A protein that can melt tumors discovered at Vanderbilt
 For the second time, cancer researchers at Vanderbilt have discovered a protein that when genetically manipulated to impede it from interacting with a gene responsible for cancer genesis effectively melts tumors in days. The article, MYC regulates ribosome biogenesis and mitochondrial gene expression programs through interaction with Host Cell Factor-1, was published in the journal eLIFE on Jan. 8.

https://researchnews.cc/news/4842/A-protein-that-can-melt-tumors-di...

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Wireless linkage of brains may soon go to human testing

The physics behind tumor growth

Researchers at Duke University have developed a predictive theory for tumor growth that approaches the subject from a new point of view. Rather than focusing on the biological mechanisms of cellular growth, the researchers instead use thermodynamics and the physical space the tumor is expanding into to predict its evolution from a single cell to a complex cancerous mass.

The results appeared Jan. 15 in the journal Biosystems.

The new work is based on the constructal law, which Bejan penned in 1996, that states that for a system to survive, it must evolve to increase its access to flow. For example, the human vascular system has evolved to provide blood flow through a network of a few large arteries and many small capillaries. River systems, tree branches and modern highway and road networks all reflect the same forces at work.

In the paper researchers demonstrate how a tumor’s growth and internal reorganization as it grows are directly tied to its need to create greater access to flowing nutrients as well as conduits for removing refuse. They use these insights to predict the growth of cell clusters as a function of structure, and also to predict the critical cluster sizes that mark the transitions from one distinct configuration to the next.

To validate their theory, the researchers compared their predictions with the measurements of several independent studies of cancerous and non-cancerous tumor growth patterns. The results show that their work provides a unifying perspective on the growth of cell clusters on the smallest scales as well as the large-scale dynamics of proliferating cells as described in phenomenological models.

As the tumor grows, the flow systems get large enough to create visible currents through the vascularization of the tumor. The new theory reveals the physics behind these sorts of dramatic transitions and predict when they should happen.

https://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/physics-tumor-growth

“Cell and Extracellular Matrix Growth Theory and its Implications for Tumorigenesis,” T.J. Sauer, E. Samei, A. Bejan. Biosystems, Jan. 15, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104331

Geological phenomenon widening the Atlantic Ocean

An upsurge of matter from deep beneath the Earth's crust could be pushing the continents of North and South America further apart from Europe and Africa, new research has found.

The plates attached to the Americas are moving apart from those attached to Europe and Africa by four centimetres per year. In between these continents lies the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a site where new plates are formed and a dividing line between plates moving to the west and those moving to the east; beneath this ridge, material rises to replace the space left by the plates as they move apart.

Now a team of  seismologists  have found evidence of an upwelling in the mantle—the material between the Earth's crust and its core—from depths of more than 600 kilometres beneath the Mid Atlantic ridge, which could be pushing the plates from below, causing the continents to move further apart. Upwellings beneath ridges are typically thought to originate from much shallower depths of around 60 km.

The findings, published in the journal Nature provide a greater understanding of plate tectonics which causes many natural disasters around the world, including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

A thin mantle transition zone beneath the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03139-x , www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03139-x

https://phys.org/news/2021-01-geological-phenomenon-widening-atlant...

Mouse study: Gabapentin prevents harmful structural changes in spin...

Research led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine found that the widely prescribed pain-relief drug gabapentin can prevent harmful structural changes in the injured spinal cords of mice, and also block cardiovascular changes and immune suppression caused by spinal cord injury.

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Study provides insight into how the brain may have evolved

Researchers from The University of Western Australia have uncovered evidence of an important genetic step in the evolution of the brain. The finding highlights how genetic events that took place in our fish-like ancestors play crucial roles in human brain biology today.

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How vitamins, steroids and potential antivirals might affect SARS-C...

Evidence is emerging that vitamin D—and possibly vitamins K and A—might help combat COVID-19. A new study from the University of Bristol published in the journal of the German Chemical Society Angewandte Chemie has shown how they—and other antiviral drugs—might work. The research indicates that these dietary supplements and compounds could bind to the viral spike protein and so might reduce SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. In contrast, cholesterol may increase infectivity, which could explain why having high cholesterol is considered a risk factor for serious disease.

Using science to explain the mysterious Dyatlov Pass Incident

Physics of snakeskin sheds light on sidewinding

Most snakes get from one place  to another by bending their bodies into S-shapes and slithering forward headfirst. A few species, however—found in the deserts of North America, Africa and the Middle East—have an odder way of getting around. Known as "sidewinders," these snakes lead with their mid-sections instead of their heads, slinking sideways across loose sand.

Scientists took a microscopic look at the skin of sidewinders to see if it plays a role in their unique method of movement. They discovered that sidewinders' bellies are studded with tiny pits and have few, if any, of the tiny spikes found on the bellies of other snakes.

The specialized locomotion of sidewinders evolved independently in different species in different parts of the world, suggesting that sidewinding is a good solution to a problem. Understanding how and why this example of convergent evolution works may allow us to adapt it for our own needs, such as building robots that can move in challenging environments.

This research bring together the physics of soft matter—flowable materials like sand—and organismal biology. The study shows how animals' surfaces interact with the flowable materials in their environments to get around. Insights from the research may lead to improvements in human technology.

Most snakes tend to keep their bellies largely in contact with the ground as they slide forward, bending their bodies from their heads to their tails. A sidewinder, however, lifts its midsection off the ground, shifting it in a sideways direction.

Previous studies have hypothesized that sidewinding may allow a snake to move better on sandy slopes.

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investigated whether sidewinders' skin might also play a role in their unique movement style.

They focused on three species of sidewinders, all of them vipers, in residence at zoos: The sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes), found in the deserts of the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico; and the Saharan horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) and the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera), both from the deserts of north Africa.

Skins shed from the sidewinders were collected and scanned with atomic force microscopy, a technique that provides resolution at the atomic level, on the order of fractions of a nanometer. For comparison, they also scanned snake skins shed from non-sidewinders.

As expected, the microscopy revealed tiny, head-to-tail pointing spikes on the skin of the non-sidewinders. Previous research had identified these micro spikes on a variety of other slithering snakes.

The current study, however, found that the skin of sidewinders is different. The two African sidewinders had micro pits on their bellies and no spikes. The skin of the sidewinder rattlesnake was also studded with tiny pits, along with a few, much smaller, spikes—although far fewer spikes than those of the slithering snakes.

The researchers created a mathematical model to test how these different structures affect frictional interactions with a surface. The model showed that head-to-tail pointing spikes enhance the speed and distance of forward undulation but are detrimental to sidewinding.

The model also showed that the uniform, non-directional structure of the round pits enhanced sidewinding, but was not as efficient as spikes for forward undulation.

The research provides snapshots at different points in time of convergent evolution—when different species independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments.

Jennifer M. Rieser el al., "Functional consequences of convergently evolved microscopic skin features on snake locomotion," PNAS (2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2018264118

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-physics-snakeskin-sidewinding.html?ut...

Marine organisms use previously undiscovered receptors to detect, respond to light

Just as plants and animals on land are keenly attuned to the hours of sunlight in the day, life in the oceans follows the rhythms of the day, the seasons and even the moon. A new study finds the biological light switches that make this possible.

Single-celled organisms in the open ocean use a diverse array of genetic tools to detect light, even in tiny amounts, and respond.

If you look in the ocean environment, all these different organisms have this day-night cycle. They are very in tune with each other, even as they get moved around. How do they know when it's day? How do they know when it's night?

By analyzing RNA filtered out of seawater samples collected throughout the day and night, the study identifies four main groups of photoreceptors, many of them new. This genetic activity uses light to trigger changes in the metabolism, growth, cell division, movements and death of marine organisms.

The discovery of these new genetic "light switches" could also aid in the field of optogenetics, in which a cell's function can be controlled with light exposure. Today's optogenetic tools are engineered by humans, but versions from nature might be more sensitive or better detect light of particular wavelengths, the researchers think.

Sacha N. Coesel el al., "Diel transcriptional oscillations of light-sensitive regulatory elements in open-ocean eukaryotic plankton communities," PNAS (2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2011038118

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-marine-previously-undiscovered-recept...

Lactobacillus manipulates bile acids to create favorable gut environment

New research  reveals that probiotic Lactobacillus bacteria use enzymes situationally to manipulate bile acids and promote their own survival in the gut. These findings further elucidate the complicated relationship between bile acids and gut bacteria and could eventually enable researchers to design lactobacilli with therapeutic properties, thereby engineering a healthier human gut environment.

Bile acids are key players in digestion and overall gut health. Produced in the liver and released after we eat, these acids not only break down cholesterol and help regulate fat absorption, they also have a huge impact on what types of bacteria colonize the gut.

As bile acids move through the gut, they are initially chemically modified through the addition of an amino acid (frequently glycine or taurine), creating a complex "conjugated" bile acid pool. Some gut bacteria have enzymes, called bile salt hydrolases (BSHs), which can cleave or "deconjugate" these amino acids from the bile acids, allowing other bacteria to further transform the bile acids as they continue through the colon. These transformations affect the bile acids' toxicity, which in turn affects the ability of different bacteria to survive in the gut.

The assumed relationship was that probiotic bacteria like Lactobacillus have BSHs that just deconjugate the bile acid, rendering it less toxic and allowing the bacteria to survive.

The interplay between bile and bacteria has a huge impact on their ability to live, thrive or die in a very competitive environment.

 Matthew H. Foley el al., "Lactobacillus bile salt hydrolase substrate specificity governs bacterial fitness and host colonization," PNAS (2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2017709118

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It was found that bile acid toxicity was not merely dependent upon whether the bile acid was conjugated or deconjugated by a BSH; rather, the relationships were dependent upon the type of bile acid, the bacteria being acted upon, and which BSH was present.

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-lactobacillus-bile-acids-favorable-gu...

Virtual conference CO2 emissions quantified in new study

The virtual conferencing that has replaced large, in-person gatherings in the age of COVID-19 represents a drastic reduction in carbon emissions, but those online meetings still come with their own environmental costs, new research from the University of Michigan shows.

The research offers a framework for analyzing and tallying the carbon emissions of an online conference based on factors that include everything from energy used by servers and monitors to the resources used to manufacture and distribute the computers involved.

Individuals could skip features like gallery view, disable HD video and repair instead of replace computers to extend their useful lifetimes.

Grant Faber. A framework to estimate emissions from virtual conferences, International Journal of Environmental Studies (2021). DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2020.1864190

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-virtual-conference-co2-emissions-quan...

A call for a global ban on lead paint

Once lead paint is on a wall, it becomes an expensive problem to fix. In impoverished settings, be they neighborhoods in Philadelphia or developing nations globally, remediation can be prohibitively costly.

Branches and treetops can reduce greenhouse gas emission from heavy...

New research from University of Gävle shows that forest residues can generate large amounts of biofuel, and, in the long run, reduce greenhouse gas emission by 88-94% from heavy transport on Swedish roads.

Water disinfection with ozone

While chlorine and ultraviolet light are the standard means of disinfecting water, ozone is equally effective in killing germs. To date, ozone has only been used as an oxidation agent for treating water in large plants. Now, however, a project consortium from Schleswig-Holstein is developing a miniaturized ozone generator for use in smaller applications such as water dispensers or small domestic appliances. The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT has provided the sensor chip and electrode substrates for the electrolysis cell.

A new treatment to help people with a spinal cord injury

An origami-inspired medical patch for sealing internal injuries

Many surgeries today are performed via minimally invasive procedures, in which a small incision is made and miniature cameras and surgical tools are threaded through the body to remove tumors and repair damaged tissues and organs. The process results in less pain and shorter recovery times compared to open surgery.

While many procedures can be performed in this way, surgeons can face challenges at an important step in the process: the sealing of internal wounds and tears.

The bioadhesives currently used in minimally invasive surgeries are available mostly as biodegradable liquids and glues that can be spread over damaged tissues. When these glues solidify, however, they can stiffen over the softer underlying surface, creating an imperfect seal. Blood and other biological fluids can also contaminate glues, preventing successful adhesion to the injured site. Glues can also wash away before an injury has fully healed, and, after application, they can also cause inflammation and scar tissue formation.

Taking inspiration from origami, MIT engineers have now designed a medical patch that can be folded around minimally invasive surgical tools and delivered through airways, intestines, and other narrow spaces, to patch up internal injuries. The patch resembles a foldable, paper-like film when dry. Once it makes contact with wet tissues or organs, it transforms into a stretchy gel, similar to a contact lens, and can stick to an injured site.

Given the limitations of current designs, the team aimed to engineer an alternative that would meet three functional requirements. It should be able to stick to the wet surface of an injured site, avoid binding to anything before reaching its destination, and once applied to an injured site resist bacterial contamination and excessive inflammation.

The team's design meets all three requirements, in the form of a three-layered patch. The middle layer is the main bioadhesive, made from a hydrogel material that is embedded with compounds called NHS esters. When in contact with a wet surface, the adhesive absorbs any surrounding water and becomes pliable and stretchy, molding to a tissue's contours. Simultaneously, the esters in the adhesive form strong covalent bonds with compounds on the tissue surface, creating a tight seal between the two materials. 

This could be used to repair a perforation from a coloscopy, or seal solid organs or blood vessels after a trauma or elective surgical intervention. Instead of having to carry out a full open surgical approach, one could go from the inside to deliver a patch to seal a wound at least temporarily and maybe even long-term.

In contrast to existing surgical adhesives, the team's new tape is designed to resist contamination when exposed to bacteria and bodily fluids. Over time, the patch can safely biodegrade away. The team has published its results in the journal Advanced Materials.

Sarah J. Wu et al. A Multifunctional Origami Patch for Minimally Invasive Tissue Sealing, Advanced Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202007667

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-origami-inspired-medical-patch-intern...

A new way to make wood transparent, stronger and lighter than glass

A team of researchers at the University of Maryland, has found a new way to make wood transparent. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their process and why they believe it is better than the old process.

Qinqin Xia et al. Solar-assisted fabrication of large-scale, patternable transparent wood, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd7342

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-wood-transparent-stronger-lighter-gla...

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Say goodbye to the dots and dashes to enhance optical storage media

Innovators have created technology aimed at replacing Morse code with colored "digital characters" to modernize optical storage. They are confident the advancement will help with the explosion of remote data storage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morse code has been around since the 1830s. The familiar dots and dashes system may seem antiquated given the amount of information needed to be acquired, digitally archived and rapidly accessed every day. But those same basic dots and dashes are still used in many optical media to aid in storage.

A new technology developed at Purdue is aimed at modernizing the optical digital storage technology. Rather than using the traditional dots and dashes as commonly used in these technologies, the  innovators encode information in the angular position of tiny antennas, allowing them to store more data per unit area.

The storage capacity greatly increases because it is only defined by the resolution of the sensor by which you can determine the angular positions of antennas. They mapped the antenna angles into colors, and the colors are decoded.

This advancement allows for more data to be stored and for that data to be read at a quicker rate. The research is published in Laser & Photonics Reviews.

 Maowen Song et al, Enabling Optical Steganography, Data Storage, and Encryption with Plasmonic Colors, Laser & Photonics Reviews (2021). DOI: 10.1002/lpor.202000343

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-goodbye-dots-dashes-optical-storage.h...

Twisted van der Waals materials as a new platform to realize exotic...

Researchers from the MPSD, the RWTH Aachen University and the Flatiron Institute, Columbia University (both in the U.S.) and part of the Max Planck—New York City Center for Non-equilibrium Quantum Phenomena have provided a fresh perspective on the potential of twisted van der Waals materials for realizing novel and elusive states of matter and providing a unique materials-based quantum simulation platform.

Researchers map non-visible materials at nanoscale with ultrasound

The increasing miniaturization of electrical components in industry requires a new imaging technique at the nanometre scale. Delft researcher Gerard Verbiest and ASML have developed a first proof-of-concept method that they now plan to further develop. The method uses the same principle as ultrasound scanning in pregnancies, but on a much, much smaller scale.

Existing non-destructive imaging techniques for nanoelectronics, such as optical and electron microscopy, are not accurate enough or applicable to deeper structures. A well-known 3-D technique on a macro-scale is ultrasound. The advantage here is that it works for every sample. That makes ultrasound an excellent way of mapping the 3-D structure of a non-transparent sample in a non-destructive way." And yet, ultrasound technology at the nanoscale didn't exist yet. Indeed, the resolution of ultrasound imaging is strongly determined by the wavelength of the sound used, and that is typically around a millimeter.

o improve this, ultrasound has already been integrated into an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).

AFM is a technique that allows you to scan and map out surfaces extremely accurately with a tiny needle. The advantage here is that it isn't the wavelength but the size of the tip of the AFM that determines the resolution. Unfortunately, at the frequencies used so far (1-10 MHz), the response of the AFM is small and unclear. We do see something, but it's not clear exactly what we're seeing. So the frequency of the sound used needed to be further increased, to the GHz range, and that's what these researchers have now done.

They have achieved this  through photoacoustics. Using the photoacoustic effect allows you to generate extremely short sound pulses. Researchers have managed to integrate this technique into an AFM. With the tip of the AFM, they c ould focus the signal. 

But there are certainly potential applications outside of electronics as well. You could use it in cell biology to make a detailed 3-D image of a single living cell, for example of the way mitochondria are folded in a cell. And in materials science, you could use it for research into heat transport in an amazing material such as graphene."

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-non-visible-materials-nanoscale-ultra...

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Why food sticks to nonstick frying pans

Despite the use of nonstick frying pans, foods will sometimes get stuck to a heated surface, even if oil is used. The results can be very messy and unappetizing.

Scientists at the Czech Academy of Sciences began an investigation of the fluid properties of oil on a flat surface, such as a frying pan. Their work, reported in Physics of Fluids, shows convection may be to blame for our stuck-on food.

The experimental investigation used a nonstick pan with a surface comprised of ceramic particles. A video camera was placed above the pan as it was heated and used to measure the speed at which a dry spot formed and grew. Further experiments with a Teflon-coated pan showed the same.

Researchers experimentally explained why food sticks to the center of the frying pan. This is caused by the formation of a dry spot in the thin sunflower oil film as a result of thermocapillary convection.

When the pan is heated from below, a temperature gradient is established in the oil film. For common liquids, such as the sunflower oil used in the experiment, the surface tension decreases when temperature increases. A surface tension gradient is established, directed away from the center where the temperature is higher and toward the pan's periphery.

This gradient sets up a type of convection known as thermocapillary convection, which moves oil outward. When the oil film in the middle becomes thinner than a critical value, the film ruptures.

The researchers determined the conditions that lead to dry spots for both stationary and flowing films. These conditions include a decrease in the local film thickness below a critical size as well as the size of the deformed region falling below a number known as the capillary length.

"To avoid unwanted dry spots, the following set of measures should be applied: increasing the oil film thickness, moderate heating, completely wetting the surface of the pan with oil, using a pan with a thick bottom, or stirring food regularly during cooking.

The phenomenon also occurs in other situations, such as the thin liquid films used in fluid distillation columns or other devices that may have electronic components.

"Dry spot formation or film rupture plays a negative role, resulting in sharp overheating of the electronic components. The results of this study may, therefore, have wider application.

"On formation of dry spots in heated liquid films" Physics of Fluids (2021). DOI: 10.1063/5.0035547

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-food-nonstick-pans.html?utm_source=nw...

How do electrons close to Earth reach almost the speed of light?

A new study found that electrons can reach ultra-relativistic energies for very special conditions in the magnetosphere when space is devoid of plasma.

Recent measurements from NASA's Van Allen Probes spacecraft showed that electrons can reach ultra-relativistic energies flying at almost the speed of light.  Researchers  have revealed under which conditions such strong accelerations occur. They had already demonstrated in 2020 that during solar storm plasma waves play a crucial role for that. However, it was previously unclear why such high electron energies are not achieved in all solar storms. In the journal Science Advances, they now show that extreme depletions of the background plasma density are crucial.

At ultra-relativistic energies, electrons move at almost the speed of light. Then the laws of relativity become most important. The mass of the particles increases by a factor ten, time is slowing down, and distance decreases. With such high energies, charged particles become most dangerous to even the best protected satellites. As almost no shielding can stop them, their charge can destroy sensitive electronics. Predicting their occurrence—for example, as part of the observations of space weather practiced at the GFZ—is therefore very important for modern infrastructure.

This study shows that electrons in the Earth's radiation belt can be promptly accelerated locally to ultra-relativistic energies, if the conditions of the plasma environment—plasma waves and temporarily low plasma density—are right. The particles can be regarded as surfing on plasma waves. In regions of extremely low plasma density they can just take a lot of energy from plasma waves. Similar mechanisms may be at work in the magnetospheres of the outer planets such as Jupiter or Saturn and in other astrophysical objects.

 Hayley J. Allison et al, Gyroresonant wave-particle interactions with chorus waves during extreme depletions of plasma density in the Van Allen radiation belts, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc0380

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-electrons-earth.html?utm_source=nwlet...

Temperature, humidity, wind predict second wave of pandemic

The 'second wave' of the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in much blame placed on a lack of appropriate safety measures. However, due to the impacts of weather, research suggests two outbreaks per year during a pandemic are inevitable.

Though face masks, travel restrictions, and social distancing guidelines help slow the number of new infections in the short term, the lack of climate effects incorporated into epidemiological models presents a glaring hole that can cause long-term effects.

Typical models for predicting the behavior of an epidemic contain only two basic parameters, transmission rate and recovery rate. These rates tend to be treated as constants, but  this is not actually the case. Temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed all play a significant role, so the researchers aimed to modify typical models to account for these climate conditions. They call their new weather-dependent variable the Airborne Infection Rate index.

When they applied the AIR index to models of Paris, New York City, and Rio de Janeiro, they found it accurately predicted the timing of the second outbreak in each city, suggesting two outbreaks per year is a natural, weather-dependent phenomenon. Further, the behavior of the virus in Rio de Janeiro was markedly different from the behavior of the virus in Paris and New York, due to seasonal variations in the northern and southern hemispheres, consistent with real data.

The authors emphasize the importance of accounting for these seasonal variations when designing safety measures.

As temperatures rise and humidity falls, scientists expect another improvement in infection numbers, though they note that mask and distancing guidelines should continue to be followed with the appropriate weather-based modifications.

Talib Dbouk and Dimitris Drikakis. Fluid dynamics and epidemiology: Seasonality and transmission dynamics. Physics of Fluids 33, 021901 (2021); doi.org/10.1063/5.0037640

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-temperature-humidity-pandemic.html?ut...

Venus flytraps found to produce magnetic fields

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a carnivorous plant that encloses its prey using modified leaves as a trap. During this process, electrical signals known as action potentials trigger the closure of the leaf lobes. An interdisciplinary team of scientists has now shown that these electrical signals generate measurable magnetic fields. Using atomic magnetometers, it proved possible to record this biomagnetism.

The problem is that the magnetic signals in plants are very weak, which explains why it was extremely difficult to measure them with the help of older technologies.

We know that in the human brain, voltage changes in certain regions result from concerted electrical activity that travels through nerve cells in the form of action potentials. Techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to record these activities and noninvasively diagnose disorders. When plants are stimulated, they also generate electrical signals, which can travel through a cellular network analogous to the human and animal nervous system.

Researchers have now demonstrated that electrical activity in the Venus flytrap is also associated with magnetic signals.The action potentials in a multicellular plant system produce measurable magnetic fields, something that had never been confirmed before.

The trap of Dionaea muscipula consists of bilobed trapping leaves with sensitive hairs, which, when touched, trigger an action potential that travels through the whole trap. After two successive stimuli, the trap closes and any potential insect prey is locked inside and subsequently digested. Interestingly, the trap is electrically excitable in a variety of ways: in addition to mechanical influences such as touch or injury, osmotic energy, for example salt-water loads, and thermal energy in the form of heat or cold can also trigger action potentials. For their study, the research team used heat stimulation to induce action potentials, thereby eliminating potentially disturbing factors such as mechanical background noise in their magnetic measurements.

While biomagnetism has been relatively well-researched in humans and animals, so far very little equivalent research has been done in the plant kingdom, using only superconducting-quantum-interference-device (SQUID) magnetometers, bulky instruments which must be cooled to cryogenic temperatures. For the current experiment, the research team used atomic magnetometers to measure the magnetic signals of the Venus flytrap. The sensor is a glass cell filled with a vapor of alkali atoms, which react to small changes in the local magnetic-field environment. These optically pumped magnetometers are more attractive for biological applications because they do not require cryogenic cooling and can also be miniaturized.

The researchers detected magnetic signals with an amplitude of up to 0.5 picotesla from the Venus flytrap, which is millions of times weaker than the Earth's magnetic field. "The signal magnitude recorded is similar to what is observed during surface measurements of nerve impulses in animals.

Anne Fabricant et al. Action potentials induce biomagnetic fields in carnivorous Venus flytrap plants, Scientific Reports (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81114-w

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-venus-flytraps-magnetic-fields.html?u...

Economic growth has 'devastating cost to nature', review finds

Humanity's unbridled growth in recent decades has come at a "devastating cost to nature" according a wide-ranging international review on the vital economic role played by our living planet.

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Why keeping one mature street tree is far better for humans and nat...

Thanks to Victorian street planners, many British streets were designed to be full of big trees and, with 84% of the population living in urban areas, most people are more likely to encounter trees in the streets than they are in forests.

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Scientists advocate breaking laws—of geography and ecology

Recent global calamities—the pandemic, wildfires, floods—are spurring interdisciplinary scientists to nudge aside the fashionable First Law of Geography that dictates "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things."

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Scientists develop method to detect fake news

Social media is increasingly used to spread fake news. The same problem can be found on the capital market—criminals spread fake news about companies in order to manipulate share prices. Researchers at the Universities of Göttingen and Frankfurt and the Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana have developed an approach that can recognize such fake news, even when the news content is repeatedly adapted. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the Association for Information Systems.

Why Do These Deadly Insects Look Like Flowers?

Scientists uncover potential antiviral treatment for COVID-19

Researchers from the University of Nottingham have discovered a novel antiviral property of a drug that could have major implications in how future epidemics / pandemics—including COVID-19—are managed.

The study, published in Viruses, shows that thapsigargin is a promising broad spectrum antiviral, highly effective against COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2), a common cold coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the influenza A virus.

Given that acute respiratory virus infections caused by different viruses are clinically indistinguishable on presentation, an effective broad-spectrum that can target different virus types at the same time could significantly improve clinical management. An antiviral of this type could potentially be made available for community use to control active infection and its spread.

The key features based on cell and animal studies, which make thapsigargin a promising antiviral are that it is:

• effective against viral infection when used before or during active infection
• able to prevent a virus from making new copies of itself in cells for at least 48 hours after a single 30-minute exposure.
• stable in acidic pH, as found in the stomach, and therefore can be taken orally, so could be administered without the need for injections or hospital admission.
• not sensitive to virus resistance.
• at least several hundred-fold more effective than current antiviral options.
• just as effective in blocking combined infection with coronavirus and influenza A virus as in single-virus infection.
• safe as an antiviral (a derivative of thapsigargin has been tested in prostate cancer).

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-scientists-uncover-potential...

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Cutting lock with pressure water

Nanotech plastic packaging could leach silver into some types of foods and beverages

Antimicrobial packaging is being developed to extend the shelf life and safety of foods and beverages. However, there is concern about the transfer of potentially harmful materials, such as silver nanoparticles, from these types of containers to consumables. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces illustrate that silver embedded in an antimicrobial plastic can leave the material and form nanoparticles in foods and beverages, particularly in sweet and sugary ones.

Some polymers containing nanoparticles or nanocomposites can slow the growth of microorganisms responsible for food and beverage spoilage and foodborne illness. Although these polymers are not currently approved for use in packaging , researchers are investigating various types of nanoparticle-embedded polymers that could be incorporated into containers in the future.

Tianxi Yang et al. Food and Beverage Ingredients Induce the Formation of Silver Nanoparticles in Products Stored within Nanotechnology-Enabled Packaging, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c17867

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nanotech-plastic-packaging-leach-silv...

There Is One Way Humans Could 'Safely' Enter a Black Hole, Physicists Say

However, there is a rather complicated catch: A human can do this only if the respective black hole is supermassive and isolated, and if the person entering the black hole does not expect to report the findings to anyone in the entire Universe.

https://theconversation.com/could-a-human-enter-a-black-hole-to-stu...

How Arctic Frogs Survive Being Frozen Alive

New software allows scientists to 'walk inside' fossil and mummy samples

New software will allow scientists to see data in 3-D and create life-like models of objects like fossils and mummies, making it possible to "zoom in" on smaller details without damaging the original.

The revolutionary software involved, called Drishti, is simple, but powerful.

Applications of the latest version, Drishti Paint, have been explained in a new paper published in Royal Society Open Science.

You can even 'walk around' inside the object to see what's there. 

After researchers scan the sample, they then have a set of 3-D data which can be digitally dissected effectively using this new tool. This is the first known tool that can perform this kind of 3-D segmentation directly on a volume of data.

According to the team, the software could prove especially useful when it comes to scientific communication and education.

It has already been used to create an identical model from a mummy sample, so the mummy can be studied closely without damaging the original sample.

It had been used to scan data of a fish fossil as a case study, but this new  procedure can be used in biological, medical and industrial research.

Drishti was first developed by NCI in 2004 and has been under continuous development since then

Importantly, the software is free and available online for anyone to use.

Yuzhi Hu et al. Three-dimensional segmentation of computed tomography data using Drishti Paint : new tools and developments, Royal Society Open Science (2020). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201033

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-software-scientists-fossil-mummy-samp...

Drugging the undruggable, improbable new targets for lung cancer therapy

The growth of solid tumors is frequently driven by mutations in key proto-oncogenes. For non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC), somatic mutations in the KRAS (Kirsten RAt Sarcoma virus) gene turn it into an oncogene that renders tumors resistant to common chemotherapies like erlotinib (Tarceva) or gefitinib (Iressa). 

Previously, KRAS was considered to be "undruggable" because the surface of the tiny protein had no deep pockets for drug interaction with potential small molecule inhibitors. Since many NSCLCs rely on a constitutively activated mutant KRAS, researchers have continued to explore KRAS and its downstream signaling pathways as possible targets. That research has finally begun to pay off. Complementary approaches to NSCLC lung cancer that collectively embrace immune self-defenses within the context of the larger KRAS ecosystem have now come fully into view.

Together, they flesh out a therapeutic microcosm of tumor biology that can be copied and modified to serve as a blueprint for treating many cancer types, each sustained by their own unique oncogenic drivers. In an article in Cell Reports Medicine researchers outline four ways to combat KRAS-dependent NSCLC: immune checkpoint inhibitors, KRAS neoantigen targeting, direct KRAS inhibitors and KRAS signaling inhibitors.

 Ravi Salgia et al. The improbable targeted therapy: KRAS as an emerging target in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Cell Reports Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2020.100186

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-drugging-undruggable-improba...

One in every 5 adults had Covid by mid-Dec, says ICMR survey

More than one-fifth of the country’s adult population had at some point been infected by Covid-19 by mid-December, the third serological survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research shows.

More than one-fifth of the country’s adult population had at some point been infected by Covid-19 by mid-December, the third serological survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research shows.

The separate data released on seroprevalence among those aged 10-18 was found to be 25.3%. The data released reflect the prevalence of antibodies, read as evidence that the person has had Covid-19.

Among healthcare workers, seroprevalence was 25.7%, with 26.6% among doctors and nurses.

The government emphasised that a large proportion of the population is still vulnerable and there is no scope to lower the guard as herd immunity could not be assumed and added that following Covid-appropriate behaviour is needed.

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/one-in-ev...

Deforestation is stressing mammals out

Lots of us are feeling pretty anxious about the destruction of the natural world. It turns out, humans aren't the only ones stressing out—by analyzing hormones that accumulate in fur, researchers found that rodents and marsupials living in smaller patches of South America's Atlantic Forest are under more stress than ones living in more intact forests.

Small mammals, primarily rodents and little marsupials, tend to be more stressed out, or show more evidence that they have higher levels of stress hormones, in smaller forest patches than in larger forest patches."

The destruction of an animal's habitat can drastically change its life. There's less food and territory to go around, and the animal might find itself in more frequent contact with predators or in increased competition with other animals for resources. These circumstances can add up to long-term stress.

Stress isn't a bad thing in and of itself—in small doses, stress can be life-saving. A stress response is normally trying to bring your body back into balance. If something perturbs you and it can cause you to be injured or die, the stress response mobilizes energy to deal with that situation and bring things back into a normal state. It allows you to survive.

But then these animals are placed into these small fragments of habitat where they're experiencing elevated stress over prolonged periods, and that can lead to disease and dysregulation of various physiological mechanisms in the body.

The study not only sheds light on how animals respond to deforestation, but it could also lead to a better understanding of the circumstances in which animals can pass diseases to humans. If you have lots of stressed out mammals, they can harbour viruses and other diseases, and there are more and more people living near these deforested patches that could potentially be in contact with these animals. By destroying natural habitats, we're potentially creating hotspots for zoonotic disease outbreaks.

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The tropics hold the highest diversity of organisms on the planet. Therefore, this has potential to impact the largest variety of living organisms on the planet, as more and more deforestation is happening. We're gonna see individuals and populations that tend to show higher levels of stress

1. Sarah A. Boyle, Noé U. de la Sancha, Pastor Pérez, David Kabelik. Small mammal glucocorticoid concentrations vary with forest fragment size, trap type, and mammal taxa in the Interior Atlantic Forest. Scientific Reports, 2021; 11 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81073-2

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210204101640.htm#:~:t....

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-deforestation-stressing-mammals.html?...

Spicy perfection isn't to prevent infection: study

Do spices used in dishes  help stop infection?

We have an answer to this Q now.

The quick takeaway is: probably not.

Researchers from Australia feasted on a true smorgasbord of data, examining more the 33,000 recipes from 70 cuisines containing 93 different spices to find the answer  and this is their conclusion: 

The theory  that spicy foods helped people survive in hot climates where the risk of infection from food can have a big cost in terms of health and survival doesn't hold up. 

Spicier food is found in hotter countries, but our analysis provides no clear reason to believe that this is primarily a cultural adaptation to reducing infection risk from food.

The study instead shows that while use of spice is related to the risk of foodborne illness, it's also associated with a wide range of health outcomes. In fact, spice use is even related to causes of death that have nothing to do with infection risk, such as fatal car accidents.

So there is a significant relationship between life expectancy and spicy food. But this doesn't mean that spicy food shortens your life span or makes you crash your car. Instead, there are many socioeconomic indicators that all scale together, and many of them also scale with spice use.

because the spiciness of cuisines scales with many socio-economic factors, like gross domestic product per capita and life expectancy, it is difficult to tease apart the key causes. However, the researchers could rule out some possible explanations of why some areas use more spices in their cooking.

Spicier foods are not explained by variation in climate, human population density or cultural diversity.

And patterns of spice use don't seem to be driven by biodiversity, nor by the number of different crops grown, nor even by the number of spices growing naturally in the area.

Whatever the key drivers for the use of spice, one thing is certain—our palettes and plates are a lot better for it!

 There is little evidence that spicy food in hot countries is an adaptation to reducing infection risk, Nature Human Behaviour (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-01039-8 , www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-01039-8

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-spicy-isnt-infection.html?utm_source=...

Part 2

The scientific community is only now starting to study the fascinating physical processes that produce respiratory droplets. We just do not much about it yet. Having no reason to discard any of these data, we set out to compare the consequent scenarios.

a major effort is needed to gain an understanding or at least a robust characterization of droplet size distribution in human expulsions. In the absence of more conclusive data, and despite the importance of social distancing, we are unable to predict what the safe distance is.

disease transmission may also depend on the relative humidity (RH) of the environment. In dry conditions (RH lower than about 45%), droplets dry out and shrink to their crystallized salt core, similar to what happens as sea water dries out leaving solid salt on our skin. This process leaves the virions trapped onto the solid salt nucleus within a fraction of a second. In contrast, in moist conditions (RH larger than 45%), droplets never evaporate entirely and remain liquid at all times. The evaporation process is highly nontrivial, as humidity fluctuates widely due to turbulence as shown in the video for a typical cough (color coded according to the value of RH).

Are dry nuclei or liquid droplets more infective? This second issue is still debated, and no consensus has been reached. Imagine that SARS-Cov-2 absolutely needs water to survive. In dry days, disease transmission would be hindered and we would be much safer than in moist conditions. The question for social distancing would then be how far liquid droplets travel before complete evaporation, and we could interrogate the model described above to find the answer. We could also imagine the opposite scenario, where virions better thrive on solid nuclei and suffer in droplets, for example, due to the large concentration of salt or saliva. In this case, we would want to pay particular attention during dry days, and potentially keep indoors environments more moist.

Conclusion 2

• Humidity in the environment dictates the final state of the exhaled saliva droplets which either remain in a liquid state or reduce to their dry residual depending on the ambient relative humidity.
• A major effort is needed to define the infectious potential of the SARS-CoV-2 virus when transported on dry nuclei versus liquid droplets.

M. E. Rosti et al. Fluid dynamics of COVID-19 airborne infection suggests urgent data for a scientific design of social distancing, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80078-7

Duguid, J. P. The size and the duration of air-carriage of respiratory droplets and droplet-nuclei. Epidemiol. Infect. 44, 471–479 (1946).

Yang, S., Lee, G. W., Chen, C.-M., Wu, C.-C. & Yu, K.-P. The size and concentration of droplets generated by coughing in human subjects. J. Aerosol Med. 20, 484–494 (2007).

https://sciencex.com/news/2021-02-fluid-dynamics-covid-airborne-inf...

Fluid dynamics of COVID-19 airborne infection suggests urgent data ...

Part 1

Infection by COVID-19 is largely caused by airborne transmission, a phenomenon that has rapidly attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community. The SARS-CoV-2 virus hosted in different tracts of the respiratory system is emitted as we breathe, speak or sing or through more violent expulsions like coughing or sneezing. In these common actions, people emit thousands or even millions of small droplets of saliva acting as a vector for the virus. Given that the disease travels on respiratory droplets, social distancing is of paramount importance to limit the spread. Indeed, droplets are heavier than air, and sooner or later, they fall to the ground, which will tame their infectious potential.

The reach of a droplet depends on its size. We all know from direct experience that when we speak, cough or sneeze, we often discharge large droplets: We can clearly see them and even feel them on our skin. But besides the visible droplets, we also scatter a myriad of invisible tiny droplets. This substantial variation in droplet size, from micron to millimeter, causes a great deal of uncertainty in determining the actual reach of the viral load expelled by an infected individual.

 One meter is not a sound safety distance. To be clear, it is important to keep as far apart as possible, but we should not feel safe when standing one meter apart.

 The life of a respiratory droplet is dictated by the exact same physical processes that produce clouds. As cloud droplets are carried by the wind, they often encounter moist air and grow by condensation to become rain; we know all about the equations that describe both transport and condensation in clouds because they have been studied for centuries. Respiratory droplets undergo the same two physical processes, except respiratory droplets are carried by the air emitted in the cough and encounter dry air outside the mouth; thus, instead of growing, they shrink from their original size to their final size by evaporation.

Does droplet size matter? The answer is yes, and the reason is quite intuitive: Large droplets fall quickly, whereas small droplets fall slowly. As a consequence, smaller droplets linger in air for longer and may travel several meters before they finally reach ground. On the other hand, larger droplets travel less far in air, as they promptly reach ground. To follow the erratic path and shrinkage of the many diverse droplets from emission to landing, we used the equations from cloud physics for the two key processes of droplet transport and evaporation. Importantly, we could predict the fate of a droplet given its initial size when it first exited the mouth.

 We do not really know the typical size of the emitted droplets in a cough; some studies claim that the vast majority (97%) of saliva droplets are smaller than one micron in radius; other authors report evidence that only 45% of droplets are sub-micron in size. Others yet find no evidence of sub-micron droplets. Discrepancies may be partly explained by the use of different techniques, but it is also possible that there is an intrinsic variability, with different people and conditions causing droplets to shift in size. 

Tiny 'micro' earthquakes turn groundwater acidic

Tiny earthquakes, too small to be felt on the Earth's surface, create chemical changes which turn groundwater acidic, according to newly-published research at the University of Strathclyde.

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Distant 'baby' black holes seem to be misbehaving—and experts are p...

Radio images of the sky have revealed hundreds of "baby" and supermassive black holes in distant galaxies, with the galaxies' light bouncing around in unexpected ways.

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New window system cuts sound levels by 26 decibels, achieves four t...

Home owners, especially those in noisy districts, can look forward to greater living comfort with a new invention by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Design and Environment (SDE) that reduces outdoor noise and improves indoor ventilation.

Scientists Discover an Immense, Unknown Hydrocarbon Cycle Hiding in The Oceans

In the awful wake of an oil spill, it's typically the smallest of organisms who do most of the cleaning up. Surprisingly, scientists know very little about the tools these tiny clean-up crews have at their disposal.

In  a new study, researchers have uncovered a whole new cycle of natural hydrocarbon emissions and recycling facilitated by a diverse range of tiny organisms – which could help us better understand how some microbes have the power to clean up the mess an oil spill leaves in the ocean.

Just two types of marine cyanobacteria are adding up to 500 times more hydrocarbons to the ocean per year than the sum of all other types of petroleum inputs to the ocean, including natural oil seeps, oil spills, fuel dumping and run-off from land.

But unlike more familiar human contributions of hydrocarbons into our ocean, this isn't a one-way, local dump.

These hydrocarbons, primarily in the form of pentadecane (nC15), are spread across 40 percent of Earth's surface, and other microbes feast on them. They're constantly being cycled in such a way that Love and colleagues estimate only around 2 million metric tonnes are present in the water at any one time.

Every two days you produce and consume all the pentadecane in the ocean. So it probably shouldn't be a huge surprise that traces of our own emissions drowned out our ability to see the immense hydrocarbon cycle that naturally occurs in our oceans.

The researchers were able to confirm the pentadecane in their seawater samples were of biological origin, by using a gas chromatograph. 

Analysing their data, they found concentrations of pentadecane increased with greater abundance of cyanobacteria cells, and the hydrocarbon's geographic and vertical distribution were consistent with these microbe's ecology.

Cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are responsible for around a quarter of the global ocean's conversion of sunlight energy into organic matter (primary production) and previous laboratory cultivation revealed they produce pentadecane in the process.

Valentine explains the cyanobacteria likely use pentadecane as a stronger component for highly curved cellular membranes, like those found in chloroplasts (the organelle that photosynthesise). 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-00859-8

https://www.sciencealert.com/we-ve-overlooked-an-immense-hydrocarbo...

How a tiny spider uses silk to lift prey 50 times its own weight

Spinning the right lines can accomplish feats of strength when muscle isn’t enough

A family of spiders can catch prey many times their own weight by hitching silk lines to their quarry and hoisting the meaty prize up into the air.

Tangle web spiders, in the Theridiidae family, are masters of using silk to amplify muscle power.

See how a tiny spider hoists massive prey into its web 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tiny-spider-uses-silk-lift-prey...

COVID-19 antibodies last for 6 months following infection, study finds

Coronavirus antibodies last for at least six months after infection for the majority of people who have had the virus, according to a new study.

Antibodies are produced by the body’s immune system to fight off an invading bacteria or virus. After an infection they can linger on to fend off future infections, though it’s clear not whether this is the case in COVID-19 infections.

According to the study, 99 per cent of participants who tested positive retained coronavirus antibodies for three months after being infected, while 88 per cent did so for the full six months of the study.

Researchers say this indicates antibodies produced following natural infection may provide a degree of protection for most people against getting infected again for at least six months.

https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/media/x0nd5sul/ukb_serologystudy_report...

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/covid-19-antibodies-last-for-6-mo...

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Science can be magic!

https://twitter.com/PhysicsVldeo/status/1357298542692376577?s=20

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https://twitter.com/WElRDPHYSICS/status/1357294888488849409?s=20

CRISPR editing of mitochondria: Promising new biotech?

Although the CRISPR/Cas9 system has seen widespread application in editing the nuclear genome, using it to edit the mitochondrial genome has been problematic. The main hurdles have been a lack of suitable editing sites in the small mtDNA, and the traditional difficulty of importing the guide RNA into the mitochondrial matrix where nucleoids can be accessed.

Two recently published papers suggest that significant progress is being made on both fronts. The first paper, published in the journal SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, used CRISPR techniques to induce insertion/deletion (InDel) events at several mtDNA microhomologous regions. These InDel events were triggered specifically by double-strand break (DSB) lesions. The authors found that InDel mutagenesis was significantly improved by sgRNA multiplexing and a DSB repair inhibitor called iniparib, suggesting a rewiring DSB repair mechanisms to manipulate mtDNA. In the second paper, published in the journal Trends in Molecular Medicine, the researchers give a global overview of recent advances in different forms of nuclear and mitochondrial genome editing.

Bang Wang et al. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis at microhomologous regions of human mitochondrial genome, Science China Life Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s11427-020-1819-8

Jiameng Dan et al. Expanding the Toolbox and Targets for Gene Editing, Trends in Molecular Medicine (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2020.12.005

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-crispr-mitochondria-biotech.html?utm_...

Genes for face shape identified

Genes that determine the shape of a person's facial profile have been discovered by a UCL-led research team.

The researchers identified 32 gene regions that influenced facial features such as nose, lip, jaw, and brow shape, nine of which were entirely new discoveries while the others validated genes with prior limited evidence.

The analysis of data from more than 6,000 volunteers across Latin America was published today in Science Advances.

"A GWAS in Latin Americans identifies novel face shape loci, implicating VPS13B and a Denisovan introgressed region in facial variation" Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc6160

Study: 'Hidden' genes could be key in development of new antibiotics

A study from the Center for Phage Technology, part of Texas A&M's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, shows how the "hidden" genes in bacteriophages—types of viruses that infect and destroy bacteria—may be key to the development of a new class of antibiotics for human health.

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Research establishes a new method to predict individual risk of cogn...

The early prognosis of high-risk older adults for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), using noninvasive and sensitive neuromarkers, is key for early prevention of Alzheimer's disease. A recent study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, by researchers at the University of Kentucky establishes what they believe is a new way to predict the risk years before a clinical diagnosis. Their work shows that direct measures of brain signatures during mental activity are more sensitive and accurate predictors of memory decline than current standard behavioral testing.

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Removing microRNAs from triple-negative breast cancer cells can rev...

A new study led by the University of Westminster shows that removing small genetic parts of our genomes called microRNAs from triple negative breast cancer cells can reverse its spread.

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Phys.Org Vibrating nanodroplets may invade a tumor Phys.Org Researchers of the University of Twente now demonstrate a new phenomenon triggering droplet vaporization: It happens at the exact acoustic resonance frequency and causes fast and efficient lowering of the pressure inside the droplet, until below the ...

A new study shows that removing small genetic parts of our genomes called microRNAs from triple negative breast cancer cells can reverse its spread.

The study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, also identified that microRNAs could be targeted for early detection and treatment of triple negative breast cancer.

microRNAs (miRs) are small genetic materials that play important roles in cellular signaling and can have a major impact on how cancer progresses and spreads, known as metastasis.

This research study identified that the amount of a major cancer related microRNA, miR-21, is increased in triple negative breast cancer and is also linked to metastasis.

The researchers then used a genome editing method (CRISPR/Cas9) to remove the miR-21 out of the cancer cells and found that the metastatic features of the cells were reversed. In addition, these gene-edited cells released fewer extracellular vesicles, which are small lipid blobs released from cells and play important roles in cancer spread.

The team also found that less of the harmful miR-21 was carried inside the vesicles of the gene edited cells, and this may play a major role in cancer spread as these vesicles carry important disease related molecules to neighboring cells.

Elif Damla Arisan et al. MiR-21 is Required for the Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells, International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.3390/ijms22041557

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-micrornas-triple-negative-br...

Ants swallow their own acidic venom to filter their gut microbiome

Spitting formic acid isn’t just a defense mechanism, it’s also a disinfectant

A new study published in the journal eLife showed that some ants might be using a formic acid-laced venom to filter out harmful bacteria from food, helping them control which bacteria reach their guts. Formicine ants, named for the formic acid in their venom, use the substance to disinfect their food. In doing so, they also seem to allow acid-tolerant bacteria to pass through to their guts.

https://elifesciences.org/articles/60287

https://massivesci.com/articles/carpenter-ant-microbiome-formic-aci...

Got a sweet tooth? Your gut bacteria are asking for some sugar

The gut microbiome and the brain communicate on a desire for glucose (in mice)

found that the gut-brain axis (the connection between bacteria in your gut and your brain), is essential in the sugar preference of mice. The scientists directly injected either glucose or an artificial sweetener to the guts of mice, and saw an activation of different regions of the brain when glucose was present, but not with the artificial sweetener. 

Next, they genetically silenced that specific brain region, which completely took away the mice’s preference for sugar. They were also able to modify that region to induce the mice to enjoy new flavors.

One of the key things in the study is that all of the action is happening away from the tongue. This shows that there are circuits inducing our love for sugar, beyond our love for sweet tastes. This also helps explain why artificial sweeteners have not changed our consumption of sugar, since they fail to activate this new gut-brain circuit. Although we need to verify how this translates to humans, this new circuit offers new exciting insights.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2199-7

https://massivesci.com/notes/gut-brain-axis-sugar-microbiome/?utm_s...

Origami-inspired medical patch for sealing internal injuries

Cyanobacteria could revolutionize the plastic industry

Cyanobacteria produce plastic naturally as a by-product of photosynthesis—and they do it in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Researchers have now succeeded for the first time in modifying the bacteria's metabolism to produce this natural plastic in quantities enabling it to be used industrially. This new plastic could come to compete with environmentally harmful petroleum-based plastics.

On the one hand, petroleum based plastic can be used in a variety of ways and is inexpensive, for example as packaging for food. On the other hand, it is the cause of increasing environmental problems. More and more plastic waste ends up in the natural environment, where it pollutes the oceans or enters the food chain in the form of microplastics. Furthermore, plastic is mainly made from petroleum, which releases additional CO₂ into the atmosphere when it is burned.

A solution to these problems may lie in a strain of cyanobacteria with surprising properties. Cyanobacteria of the genus Synechocystis produce polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a natural form of plastic. PHB can be used in a similar way to the plastic polypropylene but is rapidly degradable in the environment, as well as pollutant-free. However, the amount produced by these bacteria is usually very small. Researchers now succeeded in identifying a control system in the bacteria that limits the intracellular flow of fixed carbon towards PHB. After removing the corresponding regulator and implementing several further genetic changes, the amount of PHB produced by the bacteria increased enormously and eventually accounted for more than 80 percent of the cell's total mass. So they have created veritable plastic bacteria.

Since the blue-green bacteria only need water, CO₂ and sunlight, the researchers think they are ideal candidates for climate-friendly and sustainable production. Once this is established in industry, the entire production of plastics could be revolutionized. The long-term goal is to optimize the use of the bacteria and to increase it to the point where large-scale use becomes possible.

Tim Orthwein et al. The novel PII-interactor PirC identifies phosphoglycerate mutase as key control point of carbon storage metabolism in cyanobacteria, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019988118

Moritz Koch et al. Maximizing PHB content in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: a new metabolic engineering strategy based on the regulator PirC, Microbial Cell Factories (2020). DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01491-1

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-cyanobacteria-revolutionize-plastic-i...

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The direct observation of the Pauli principle
The Pauli exclusion principle is a law of quantum mechanics introduced by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli, which offers valuable insight about the structure of matter. More specifically, the Pauli principle states that two or more identical fermions cannot simultaneously occupy the same quantum state inside a quantum system.
Researchers at Heidelberg University's Physics Institute have recently observed this principle directly in a continuous system comprised of up to six particles. Their experiment, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, could pave the way towards a better understanding of strongly interacting systems comprised of fermions.
Observation of Pauli crystals. Physical Review Letters(2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.020401.
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-pauli-principle.html?utm_source=nwlet...