Does magic really exist?

Study finds fresh water and key conditions for life appeared on Earth a half-billion years earlier than thought

We need two ingredients for life to start on a planet: dry land and (fresh) water. Strictly, the water doesn't have to be fresh, but fresh water can only occur on dry land.

Only with those two conditions met can you convert the building blocks of life, amino acids and nucleic acids into tangible bacterial life that heralds the start of the evolutionary cycle.

The oldest life on Earth left in our fragmented rock record is 3.5 billion years old, with some chemical data showing it may even be as old as 3.8 billion years. Scientists have hypothesized life might be even older, but we have no records of that being the case.

A new study published in Nature Geoscience provides the first evidence of fresh water and dry land on Earth by 4 billion years ago. Knowing when the cradle of life—water and land—first appeared on Earth ultimately provides clues as to how we came to be.

Fresh water is very different from sea water. Obviously, you might say, but how do you know if one or both were present on Earth if you can't actually go back in a time machine?

The answer is in the rock record and chemical signals preserved in that time capsule. Earth is a bit over 4.5 billion years old, and the oldest rocks scientists have found are just a little older than 4 billion years.

To really understand our planet in its first 500 million years, we have to turn to crystals that once came from older rocks and ended up deposited in younger rocks.

Unlike rocks, the oldest preserved crystals go back as far as 4.4 billion years. And the bulk of these super-old crystals comes from one place on Earth: the Jack Hills in Western Australia's midwest.

This is precisely where the researchers of this study went. They dated over a thousand crystals of a mineral called zircon, famed for its extreme resistance to weathering and alteration.

Part 1

This work shows that about 10% of all the crystals the researchers analyzed were older than 4 billion years. That might seem small, but it's an enormous amount of super-old grains compared to other places around the world.

To figure out whether these grains held a record of fresh water, they used tiny beams of ions on these dated zircon grains to measure the ratio of heavier to lighter oxygen. This ratio, known as an oxygen isotopic ratio, is thought to be nearly constant through time for seawater, but much lighter for fresh water.

Conspicuously, a small portion of zircon crystals from 4 billion years ago had a very light signature that could only have formed from the interaction of fresh water and rocks.
Zircon is extremely resistant to alteration. For the Jack Hills' zircon to obtain this light oxygen signature, the rock altered by fresh water had to melt and then re-solidify to impart the light oxygen isotopic signature into the zircon.

Thus, fresh water had to be present on Earth before 4 billion years ago.
Researchers now at least found evidence for the cradle of life on Earth some time before 4 billion years ago—extremely early in our planet's 4.5-billion-year history..

Hamed Gamaleldien et al, Onset of the Earth's hydrological cycle four billion years ago or earlier, Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01450-0

Part 2

Improved prime editing system makes gene-sized edits in human cells at therapeutic levels

Scientists have improved a gene-editing technology that is now capable of inserting or substituting entire genes in the genome in human cells efficiently enough to be potentially useful for therapeutic applications.

The advance could one day help researchers develop a single gene therapy for diseases such as cystic fibrosis that are caused by one of hundreds or thousands of different mutations in a gene. Using this new approach, they would insert a healthy copy of the gene at its native location in the genome, rather than having to create a different gene therapy to correct each mutation using other gene-editing approaches that make smaller edits.

The new method uses a combination of prime editing, which can directly make a wide range of edits up to about 100 or 200 base pairs, and newly developed recombinase enzymes that efficiently insert large pieces of DNA thousands of base pairs in length at specific sites in the genome. This system, called eePASSIGE, can make gene-sized edits several times more efficiently than other similar methods, and is reported in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Pandey S, Gao XD, et al. Efficient site-specific integration of large genes in mammalian cells via continuously evolved recombinases and prime editing, Nature Biomedical Engineering (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41551-024-01227-1

Compressed titanium and sulfur nanoribbons can transmit electricity without energy loss, scientists find

When compressed, nanoribbons of titanium and sulfur can change properties dramatically, turning into materials with the ability to conduct electricity without losing energy, according to a study published in the journal Nano Letters.

The authors have made the discovery during their painstaking search for new materials that can transmit electricity without loss of energy, a hot topic that has for long haunted the scientific community.

This new research focused on one such promising material: TiS₃ nanoribbons, which are tiny, ribbon-like structures made of titanium and sulfur. In their natural state, TiS₃ nanoribbons act as insulators, meaning they do not conduct electricity well.  The researchers, however, discovered that by applying pressure to these nanoribbons, we could change their electrical properties dramatically.

The scientists exposed TiS₃ to gradual pressure. As they increased the pressure, they found that the TiS₃ system underwent a series of transitions, from being insulators to becoming metals and superconductors, for the first time.

TiS₃ materials are known to work as good insulators, but it is the first time scientists have discovered that under pressure they can function as superconductors, paving the way for the development of superconducting materials.

Mahmoud Abdel-Hafiez et al, From Insulator to Superconductor: A Series of Pressure-Driven Transitions in Quasi-One-Dimensional TiS3 Nanoribbons, Nano Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00824

Study: An estimated 135 million premature deaths linked to fine particulate matter pollution between 1980 and 2020

A study led by researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) revealed that fine particulate matter from 1980 to 2020 was associated with approximately 135 million premature deaths globally. The findings were published in April in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International.

In the study, premature deaths refer to fatalities that occur earlier than expected based on average life expectancy, resulting from preventable or treatable causes such as diseases or environmental factors.

The study found that the impact of pollution from fine particulate matter was worsened by climate variability phenomena such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and the North Atlantic Oscillation, and led to a 14 percent rise in premature deaths.

The researchers explain that during such weather events, the increased temperature, changes in wind patterns, and reduced precipitation can lead to stagnant air conditions and the accumulation of pollutants in the atmosphere. These result in higher concentrations of PM2.5 particles that are particularly harmful to human health when inhaled.
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, refers to particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller. These tiny particles come from vehicle emissions, industrial processes, and natural sources such as wildfires and dust storms.

As they are so small, PM2.5 particles can easily get into the air we breathe and penetrate deep into our lungs, leading to a range of health problems, especially for vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions.

The study estimated that a third of the premature deaths from 1980 to 2020 were associated with stroke (33.3%); another third with ischemic heart disease (32.7%), while chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections, and lung cancer made up the rest of premature deaths.

S.H.L. Yim et al, Global health impacts of ambient fine particulate pollution associated with climate variability, Environment International (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108587

New study helps disentangle role of soil microbes in the global carbon cycle

When soil microbes eat plant matter, the digested food follows one of two pathways. Either the microbe uses the food to build its own body, or it respires its meal as carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere.

Now a research team has, for the first time, tracked the pathways of a mixture of plant waste as it moves through bacteria's metabolism to contribute to atmospheric CO₂. The researchers discovered that microbes respire three times as much CO₂ from lignin carbons (non-sugar aromatic units) compared to cellulose carbons (glucose sugar units), which both add structure and support to plants' cellular walls.

These findings help disentangle the role of microbes in soil carbon cycling—information that could help improve predictions of how carbon in soil will affect climate change.

The study, "Disproportionate carbon dioxide efflux in bacterial metabolic pathways for different organic substrates leads to variable contribution to carbon use efficiency," was published on June 11 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

The carbon pool that's stored in soil is about 10 times the amount that's in the atmosphere.

What happens to this reservoir will have an enormous impact on the planet. Because microbes can unlock this carbon and turn it into atmospheric CO₂, there is a huge interest in understanding how they metabolize plant waste. As temperatures rise, more organic matter of different types will become available in soil. That will affect the amount of CO₂ that is emitted from microbial activities.

Caroll Mendonca et al, Disproportionate carbon dioxide efflux in bacterial metabolic pathways for different organic substrates leads to variable contribution to carbon use efficiency, Environmental Science & Technology (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c01328. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c01328

Chemists discover spontaneous nanoparticle formation in charged microdroplets

A team of chemists has found that particles of minerals sometimes break down spontaneously when immersed in charged microdroplets, leading to the formation of nanoparticles.

In their study, published in the journal Science, the group conducted experiments with minerals and an electrospray device

Prior research has shown that natural processes often result in the creation of nanoparticles and that many types of such nanoparticles exist in nature. But not much is known about how they are formed. In this new effort, the research team suspected that some of them may be the result of minerals becoming immersed in charged liquid particles. To find out if that might be the case, they designed an experiment to replicate such natural processes.
The researchers note that charged microdroplets are plentiful in the natural world, found in clouds and sea spray. To create their own charged microdroplets, they used an electrospray device.

When filled with water and electrically charged, it can produce a mist of charged droplets. In their experiments, the research team added mineral particles to the water before putting it in the spray device. They then captured samples of the charged microdroplets and other materials that were in the mist. They found many instances of nanoparticles being spontaneously expelled from the microdroplets into the air around them.

The researchers found that shortly after droplet formation, a double electric field was generated across its surface, producing a reactive sphere. That was followed by droplet fission when coulombic energy in the droplet exceeded its surface tension—and that was followed by expulsion of a mineral nanoparticle in the form of a microdroplet.

B. K. Spoorthi et al, Spontaneous weathering of natural minerals in charged water microdroplets forms nanomaterials, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adl3364

R. Graham Cooks et al, Breaking down microdroplet chemistry, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adp7627

Climate misinformation overshadows record floods worldwide

Climate skeptics are scapegoating a weather modification technique known as cloud seeding to deny the role of global warming in historic floods that have recently devastated countries from Brazil to Kenya.

Record rainfall brought to some regions by the natural weather cycle El Niño matches an expected increase in extreme events, experts say.

But online, false claims have repeatedly been made that geoengineering—not carbon emissions—is to blame.

Claims that weather had been manipulated appeared after every major flood this year, including in Zimbabwe, the United Arab Emirates and other nations. 

Cloud seeding, which introduces tiny particles into the sky to induce rain over small geographical areas, has gained popularity worldwide as a way to combat drought and increase local water supplies.

But scientists say the technique cannot create weather—nor can it trigger rainfall at the scale observed in countries such as Germany and the United States.

"Due to the strong natural variability of clouds, there exists very little scientific proof that cloud seeding has indeed a measurable effect on precipitation, say the experts.

Experts emphasize that  climate change doubled the likelihood of floods in southern Brazil and worsened the intense rains caused by El Niño.

There's definitely a consensus that climate change is responsible for many of these extreme weather events.

And there is no definitive large-scale or long-term impacts from cloud seeding. We are already manipulating the weather at a global scale (larger) than would ever be possible through cloud seeding, scientists warn.

Sours: AFP and other news agencies.

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Tattoos Linked to Increased Cancer Risk, Scientists Warn

Regret was for many years considered the most severe side-effect of tattoos. But a new study suggests there could be much worse things to worry about than that.

Tattoos are now a mainstream means to express identity or celebrate milestones in life. Yet we know very little about the long-term health effects. Hazardous chemicals in tattoo ink have received attention during the last ten years. In parallel, research has shown that the ink that is injected into the skin does not stay there.

The body perceives tattoo ink as something foreign that needs to be removed, and tattooing causes an immune response that results in a large fraction of ink particles ending up in the lymph nodes. But the last piece of the puzzle has been lacking: how does tattoo ink deposited in the lymphatic system affect people's health?

To connect the dots, researchers conducted a large study to answer whether having tattoos might increase the risk of malignant lymphoma, a rare form of cancer that affects the white blood cells (lymphocytes). The study was recently published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.

Scientists found that tattooed people had a 21% higher risk of lymphoma than people without tattoos after factoring in smoking status and education level (both being factors that may be associated with getting a tattoo and developing lymphoma).

The size of the tattoos did not seem to matter. What did matter was time – how long participants had had their tattoos. The risk seemed to be higher for new tattoos (received within two years) and for older tattoos (received more than ten years ago).

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00228-1/fulltext

African savannah elephants call one another by ‘name’

Elephants call out to each other using individual names that they invent for their fellow pachyderms, according to a recent study.

While dolphins and parrots have been observed addressing each other by mimicking the sound of others from their species, elephants are the first non-human animals known to use names that do not involve imitation, the researchers suggested.

For the new study, a team of international researchers used an AI algorithm to analyse the calls of two wild herds of African savannah elephants in Kenya.

The research not only shows that elephants use specific vocalisations for each individual, but that they recognise and react to a call addressed to them while ignoring those addressed to others.

This indicates that elephants can determine whether a call was intended for them just by hearing the call, even when out of its original context.

The researchers sifted through elephant "rumbles" recorded at Kenya's Samburu National Reserve and Amboseli National Park between 1986 and 2022.

Using a machine learning algorithm, they identified 469 distinct calls, which included 101 elephants issuing a call and 117 receiving one.

Elephants make a wide range of sounds, from loud trumpeting to rumbles so low they cannot be heard by the human ear.

Names were not always used in the elephant calls. But when names were called out, it was often over a long distance, and when adults were addressing young elephants.

Adults were also more likely to use names than calves, suggesting it could take years to learn this particular talent.

The most common call was "a harmonically rich, low-frequency sound”.

This suggests that elephants and humans are the only two animals known to invent "arbitrary" names for each other, rather than merely copying the sound of the recipient.

The evidence provided here that elephants use non-imitative sounds to label others indicates they have the ability for abstract thought.

African savannah elephants call one another by ‘name’ - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Using a combination of machine learning and playback experiments in the field, we find that African savannah elephants address members of their family with individually specific, name-like calls. These ‘names’ are probably not imitative of the receiver’s calls, which is similar to human naming but unlike known phenomena in other animals.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02430-8

A  robot that can autonomously remove weeds

Robotic systems are already being deployed in various settings worldwide, assisting humans with a highly diverse range of tasks. One sector in which robots could prove particularly advantageous is agriculture, where they could complete demanding manual tasks faster and more efficiently.

Among the many agricultural tasks that robots could tackle is the removal of weeds, which can cause significant damage to both livestock and crop farming. In fact, fast-growing and invasive weeds can both reduce the yield of crops and potentially poison animals, including horses, sheep, and cows.

Researchers recently developed a new robot that can autonomously remove an invasive weed known as Rumex longifolius, or longleaf dock, which are highly rich in oxalates, compounds that can be poisonous to some livestock. Their robot, introduced in a paper pre-published on arXiv.

Jarkko Kotaniemi et al, A Weeding Robot for Seedling Removal, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2405.12596

Scientists reconstruct ancient genomes of the two most deadly malaria parasites to identify origin and spread

In a study appearing in Nature, an international team of researchers reconstructed the evolutionary history and global spread of malaria over the past 5,500 years, identifying trade, warfare, and colonialism as major catalysts for its dispersal.

Malaria, one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, is caused by several species of single-celled parasites that are transmitted via the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Despite major control and eradication efforts, nearly half of the world's population still lives in regions where they are at risk of contracting malaria, and the World Health Organization estimates that malaria causes nearly 250 million infections and more than 600,000 deaths each year.

Beyond this massive modern impact, malaria has strongly shaped our human evolutionary history.

Although largely a tropical disease today, only a century ago the pathogen's range covered half the world's land surface, including parts of the northern U.S., southern Canada, Scandinavia, and Siberia.

Malaria's legacy is written in our very genomes: genetic variants responsible for devastating blood disorders such as sickle cell disease are thought to persist in human populations because they confer partial resistance to malaria infection.

Despite this evolutionary impact, the origins and spread of the two deadliest species of malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, remain shrouded in mystery.

Malaria infections leave no clear visible traces in human skeletal remains, and scant references in historical texts can be difficult to decipher. However, recent advances in the ancient DNA field have revealed that human teeth can preserve traces of pathogens present in a person's blood at the time of death, providing an opportunity to study illnesses that are normally invisible in the archaeological record.

Part 1

To explore malaria's enigmatic history, an international team of researchers representing 80 institutions and 21 countries reconstructed ancient Plasmodium genome-wide data from 36 malaria-infected individuals spanning 5,500 years of human history on five continents.

These ancient malaria cases provide an unprecedented opportunity to reconstruct the worldwide spread of malaria and its historical impact at global, regional, and even individual scales.

To track the parasites' journey into the Americas, the team analyzed ancient DNA from a malaria-infected individual from Laguna de los Cóndores, a high-altitude site situated in the remote cloud forests of the eastern Peruvian Andes.

Genomic analysis revealed remarkable similarity between the Laguna de los Cóndores P. vivax strain and ancient European P. vivax, strongly suggesting that European colonizers spread this species to the Americas within the first century or so after contact.

Amplified by the effects of warfare, enslavement, and population displacement, infectious diseases, including malaria, devastated Indigenous peoples of the Americas during the colonial period, with mortality rates as high as 90% in some places.
Part 2

Remarkably, the team also uncovered genetic links between the Laguna de los Cóndores strain and modern Peruvian P. vivax populations 400 to 500 years later.In addition to showing that malaria spread rapidly into what is a relatively remote region today, the  data suggest that the pathogen thrived there, establishing an endemic focus and giving rise to parasites that are still infecting people in Peru today.While the role of colonialism in the spread of malaria is evident in the Americas, the team uncovered military activities that shaped the regional spread of malaria on the other side of the Atlantic.
The researchers  also identified several individuals infected with P. falciparum, a species that thrived in Mediterranean climates before eradication but was not thought to be endemic north of the Alps during this period.These virulent cases were found in non-local male individuals of diverse Mediterranean origins, who were likely soldiers recruited from northern Italy, Spain, and other Mediterranean regions to fight in the Hapsburg Army of Flanders during the 80 Years' War.They find that the large-scale troop movements played an important role in the spread of malaria during this period, similar to cases of so-called airport malaria in temperate Europe today.In our globalized world, infected travelers carry Plasmodium parasites back to regions where malaria is now eradicated, and mosquitoes capable of transmitting these parasites can even lead to cases of ongoing local transmission. Although the landscape of malaria infection in Europe is radically different today than it was 500 years ago, scientists see parallels in the ways in which human mobility shapes malaria risk.
Part 3

On the other side of the world, the team unexpectedly identified the earliest known case of P. falciparum malaria at the high Himalayan site of Chokhopani (ca. 800 BCE), located along the Kali Gandaki River Valley in the Mustang District of Nepal. At 2800 meters above sea level, the site lies far outside the habitat range for both the malaria parasite and the Anopheles mosquito.
Human genetic analysis revealed that the infected individual was a local male with genetic adaptations for life at high altitude. However, archaeological evidence at Chokhopani and other nearby sites suggests that these Himalayan populations were actively engaged in long-distance trade.Resarchersthink of these regions today as remote and inaccessible, but in fact the Kali Gandaki River Valley served as a kind of trans-Himalayan highway connecting people on the Tibetan Plateau with the Indian subcontinent.Copper artifacts recovered from Chokhopani's burial chambers prove that the ancient inhabitants of Mustang were part of larger exchange networks that included northern India, and you don't have to travel very far to reach the low-lying, poorly drained regions of the Nepalese and Indian Terai where malaria is endemic today.
Today, the human experience of malaria is at a crossroads. Thanks to advances in mosquito control and concerted public health campaigns, malaria deaths reached an all-time low in the 2010s. However, the emergence of antimalarial drug-resistant parasites and insecticide-resistant vectors threatens to reverse decades of progress, while climate change and environmental destruction are making new regions vulnerable to malaria vector species. The team hopes that ancient DNA may provide an additional tool for understanding and even combating this public health threat."For the first time, scientists are able to explore the ancient diversity of parasites from regions like Europe, where malaria is now eradicated.They see how mobility and population displacement spread malaria in the past, just as modern globalization makes malaria-free countries and regions vulnerable to reintroduction today. We hope that studying ancient diseases like malaria will provide a new window into understanding these organisms that continue to shape the world we live in today.
Megan Michel, Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07546-2. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07546-2
Part 4

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Study confirms the rotation of Earth's inner core has slowed

 Scientists have proven that the Earth's inner core is backtracking—slowing down—in relation to the planet's surface, as shown in new research published in Nature.

Movement of the inner core has been debated by the scientific community for two decades, with some research indicating that the inner core rotates faster than the planet's surface. The new study provides unambiguous evidence that the inner core began to decrease its speed around 2010, moving slower than the Earth's surface.

The inner core is considered to be reversing and backtracking relative to the planet's surface due to moving slightly slower instead of faster than the Earth's mantle for the first time in approximately 40 years. Relative to its speed in previous decades, the inner core is slowing down.

The inner core is a solid iron-nickel sphere surrounded by the liquid iron-nickel outer core. Roughly the size of the moon, the inner core sits more than 3,000 miles under our feet and presents a challenge to researchers: It can't be visited or viewed. Scientists must use the seismic waves of earthquakes to create renderings of the inner core's movement.

In this study, the researchers compiled and analyzed seismic data recorded around the South Sandwich Islands from 121 repeating earthquakes that occurred between 1991 and 2023. They have also utilized data from twin Soviet nuclear tests between 1971 and 1974, as well as repeated French and American nuclear tests from other studies of the inner core.

The inner core's slowing speed was caused by the churning of the liquid iron outer core that surrounds it, which generates Earth's magnetic field, as well as gravitational tugs from the dense regions of the overlying rocky mantle.

The implications of this change in the inner core's movement for Earth's surface can only be speculated. The backtracking of the inner core may alter the length of a day by fractions of a second and we can't notice this clearly.

Wei Wang et al, Inner core backtracking by seismic waveform change reversals, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07536-4

Scientists engineer human antibodies that could neutralize black widow toxin

There are various types of widow spiders, including black, red, and brown varieties in North and South America, the Australian redback spider, and several button spider species that inhabit South Africa. In Europe, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus—the European black widow—inhabits the Mediterranean region, but recently and due to the changing climate, the widows have been expanding their habitat.

Widow spiders' bites can cause latrodectism, a disease where the spider's venom, a neurotoxin known as alpha-latrotoxin, attacks the nervous system and causes symptoms like severe pain, hypertension, headache, and nausea. Black widow bites can be treated with antibodies derived from horses, but to make treatment safer for patients, researchers have set out to develop fully human antibodies.

For the first time, they presented human antibodies which show neutralization of black widow spider venom in a cell-based assay. This is the first step to replace the horse sera that are still used to treat the severe symptoms after a black widow spider bite.

Many patients bitten by black widows aren't treated altogether because the antivenom is made from proteins derived from horses which are foreign to the human body and can cause undesirable side effects. These include serum sickness, a reaction to proteins in antisera derived from non-human animal sources, and serious allergic reaction. The available antivenom is also an undefined mix of antibodies that varies from batch to batch. Despite these shortcomings, this antivenom is the most efficient treatment option available right now.

Scientists set out to replace horse sera with recombinant human antibodies to get a better product for the patients and to avoid the use of horses for serum production. 

To do so, the scientists used an in vitro method called antibody phage display.

This approach uses extremely diverse gene collections of more than 10 billion different antibodies. From this large diversity of antibodies, phage display can fish out antibodies which can bind the desired target, in this case the toxin.

Antibodies engineered in such a way can be reproduced in the same quality again and again because the DNA sequence of the human antibody is known. They also could also improve animal welfare because horses do not need to be immunized and bled to produce black window anti-toxins.

Human antibodies neutralizing the alpha-latrotoxin of the European black widow, Frontiers in Immunology (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1407398

New theory describes how waves carry information from surroundings

Waves pick up information from their environment through which they propagate. A theory of information carried by waves has now been developed at TU Wien—with astonishing results that can be utilized for technical applications.

Ultrasound is used to analyze the body, radar systems to study airspace or seismic waves to study the interior of our planet. Many areas of research are dealing with waves that are deflected, scattered or reflected by their surroundings. As a result, these waves carry a certain amount of information about their environment, and this information must then be extracted as comprehensively and precisely as possible.

Searching for the best way to do this has been the subject of research around the world for many years. Researchers have now succeeded in describing the information carried by a wave about its environment with mathematical precision. This has made it possible to show how waves pick up information about an object and then transport it to a measuring device.

This can now be used to generate customized waves to extract the maximum amount of information from the environment—for more precise imaging processes, for example. This theory was confirmed with microwave experiments. The results were published in the journal Nature Physics.

Jakob Hüpfl et al, Continuity equation for the flow of Fisher information in wave scattering, Nature Physics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-024-02519-8

How spaceflight disrupts a person’s biology
Just a few days in orbit can cause immune-cell disruption, dehydration and cloudy thinking — but most of these conditions revert to normal soon after travellers return to Earth, according to the largest catalogue of data detailing the impacts of space travel on the human body. The reports aim to chart how spaceflight affects space tourists, who have a wider variety of health histories than trained astronauts. This is the beginning of precision medicine for spaceflight.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07639-y.epdf?sharing_tok...

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07648-x.epdf?sharing_tok...

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A glass that builds and heals itself

A glass that builds and heals itself

Drug that ‘melts away’ tumours hailed as ‘gamechanger’ for some bowel cancer patients
Pembrolizumab triples chance of survival for the 10-15% of patients with the 'right genetic makeup', study finds
A “gamechanger” immunotherapy drug that “melts away” tumours dramatically increases the chances of curing some bowel cancers and may even replace the need for surgery, doctors have said.

Pembrolizumab targets and blocks a specific protein on the surface of immune cells that then seek out and destroy cancer cells.

Giving the drug before surgery instead of chemotherapy led to a huge increase in patients being declared cancer-free, a clinical trial found. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s largest cancer conference.

https://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/234190?utm_source...

Imaging techniques peek into the placenta
Researchers are finding ways to monitor an understudied human organ: the placenta. Defects in the placenta might be responsible for many miscarriages and stillbirths. The mysterious organ has proven difficult to study, largely because of the risks to pregnant women and their historical exclusion from clinical trials. Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasounds help researchers to visualize the placenta and its blood flow in a non-invasive way, and spot potential problems before they lead to pregnancy loss. But progress remains slow. We’re dealing with a paradigm change, and there’s a lot of resistance to changing the paradigm now.  

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/06/placenta-stillbi...

Chronic Insomnia Linked to Ultra-Processed Foods

Permanent gene edits to tardigrades help shed light on their amazing resilience

Some species of tardigrades are highly and unusually resilient to various extreme conditions fatal to most other forms of life. And we need to know the genetic basis of this resilience to use the knowledge. 

For the first time, researchers successfully edited genes using the CRISPR technique in a highly resilient tardigrade species previously impossible to study with genome-editing tools. The work has been published in PLoS Genetics.

The successful delivery of CRISPR to an asexual tardigrade species directly produces gene-edited offspring. The design and editing of specific tardigrade genes allow researchers to investigate which are responsible for tardigrade resilience and how such resilience can work.

If you've heard about tardigrades, then you've no doubt heard about their uncommon abilities to survive things like extreme heat, cold, drought, and even the vacuum of space, which different members of the species possess. So naturally, they attract researchers keen to explore these novelties, not just out of curiosity, but also to look at what applications might one day be possible if we learn their secrets.

To understand tardigrades' superpowers, we first need to understand the way their genes function. 

Researchers have developed a method to edit genes—adding, removing or overwriting them—like you would do on computer data, in a very tolerant species of tardigrade, Ramazzottius varieornatus. This can now allow researchers to study tardigrade genetic traits as they might more established lab-based animals, such as fruit flies or nematodes.

The team used a recently-developed technique called direct parental CRISPR (DIPA-CRISPR), based on the now-famous CRISPR gene-editing technique, which can serve as a genetic scalpel to cut and modify specific genes more efficiently than ever before. DIPA-CRISPR has the advantage of being able to affect the genome of a target organism's offspring and had previously been shown to work on insects, but this is the first time it's been used on the non-insect organisms that include tardigrades.

Single-step generation of homozygous knockout/knock-in individuals in an extremotolerant parthenogenetic tardigrade using DIPA-CRISPR, PLoS Genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011298

Why many lung cancer patients who have never smoked have worse outcomes
The reason targeted treatment for non-small cell lung cancer fails to work for some patients, particularly those who have never smoked, has been discovered by researchers.
The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that lung cancer cells with two particular genetic mutations are more likely to double their genome, which helps them to withstand treatment and develop resistance to it.
The most common genetic mutation found in NSCLC is in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR), which enables cancer cells to grow faster. It is found in 10-15 % of patients who have never smoked.
Survival rates vary depending on how advanced the cancer is, with only around a third of patients with Stage IV NSCLC and an EGFR mutation surviving for up to three years.
Lung cancer treatments that target this mutation, known as EGFR inhibitors, have been available for over 15 years. However, while some patients see their cancer tumors shrink with EGFR inhibitors, other patients, particularly those with an additional mutation in the p53 gene (which plays a role in tumor suppression), fail to respond and experience far worse survival rates.
Part 1

To find the answer, the researchers re-analyzed data from trials of the newest EGFR inhibitor, osimertinib, developed by AstraZeneca. They looked at baseline scans and first follow-up scans taken a few months into treatment for patients with either EGFR-only or with EGFR and p53 mutations.

The team compared every tumor on the scans, far more than were measured in the original trial. They found that for patients with just the EGFR mutations, all tumors got smaller in response to treatment. But for patients with both mutations, while some tumors had shrunk, others had grown, providing evidence of rapid drug resistance. This pattern of response, when some but not all areas of a cancer are shrinking in response to a drug treatment within an individual patient, is known as a "mixed response" and is a challenge for oncologists caring for patients with cancer.
To investigate why some tumors in these patients might be more prone to drug resistance, the team then studied a mouse model with both the EGFR and p53 mutation. They found that within resistant tumors in these mice, far more cancer cells had doubled their genome, giving them extra copies of all their chromosomes.

The researchers then treated lung cancer cells in the lab, some with just the single EGFR mutation and some with both mutations, with an EGFR inhibitor. They found that within five weeks of exposure to the drug, a significantly higher percentage of cells with both the double mutation and double genomes had multiplied into new drug-resistant cells.
Once we can identify patients with both EGFR and p53 mutations whose tumors display whole genome doubling, we can then treat these patients in a more selective way now.

 Sebastijan Hobor, Heterogeneous responses to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer result from chromosomal instability facilitated by whole genome doubling and TP53 co-mutation, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47606-9

Part 2

New study shows outdoor recreation noise affects wildlife behaviour and habitat use

We may go to the woods seeking peace and quiet, but are we taking our noise with us? A study published in the journal, Current Biology, led by scientists from the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station indicates that the answer is yes—and that this noise can trigger a fear response, as if escaping from predators.

This new science calls into question whether otherwise high-quality habitat truly provides refugia for wildlife when recreationists are present and underscores the challenges land managers face in balancing outdoor recreational opportunities with wildlife conservation.

This new study is the first to quantify responses to human-produced recreation noise based on recreation type, group size, group vocalizations, and wildlife species. Information like this can help managers balance recreation opportunities with wildlife management, which is critical as outdoor recreation continues to grow in popularity.

The study was conducted in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming. Researchers used a novel experimental setup to isolate and investigate the effects of recreation noise on several mammal species.

Scientists placed wildlife cameras and speakers on wildlife trails throughout the study areas. Animals that entered study areas triggered speakers to broadcast different types of noise, and nearby cameras captured video of the animals' behavioral responses to the sounds.

The broadcasted noises were associated with different types of recreation such as hiking, mountain biking, and off highway vehicle use, as well as different-sized groups, and both with and without human voices. This setup allowed the researchers to observe both the immediate responses in animal behavior to recreation noise and changes in wildlife presence at the study areas.

Part 1

Scientists analyzed the video footage and compared how wildlife responded to various recreation noises as well as nature sounds and periods without any broadcasted noise. Key findings from the study:

• Increased fleeing and vigilance: Wildlife were 3.1 to 4.7 times more likely to flee and exhibited vigilance behaviors for 2.2 to 3.0 times longer when exposed to recreation noise compared to natural sounds or no noise.
• Reduced wildlife presence: The local relative abundance of wildlife was observed to be 1.5 times lower in the week following the deployment of recreation noise.
• Impact of group size and activity type: Larger groups, particularly vocal hikers and mountain bikers, caused the highest probability of wildlife flight, with 6 to 8 times greater likelihood.
• Species sensitivity: Elk and black bears were the most sensitive to recreation noise, fleeing from the recreationist sounds most consistently, while large carnivores were the least affected.

Outdoor recreation activities like hiking, mountain biking, and motorized vehicle use are steadily increasing, both in numbers of people recreating and number of days spent participating in these activities.

Noise from recreation can carry far beyond a trail system, so understanding how noise alone can affect wildlife is important for management.

Experimental recreationist noise alters behavior and space use of wildlife, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.05.030. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(24)00673-0

Part 2

Confronting trauma alleviates chronic pain among older veterans, study shows

Our soap operas and movies say as some  people cannot bear pain from trauma, it is better to hide things from them.

However, science has a different view on this. A new study found chronic pain among older adults could be significantly reduced through a newly developed psychotherapy that works by confronting past trauma and stress-related emotions that can exacerbate pain symptoms.

Published in JAMA Network Open on June 13, the study compared the newer therapy, known as emotional awareness and expression therapy, or EAET, to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, in treating chronic pain as well as mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among older veterans.

The study found that 63% of veterans who underwent EAET reported at least a 30% reduction in pain—a clinically significant reduction—after treatment compared to only 17% of veterans who underwent cognitive behavioral therapy.

Pain reduction was sustained among 41% of EAET participants six months after treatment compared to 14% of CBT patients. Additionally, EAET patients reported greater benefits for addressing anxiety, depression, PTSD and life satisfaction.

Most people with chronic pain don't consider psychotherapy at all. They're thinking along the lines of medications, injections, sometimes surgery or bodily treatments like physical therapy.
Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain. What this study adds is that the type of psychotherapy matters.
EAET has one primary intervention: experiencing, expressing and releasing emotions.
Developed in the 2010s, the therapy aims to show patients that the brain's perception of pain is strongly influenced by stress-related emotions. Patients are asked to focus on a stressful interaction, from anything as mundane as being cut off by a driver to severe traumas .
The purpose is to have patients experience these emotions both in mind and in body. The patients then work to confront these emotions, express their reactions and ultimately to let go.
If there is a hurt or stressor people have a series of normal, natural emotional reactions. There might be anger, guilt and sadness. Because these feelings are painful, people often avoid them, but EAET helps people face difficult feelings with honesty and self-compassion. In therapy, they can release anger, pain and guilt that they've been carrying and are left with self-compassion in the end.

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15842. jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman … tworkopen.2024.15842

Part 2

Discovery of antimicrobial peptides in the global microbiome with machine learning
800,000 possible new antibiotics
Researchers used a machine learning approach to survey tens of thousands of genomes found in soils, oceans and the human gut, and in microbial databases. They identified over 800,000 potential antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) — small molecules used by organisms to fight off microbial infections — most of which had not been seen before. As a proof of concept, researchers took 100 of these peptides and tested them against 11 pathogens in the lab. Of these, 63 peptides could halt the growth of at least one pathogen and a smaller number could fight off infections in mice. The 800,000 AMPs are now housed in an open-access resource for antibiotic discovery.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00522-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867424005221%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

• Machine learning predicts nearly 1 million new antibiotics in the global microbiome
• •
  Out of 100 tested peptides, 79 were active in vitro; 63 of these targeted pathogens
• •
  Some peptides may originate from longer sequences through genomic fragmentation
• •
  The AMPSphere is an open-access resource to accelerate antibiotic discovery

Dietary Supplement Found to Reduce Aggression by Up to 28%

Third Form of Life Makes Energy in 'Remarkable' Ways, Scientists Discover
As the world turns to green hydrogen and other renewable energy sources, scientists have discovered that archaea – the third form of life after bacteria and eukaryotes – have been making energy using hydrogen gas and 'ultraminimal' enzymes for billions of years.
Specifically, the international team of researchers discovered that at least nine phyla of archaea, a domain of single-celled organisms lacking internal membrane-bound structures, produce hydrogen gas using enzymes thought to only exist in the other two forms of life.

Archaea, they realized, not only have the smallest hydrogen-using enzymes compared to bacteria and eukaryotes, but their enzymes for consuming and producing hydrogen are also the most complex characterized so far.
Small and mighty, these enzymes have seemingly allowed archaea to survive and thrive in some of Earth's most hostile environments where little to no oxygen is found.
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00573-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867424005737%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
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How the human hippocampus contributes to value-based decision-making under uncertainty

Value-based decision-making is the process through which humans choose between options associated with different costs or efforts, as well as rewards. These choices include, for instance, selecting different products at the grocery stores or making substantial lifestyle changes to accomplish a specific goal.

Past studies on animals have found that the hippocampus, a key brain region associated with learning and memory, could play a role in the processing and evaluation of rewards, which is thought to also occur during value-based decision-making. In addition, research on humans has linked the hippocampus to memory, associative learning and imagination, which could also be connected to value-based decision-making.

Researchers  have recently been investigating the role of this brain region in the valuation and selection of different options. In one study involving individuals with cognitive impairments, they found that the hippocampus could support the active gathering of information that precedes value-based decisions in situations where outcomes are uncertain.

Their latest paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, built on these findings to further explore how the hippocampus contributes to human decision-making under uncertainty. In this new work, they specifically examined how individuals with a neurological condition affecting the hippocampus decided between different options associated with varying rewards.

Part 1

Across four experiments requiring participants to make trade-offs between reward, uncertainty and effort, patients with acute limbic encephalitis demonstrated blunted sensitivity to reward and effort whenever uncertainty was considered, despite demonstrating intact uncertainty sensitivity.

By contrast, the valuation of these two attributes (reward and effort) was intact on uncertainty-free tasks. Reduced sensitivity to changes in reward under uncertainty correlated with the severity of hippocampal damage.

They found that patients diagnosed with ALE were sensitive to uncertainty, yet they were less sensitive to information related to changes in reward values and effort. Their study gathered evidence suggesting that the hippocampus has a context-sensitive role in value-based decision-making, which is specifically relevant under conditions of uncertainty and influences how they evaluate the rewards and efforts linked with different options.

The researchers' new observations are a further step towards better understanding the hippocampus and its contribution to decision making in instances where outcomes are uncertain.

Bahaaeddin Attaallah et al, The role of the human hippocampus in decision-making under uncertainty, Nature Human Behaviour (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01855-2.

Part 2

What if you just put a robot in the driver's seat instead of automating the car?

A team of roboticists  has taken a new approach to autonomous driving—instead of automating the entire car, simply put a robot in the driver's seat. The group built a robot capable of driving a car and tested it on a real-world track. They also published a paper describing their efforts on the arXiv preprint server.

Virtually all efforts to build a self-driving car have focused on making the car itself autonomous—humans sit in the passenger seat or in the back. These efforts involve adding a host of sensors in addition to processing power. They have also been met with mixed results.

In this new effort, the research team wondered if it might not be easier and cheaper simply to build a robot that can be taught how to drive a car and put it in the driver's seat of a normal vehicle. To find out if that might be possible, they built such a robot and tested it on a track at the University of Tokyo's Kashiwa Campus.

The robot is named Musashi and it was designed to operate in much the same way as a human car driver. To that end, the researchers created what they describe as a "musculoskeletal humanoid"—a robot with two arms and two legs, with feet and hands, a torso, neck and head.

They also gave it movable eyes, each equipped with a high-resolution camera. The jointed arms have hands with five digits, and the feet have "grippiness" to ensure precise control of the gas pedal and brake. The robot has a computer, of course, with software for training and to serve as the brains of the robot when driving. After building their robot, the research team put it in a small electric car and then sent it off for some test driving. In addition to simply driving around, the robot was tested on its ability to recognize and respond to objects in its path, including humans.

The team reports that initial testing was "encouraging", though they acknowledge that Musashi is a long way from being ready to drive on a public road.

Kento Kawaharazuka et al, Toward Autonomous Driving by Musculoskeletal Humanoids: A Study of Developed Hardware and Learning-Based Software, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2406.05573

A fully edible robot could soon end up on our plate, say scientists

A fully edible robot could soon end up on our plate if we overcome some technical hurdles, say  scientists involved in RoboFood—a project which aims to connect robots to food.

Robots and food have long been distant worlds: Robots are inorganic, bulky, and non-disposable; food is organic, soft, and biodegradable. Yet, research that develops edible robots has progressed recently and promises positive impacts: Robotic food could reduce electronic waste, help deliver nutrition and medicines to people and animals in need, monitor health, and even pave the way to novel gastronomical experiences.

But how far are we from having a fully edible robot for lunch or dessert? And what are the challenges? Scientists from the RoboFood project, based at EPFL, address these and other questions in a perspective article in the journal Nature Reviews Materials.

In the perspective article, RoboFood authors analyze which edible ingredients can be used to make edible robot parts and whole robots, and discuss the challenges of making them.

Dario Floreano et al, Towards edible robots and robotic food, Nature Reviews Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41578-024-00688-9

Drinking Alcohol on Planes May Pose a  Danger

A new look at why old age is linked to severe, even fatal COVID

A longstanding question has nagged the COVID battle for more than four years: Why does the infection cause severe disease in older people?

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, it has been abundantly clear that older adults are at substantial risk of severe, even fatal COVID. Yet, the underlying mechanisms for their susceptibility were not always clear despite studies that took co-morbidities into account, like diabetes, heart and lung disorders, and other chronic vagaries of age that can worsen a bout with an infectious disease.

To date, scientists have blamed a dysregulated immune system, an age-related affinity toward excessive blood clotting, and an overall decline in the key soldiers of the adaptive immune system, T and B cells, to explain increased risks for severe COVID in the aging population. And while all of those factors may play a role, an inevitable question looms large: Why?

A new multicenter clinical study, reported in Science Translational Medicine, has provided comprehensive answers and peels away some of the mystery surrounding poor outcomes for older people. 

Results from the new tests bore novel data and a new level of understanding.

Older age correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 viral abundance upon hospital admission, delayed viral clearance, and increased type I interferon gene expression in both the blood and upper airway.

Researchers also observed age-dependent up-regulation of innate immune signaling pathways and down-regulation of adaptive immune signaling pathways.

The innate immune system's monocyte production escalated while naïve T and B cells of the adaptive immune system were low.

Unlike younger patients, older ones also displayed more active innate immune pathways and a persistent rise in pro-inflammatory genes and cytokines, suggesting that advancing age may disrupt the body's ability to turn off the inflammatory response. Additionally, biomarkers of disease severity, such as interleukin-6, were the most extreme in the oldest patients. Together, these data provide insight into why age is a major risk factor for severe COVID, the research team concluded.

The study finds that aging is associated with impaired viral clearance, dysregulated immune signaling, and persistent and potentially pathologic activation of pro-inflammatory genes and proteins.

These differences raise the possibility that older adults with severe COVID-19 may respond differently, and perhaps more favorably, to immunomodulatory therapies directed at certain inflammatory cytokines.

 Hoang Van Phan et al, Host-microbe multiomic profiling reveals age-dependent immune dysregulation associated with COVID-19 immunopathology, Science Translational Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj5154

An earthquake changed the course of the Ganges: Could it happen again?

A major earthquake 2,500 years ago caused one of the largest rivers on Earth to abruptly change course, according to a new study. The previously undocumented quake rerouted the main channel of the Ganges River in what is now densely populated Bangladesh, which remains vulnerable to big quakes. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Scientists have documented many river-course changes, called avulsions, including some in response to earthquakes.

It was not previously confirmed that earthquakes could drive avulsion in deltas, especially for an immense river like the Ganges.

The Ganges rises in the Himalayas and flows for some 1,600 miles, eventually combining with other major rivers including the Brahmaputra and the Meghna to form a labyrinth of waterways that empty into a wide stretch of the Bay of Bengal spanning Bangladesh and India. Together, they form the world's second-largest river system as measured by discharge. (The Amazon is first.)

Like other rivers that run through major deltas, the Ganges periodically undergoes minor or major course changes without any help from earthquakes. Sediments washed from upstream settle and build up in the channel, until eventually the river bed grows subtly higher than the surrounding flood plain.

At some point, the water breaks through and begins constructing a new path for itself. But this does not generally happen all at once—it may take successive floods over years or decades. An earthquake-related avulsion, on the other hand, can occur more or less instantaneously.

Part 1

In satellite imagery, the authors of the new study spotted what they say was probably the former main channel of the river, some 100 kilometers south of the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. This is a low-lying area about 1.5 kilometers wide that can be found intermittently for some 100 kilometers more or less parallel to the current river course. Filled with mud, it frequently floods, and is used mainly for rice cultivation.

Chamberlain and other researchers were exploring this area in 2018 when they came across a freshly dug excavation for a pond that had not yet been filled with water.

On one flank, they spotted distinct vertical dikes of light-colored sand cutting up through horizontal layers of mud. This is a well-known feature created by earthquakes: In such watery areas, sustained shaking can pressurize buried layers of sand and inject them upward through overlying mud. The result: literal sand volcanoes, which can erupt at the surface. Called seismites, here, they were 30 or 40 centimeters wide, cutting up through 3 or 4 meters of mud.

Further investigation showed the seismites were oriented in a systematic pattern, suggesting they were all created at the same time. Chemical analyses of sand grains and particles of mud showed that the eruptions and the abandonment and infilling of the channel both took place about 2,500 years ago.

Furthermore, there was a similar site some 85 kilometers downstream in the old channel that had filled in with mud at the same time. The authors' conclusion: This was a big, sudden avulsion triggered by an earthquake, estimated to be magnitude 7 or 8.
The quake could have had one of two possible sources, they say. One is a subduction zone to the south and east, where a huge plate of oceanic crust is shoving itself under Bangladesh, Myanmar and northeastern India. Or it could have come from giant splay faults at the foot of the Himalayas to the north, which are slowly rising because the Indian subcontinent is slowly colliding with the rest of Asia.
Part 2

A 2016 study led by Steckler shows that these zones are now building stress, and could produce earthquakes comparable to the one 2,500 years ago. The last one of this size occurred in 1762, producing a deadly tsunami that traveled up the river to Dhaka. Another may have occurred around 1140 CE.

The 2016 study estimates that a modern recurrence of such a quake could affect 140 million people. Large earthquakes impact large areas and can have long-lasting economic, social and political effects.
The Ganges is not the only river facing such hazards. Others cradled in tectonically-active deltas include China's Yellow River; Myanmar's Irrawaddy; the Klamath, San Joaquin and Santa Clara rivers, which flow off the U.S. West Coast; and the Jordan, spanning the borders of Syria, Jordan, the Palestinian West Bank and Israel.
Cascading hazards of a major Bengal basin earthquake and abrupt avulsion of the Ganges River, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47786-4
Part 3
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How things appear in your mind’s eye

Picture a rose.

Most people can easily distinguish between that image in their mind’s eye and an actual rose flower. Now researchers say that they’ve worked out how the brain draws this distinction and where in the brain the process happens.

According to a study in monkeys, the key part of the brain is the primary visual cortex, which is also involved in vision. The authors found that neurons in this region displayed a different activity pattern for images conjured up from memory compared with that for real-time visual input. They conclude that the primary visual cortex is crucial for recalling images stored in memory.

The study in monkeys suggests that neurons there display a different activity pattern when images are conjured up from memory compared with real-time vision. Some researchers say that other areas, such as the prefrontal cortex, are more likely to be the seat of the ‘mind’s eye’. “There’s a possibility that the actual memory encoding is happening elsewhere, and that what you’re seeing in the primary visual cortex is the downstream consequences’, say the experts.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk3953

Bacterial batteries harvest energy from soil

Researchers developed a bacteria-powered battery which harvests energy from microorganisms in the soil to recharge itself, with a prototype already rolled out in Brazil.

Data on conditions in the field are crucial to help farmers make informed decisions and achieve the best possible yields, but powering the sensors that provide such data can be problematic.

Inventors of this technology say their low-cost, “always-on”, sustainable device – named Bactery – can help overcome some of these barriers.

The device, with an anticipated cost of around £25 per unit (US$32), operates by using bacteria present in the soil to generate electricity.

The technology makes use of microorganisms called electrigens which are naturally present in the soil and generate electrons when they consume organic matter.

One barrier to scaling, according to the researchers, is that the operating environment around the plant roots must be anaerobic – oxygen-free – to prevent the free electrons from attaching to the oxygen, which would make electricity generation unfeasible.

Therefore, he says, the system is designed to work in conditions where the plant roots are submerged in water, ensuring an oxygen-free environment and facilitating the transport of electrons.

There is a need for anaerobic conditions around one of the electrodes.

You can either install the technology in environments that accommodate this, or semi-engineer the environment to minimise the dependence on moisture.

According to Bactery, the technology promises an “install and forget” functionality and has a usable lifespan of over 25 years.

https://www.scidev.net/global/news/bacterial-batteries-harvest-ener...

Astronomers see a massive black hole awaken in real time

In late 2019, the previously unremarkable galaxy SDSS1335+0728 suddenly started shining brighter than ever before. To understand why, astronomers have used data from several space and ground-based observatories, including the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), to track how the galaxy's brightness has varied. In a study out recently, they conclude that they are witnessing changes never seen before in a galaxy—likely the result of the sudden awakening of the massive black hole at its core.

Some phenomena, like supernova explosions or tidal disruption events—when a star gets too close to a black hole and is torn apart—can make galaxies suddenly light up. But these brightness variations typically last only a few dozen or, at most, a few hundreds of days. SDSS1335+0728 is still growing brighter today, more than four years after it was first seen to "switch on." Moreover, the variations detected in the galaxy, which is located 300 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, are unlike any seen before, pointing astronomers towards a different explanation.

The team tried to understand these brightness variations using a combination of archival data and new observations from several facilities, including the X-shooter instrument on ESO's VLT in Chile's Atacama Desert. Comparing the data taken before and after December 2019, they found that SDSS1335+0728 is now radiating much more light at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The galaxy also started emitting X-rays in February 2024.

The most tangible option to explain this phenomenon is that we are seeing how the core of the galaxy is beginning to show  activity. If so, this would be the first time that we see the activation of a massive black hole in real time.

Part 1

Massive black holes—with masses over one hundred thousand times that of our sun—exist at the center of most galaxies, including the Milky Way.

These giant monsters usually are sleeping and not directly visible. In the case of SDSS1335+0728, scientists were able to observe the awakening of the massive black hole, which suddenly started to feast on gas available in its surroundings, becoming very bright.
This process has never been observed before.
Follow-up observations are still needed to rule out alternative explanations. Another possibility is that we are seeing an unusually slow tidal disruption event, or even a new phenomenon. If it is in fact a tidal disruption event, this would be the longest and faintest such event ever observed.

SDSS1335+0728: The awakening of a ∼ 10⁶M⊙ black hole, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2024). (PDF)

Part 2