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scientists develop urine test to detect womb cancer

scientists announced on Friday they had developed a test to detect womb cancer using urine samples, explaining the method could replace a painful and invasive procedure currently in use.

At present, clinicians diagnose the cancer by taking a biopsy, a process which requires a narrow telescope called a hysteroscope, to examine inside of the uterus and remove cells.

Nearly a third of women who undergo the procedure have the process repeated because of technical difficulties or intolerable pain, the research showed.

 developed a new detection tool which examines urine or vaginal samples that can be collected by women on their own at home.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed analysis of the samples correctly diagnosed 91.7 percent of women with womb cancer.

The proportion of women without womb cancer who tested negative with the new tool was 88.9 percent, the study showed. The results show that womb cancer cells can be detected in urine and vaginal samples using a microscope.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21257-6

https://researchnews.cc/news/5144/UK-scientists-develop-urine-test-...

There's a Link Between Air Pollution And Irreversible Vision Loss, Study Reveals

Air pollution could cloud your vision in later life, according to a large study that found a link between fine particle air pollution and macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease that can lead to irreversible blindness.

The findings serve as a clear reminder of the many ways that air pollution can be harmful to our health, even though it's still early days for this research.  

The biggest public health concerns about poor air quality circle around pollutants such as particulate matter (dust, soot, and more), ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and other gases, which are emitted from motor vehicles, heavy industry, and wood fires.

Fine particles, called PM_2.5 for short, are especially concerning. These microscopic particles less than 2.5 micrometres in size can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation around the body.

Repeated exposure to pollutants like these can irritate people's eyes and throat, cause breathing difficulties. Furthermore, ambient air pollution accounts for 43 percent of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and for over a quarter of all deaths from lung cancer, heart disease, or stroke.

In this study, the focus was on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition where a person's vision worsens with age, leading to increased vision loss and potentially even blindness.

The disease is linked to leaky blood vessels in the back of the eye and small blobs of fat and protein that build up on the macula, the part of the eye at the centre of the retina. Genetics and being a smoker are amongst the main risk factors for this condition.

What the study found is that people who were exposed to higher levels of fine particle air pollution had higher rates of self-reported AMD.

Exposure to other pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide but not coarse particulate matter, was also associated with changes in retina thickness, detected on imaging.

But don't be swayed by the big numbers alone. Only a tiny fraction of people were actually diagnosed with AMD during the study – and remember, while this observational study can bring our attention to trends and patterns observed across a population, it can't establish a cause. 

The researchers suggest that air pollution may affect the eye in a roundabout way through inflammation and oxidative stress, two defence mechanisms where the body is fighting against foreign material and trying to detoxify chemical species, respectively. But more research will be required to examine that plausible link.

https://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2021/01/11/bjophthalmol-2020-316218

https://www.sciencealert.com/air-pollution-linked-to-deteriorating-...

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A Signal From Beyond 

Researchers  recently published data on a hint of a signal that sent ripples of excitement through the physics community. These monumental findings are the culmination of 12 and a half years of data gathered from NANOGrav—a network of pulsars across the galaxy—all in the hopes of detecting gravitational waves.

Gravitational waves are generated when galaxies merge and supermassive black holes at their centers collide and send low-frequency gravitational waves out into the universe. The team thinks the source of the signal could be gravitational waves, but it will take about 2 more years of data to be sure.

Microalgae identified as clean source of hydrogen production

Microalgae identified as clean source of hydrogen production

Researchers at Monash University's Department of Chemical Engineering, IITB-Monash Research Academy Mumbai, and The Indian Institute of Technology's Department of Chemical Engineering have used reactive flash volatilisation (RFV) gasification technology to produce hydrogen using microalgae, giving rise to newer and cleaner forms of energy.

Hydrogen and methane are clean sources of fuel and green chemical synthesis only if they are produced from renewable resources. At present, 96% of hydrogen and all methane is produced using non-renewable resources. 

Microalgae as a feedstock is attractive due to its high carbon dioxide fixation efficiency, growth rate, photosynthetic efficiency, ability to grow in brackish water—like rivers and lakes—and the ability to cultivate it on land not suitable for agriculture.

"Water and renewable electricity integration with microalgae harvesting can bring down the costs and increase the sustainability of hydrogen production from this process.

 Pratik Gholkar et al. Renewable hydrogen and methane production from microalgae: A techno-economic and life cycle assessment study, Journal of Cleaner Production (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123726

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-microalgae-source-hydrogen-prod...

Post Covid, patients see rise in rare fungal infection

A rare and serious fungal infection called ‘Mucormycosis’ that can affect the respiratory system, digestive system as well as the brain has been on the rise in recent months, especially among immuno compromised Covid-19 patients who have recovered.

A rare and serious fungal infection called ‘Mucormycosis’ that can affect the respiratory system, digestive system as well as the brain has been on the rise in recent months, especially among immuno compromised Covid-19 patients who have recovered. From barely five to seven cases in a year, the number of cases has jumped to over 60 over the last seven to eight months, say experts. Of these, 10 were seen at the state-run Gandhi hospital alone as several patients who had been treated are returning with post-Covid-19 complications including this infection. The infection, although, rare is a serious one as it can even lead to death if not treated in time. 

This infection is an opportunistic one which is seen in immune-compromised patients, especially patients who had a transplant or are on cancer-related drugs. Now this infection is seen in patients who have recovered from viral diseases and since Covid is also a viral disease, it is being seen in the Covid recovered patients too.

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnostics/post-c...

Oxygen deficit makes nerve cells grow

Oxygen deficit, also called hypoxia, in the brain is actually an absolute state of emergency and can permanently damage nerve cells. Nevertheless, there is growing evidence that to a certain extent, hypoxia can also be an important signal for growth. Together with scientists from the University Hospitals of Copenhagen and Hamburg-Eppendorf, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen have shown in mice that mentally and physically demanding activity triggers not only a local but also a brain-wide functional hypoxia. Although in an attenuated form, the effects are similar to oxygen deprivation. The shortage of oxygen activates, among other things, the growth factor erythropoietin (Epo), which stimulates the formation of new synapses and nerve cells. This mechanism could explain why physical and mental training have a positive effect on mental performance.

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Nanotechnologies reduce friction and improve durability of materials

A team of scientists from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and Immanuel Kant Baltic State Federal University suggested using innovative thin films to considerably reduce friction and thus increase the durability of surfaces in mechanisms. This discovery can be important for many fields, from medicine to space technologies.

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Experimental demonstration of measurement-dependent realities possi...

Shoe shops sell a variety of shoe sizes to accommodate a variety of foot sizes—but what if both the shoe and foot size depended on how it was measured? Recent developments in quantum theory suggest that the available values of a physical quantity, such as a foot size, can depend on the type of measurement used to determine them. If feet were governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, foot size would depend on the markings on a foot measure to find the best fit—at the time of measurement—and even if the markings were changed, the measurement could still be precise.

Integrating maths and plant science to explain how plant roots generate a hormone gradient

The research team that developed a biosensor that first recorded that a distinct gradient of the plant growth hormone gibberellin correlated with plant cell size has now revealed how this distribution pattern is created in roots.

Starting when a plant embryo forms within a seed and continuing throughout the plant lifecycle, undifferentiated stem cells undergo radical transformations into specialised root, stem, leaf and reproductive organ cells. This transformation relies on a suite of molecules called phytohormones that, much like human hormones, can move between cells and tissues and trigger distinct biological processes across the body plan. While it was not known at the time, mutations involving the gibberellin class of phytohormones were behind the development of many of the high-yielding semi-dwarf wheat and rice varieties that helped drive the Green Revolution in the 1950s and 60s.

The mutations resulted in shorter stems, enabling the crop plants to redirect energy into growing grain rather than stems and leaves and also prevented lodging caused when tall spindly plants fall over before harvest. We now know through advances in molecular and genetic tools that gibberellins (GA) regulate growth and development throughout the plant lifecycle—from germinating seeds, elongating stems and roots, to the formation of flowers. It is therefore not surprising that GA continues to attract the interest of plant scientists investigating how hormones control plant growth and as a possible target for future crop improvements.

 Differential biosynthesis and cellular permeability explain longitudinal gibberellin gradients in growing roots. PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1921960118

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-maths-science-roots-hormone-gradient....

Microbes could pose health, ecosystem risks when rain brings them to Earth

Human health and ecosystems could be affected by microbes including cyanobacteria and algae that hitch rides in clouds and enter soil, lakes, oceans and other environments when it rains, according to a  study.

Some of the organisms the researchers detected in clouds and rain are known to have possible impacts on human health and could also affect microbial populations at rainfall locations.

Researchers  collected cloud water at the summit of puy de Dôme, a mountain in central France, about 4,800 feet above sea level. They also collected rainwater below the mountain at about 2,230 feet above sea level. They detected blue-green (cyanobacteria), green, red and golden algae, as well as diatoms (another form of algae), and they grew green algae in the Chlorellaceae family in a lab.

Some of the microbes that hitched a ride in clouds may have come from the Atlantic Ocean. Others were likely from other parts of France that clouds passed over. Microbes in rain include those in a cloud and the air below it.

The airborne organisms could have important impacts on atmospheric processes and the ecosystems they enter after falling to Earth, the study says.

Future work would involve identifying specific genes associated with the production of toxins by these organisms and trying to understand what could or would limit the growth of these microorganisms after they're transported into a new ecosystem by rain.

Kevin P. Dillon et al, Cyanobacteria and Algae in Clouds and Rain in the Area of puy de Dôme, Central France, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2020). DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01850-20

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-microbes-pose-health-ecosystem-earth....

Five ways to reduce your household waste – and stop it being shipped to poorer countries -1

The UK is the largest plastic waste producer in Europe and one of the biggest producers of plastic waste in the world, second only to the US. The UK produces 99kg of plastic waste per person per year. And it exports about two-thirds of this waste to poorer countries such as Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Shipping unsorted plastic waste from the European Union to non-OECD countries was banned by the EU from January this year. But the UK continues to export plastic waste to developing countries as part of new post-Brexit regulations.

Most of the plastic waste is sold to these countries as the UK currently does not have the means and capacity to process it at home. But these countries also lack the infrastructure and capacity to recycle imported waste. And waste that can't be recycled often ends up dumped in landfill or waterways or even burned—releasing toxic fumes into the environment. Indeed, much of the waste sent to these countries is unsorted and dirty plastics which can hardly be recycled anyway.

This trade of waste and the shifting of one country's problem onto another simply cannot continue. Our behaviour as consumers is central to tackling this huge amount of plastic waste waste—along with the 26 million tonnes of general household waste produced yearly in the UK. We therefore all need to start taking responsible actions and be held accountable for the waste we generate. Of course, changing behaviour is not easy or straightforward.

How to reduce waste  -2

Here are some affordable and practical tips:

Use less - stop and reflect on your wasteful consumption practices and simply use less (as many have during lockdown). Rethink your lifestyle and only use what you need for your daily living; not everything may be essential.

Buy local - in the early stages of the pandemic, with flights grounded and entry in and out of countries proving problematic, food shortages were abundant. Buying local proved to be the alternative. Buying local is not only better for the environment but it also helps to support your local economy and local producers.

Be resourceful - try your best to reuse, repair or upcycle before you decide to throw away things you think no longer work. Be creative in how you might repurpose products and materials. It may simply be giving a new lease of life to your old furniture with a touch of non-toxic paint instead of getting new pieces.

Think beyond recycling – recycling is good, but we consume more than we recycle. So avoid buying goods that you cannot recycle. This will push businesses to better design products and ultimately, design out wasteful materials.

Rethink ownership - there is a rise in new businesses adopting "rental", "pay per use" and "on-demand" models for products ranging from clothes to furniture. So where possible do not buy things you use only occasionally; instead pay for access to these things when you need them.

https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-reduce-your-household-wast...

Planetary scientists discover evidence for a reduced atmosphere on ancient Mars

Both Earth and Mars currently have oxidising atmospheres, which is why iron-rich materials in daily life develop rust (a common name for iron oxide) during the oxidation reaction of iron and oxygen. The Earth has had an oxidising atmosphere for approximately 2.5 billion years, but before that, the atmosphere of this planet was reducing—there was no rust.

The transition from a reduced planet to an oxidised planet is referred to as the Great Oxidation Event or GOE. This transition was a central part of our planet's evolution, and fundamentally linked to the evolution of life here—specifically to the prevalence of photosynthesis that produced oxygen. Planetary geologists at HKU have discovered that Mars underwent a great oxygenation event of its own—billions of years ago, the red planet was not so red.

 The researchers used infrared remote sensing and spectroscopy to measure the molecular vibration of the material on the Martian surface from orbit, in order to reveal the mineralogy and geochemistry of ancient rocks on Mars. Through detailed comparisons of infrared remote sensing data and data collected in the laboratory here on Earth, the team showed that ancient rocks on Mars exposed at the surface had been weathered under reducing conditions, indicating a reduced atmosphere did exist.

 Mars is cold and dry now, but ~ 3.5 billion years ago, it was warmer and wetter. It was warm enough to allow the formation of river channels, lakes and minerals that formed by interaction with water. Scientists who have used mathematical models to constrain the conditions of an early Martian atmosphere, have concluded that greenhouse warming occurred, but they also concluded from their models that the greenhouse must have included reduced gases rather than carbon dioxide, implied that a reducing atmosphere might have existed. Yet until now, there has not been any evidence that the reduced atmosphere of early Mars actually occurred. This work indicates that it did exist.

5G phones may interfere with aircraft: French regulator

The latest generation of smartphones, 5G, can interfere with aircraft altitude instruments, the French Civil Aviation Authority warned Tuesday as it recommended they should be turned off during flight.

The utilisation of 5G devices onboard aircraft could lead to risks of interference that could potentially result in errors in altitude readings," a spokesman for the agency told AFP.

The potential phenomenon is due to "signal interference from a close frequency source of a strength that is similar or even superior to that of altimeters."

This interference can cause errors "in instruments that are extremely critical during landing," said the agency, known by its French acronym DGAC.

It sent a bulletin on the issue to airlines last week, recommending that 5G phones should either be turned off completely or put in "airplane mode" during flight

Most countries have long required that mobile phones be turned off or placed in airplane mode due to concerns that previous generations of mobile telecommunications networks can interfere with a plane's navigation and communication equipment.

The DGAC also recommended that in cases of disruption to an aircraft's equipment that the flight crew immediately notify air traffic controllers who can then alert authorities at the airport.

DGAC also noted that it had laid out conditions for the positioning of 5G base stations in order to limit the risks of interference during landing at French airports.

The strength of signals from 5G base stations placed near France's main airports has been restricted, said the DGAC, which has been conducting additional testing since November when French telecommunications operators were given the green light to begin rolling out 5G services.

It is continuing to monitor 5G base stations around all French airports in cooperation with the agency responsible for radio frequencies.

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-5g-aircraft-french.html?utm_sou...

Collective worm and robot "blobs" protect individuals, swarm together

'New Car Smell' Is The Scent of Carcinogens, And Even Short Trips May Overexpose Us

A new study found commutes of more than 20 minutes put people at risk of unacceptably high levels of two carcinogens used in car manufacturing.

The distinct smell of a new car gives you a whiff of what's happening here. Materials used to fit out cars, from hard and soft plastics to adhesives, textiles and foam, contain some chemicals that can slowly seep into the air (the technical term is 'off-gas') or catch a ride on dust.

These chemicals are very volatile, moving easily from plastics and textiles to the air that you breathe. Volatile compounds can build up in small spaces, such as inside a car (unless you open a window for fresh air).

The researchers predicted that commuters' daily exposure to two out of five chemicals studied - benzene and formaldehyde - would probably exceed levels considered safe . The likelihood continued to rise the longer a person's commute. 

The two chemicals of concern are not huge unknowns, but certainly warrant attention. Benzene is found in rubber and dyes, and formaldehyde is used in carpets and paints. There is a range of exposure that depends on how long you're in the car, and how much of the compounds your car is emitting which can depend on the vehicle's age and surrounding temperatures.

 just because something is listed as a carcinogen doesn't mean it's guaranteed to cause health problems – it depends on the dose that people are exposed to, and how often.

Even known carcinogens are not likely to cause cancer under certain thresholds, and limiting your exposure to harmful substances goes a long way to reducing any associated risk.

Plus, the poor health outcomes observed among commuters – which does include higher rates of cancer – may stem from a combination of inactivity, obesity and shorter sleep that often come with lengthy commutes. These factors were not considered in this study.  

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202100026X...

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-20-minute-commute-puts-you-at-risk-o...

The Colossal Weight of Cities Is Making Them Sink, Even as Sea Levels Are Rising

Cities don't just have sea level rises to worry about – they're also slowly sinking under the weight of their own development, according to new research, which emphasises the importance of factoring subsidence into models of climate change risk.

As global populations move disproportionately toward the coasts, this additional subsidence in combination with expected sea level rise may exacerbate risk associated with inundation.

Anthropogenic loading effects at tectonically active continental margins are likely greater than more stable continental interiors where the lithosphere tends to be thicker and more rigid.

There are plenty of other causes of subsidence to think about too, including tectonic plate shifting and the groundwater pumping necessary to support a growing population – something we've seen cause significant city sinking in other parts of the world. The findings are notable enough to make city weight another consideration when scientists are figuring out how geography might change over time, and which areas are under threat as the sea level gets higher.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020AV000277

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-weight-of-cities-is-sinking-urban-...

Lunar Pioneers Will Use Lasers to Phone Home

NASA’s Orion and Gateway will try out optical communications gear for a high-speed connection to Earth

To meet the demands of high-definition video and data-intensive scientific research, NASA and other space agencies are pushing the radio bands traditionally allocated for space research to their limits. For example, the Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts around the moon during NASA’s Artemis 2 mission in 2022, will transmit mission-critical information to Earth via an S-band radio at 2 megabits per second. “It’s the most complex flight-management system ever flown on a spacecraft.

To boost data rates even higher means moving beyond radio and developing optical communications systems that use lasers to beam data across space. In addition to its S-band radio, Orion will carry a laser communications system for sending ultrahigh-definition 4K video back to Earth. And further out, NASA’s Gateway will create a long-term laser communications hub linking our planet and its satellite.

Laser communications are a tricky proposition. The slightest jolt to a spacecraft could send a laser beam wildly off course, while a passing cloud could interrupt it. But if they work, robust optical communications will allow future missions to receive software updates in minutes, not days. Astronauts will be sheltered from the loneliness of working in space. And the scientific community will have access to an unprecedented flow of data between Earth and the moon.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/wireless/lunar-pioneers-will-use-...

A 'twisted elevator' could be key to understanding neurological diseases

A University of Sydney-led international team of scientists has revealed the shape of one of the most important molecular machines in our cellsthe glutamate transporter, helping to explain how our brain cells communicate with one another.

Glutamate transporters are tiny proteins on the surface of all our cells that shut on and off the chemical signals that have a big role in making sure all cell-to-cell talk runs smoothly. They are also involved in nerve signalling, metabolism and learning and memory.

The researchers captured the transporters in exquisite detail using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), showing they look like a 'twisted elevator' embedded in the cell membrane.

This world-first discovery opens a whole new field of possibility, studying if defects in the transporters could be the reason behind neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

The results of the research have been published in Nature.

Using Cryo-EM,researchers have uncovered for the first time just how these transporters can multitask—carrying out the dual functions of moving chemicals (like glutamate) across the cell membrane while also allowing water and chloride ions to move through at the same time. These molecular machines use a really cool twisting, elevator-like mechanism to move their cargo across the cell membrane. But they also have an additional function where they can allow water and chloride ions to move across the cell membrane.

Understanding how the molecular machines in our cells work enables us to interpret defects in these machines in disease states and also gives us clues as to how we might target these machines with therapeutics.

Mapping out in detail the structure of the glutamate transporter could be a crucial tool for researchers in understanding how our bodies work ,and the mechanism behind some diseases.

Defects in the glutamate transporter have been linked to many neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and stroke.

This includes rare diseases such as episodic ataxia, a disease that impacts movement and causes periodic paralysis, caused by an uncontrolled leak of chloride through the glutamate transporter in brain cells.

Glutamate transporters have a chloride channel with two hydrophobic gates, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03240-9 , dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03240-9

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-elevator-key-neurological-diseases.ht...

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A disease-sniffing device that rivals a dog's nose

Numerous studies have shown that trained dogs can detect many kinds of disease—including lung, breast, ovarian, bladder, and prostate cancers, and possibly COVID-19—simply through smell. In some cases, involving prostate cancer for example, the dogs had a 99 percent success rate in detecting the disease by sniffing patients' urine samples.

But it takes time to train such dogs, and their availability and time is limited. Scientists have been hunting for ways of automating the amazing olfactory capabilities of the canine nose and brain, in a compact device. Now, a team of researchers at MIT and other institutions has come up with a system that can detect the chemical and microbial content of an air sample with even greater sensitivity than a dog's nose. They coupled this to a machine-learning process that can identify the distinctive characteristics of the disease-bearing samples.

The findings, which the researchers say could someday lead to an automated odor-detection system small enough to be incorporated into a cellphone, are being published recently in the journal PLoS ONE.

Guest C, Harris R, Sfanos KS, Shrestha E, Partin AW, Trock B, et al. (2021) Feasibility of integrating canine olfaction with chemical and microbial profiling of urine to detect lethal prostate cancer. PLoS ONE 16(2): e0245530. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245530

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-disease-sniffing-device-rivals-dog-no...

New skin patch brings us closer to wearable, all-in-one health monitor

Protein linked to Alzheimer's, strokes cleared from brain blood vessels

As people age, a normal brain protein known as amyloid beta often starts to collect into harmful amyloid plaques in the brain. Such plaques can be the first step on the path to Alzheimer's dementia. When they form around blood vessels in the brain, a condition known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, the plaques also raise the risk of strokes.

Several antibodies that target amyloid plaques have been studied as experimental treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Such antibodies also may have the potential to treat cerebral amyloid angiopathy, although they haven't yet been evaluated in clinical trials. But all of the anti-amyloid antibodies that have successfully reduced amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's clinical trials also can cause a worrisome side effect: an increased risk of brain swelling and bleeds.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an antibody that, in mice, removes amyloid plaques from brain tissue and blood vessels without increasing risk of brain bleeds. The antibody targets a minor component of amyloid plaques known as apolipoprotein E (APOE).

The findings, published Feb. 17 in Science Translational Medicine, suggest a potentially safer approach to removing harmful amyloid plaques as a way of treating Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

 "APOE immunotherapy reduces cerebral amyloid angiopathy and amyloid plaques while improving cerebrovascular function" Science Translational Medicine (2021). stm.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/ … scitranslmed.abd7522

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-protein-linked-alzheimer-bra...

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Researchers report switching material between semiconductor and met...

A group of researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin have found out that a semiconductor can be converted to a metal and back by light more easily and more quickly than previously thought. This discovery may increase the processing speed and simplify the design of many common technological devices.

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Making swimming pools safer by reducing chlorine disinfection bypro...

Swimming in indoor or outdoor pools is a healthy form of exercise and recreation for many people. However, studies have linked compounds that arise from chlorine disinfection of the pools to respiratory problems, including asthma, in avid swimmers. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology have found that using a complementary form of disinfection, known as copper-silver ionization (CSI), can decrease disinfection byproducts and cell toxicity of chlorinated swimming pool water.

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Evidence of Planet Nine diminishing as researchers find no evidence...

An international team of researchers has found no evidence of trans-Neptunian object clustering as part of an effort to refute the idea of the existence of Planet Nine. The group has written a paper describing their findings and have uploaded it to the arXiv preprint server.

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This is what happens to spacecraft when they re-enter the Earth's a...

When one of the Russian Progress resupply ships undocks from the International Space Station, timing is everything. The Progress needs to fire its engines at just the right time to instigate the deorbit burn in order for the ship to enter the atmosphere at just the right place so that its destructive re-entry occurs over the Pacific Ocean. That way, any potential surviving bits and pieces that might reach Earth will hit far away from any land masses—which are home to people, buildings, and other things we don't want to get bonked.

An mRNA vaccine for cancer immunotherapy

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to prevent COVID-19 have made headlines around the world recently, but scientists have also been working on mRNA vaccines to treat or prevent other diseases, including some forms of cancer. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Nano Letters have developed a hydrogel that, when injected into mice with melanoma, slowly released RNA nanovaccines that shrank tumors and kept them from metastasizing.

Cancer immunotherapy vaccines work similarly to mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, except they activate the immune system to attack tumors instead of a virus. These vaccines contain mRNA that encodes proteins made specifically by tumor cells. When the mRNA enters antigen-presenting cells, they begin making the tumor protein and displaying it on their surfaces, triggering other immune cells to seek and destroy tumors that also make this protein. However, mRNA is an unstable molecule that is quickly degraded by enzymes in the body. For cancer immunotherapy, researchers have tried using nanoparticles to protect and deliver mRNA, but they are typically cleared from the body within 1-2 days after injection. Researchers wanted to develop a hydrogel that, when injected under the skin, would slowly release mRNA nanoparticles, along with an adjuvant—a molecule that helps activate the immune system.

To develop their system, the researchers used ovalbumin (a protein found in chicken egg whites) as a model antigen. The team mixed ovalbumin mRNA and an adjuvant with other compounds to form a hydrogel. When injected under the skin of mice with melanoma tumors engineered to express ovalbumin, the hydrogel slowly released mRNA and adjuvant nanoparticles over a 30-day period. The mRNA vaccine activated T cells and stimulated antibody production, causing tumors to shrink in the treated mice. Also, in contrast to untreated mice, the vaccinated mice did not show any metastasis to the lung.

These results demonstrate that the hydrogel has great potential for achieving long-lasting and efficient cancer immunotherapy with only a single treatment, the researchers say.

"In Situ Transforming RNA Nanovaccines from Polyethylenimine Functionalized Graphene Oxide Hydrogel for Durable Cancer Immunotherapy" Nano Letters (2021). pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c05039

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mrna-vaccine-cancer-immunotherapy.htm...

Quantum collaboration gives new gravity to the mysteries of the universe

Scientists have used cutting-edge research in quantum computation and quantum technology to pioneer a radical new approach to determining how our Universe works at its most fundamental level.

An international team of experts have demonstrated that only quantum and not classical gravity could be used to create a certain informatic ingredient that is needed for quantum computation. Their research "Non-Gaussianity as a signature of a quantum theory of gravity" has been published recently in PRX Quantum.

For more than a hundred years, physicists have struggled to determine how the two foundational theories of science, quantum theoryand general relativity, which respectively describe microscopic and macroscopic phenomena, are unified into a single overarching theory of nature.

During this time, they have come up with two fundamentally contrasting approaches, called 'quantum gravity' and 'classical gravity'. However, a complete lack of experimental evidence means that physicists do not know which approach the overarching theory actually takes, our research provides an experimental approach to solving this.

This new research, which is a collaboration between experts in quantum computing, quantum gravity, and quantum experiments finds an unexpected connection between the fields of quantum computing and quantum gravity and uses this to propose a way to test experimentally that there is quantum not classical gravity. The suggested experiment would involve cooling billions of atoms in a millimeter-sized spherical trap to extremely low temperatures such that they enter a new phase of matter, called a Bose-Einstein condensate, and start to behave like a single large, quantum atom. A magnetic field is then applied to this "atom" so that it feels only its own gravitational pull. With this all in place, if the single gravitating atom demonstrates the key ingredient needed for quantum computation, which is curiously associated with "negative probability," nature must take the quantum gravity approach.

This proposed experiment uses current technology, involves just a single quantum system, the gravitating "atom," and does not rely on assumptions concerning the locality of the interaction, making it simpler than previous approaches and potentially expediating the delivery of the first experimental test of quantum gravity. Physicists would then, after more than a hundred years of research, finally have information on the true overarching, fundamental theory of nature.

Richard Howl et al, Non-Gaussianity as a Signature of a Quantum Theory of Gravity, PRX Quantum 2, 010325 – Published 17 February 2021, DOI: 10.1103/PRXQuantum.2.010325

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-quantum-collaboration-gravity-mysteri...

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Plastic recycling results in rare metals being found in children's toys and food packaging

Some of the planet's rarest metals—used in the manufacture of smartphones and other electrical equipment—are increasingly being found in everyday consumer plastics, according to new research.

Scientists 

tested a range of new and used products including children's toys, office equipment and cosmetic containers.

Through a number of detailed assessments, they examined levels of rare earth elements (REEs) but also quantities of bromine and antimony, used as flame retardants in electrical equipment and a sign of the presence of recycled electronic plastic.

The results showed one or more REEs were found in 24 of the 31 products tested, including items where unregulated recycling is prohibited such as single-use food packaging.

They were most commonly observed in samples containing bromine and antimony at levels insufficient to effect flame retardancy, but also found in plastics where those chemicals weren't present.

Having also been found in beached marine plastics, the study's authors have suggested there is evidence that REEs are ubiquitous and pervasive contaminants of both contemporary and historical consumer and environmental plastics.

While they have previously been found in a variety of environments—including ground water, soils and the atmosphere—the study demonstrates the wide REE contamination of the "plastisphere" that does not appear to be related to a single source or activity.

Andrew Turner et al, Rare earth elements in plastics, Science of The Total Environment (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145405

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-plastic-recycling-results-rare-metals...

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Excessive use of sanitisers could erase your fingerprints: Experts

Experts  are reporting cases where sanitisers are “wiping off” fingerprints along with the Covid-19 virus. Experts blamed the nature of alcohol for the phenomenon.

A lady reported: If you value your fingerprints, don’t over-sanitise. Nehal Mistry, a bank professional, learned this the hard way when the office biometric attendance machine failed to recognise her fingerprints.

The Bopal resident used to sanitise her hands at least six-seven times a day. “Even my home security system could not read my fingerprints. I was already receiving treatment for a skin problem. So, my dermatologist asked me to reduce the use of alcohol-based sanitiser and shift to soap-based cleaning. She also prescribed a few ointments. It worked, and I got my fingerprints back.”

Experts from the city are reporting cases where sanitisers are “wiping off” fingerprints along with the Covid-19 virus. Experts blamed the nature of alcohol for the phenomenon. The condition is temporary, but it can happen to people using sanitisers excessively or not using moisturisers enough, they added.

Due to the use of sanitisers and other hand rubs, there is abrasion of the skin’s upper layer (epidermis). The fingerprints are formed due to the ridges in this layer. The abrasions change it and a clear image is not formed. Edema (swelling) and contact dermatitis also affect the fingerprint pattern.

The issue is however not very common, assure experts. The issue with fingerprints is reported more in those with an existing history of hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). Frequent use of sanitisers coupled with other skin issues can increase peeling of epidermis.

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/excessive...

COVID vaccines and safety: what the research says

Origin of the Armageddon causing comet

Scientists entered people’s dreams and got them ‘talking’

Because Lucid dreamers can hear and answer questions while still asleep, scientists find. 

Scientists have successfully "talked" to a sleeping person in real-time by invading their dreams, a new study shows. The researchers say it's like trying to communicate with an astronaut on another world.

Dreamers can follow instructions, solve simple math problems and answer yes-no questions without ever waking up, according to the results of four experiments described Thursday (Feb. 18) in the journal Current Biology.  

The researchers communicated directly with sleeping participants by asking them questions and having them respond with eye or facial movements during lucid dreams — when people are at minimum aware that they are dreaming. (Some lucid dreamers can control what happens in their dreams.) 

Studying dreams is difficult because people often forget or distort details after waking up. That's in part because the brain doesn't form many new memories while sleeping and has a limited capacity to accurately store information after the dream has ended, according to the study. 

To overcome this limitation, the researchers attempted to communicate with people while they were still dreaming. Because the study participants were having lucid dreams, that meant they could make a conscious effort to respond to cues coming in from the outside world, the researchers hypothesized. 

Researchers placed electrodes on the participants' heads, to measure their brainwaves; next to their eyes, to track eye movements; and on their chin, to measure muscle activity. They used this data to determine when the participants entered the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, when lucid dreams are most likely to occur.

The researchers used several techniques across the experiments to communicate with dreamers during REM sleep, including asking them spoken questions and giving them encoded messages in flashing lights, beeping tones and physical taps, that the dreamers had been trained to decipher. If dreamers received and understood the question or message during a lucid dream, they then responded with a set of distinctive eye or facial movements that were interpreted by the electrodes.

"Such two-way communication — from outside to inside the dream and back out again — is something that may seem to belong to the domain of science fiction.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00059-2

https://www.livescience.com/real-time-communication-while-dreaming....

Metabolic mutations help bacteria resist drug treatment

Bacteria have many ways to evade the antibiotics that we use against them.

Most of the mutations known to confer resistance occur in the genes targeted by a particular antibiotic. Other resistance mutations allow bacteria to break down antibiotics or pump them out through their cell membranes.

Researchers have now identified another class of mutations that helps bacteria develop resistance. In a study of E. coli, they discovered that mutations to genes involved in metabolism can also help bacteria to evade the toxic effects of several different antibiotics. The findings shed light on a fundamental facet of how antibiotics work, and suggest potential new avenues for developing drugs that could enhance the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.

This study gives us insights into how we can boost the effectiveness of existing antibiotics because it emphasizes that downstream metabolism plays an important role. Specifically, the work indicates that the killing efficacy of an antibiotic can be enhanced if one can elevate the metabolic response of the treated pathogen. By turning down their metabolism after drug treatment, bacteria can prevent the buildup of harmful byproducts.

The findings raise the possibility that forcing bacteria into a heightened metabolic state could increase the effectiveness of existing antibiotics, the researchers say.

A.J. Lopatkin el al., "Clinically relevant mutations in core metabolic genes confer antibiotic resistance," Science (2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.aba0862

"The genetic underground of antibiotic resistance," Science (2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.abf7922

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-metabolic-mutations-bacteria-resist-d...

Scientists identify over 140,000 virus species in the human gut

Viruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Now researchers  have identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before.

The paper, published today (18 February 2021) in Cell, contains an analysis of over 28,000 gut microbiome samples collected in different parts of the world. The number and diversity of the viruses the researchers found was surprisingly high, and the data opens up new research avenues for understanding how viruses living in the gut affect human health.

The human gut is an incredibly biodiverse environment. In addition to bacteria, hundreds of thousands of viruses called bacteriophages, which can infect bacteria, also live there.

It is known that imbalances in our gut microbiome can contribute to diseases and complex conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, allergies and obesity. But relatively little is known about the role our gut bacteria, and the bacteriophages that infect them, play in human health and disease.

Using a DNA-sequencing method called metagenomics, researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) explored and catalogued the biodiversity of the viral species found in 28,060 public human gut metagenomes and 2,898 bacterial isolate genomes cultured from the human gut.

The analysis identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before.

Camarillo-Guerrero, L.F., et al. (2021). Massive expansion of human gut bacteriophage diversity. Cell. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.029

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-scientists-virus-species-human-gut.ht...

Physics of tumours: Cancer cells become fluidised and squeeze through tissue

Researchers  have achieved a breakthrough in research into how cancer cells spread. They demonstrated for the first time how cells deform in order to move in dense tumor tissues and squeeze past neighboring cells. The researchers found that motile cells work together to fluidise tumour tissue.

These first observations of a phase transition in human tumours change our basic concepts of tumour progression and could improve cancer diagnosis and therapy.

 the research showed that human tumours contain solid and fluid cell clusters, which would be a breakthrough in scientists' understanding of tumour mechanics.

Steffen Grosser et al, Cell and Nucleus Shape as an Indicator of Tissue Fluidity in Carcinoma, Physical Review X (2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.11.011033

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-physics-tumours-cancer-cells-fluidise...

Using plasma technology to feed the world

Using state-of-the-art plasma technology to make cheap fertilizer for small farmers may sound like magic, but it has now become reality. Researchers have built a small plasma-powered plant that produces nitrogen-based liquid fertilizer only using sun, water and air. The plant is easy to set up, sustainable and very efficient.

https://www.tue.nl/en/news/news-overview/01-01-1970-using-plasma-te...

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-plasma-technology-world.html?utm_sour...

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AI may mistake chess discussions as racist talk

"The Queen's Gambit," the recent TV mini-series about a chess master, may have stirred increased interest in chess, but a word to the wise: social media talk about game-piece colors could lead to misunderstandings, at least for hate-speech detection software.

The dogs trained to spot cancer

Ancient trees show turning point in Earth history 42,000yr ago

Researchers observe stationary Hawking radiation in an analog black hole

Black holes are regions in space where gravity is very strong—so strong that nothing that enters them can escape, including light. Theoretical predictions suggest that there is a radius surrounding black holes known as the event horizon. Once something passes the event horizon, it can no longer escape a black hole, as gravity becomes stronger as it approaches its center.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking predicted that while nothing can escape from within them, black holes spontaneously emit a limited amount of light, which is known as Hawking radiation. According to his predictions, this radiation is spontaneous (i.e., it arises from nothing) and stationary (i.e., its intensity does not change much over time).

Researchers at Technion- Israel Institute of Technology have recently carried out a study aimed at testing Hawking's theoretical predictions. More specifically, they examined whether the equivalent of Hawking radiation in an "artificial black hole" created in a laboratory setting was stationary.

If you go inside the event horizon there's no way to get out, even for light. Hawking radiation starts just outside the event horizon, where light can barely escape. That is really weird because there's nothing there; it's empty space. Yet this radiation starts from nothing, comes out, and goes towards Earth.

The Hawking radiation emitted by this analog black hole is made of sound waves, rather than light waves. The rubidium atoms flow faster than the speed of sound, so sound waves cannot reach the event horizon and escape from the black hole. Outside of the event horizon, however, the gas flows slowly, so sound waves can move freely.

According to Hawking's predictions, the radiation emitted by black holes is spontaneous. In one of their previous studies, Researchers were able to confirm this prediction in their artificial black hole. In their new study, they set out to investigate whether the radiation emitted by their black hole is also stationary (i.e., if it remains constant over time).

A black hole is supposed to radiate like a black body, which is essentially a warm object that emits a constant infrared radiation (i.e., black body radiation). Hawking suggested that black holes are just like regular stars, which radiate a certain type of radiation all the time, constantly. That's what they wanted to confirm in our study, and they did.

Observation of stationary spontaneous Hawking radiation and the time evolution of an analog black hole. Nature Physics(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-020-01076-0

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-stationary-hawking-analog-black-hole....

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Spina bifida can be caused by uninherited genetic mutations

Genetic mutations which occur naturally during the earliest stages of an embryo's development can cause the severe birth defect spina bifida, finds a new experimental study in mice.

The research explains for the first time how a 'mosaic mutation' - a mutation which is not inherited from either parent (either via sperm or egg cell) but occurs randomly during cell divisions in the developing embryo—causes spina bifida.

Scientists 

found that when a mutation in the gene Vangl2 (which contains information needed to create spinal cord tissue) was present in 16% of developing spinal cord cells of mouse embryos, this was sufficient to produce spina bifida.

Researchers say the findings add to scientists' understanding of how and why mosaic mutations can affect and disrupt cell function, including those of neighbouring cells, helping cause birth defects.

For parents, the findings may help reduce the burden felt by those who believe their child inherited spina bifida from them via genes, and believe future children could also inherit the condition. This is often discussed during genetic counselling.

Cell non-autonomy amplifies disruption of neurulation by mosaic Vangl2 deletion in mice, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21372-4

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-spina-bifida-uninherited-gen...

People who don't suffer in cold have a genetic mutation to tolerate cold better

A new research has identified a specific genetic mutation that makes a fifth of us more resilient to cold conditions.

The genetic mutation in question stops the production of the protein α-actinin-3, which is important for skeletal muscle fibre: The protein is only found in fast-twitch (or white) fibres and not in slow-twitch (or red) fibres.

Based on the new study's results, people without α-actinin-3 have a higher proportion of slow-twitch fibres, and one of the consequences is that the body tends to conserve energy by building up muscle tone through contractions rather than shivering.

This suggests that people lacking α-actinin-3 are better at keeping warm and, energy-wise, at enduring a tougher climate. The loss of this protein gives a greater resilience to cold .

https://www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltext/S0002-9297(21)00013-6

https://www.sciencealert.com/1-in-5-of-us-have-a-genetic-mutation-t...

Common agricultural pesticide may be putting hummingbirds at risk: U of T study

Hummingbirds need an incredible amount of energy to flap their wings 50 times per second to maintain hovering flight. Their metabolism is so supercharged that if they were human-sized they would consume energy at a rate more than 10 times that of an Olympic marathon runner. But a new University of Toronto study has found that a common agricultural pesticide, which is related to nicotine in tobacco and  might be slowing down the crucial physiological process  that makes hummingbirds so unique upto 25% in the hours after exposure.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82470-3

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/common-agricultural-pesticide-may-be-p...

Lab-grown 'mini-bile ducts' used to repair human livers in regenerative medicine first

The research paves the way for cell therapies to treat liver disease – in other words, growing ‘mini-bile ducts’ in the lab as replacement parts that can be used to restore a patient’s own liver to health – or to repair damaged organ donor livers, so that they can still be used for transplantation.

Bile ducts act as the liver’s waste disposal system, and malfunctioning bile ducts are behind a third of adult and 70 per cent of children’s liver transplantations, with no alternative treatments. There is currently a shortage of liver donors: This means that only a limited number of patients can benefit from this therapy.

Approaches to increase organ availability or provide an alternative to whole organ transplantation are urgently needed. Cell-based therapies could provide an advantageous alternative. However, the development of these new therapies is often impaired and delayed by the lack of an appropriate model to test their safety and efficacy in humans before embarking in clinical trials.

Now, in a study published in Science, scientists have developed a new approach that takes advantage of a recent ‘perfusion system’ that can be used to maintain donated organs outside the body. Using this technology, they demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to transplant biliary cells grown in the lab known as cholangiocytes into damaged human livers to repair them. As proof-of-principle for their method, they repaired livers deemed unsuitable for transplantation due to bile duct damage. This approach could be applied to a diversity of organs and diseases to accelerate the clinical application of cell-based therapy.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6531/839

https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/lab-grown-mini-bile-ducts-used-t...

https://researchnews.cc/news/5261/Lab-grown--mini-bile-ducts--used-...

Dancing DNA

Dancing DNA

This video allows us to see, for the first time, how small circles of DNA adopt dance-like movements inside a cell. Being able to observe DNA in such detail could help to accelerate the development of new gene therapies.

Electronics free, air-powered robot

Engineers have created a four-legged soft robot that doesn’t need any electronics to work. The robot only needs a constant source of pressurized air for all its functions, including its controls and locomotion systems.

No more popping pills, now just inhale your antibiotics!

You may not have to pop up azithromycin pills in the future. Instead, you will be able to simply inhale this most common antibiotic drug widely prescribed to treat respiratory tract infections of the nose, throat and lungs.

You may not have to pop up azithromycin pills in the future. Instead, you will be able to simply inhale this most common antibiotic drug widely prescribed to treat respiratory tract infections of the nose, throat and lungs.

Researchers of M S University’s Faculty of Pharmacy have received a patent for their invention of a liposomal dry powder inhaler (LDPI) of azithromycin. This invention will significantly reduce the side effects that the drug causes to people who consume it currently in pill form.

Azithromycin is a widely prescribed drug for the treatment of respiratory tract infections. But as the drug enters the stomach and blood, it causes a number of side effects. There has always been a demand for a formulation that can help the drug reach its target organ — the organ where the bacteria that is causing respiratory infection resides — without causing side effects.

The team developed the new formulation by encapsulating azithromycin within liposomes (used as a carrier), converting it into a dry powder by freeze-drying and filling it in capsules. Patients can easily take drug doses through dry powder inhalers.
The liposomal dry powder was evaluated using various in-vitro and animal studies. The in-vivo studies done on rats showed that the liposomes are retained in the lungs for a prolonged period of up to 12 hours with lesser presence in blood.

“These liposomes slowly released the loaded azithromycin into the lungs and thus avoided the exposure of the drug to stomach or blood. This helps in building local drug concentrations required for maximizing effectiveness and minimizing side effects.

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/no-more-p...

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Novel coronavirus affects male fertility levels: Study

City gynaecologists and fertility experts have found that the novel coronavirus has affected the fertility levels, particularly in men, as a majority of those infected hailed from the reproductive age.

As the body temperature is directly linked to the production of sperm, those suffering from Covid-19 with high fever, are at risk of infertility, though temporary. Fertility experts said fever has an impact on the parameters of sperm, including its motility and count. The worst-hit during the lockdown were the infertile couples as they could not have access to assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Even after relaxation in the lockdown, the access to the ART is limited.

The result of the study was published in the recent issue of ‘The Journal of Reproductive Health and Medicine’.

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/novel-cor...

Russia detects first case of H5N8 avian flu in humans

Russia said Saturday that its scientists had detected the world's first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu from birds to humans and had alerted the World Health Organization.

scientists at the Vektor laboratory had isolated the strain's genetic material from seven workers at a poultry farm in southern Russia, where an outbreak was recorded among the birds in December.

The workers did not suffer any serious health consequences, she added. They are believed to have caught the virus from poultry on the farm.

Information about the world's first case of transmission of the avian flu (H5N8) to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization. 

There are different subtypes of avian influenza viruses.

While the highly contagious strain H5N8 is lethal for birds, it had never before been reported to have spread to humans.

The discovery of these mutations when the virus has not still acquired an ability to transmit from human to human gives us all, the entire world, time to prepare for possible mutations and react in an adequate and timely fashion.

People can get infected with avian and swine influenza viruses, such as bird flu subtypes A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) and swine flu subtypes such as A(H1N1).

According to the WHO, people usually get infected through direct contact with animals or contaminated environments, and there is no sustained transmission among humans.

H5N1 in people can cause severe illness and has a 60 percent mortality rate.

source: The Lancet

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-russia-case-h5n8-avian-flu.h...

Hedge plant effective at filtering automobile air pollutants

Researchers have found that the Cotoneaster franchetii (also known as Franchet's cotoneaster) hedge plant is effective at filtering automobile air pollutants. In their paper published in the journal Environments, they described experiments that involved testing different types of plants to find out which were best at filtering air pollution next to roadways.

The work is part of a 10-year ongoing research effort meant to better understand which plants might be the most useful in urban settings. They have been testing bushes, trees and shrubs that are commonly planted in urban to see which are the most effective against flooding and air pollution. Over that time span, they have tested a wide variety of hedges to see how well they can soak up air pollution generated by cars and trucks and have found that those with dense canopies and rough and hairy leaves, such as cotoneaster, are the most effective.

The team found that cotoneaster was 20% more effective at pulling pollutants out of the air on busy street sections than any other hedge that they studied. They acknowledge that they found little difference between hedges when testing on streets that did not have much traffic. They suggest this indicates that using different kinds of plants in different areas would make sense, both for home owners and city or town planners. They found that over the course of one week, a single 1-meter-long cotoneaster hedge was able to clean auto pollutants over the course of a 500-mile drive.

Because of its unique abilities, the researchers suggest that homeowners who have property abutting busy street sections plant cotoneaster to reduce the amount of pollution they are inhaling into their lungs every day. City planners could do likewise to reduce overall pollution levels in cities.

Tijana Blanuša et al. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Urban Hedges as Air Pollution Barriers: Importance of Sampling Method, Species Characteristics and Site Location, Environments (2020). DOI: 10.3390/environments7100081

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-hedge-effective-filtering-automobile-...

Unfortunate timing and rate of change may be enough to tip a climat...

Imagine abrupt shifts of the tropical monsoons, reductions in Northern Hemisphere rainfall, and strengthening of North Atlantic storm tracks within decades. These are some of the impacts that climate scientists expect if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which redistributes heat from equatorial regions to the Northern Hemisphere, suddenly tips into a dormant state as a result of global warming. The consequences would drastically alter conditions for agriculture, biodiversity, and the economy in large parts of the World.

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Drones used to locate dangerous, unplugged oil wells

There are millions of unplugged oil wells in the United States, which pose a serious threat to the environment. Using drones, researchers from Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed a new method to locate these hard-to-locate and dangerous wells.

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Carpets of moss help stop erosion

Every year, billions of tons of valuable soil are lost worldwide through erosion, much of it deposited in bodies of water that fill with sand or silt as a result. Soil losses measured in Germany range from 1.4 to 3.2 tons per hectare per year; in extreme weather, the figure can be as high as fifty tons. Geoscientists at the University of Tübingen have now shown how biological soil crusts provide a protective layer against erosion. Natural "carpets" of bacteria, mosses, lichens, fungi and other organisms bind soil particles into coherent layers, or crusts.

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Potentially harmful chemicals found in plastic toys

It has long been known that several chemicals used in plastic toys in different parts of the world can be harmful to human health. However, it is difficult for parents to figure out how to avoid plastic toys containing chemicals that may cause possible health risks to their children.

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How outdoor pollution affects indoor air quality

If you thought you could head indoors to be safe from the air pollution that plagues your area or city, new research shows that elevated air pollution events  claw their way into indoor spaces.

Researchers found that the amount of air pollution that comes indoors depends on the type of outdoor pollution. Wildfires, fireworks and wintertime inversions all affect indoor air to different degrees.

 During their experiments, researchers found  that in general, the pollution levels inside were about 30% of what they were outside.

That's not surprising because during inversions, only around 20% of the air pollution is what's called primary pollution—the particulate matter that comes directly from combustion exhaust. The rest is secondary—formed as gases undergo chemical reactions under specific meteorological conditions and combine to form solid particulates. As soon as the air comes indoors, those meteorological conditions change.

That changes the chemical environment for these particles and they actually dissociate. That's what we're suspecting is happening when these particles come into the building and that's why we don't observe them.

But still the air is still safer inside than outside.

Daniel Mendoza et al, Long-term analysis of the relationships between indoor and outdoor fine particulate pollution: A case study using research grade sensors, Science of The Total Environment (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145778

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-outdoor-pollution-affects-indoor-air....

Ghost particle from shredded star reveals cosmic particle accelerator

From a black hole to the South Pole: Scientists identify first neutrino from a tidal disruption event

Tracing back a ghostly particle to a shredded star, scientists have uncovered a gigantic cosmic particle accelerator. The subatomic particle, called a neutrino, was hurled towards Earth after the doomed star came too close to the supermassive black hole at the centre of its home galaxy and was ripped apart by the black hole's colossal gravity. It is the first particle that can be traced back to such a 'tidal disruption event' (TDE) and provides evidence that these little understood cosmic catastrophes can be powerful natural particle accelerators.

The observations also demonstrate the power of exploring the cosmos via a combination of different 'messengers' such as photons (the particles of light) and neutrinos, also known as multi-messenger astronomy.

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The neutrino began its journey some 700 million years ago, around the time the first animals developed on Earth. That is the travel time the particle needed to get from the far-away, unnamed galaxy (catalogued as 2MASX J20570298+1412165) in the constellation Delphinus (The Dolphin) to Earth. Scientists estimate that the enormous black hole is as massive as 30 million suns. "The force of gravity gets stronger and stronger, the closer you get to something. That means the black hole's gravity pulls the star's near side more strongly than the star's far side, leading to a stretching effect. This difference is called a tidal force, and as the star gets closer, this stretching becomes more extreme. Eventually it rips the star apart, and then we call it a tidal disruption event. It's the same process that leads to ocean tides on Earth, but luckily for us the moon doesn't pull hard enough to shred the Earth.

About half of the star's debris was flung into space, while the other half settled on a swirling disc around the black hole.  Before plunging into oblivion, the matter from the accretion disc gets hotter and hotter and shines brightly. This glow was first detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on Mount Palomar in California on 9 April 2019.

Half a year later, on 1 October 2019 the IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole registered an extremely energetic neutrino from the direction of the tidal disruption event. It smashed into the Antarctic ice with a remarkable energy of more than 100 teraelectronvolts. For comparison, that's at least ten times the maximum particle energy that can be achieved in the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider at the European particle physics lab CERN near Geneva.The extremely lightweight neutrinos hardly interact with anything, able to pass unnoticed through not just walls but whole planets or stars, and are hence often referred to as ghost particles. So, even catching just one high-energy neutrino is already a remarkable observation. Analysis showed that this particular neutrino had only a one in 500 chance of being purely coincidental with the TDE. The detection prompted further observations of the event with many instruments across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to X-rays.

- A tidal disruption event coincident with a high-energy neutrino; Robert Stein, Sjoert van Velzen, Marek Kowalski, et al.; Nature Astronomy, 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-01295-8

- A concordance scenario for the observed neutrino from a tidal discruption event; Walter Winter and Cecilia Lunardini; Nature Astronomy, 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01305-3

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/ded-gpf021821.php