,000 operations has found that using alcoholic chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) halves the risk of infection in certain types of surgery when compared to the more commonly used povidone-iodine (PVI).

Infection after surgery could result in a range of issues including readmission to hospital and possibly further surgery.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uol-htr091120.php

Filtering out toxic chromium from water

What We Don't Know About Parasites in Our Changing World Could Be Deadly

https://www.sciencealert.com/what-we-don-t-know-about-parasites-in-...

--

Robot takes contact-free measurements of patients' vital signs

Opening eyes to a frontier in vision restoration

researchers have developed miniaturised, wireless electronic implants that sit on the surface of the brain and have the capacity to restore vision.

--

Living Planet report reveals 68% decline in global wildlife populat...

The WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020 presents a comprehensive overview of the state of our natural world as captured by the Living Planet Index (LPI). Almost 21,000 populations of over 4,000 vertebrate species were tracked between 1970 and 2016, with contributions from over 125 experts from around the world.

The Living Planet Report 2020 underlines how humanity’s increasing destruction of nature is having catastrophic impacts not only on wildlife populations, but on human health and all aspects of our lives.

--

There’s no evidence that blue-light blocking glasses help with sleep

https://theconversation.com/theres-no-evidence-that-blue-light-bloc...

--

The Fate of Schrödinger's Cat Probably Isn't in The Hands of Gravity, Experiment Finds

https://www.sciencealert.com/new-experiment-shows-the-fate-of-schro...

Math Shows How Famed Indus Valley Civilization May Have Been Toppled by Climate Change

There are competing hypotheses around the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization in South Asia some 3,000 years ago, but a new mathematical proof has identified that climate change could have been responsible.

Mathematical scientist Nishant Malik from the Rochester Institute of Technology crunched the numbers and found new evidence to back up the idea that shifting monsoon seasons and increasing drought might have helped bring about the collapse of the Bronze Age empire.

By analysing the presence of a particular isotope in stalagmites in a North Indian cave – which should reveal the amount of water that fell as rain over time – scientists have previously been able to estimate monsoon rainfall in the region over the past 5,700 years.

In the new research, Malik was able to identify patterns in this data showing a major shift in monsoon patterns as the civilization began to rise, and then a reverse shift that matched its decline.

New fossil ape is discovered in India

A 13-million-year-old fossil unearthed in northern India comes from a newly discovered ape, the earliest known ancestor of the modern-day gibbon. The discovery  fills a major void in the ape fossil record and provides important new evidence about when the ancestors of today's gibbon migrated to Asia from Africa. This discovery fills major gaps in the hominoid fossil record.

The fossil, a complete lower molar, belongs to a previously unknown genus and species (Kapi ramnagarensis) and represents the first new fossil ape species discovered at the famous fossil site of Ramnagar, India, in nearly a century.

New Middle Miocene Ape (Primates: Hylobatidae) from Ramnagar, India Fills Major Gaps in the Hominoid Fossil Record, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2020). rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or … .1098/rspb.2020.1655

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-fossil-ape-india.html?utm_source=nwle...

Ancient volcanoes once boosted ocean carbon, but humans are now far outpacing them

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-ancient-volcanoes-boosted-ocean-carbo...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Ancient-volcanoes-once...;  - check%%

--

Gene-edited livestock 'surrogate sires' successfully made fertile

For the first time, scientists have created pigs, goats and cattle that can serve as viable "surrogate sires," male animals that produce sperm carrying only the genetic traits of donor animals.

could speed the spread of desirable characteristics in livestock and improve food production for a growing global population. It also would enable breeders in remote regions better access to genetic material of elite animals from other parts of the world and allow more precision breeding in animals such as goats where using artificial insemination is difficult.

 Michela Ciccarelli el al., "Donor-derived spermatogenesis following stem cell transplantation in sterile NANOS2 knockout males," PNAS (2020). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2010102117

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-gene-edited-livestock-surrogate-sires...

Hints of life on Venus: Scientists detect phosphine molecules in high cloud decks

An international team of astronomers yesterday (14th sept., 2020) announced the discovery of a rare molecule—phosphine—in the clouds of Venus. On Earth, this gas is only made industrially, or by microbes that thrive in oxygen-free environments.

Astronomers have speculated for decades that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for microbes—floating free of the scorching surface, but still needing to tolerate very high acidity. The detection of phosphine molecules, which consist of hydrogen and phosphorus, could point to this extra-terrestrial 'aerial' life.

To create the observed quantity of phosphine on Venus, terrestrial organisms would only need to work at about 10% of their maximum productivity.

Greaves, J.S., Richards, A.M.S., Bains, W. et al. Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus. Nat Astron (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-1174-4

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-hints-life-venus-scientists-phosphine...

--

Collective quantum effect: When electrons keep together

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-quantum-effect-electrons.html?utm_sou...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/Collective-quantum-eff...; - check%%

Animals' magnetic 'sixth' sense may come from bacteria, new paper suggests

Scientists hypothesis to the Q why some animals have a magnetic 'sixth' sense, such as sea turtles' ability to return to the beach where they were born: the magnetic sense comes from a symbiotic relationship with magnetotactic bacteria.

Magnetotactic bacteria are a special type of bacteria whose movement is influenced by magnetic fields, including the Earth's.

Animals that sense Earth's magnetic field include sea turtles, birds, fish and lobsters. Sea turtles, for example, can use the ability for navigation to return to the beach where they were born.

Learning how organisms interact with magnetic fields can improve humans' understanding of how to use Earth's magnetic fields for their own navigation purposes. It can also inform ecological research into the effects of human modifications of the magnetic environment, such as constructing power lines, on biodiversity. Research into the interaction of animals with magnetic fields can also aid the development of therapies that use magnetism for drug delivery.

In the article, the researchers review the arguments for and against the hypothesis, present evidence published in support that has arisen in the past few years, as well as offer new supportive evidence of their own.

Their new evidence comes from microbes ( Metagenomic Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology database), the magnetotactic bacteria that had been found in animal samples. Scientists found for the first time, that magnetotactic bacteria are associated with many animals, including a penguin species, loggerhead sea turtles, bats and Atlantic right whales.

the hypothesis that animals use magnetic bacteria in a symbiotic way to gain a magnetic sense warrants further exploration but still needs more evidence before anything conclusive can be stated.

Eviatar Natan et al, Symbiotic magnetic sensing: raising evidence and beyond, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0595

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-animals-magnetic-sixth-bacteria-paper...

Bioactive nano-capsules to hijack cell behaviour to treat diseases

Many diseases are caused by defects in signaling pathways of body cells. In the future, bioactive nanocapsules could become a valuable tool for medicine to control these pathways. Researchers have taken an important step in this direction: They succeed in having several different nanocapsules work in tandem to amplify a natural signaling cascade and influence cell behaviour.

Andrea Belluati et al, Bioactive Catalytic Nanocompartments Integrated into Cell Physiology and Their Amplification of a Native Signaling Cascade, ACS Nano (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c05574

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-bioactive-nano-capsules-hijack-cell-b...

Boron nitride nanofilms might replace antibiotics for protection against bacterial and fungal infections

Material scientists have presented antibacterial nano-coatings based on boron nitride, which are highly effective against microbial pathogens (up to 99.99%). They can become a safe alternative to the usual antibiotics in implantology since they do not have typical negative side effects.

Due to the significant increase in the number of surgical procedures around the world, scientists are addressing the problem of microbial infections caused by implants. It is especially serious during orthopedic and dental operations. It is no secret that concomitant drug therapy for inflammation around implants often leads to side effects due to the characteristic properties of the antibiotics, as well as the required high doses.

A group of  scientists from  has proposed a non-standard solution to the problem by investigating the interaction of antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E.coli) and a nanofilm consisting of a structured boron nitride surface. It turned out that such a coating inactivates 100% of bacterial cells after 24 hours.

Kristina Y. Gudz et al. Pristine and Antibiotic-Loaded Nanosheets/Nanoneedles-Based Boron Nitride Films as a Promising Platform to Suppress Bacterial and Fungal Infections, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c10169

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-boron-nitride-nanofilms-antibiotics-b...

Physicists 'trick' photons into behaving like electrons using a 'synthetic' magnetic field

Scientists have discovered an elegant way of manipulating light using a 'synthetic' Lorentz force—which in nature is responsible for many fascinating phenomena including the Aurora Borealis.

A team of theoretical physicists from the University of Exeter has pioneered a new technique to create tuneable artificial magnetic fields, which enable photons to mimic the dynamics of charged particles in real magnetic fields.

The team believe the new research, published in leading journal Nature Photonics, could have important implications for future photonic devices as it provides a novel way of manipulating light below the diffraction limit.

 Mann, C., Horsley, S.A.R. & Mariani, E. Tunable pseudo-magnetic fields for polaritons in strained metasurfaces. Nat. Photonics (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-0688-8 , www.nature.com/articles/s41566-020-0688-8

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-physicists-photons-electrons-syntheti...

Big answers from tiny particles

A team of scientists led by Kanazawa University proposed a new mathematical framework to understand the properties of the fundamental particles called neutrinos. This work may help cosmologists make progress on the apparent paradox of the existence of matter in the Universe.

Mayumi Aoki et al, Probing charged lepton number violation via ℓ±ℓ′±W∓W∓, Physical Review D (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.101.115019

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-big-tiny-particles.html?utm_source=nw...

--

 The consequences of spraying fire retardants on wildfires

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-consequences-retardants-wildfires.htm...

--

COVID-19 isn’t the only infectious disease scientists are trying to find a vaccine for. Here are 3 others

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-isnt-the-only-infectious-disea...

Blood Replacement Rescues Mice from Stroke Damage

When mice that had suffered a stroke were given blood from a healthy donor, they experienced less tissue and neurological damage.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/blood-replacement-rescue...

Researchers have partially mitigated the effects of an ischemic stroke in mice simply by replacing a small amount of their blood with that of a healthy donor. Days after receiving the transplant, mice had less tissue damage surrounding the clot and suffered fewer neurological side effects compared to mice that had not received a blood infusion. 

The results, published August 25 in Nature Communications, highlight the link between strokes in the brain and the immune system. At least some of the damage caused by strokes, the authors say, is the result of an overreactive immune response during which cells sent to an injury to fight infection and facilitate repair instead harm sensitive brain tissue. 

“The initial impetus for the study was to determine the extent to which this immune response, which we know is very rapid and very profound, contributes to brain damage from stroke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&v=DaVJbYPxXhs&am...

--

As information flows through brain's heirarchy, higher regions use higher-frequency waves
To produce your thoughts and actions, your brain processes information in a hierarchy of regions along its surface, or cortex, ranging from “lower” areas that do basic parsing of incoming sensations to “higher” executive regions that formulate your plans for employing that newfound knowledge. In a new study, neuroscientists seeking to explain how this organization emerges report two broad trends: In each of three distinct regions, information encoding or its inhibition was associated with a similar tug of war between specific brain wave frequency bands, and the higher a region’s status in the hierarchy, the higher the peak frequency of its waves in each of those bands.  
https://researchnews.cc/news/2508/As-information-flows-through-brai...
https://news.mit.edu/2020/information-flows-through-brains-heirarch...
--
Raised blood pressure and diabetes alter brain structure to slow thinking speed and memory  

In a new study published neuroscientists at Oxford university have found that raised blood pressure and diabetes in mid-life alter brain structure to slow thinking speed and memory.

Looking at results from 22,000 volunteers in the UK Biobank who underwent brain scanning, the scientists found that raised blood pressure and diabetes significantly impaired the brain’s cognitive functions, specifically the performance of thinking speed and short-term memory.  Monitoring and treating even modestly raised blood pressure might make a difference to the structure of the brain and speed of thinking in mid-life, while also offering potential to reduce the risks of developing dementia later in life.  
https://researchnews.cc/news/2511/Raised-blood-pressure-and-diabete...

Alcohol and your brain: study finds even moderate drinking is damaging

Tortoise hatchlings found to orient toward objects resembling faces

Researchers have found that freshly hatched tortoises tend to orient themselves toward objects that resemble a face. 

Anecdotal as well as lab research has shown that newly born humans tend to orient their faces toward the face of their mother. Likewise, other animals have been found to do the same. Social scientists have shown that the behavior is hereditary and have theorized that it is part of bonding. In this new effort, the researchers found evidence that suggests face orienteering goes deeper than that, and perhaps goes farther back in evolution than has been thought—to an ancestor common to both humans and reptiles.

To test the possibility of face orienteering in reptiles, the researchers created simple face-like structures by pasting square black blocks onto a white plate, vaguely resembling eyes, nose and mouth. They also pasted the same sort of blocks in other ways on other plates in ways not resembling a face. They then set newly hatched tortoises in the vicinity of their creations and watched how they behaved. In all, the researchers tested 136 tortoises from five Testudo species. In tallying up their results, they found that the tortoise hatchlings oriented themselves toward the faces approximately 70% of the time. In sharp contrast, they showed no preference for any of the structures that did not resemble faces.

The researchers suggest their finding is notable because tortoises are notoriously antisocial creatures. They receive no care from their parents and avoid other tortoises when they see them. They also do not interact with animals of other species. Thus, their inclination to orient themselves toward a face suggests it originates in their genes. Prior research has shown that modern tortoises first appeared around 30 million years ago, which suggests that facial attraction may go back even farther in history—perhaps to a shared common ancestor of humans and reptiles.

Elisabetta Versace et al. Early preference for face-like stimuli in solitary species as revealed by tortoise hatchlings, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2011453117

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-tortoise-hatchlings-resembling.html?u...

Did our early ancestors boil their food in hot springs?

Microbial biomarkers reveal a hydrothermally active landscape at Olduvai Gorge at the dawn of the Acheulean, 1.7 Ma, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004532117 , www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/09/14/2004532117

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-early-ancestors-food-hot.html?utm_sou...

--

Molecular basis underlying colorectal cancer revealed

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-molecular-basis-underlying-c...

--

Reward and punishment take similar paths in the mouse brain

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-reward-similar-paths-mouse-b...

--

Why a vaccine can provide better immunity than an actual infection  

Ocean algae get 'coup de grace' from viruses

Human white blood cells use molecular paddles to swim

Human white blood cells, known as leukocytes, swim using a newly described mechanism called molecular paddling, researchers report

This microswimming mechanism could explain how both immune cells and cancer cells migrate in various fluid-filled niches in the body, for good or for harm.

Cells have evolved different strategies to migrate and explore their environment. For example, sperm cells, microalgae, and bacteria can swim through shape deformations or by using a whip-like appendage called a flagellum. By contrast, somatic mammalian cells are known to migrate by attaching to surfaces and crawling. It is widely accepted that leukocytes cannot migrate on 2-D surfaces without adhering to them.

A prior study reported that certain human white blood cells called neutrophils could swim, but no mechanism was demonstrated. Another study showed that mouse leukocytes could be artificially provoked to swim. It is widely thought that cell swimming without a flagellum requires changes in cell shape, but the precise mechanisms underlying leukocyte migration have been debated.

This new study provide experimental and computational evidence  that human leukocytes can migrate on 2-D surfaces without sticking to them and can swim using a mechanism that does not rely on changes in cell shape. The cells paddle using transmembrane proteins, which span the cell membrane and protrude outside the cell. The researchers show that membrane treadmilling—rearward movement of the cell surface—propels leukocyte migration in solid or liquid environments, with and without adhesion.

Laurene Aoun et al, Amoeboid Swimming Is Propelled by Molecular Paddling in Lymphocytes, Biophysical Journal (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.07.033

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-human-white-blood-cells-molecular.htm...

The multiple benefits of a world without air conditioning  and how you can ‘get cooled’ without AC

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-qa-multiple-benefits-world-air.html?u...

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/The-multiple-benefits-...  -- check%%

will the tropics eventually become uninhabitable?

https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-will-the-tropics-even...

--

A computer can guess more than 100,000,000,000 passwords per second. Still think yours is secure?

https://theconversation.com/a-computer-can-guess-more-than-100-000-...

--

Earth’s rarest diamonds form from primordial carbon in the mantle

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-rarest-diamonds-form-prim...

--

Athletes show signs of possible heart injury after COVID-19

A small study found indicators of inflammation in images of some athletes’ hearts

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid19-coronavirus-heart-injur...

--

Research reveals an enormous planet quickly orbiting a tiny, dying star

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-reveals-enormous-planet-quickly-orbit...

--

https://www.quora.com/q/sciencecommunication/New-finding-A-lack-of-...; - check &&

Keeping MAX quiet with Chevrons.

A new strategy for the viral manipulation of interneurons in mice and other mammals

the use of viral vectors that were developed by identifying short sequences of DNA restricting the expression of a virus onto the desired target cell type.

Viral manipulation of functionally distinct interneurons in mice, non-human primates and humans. Nature Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0692-9.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-strategy-viral-interneurons-...

--

Harnessing DNA molecules for disease detection and electronics

DNA molecules express heredity through genetic information. However, in the past few years, scientists have discovered that DNA can conduct electrical currents. This makes it an interesting candidate for roles that nature did not intend for this molecule, such as smaller, faster and cheaper electric circuits in electronic devices, and to detect the early stages of diseases like cancer and COVID-19.

The  most surprising recent finding was that the current passes through the DNA backbone, contrary to prior assumptions in the scientific community that the current flowed along DNA base pairs. 

 Roman Zhuravel et al. Backbone charge transport in double-stranded DNA, Nature Nanotechnology (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-0741-2

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-harnessing-dna-molecules-disease-elec...

How Dantu Blood Group protects against malaria—and how all humans could benefit

In 2017, researchers discovered that the rare Dantu blood variant, which is found regularly only in parts of East Africa, provides some degree of protection against severe malaria.

The secret of how the Dantu genetic blood variant helps to protect against malaria has been revealed for the first time by scientists now. They found that red blood cells in people with the rare Dantu blood variant have a higher surface tension that prevents them from being invaded by the world's deadliest malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

Analysis of the characteristics of the red blood cell samples indicated that the Dantu variant created cells with a higher surface tension—like a drum with a tighter skin. At a certain tension, malaria parasites were no longer able to enter the cell, halting their lifecycle and preventing their ability to multiply in the blood. The Dantu blood group has a novel 'chimeric' protein that is expressed on the surface of red blood cells, and alters the balance of other surface proteins.

This finding could also be significant in the wider battle against malaria. Because the surface tension of human red blood  cells increases as they age, it may be possible to design drugs that imitate this natural process to prevent malaria infection or reduce its severity.

Red blood cell tension protects against severe malaria in the Dantu blood group, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2726-6 , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2726-6

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-dantu-blood-group-malariaand...

Native stinging tree toxins match the pain of spiders and scorpions

The painful toxins wielded by a giant  stinging tree are surprisingly similar to the venom found in spiders and cone snails researchers have found.

The Gympie-Gympie stinging tree is one of the world's most venomous plants and causes extreme long-lasting pain. Researchers found a new family of toxins, which they've named 'gympietides' after the Gympie-Gympie stinging tree.

The tree's scientific name is Dendrocnide which literally means 'stinging tree'—a member of the nettle family. Like other stinging plants such as nettles, the giant stinging tree is covered in needle-like appendages called trichomes that are around five millimetres in length—the trichomes look like fine hairs, but actually act like hypodermic needles that inject toxins when they make contact with skin.

 Small molecules in the trichomes such as histamine, acetylcholine and formic acid have been tested but injecting these does not cause the severe and long-lasting pain of the stinging tree, suggesting that there was an unidentified neurotoxin to be found.

Although they come from a plant, the gympietides are similar to spider and cone snail toxins in the way they fold into their 3-D molecular structures and target the same pain receptors—this arguably makes the Gympie-Gympie tree a truly "venomous" plant. The long-lasting pain from the stinging tree may be explained by the gympietides permanently changing the sodium channels in the sensory neurons, not due to the fine hairs getting stuck in the skin.

By understanding how this toxin works, scientists hope to provide better treatment to those who have been stung by the plant, to ease or eliminate the pain.

With these toxins from both plants and animals having a shared method of causing pain, it begs the question, when and how did these toxins evolve?

The researchers point to two possibilities for the toxin's evolution from either an ancestral gene in an ancient shared ancestor or convergent evolution, where nature re-invents the most fitting structure to fit a common purpose.

E.K. Gilding el al., "Neurotoxic peptides from the venom of the giant Australian stinging tree," Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abb8828

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-native-tree-toxins-pain-spiders.html?...

Discovery of a new mass extinction

It's not often a new mass extinction is identified; after all, such events were so devastating they really stand out in the fossil record. In a new paper, published today in Science Advances, an international team has identified a major extinction of life 233 million years ago that triggered the dinosaur takeover of the world. The crisis has been called the Carnian Pluvial Episode.

The cause was most likely massive volcanic eruptions in the Wrangellia Province of western Canada, where huge volumes of volcanic basalt was poured out and forms much of the western coast of North America.

"Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic)" Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.aba0099

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-discovery-mass-extinction.html?utm_so...

--

World fails to meet a single target to stop destruction of nature – UN report

The world has failed to meet a single target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems in the last decade, according to a devastating new report from the UN on the state of nature.

https://www.cbd.int/gbo5

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/15/every-global-ta...