Universal COVID test based on isothermal amplification can detect all COVID-19 variants

Russian researchers have developed a strategy to create a cheap and rapid COVID-19 test based on isothermal amplification. According to their publication in Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology, use of this strategy will make it possible to create universal test systems for any of the COVID-19 variants.

The Russian researchers developed a strategy that will help overcome earlier drawbacks and give healthcare professionals an opportunity to use LAMP testing to detect traces of any COVID variants in samples of mucus and blood without preliminary processing in a laboratory. This will decrease the cost of COVID-19 tests considerably and speed up the process, since no specially trained professionals or expensive equipment will be needed.

The virus mutates quite fast, and the test systems that were created a year ago may be not as effective as they used to be. Researchers now analyze the mutations and are looking for the most stable parts of the virus genome. This will help create test systems that recognize all the existing variants and, importantly, the new variants that are appearing.

To solve this challenge, HSE biologists are looking for parts of the coronavirus genome that do not change much over time. They will serve as markers that bacteria ferments will use to convert the COVID RNA into DNA and multiply it further. Combined with the existing LAMP system components, they will help create a universal COVID-19 testing system, which will be able to quickly detect traces of any COVID variants, the researchers say.

J. A. Makarova et al, Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as a Promising Method for Mass COVID-19 Diagnostics, Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology (2021). DOI: 10.1134/S0003683821080032

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-universal-covid-based-isothe...

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 Lab experiments show how cells 'eat'

A new study shows how cell membranes curve to create the "mouths" that allow the cells to consume things that surround them.

The study found that the intercellular machinery of a cell assembles into a highly curved basket-like structure that eventually grows into a closed cage. Membrane curvature is important: It controls the formation of the pockets that carry substances into and out of a cell.

The pockets capture substances around the cell, forming around the extracellular substances, before turning into vesicles—small sacs one-one millionth the size of a red blood cell. Vesicles carry important things for a cell's health—proteins, for example—into the cell. But they can also be hijacked by pathogens that can infect cells.

But the question of how those pockets formed from membranes that were previously believed to be flat had stymied researchers for nearly 40 years. Scientists now were able to use super-resolution fluorescence imaging to actually watch these pockets form within live cells, and so they could answer that question of how they are created.

Experiments revealed that protein scaffolds start deforming the underlying membrane as soon as they are recruited to the sites of vesicle formation. The way cells consume and expel vesicles plays a key role for living organisms. The process helps clear bad cholesterol from blood; it also transmits neural signals. The process is known to break down in several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Understanding the origin and dynamics of membrane-bound vesicles is important—they can be utilized for delivering drugs for medicinal purposes, but at the same time, hijacked by pathogens such as viruses to enter and infect cells. These results matter, not only for our understanding of the fundamentals of life, but also for developing better therapeutic strategies.

 Nathan M. Willy et al, De novo endocytic clathrin coats develop curvature at early stages of their formation, Developmental Cell (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2021.10.019

https://phys.org/news/2021-12-high-resolution-lab-cells.html?utm_so...

India saw record 126 tiger deaths in 2021

India's tiger conservation body said 126 of the endangered big cats died in 2021, the most since it began compiling data a decade ago.

It is believed there were around 40,000 tigers at the time of independence in 1947 but hunting and habitat loss has slashed the population to dangerously low levels.

In 2010, India and 12 other countries signed an agreement to double tiger numbers by 2022.

Over the past decade the biggest reason for deaths recorded by the NTCA was "natural causes", but many also fell victim to poachers and "human-animal conflict".

Human encroachment on tiger habitats has increased in recent decades in the country of 1.3 billion people. This caused human deaths too deaths due to human-animal conflict and were driven by "the fragmentation of the tiger's natural habitat." Tigers range over large jungle areas and find it impossible to migrate to other forests without crossing human habitations, increasing chances of conflict. Critics also say that the government has also loosened environmental regulations for projects including mining.

Increasing demand for tiger skins and use of tiger body parts in traditional Chinese medicine were some of the major reasons for poaching.

The government has made efforts to manage the tiger population better, however, reserving 50 habitats across the country for the animals. But tigers were still under threat from poaching and habitat destruction and the wild animal populations had fragmented, increasing the risk of inbreeding.

Many tiger populations were confined to small protected areas.

Many of the "habitat corridors" enabling the animals to roam between these areas were at risk due to human activity and development. 

https://phys.org/news/2021-12-india-tiger-deaths.html?utm_source=nw...

A Novel Approach to Target Enhancer-Addicted Cancers

Science’s 2021 Breakthrough of the Year: AI brings protein structures to all

2021's Breakthroughs in Neuroscience and Other Biology

HIV patients 'cured' by their own unique biology may harbor secrets to end the global scourge

Some people diagnosed with HIV are able to eradicate the virus without antiretroviral medications or even stem cell transplants, possessing the ability to naturally suppress the virus and achieve a medically verifiable cure.

Scientists call this small population elite controllers, a moniker that reflects their unique ability to keep one of the most notorious viruses at bay.

Two of these patients have garnered fame in the scientific literature in recent months, each known mostly by a code name: the San Francisco Patient, and another called the Esperanza Patient. Both are women who have been spotlighted in medical journals and at scientific conferences for having eradicated HIV from their bodies.

Beyond those two celebrated examples, new research from the Ragon Institute in Boston has zeroed in on a larger group of elite controllers—58 altogether—who have also been able to keep the virus at bay by virtue of their distinct biological capabilities. The elite controllers were compared with 42 HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy, people who represent the vast majority of those diagnosed globally with HIV.

Writing in Science Translational Medicine, immunologists at the institute report that they have uncovered a deep well of new clues that point to elite controllers' unusual ability to eradicate the virus. One reason is a powerful immune response, but another centers on where latent viral genetic sequences are stranded in the human genome. These sequences tend to be in tucked into chromosomes in remote regions where they're less likely to replicate, but more likely to be found by immune forces.

The research is opening a new window of understanding into what it means to be infected with HIV, a virus that is estimated to affect 38 million people globally. Millions worldwide have died since the HIV pandemic began 40 years ago.

Most patients take antiretroviral drugs for life to hold the virus in check, but elite controllers can handily subdue HIV for long periods without the need for medications. Although the San Francisco Patient was infected in 1992, she has kept the virus at bay for decades. Her existence—and that of other elite controllers—defies the long-held dogma that HIV infection is invariably for life.

Part 1

The new findings join a growing body of work that may eventually lay the groundwork for future pharmaceutical interventions to help the vast majority of HIV patients eliminate the virus based on principles scientists are learning from elite controllers, people who have achieved so-called "sterilizing cures."

"Increasing evidence suggests that durable drug-free control of HIV-1 replication is enabled by effective cellular immune responses. Data from their experimental work suggest that viable human immunodeficiency viruses in elite controllers may face greater pressure from immune system cells. As a result, the viruses are unable to dodge the immune system's formidable army.

 Xiaodong Lian, et al, Signatures of immune selection in intact and defective proviruses distinguish HIV-1 elite controllers, Science Translational Medicine (2021) DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abl4097

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-hiv-patients-unique-biology-...

Part 2

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No convincing scientific evidence that hangover cures work, according to new research

A new systematic review has found only very low-quality evidence that substances claiming to treat or prevent alcohol-induced hangover work.

The researchers call for more rigorous scientific exploration of the effectiveness of these remedies for hangovers to provide practitioners and the public with accurate evidence-based information on which to make their decisions.

A team of researchers  conducted a systematic review to consolidate and assess the current evidence for hangover treatments.

The study, published recently by the scientific journal Addiction, assessed 21 placebo-controlled randomized trials of clove extract, red ginseng, Korean pear juice, and other hangover cures. Although some studies showed statistically significant improvements in hangover symptoms, all evidence was of very low quality, usually because of methodological limitations or imprecise measurements. In addition, no two studies reported on the same hangover remedy and no results have been independently replicated.

Of the 21 included studies, eight were conducted exclusively with male participants. The studies were generally limited in their reporting of the nature and timing of alcohol challenge that was used to assess the hangover cures and there were considerable differences in the type of alcohol given and whether it was given alongside food.

Common painkillers such as paracetamol or aspirin have not been evaluated in placebo controlled randomized controlled trials for hangover

According to the researchers, future studies should be more rigorous in their methods, for example by using validated scales to assess hangover symptoms. There is also a need to improve the participation of women in hangover research.

The hangover cures assessed in this study included Curcumin, Duolac ProAP4 (probiotics), L-cysteine, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), Rapid Recovery (L-cysteine, thiamine, pyridoxine and ascorbic acid), Loxoprofen (loxoprofen sodium), SJP-001 (naproxen and fexofenadine), Phyllpro (Phyllanthus amarus), Clovinol (extract of clove buds), Hovenia dulcis Thunb. fruit extract (HDE), Polysaccharide rich extract of Acanthopanax (PEA), Red Ginseng, Korean Pear Juice, L-ornithine, Prickly Pear, Artichoke extract, 'Morning-Fit' (dried yeast, thiamine nitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and riboflavin), Propranolol, Tolfenamic acid, Chlormethiazole, and Pyritinol.

Emmert Roberts et al, The efficacy and tolerability of pharmacologically active interventions for alcohol‐induced hangover symptomatology: A systematic review of the evidence from randomised placebo‐controlled trials, Addiction (2022). DOI: 10.1111/add.15786

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-convincing-scientific-eviden...

Microorganism sheds new light on cancer resistance

A simple, marine-dwelling creature known as Trichoplax adhaerens has some remarkable properties. The organism can tolerate unusually high doses of radiation that would kill most other forms of life. T. adhaerens has another intriguing characteristic: the ability to resist cancer.

In a new study scientists found  T. adhaerens' unusual behavior, including its capacity to repair its DNA even after significant radiation damage and to extrude injured cells, which later die.

The findings advance scientific investigations of natural cancer-suppression mechanisms across life. Insights gleaned from these evolutionary adaptations may find their way into new and more effective therapies for this leading killer.

The unusual microorganism observed in the new study is rudimentary in form and easily cultured in the lab. This makes T. adhaerens an attractive model organism, enabling researchers to home in on fundamental processes of radiation tolerance as well as the underlying mechanisms guiding DNA repair, programmed cell death and other natural means of cancer resistance.

Part 1

Over the course of evolution, some species have developed powerful means of suppressing cancer. Generally, they do this either by trying to prevent mutations from arising in the first place, improving the fidelity of DNA copying mechanisms or by repairing damaged DNA, or some combination of these.

Often, crucial cancer-related genes come into play. One of these, a tumor-suppressing gene known as TP53, can act to repair damaged DNA. Where the sequence can not be repaired, the gene instructs the cell to undergo apoptosis or cell death, preventing the mutation from being duplicated in subsequent cell generations. Elephants, which would otherwise be highly cancer prone due to their size and longevity, carry multiple copies of TP53 and have very low rates of cancer.

Although high radiation caused catastrophic damage to T. adhaerens' DNA, the animal's powers of DNA repair enabled the organism to recover from the assault. Although not all individuals survived the highest doses of radiation, those that did were able to repopulate the culture after 30 days of exposure to 218.6 Gy. A total of 74 genes were significantly overexpressed in T. adhaerens following radiation exposure.

Through a combination of aggressive DNA repair and ejection of damaged cells, T. adhaerens engage in continual bodily renewal, keeping them cancer-free. Understanding such mechanisms may spur new methods of preventing and treating the disease in humans. Other, as -yet-to be discovered genes likely play a role in T. adhaerens' remarkable resistance to cancer, making this tiny creature a treasure chest of information.

 Angelo Fortunato et al, Upregulation of DNA repair genes and cell extrusion underpin the remarkable radiation resistance of Trichoplax adhaerens, PLOS Biology (2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001471

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-microorganism-cancer-resistance.html?...

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Part 2

Scientists discover emergency pathway to help human cells with protein damage survive

Cell proteins damaged by oxygen radicals can be chemically "tagged" for elimination, but an "emergency pathway" bypasses strict protocol and can eliminate even without the need for prior tagging.

An international research team headed by Technion scientists has found an alternative manner for eliminating damaged proteins when the cells are impaired by "oxygen radicals," as can happen in failing human hearts where there is poor cell respiration and cells become oxygen depleted, or suffer "hypoxia," because of poor oxygen uptake.

Significantly, the researchers discovered that there can be a shift from the tightly controlled process of eliminating proteins in the cells to a less strict mechanism when cells enter an "emergency protocol." This shift can "clear up" the toxic proteins before their toxicity levels get too high.

Human cells—both functional and damaged—are constantly recycled by chemically "tagging" and targeting for removal when they are under stress by the ubiquitin system (2004 Nobel Prize in chemistry). At the same time, a few proteins that are intact and functional can also be dragged into the 20S proteasome "molecular disposal unit" along with the toxic proteins that have be targeted for destruction. Nevertheless, rather than harm cells, this mode of action by 20S proteasome may aid cells in rapidly remove toxic proteins. In their conclusion, the authors raised the interesting speculation that this emergency pathway can help even damaged cells to withstand bouts of stress and allow them to "age gracefully."

Indrajit Sahu et al, The 20S as a stand-alone proteasome in cells can degrade the ubiquitin tag, Nature Communications (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26427-0

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-scientists-emergency-pathway-human-ce...

How To Kick A Pulsar Out Of The Galaxy

The Baseline #10 - How To Kick A Pulsar Out Of The Galaxy from NRAO Outreach on Vimeo.

Newly-discovered protein in the rod cells of the retina helps us see in dim light

 scientists have shed light on an important component of the eye: a protein in the rod cells of the retina which helps us see in dim light. Acting as an ion channel in the cell membrane, the protein is responsible for relaying the optical signal from the eye to the brain. If a genetic disorder disrupts the molecular function in a person, they will go blind. Scientists have deciphered the protein's three-dimensional structure, preparing the way for innovative medical treatments. The study is published in the scientific journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

It's thanks to the rod cells in our eye that we can observe the stars in the night sky.

These photo cells are so sensitive to light that they can detect even a single photon reaching us from a very remote part of the universe—a truly incredible feat." The ability of our brain to eventually translate these light beams into a visual impression is partly down to the cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels whose three-dimensional structure has now been illuminated by a  research group.

The ion channel acts as a gatekeeper controlling whether specific particles are allowed through to the interior of the receptor cell. It is embedded in the protein-rich shell—the cell membrane—of the rod cells. In darkness, the ion channel, and thus the gate to the cell, is completely open. But when light hits the eye, it triggers a cascade of processes in the rod cells. This ultimately causes the gate to close, with the result that positively charged particles, such as calcium ions, can no longer enter into the cell.

This electrochemical signal continues via the nerve cells into the brain's visual cortex, where a visual impression—such as a flash of light—is created. The scientists  used cryo-electron microscopy to reveal the three-dimensional structure of the ion channel.

Part 1

One of the reasons why a clearer understanding of the channel protein's natural structure is important is to advance the development of treatments for genetic disorders for which there is no known cure, such as retinitis pigmentosa. With this disease, photoreceptors gradually die off, leaving people blind. One possible cause is that the body is unable to correctly produce the CNG channel protein due to a genetic defect. As a result, the ion channel does not close completely when light hits the eye, disrupting the cell's electrochemical balance and causing the cells to die.

If we could find molecules that affect the protein in such a way that the channel would completely close, we could prevent the cells from dying—and thus stop people going blind.

 Now that researchers have identified the precise structure of the protein they are able to search specifically for such molecules.

The protein comprises four parts: three lots of subunit A, and one lot of subunit B. A correctly functioning ion channel is only possible in this combination. In their study, PSI scientists show why the B subunit seems to play such an important role: a side arm of the protein—a single amino acid—protrudes from the rest of the protein, like a barrier across a gateway. This narrows the passage in the channel to the point where no ions can pass through.

 It is interesting to note that the additional barrier is found not only in the protein from the cow's eye, but seems to apply to all types of animal, as the scientists showed. Whether crocodiles, eagles or humans—all living creatures with an ion channel in their eye have the same protruding amino acid at this position in the protein. As it has been preserved so consistently during evolution, it must be essential for the functioning of the channel.

Diane C. A. Barret et al, The structure of the native CNGA1/CNGB1 CNG channel from bovine retinal rods, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41594-021-00700-8

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-newly-discovered-protein-rod-cells-re...

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Researchers gain insights into how ultrasmall bacteria from the environment have adapted to live inside humans

The microbes that live inside our mouths, collectively known as the oral microbiome, impact our overall health in many ways that are not yet fully understood. Some bacteria cause inflammation, leading to periodontitis and other systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Other oral organisms have been associated with certain types of cancer. Scientists are working to understand how these microbes interact with one another and our bodies to tease out their individual roles in health and disease.

Among the diverse bacterial species living within our mouths is a group belonging to the Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR). These bugs are especially mysterious because they are ultra-small, adopt a unique symbiotic lifestyle with their host bacteria, and most have yet to be cultured by scientists and studied in the lab. The only bacteria within the CPR to be examined in-depth are a group called TM7, which were cultivated for the first time in 2014.

Now scientists have developed a new model system using the first isolated human oral TM7 strain, TM7x, and its host bacterium, Actinomyces odontolyticus. Researchers used the model system to experimentally study these tiny bacteria, testing a hypothesis for how TM7 adapted to live inside humans, and providing empirical data to confirm previous genomic studies. Their findings were published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Scientists have found TM7 in many different environments, including soil, groundwater, and the bodies of other mammals. Studies have shown that while maintaining a remarkably similar genome overall, the TM7 found in human mouths are unique from those in other environments because they have acquired a gene cluster encoding the arginine deiminase system, or ADS.

Researchers hypothesized that TM7 acquired ADS as an evolutionary advantage to help them adapt and survive in the human oral cavity. They tested this and found  found that ADS helped TM7x break down arginine, a process that produces the compounds Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and ammonia. The increased abundance of ATP and ammonia benefitted TM7x by increasing its infectivity, or ability to multiply. It also protected TM7x and its host bacterium from acid stress, a condition that microbes frequently encounter in the human oral cavity due to the acid created when bacteria feed on and metabolize dietary carbohydrates. Ultimately, the experiments showed TM7x were able to survive in the experimental environment for longer than they could without the addition of arginine, thanks to ADS.

Earlier study: Otari Chipashvili et al, Episymbiotic Saccharibacteria suppresses gingival inflammation and bone loss in mice through host bacterial modulation, Cell Host & Microbe (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2021.09.009

Acquisition of the arginine deiminase system benefits epiparasitic Saccharibacteria and their host bacteria in a mammalian niche environment, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2114909119.

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-gain-insights-ultrasmall-bacteria-env...

Scientists reveal the genetic basis of mitochondrial diseases

Mutations in genes encoding mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are linked to diverse diseases. However, the precise mechanisms by which these mutations affect mitochondrial function and disease development are not fully understood.

Wenlu Fan et al, FARS2 deficiency in Drosophila reveals the developmental delay and seizure manifested by aberrant mitochondrial tRNA metabolism, Nucleic Acids Research (2021). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1187

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-scientists-reveal-genetic-basis-mitoc...

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Researchers find a new route for regulating blood sugar levels independent of insulin

The discovery of insulin 100 years ago opened a door that would lead to life and hope for millions of people with diabetes. Ever since then, insulin, produced in the pancreas, has been considered the primary means of treating conditions characterized by high blood sugar (glucose), such as diabetes. Now, scientists have discovered a second molecule, produced in fat tissue, that, like insulin, also potently and rapidly regulates blood glucose. Their finding could lead to the development of new therapies for treating diabetes, and also lays the foundation for promising new avenues in metabolism research.

The study, which was published in Cell Metabolism on January 4, 2022, shows that a hormone called FGF1 regulates blood glucose by inhibiting fat breakdown (lipolysis). Like insulin, FGF1 controls blood glucose by inhibiting lipolysis, but the two hormones do so in different ways. Importantly, this difference could enable FGF1 to be used to safely and successfully lower blood glucose in people who suffer from insulin resistance.

Finding a second hormone that suppresses lipolysis and lowers glucose is a scientific breakthrough. Scientists have identified a new player in regulating fat lipolysis that will help us understand how energy stores are managed in the body.

Part 1

When we eat, energy-rich fats and glucose enter the bloodstream. Insulin normally shuttles these nutrients to cells in muscles and fat tissue, where they are either used immediately or stored for later use. In people with insulin resistance, glucose is not efficiently removed from the blood, and higher lipolysis increases the fatty acid levels. These extra fatty acids accelerate glucose production from the liver, compounding the already high glucose levels. Moreover, fatty acids accumulate in organs, exacerbating the insulin resistance—characteristics of diabetes and obesity.

Previously, the lab showed that injecting FGF1 dramatically lowered blood glucose in mice and that chronic FGF1 treatment relieved insulin resistance. But how it worked remained a mystery.

In the current work, the team investigated the mechanisms behind these phenomena and how they were linked. First, they showed that FGF1 suppresses lipolysis, as insulin does. Then they showed that FGF1 regulates the production of glucose in the liver, as insulin does. These similarities led the group to wonder if FGF1 and insulin use the same signaling (communication) pathways to regulate blood glucose.

It was already known that insulin suppresses lipolysis through PDE3B, an enzyme that initiates a signaling pathway, so the team tested a full array of similar enzymes, with PDE3B at the top of their list. They were surprised to find that FGF1 uses a different pathway—PDE4.

"This mechanism is basically a second loop, with all the advantages of a parallel pathway. In insulin resistance, insulin signaling is impaired. However, with a different signaling cascade, if one is not working, the other can. That way you still have the control of lipolysis and blood glucose regulation.

Finding the PDE4 pathway opens new opportunities for drug discovery and basic research focused on high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) and insulin resistance. The scientists are eager to investigate the possibility of modifying FGF1 to improve PDE4 activity. Another route is targeting multiple points in the signaling pathway before PDE4 is activated.

The unique ability of FGF1 to induce sustained glucose lowering in insulin-resistant diabetic mice is a promising therapeutic route for diabetic patients.

 Ronald M Evans, FGF1 and insulin control lipolysis by convergent pathways, Cell Metabolism (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.12.004. www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/f … 1550-4131(21)00623-9

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-route-blood-sugar-independen...

Ecological coating for fruits and vegetables

Plastic packaging in grocery stores protects fruits and vegetables from spoilage, but also creates significant amounts of waste. Researchers have now developed a protective cover for fruit and vegetables based on renewable raw materials. For this project, they used cellulose.  They spent more than a year developing a special protective cellulose coating that can be applied to fruits and vegetables. The result: Coated fruits and vegetables stay fresh significantly longer. In tests, the shelf life of, for instance, bananas was extended by more than a week. This significantly reduces food waste. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT77fj1eF3E&t=62s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-5YZ2cNSEo

Luana Amoroso et al, Sustainable Cellulose Nanofiber Films from Carrot Pomace as Sprayable Coatings for Food Packaging Applications, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c06345

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-ecological-coating-bananas.html?utm_s...

Designing war planes

French Scientists Discover New Coronavirus Variant

As the world continues to struggle with the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and the still-lingering delta variant, scientists in France say they have discovered a new variant that contains multiple mutations.

Experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille said they had discovered the new variant in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon.

The French scientists said they had identified 46 mutations in the new variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original virus.

The results were posted on the online health sciences outlet MedRxiv, which publishes studies that have not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal. B.1.640.2 has neither been detected in other countries nor been labeled a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

https://www.voanews.com/a/french-scientists-discover-new-coronaviru...

Nearly 2 million children worldwide develop asthma as a result of breathing in traffic-related pollution

Nearly 2 million new cases of pediatric asthma every year may be caused by a traffic-related air pollutant, a problem particularly important in big cities around the world, according to a new study published recently. The study is the first to estimate the burden of pediatric asthma cases caused by this pollutant in more than 13,000 cities from Los Angeles to Mumbai.

The study found that nitrogen dioxide puts children at risk of developing asthma and the problem is especially acute in urban areas. The findings suggest that clean air must be a critical part of strategies aimed at keeping children healthy.

Here are some key findings from the study:

• Out of the estimated 1.85 million new pediatric asthma cases attributed to NO₂ globally in 2019, two-thirds occurred in urban areas.
• The fraction of pediatric asthma cases linked to NO₂ in urban areas dropped recently, probably due to tougher clean air regulations put in place by higher income countries like the United States.
• Despite the improvements in air quality in Europe and the U.S., dirty air, and particularly NO₂ pollution, has been rising in South Asia, Sub-Saharan African and the Middle East.
• Pediatric asthma cases linked to NO₂ pollution represent a large public health burden for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

https://blogs.gwu.edu/sanenberg/pm2-5-no2-and-ozone-data-for-13000-...

 "Global urban temporal trends in fine particulate matter and attributable health burdens: estimates from global datasets," Lancet Planetary Health, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00350-8 , www.thelancet.com/journals/lan … (21)00350-8/fulltext

"Long-term trends in urban NO2 concentrations and associated pediatric asthma incidence: estimates from global databases,", Lancet Planetary Health, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00255-2 , www.thelancet.com/journals/lan … (21)00255-2/fulltext

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-million-children-worldwide-a...

3D digital holograms on smartphones

3D holograms, previously seen only in science fiction movies, may soon make their way to consumer technology. Until now, 3D holograms based on phase shifting holography method could be captured using a large, specialized camera with a polarizing filter. However, a  research group has just developed technology that can acquire holograms on mobile devices, such as smartphones.

A research team  was successful in developing a photodiode that detects the polarization of light in the near-infrared region without additional polarization filters and thus, the realization of a miniaturized holographic image sensor for 3D digital holograms, using the 2D semiconductor materials: rhenium diselenide and tungsten diselenide.

Photodiodes, which convert light into current signals, are essential components within the pixels of image sensors in digital and smartphone cameras. Introducing the ability to sense the polarization of light to the image sensor of an ordinary camera provides a variety of new information, enabling the storage of 3D holograms.

Jongtae Ahn et al, Near-Infrared Self-Powered Linearly Polarized Photodetection and Digital Incoherent Holography Using WSe2/ReSe2 van der Waals Heterostructure, ACS Nano (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c06234

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-3d-digital-holograms-smartphones.html...

Physicists watch as ultracold atoms form a crystal of quantum tornadoes

The world we experience is governed by classical physics. How we move, where we are, and how fast we're going are all determined by the classical assumption that we can only exist in one place at any one moment in time.

But in the quantum world, the behavior of individual atoms is governed by the eerie principle that a particle's location is a probability. An atom, for instance, has a certain chance of being in one location and another chance of being at another location, at the same exact time.

When particles interact, purely as a consequence of these quantum effects, a host of odd phenomena should ensue. But observing such purely quantum mechanical behavior of interacting particles amid the overwhelming noise of the classical world is a tricky undertaking.

Now, MIT physicists have directly observed the interplay of interactions and quantum mechanics in a particular state of matter: a spinning fluid of ultracold atoms. Researchers have predicted that, in a rotating fluid, interactions will dominate and drive the particles to exhibit exotic, never-before-seen behaviors.

In a study published today in Nature, the MIT team has rapidly rotated a quantum fluid of ultracold atoms. They watched as the initially round cloud of atoms first deformed into a thin, needle-like structure. Then, at the point when classical effects should be suppressed, leaving solely interactions and quantum laws to dominate the atoms' behavior, the needle spontaneously broke into a crystalline pattern, resembling a string of miniature, quantum tornadoes.

This crystallization is driven purely by interactions, and tells us we're going from the classical world to the quantum world.

Martin Zwierlein, Crystallization of bosonic quantum Hall states in a rotating quantum gas, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04170-2. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04170-2

Richard J. Fletcher et al, Geometric squeezing into the lowest Landau level, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.aba7202

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-physicists-ultracold-atoms-crystal-qu...

Matter and antimatter seem to respond equally to gravity

New Research has found that within the uncertainty of the experiment, matter and antimatter respond to gravity in the same way.

Matter and antimatter create some of the most interesting problems in physics today. They are essentially equivalent, except that where a particle has a positive charge its antiparticle has a negative one. In other respects they seem equivalent. However, one of the great mysteries of physics today, known as "baryon asymmetry," is that, despite the fact that they seem equivalent, the universe seems made up entirely of matter, with very little antimatter. Naturally, scientists around the world are trying hard to find something different between the two, which could explain why we exist.

As part of this quest, scientists have explored whether matter and antimatter interact similarly with gravity, or whether antimatter would experience gravity in a different way than matter, which would violate Einstein's weak equivalence principle. Now, the new work has shown, within strict boundaries, that antimatter does in fact respond to gravity in the same way as matter.

To make the measurements, the team confined antiprotons and negatively charged hydrogen ions, which they used as a proxy for protons, in a Penning trap. In this device, a particle follows a cyclical trajectory with a frequency, close to the cyclotron frequency, that scales with the trap's magnetic-field strength and the particle's charge-to-mass ratio. By feeding antiprotons and negatively charged hydrogen ions into the trap, one at a time, they were able to measure, under identical conditions, the cyclotron frequencies of the two particle types, comparing their charge-to-mass ratios.

By doing this, researchers were able to obtain a result that they are essentially equivalent, to a degree four times more precise than previous measures. To this level of CPT invariance, causality and locality hold in the relativistic quantum field theories of the Standard Model.

Stefan Ulmer, A 16-parts-per-trillion measurement of the antiproton-to-proton charge–mass ratio, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04203-w

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-antimatter-equally-gravity.html?utm_s...

Magic Acid: Fluorosulfonic acid + Antimony pentafluoride

New research shows gene exchange between viruses and hosts drives evolution

The first comprehensive analysis of viral horizontal gene transfer (HGT) illustrates the extent to which viruses pick up genes from their hosts to hone their infection process, while at the same time hosts also co-opt useful viral genes.

HGT is the movement of genetic material between disparate groups of organisms, rather than by the "vertical" transmission of DNA from parent to offspring. Previous studies have looked at HGT between bacteria and their viruses and have shown that it plays a major role in the movement of genes between bacterial species. However a new study, published in Nature Microbiology, looks at interactions between viruses and eukaryotes, which include animals, plants, fungi, protists and most algae.

We knew from individual examples that viral genes have played a role in the evolution of eukaryotes. Even humans have viral genes, which are important for our development and brain function.

Researchers  examined viral-eukaryotic gene transfer in the genomes of hundreds of eukaryotic species and thousands of viruses. They identified many genes that had been transferred and found that HGT from eukaryotes to viruses was twice as frequent as the reverse direction.

In contrast to viruses, eukaryotic organisms retained fewer viral genes, although the ones that were kept appear to have had a major impact on host biology over evolutionary time.

Many of these viral-derived genes appear to have repeatedly affected the structure and form of different organisms, from the cell walls of algae to the tissues of animals. This suggests that host-virus interactions may have played an important role in driving the diversity of life we see today. These transfers not only have evolutionary consequences for both virus and host, but could have important health implications.

HGT allows genes to jump between species including viruses and their hosts. If the gene does something useful, it can sweep through the population and become a feature of that species. This can lead to a rapid emergence of new abilities, as opposed to the more incremental changes that result from smaller mutations.

Although viruses such as Zika and coronaviruses do not appear to participate in these gene transfers, they often manipulate similar genes in their hosts through complex mechanisms. Future research into these transferred genes may therefore provide a novel approach for understanding the infection processes of these and other viruses which could be important for drug discovery.

Nicholas A. T. Irwin, Alexandros A. Pittis, Thomas A. Richards, Patrick J. Keeling. Systematic evaluation of horizontal gene transfer between eukaryotes and viruses. Nature Microbiology, 2021; DOI: 10.1038/s41564-021-01026-3

https://researchnews.cc/news/10930/New-research-shows-gene-exchange...

Omicron struggles to infect the lungs

Mounting evidence from animal studies suggests that the Omicron coronavirus variant does not multiply readily in lung tissue. This offers a tantalizing explanation for early hints that it causes less-serious disease than does the Delta variant: Omicron might not infect cells deep in the lung as readily as those in the .... Experiments in lung cells and lung organoids suggest that this could be because of a protein called TMPRSS2, which protrudes from the surfaces of many cells in the lungs. Omicron struggles to infect cells through TMPRSS2. Scientists emphasize that Omicron still threatens to overload health systems because of its hyper-transmissibility.

“To the limits of our knowledge as humans, we’ve analysed and teste...

Engineer Michael Kaplan, who kicked off the planning of the James Webb Space Telescope in the 1990s, gives insight into how the wildly ambitious project came to be — and what comes next. (The Times of Israel | 19 min read)

Study explores how bacteria become drug resistant

Researchers  have revealed recently more of the inner-workings of a two-stage "molecular motor" in the cell membrane that enables bacteria to become resistant to drugs.

Their findings, which were reported recently in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, will aid the search for inhibitors that can "turn off" the protein, called an ABC transporter. They also inform efforts to block the human version of the transporter that enables tumor cells to become resistant to chemotherapy.

Understanding how transporters work is essential to developing drugs to block them.

A primary vehicle for resistance is the multi-drug ABC (ATP-binding cassette) exporter. ABC exporters use ATP hydrolysis—the release of chemical energy stored in ATP molecules—to traffic a wide variety of molecules across cell membranes.

ATP energy provides the power for ABC exporters to bind toxic chemicals, then turn around and expel them from the cell. In the case of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, however, this survival tactic can prove deadly to the human host they have invaded.

Part1

Researchers used a technique called electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to identify previously unreported changes in the shape, or conformation, of the ABC exporter from a bacterium called Bacillus subtilis as it interacts with ATP.

They proposed that ATP power, in a series of complex steps, drives the transition between inward-facing and outward-facing conformations of the exporter. After binding the antibiotic, for example, the exporter "turns around" so it can expel its cargo from the cell.

This motion is driven by the transduction (conversion) of chemical energy into mechanical energy resulting from asymmetrical and sequential binding of two ATP molecules to different parts of the protein complex (the ATP binding cassettes). Asymmetrical binding thus drives conformational change.

To prove their theory, the researchers had to capture an image of the conformational change. So they turned to another resource, cryogenic electron microscopy, which enables measurement of atomic distances at cryogenic temperatures, below minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit.

The cryo-EM studies were conducted at the Pacific Northwest Center for Cryo-EM in Portland, Ore. In combination with an EPR spectroscopy method called DEER and molecular dynamics simulation, the studies revealed for the first time an ATP-loaded, inward-facing structure with two drug molecules bound asymmetrically.

This conformation suggests that drugs could be designed to prevent the bacterial exporter from turning around and expelling the antibiotic by "trapping" it in its inward-facing state.

Tarjani M. Thaker et al, Asymmetric drug binding in an ATP-loaded inward-facing state of an ABC transporter, Nature Chemical Biology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-021-00936-x

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-explores-bacteria-drug-resistant.html...

 Researchershave discovered details of how proteins produced by oral epithelial cells protect humans against viruses entering the body through the mouth. They also found that oral bacteria can suppress the activity of these cells, increasing vulnerability to infection.

A family of proteins known as interferon lambdas produced by epithelial cells in the mouth serve to protect humans from viral infection, but the oral bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis reduces the production and effectiveness of those important frontline defenders.

Researchers found that certain pathogenic bacterial species, P. gingivalis, which cause periodontal disease, can completely suppress interferon production and severely enhance susceptibility to viral infection. These resident oral plaque bacteria play a key role in regulating anti-viral responses.

he mouth often is a gateway into the body for viruses that infect the gastrointestinal tract and lungs such as SARS-CoV-2, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), herpes simplex and cancer-causing viruses such as human papillomavirus (HPV).

P. gingivalis, a common oral bacterium that causes periodontal disease, has been linked to numerous other diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Recent clinical studies have shown that immune suppression in patients with periodontitis can enhance susceptibility to HIV, herpes simplex and HPV.

Improved understanding of how interferons provide broad antiviral protection and activate antiviral genes to protect people from viruses, as well as how P. gingivalis compromises their protection, may lead researchers to clinical approaches to increase that protection. Research  has revealed connections between P. gingivalis and multiple other diseases and conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and esophageal cancer.

1. Carlos J. Rodriguez-Hernandez, Kevin J. Sokoloski, Kendall S. Stocke, Himabindu Dukka, Shunying Jin, Melissa A. Metzler, Konstantin Zaitsev, Boris Shpak, Daonan Shen, Daniel P. Miller, Maxim N. Artyomov, Richard J. Lamont, Juhi Bagaitkar. Microbiome-mediated incapacitation of interferon lambda production in the oral mucosa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021; 118 (51): e2105170118 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2105170118

https://researchnews.cc/news/10948/Researchers-reveal-how-oral-bact...

How the Heart Changes with Exercise

This long-lasting hydrogel could be used to replace damaged human tissues

Engineered nanomaterial captures off-target cancer drug to prevent tissue damage

 Standard chemotherapies may efficiently kill cancer cells, but they also pose significant risks to healthy cells, resulting in secondary illness and a diminished quality of life for patients. To prevent the previously unavoidable damage, researchers have developed a new class of nanomaterials engineered to capture chemotherapy drugs before they interact with healthy tissue.

The method, now available online prior to the March issue of Materials Today Chemistry, is based on hairy cellulose nanocrystals—nanoparticles developed from the main component of plant cell walls and engineered to have immense numbers of polymer chain "hairs" extending from each end. These hairs increase the potential drug capture capacity of the nanocrystals significantly beyond that of conventional nanoparticles and ion exchange resins.

For some organs, like the liver, chemotherapy can be locally administered through catheters. If we could place a device based on the nanocrystals to capture the excess drugs exiting the liver's inferior vena cava, a major blood vessel, clinicians could potentially administer higher doses of chemotherapy to kill the cancer more quickly without worry about damaging healthy cells. Once the treatment is finished, the device could be removed.

To produce the hairy cellulose nanocrystals capable of capturing chemotherapy drugs, the researchers chemically treated cellulose fibers found in softwood pulp and imparted a negative charge on the hairs, making them stable against the ionic composition of blood. According to the researchers this corrects a fault of conventional nanoparticles, whose charge can be rendered inert or reduced when exposed to blood, limiting the number of positively charged drug molecules with which it can bind to insignificant numbers.

The nanocrystals' binding efficacy was tested in human serum, the protein-rich portion of blood that does not contain red or white blood cells or platelets. For every gram of hairy cellulose nanocrystals, more than 6,000 milligrams of DOX were effectively removed from the serum.

The researchers also found that the nanocrystals had no harmful effect on red blood cells in whole blood or on cell growth in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

1. Sarah A.E. Young, Joy Muthami, Mica Pitcher, Petar Antovski, Patricia Wamea, Robert Denis Murphy, Reihaneh Haghniaz, Andrew Schmidt, Samuel Clark, Ali Khademhosseini, Amir Sheikhi. Engineering hairy cellulose nanocrystals for chemotherapy drug capture. Materials Today Chemistry, 2022; 23: 100711 DOI: 10.1016/j.mtchem.2021.100711

https://researchnews.cc/news/10976/Engineered-nanomaterial-captures...

Risk of Death For Female Patients Is Much Higher if Surgeon Is a Man, Study Reveals

For female patients, operation outcomes tend to be significantly better when their surgeon is also female, recent research out of Canada has found.

No one really knows why that is just yet, but a new model comparing the sex of the surgeon, the sex of the patient, and the outcomes of the surgery have now revealed an implicit bias that could be costing patients their health and even their lives.

What is 5G?

5G stands for fifth-generation cellular network technology.

It's the technology that enables wireless communication—for example, from your cellular phone to a cell tower, which channels it to the internet. 5G is a network service provided by telecommunications carriers and is not the same thing as the 5 GHz band on your Wi-Fi router.

5G offers an order of magnitude—10 times—more bandwidth than its predecessor, 4G. The greater bandwidth is possible because over and above low and medium frequency radio waves, 5G uses additional higher-frequency waves to encode and carry information.

Bandwidth is analogous to the width of a highway. The broader the highway, the more lanes it can have and the more cars it can carry at the same time. This makes 5G much faster and able to handle many more devices.

5G can deliver speeds of around 50 megabits per second, up to more than 1 gigabit per second. A gigabit per second connection allows you to download a high-definition movie in less than a minute. Does this mean no more bad cell connections in crowded places? The increased bandwidth will help, but just as increasing the number of lanes on highways does not always reduce traffic jams, as more people use the expanded highways, 5G is likely to carry a lot more traffic than 4G networks, so you still might not get a good connection sometimes.

In addition to connecting your phone and cellular-enabled laptop, 5G will be connecting many other devices ranging from photo frames to toasters as part of the Internet of Things revolution. So even though 5G can handle up to a million devices per square kilometer, all that bandwidth could be quickly used up and require more—a future 5.5G with even more bandwidth.

Part1

5G can use low-, mid- and high-band frequencies, each with advantages and disadvantages. Lower-frequency waves can travel farther but are slower. Higher-frequency waves travel faster but can go only limited distances. Higher-frequency 5G can achieve gigabit-per-second speeds, which promises to render ethernet and other wired connections obsolete in the future. Currently, however, the higher frequency comes at a higher cost and thus is deployed only where it's most needed: in crowded urban settings, stadiums, convention centers, airports and concert halls.

A type of 5G service, Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications, can be used where data needs to be transmitted without loss or interruption in service—for example, controlling drones in disaster areas. One day, after the technology is more robust, it could even be used for remote surgery.

https://theconversation.com/what-is-5g-an-electrical-engineer-expla...

Part 2

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Scientists uncover new information about cellular death process, previously thought to be irreversible

A study published by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago describes a new method for analyzing pyroptosis—the process of cell death that is usually caused by infections and results in excess inflammation in the body—and shows that process, long thought to be irreversible once initiated, can in fact be halted and controlled.

The discovery, which is reported in Nature Communications, means that scientists have a new way to study diseases that are related to malfunctioning cell death processes, like some cancers, and infections that can be complicated by out-of-control inflammation caused by the process. These infections include sepsis, for example, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is among the major complications of COVID-19 illness.

Pyroptosis is a series of biochemical reactions that uses gasdermin, a protein, to open large pores in the cell membrane and destabilize the cell. To understand more about this process, the researchers designed an "optogenetic" gasdermin by genetically engineering the protein to respond to light.

The researchers applied the optogenetic gasdermin tool and used florescent imaging technology to precisely activate gasdermin in cell experiments and observe the pores under various circumstances. They discovered that certain conditions, like specific concentrations of calcium ions, for example, triggered the pores to close within only tens of seconds.

This automatic response to external circumstances provides evidence that pyroptosis dynamically self-regulates.

"This showed us that this form of cell death is not a one-way ticket. The process is actually programmed with a cancel button, an off-switch.

Understanding how to control this process unlocks new avenues for drug discovery, and now we can find drugs that work for both sides—it allows us to think about tuning, either boosting or limiting, this type of cell death in diseases, where we could previously only remove this important process.

Ana Beatriz Santa Cruz Garcia et al, Gasdermin D pores are dynamically regulated by local phosphoinositide circuitry, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27692-9

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-scientists-uncover-cellular-death-pre...

First person receives gene-edited pig heart

A person in the United States is the first to receive a transplant of a genetically modified pig heart. Yesterday, the University of Maryland Medical Center announced that the 57-year-old patient was still doing well 3 days after the surgery. The heart came from a pig raised by Revivicor, a US firm that spun off from the UK company that helped to clone Dolly the sheep. It’s not clear exactly how the pig was gene-edited, but the company has developed pigs whose cell surfaces do not have a sugar molecule called α-1,3-galactose, or α-gal, which triggers the human immune system. The man also received an experimental drug made by Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals designed to stave off rejection.

‘If it’s not on arXiv, it doesn’t exist’

On January 3, the arXiv server hit a milestone when it published its two milliont.... Since it was created in 1991 by physicist Paul Ginsparg, the repository has become indispensable for sharing research in fields such as astronomy, particle physics and mathematics. Such explosive growth is not painless: a handful of staff and volunteer moderators work to ensure that the 1,200 daily submissions meet basic quality standards. Critics worry that the full diversity of scientific thought — and of scientists themselves — is not represented among those gatekeepers. And the site has struggled with stability. “We’re an old classic car, and the rust has finally come through, and the pistons are wearing out,” says astrophysicist Steinn Sigurdsson, arXiv’s scientific director. “We are understaffed and underfunded — and have been for years.”

Study challenges evolutionary theory that DNA mutations are random

A simple roadside weed may hold the key to understanding and predicting DNA mutation, according to new research.

The findings, published January 12 in the journal Nature, radically change our understanding of evolution and could one day help researchers breed better crops or even help humans fight cancer.

Mutations occur when DNA is damaged and left unrepaired, creating a new variation. The scientists wanted to know if mutation was purely random or something deeper. What they found was unexpected.

Scientists thought of mutation as basically random across the genome till now. It turns out that mutation is very non-random and it's non-random in a way that benefits the plant. It's a totally new way of thinking about mutation.

Researchers spent three years sequencing the DNA of hundreds of Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress, a small, flowering weed considered the "lab rat among plants" because of its relatively small genome comprising around 120 million base pairs. Humans, by comparison, have roughly 3 billion base pairs. It's a model organism for genetics. 

Researchers grew specimens in a protected lab environment, which allowed plants with defects that may not have survived in nature be able to survive in a controlled space.

Sequencing of those hundreds of Arabidopsis thaliana plants revealed more than 1 million mutations. Within those mutations a nonrandom pattern was revealed, counter to what was expected.

Instead of randomness scientists found patches of the genome with low mutation rates. In those patches, they were surprised to discover an over-representation of essential genes, such as those involved in cell growth and gene expression. 

These are the really important regions of the genome. The areas that are the most biologically important are the ones being protected from mutation.

The areas are also sensitive to the harmful effects of new mutations. DNA damage repair seems therefore to be particularly effective in these regions.

Part 1

The scientists found that the way DNA was wrapped around different types of proteins was a good predictor of whether a gene would mutate or not. It means we can predict which genes are more likely to mutate than others and it gives us a good idea of what's going on.

The findings add a surprising twist to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection because it reveals that the plant has evolved to protect its genes from mutation to ensure survival.

The plant has evolved a way to protect its most important places from mutation. This is exciting because we could even use these discoveries to think about how to protect human genes from mutation.

Knowing why some regions of the genome mutate more than others could help breeders who rely on genetic variation to develop better crops. Scientists could also use the information to better predict or develop new treatments for diseases like cancer that are caused by mutation.

Detlef Weigel, Mutation bias reflects natural selection in Arabidopsis thaliana, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04269-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04269-6

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-evolutionary-theory-dna-mutations-ran...

Antibody Cocktail Therapy Explained

Researchers propose new explanation for Moon's half-century magnetic mystery

Rocks returned to Earth during NASA's Apollo program from 1968 to 1972 have provided volumes of information about the Moon's history, but they've also been the source of an enduring mystery. Analysis of the rocks revealed that some seemed to have formed in the presence of a strong magnetic field—one that rivaled Earth's in strength. But it wasn't clear how a Moon-sized body could have generated a magnetic field that strong.

Now, new research proposes a new explanation for the Moon's magnetic mystery. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, shows that giant rock formations sinking through the Moon's mantle could have produced the kind of interior convection that generates strong magnetic fields. The processes could have produced intermittently strong magnetic fields for the first billion years of the Moon's history, the researchers say.

The Moon lacks a magnetic field today, and models of its core suggest that it was probably too small and lacked the convective force to have ever produced a continuously strong magnetic field. In order for a core to have a strong convective churn, it needs to dissipate a lot of heat. In the case of the early Moon, researchers say, the mantle surrounding the core wasn't much cooler than the core itself. Because the core's heat didn't have anywhere to go, there wasn't much convection in the core. But this new study shows how sinking rocks could have provided intermittent convective boosts.

The story of these sinking stones starts a few million years after the Moon's formation. Very early in its history, the Moon is thought to have been covered by an ocean of molten rock. As the vast magma ocean began to cool and solidify, minerals like olivine and pyroxene that were denser than the liquid magma sank to the bottom, while less dense minerals like anorthosite floated to form the crust. The remaining liquid magma was rich in titanium as well as heat-producing elements like thorium, uranium and potassium, so it took a bit longer to solidify. When this titanium layer finally crystallized just beneath the crust, it was denser than the earlier-solidifying minerals below it. Over time, the titanium formations sank through the less-dense mantle rock underneath, a process known as gravitational overturn.

There could have been as many as 100 of these downwelling events over the Moon's first billion years of existence, the researchers say, and each one could have produced a strong magnetic field lasting a century or so.

Alexander Evans, An episodic high-intensity lunar core dynamo, Nature Astronomy (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01574-y. www.nature.com/articles/s41550-021-01574-y

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-explanation-moon-half-century-magneti...

Lost birds and mammals spell doom for some plants

In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have gauged how biodiversity loss of birds and mammals will impact plants' chances of adapting to human-induced climate warming.

More than half of plant species rely on animals to disperse their seeds. In a study  researchers showed the ability of animal-dispersed plants to keep pace with climate change has been reduced by 60% due to the loss of mammals and birds that help such plants adapt to environmental change.

As climate changes, many plant species must move to a more suitable environment. Plants that rely on seed dispersers can face extinction if there are too few animals to move their seeds far enough to keep pace with changing conditions.

If there are no animals available to eat their fruits or carry away their nuts, animal-dispersed plants aren't moving very far. And many plants people rely on, both economically and ecologically, are reliant on seed-dispersing birds and mammals.

The study showed seed-dispersal losses were especially severe in temperate regions across North America, Europe, South America and Australia. If endangered species go extinct, tropical regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia would be most affected.

Evan C. Fricke, The effects of defaunation on plants' capacity to track climate change, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abk3510. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk3510

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-lost-birds-mammals-doom.html?utm_sour...

Some birds sing the same song for hundreds of thousands of years

Many of the birds that awaken us each morning learn their melodious songs the same way that humans learn a dialect—from parents and neighbours.

But to most biologists, learning songs through mimicry is an uncertain and error-prone process, resulting in slow but inevitable change in song over the years.

A new study by biologists , however, documents songs in East African sunbirds that have remained nearly unchanged for more than 500,000 years, and perhaps for as long as 1 million years, making the songs nearly indistinguishable from those of relatives from which they've long been separated.

The amazingly static nature of their songs may be due to a lack of change in these birds' environments, which are stable mountain forests—so-called sky islands—isolated from other sky island populations of the same or similar species for tens of thousands to millions of years. The coloration of the birds' feathers has changed little, as well, making their plumage nearly indistinguishable from each other, even though some are separate, but closely related, species.

Jay P. McEntee et al, Punctuated evolution in the learned songs of African sunbirds, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2062

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-birds-song-hundreds-thousands-years.h...

How to image atoms

A mysterious new way of producing oxygen
Researchers have discovered that some microbes that live in the deep sea produce oxygen in a way never seen before. The surprising species, Nitrosopumilus maritimus, uses a common method to generate energy: the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite. But when researchers sealed the microbes in airtight containers, without light or oxygen, they were still somehow able to produce O2. The findings could have implications for everything from detecting the signs of life to determining how bacteria might adapt to a drop in ocean oxygen caused by climate change.

This has only been found previously in NC10 bacteria, which break up nitric oxide into nitrogen and oxygen and use the oxygen to oxidise methane. However, the NC10 bacteria are not known to release oxygen. https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/single-celled-marine-organism-f...