Two centuries of Monarch butterflies show evolution of wing length

Monarch butterflies are known for their annual, multi-generation migrations in which individual insects can fly for thousands of miles. But Monarchs have also settled in some locations where their favorite food plants grow year round, so they no longer need to migrate.

Researchers now 

took a deep dive into museum collections to see how migration has shaped the species. Monarchs are native to North America, but have also established non-migrating populations in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. These island-hopping butterflies may have been blown by storms before being lucky enough to reach dry land.

Monarchs that established new, non-migrating populations also had those larger wings. But over time, the wings of these colonists got smaller.

The shift between longer and shorter wings shows two opposite selection forces at work. Migration selects for longer, larger forewings while non-migration seems to relax this and lead to smaller wings.

Alternatively, wing size could be influenced by other environmental factors depending on where butterflies are hatched and grow up. The non-migrating butterflies retained their smaller wings, showing that the effect is due to genetics and not the rearing environment.

These findings provide a compelling example of how migration-associated traits may be favoured during the early stages of range expansion, and also the rate of reductions in those same traits upon loss of migration.

Micah G. Freedman et al, Two centuries of monarch butterfly collections reveal contrasting effects of range expansion and migration loss on wing traits, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001283117

New study confirms that migration leads to larger wings in monarch ...

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-centuries-monarch-butterflies-evoluti...

COVID-19 'super-spreading' events play outsized role in overall disease transmission

There have been many documented cases of COVID-19 "super-spreading" events, in which one person infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects many other people. But how much of a role do these events play in the overall spread of the disease? A new study  suggests that they have a much larger impact than expected.

The study of about 60 super-spreading events shows that events where one person infects more than six other people are much more common than would be expected if the range of transmission rates followed statistical distributions commonly used in epidemiology.

Based on their findings, the researchers also developed a mathematical model of COVID-19 transmission, which they used to show that limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer people could significantly reduce the number of super-spreading events and lower the overall number of infections.

Super-spreading events are likely more important than most of us had initially realized. Even though they are extreme events, they are probable and thus are likely occurring at a higher frequency than we thought. If we can control the super-spreading events, we have a much greater chance of getting this pandemic under control, according to this study.

Felix Wong et al, Evidence that coronavirus superspreading is fat-tailed, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2018490117

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-covid-super-spreading-events...

Hot or cold, weather alone has no significant effect on COVID-19 spread

The link between weather and COVID-19 is complicated. Weather influences the environment in which the coronavirus must survive before infecting a new host. But it also influences human behaviour, which moves the virus from one host to another.

Aa new study finding that temperature and humidity do not play a significant role in coronavirus spread.

That means whether it's hot or cold outside, the transmission of COVID-19 from one person to the next depends almost entirely on human behaviour.

The effect of weather is low and other features such as mobility have more impact than weather. In terms of relative importance, weather is one of the last parameters.

Across scales, the scientists found that the weather had nearly no influence. When it was compared with other factors using a statistical metric that breaks down the relative contribution of each factor toward a particular outcome, the weather's relative importance at the county scale was less than 3%, with no indication that a specific type of weather promoted spread over another.

In contrast, the data showed the clear influence of human behavior—and the outsized influence of individual behaviors. Taking trips and spending time away from home were the top two contributing factors to COVID-19 growth, with a relative importance of about 34% and 26% respectively. The next two important factors were population and urban density, with a relative importance of about 23% and 13% respectively.

Sajad Jamshidi et al, Global to USA County Scale Analysis of Weather, Urban Density, Mobility, Homestay, and Mask Use on COVID-19, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2020). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17217847

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-hot-cold-weather-significant...

3.2 billion images and 720,000 hours of video are shared online daily. Can you sort real from fake?

Here is how you can do it …..This article explains how you can do it …..

https://theconversation.com/3-2-billion-images-and-720-000-hours-of...

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Physicists hone in on the perfect clock

Physicists have measured the energy of a thorium-229 nucleus’s lowest excited state, called thorium-229m, to the highest precision so far. This tiny nucleus could make for the most accurate clock yet if we could count the tick-tocks of the transition between the ground state of the th... — the lowest of all nuclear excited states. A nuclear clock would be less affected by external electromagnetic fields than today’s atomic clocks are, which lose a frankly unacceptable one second every 13 billion years.

Radical diagnostic could save millions of people at risk of dying from blood loss

In a world-first outcome that could save more than two million lives globally each year, researchers have developed a diagnostic using a glass slide, Teflon film and a piece of paper that can test for levels of fibrinogen concentration in blood in less than four minutes. Fibrinogen is a protein found in blood that is needed for clotting. When a patient experiences traumatic injury, such as a serious car accident, or major surgery and childbirth complications, fibrinogen is required in their blood to prevent major haemorrhaging and death from blood loss. Typically, heavily bleeding patients must be transported to a hospital or emergency centre where they undergo diagnostic tests before being treated. These tests are time consuming and costly as they require expensive equipment, specialised/trained personnel and can take up to half an hour.

When a patient is bleeding heavily and has received several blood transfusions, their levels of fibrinogen drop. Even after dozens of transfusions, patients keep bleeding. What they need is an injection of fibrinogen. However, if patients receive too much fibrinogen, they can also die.

This new diagnostic can eliminate the preparation time, labour and transportation difficulties of traditional techniques used in the hospital. It can diagnose hypofibrinogenemia in critically bleeding patients anywhere in the world, and can drastically reduce the time to treatment needed for fibrinogen replacement therapy. The test can take less than four minutes, about five times faster than the current gold standard methods.

1. Marek Bialkower, Clare A. Manderson, Heather McLiesh, Rico F. Tabor, Gil Garnier. Paper Diagnostic for Direct Measurement of Fibrinogen Concentration in Whole Blood. ACS Sensors, 2020; DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.0c01937

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201029105018.htm#:~:t....

https://researchnews.cc/news/3377/Radical-diagnostic-could-save-mil...

Researchers discover how birds deal with gusty conditions

Baking Soda Boosts T Cells’ Ability to Fight Leukemia

Early big-game hunters of the Americas were female, researchers suggest

For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals a different story, according to new research conducted.

An archaeological discovery and analysis of early burial practices overturns the long-held 'man-the-hunter' hypothesis.

These findings are particularly timely in light of contemporary conversations surrounding gendered labour practices and inequality. Labour practices among recent hunter-gatherer societies are highly gendered, which might lead some to believe that sexist inequalities in things like pay or rank are somehow 'natural.' But it's now clear that sexual division of labour was fundamentally different—likely more equitable—in our species' deep hunter-gatherer past.

During archaeological excavations at a high-altitude site called Wilamaya Patjxa in what is now Peru, researchers found an early burial that contained a hunting toolkit with projectile points and animal-processing tools. The objects accompanying people in death tend to be those that accompanied them in life, researchers said. It was determined that the hunter was likely female based on findings by the team's osteologist, James Watson of The University of Arizona. Watson's sex estimate was later confirmed by dental protein analysis.

 The surprising discovery of an early female hunter burial led the team to ask whether she was part of a broader pattern of female hunters or merely a one-off. Looking at published records of late Pleistocene and early Holocene burials throughout North and South America, the researchers identified 429 individuals from 107 sites. Of those, 27 individuals were associated with big-game hunting tools—11 were female and 15 were male. The sample was sufficient to "warrant the conclusion that female participation in early big-game hunting was likely nontrivial," researchers said. Moreover, the analysis identified the Wilamaya Patjxa female hunter as the earliest hunter burial in the Americas.

Statistical analysis shows that somewhere between 30 to 50 percent of hunters in these populations were female, the study said. This level of participation stands in stark contrast to recent hunter-gatherers, and even farming and capitalist societies, where hunting is a decidedly male activity with low levels of female participation, certainly under 30 percent

R. Haas el al., "Female hunters of the early Americas," Science Advances (2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup … .1126/sciadv.abd0310

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-early-big-game-hunters-americas-femal...

Using quantum properties of light to transmit information

Researchers have taken an important step toward developing a communications network that exchanges information across long distances by using photons, mass-less measures of light that are key elements of quantum computing and quantum communications systems.

The research team has designed a nanoscale node made out of magnetic and semiconducting materials that could interact with other nodes, using laser light to emit and accept photons.

The development of such a quantum network—designed to take advantage of the physical properties of light and matter characterized by quantum mechanics—promises faster, more efficient ways to communicate, compute, and detect objects and materials as compared to networks currently used for computing and communications.

Arunabh Mukherjee et al. Observation of site-controlled localized charged excitons in CrI3/WSe2 heterostructures, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19262-2

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-quantum-properties-transmit.html?utm_...

Study finds environmentally-friendly' tableware harms marine animals

A new  study compares the effects of two types of disposable dishes on the marine environment—regular plastic disposable dishes and more expensive bioplastic disposable dishes certified by various international organizations—and determines that the bioplastic dishes had a similar effect on marine animals as regular plastic dishes. Moreover, the study finds that bioplastic does not degrade rapidly in the marine environment.

People buy expensive disposable dishes and utensils with the special bioplastic standard seal of compliance on the assumption that they are being environmentally responsible. This study proves that while this may be good for their conscience, it can still damage the environment.

Bioplastics are made of natural, renewable materials, and biodegrade relatively fast under certain conditions. Disposable dishes and utensils made of bioplastics were granted various international standard seals and are marketed to consumers as environmentally friendly. However, they don't meet these expectations. 

In the short term, both types of plastic have a similar detrimental effect, according tot eh study. Bioplastics are made of natural materials and, in that sense, they are more beneficial environmentally speaking. But they may also contain toxins just like regular plastic dishes and they do not biodegrade quickly in the aquatic habitat. 

Guillermo Anderson et al, Potential effects of biodegradable single-use items in the sea: Polylactic acid (PLA) and solitary ascidians, Environmental Pollution (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115364

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-environmentally-friendly-tableware-ma...

Researchers recover 75,000 'deleted' files from pre-owned USB drives

Highly sensitive tax returns, contracts and bank statements were among 75,000 "deleted" files recovered by cybersecurity researchers as part of an  investigation into the risks of selling used USB drives over the internet.

The team made the startling discovery after purchasing just 100 devices on a popular online auction site and examining them further.

98 of the USBs seemed, at face value, to be empty. However, with publicly available tools it is worryingly easy to retrieve data.

Only 32 of the drives had been properly wiped. Partial files were extracted from 26 devices and every single file was extracted from the remaining 42 USB drives.

Many of the files extracted were determined to be of  high sensivity, and included files named "passwords", contracts, bank statements and tax returns. Other USB drives contained images with embedded location data.

so the researchers say, the way many computers delete files doesn't actually remove them. What happens is that the file is removed from the index so that they are effectively hidden from view. They're still there though and if you know how, you can easily recover them using publicly available forensics tools. Software is freely available that can permanently wipe USB drives, so if you are going to sell a device we would strongly recommend using that. If you're planning to discard a USB device without selling it, you should destroy it with a hammer—make it impossible for a third party to get hold of the data it stores. If you're planning to buy a new USB drive, the best way of mitigating the risks is to buy an encrypted device.

James Conacher et al. Caveat Venditor, Used USB Drive Owner, SSRN Electronic Journal (2020). DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3631441

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-recover-deleted-pre-owned-usb.h...

Scientists find harmful chemicals in household dust

Since the 1970s, chemicals called brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have been added to a host of consumer and household products, ranging from electronics and mattresses to upholstery and carpets. While they were intended to improve fire safety, one form—polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs—has proved harmful to human health, specifically our hormonal systems.

the process used to add this chemical to manufactured goods attached the particles very loosely. As a result, the compound tends to shed over time through normal wear and tear.

A growing body of evidence suggests that concentrations of this chemical are higher indoors and that it is present in dust.

It is not feasible for people to rid their homes of all products and materials containing BRFs. But if dust is one source of our exposure, how can you reduce this exposure? Public awareness is very important. Maybe we need more frequent vacuuming of all the dust.

These findings point to the need to identify—and make consumers more aware of—safer alternatives that are free of brominated compounds. 

Peter Blanchard et al. Evaluating the use of synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy in investigating brominated flame retardants in indoor dust, Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10623-4

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-chemicals-household.html?u...

Effective science communication

ISS matures as science hub

ISS matures as science hub

Scientists aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have conducted about 3,000 experiments. More than 40% have been biology or biotechnology experiments. The studies have produced various insights into how humans and animals adapt to lengthy spaceflight. Male mice, for example, can still produce healthy offspring after floating in space for 35 days. A comparison of various biological factors of two identical twins — one an astronaut aboard the ISS for a year and the other on Earth showed that being in space changes telomere length, gene expression, the gut microbiome and the dimensions of the artery that brings blood to the brain. Many, but not all, of these reverted to normal levels after the astronaut returned to Earth. A lot of people don’t realize how much research has been done on the International Space Station around human health

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6436/eaau8650?utm_source...

Spontaneous release of neurotransmitters in the brain identified as a culprit of developmental disorders in children

pharmacologists have reported the first evidence that aberrant spontaneous release of neurotransmitters in the brain can cause a range of severe intellectual and neurodevelopmental disorders in infants and children.

Neurons, the billions of cells constantly sharing information within the brain, communicate with each other but do not touch. They release chemicals called neurotransmitters, orchestrated by the SNARE protein complex, triggered by a wave of electrical activity. With this “evoked release” of neurotransmitters, information jumps from one neuron to the next. This neurotransmission enables us to complete basic tasks, process sensory information and move our bodies. Mutations of one of the proteins in the SNARE complex, SNAP25, are known to cause a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. These can present with recurrent seizures, intellectual disability and autistic features in infants and children.

This discovery marks the first step toward developing specific treatments that can improve cognitive outcomes in youth and adulthood.

By examining the electrical signals of 10 different SNAP25 mutations among 11 patients, the researchers found that mutations of SNAP25 encourage anomalous neurotransmitter release both in response to electrical activity and independent of electrical signaling in the brain. More importantly, they identified the single mutation that causes spontaneous release—neurotransmitter release even in the absence of appropriate electrical activity.

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2020/11/03/spontaneous-release-of-neuro...

https://researchnews.cc/news/3398/Spontaneous-release-of-neurotrans...

Warmer world linked to poor pregnancy results: study

Women exposed to high temperatures and heatwaves during pregnancy are more likely to have premature or stillborn babies, researchers said Wednesday. Such outcomes -- closely linked to poverty, especially in the tropics -- will likely increase with global warming, especially during more frequent and intense heatwaves, they reported in BMJ, a medical journal. Even small increases "could have a major impact on public health as exposure to high temperatures is common and escalating," the study concluded. 

Associations between high temperatures in pregnancy and risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirths: systematic review and meta-analysis, BMJ (2020). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3811 , www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3811

https://researchnews.cc/news/3402/Warmer-world-linked-to-poor-pregn...

Whip Spiders | Explorers In The Field

**An Asteroid Trailing After Mars Could Actually Be The Stolen Twin of Our Moon

https://www.sciencealert.com/an-asteroid-that-looks-just-like-the-m...

**Scientists Find Tissue in The Human Eye That Appears Resistant to SARS-CoV-2

While this general advice is repeated by health authorities the world over, there's still a lot we don't know about how the coronavirus might enter the body through the eyes, although scientists suggest it's "biologically plausible".

However, new evidence suggests at least some of the eye may in fact be resistant to SARS-CoV-2 – even while it's susceptible to other kinds of viruses.

In a new study, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that the cornea – the transparent dome at the front of the eye, which covers the iris and pupil – appeared to be resistant to coronavirus infection in experiments, although they're eager to emphasise the findings are only preliminary.

These findings do not prove that all corneas are resistant

"But every donor cornea we tested was resistant to the novel coronavirus. It's still possible a subset of people may have corneas that support growth of the virus, but none of the corneas we studied supported growth of SARS-CoV-2."

In experiments using corneal tissue from 25 human donors and also mice corneas, the researchers exposed the eye tissue to three separate viruses: SARS-CoV-2, Zika virus, and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1, which produces cold sores).

In the human cornea explants tested (which also contained some conjunctiva tissue, the membrane that covers the rest of the front of the eye), the experiment showed that herpes and Zika virus were able to replicate in the tissue – but tests showed no sign of SARS-CoV-2 replication.

"The cornea and conjunctiva are known to have receptors for the novel coronavirus, but in these  studies, researchers found that the virus did not replicate in the cornea.

A potential molecular inhibitor of viruses in the eye – called interferon lambda – was able to limit virus growth in the human cornea for HSV-1 and Zika virus, but blocking the protein didn't seem to boost SARS-CoV-2's ability to replicate.

Without more to go on, the researchers' best guess for now is that the human cornea's resistance to coronavirus is "likely regulated by a distinct antiviral pathway". Quite what that pathway is we still don't know, and the team says further study is needed to confirm these findings.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(20)31328-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124720313280%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

https://www.sciencealert.com/there-s-a-part-of-the-human-eye-that-s...

Yellow Turtle Found in India

For the second time in just three months the Indian Forest Service has announced the discovery of a golden flapshell turtle.

Like a slice of cheese, a slab of butter, or the yolk of an egg, this zesty creature with its vivid yellow shell, head, and limbs.

While such aberrations of colour are rare in nature, this bizarre phenomenon is more common than many recognise.

Yellow variants of the Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata) - which typically are brown with yellow spots and a creamy white underside - have been discovered a handful of times over the years in various parts of South Asia, where it is one of the most common aquatic turtle species.

The genetic anomaly doesn't happen often, but when it does, it tends to stand out.

https://www.sciencealert.com/what-s-the-deal-with-this-ridiculous-g...

How Vaccines Train Innate Immunity

A recent study elucidates some of the changes that occur in the body after inoculation with a tuberculosis vaccine.

In the bone marrow post-vaccination, genes are expressed that trigger hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to differentiate into monocytes, neutrophils, and other so-called myeloid cells. In a separate analysis of the effects of BCG in newborns, the researchers found that the vaccine ramped up the number of neutrophils in babies’ blood compared with unvaccinated infants.

The biggest trees capture the most carbon: Large trees dominate carbon storage in forests

Older, large-diameter trees have been shown to store disproportionally massive amounts of carbon compared to smaller trees, highlighting their importance in mitigating climate change, according to a new study in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.

 They found that despite only accounting for 3% of the total number of trees on the studied plots, large trees stored 42% of the total above-ground carbon within these forest ecosystems. This study is among the first of its kind to report how a proposed policy could affect carbon storage in forest ecosystems, potentially weakening protections for large-diameter trees and contributing to huge releases of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in the face of a changing climate.

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, DOI: 10.3389/ffgc.2020.594274 , www.frontiersin.org/articles/1 … fgc.2020.594274/full

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-biggest-trees-capture-carbon-large.ht...

New research traces the origins of trench fever

First observed among British Expeditionary Forces in 1915, trench fever sickened an estimated 500,000 soldiers during World War I. Since then, the disease has become synonymous with the battlefield. But now, new research from an international team of scientists has uncovered evidence challenging this long-held belief.

The research, published this week in PLOS ONE, outlines the discovery of DNA evidence of the disease in civilian remains predating WWI by thousands of years. In total, the team analyzed bone fragments and teeth of 145 individuals alive between the 1st and 19th centuries. Approximately 20% of those remains contained traces of Bartonella quintana, the bacteria responsible for trench fever. 

Epidemiologists and researchers used real-time polymerase chain reaction testing to detect B. quintana DNA within the remains.

Once contracted, there are diseases, like trench fever, that can leave traces within your DNA and can integrate your DNA with further information. This means that once a person dies, even as far back as 2,000 years ago, it is still possible to find traces of the bacterium that infected them.

 The discovery sheds light on the complex history of trench fever and begins answering historical questions about the lives of people in this region during the 3rd and 4th centuries.

While most associate this disease with WWI and WWII, occurrences of trench fever are still reported today, most prominently within homeless populations. The bacteria are spread to humans through contact with body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis), making poor personal hygiene a primary factor in its spread and infection rate. Researchers hope that by tracing the progression of B. quintana through history, they're able to identify ways to better manage the spread of the disease today.

Ba-Hoang-Anh Mai et al, Five millennia of Bartonella quintana bacteraemia, PLOS ONE (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239526

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-trench-fever.html?utm_source=nwletter...

How Some Vaccines Protect Against More than Their Targets

As researchers test existing vaccines for nonspecific protection against COVID-19, immunologists are working to understand how some inoculations protect against pathogens they weren’t designed to fend off.

https://www.the-scientist.com/features/how-some-vaccines-protect-ag...

Startling Case Study Finds Asymptomatic COVID-19 Carrier Who Shed Virus For 70 Days

A team of researchers and doctors has now reported the case of one woman with leukemia who had no symptoms of COVID-19 but 70 days after her first positive test, she was still shedding infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles.

This result is much longer than previous reports of hospitalised adults found shedding infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus up to 20 days after their COVID-19 diagnosis, plus other accounts of people shedding genetic material from the virus up to 63 days after their symptoms first appeared.

The new report should alert doctors and public health experts alike to the fact that people without symptoms and with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients, can seemingly shed the SARS-CoV-2 virus for a really long time. In this case, even months.

"Although it is difficult to extrapolate from a single patient, our data suggest that long-term shedding of infectious virus may be a concern in certain immunocompromised patients," the research team wrote in their paper describing the case.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31456-2

https://www.sciencealert.com/case-study-reveals-rare-patient-who-sh...

 2020 Heroes of Chemistry

The Science Communication Crisis

Seeing dark matter in a new light

A small team of astronomers have found a new way to 'see' the elusive dark matter haloes that surround galaxies, with a new technique 10 times more precise than the previous-best method.

Scientists currently estimate that up to 85% of the mass in the universe is effectively invisible. This "dark matter" cannot be observed directly, because it does not interact with light in the same way as the ordinary matter that makes up stars, planets, and life on Earth.

So how do we measure what cannot be seen? The key is to measure the effect of gravity that the dark matter produces. It's like looking at a flag to try to know how much wind there is. You cannot see the wind, but the flag's motion tells you how strongly the wind is blowing.

The new research focuses on an effect called weak gravitational lensing, which is a feature of Einstein's general theory of relativity. The dark matter will very slightly distort the image of anything behind it.

Weak gravitational lensing is already one of the most successful ways to map the dark matter content of the Universe. Now, the team has used the ANU 2.3m Telescope in Australia to map how gravitationally lensed galaxies are rotating. Because we know how stars and gas are supposed to move inside galaxies, we know roughly what that galaxy should look like. By measuring how distorted the real galaxy images are, then we can figure out how much dark matter it would take to explain what we see. The new research shows how this velocity information enables a much more precise measurement of the lensing effect than is possible using shape alone.

Pol Gurri et al. The first shear measurements from precision weak lensing, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2020). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa2893

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-dark.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm...

Gold-catalyzed reaction releases an active drug to kill cancer cells

Drugs that are activated inside the body with catalytic quantities of gold could offer a new option for treating cancer and other diseases.

Using metals to convert masked "prodrugs" into their active forms inside the body is an emerging area of biomedical research. These drug-release reactions are designed to be triggered by metals that are not naturally present in the body, providing a new way to trigger drug release that promises to increase the efficacy and reduce the side effects of a therapy.

Kenward Vong et al. Bioorthogonal release of anticancer drugs via gold-triggered 2-alkynylbenzamide cyclization, Chemical Science (2020). DOI: 10.1039/d0sc04329j

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-gold-catalyzed-reaction-drug-cancer-c...

**Has the hidden matter of the universe been discovered?

Astrophysicists consider that around 40% of the ordinary matter that makes up stars, planets and galaxies remains undetected, concealed in the form of a hot gas in the complex cosmic web. Today, scientists at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay) may have detected, for the first time, this hidden matter through an innovative statistical analysis of 20-year-old data.

 H. T Tanimura et al. First detection of stacked X-ray emission from cosmic web filaments, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2020). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038521

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-hidden-universe.html?utm_source=nwlet...

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**Coronavirus testing finally gathers speed

**SARS-CoV-2 uses 'genome origami' to infect and replicate inside host cells

Scientists at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with Justus-Liebig University, Germany, have uncovered how the genome of SARS-CoV-2—the coronavirus that causes COVID-19—uses genome origami to infect and replicate successfully inside host cells. This could inform the development of effective drugs that target specific parts of the virus genome, in the fight against COVID-19.

Most current work to find drugs and vaccines for COVID-19 is focused on targeting the proteins of the virus. Because the shape of the RNA molecule is critical to its function, targeting the RNA directly with drugs to disrupt its structure would block the lifecycle and stop the virus replicating.

the team uncovered the entire structure of the SARS-CoV-2 genome inside the host cell, revealing a network of RNA-RNA interactions spanning very long sections of the genome. Different functional parts along the genome need to work together despite the great distance between them, and the new structural data shows how this is accomplished to enable the coronavirus life cycle and cause disease.

"The RNA genome of coronaviruses is about three times bigger than an average viral RNA genome—it's huge

In all cells the genome holds the code for the production of specific proteins, which are made when a molecular machine called a ribosome runs along the RNA reading the code until a 'stop sign' tells it to terminate. In coronaviruses, there is a special spot where the ribosome only stops 50% of the times in front of the stop sign. In the other 50% of cases, a unique RNA shape makes the ribosome jump over the stop sign and produce additional viral proteins. By mapping this RNA structure and the long-range interactions involved, the new research uncovers the strategies by which coronaviruses produce their proteins to manipulate our cells.

The genome of most human viruses is made of RNA rather than DNA. Ziv developed methods to investigate such long-range interactions across viral RNA genomes inside the host cells, in work to understand the Zika virus genome. This has proved a valuable methodological basis for understanding SARS-CoV-2.

 Omer Ziv et al, The short- and long-range RNA-RNA Interactome of SARS-CoV-2, Molecular Cell (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.11.004

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-sars-cov-genome-origami-infect-replic...

A potential new treatment for premature aging diseases keeps stem cells fresh longer

The drug helps keep stem cells telomeres long, preventing them from aging too quickly.

The ends of our DNA, called telomeres, get shorter as we age. Our cells lose a bit of telomere every time they divide. This shortening is a normal and needed process that serves a protective function against cancer. This is because the older our cells get, the more likely they are to have accumulated damage or mutations that make them function incorrectly. Telomere shortening helps to take old cells that are reaching their “best before date” off the shelf before they can cause trouble.

But this can backfire: cells can shorten their telomeres too quickly, age rapidly, and die. This is what causes a subset of genetic premature aging diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, forms of aplastic anemia, and a rare disease called dyskeratosis congenita. Unfortunately, there are currently no available drug-based therapies for treating telomere-driven premature aging diseases.

Now, a candidate drug has found a new potential purpose in treating premature aging disease. 

This drug, called RG7834, was originally identified as an inhibitor of hepatitis B virus (HBV). While it has been found to be well-tolerated in short-term administration to living organisms (like rodents and primates), this drug does not cure HBV, and is not yet publicly available. Interestingly, the host cell proteins affected by RG7834 are two enzymes that modify many different RNAs. These enzymes can cause degradation of host cell RNA — so RG7834 keeps RNA around that the cell otherwise might get rid of.

https://massivesci.com/articles/telomere-telomerase-rna-drug-premat...

DNA might replace barcodes to tag art, voter ballots: study

Easy-to-remove barcodes and QR codes used to tag everything from T-shirts to car engines may soon be replaced by a tagging system based on DNA and invisible to the naked eye, according to scientists.

The DNA-based system could help anti-forgery efforts, according to researchers who said thieves struggle to find or tamper with a transparent splash of DNA on valuable or vulnerable items, such as election ballots, works of art, or secret documents.

In an article published in Nature Communications, researchers said that the molecular tagging system, called Porcupine, is -- unlike most alternatives -- cost-effective.

Using DNA for tagging objects has been out of reach in the past because it is expensive and time consuming to write and read, and requires expensive lab equipment.

Porcupine gets around this by prefabricating fragments of DNA that users can mix together arbitrarily to create new tags, the researchers said.

Instead of radio waves or printed lines, the Porcupine tagging scheme relies on a set of distinct DNA strands called molecular bits, or 'molbits' for short.

To encode an ID, scientists pair each digital bit with a molbit.

If the digital bit is 1, they add its molbit to the tag, and if it's 0 they leave it out. Then they can dry it until it's ready to be decoded later. Once the item has been tagged, it can then be shipped or stored.

When someone wants to read the tag, water is added to rehydrate the molecular tag, which is read by a nanopore sequencer -- a DNA-reading device smaller than an Iphone.

The name Porcupine comes from a play on words (PORE-cupine, as in nanopore) and the idea that porcupines can 'tag' objects, and critters that dare to get too close.

Unlike existing systems to tag objects, DNA tags are undetectable by sight or touch. Practically speaking, this means they are difficult to tamper with.

1. Kathryn Doroschak, Karen Zhang, Melissa Queen, Aishwarya Mandyam, Karin Strauss, Luis Ceze, Jeff Nivala. Rapid and robust assembly and decoding of molecular tags with DNA-based nanopore signatures. Nature Communications, 2020; 11 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19151-8

https://researchnews.cc/news/3442/DNA-might-replace-barcodes-to-tag...

A month delay to cancer care might raise death risk: study

Delaying cancer treatment by just a month can put patients at a sharply greater risk of dying, according to research published Wednesday, the latest to sound the alarm over the coronavirus pandemic's impact on other health conditions. Treatment delays happen in normal times, but the spread of Covid-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to healthcare services. In a new study published in the BMJ medical journal, researchers in the UK and Canada found that delays in treatment -- whether for surgery, radiotherapy, or other treatments such as chemotherapy -- for seven types of cancers had a significant impact on patient mortality. There has never been a systematic attempt to look at all the evidence on what delays in different types of treatment mean for cancer patient outcomes.

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4087

The COVID-19 Clinical Neuroscience Study (COVID-CNS)

Scientists Just Successfully Regenerated Mouse Optic Nerve Cells in The Lab

Scientists have found a new way to regenerate damaged optic nerve cells taken from mice and grown in a dish. This exciting development could lead to potential eye disease treatments in the future.

Damage to full-grown nerve cells causes irreversible and life-altering consequences, because once nerve fibres mature, they lose their ability to regenerate after injury or disease. The new experiments show how activating part of a nerve cell's regenerative machinery, a protein known as protrudin, could stimulate nerves in the eye to regrow after injury. 

With more research, the achievement is a step towards future treatments for glaucoma, a group of eye diseases which cause vision loss by damaging the optic nerve (that links the eye to the brain).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19436-y

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-succeed-in-regenerating-opt...

First Case Study of Its Kind Documents Girl With Mirror Movement And Rare Disorder

If you sit down at a piano, hitting different notes with each hand would be the first step to mastering the instrument. But what if both hands are intent on doing the same thing? That's the experience of people with a rare condition known as mirror movement, and doctors have now documented a unique case.

Several years ago, researchers in India identified a case of this extremely rare condition in a 13-year-old girl who also has a diagnosis of the chromosomal disorder Turner syndrome.  

Finding the two conditions together is a first for the medical community, raising questions of how – or even whether – the two might potentially be connected.

Most tiny humans take a while to become dextrous, but by age 10 the communication between the two halves of our brain allows us to pinch, poke, wave and wiggle the fingers on each hand independently of one another.

For about one in every million children, this development is incomplete, meaning one hand's actions are echoed simultaneously by the other. Make a victory sign with your left hand, and your right will be forced to approximate a similar shape.

The fundamental cause of such copy-cat movement is still largely a matter of speculation, though there's reason to suspect key nerves in the brain are 'cross-talking' as a result of the formation of false synapses between neurons.

In about a third of all cases mutations in a couple of genes appear to be responsible, impairing development of the nervous system in such a way that instructions from either side of the brain are accidentally transmitted to both sides of the body.

individuals who also have cerebral palsy will display degrees of mirror movements. Parkinson's disease is another condition that can come with this form of so-called synkinesia, especially if it affects more one side of the brain than the other.

Having breaks or an absence of connection between the hemispheres – a bridge of neurons called the corpus callosum – can also coincide with the behaviour. It's in many of these cases that a genetic link has been uncovered.

Kallmann syndrome is a condition caused by lack of certain hormones, giving rise to characteristics such as a lack of smell and delayed puberty. And, sometimes, mirror movements.

Turner syndrome is also a condition that impacts on a body's ability to coordinate hormonal responses.

Before this case, nobody had recorded a person who had the chromosomal abnormality and would experience mirror movements as well.

https://casereports.bmj.com/content/13/11/e238482

https://www.sciencealert.com/adolescent-girl-diagnosed-with-mirror-...

Heavy Metal Pollution Is Weakening Scallop Shells And Threatening T...

Shellfish such as scallops, mussels and oysters – bivalve molluscs – readily take up tiny specs of metals into their tissues and shells. In sufficient concentrations this can harm their growth and survival chances, and even threaten the health of any human who eats their contaminated meat. Such shellfish provide one-quarter of the world’s seafood, so the impact of pollution from the “heavy metals” such as lead, zinc and copper, is hugely important.

https://theconversation.com/metal-pollution-is-leaving-scallops-hel...

A Modem With a Tiny Mirror Cabinet Could Help Connect The Quantum Internet

Quantum physics promises huge advances not just in quantum computing but also in a quantum internet – a next-generation framework for transferring data from one place to another. Scientists have now invented technology suitable for a quantum modem that could act as a network gateway.

https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.10.041025

https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-invent-a-modem-that-could-h...

Salamanders provide a model for spinal-cord regeneration  
“Salamanders are unique because they are one of the only tetrapods able to regrow spinal cords with full functionality.  After an injury, these amphibians are able to “magically” regrow their spinal cords and regain locomotion.A team of scientists is looking into exactly how the process works.  The scientists plan to combine methods from genomics, neuroscience, computer modeling and biorobotics to decipher the neural mechanisms underpinning spinal-cord regeneration.https://actu.epfl.ch/news/salamanders-provide-a-model-for-spinal-co...

Salamanders provide a model for spinal-cord regeneration  
“Salamanders are unique because they are one of the only tetrapods able to regrow spinal cords with full functionality.  After an injury, these amphibians are able to “magically” regrow their spinal cords and regain locomotion.A team of scientists is looking into exactly how the process works.  The scientists plan to combine methods from genomics, neuroscience, computer modeling and biorobotics to decipher the neural mechanisms underpinning spinal-cord regeneration.https://actu.epfl.ch/news/salamanders-provide-a-model-for-spinal-co...

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A team of scientists is looking into exactly how the process works.   The scientists plan to combine methods from genomics, neuroscience, computer modeling and biorobotics to decipher the neural mechanisms underpinning spinal-cord regeneration.

New type of antivenom to reduce 100,000 fatalities each year from venomous snake bites being developed

One of the most neglected tropical problems, snakebites can be life-threatening when venom toxins are injected and enter the bloodstream attacking the blood circulatory system or nervous system. In particular, in poor and remote tropical regions where immediate access to specialised medical care is limited, venomous snake bites cause between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths and 400,000 disabilities in surviving victims each year, according to WHO estimates. Surviving snakebite victims often suffer from scars and disfigurement, and can be ostracised and discriminated against due to engrained cultural prejudice, adding to human and emotional burden.

Currently, the only known treatment is antivenom; an approach implemented in 1896 by Albert Calmette based on antibodies collected from horses and sheep that have become immune to the toxins in the venom. Although this treatment has saved many lives, it is weakly effective as snake venoms and their toxins vary significantly across all subspecies and only 10 to 15 per cent of the antibodies in the sera bind to the venom. To effect cure, multiple vials of antivenom are often needed but each additional vial induces higher levels of adverse side effects and increased treatment costs.

A new project will use the innovative ADDomer© platform to design an antivenom virus-like particle (VLP) therapy of unparalleled clinical effectiveness. Importantly, unlike antivenom which must be refrigerated, this new therapy is being developed so it can be stored at room temperature. Rapid treatment can significantly improve a victim’s chances of survival, this new advance would allow medication to be stored at local sites across the remote farming communities of sub-Saharan Africa where the disease is most prevalent.

Applying cutting-edge analysis techniques the team will sequence the complex genetic make-up of venom from the most prevalent and poisonous Sub-Saharan snakes; the saw-scaled viper, the green mamba and related species.

Using protein engineering the team will develop their unique type of snakebite treatment that can bind and neutralise the pathogenic function of all toxins of these snakes irrespective of species or geography, and without adverse effect risk that can be implemented with cost-effective technologies and requiring less manufacturing logistics. 

Scientists reveal roles of microbes on methylmercury production and degradation in rice paddy soils

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is recently confirmed as a potential bioaccumulator plant of methylmercury (MeHg). Methylation of inorganic Hg influences the MeHg content in paddy soil, which directly affects the MeHg levels in rice seeds.

Studies on the mechanism of Hg methylation in rice paddies are significant to lower MeHg accumulation in rice and to reduce human health risks through contaminated rice consumption. MeHg cycling is mostly controlled by microbes but their importance in MeHg production and degradation in paddy soils remains unclear.

Scientists now revealed the roles of microbes in MeHg cycling in rice paddy soils. They employed a series of incubation experiments and stable isotope tracer techniques to investigate the relative importance of different microbial groups of MeHg production and degradation across a Hg contamination gradient.

The results showed that sulfate-reduction was the main driver of MeHg formation and concentration at non-contaminated sites. However, methanogenesis exhibited a complex and important role in controlling MeHg cycling at Hg mining sites.

The researchers further proposed that methanogenesis directly affected MeHg degradation via oxidative demethylation and indirectly affected MeHg production by out-competing other microbial guilds.

As a result, management of methanogenesis at Hg mining sites may shed new light on the potential for mitigation of MeHg production and reducing the risk of human exposure to MeHg.

Slow-living animal species could be disease 'reservoirs'

Animals that live slowly—breeding less rapidly and living longer—could be "reservoirs" of diseases that could jump to new species including humans, new research suggests.

Some species "live fast and die young", devoting effort to reproduction, while others conserve more energy for survival.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to fast-spreading infectious diseases, but the new study—by the University of Exeter—focusses on "endemic" diseases that co-exist with host species for long periods of time.

The researchers measured what they called "demographic competence"—the ability of a host species to survive in large numbers while sustaining high levels of infection.

They showed that slow-lived species often have higher demographic competence for persistent infections, and are therefore more likely to act as reservoirs of infection that can spill over into other species.

Diseases of wildlife pose a threat to the survival of endangered species worldwide, and we know there is risk of spill-over of disease between closely related species of wildlife, livestock and humans. These spill-over events are known to be influenced by similarities in immune systems, and by increasing levels of contact between humans and wildlife caused by exploitation of natural ecosystems like rainforests.

As well as finding that slow-living species may be reservoirs of infectious disease, we show a 'flip-side' whereby species with low demographic competence may not be able to co-exist with new diseases and might therefore suffer local or complete extinction

It is important to note that pace-of-life in the host species isn't the only important factor affecting 'demographic competence'.

"Traits of the pathogen itself—such as how easily it is transmitted and how likely it is to kill a host—will also play a key role, as will the social behaviour of the host species.

"We must also consider the role of immunity. Differences in immune systems that we know exist between fast and slow hosts can influence how long individuals are ill and whether they can be re-infected."

Life history and population regulation shape demographic competence and influence the maintenance of endemic disease, DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01333-8 , www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01333-8

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-slow-living-animal-species-disease-re...

Wound-healing biomaterials activate immune system for stronger skin

Researchers  have developed a biomaterial that significantly reduces scar formation after wounding, leading to more effective skin healing. This new material, which quickly degrades once the wound has closed, demonstrates that activating an adaptive immune response can trigger regenerative wound healing, leaving behind stronger and healthier healed skin.

This work builds on the team's previous research with hydrogel scaffolds, which create a structure to support tissue growth, accelerating wound healing. In their new study, the team showed that a modified version of this hydrogel activates a regenerative immune response, which can potentially help heal skin injuries like burns, cuts, diabetic ulcers and other wounds that normally heal with significant scars that are more susceptible to reinjury.

Activating an adaptive immune response from a hydrogel scaffold imparts regenerative wound healing, Nature Materials (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-00844-w , www.nature.com/articles/s41563-020-00844-w

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-wound-healing-biomaterials-immune-str...

India's clean fuel transition slowed by belief that firewood is better for well-being

India's transition to clean cooking fuels may be hampered by users' belief that using firewood is better for their families' wellbeing than switching to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a new study reveals.

Women are considered primary family cooks in rural India and those featured in the study feel that both fuels support wellbeing. Understanding these viewpoints helps to explain why India's switch from traditional solid fuels is slower than expected.

Those cooks using firewood know it causes health problems, but feel that it contributes more to wellbeing than cooking with LPG would—although LPG users who previously cooked with firewood claim their new fuel has improved wellbeing.

India has more people relying on solid fuels for cooking than any other country in the world and providing universal access to clean cooking fuels has been identified as one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which the country is a signatory.

The study identifies three key lessons that have important implications for policy makers to consider:

• Users feel that both fuels support at least some key dimensions of wellbeing

  Understanding this helps to explain why people may not be persuaded to switch to cleaner fuels based only on seemingly obvious health benefits.

• Women's views on cooking fuels and wellbeing change after switching fuels.

  LPG and firewood users share some views, such as food tastes better cooked on firewood, but LPG users see more advantages in LPG than non-users.

• Wellbeing benefits of LPG use were based on time saved over using firewood

Differences in firewood users' and LPG users' perceived relationships between cooking fuels and women's multidimensional well-being in rural India, Nature Energy (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41560-020-00722-4 , www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00722-4

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-india-fuel-transition-belief-fi...

New robotic ‘snake’ device grips, picks up objects

New tool detects unsafe security practices in Android apps

"CRYLOGGER: Detecting Crypto Misuses Dynamically." DOI: 10.1109/SP40001.2021.00010 , www.computer.org/csdl/proceedi … 3400a160/1mbmHwIxTb2

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-tool-unsafe-android-apps.html?u...

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Scientists criticize use of unproven COVID drugs in India

Possible drug treatment on horizon for SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers from the Universities of York and Melbourne have shed new light on how viruses like hepatitis B, dengue and SARS-CoV-2 hijack a cell paving the way for potential anti-viral drugs to stop the virus in its tracks. Like products on a factory assembly line, all proteins pass through quality control checkpoints where they are inspected before they are transported to their destination to carry out their functions. The researchers showed that some viruses could hijack this manufacturing and distribution process in the cell. The virus can use the cells machinery to copy their DNA or RNA and produce the proteins they need to make copies of themselves and take-over their host. Research demonstrated that viruses tend to harness a step in this process where sugar molecules coat newly assembled proteins. The team was able to develop inhibitors to block an enzyme that trims, checks, and modifies the sugar coating process, which can disrupt the viruses’ ability to hijack the pathway.

https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2020/research/possible-...

https://researchnews.cc/news/3481/Possible-drug-treatment-on-horizo...

First-Ever Flu Vaccine Derived From Tobacco Plants Just Smashed Clinical Trials

A new flu vaccine grown in plants has been put to the test in two large-scale clinical trials, a first for vaccine research.

The vaccine contained virus-like particles which resembled circulating flu strains, extracted from native Australian tobacco relatives that were genetically instructed to produce the viral proteins.

The two trials combined involved nearly 23,000 people and the results suggest that the plant-derived vaccine is not only safe, but comparable to current commercial flu vaccines.

To the best of our knowledge, these studies and the clinical development programme that preceded them are the largest demonstration to date of the potential for a plant-based platform to produce a human vaccine that can be safe, immunogenic, and effective.

Most influenza vaccines are currently made using virus particles grown in and harvested from chicken eggs or lab-grown cells, which takes months even after scientists work out which flu strains (and surface proteins) they need to target.

Plants, which can be engineered to produce select proteins and cultivated at scale, could be an alternative, helping to boost our capacity to produce seasonal flu vaccines.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32014-6/fulltext

https://www.sciencealert.com/large-scale-studies-test-flu-vaccine-d...