Study sheds more light on rate of rare blood clots after Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

A large study from Denmark and Norway published by The BMJ today sheds more light on the risk of rare blood clots in adults receiving their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The findings show slightly increased rates of vein blood clots including clots in the veins of the brain, compared with expected rates in the general population. However, the researchers stress that the risk of such adverse events is considered low.

Cases of rare blood clots in people who have recently received their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been reported. Whether these cases represent excess events above expected rates in the general population has, however, been debated.

Both the UK and European medicine regulators say the benefits of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine still outweigh the risks.

To explore this further, researchers based in Denmark and Norway set out to compare nationwide rates of blood clots and related conditions after vaccination with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with those in the general populations of the two countries.

Their findings are based on 280,000 people aged 18-65 who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Denmark and Norway from February 2021 through to 11 March 2021.

Using national health records, they identified rates of events, such as heart attacks, strokes, deep vein blood clots and bleeding events within 28 days of receiving a first vaccine dose and compared these with expected rates in the general populations of Denmark and Norway.

In the main analysis, the researchers found 59 blood clots in the veins compared with 30 expected, corresponding to 11 excess events per 100,000 vaccinations. This included a higher than expected rate of blood clots in the veins of the brain, known as cerebral venous thrombosis (2.5 events per 100,000 vaccinations).

However, they found no increase in the rate of arterial clots, such as heart attacks or strokes.

Arterial events, venous thromboembolism, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding after vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 in Denmark and Norway: population based cohort study, www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1114

Opinion: Thrombosis and bleeding after the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccination, blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/05/05/t … covid-19-vaccination

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-rare-blood-clots-oxford-astr...

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Researchers find possible novel migraine therapy

By discovering a potential new cellular mechanism for migraines, researchers may have also found a new way to treat chronic migraine.

 the dynamic process of routing and rerouting connections among nerve cells, called neural plasticity, is critical to both the causes and cures for disorders of the central nervous system such as depression, chronic pain, and addiction.

The structure of the cell is maintained by its cytoskeleton which is made up of the protein, tubulin. Tubulin is in a constant state of flux, waxing and waning to change the size and shape of the cell. This dynamic property of the cell allows the nervous system to change in response to its environment.

Tubulin is modified in the body through a chemical process called acetylation. When tubulin is acetylated it encourages flexible, stable cytoskeleton; while tubulin deacetylation—induced by histone deacetylase 6, or HDAC6, promotes cytoskeletal instability.

Studies in mice models show that decreased neuronal complexity may be a feature, or mechanism, of chronic migraine. When HDAC6 is inhibited, tubulin acetylation and cytoskeletal flexibility is restored. Additionally, HDAC6 reversed the cellular correlates of migraine and relieved migraine-associated pain, according to the study.

This work suggests that the chronic migraine state may be characterized by decreased neuronal complexity, and that restoration of this complexity could be a hallmark of anti-migraine treatments. This work also forms the basis for development of HDAC6 inhibitors as a novel therapeutic strategy for migraine.

This research reveals a way to possibly reset the brain toward its pre-chronic migraine state.

 Zachariah Bertels et al, Neuronal complexity is attenuated in preclinical models of migraine and restored by HDAC6 inhibition, eLife (2021). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.63076

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-migraine-therapy.html?utm_so...

A new method to trigger rain where water is scarce

A new method to trigger rain in places where water is scarce is being tested in the United Arab Emirates using unmanned drones that were designed and manufactured at the University of Bath. The drones carry an electric charge that is released into a cloud, giving cloud droplets the jolt they need to clump together and fall as rain.

This is one of the first times scientists have used drones in an attempt to stimulate rainfall from clouds. Established techniques for encouraging rainfall in dry countries involve low-flying aircraft or rockets dropping or firing solid particles (such as salt or silver iodide) into clouds. This is known as cloud seeding.

The drones, which are being tested as part of the UAE's rain-enhancement science-research program, are equipped with a payload of electric-charge emission instruments and sensors. Human operators on the ground will direct them towards low-hanging clouds, where they will release their charge. Clouds naturally carry positive and negative charges. By altering the balance of these charges, it is hoped that cloud droplets can be persuaded to grow and merge, eventually producing rain.

The research, which is published in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

 R. Giles Harrison et al. Demonstration of a Remotely Piloted Atmospheric Measurement and Charge Release Platform for Geoengineering, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (2020). DOI: 10.1175/JTECH-D-20-0092.1

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-method-trigger-scarce.html?utm_source...

Flooding might triple in the mountains of Asia due to global warming
The "Third Pole" of the Earth, the high mountain ranges of Asia, bears the largest number of glaciers outside the polar regions. A Sino-Swiss research team has revealed the dramatic increase in flood risk that could occur across Earth's icy Third Pole in response to ongoing climate change. Focusing on the threat from new lakes forming in front of rapidly retreating glaciers, a team, led by researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, demonstrated that the related flood risk to communities and their infrastructure could almost triple. Important new hotspots of risk will emerge, including within politically sensitive transboundary regions of the Himalaya and Pamir. With significant increases in risk already anticipated over the next three decades, the results of the study, published in Nature Climate Change, underline the urgent need for forward-looking, collaborative, long-term approaches to mitigate future impacts in the region.

Increasing risk of glacial lake outburst floods from future Third Pole deglaciation, Nature Climate Change (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01028-3

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-triple-mountains-asia-due-global.html...

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Physicists describe new type of aurora

The famed northern and southern lights still hold secrets. In a new study, physicists describe a new phenomenon they call “diffuse auroral erasers,” in which patches of the background glow are blotted out, then suddenly intensify and reappear.

R. N. Troyer et al, The Diffuse Auroral Eraser, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics (2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020JA028805

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-physicists-aurora.html?utm_source=nwl...

Scientists find dangerous chemical pollutants in disposable face masks

The rise in single-use masks, and the associated waste, due to the Covid-19 pandemic has been documented as a new cause of pollution.

A robot that can help you untangle your hair

Why some people hallucinate ghosts

Scientists are developing a completely new “brain stress test” for evaluating the mental status of patients with Parkinson’s disease, the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide. It involves awakening the “ghosts” hidden in specific networks of the brain to predict the onset of hallucinations.

Biomarker detects severe COVID-19 early on

 Most people who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop no or only mild symptoms. However, some patients suffer severe life-threatening cases of COVID-19 and require intensive medical care and a ventilator to help them breathe. Many of these patients eventually succumb to the disease or suffer significant long-term health consequences. To identify and treat these patients at an early stage, a kind of “measuring stick” is needed – predictive biomarkers that can recognize those who are at risk of developing severe COVID-19.

First biomarker to predict severity of disease: a research team has now discovered such a biomarker – the number of natural killer T cells in the blood. These cells are a type of white blood cell and part of the early immune response. The number of natural killer T cells in the blood can be used to predict severe cases of COVID-19 with a high degree of certainty – even on a patient’s first day in hospital.

The new biomarker test helps clinicians decide which organizational and treatment measures need to be taken for patients with COVID-19, such as transfer to the ICU, frequency of oxygen measurements, type of therapy and treatment start. Predictive biomarkers are very useful for making these decisions. They help clinicians provide patients suffering severe symptoms with the best care possible.

The rapid deterioration in the health of COVID-19 patients is caused by an overreaction of the body’s immune system. “The body produces small proteins called cytokines at a much higher rate, which leads to a ‘cytokine storm’ and triggers massive inflammation. Immune cells invade the lungs, where they disrupt gas exchange.

To detect the immune cells and cytokines in patient samples, the UZH researchers used high-dimensional cytometry. This technology enables researchers to characterize many surface and intracellular proteins in millions of individual cells and process them using computer algorithms.

https://www.media.uzh.ch/en/Press-Releases/2021/COVID-19-Biomarker....

https://researchnews.cc/news/6585/Biomarker-detects-severe-COVID-19...

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Defective epithelial barriers linked to two billion chronic diseases

Epithelial cells form the covering of most internal and external surfaces of the human body. This protective layer acts as a defense against invaders – including bacteria, viruses, environmental toxins, pollutants and allergens. If the skin and mucosal barriers are damaged or leaky, foreign agents such as bacteria can enter into the tissue and cause local, often chronic inflammation. This has both direct and indirect consequences.

Researchers  have now published a comprehensive summary of the research on epithelial barrier damage in Nature Reviews Immunology. The epithelial barrier hypothesis proposes that damages to the epithelial barrier are responsible for up to two billion chronic, non-infectious diseases.

Humans are exposed to a variety of toxins and chemicals every day. According to the epithelial barrier hypothesis, exposure to many of these substances damages the epithelium, the thin layer of cells that covers the surface of our skin, lungs and intestine. Defective epithelial barriers have been linked to a rise in almost two billion allergic, autoimmune, neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.

Cezmi A. Akdis. Does the epithelial barrier hypothesis explain the increase in allergy, autoimmunity and other chronic conditions? Nature Reviews Immunology, 2021; DOI: 10.1038/s41577-021-00538-7

https://researchnews.cc/news/6586/Defective-epithelial-barriers-lin...

Crystal critters

Researchers have observed that when salty water evaporates from a heated, superhydrophobic surface the crystal structures that form can easily be removed or roll away on their own. This phenomenon could make it possible to use brackish or salty water, without any pretreatment, rather than relying on freshwater sources, for cooling systems in power plants.

Research finds new way to reduce scarring

 Researchers have been able to reduce scarring by blocking part of the healing process in research that could make a significant difference for burns and other trauma patients.

Scars had been reduced by targeting the gene that instructs stem cells to form them in an animal study. The body’s natural response to trauma is to make plenty of blood vessels to take oxygen and nutrients to the wound to repair it.

Once the wound has closed, many of these blood vessels become fibroblast cells which produce the collagens forming the hard materials found in scar tissue. 
Vascular stem cells determined whether a blood vessel was retained or gave rise to scar material instead.

The experimental dermatology team  identified the molecular mechanism to switch off the process by targeting a specific gene involved in scar formation known as SOX9.

Eri Shirakami, Sho Yamakawa, Kenji Hayashida. Strategies to prevent hypertrophic scar formation: a review of therapeutic interventions based on molecular evidence. Burns & Trauma, 2020; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1093/burnst/tkz003

https://researchnews.cc/news/6578/UQ-research-finds-new-way-to-redu...

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hears Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in Flight

Locked In Home But Still Getting Infected?
More and more people are now complaining that they have tested positive despite being locked up in their homes without any physical contact with the outer world. Could one reason be your faulty bathroom sewage pipe?

Wireless charging of electric cars

Cornell is pioneering an innovative approach for the wireless charging of electric vehicles, forklifts and other mobile machines, while they remain in motion.

Insect Flight | Capturing Takeoff & Flying at 3,200 FPS

Largest study to date confirms non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications do not result in worse COVID-19 outcomes

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, does not lead to higher rates of death or severe disease in patients who are hospitalised with COVID-19, according to a new observational study of more than 72,000 people in the UK published in The Lancet Rheumatology journal.

NSAIDs are common treatments for acute pain and rheumatological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthrosis. Early in the pandemic, there was debate on whether the use of such drugs increased the severity of COVID-19, which led to urgent calls for investigations between NSAIDs and COVID-19.

The ISARIC CCP-UK (International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium Clinical Characterisation Protocol United Kingdom) study, which is the largest of its kind, provides clear evidence that the continued use of NSAIDs in patients with COVID-19 is safe.

In the study, around a third of patients (30.4%. 1,279 out of 4,211) who had taken NSAIDs prior to hospital admission for COVID-19 died, a rate which was similar (31.3%. 21,256 out of 67,968) in patients who had not taken NSAIDs. In patients with rheumatological disease, the use of NSAIDs did not increase mortality.

Thomas M Drake et al, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and outcomes of COVID-19 in the ISARIC Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK cohort: a matched, prospective cohort study, The Lancet Rheumatology (2021). DOI: 10.1016/S2665-9913(21)00104-1

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-largest-date-non-steroidal-a...

In fight against COVID variants some firms target T cell jabs

Getting COVID vaccines into the arms of the world's population is an international priority—but will today's jabs stay effective against virus variants that are spreading across the globe?

It is one of the big questions about the pandemic, with Pfizer chief Albert Bourla recently acknowledging that it is likely a booster will be needed to help extend the protection conferred by its vaccine and ward off new variants.

A recent study presented a mixed picture.

It found that the antibody response of current vaccines could fail against variants. However, a second immune response in the form of killer T cells—which attack already infected cells and not the virus itself—remained largely intact.

Several startups are working on developing shots centred on T cells in hopes of producing a jab that would not only provide protection against new virus strains already on the loose, but also variants that don't yet exist.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-covid-variants-firms-cell-ja...

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In the emptiness of space, Voyager 1 detects plasma 'hum'

Voyager 1—one of two sibling NASA spacecraft launched 44 years ago and now the most distant human-made object in space—still works and zooms toward infinity.

The craft has long since zipped past the edge of the solar system through the heliopause—the solar system's border with interstellar space—into the interstellar medium. Now, its instruments have detected the constant drone of interstellar gas (plasma waves), according to Cornell University-led research published in Nature Astronomy.

This work allows scientists to understand how the interstellar medium interacts with the solar wind, Ocker said, and how the protective bubble of the solar system's heliosphere is shaped and modified by the interstellar environment.

After entering interstellar space, the spacecraft's Plasma Wave System detected perturbations in the gas. But, in between those eruptions—caused by our own roiling sun—researchers have uncovered a steady, persistent signature produced by the tenuous near-vacuum of space.

Persistent plasma waves in interstellar space detected by Voyager 1, Nature Astronomy (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01363-7

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-space-voyager-plasma.html?utm_source=...

Cricket bats should be made from bamboo not willow, study finds

Bamboo cricket bats are stronger, offer a better 'sweet spot' and deliver more energy to the ball than those made from traditional willow, tests conducted by the University of Cambridge show. Bamboo could, the study argues, help cricket to expand faster in poorer parts of the world and make the sport more environmentally friendly.

compared the performance of specially made prototype laminated bamboo cricket bats, the first of their kind, with that of typical willow bats. Their investigations included microscopic analysis, video capture technology, computer modelling, compression testing, measuring how knocking-in improved surface hardness, and testing for vibrations.

The study, published today in The Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, shows that bamboo is significantly stronger—with a strain at failure more than three times greater—than willow and able to hold much higher loads, meaning that bats made with bamboo could be thinner while remaining as strong as willow. This would help batsmen as lighter blades can be swung faster to transfer more energy to the ball. The researchers also found that bamboo is 22% stiffer than willow which also increases the speed at which the ball leaves the bat.

Ben Tinkler-Davies et al, Replacing willow with bamboo in cricket bats, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology (2021). DOI: 10.1177/17543371211016592

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During manufacture, the surface of cricket bats is compressed to create a hardened layer. When the team compared the effect of this 'knock-in' process on both materials, they found that after 5 hours bamboo's surface hardness had increased to twice that of pressed willow.

Perhaps most excitingly, they found that the sweet-spot on their prototype bamboo blade performed 19% better than that on a traditional willow bat. This sweet-spot was about 20 mm wide and 40 mm long, significantly larger than on a typical willow bat, and better still, was positioned closer to the toe (12.5 cm from the toe at its sweetest point).

Firefighting chemical found in sea lion and fur seal pups

A chemical that the NSW government has recently partially banned in firefighting has been found in the pups of endangered Australian sea lions and in Australian fur seals.

The new research—part of a long-term health study of seals and sea lions in Australia—identified the chemicals in animals at multiple colonies in Victoria and South Australia from 2017 to 2020.

As well as in pups, the chemicals (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - 'PFAS') were detected in juvenile animals and in an adult male. There was also evidence of transfer of the chemicals from mothers to newborns.

PFAS have been reported to cause cancer, reproductive and developmental defects, endocrine disruption and can compromise immune systems. Exposure can occur through many sources including through contaminated air, soil and water, and common household products containing PFAS. In addition to being used in firefighting foam, they are frequently found in stain repellents, polishes, paints and coatings.

The researchers think the seals and sea lions ingested the chemicals through their fish, crustacean, octopus and squid diets.

Shannon Taylor et al, Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at high concentrations in neonatal Australian pinnipeds, Science of The Total Environment (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147446

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-firefighting-chemical-sea-lion-fur.ht...

How viruses and bacteria can reach drinking water wells

Induced bank filtration is a key and well-established approach to provide drinking water supply to populated areas located along rivers or lakes and with limited access to groundwater resources. It is employed in several countries worldwide, with notable examples in Europe, the United States, and parts of Africa. Contamination of surface waters poses a serious threat to attaining drinking water standards. In this context, human pathogenic microorganisms such as some viruses and bacteria, originating from the discharge of wastewater treatment plants, form a major contaminant group. A detailed study at an induced bank filtration site along the Rhine river in Germany has now linked transport of bacteria to seasonal dynamics. Key results of the study show that floods should be considered as particular threats, because they can reduce the purification capacity of bank filtration, thus leading to an increase in the concentrations of bacteria in groundwater. Changes in properties of the riverbed sediments over the course of a year can markedly influence the purification capacity of bank filtration and these dynamics may need to be considered in risk assessment practices.

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Hidden within African diamonds, a billion-plus years of deep-Earth ...

Diamonds are sometimes described as messengers from the deep earth; scientists study them closely for insights into the otherwise inaccessible depths from which they come. But the messages are often hard to read. Now, a team has come up with a way to solve two longstanding puzzles: the ages of individual fluid-bearing diamonds, and the chemistry of their parent material. The research has allowed them to sketch out geologic events going back more than a billion years—a potential breakthrough not only in the study of diamonds, but of planetary evolution.

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Understanding astronaut muscle wasting at the molecular level

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have sent mice into space to explore effects of spaceflight and reduced gravity on muscle atrophy, or wasting, at the molecular level.

Targeting viral RNA: The basis for next-gen broad spectrum anti-viral drugs

A new approach to tackling viruses by targeting the 'control center' in viral RNA could lead to broad spectrum anti-viral drugs and provide a first line of defense against future pandemics, according to new research.

In a new study, published in Angewandte Chemie, researchers have shown how this approach could be effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier modeling and in vitro analysis by the team and published in Chemical Science has also shown effectiveness against the HIV virus.

The technique proposed by the team uses cylindrically-shaped molecules which can block the function of a particular section at one end of the RNA strand. These RNA sections, known as untranslated RNA, are essential for regulating the replication of the virus.

Untranslated RNA contain junction points and bulges—essentially small holes in the structure– which are normally recognized by proteins or other pieces of RNA—events that are critical for viral replication to occur. The cylindrical molecules are attracted to these holes, and once they slide into them, the RNA closes around them, forming a precise fit, which consequently will interfere with the virus's ability to replicate.

Lazaros Melidis et al. Supramolecular cylinders target bulge structures in the 5' UTR of the RNA genome of SARS‐CoV‐2 and inhibit viral replication, Angewandte Chemie (2021). DOI: 10.1002/ange.202104179

Lazaros Melidis et al. Targeting structural features of viral genomes with a nano-sized supramolecular drug, Chemical Science (2021). DOI: 10.1039/D1SC00933H

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-viral-rna-basis-next-gen-broad.html?u...

Scientists catch exciting magnetic waves in action in the Sun's photosphere

Researchers have confirmed the existence of magnetic plasma waves, known as Alfvén waves, in the Sun's photosphere. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, provides new insights into these fascinating waves that were first discovered by the Nobel Prize winning scientist Hannes Alfvén in 1947.

The vast potential of these waves resides in their ability to transport energy and information over very large distances due to their purely magnetic nature. The direct discovery of these waves in the solar photosphere, the lowest layer of the solar atmosphere, is the first step towards exploiting the properties of these magnetic waves.

The ability for Alfvén waves to carry energy is also of interest for solar and plasma-astrophysics as it could help explain the extreme heating of the solar atmosphere—a mystery that has been unsolved for over a century.

Alfvén waves form when charged particles (ions) oscillate in response to interactions between magnetic fields and electrical currents.

Within the solar atmosphere bundles of magnetic fields, known as solar magnetic flux tubes, can form. Alfvén waves are though to manifest in one of two forms in solar magnetic flux tubes; either axisymmetric torsional pertubations (where symmetric oscillations occur around the flux tube axis) or anti-symmetric torsional pertubations (where oscillations occur as two swirls rotating in opposite directions in the flux tube).

Despite previous claims, torsional Alfvén waves have never been directly identified in the solar photosphere, even in their simplest form of axisymmetric oscillations of magnetic flux tubes.

In this study, the researchers used high resolution observations of the solar atmosphere, made by the European Space Agency's imager IBIS, to prove the existence of anti-symmetric torsional waves first predicted almost 50 years ago.

They also found that these waves could be used to extract vast amounts of energy from the solar photosphere, confirming the potential of these waves for a wide range of research areas and industrial applications.

Marco Stangalini et al. Torsional oscillations within a magnetic pore in the solar photosphere, Nature Astronomy (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01354-8

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-scientists-magnetic-action-sun-photos...

Estimation of total mortality due to COVID-19

New material to treat wounds can protect against resistant bacteria

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new material that prevents infections in wounds, a specially designed hydrogel that works against all types of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains. The new material offers great hope for combating a growing global problem.

After testing the new hydrogel on different types of bacteria, researchers observed a high level of effectiveness, including against those which have become resistant to antibiotics.

The active substance in the new bactericidal material consists of antimicrobial peptides, small proteins found naturally in the immune system.

"With these types of peptides, there is a very low risk for bacteria to develop resistance against them, since they only affect the outermost membrane of the bacteria. That is perhaps the foremost reason why they are so interesting.

Researchers have long tried to find ways to use these peptides in medical applications, but so far without much success. The problem is that they break down quickly when they come into contact with bodily fluids such as blood. The current study describes how the researchers managed to overcome the problem through the development of a nanostructured hydrogel, into which the peptides are permanently bound, creating a protective environment.

Saba Atefyekta et al, Antimicrobial Peptide-Functionalized Mesoporous Hydrogels, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00029

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-material-wounds-resistant-bacteria.ht...

SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spike protein under siege

This is video of a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein under siege. The little blobs buzzing around it are called lectins, and they could be the secret weapon in a new defence against COVID-19, new research has found. 

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Most COVID-19 drugs currently in clinical trials are designed to block receptor sites on our cells -- the little doors on the surface of our cells that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein breaches to gain access. But this treatment would be different, targeting the spike protein itself. The protein hides from our immune system by covering itself with sugar molecules called glycans. These glycans are a disguise that helps the virus get in the door. What if, instead of trying to block the door, you gummed up the key instead?

Researchers developed the largest lectin library in the world to find two lectins that are particularly good at binding to glycans on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. These lectins are the gum on the key, and could be the starting point for a lectin-based drug to combat COVID-19. The best part? The glycan sites that the spike protein uses for its disguise show up in all circulating variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Not only have the researchers learned how these lectins bind to the spike protein, they've recorded it happening.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.11...

Potentially Deadly 'Black Fungus' Keeps Showing Up in COVID-19 Patients in India

Potentially fatal 'black fungus' infections on the rise in India's COVID-19 patients

Some COVID-19 patients in India have developed a rare and potentially fatal fungal infection called mucormycosis, also known as "black fungus," according to news reports.

Mucormycosis is caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes, which grow in soil and decaying organic matter, such as rotting leaves and wood. It is ubiquitous and found in soil and air and even in the nose and mucus of healthy people.

The mold can enter the body through cuts and other abrasions in the skin, or the infection can take hold in the sinuses or lungs after people breathe in the fungal spores. Once inside the body, the fungus can sometimes spread through the bloodstream and affect other organs, such as the brain, eyes, spleen and heart.

Most commonly, mucormycosis strikes those with weakened immune systems, including those with diabetes and those taking medicines that suppress immune activity. Now, an increasing number of COVID-19 patients in India appear to be contracting the infection. 

Cases are appearing throughout India now. 

The rise in cases may be connected to the use of steroids in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, since the drugs suppress the immune system.

And those with diabetes start out at increased risk for the infection, even before taking steroids.

"Diabetes lowers the body's immune defenses, coronavirus exacerbates it, and then steroids which help fight COVID-19 act like fuel to the fire. In addition, many families have had to treat relatives for COVID-19 at home, meaning people may become exposed to the mold after receiving medicine or oxygen therapy in less-than-sterile conditions.

https://www.livescience.com/black-fungus-infection-coronavirus-indi...

How to thermally cloak an object

Do you feel the heat? To a thermal camera, which measures infrared radiation, the heat that we can feel is visible, like the heat of a traveler in an airport with a fever or the cold of a leaky window or door in the winter.

Researchers now report a theoretical way of mimicking thermal objects or making objects invisible to thermal measurements. 

The method allows for fine-tuning of heat transfer even in situations where the temperature changes in time, the researchers say. One application could be to isolate a part that generates heat in a circuit (say, a power supply) to keep it from interfering with heat sensitive parts (say, a thermal camera). Another application could be in industrial processes that require accurate temperature control in both time and space, for example controlling the cooling of a material so that it crystallizes in a particular manner.

Just as our eyes see objects if they emit or reflect light, a thermal camera can see an object if it emits or reflects infrared radiation. In mathematical terms, an object could become invisible to a thermal camera if heat sources placed around it could mimic heat transfer as if the object wasn't there.

The novelty in the team's approach is that they use heat pumps rather than specially crafted materials to hide the objects. A simple household example of a heat pump is a refrigerator: to cool groceries it pumps heat from the interior to the exterior. Using heat pumps is much more flexible than using carefully crafted materials. So at least from the perspective of thermal measurements they can make an apple appear as an orange.

The researchers carried out the mathematical work needed to show that, with a ring of heat pumps around an object, it's possible to thermally hide an object or mimic the heat signature of a different object.

The work remains theoretical

Active Thermal Cloaking and Mimicking, Proceedings of the Royal Society A (2021). royalsocietypublishing.org/doi … .1098/rspa.2020.0941

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-thermally-cloak.html?utm_source=nwlet...

How fasting diets could harm future generations

Fasting diets could impact the health of future generations according to new research .

Fasting diets have risen in popularity in recent years, however little is known about the long-term impact of these diets, particularly for future generations.

New research, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, reveals that reduced food intake in roundworms (Caenorhabditis elegans) has a detrimental effect on three generations of offspring—particularly when those descendants have access to unlimited food.

We know that reduced food intake increases the lifespan in many animals and can potentially improve health in humans. However, little is known about the long-term effects of reduced food intake, including time-limited fasting, on distant descendants.

The team investigated the effect of time-limited fasting on lifespan and reproduction in roundworms and across three generations of their descendants.

They studied more than 2,500 worms split across four generations. The first generation of worms were placed in one of four environments, including being able to eat as much as they liked, and being on a fasting diet.

Four generations of offspring from these parents were then placed onto either full-feeding or fasting diets.

The team then assessed the effects of different scenarios on the reproduction and longevity of future generations. These included what happens when great grandparents fast, but future generations are able to eat as much as they like, and cumulative fasting for four generations.

fasting did indeed increase their lifespan and it also improved offspring performance in terms of reproduction, when offspring themselves were fasting.

"However, we were surprised to find that fasting reduced offspring performance when the offspring had access to unlimited food.

"And this detrimental effect was evident in grand-offspring and great-grand-offspring.

This shows that fasting can be costly for descendants and this effect may last for generations.

"There has been a lot of interest in the potential benefits of fasting in promoting healthy aging in humans.

"A lot of the molecular pathways involved in the fasting response are evolutionarily conserved, which means the same pathways exist across a multitude of species including humans.

This study strongly prompts us to consider multigenerational effects of fasting in different organisms, including humans.

Edward R. Ivimey-Cook et al. Transgenerational fitness effects of lifespan extension by dietary restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2020). DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.24.168922

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-fasting-diets-future.html?ut...

Brand new physics of superconducting metals refuted by Lancaster physicists

Lancaster scientists have demonstrated that other physicists' recent "discovery" of the field effect in superconductors is nothing but hot electrons after all.

A team of scientists in the Lancaster Physics Department have found new and compelling evidence that the observation of the field effect in superconducting metals by another group can be explained by a simple mechanism involving the injection of the electrons, without the need for novel physics.

Dr. Sergey Kafanov, who initiated this experiment, said: "Our results unambiguously refute the claim of the electrostatic field effect claimed by the other group. This gets us back on the ground and helps maintain the health of the discipline."

The experimental team also includes Ilia Golokolenov, Andrew Guthrie, Yuri Pashkin and Viktor Tsepelin.

Their work is published in the latest issue of Nature Communications.

When certain metals are cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero, their electrical resistance vanishes—a striking physical phenomenon known as superconductivity. Many metals, including vanadium, which was used in the experiment, are known to exhibit superconductivity at sufficiently low temperatures.

For decades it was thought that the exceptionally low electrical resistance of superconductors should make them practically impervious to static electric fields, owing to the way the charge carriers can easily arrange themselves to compensate for any external field.

It therefore came as a shock to the physics community when a number of recent publications claimed that sufficiently strong electrostatic fields could affect superconductors in nanoscale structures—and attempted to explain this new effect with corresponding new physics. A related effect is well known in semiconductors and underpins the entire semiconductor industry.

The Lancaster team embedded a similar nanoscale device into a microwave cavity, allowing them to study the alleged electrostatic phenomenon at much shorter timescales than previously investigated. At short timescales, the team could see a clear increase in the noise and energy loss in the cavity—the properties strongly associated with the device temperature. They propose that at intense electric fields, high-energy electrons can "jump" into the superconductor, raising the temperature and therefore increasing the dissipation.

This simple phenomenon can concisely explain the origin of the "electrostatic field effect" in nanoscale structures, without any new physics.

Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22998-0

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-brand-physics-superconducting-metals-...

Higher antibiotic doses may make bacteria 'fitter': study

Using higher doses of antibiotics in a bid to tackle the growing problem of drug resistance may end up strengthening certain bacteria, according to research released recently that highlights a previously unthought-of risk.

Previous research has shown that inflicting higher antibiotic doses on bacteria can slow its ability to develop resistance, yet little attention has been paid to how those higher doses impact the overall health of microbes.

A team of Britain- and Europe-based researchers looked at how populations of E. coli reacted to varying concentrations of three common antibiotics.

They found that while higher antibiotic doses slowed the rate at which the bacteria developed resistance, they also gave rise to bacteria with "higher overall fitness"—meaning it had a higher rate of reproduction.

"We consider growth rate as a proxy for fitness, under the assumption that a strain that grows faster is more likely to take over the population and become dominant.

This 

showed how higher antibiotic doses presented a "dilemma" and could result in ultimately more-resistant bacteria.

Considering the fitness of the evolved strains adds another dimension to the problem of optimal antibiotic dosing.

Mato Lagator et al. Adaptation at different points along antibiotic concentration gradients, Biology Letters (2021). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0913

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-higher-antibiotic-doses-bacteria-fitt...

Study of ancient corals in Indonesia reveals slowest earthquake eve...

A slow-motion earthquake lasting 32 years—the slowest ever recorded—eventually led to the catastrophic 1861 Sumatra earthquake, researchers at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found.

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Study finds 'ghost forests' contribute to greenhouse gas emissions

A new study from North Carolina State University finds that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from standing dead trees in coastal wetland forests—colloquially called "tree farts"—need to be accounted for when assessing the environmental impact of so-called "ghost forests."

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Mechanism deciphered: How organic acids are formed in the atmosphere

The acidity of the atmosphere is increasingly determined by carbon dioxide and organic acids such as formic acid. The second of these contribute to the formation of aerosol particles as a precursor of raindrops and therefore impact the growth of clouds and pH of rainwater. In previous atmospheric chemistry models of acid formation, formic acid tended to play a small role. The chemical processes behind its formation were not well understood. An international team of researchers under the aegis of Forschungszentrum Jülich has now succeeded in filling this gap and deciphering the dominant mechanism in the formation of formic acid. This makes it possible to further refine atmosphere and climate models. The results of the study have now been published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

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A low-cost solution to remove arsenic from drinking water

High levels of a naturally occurring chemical called arsenic have been a source of contamination of ground-based drinking water, such as well-water, for people in many countries around the world, including parts of the United States. Consuming arsenic-contaminated water is a serious public health issue, leading to severe health complications including skin, lung, bladder, kidney and liver cancers, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Tides Under Ocean’s Surface

Food dyes may cause disease when the immune system is dysregulated, researchers report

Artificial food colorants can cause disease when the immune system has become dysregulated, researchers report. The study, published in Cell Metabolism in May, was the first to show this phenomenon.

The study, conducted in mice, found that the mice developed colitis when they consumed food with the artificial food colorants FD&C Red 40 and Yellow 6 when a specific component of their immune system, known as cytokine IL-23, was dysregulated. While it remains unclear whether food colorants have similar effects in humans, researchers plan to investigate exactly how cytokine IL-23 promotes the development of colitis after food colorant exposure.

Colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and cytokine IL-23 dysregulation is known to be a factor in the development of IBD in humans. Medicines that block its function are now successfully used in patients. Food colorants such as Red 40 and Yellow 6 are widely used in food, drink, and medicine. These two food colorants are the most commonly used in the world.

Both genetic predisposition and environmental factors appear to play a role in whether a person develops IBD, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, but the exact environmental factors have remained elusive.

For the study, the researchers created mouse models that had a dysregulated expression of cytokine IL-23. To their surprise, the mice with the dysregulated immune response did not develop inflammatory bowel disease spontaneously even though dysregulated IL-23 is a factor in people with the disease.

When given a diet with the food dyes Red 40 or Yellow 6, the altered mice developed colitis. However, mice that had the dye-infused diet but had a normal immune system did not develop IBD. To prove that the food colorant was indeed responsible, the researchers fed the altered mice diets without the food colorant and water containing it; in both cases, the disease developed when the mice consumed the colorant, but not otherwise. They repeated this finding for several diets and several food colorants.

The dramatic changes in the concentration of air and water pollutants and the increased use of processed foods and food additives in the human diet in the last century correlate with an increase in the incidence of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-food-dyes-disease-immune-dys...

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/tmsh-fdm050621.php#...(May%2013,first%20to%20show%20this%20phenomenon.

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Cancer has ripple effect on distant tissues

A new study with zebrafish shows that a deadly form of skin cancer—melanoma—alters the metabolism of healthy tissues elsewhere in the body. The research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that these other tissues could potentially be targeted to help treat cancer.

Tumors rely on a constant supply of nutrients to grow. Instead of competing with tumors for nutrients, other tissues can reprogram their metabolism to be complementary. In some instances, this may even allow healthy tissues to feed the tumour. 

The scientists examined tissues in the liver, intestine, fin, muscle, brain, blood, and eye of the zebrafish that has melanoma.. They observed metabolic dysregulation across most of the tissues—indicating that melanoma broadly impacts whole-body metabolism.

Patti, Gary J. et al.: "Isotope tracing in adult zebrafish reveals alanine cycling between melanoma and liver" Cell Metabolism (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.04.014 , www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/f … 1550-4131(21)00180-7

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Cancer consumes tremendous amounts of glucose, a key source of energy for cells in the body. Glucose, or blood sugar, is derived from food and transported around the body through the bloodstream after eating. Tumors actively soak up glucose as a fuel to support their rapid growth.

This trait is so well known that physicians regularly use it as a diagnostic test for cancer, where patients are administered a specific form of glucose that can be monitored with a PET scan. What is less clear is how a tumor's penchant for glucose affects other tissues.

"Glucose levels are tightly regulated," Patti said. "When glucose levels get too low, it's dangerous. We wanted to know whether a tumor with a high avidity for glucose might influence glucose levels in the blood."

Even when healthy people go a long period of time without eating, blood glucose levels are kept relatively constant. That is because glucose can be made by the liver when it cannot be obtained directly from food.

As it turns out, the liver counters the impact of the tumor by synthesizing glucose. It's very similar to what occurs during a fast.

 the scientists observed that melanoma tissues in the body consume about 15 times more glucose than the other tissues they measured. Despite this burden, the zebrafish were able to maintain circulating glucose levels, apparently by making glucose in the liver through a process that is ordinarily triggered when we go without eating.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-cancer-ripple-effect-distant...

New evidence for electron's dual nature found in a quantum spin liquid

A new discovery led by Princeton University could upend our understanding of how electrons behave under extreme conditions in quantum materials. The finding provides experimental evidence that this familiar building block of matter behaves as if it is made of two particles: one particle that gives the electron its negative charge and another that supplies its magnet-like property, known as spin.

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Causes of concrete and asphalt deterioration explained

Scientists have revealed that the deterioration of modern concrete and asphalt structures is due to the presence of trace quantities of organic matter in these structures.

A paradigm shift to combat indoor respiratory infection

Call for 'paradigm shift' to fight airborne spread of COVID-19 indoors

40 researchers from 14 countries in a call published in Science for a shift in standards in ventilation requirements equal in scale to the transformation in the 1800s when cities started organising clean water supplies and centralised sewage systems.

The international group of air quality researchers called on the World Health Organisation to extend the indoor air quality guidelines to include airborne pathogens and to recognise the need to control hazards of airborne transmission of respiratory infections.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6543/689

 L. Morawska at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia el al., "A paradigm shift to combat indoor respiratory infection," Science (2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi … 1126/science.abg2025

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-paradigm-shift-airborne-covid-indoors...

Observations show marine clouds amplify warming

A new analysis of satellite cloud observations finds that global warming causes low-level clouds over the oceans to decrease, leading to further warming.

These clouds, such as the stratocumulus clouds responsible for the often gloomy conditions in summers, are widespread over the global oceans and strongly cool the planet by shading the surface from sunlight. The new study finds that, overall, this cooling effect will be modestly reduced as the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere increases. The warming initially caused by increasing CO₂ gets an extra push from reductions in clouds—an amplifying feedback.

 Timothy A. Myers et al. Observational constraints on low cloud feedback reduce uncertainty of climate sensitivity, Nature Climate Change (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01039-0

S. C. Sherwood et al. An Assessment of Earth's Climate Sensitivity Using Multiple Lines of Evidence, Reviews of Geophysics (2020). DOI: 10.1029/2019RG000678

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-marine-clouds-amplify.html?utm_source...

Mammals can breathe through anus in emergencies

Rodents and pigs share with certain aquatic organisms the ability to use their intestines for respiration, finds a study . The researchers demonstrated that the delivery of oxygen gas or oxygenated liquid through the rectum provided vital rescue to two mammalian models of respiratory failure.

Artificial respiratory support plays a vital role in the clinical management of respiratory failure due to severe illnesses such as pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Several aquatic organisms have evolved unique intestinal breathing mechanisms to survive under low-oxygen conditions using organs other than lungs or gills. For example, sea cucumbers, freshwater fish called loaches, and certain freshwater catfish use their intestines for respiration. But it has been heavily debated whether mammals have similar capabilities.

In the new study, researchers provide evidence for intestinal breathing in rats, mice, and pigs. First, they designed an intestinal gas ventilation system to administer pure oxygen through the rectum of mice. They showed that without the system, no mice survived 11 minutes of extremely low-oxygen conditions. With intestinal gas ventilation, more oxygen reached the heart, and 75% of mice survived 50 minutes of normally lethal low-oxygen conditions.

Ryo Okabe et al, Mammalian enteral ventilation ameliorates respiratory failure, Med (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.medj.2021.04.004

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Because the intestinal gas ventilation system requires abrasion of the intestinal muscosa, it is unlikely to be clinically feasible, especially in severely ill patients—so the researchers also developed a liquid-based alternative using oxygenated perfluorochemicals. These chemicals have already been shown clinically to be biocompatible and safe in humans.

The intestinal liquid ventilation system provided therapeutic benefits to rodents and pigs exposed to non-lethal low-oxygen conditions. Mice receiving intestinal ventilation could walk farther in a 10% oxygen chamber, and more oxygen reached their heart, compared to mice that did not receive intestinal ventilation. Similar results were evident in pigs. Intestinal liquid ventilation reversed skin pallor and coldness and increased their levels of oxygen, without producing obvious side effects. Taken together, the results show that this strategy is effective in providing oxygen that reaches circulation and alleviates respiratory failure symptoms in two mammalian model systems.

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-mammals-anus-emergencies.html?utm_sou...

Where do meteorites come from? We tracked hundreds of fireballs streaking through the sky to find out

If asked where meteorites come from, you might reply "from comets." But according to  new research, which tracked hundreds of fireballs on their journey through the Australian skies, you would be wrong.

In fact, it is very likely that all meteorites—space rocks that make it all the way to Earth—come not from icy comets but from rocky asteroids. Our new study found that even those meteorites with trajectories that look like they arrived from much farther afield are in fact from asteroids that simply got knocked into strange orbits.

hat means that of the tens of thousands of meteorites in collections around the world, likely none are from comets, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of the solar system.

When the solar system formed, more than 4.5 billion years ago, a disc of dust and debris was swirling around the Sun.

Over time, this material clumped together, forming larger and larger bodies—some so large they swept up everything else in their orbit, and became planets.

Yet some debris avoided this fate and is still floating around today. Scientists traditionally classify these objects into two groups: comets and asteroids.

Asteroids are rockier and drier, because they were formed in the inner solar system. Comets, meanwhile, formed further out, where ices such as frozen water, methane or carbon dioxide can remain stable—giving them a "dirty snowball" composition.

The best way to understand the origin and evolution of our solar system is to study these objects. Many space missions have been sent to comets and asteroids over the past few decades. But these are expensive, and only two (Hayabusa and Hayabusa2) have successfully brought back samples.

Another way to study this material is to sit and wait for it to come to us. If a piece of debris happens to cross paths with Earth, and is large and robust enough to survive hitting our atmosphere, it will land as a meteorite.

Most of what we know about the solar system's history comes from these curious space rocks. However, unlike space mission samples, we don't know exactly where they originated.

Meteorites have been curiosities for centuries, yet it was not until the early 19th century that they were identified as extraterrestrial. They were speculated to come from lunar volcanoes, or even from other star systems.

Today, we know all meteorites come from small bodies in our solar system. But the big question that remains is: are they all from asteroids, or do some come from comets?

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Meteorites - part 2

In total, scientists around the world have collected more than 60,000 meteorites, mostly from desert regions such as Antarctica or Australia's Nullarbor Plain.

We now know most of these come from the main asteroid belt—a region between Mars and Jupiter.

But might some of them have come not from asteroids, but from comets that originated in the outer reaches of the solar system? What would such meteorites be like, and how would we find them?

Fortunately, we can actively look for meteorites, rather than hoping to stumble across one lying on the ground. When a space rock is falling through the atmosphere (at this stage, it's known as a meteor), it begins to heat up and glow—hence why meteors are nicknamed "shooting stars."

Larger meteors (at least tens of centimeters across) glow brightly enough to be termed "fireballs." And by training cameras on the sky to spot them, we can track and recover any resulting meteorites.

The largest such network is the Desert Fireball Network, which features around 50 cameras covering more than 2.5 million square kilometers of the Australian outback.

The network's data has resulted in the recovery of six meteorites in Australia, and two more internationally. What's more, by tracking a fireball's flight through the atmosphere, we can not only project its path forwards to find where it landed, but also backwards to find out what orbit it was on before it got here.

Our research, published in the Planetary Science Journal, scoured every fireball tracked by the DFN between 2014 and 2020, in search of possible cometary meteorites. In total, there were 50 fireballs that came from comet-like orbits not associated with a meteor shower.

Unexpectedly, despite the fact that just under 4% of the larger debris was from comet-like orbits, none of the material featured the hallmark "dirty snowball" chemical composition of true cometary material.

We concluded that debris from comets breaks up and disintegrates before it even gets close to becoming a meteorite. In turn, this means cometary meteorites are not represented among the tens of thousands of objects in the world's meteorite collections.

The next question is: if all meteorites are asteroidal, how did some of them end up in such weird, comet-like orbits?

For this to be possible, debris from the main asteroid belt must have been knocked from its original orbit by a collision, close gravitational encounter, or some other mechanism.

Meteorites have given us our most profound insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system. However, it is now clear that these samples represent only part of the whole picture. It is definitely an argument for a sample-return mission to a comet. It's also testament to the knowledge we can gain from tracking fireballs and the meteorites they sometimes leave behind.

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meteorites - part 3:

COVID-19 vaccine does not damage the placenta in pregnancy

 A new  study of placentas from patients who received the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy found no evidence of injury, adding to the growing literature that COVID-19 vaccines are safe in pregnancy. The placenta is like the black box in an airplane. If something goes wrong with a pregnancy, we usually see changes in the placenta that can help us figure out what happened.

The COVID vaccine does not damage the placenta. The study was published May 11 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecolog.

The study authors collected placentas from 84 vaccinated patients and 116 unvaccinated patients who delivered at Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago and pathologically examined the placentas whole and microscopically following birth. Most patients received vaccines – either Moderna or Pfizer – during their third trimester.

Until infants can get vaccinated, the only way for them to get COVID antibodies is from their mother

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The placenta is the first organ that forms during pregnancy. It performs duties for most of the fetus’ organs while they’re still forming, such as providing oxygen while the lungs develop and nutrition while the gut is forming.

Additionally, the placenta manages hormones and the immune system, and tells the mother’s body to welcome and nurture the fetus rather than reject it as a foreign intruder.

The scientists also looked for abnormal blood flow between the mother and fetus and problems with fetal blood flow – both of which have been reported in pregnant patients who have tested positive for COVID.

The rate of these injuries was the same in the vaccinated patients as for control patients.

 The scientists also examined the placentas for chronic histiocytic intervillositis, a complication that can happen if the placenta is infected, in this case, by SARS-CoV-2. Although this study did not find any cases in vaccinated patients, it's a very rare condition that requires a larger sample size (1,000 patients) to differentiate between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.

Elisheva D. Shanes, Sebastian Otero, Leena B. Mithal, Chiedza A. Mupanomunda, Emily S. Miller, Jeffery A. Goldstein. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Vaccination in Pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2021; Publish Ahead of Print DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004457

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210511201116.htm

https://researchnews.cc/news/6699/COVID-19-vaccine-does-not-damage-...

Scientists decode the 'language' of immune cells

scientists have identified six “words” that specific immune cells use to call up immune defense genes — an important step toward understanding the language the body uses to marshal responses to threats.

In addition, they discovered that the incorrect use of two of these words can activate the wrong genes, resulting in the autoimmune disease known as Sjögren’s syndrome. The research, conducted in mice, is published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Immunity (Cell Press).

Immune cells in the body constantly assess their environment and coordinate their defense functions by using words — or signaling codons, in scientific parlance — to tell the cell’s nucleus which genes to turn on in response to invaders like pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Each signaling codon consists of several successive actions of a DNA binding protein that, when combined, elicit the proper gene activation, in much the same way that successive electrical signals through a telephone wire combine to produce the words of a conversation.

The researchers focused on words used by macrophages, specialized immune cells that rid the body of potentially harmful particles, bacteria and dead cells. Using advanced microscopy techniques, they “listened” to macrophages in healthy mice and identified six specific codon–words that correlated to immune threats. They then did the same with macrophages from mice that contained a mutation akin to Sjögren’s syndrome in humans to determine whether this disease results from the defective use of these words.

Scientists found defects in the use of two of these words. The findings, the researchers say, suggest that Sjögren’s doesn’t result from chronic inflammation, as long thought, but from a codon–word confusion that leads to inappropriate gene activation, causing the body to attack itself. The next step will be to find ways of correcting the confused word choices.

Many diseases are related to miscommunication in cells, but this study, the scientists say, is the first to recognize that immune cells employ a language, to identify words in that language and to demonstrate what can happen when word choice goes awry.

How are immune cells so effective at mounting a response that is specific and appropriate to each pathogen? The answer, Hoffman says, lies in “signaling pathways,” the communication channels that link immune cells’ receptor molecules — which sense the presence of pathogens — with different kinds of defense genes. The transcription factor NFκB is one of these signaling pathways and is recognized as a central regulator of immune cell responses to pathogen threats.

T he macrophage is capable of responding to different types of pathogens and mounting different kinds of defenses. The defense units — army, navy, air force, special operations — are mediated by groups of genes,” he said. “For each immune threat, the right groups of genes must be mobilized. That requires precise and reliable communication with those units about the nature of the threat. NFκB dynamics provide the communication code. 

And of course, calling up the wrong unit is not only ineffective but may do damage, as vehicles destroy roads, accidents happen and worse, as in the case of Sjogren’s and, possibly, other diseases.

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-scientists-decode-the-langu...

https://researchnews.cc/news/6686/UCLA-scientists-decode-the--langu...

Human Impact on Earth Is Shrinking an Entire Layer of The Atmosphere, Scientists Warn

Our world is hugged by complex layers of gases that make up the atmosphere. They protect and nurture all life as we know it. Now, we're shrinking an entire one of those layers – the stratosphere – thanks to the profound impacts we are having on our planet.

An alarming new study has found that the thickness of the stratosphere has already shrunk by 400 meters (1,312 feet) since 1980. While local decreases in the stratosphere's thickness have previously been reported, this is the first examination of this phenomenon on a global scale.

Greenhouse gas-induced warming in the troposphere is causing it to expand and squash the stratosphere above it, they explain. On top of this, the addition of CO₂ into the stratosphere itself is causing its combination of gasses to cool and huddle closer together (the opposite effect they have on the troposphere) – shrinking the entire layer.

In a plausible climate change scenario, our planet's stratosphere could lose 4 percent of its vertical extension (1.3 km [0.8 mi]) from 1980 to 2080.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abfe2b

Mothers can influence offspring's height, lifespan and disease risk through mitochondria

Mitochondria—the 'batteries' that power our cells—play an unexpected role in common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, concludes a study of over 350,000 people.

The study, published today in Nature Genetics, found that genetic variants in the DNA of mitochondria could increase the risk of developing these conditions, as well influencing characteristics such as height and lifespan.

There was also evidence that some changes in mitochondrial DNA were more common in people with Scottish, Welsh or Northumbrian genetic ancestry, implying that mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA (which accounts for 99.9% of our genetic make-up) interact with each other.

Almost all of the DNA that makes up the human genome—the body's 'blueprint' - is contained within the nuclei of our cells. Among other functions, nuclear DNA codes for the characteristics that make us individual as well as for the proteins that do most of the work in our bodies.

Our cells also contain mitochondria, often referred to as 'batteries', which provide the energy for our cells to function. They do this by converting the food that we eat into ATP, a molecule capable of releasing energy very quickly. Each of these mitochondria is coded for by a tiny amount of 'mitochondrial DNA'. Mitochondrial DNA makes up only 0.1% of the overall human genome and is passed down exclusively from mother to child.

While errors in mitochondrial DNA can lead to so-called mitochondrial diseases, which can be severely disabling, until now there had been little evidence that these variants can influence more common diseases. Several small-scale studies have hinted at this possibility, but scientists have been unable to replicate their findings.

Among those factors found to be influenced by mitochondrial DNA are: type 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, liver and kidney function, blood count parameters, life span and height. While some of the effects are seen more extremely in patients with rare inherited mitochondrial diseases—for example, patients with severe disease are often shorter than average—the effect in healthy individuals tends to be much subtler, likely accounting for just a few millimetres' height difference, for example.

There are several possible explanations for how mitochondrial DNA exerts its influence. One is that changes to mitochondrial DNA lead to subtle differences in our ability to produce energy. However, it is likely to be more complicated, affecting complex biological pathways inside our bodies—the signals that allow our cells to operate in a coordinated fashion.

Yonova-Doing, E et al. An atlas of mitochondrial DNA genotype-phenotype associations in the UK Biobank. Nature Genetics (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00868-1

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-mothers-offspring-height-lifespan-dis...

Collective intelligence can be predicted and quantified, new study finds

In order to address issues ranging from climate change to developing complex technologies and curing diseases, science relies on collective intelligence, or the ability of a group to work together and solve a range of problems that vary in complexity.

To better understand how to measure and predict collective intelligence, researchers used meta-analytic methods to evaluate data collected in 22 studies, including 5,349 individuals in 1,356 groups, and found strong support for a general factor of collective intelligence (CI). Furthermore, the data demonstrated that group collaboration processes were about twice as important for predicting CI than individual skill, and that group composition, including the proportion of women in a group and group member social perceptiveness, are also significant predictors of CI.

The paper, "Quantifying Collective Intelligence in Human Groups," by Christoph Riedl (Northeastern University), Young Ji Kim (University of California, Santa Barbara), Pranav Gupta (Carnegie Mellon University), Thomas W. Malone (MIT Sloan School of Management), and Williams Woolley, Anita (Carnegie Mellon University) will be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Christoph Riedl el al., "Quantifying collective intelligence in human groups," PNAS (2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2005737118

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-intelligence-quantified.html?utm_sour...