Eastern equine encephalitis

Most people infected with eastern equine encephalitis don't develop symptoms, but some can come down with fever or swelling of the brain and about one third of people infected die.

 It is caused by a virus and is not very common around the world. The virus typically spreads in certain swamps.

West Nile virus

About 2 in 10 people infected with West Nile virus develop symptoms, which can include fever and swelling of the brain. About 1 in 10 people who develop severe symptoms die. 

Malaria

Malaria infected nearly 250 million people globally in 2022 and killed more than 600,000, mostly children. It is caused by a parasite carried by mosquitoes and mainly infects people in tropical regions, especially Africa. A vaccination campaign has been launched in recent months that health officials hope will help reduce cases and deaths.

Dengue

Also known as "break-bone fever" because it can be so painful, dengue is becoming more common. The World Health Organization says that about half the world's population is at risk of getting the disease, and there are 100 million to 400 million infections every year. Not everyone gets symptoms, which can include fever, severe headaches and pain in the muscles and joints.

Source: News agencies

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How mindset could affect the body's response to vaccination

In a recent study, researchers found that beliefs and assumptions people have about COVID-19 vaccines seemed to influence their vaccination experience—including side effects and, in some cases, immune response.

While most people can appreciate that vaccination is an amazing achievement, their enthusiasm might falter when it comes time to schedule and receive their own. And new research suggests that might influence how the vaccine affects them.

Researchers studied the effects of different types of positive and negative mindsets regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

Their work, published in the journal Brain, Behavior & Immunity—Health, suggests that a positive mindset is associated with more positive outcomes, such as less stress and side effects, better mood, and possibly even better immune response.

*Details of the findings include: All positive vaccine-related mindsets predict lower anxiety on the day of the appointment, and lower stress and sadness—and more happiness—in the days around vaccination.

*A positive mindset about the efficacy of the vaccine and how the body will respond to vaccination were linked to fewer negative physical side effects.

*The vaccine mindset that side effects indicate "the vaccine is working" was associated with better immune response—specifically, higher antibodies six months later.

Many people will be surprised by these findings, but they shouldn't be," said the authors. Our brains are connected to every physiological system in our bodies, and we know from decades of previous research on placebo effects and psychoneuroimmunology that our mindsets can influence physiological outcomes, including the immune system.

Darwin A. Guevarra et al, Examining the association of vaccine-related mindsets and post-vaccination antibody response, side effects, and affective outcomes, Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100818

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Some bats are surviving and thriving with blood sugar levels that would be lethal for other mammals

Humans must regulate blood sugar concentrations to stay healthy and to fuel our cells. Too little or too much can cause serious health complications, and high blood sugar is a hallmark of the metabolic condition, diabetes. New research  may enable potential solutions to metabolic disease by turning to evolution and to bats.

Published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the study reports the highest naturally occurring blood sugar concentrations in mammals ever observed, a finding that suggests bats have evolved strategies to survive, and even thrive, with this extreme trait.

This new study  reports blood sugar levels that are the highest we have ever seen in nature—what would be lethal, coma-inducing levels for mammals, but not for bats.

Thirty million years ago, the Neotropical leaf-nosed bat survived solely on insects. Since then, these bats have diversified into many different species by changing what they eat. From insects, different lineages now specialize in diets including fruits, nectar, meat, and everything in between—even just blood.

The new study reports the highest naturally occurring blood sugar concentrations in mammals ever observed, a finding that suggests bats have evolved strategies to survive, and even thrive, with this extreme trait. Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Part 1

Looking to animals that have existed for millions of years allows us to start to catalog changes that have happened over evolution. What makes Neotropical leaf-nosed bats so unique to study is that this group is comprised of many different species with very diverse diets, making it feasible to find answers about how diet evolves. The hope is that we can extend this understanding to other mammals, including humans, where there may be ways to learn how to better protect our own health.
To uncover how bats diversified their diets, the research team traveled to the jungles of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean to conduct fieldwork over several years. These catch-and-release expeditions were focused on performing glucose tolerance tests—measuring the concentration of sugar in blood—on nearly 200 wild-caught bats across 29 species after a single feeding of one of three types of sugars associated with diets of insects, fruits, or nectar.
They observed various ways sugar is assimilated—absorbed, stored and used in the body—and how this process has become specialized due to different diets.
The mechanism for maintaining blood sugar levels within a narrow, healthy range is called glucose homeostasis, which is typically regulated by the hormone insulin and is what goes awry in diabetes. Different species of leaf-nosed bats reveal a spectrum of adaptations to glucose homeostasis, ranging from changes in intestinal anatomy to genetic alterations for proteins that transport sugar from blood to cells.
Fruit bats have honed their insulin signaling pathway to lower blood sugar. On the other extreme, nectar bats can tolerate high blood glucose levels, similar to what is observed in people with unregulated diabetes. They have evolved a different mechanism, and it does not seem to depend on insulin.
Although precisely how nectar bats are managing glucose is still under investigation, the researchers found potential clues for alternative metabolic strategies for glucose regulation. Bats with sugar-rich diets were observed to have longer portions of their intestines and to have intestinal cells with greater surface areas for absorbing nutrients from food, compared to bats with other diets. In addition, nectar bats, separate from fruit bats, have a continual expression of a gene responsible for sugar transport, a trait also observed in a species of hummingbird.
Part 2

This study establishes extremely important resources for the field.
It provides not only metabolic characteristics of various bat species with different diets, but also their intestinal morphology, and candidate genomic regions and protein structural differences that could be driving dietary adaptations.
The datasets will fuel future research that aims to differentiate mammalian dietary differences and could progress the development of novel therapeutics for a variety of metabolic diseases in humans.

Oh yes, if that happens, you can eat your favourite sweets or ice creams without thinking about any health consequences!

Sugar assimilation underlying dietary evolution of Neotropical bats, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02485-7

Part 3

Scientists discover a  global electric field on Earth

Using observations from a NASA suborbital rocket, an international team of scientists, for the first time, has successfully measured a planet-wide electric field thought to be as fundamental to Earth as its gravity and magnetic fields.

Known as the ambipolar electric field, scientists first hypothesized over 60 years ago that it drove how our planet's atmosphere can escape above Earth's North and South Poles. Measurements from the rocket, NASA's Endurance mission, have confirmed the existence of the ambipolar field and quantified its strength, revealing its role in driving atmospheric escape and shaping our ionosphere—a layer of the upper atmosphere—more broadly.

Understanding the complex movements and evolution of our planet's atmosphere provides clues not only to the history of Earth but also gives us insight into the mysteries of other planets and determining which ones might be hospitable to life. A research paper on this topic is published in the journal Nature.

Part 1

Since the late 1960s, spacecraft flying over Earth's poles have detected a stream of particles flowing from our atmosphere into space. Theorists predicted this outflow, which they dubbed the "polar wind," spurring research to understand its causes.

Some amount of outflow from our atmosphere was expected. Intense, unfiltered sunlight should cause some particles from our air to escape into space, like steam evaporating from a pot of water. But the observed polar wind was more mysterious. Many particles within it were cold, with no signs they had been heated—yet they were traveling at supersonic speeds.

Something had to be drawing these particles out of the atmosphere.

Scientists suspected that a yet-to-be-discovered electric field could be at work.

The hypothesized electric field, generated at the subatomic scale, was expected to be incredibly weak, with its effects felt only over hundreds of miles. For decades, detecting it was beyond the limits of existing technology. In 2016, researchers got to work inventing a new instrument they thought was up to the task of measuring Earth's ambipolar field.

The team's instruments and ideas were best suited for a suborbital rocket flight launched from the Arctic. In a nod to the ship that carried Ernest Shackleton on his famous 1914 voyage to Antarctica, the team named their mission Endurance. The scientists set a course for Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago just a few hundred miles from the North Pole and home to the northernmost rocket range in the world.

Svalbard is the only rocket range in the world where you can fly through the polar wind and make the measurements that 're needed.

On May 11, 2022, Endurance launched and reached an altitude of 477.23 miles (768.03 kilometers), splashing down 19 minutes later in the Greenland Sea. Across the 322-mile altitude range where it collected data, Endurance measured a change in electric potential of only 0.55 volts.

A half a volt is almost nothing—it's only about as strong as a watch battery. But that's just the right amount to explain the polar wind.

Hydrogen ions, the most abundant type of particle in the polar wind, experience an outward force from this field 10.6 times stronger than gravity.

"That's more than enough to counter gravity—in fact, it's enough to launch them upwards into space at supersonic speeds.

Heavier particles also get a boost. Oxygen ions at that same altitude, immersed in this half-a-volt field, weigh half as much. In general, the team found that the ambipolar field increases what's known as the "scale height" of the ionosphere by 271%, meaning the ionosphere remains denser to greater heights than it would be without it.

It's like this conveyor belt , lifting the atmosphere up into space.

Endurance's discovery has opened many new paths for exploration. The ambipolar field, as a fundamental energy field of our planet alongside gravity and magnetism, may have continuously shaped the evolution of our atmosphere in ways we can now begin to explore. Because it's created by the internal dynamics of an atmosphere, similar electric fields are expected to exist on other planets, including Venus and Mars.

Any planet with an atmosphere should have an ambipolar field. Now that we've finally measured it, we can begin learning how it's shaped our planet as well as others over time.

Glyn A. Collinson et al, Earth's ambipolar electrostatic field and its role in ion escape to space, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07480-3

Part 2

 New brain mechanism uncovered

Researchers have discovered how two brain areas, the neocortex and the thalamus, work together to detect discrepancies between what animals expect from their environment and actual events. These prediction errors are implemented by selective boosting of unexpected sensory information. These findings enhance our understanding of predictive processing in the brain and could offer insights into how brain circuits are altered in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs).

The research, published in Nature, outlines how scientists at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL studied mice in a virtual reality environment to take us a step closer to understanding both the nature of prediction error signals in the brain as well as the mechanisms by which they arise.

Our brains constantly predict what to expect in the world around us and the consequences of our actions. When these predictions turn out wrong, this causes strong activation of different brain areas, and such prediction error signals are important for helping us learn from our mistakes and update our predictions. But despite their importance, surprisingly little is known about the neural circuit mechanisms responsible for their implementation in the brain.

To study how the brain processes expected and unexpected events, the researchers placed mice in a virtual reality environment where they could navigate along a familiar corridor to get to a reward. The virtual environment enabled the team to precisely control visual input and introduce unexpected images on the walls. By using a technique called two-photon calcium imaging, the researchers were able to record the neural activity of many individual neurons in the primary visual cortex, the first area in our neocortex to receive visual information from the eyes.

Previous theories proposed that prediction error signals encode how the actual visual input is different from expectations, but surprisingly the present study found no experimental evidence for this. Instead, it was discovered that the brain boosts the responses of neurons that have the strongest preference for the unexpected visual input.

The error signal we observe is a consequence of this selective amplification of visual information. This implies that our brain detects discrepancies between predictions and actual inputs to make unexpected events more salient.

To understand how the brain generates this amplification of the unexpected sensory input in the visual cortex, the team used a technique called optogenetics to inactivate or activate different groups of neurons. They found two groups of neurons that were important for causing the prediction error signal in the visual cortex: vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-expressing inhibitory interneurons in V1 and a thalamic brain region called the pulvinar, which integrates information from many neocortical and subcortical areas and is strongly connected to V1.

Part 1

But the researchers found that these two groups of neurons interact in a surprising way.

This work revealed that VIP neurons and pulvinar act synergistically together. VIP neurons act like a switchboard: When they are off, the pulvinar suppresses activity in the neocortex, but when VIP neurons are on, the pulvinar can strongly and selectively boost sensory responses in the neocortex. The cooperative interaction of these two pathways thus mediates the sensory prediction error signals in the visual cortex.

Sonja Hofer, Cooperative thalamocortical circuit mechanism for sensory prediction errors, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07851-w. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07851-w

Part 2

Researchers take inspiration from viruses to improve delivery of nucleic acid-based therapies to cancer cells

Researchers are developing a patent-pending platform technology that mimics the dual-layer structure of viruses to deliver nucleic acid (NA)-based therapies to targeted cancer cells.

 The carrier system is called LENN. 

LENN includes two protective layers. The inner shell condenses the nucleic acid; the outer shell protects it from the immune system so it can circulate freely and target cancer cells. The researchers are mimicking the strategies of viral particles that have been doing this effectively for millions of years.

The data shows that this agile nanocarrier is flexible in its targeting ability, cargo size and disassembly kinetics. It provides an alternative route for nucleic acid delivery using a biomanufacturable, biodegradable, biocompatible and highly tunable vehicle capable of targeting a variety of cells depending on their tumor-specific surface markers.

Nucleic acid-based therapies are revolutionizing biomedical research through their ability to control cellular functions at the genetic level. Therapies comprising several constructs are being explored to expand the druggable sites of the human genome.

Aayush Aayush et al, Development of an Elastin-like Polypeptide-Based Nucleic Acid Delivery System Targeted to EGFR+ Bladder Cancer Cells Using a Layer-by-Layer Approach, Biomacromolecules (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00165

Dark matter, dark matter, where are you?

New results from the world's most sensitive dark matter detector narrow down its characteristics, edging closer to unraveling one of the biggest mysteries of the universe.

LZ is intricately and innovatively designed to find direct evidence of dark matter—a mysterious invisible substance thought to make up most of the mass of the universe. Dark matter is particularly challenging to detect, as it does not emit or absorb light or any other form of radiation.

The LZ detector tries to capture the very rare and very faint interactions between dark matter and its 7-tonne liquid xenon target. To do this, LZ must be carefully and delicately calibrated and any background noise removed so the experiment can be perfectly tuned to observe these interactions.
These theorized elementary particles interact with gravity, which confirms the existence of dark matter in the first place, and possibly through a new weak interaction too.

This means WIMPs are expected to collide with ordinary matter—albeit very rarely and very faintly. This is why very quiet and very sensitive particle detectors are needed for WIMP detection.
At the center of the experiment is a large liquid xenon particle detector maintained at around -110oC, surrounded by photo-sensors. If a WIMP interacts with a xenon atom, a tiny amount of light should be emitted and the sensors will capture it. But in order to see these rare interactions, the team had to carefully remove as much as possible background radiation from the detector materials first.

But this is not enough and explains why LZ is operating around a mile underground. This shields it from cosmic rays, which bombard experiments at the surface of the earth. The detector and its cryostat sit inside a huge water tank to protect the experiment from particles and radiation coming from the laboratory walls.
For dark matter searches it is of vital importance to suppress any sources of background radiation, in particular neutrons and gamma rays. LZs veto detectors enable us to reject such processes and to gain the sensitivity to extremely rare dark matter interactions.

"Finally, LZ made sure that the liquid xenon itself is as pure as possible by carefully removing a key contaminant through a complex years-long process. Many complex systems had to come together for LZ to work, and these results show they are performing in seamless harmony.

Source: https://indico.uchicago.edu/event/427/overview

Part 2

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Why are cacti so diverse?

Cacti are among the most diverse plants, from the giant saguaro cactus that can grow up to 18 meters in height, all the way down to the tiny button cactus which is a few centimeters tall. A new study has shed light on the mystery as to why there are so many different types.

The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers pieced together all known published data on cacti to better understand the driving forces behind the huge diversity of cacti species found today and built the biggest ever evolutionary tree for cacti using thousands of DNA sequences.

The team looked at a large number of biological variables, such as plant size, soil sand content, geographical range, aridity and diurnal temperature range (the minimum and maximum temperatures experienced over 24 hours). They correlated this data with biodiversity and rates of evolution of new species.

The new study found that temperature range during the day, sand content in the soil and seasonal changes are the biggest drivers of evolution in cacti.

 Jamie B. Thompson et al, Identifying the multiple drivers of cactus diversification, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51666-2

Preterm delivery by cesarean section is a growing tendency in some parts of the world and entails risks for babies, study shows

In India people choose delivery dates based on astrologers' advice. 'Auspicious days', 'good muhurths' are making them go for C-section pre-term deliveries. 

Both C-section and preterm deliveries are bad says science!

Now Brazilian researchers have investigated the effects of delivery date manipulation to avoid the Carnival holiday. Their findings suggest that Brazilian women are giving birth too early, impairing the health of their babies.

The evidence shows that many cesarean sections scheduled to take place during the Carnival holiday in Brazil are moved up or postponed. Researchers at INSPER, a private higher education and research institution in São Paulo city, investigated the effects of this manipulation of birth timing on infant health.

Their findings are reported in an article published in the journal Health Economics.

According to the article, postponement leads to an increase in gestational age and a reduction in neonatal mortality, while earlier delivery than scheduled entails a reduction in gestational age and birth weight, especially in high-risk pregnancies and at the lower end of the birth weight distribution. In net terms, the Carnival holiday increases gestational age by 0.06 days on average and reduces neonatal mortality and early neonatal mortality by 0.30 and 0.26 per 1,000 live births respectively.

study shows that delivery dates are extensively manipulated in the vicinity of the Carnival holiday. This is done by rescheduling C-sections, and mainly involves less vulnerable women with higher levels of schooling.

Part 1

Women with higher levels of educational attainment tend to move delivery up in order to avoid the holiday, she explained, adding that this decision, which prioritizes the convenience of both mother and obstetrician, artificially shortens the pregnancy and may put the baby at risk.

Although the study focused on the Carnival period, Melo believes the tendency to opt for an earlier delivery is general and not confined to holidays.

The WHO recommends at least 39 weeks for a healthy pregnancy.

The authors of the article stress the need for public policy to limit preterm deliveries without medical justification in order to minimize the risks associated with premature birth and low birth weight.

Footnotes: 

1. https://www.newindianexpress.com/hyderabad/2017/Feb/11/c-sections-f...(measure%20of%20time).

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Carolina Melo et al, The effect of birth timing manipulation around carnival on birth indicators in Brazil, Health Economics (2024). DOI: 10.1002/hec.4858

Part 2

Social media skin tips debunked

With an endless feed of influencers, doctors and everyday people giving skincare advice, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. Dermatologists now are breaking down some of the most prominent social media skincare claims that can be simply ineffective or even dangerous.

Social media often encourages short, catchy tips rather than comprehensive, personalized advice. Even if an account is run by a board-certified dermatologist, social media advice can sometimes be overly simplified or generalized. Individual skin needs and conditions vary greatly, and what works for one person might not be suitable for another, say these experts.

Claim 1:  All adolescents need a product-intensive skincare regimen

With social media accessible to all ages, it is easy to find social media content directed at children and teens that make it seem like an intensive skin regimen is necessary for kids. However, using anti-aging products at a young age might be unnecessary and could potentially irritate kids' skin. Younger skin typically does not require advanced treatments, and overuse of certain products can disrupt its natural balance.

Children may benefit from using products formulated for sensitive skin, which are free from harsh chemicals and fragrances, and some children may require products specifically designed to address acne.

A recommended skincare routine is the same as one for most adults—a gentle cleanser to remove dirt and oil followed by a non-comedogenic moisturizer to keep the skin hydrated and finished with a daily use of sunscreen to protect from ultraviolet (UV) damage.

Claim: You can skip sunscreen

Baylor dermatologists stress that skipping sunscreen is not advisable. Sunscreens are defined by whether they have physical or chemical agents to protect against UV rays, which can lead to skin cancer.

Physical sunscreens, either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, act as a physical barrier that reflects and scatters UV rays away from the skin, while chemical sunscreens contain carbon-based compounds such as avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, octinoxate and others to absorb UV rays and convert them into heat, which is then released from the skin.

Some patients may have sensitive skin that could be agitated by certain sunscreens or reservations about the effects of chemical sunscreen on the skin; however, Visiting a board-certified dermatologist will help patients find the right sunscreen and answer questions patients may have about sunscreens.

Part1

Claim: Darker skin means no sunburn
While melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color, provides some natural protection against harmful rays, it is not a complete barrier against UV damage. Populations with darker skin can and do get sunburned, though it may take longer exposure to the sun compared to those with lighter skin. Although sunburn on darker skin might not always be as visibly red, a person will still experience pain and peeling. If left unprotected, people with darker skin will still experience premature aging, sunburn and an increased risk of skin cancer.

Claim: Toothpaste clears up acne
It is suggested that toothpaste can dry up pimples and other acne spots and make them disappear; however, it is not a recommended or effective treatment. Different toothpastes contain different types of ingredients that can irritate the skin, cause dryness and potentially make acne worse. But sticking to over-the-counter treatments that contain acne-fighting ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid that are safer and more effective.
Claim: Hair loss can be stopped or restored with different naturally occurring oils
Hair loss can be caused by numerous diseases, which is why it is important to see a dermatologist to uncover what it may be. There is anecdotal support that some oils can help with hair health, but there's limited scientific evidence backing their effectiveness for significant hair regrowth.
In one study, rosemary oil was shown to be effective in promoting hair growth after six months of use, and there are studies showing coconut oil can improve brittle hair, but there is limited evidence regarding its impact on hair growth.
Part2

"There is weaker evidence for castor oil improving hair quality by increasing hair luster, and no strong evidence supporting its use for hair growth. Argan oil, or Moroccan oil, also does not have any significant evidence to improve hair growth or quality."

These oils might help with overall scalp health but are not substitutes for proven treatments prescribed by dermatologists.

Hair loss treatment is dictated by the type of hair loss. For the most common type of hair loss, pattern alopecia, or androgenetic alopecia, minoxidil is an over-the-counter topical treatment approved by the FDA for hair regrowth for both men and women. Platelet-rich-plasma can also be performed by dermatologists, which can help in certain hair-loss diseases. Hair transplants are a surgical option for more permanent results.

"Eating a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals is essential for hair health.
Practicing stress-reducing activities such as meditation and regular physical activity, as well as getting enough sleep are all important for a healthy scalp. Other important points are avoiding tight hairstyles, and harsh chemicals and treatments that can damage the hair and minimizing the use of heat styling tools like blow dryers, curling irons and straighteners.
Claim: Botox now means younger looking skin later
Botox is a type of neuromodulator that can prevent the formation of wrinkles that form from facial movements by temporarily paralyzing the muscles responsible for these movements. Starting Botox in your 20s might be a preventive measure to reduce the appearance of fine lines later in life; however, it's important to consider the cost, potential side effects and the fact that it's not a permanent solution.

Regular injections will be needed, and the long-term effects of early use are still being studied. Other non-cosmetic uses for Botox can be to treat medical conditions such as chronic migraines or excessive sweating.

Social media trends are endless. The key to healthy skin is consistency, simplicity and working with a dermatologist who can provide expert advice that is specific for your skin needs.

Social media provides immediate access to information and often features visually engaging content. People are drawn to it because it offers convenience and relatability. Navigating social media advice with a critical eye and a focus on evidence-based practices will help you make better-informed decisions about your skin, nail and hair care. Visiting a dermatologist will allow for a proper consultation for skin conditions.
Source: Baylor College of Medicine

Part3

Researchers map 50,000 of DNA's mysterious 'knots' in the human genome

Researchers have mapped 50,000 of DNA's mysterious "knots" in the human genome. The innovative study of DNA's hidden structures may open up new approaches for treatment and diagnosis of diseases, including cancer.

DNA is well-known for its double helix shape. But the human genome also contains more than 50,000 unusual knot-like DNA structures called i-motifs, researchers  have discovered.

Published recently in The EMBO Journal is the first comprehensive map of these unique DNA structures, shedding light on their potential roles in gene regulation involved in disease.

In a landmark 2018 study, the same  scientists were the first to directly visualize i-motifs inside living human cells using a new antibody tool they developed to recognize and attach to i-motifs. The current research builds on those findings by deploying this antibody to identify i-motif locations across the entire genome.

In this recent study, they mapped more than 50,000 i-motif sites in the human genome that occur in all three of the cell types they examined.

That's a remarkably high number for a DNA structure whose existence in cells was once considered controversial. These findings confirm that i-motifs are not just laboratory curiosities but widespread—and likely to play key roles in genomic function.

I-motifs are DNA structures that differ from the iconic double helix shape. They form when stretches of cytosine letters on the same DNA strand pair with each other, creating a four-stranded, twisted structure protruding from the double helix.

The researchers found that i-motifs are not randomly scattered but concentrated in key functional areas of the genome, including regions that control gene activity.

They discovered that i-motifs are associated with genes that are highly active during specific times in the cell cycle. This suggests they play a dynamic role in regulating gene activity.

They  also found that i-motifs form in the promoter region of oncogenes, for instance the MYC oncogene, which encodes one of cancer's most notorious 'undruggable' targets. This presents an exciting opportunity to target disease-linked genes through the i-motif structure.

The widespread presence of i-motifs near these 'holy grail' sequences involved in hard-to-treat cancers opens up new possibilities for new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. It might be possible to design drugs that target i-motifs to influence gene expression, which could expand current treatment options.

Human genomic DNA is widely interspersed with i-motif structures, The EMBO Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00210-5

Fluid 'stickiness' in female reproductive tract could influence fertility

In a study providing important new insights into the development of the female reproductive tract and fertility, researchers have revealed how the thickness of fluid surrounding the egg can impact the cellular structure of the fallopian tube and how well the egg or embryo travels along it.

Published in Nature Communications, the Monash University study sheds light on how variations in the "stickiness" or viscosity of the fluid in the female reproductive tract influence how cells are modified to facilitate the transport of eggs for fertilization.

This study highlights the potential for new treatments that could mimic or modify the natural stickiness of fluids in the reproductive system, offering hope for advancements in fertility therapies.

When the fluid is thicker, the extra resistance causes the cells to change their behavior. Some cells start growing tiny hair-like structures called cilia, which help move things like eggs along the reproductive tract. The thicker the fluid, the more cilia these cells produce, and the more coordinated their movements become. This coordinated beating pattern can facilitate the formation of metachronal waves, essential for the transport of eggs and embryos.

The findings suggest that the natural stickiness of fluid in our bodies could play a key role in processes like fertilization.

The study suggests that the elevated viscosity at certain stages of the menstrual cycle could be a natural mechanism to enhance the formation and coordination of cilia, thus facilitating fertilization. This important aspect of natural fertilization and the role of higher viscosity fluid in the reproductive tract may need more careful evaluation as part of infertility diagnosis and assisted reproduction practices.

It provides insights into how the viscosity (thickness, stickiness) of extracellular fluid influences the behavior of epithelial cells lining the fallopian tubes and could be key to understanding and potentially treating fertility issues.

Melati S. Abdul Halim et al, Fallopian tube rheology regulates epithelial cell differentiation and function to enhance cilia formation and coordination, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51481-9

Nanoplastics put stress on trees and impair photosynthesis

It is well known that more and more plastic waste is ending up in soil and bodies of water. Researchers are particularly concerned about tiny micro- and nano-sized particles. It remains unclear how and to what extent they are able to enter living organisms—and what effect they may have on metabolism.

Researchers now been able to show how trees take up nanoplastics contained in water through their roots. They have demonstrated for the first time that this has a negative effect on photosynthesis. 

The team then added different concentrations of model metal-doped nanoplastics to the water and analyzed the content of plastic particles in different parts of the trees at varying intervals. They also determined photosynthesis activity throughout the study, which has now been published in Environmental Science: Nano.

Within just a few weeks, the researchers were able to detect 1 to 2 milligrams of nanoplastics per gram of plant material in the roots. The plastic content was around 10 to 100 times lower in the trunks, leaves and needles.

There were no significant differences between the two tree species.

The researchers also succeeded in proving that nanoplastics in the leaves and needles can affect important physiological processes. Their measurements showed that the effectiveness of photosynthesis in the wild service tree decreased by a third within two weeks, and in the Norway spruce by about 10% within four weeks—in each case they were compared with trees growing in water without the addition of nanoplastics.

The result indicated that some of the energy from sunlight is no longer used for photosynthesis, but is instead dissipated as heat. This is a typical stress reaction in trees.

Maria Elvira Murazzi et al, Uptake and physiological impacts of nanoplastics in trees with divergent water use strategies, Environmental Science: Nano (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D4EN00286E

How star fish perform Autotomy - the ability of an animal to detach a body part to evade predators.

Researchers have made a discovery about how starfish manage to survive predatory attacks by shedding their own limbs. The team has identified a neurohormone responsible for triggering this remarkable feat of self-preservation. The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

Autotomy, the ability of an animal to detach a body part to evade predators, is a well-known survival strategy in the animal kingdom. While lizards shedding their tails are a familiar example, the mechanisms behind this process remain largely mysterious.

Now, scientists have unveiled a key piece of the puzzle. By studying the common European starfish, Asterias rubens, they identified a neurohormone akin to the human satiety hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK), as a regulator of arm detachment.

Furthermore, the scientists propose that when this neurohormone is released in response to stress, such as a predator attack, it stimulates the contraction of a specialized muscle at the base of the starfish's arm, effectively causing it to break off.

Remarkably, starfish possess incredible regenerative abilities, allowing them to grow back lost limbs over time. Understanding the precise mechanisms behind this process could hold significant implications for regenerative medicine and the development of new treatments for limb injuries.

Discovery of a neuropeptide that acts as an autotomy-promoting factor, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.003. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(24)01079-0

Scientists discover how the body's killer cells attack cancer

Scientists are on the verge of a cancer breakthrough after working out how the body's immune system targets cells devastated by the disease.

A new study has discovered that our natural killer cells, from the immune system which protect against disease and infections, instinctively recognize and attack a protein that drives cancer growth. The experts say that by hijacking this protein, known as XPO1, they may be able to activate more killer cells to destroy the disease.

These findings actually show how our body's immune system recognizes and attacks these cancer cells.

Killer cells are an emerging form of immunotherapy that shows huge promise. They don't attack healthy tissue in the way chemotherapy and other immunotherapies do, so are safer and have less side-effects than traditional forms of cancer treatment.

The XPO1 protein examined by the scientists is essential for normal cell function. However, in many cancers, it becomes overactive and allows malignant cells to multiply unchecked. The scientists found that a peptide—short chains of amino acids—derived from the XPO1 protein attracted the natural killer cells. This, they say, triggers the body's immune response against the cancerous cells.

Patients with cancer who had both active killer cells and high levels of XPO1 had significantly better survival rates. This holds true for a range of cancers including those with higher rates of death such as liver cancer, which has an average survival rate of only 18 months. As well as liver cancer, killer cell treatment in the future could be used to treat head and neck cancers, endometrial, bladder or breast cancer.

Matthew D. Blunt et al, The nuclear export protein XPO1 provides a peptide ligand for natural killer cells, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado6566

Women with endometriosis at greater associated risk of heart attack and stroke, research finds

According to research presented at ESC Congress 2024, women with endometriosis have a 20% greater risk of significant cardiac outcomes compared with women without endometriosis.

The study used Danish nationwide registries of all women with a diagnosis of endometriosis between 1977 and 2021. They were matched with women from the background population without endometriosis in a 1:4 ratio based on year of birth. The primary outcome was a composite of acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. The secondary outcomes were the individual components of the primary outcome, as well as arrhythmias, heart failure and mortality.

There were 60,508 women with endometriosis and 242,032 matched controls included in the analysis (median age, 37.3 years) who were followed for a median of 16 years and a maximum of 45 years.

Women with endometriosis had around a 20% increased risk of the composite endpoint of acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke compared with those without endometriosis (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14−1.23; adjusted HR 1.15; 95% CI 1.11−1.20). The 40-year cumulative incidence of the composite of acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke was 17.5% (95% CI 16.6−18.2%) and 15.3% (95% CI 15.0−15.7%) in women with and without endometriosis, respectively (p<0.0001).

When this was broken down to the individual components, women with endometriosis had around a 20% increased risk of ischemic stroke (adjusted HR 1.18; 95% CI 1.12−1.23) and around 35% increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (adjusted HR 1.35; 95% CI 1.31−1.40) compared with those without endometriosis. Moreover, women with endometriosis also had increased risk of arrhythmias (adjusted HR 1.21; 95% CI 1.17−1.25) and heart failure (adjusted HR 1.11; 95% CI 1.05−1.18) compared with those without endometriosis.

Growing evidence suggests there is a close relationship between endometriosis and the cardiovascular system and that they may share common disease pathways. 

Researchers suggest that women with endometriosis undergo CVD risk assessment, and it is now time for female-specific risk factors—such as endometriosis, but also gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia—to be considered in cardiovascular risk prediction models. 

Havers-Borgersen, E. Endometriosis, a prevalent disease, is associated with significant cardiac disease, esc365.escardio.org/ESC-Congress/sessions/11951

Trouble with trembling hands originates in the brain: Research IDs genetic variations associated with essential tremor

New research by the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) of Singapore has identified for the first time how gene variations cause changes in the brain that are linked to essential tremor—a common condition that causes uncontrollable shaking of the hands, such as when writing or holding items.

Essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders, affecting more than 60 million people worldwide. More than half of the total diagnosed cases have a family history of tremor, and those with a parent or sibling with essential tremor are nearly five times more likely to have the condition.

Hand tremor affects both the young and the old. It is not only socially embarrassing but impacts one's quality of life. Some patients also develop voice and head tremor. While some medical conditions can cause tremors, scientists are still trying to understand the underlying mechanism. 

The NNI study, which was published in the journal Movement Disorders, used brain MRI scans and genetic data of more than 33 000 adults to identify genetic variations associated with essential tremor and their links with structural changes in the brain.

The team identified genes related to differences in specific parts of the brain involved in tremor. For example, there is a specific set of genes that are related to a thinner cortex (outer region of the brain) and a smaller cerebellum (hind brain), the part of the brain involved in balance and movement.

The study also identified how these genetic variations affect the brain at the cellular pathway level, revealing new potential drug targets to treat the condition.

Normally, the body is able to dispose of faulty proteins, but scientists found that this 'quality control' system is faulty in tremor-related parts of the brain. This may affect cell function and disrupt the flow of messages along a key neural pathway between the cerebellum, thalamus and motor cortex, and result in uncontrollable shaking of the hands.

Thomas Welton et al, Association of Gene Expression and Tremor Network Structure, Movement Disorders (2024). DOI: 10.1002/mds.29831

The physics of fish hearing

Computer Scientists  show evidence That Heat Destroys Quantum Entanglement

Scientists discover a new cardiovascular risk factor and identify a drug able to reduce its effects

To the known risk factors for cardiovascular disease—high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, overweight and obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity—a new one has to be added, clonal hematopoiesis. This condition is triggered by acquired mutations in blood stem cells and was already known to be associated with an elevated cardiovascular risk.

However, until now it was uncertain if clonal hematopoiesis was a cause or consequence of cardiovascular disease.

Now, a new study published in Nature Medicine and carried out by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) resolves this critical debate by establishing clonal hematopoiesis as a new risk factor for atherosclerosis—the formation of lesions in the arterial wall that underlies most cardiovascular disorders.

In a second study, published in the European Heart Journal, the CNIC scientists propose the ancient medication colchicine as the central plank of personalized strategies to alleviate the effects of clonal hematopoiesis associated with acquired mutations in the TET2 gene. The results of these important studies were presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in London, UK.

An adult person produces hundreds of thousands of blood cells every day. This high rate of cell division unavoidably entails the accumulation of DNA mutations in the dividing cells. These mutations are known as somatic mutations, and are acquired, not inherited.

Although most somatic mutations are innocuous, some give the affected cells a competitive advantage that allows them to expand and progressively accumulate, generating clonal populations of mutated blood cells, a phenomenon known as clonal hematopoiesis.

These mutations had already been proposed as a possible risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Some earlier studies suggested that somatic mutations linked to clonal hematopoiesis contribute directly to cardiovascular disease and thereby accelerating the development of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, others proposed that it is atherosclerosis that causes clonal hematopoiesis by increasing the proliferation of blood stem cells and thereby generating a higher proportion of mutated blood cells.

The Nature Medicine study clarifies the relationship between clonal hematopoiesis and atherosclerosis through a longitudinal analysis of data from the PESA-CNIC-Santander study. PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) is a prospective study of more than 4000 apparently healthy middle-aged participants who have undergone periodic examinations using advanced imaging technology since 2010 to detect the presence and progression of asymptomatic atherosclerosis. PESA is a collaborative initiative of the CNIC and Santander Bank.

The results of the study clearly demonstrate that participants who had mutations linked to clonal hematopoiesis at the start of the study were more likely to develop atherosclerosis in the following years. On the other hand, the presence and extent of atherosclerosis had no influence on the expansion of mutated blood cells.

"These results indicate that the mutations contribute to the development of atherosclerosis but are not a consequence of it.

Part1

However, it remains possible that other factors, such as genetic profile or lifestyle, might modulate the effects of clonal hematopoiesis, and future studies are planned to examine this possibility.

In the new study published in the European Heart Journal, the CNIC group, in partnership with the team led by Dr. Pradeep Natarajan at the Broad Institute in Boston, show that the adverse effects of TET2 mutations on cardiovascular health can be alleviated by treatment with the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine.

The  team demonstrated that administration of colchicine to animals with TET2 mutations slows the development of atherosclerosis to a rate similar to that seen in non-mutated animals. In parallel, the Broad Institute scientists showed that individuals with TET2 mutations and who had been treated with colchicine for other conditions had a lower risk of myocardial infarction than untreated patients with similar mutations.

Unidirectional association of clonal hematopoiesis with atherosclerosis development, Nature Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-03213-1

M A Zuriaga et al, Colchicine prevents accelerated atherosclerosis development in TET2-mutant clonal hematopoiesis, European Heart Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehad655.3264

Part 2

Astronomers spot merging galaxies from 12.8 billion years ago

Astronomers have spotted a pair of galaxies in the act of merging 12.8 billion years ago. The characteristics of these galaxies indicate that the merger will form a monster galaxy, one of the brightest types of objects in the universe.

These results, which have been detailed in The Astrophysical Journal, are important for understanding the early evolution of galaxies and black holes in the early universe.

Quasars are bright objects powered by matter falling into a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy in the early universe. The most accepted theory is that when two gas-rich galaxies merge to form a single larger galaxy, the gravitational interaction of the two galaxies causes gas to fall towards the supermassive black hole in one or both of the galaxies, causing quasar activity.

To test this theory, an international team of researchers led by Takuma Izumi used the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) radio telescope to study the earliest known pair of close quasars.
This pair was discovered by Yoshiki Matsuoka, at Ehime University in Japan, in images taken by the Subaru Telescope. Located in the direction of the constellation Virgo, this pair of quasars existed during the first 900 million years of the universe.

The pair is dim, indicating that the quasars are still in the early stages of their evolution. The ALMA observations mapped the host galaxies of the quasars and showed that the galaxies are linked by a "bridge" of gas and dust. This indicates that the two galaxies are in fact merging.

The ALMA observations also allowed the team to measure the amount of gas, the material for new star formation. The team found that the two galaxies are very rich in gas, suggesting that in addition to more vigorous quasar activity in the future, the merger will also trigger a rapid increase in star formation, known as a "starburst."

The combination of starburst activity and vigorous quasar activity is expected to create a super-bright object in the early universe known as a monster galaxy.

Home stress testing

Modern day life style increases stress. Ignoring these high stress levels can lead to serious health issues like depression and Alzheimer's disease. So what if checking your stress levels at home became the norm? Thanks to nanoparticles, this possibility is drawing closer.

In a new study published in the journal Talanta, a team of researchers have produced a new and improved detector that can accurately measure levels of cortisol—a stress biomarker in the blood.

This is a  cost-effective, easily reproducible, and easy-to-use point-of-care testing device that accurately measures cortisol levels.

The devices currently available generally contain electrodes that have poor stability in different and fluctuating conditions, such as changing pH and temperature. This gives the devices a short shelf life and makes them difficult to produce commercially.

In this study, researchers used iridium oxide nanoparticles to cover the silver layer. This modification improves the stability, sensitivity and reproducibility of cortisol detection in point-of-care devices.

Tong Ji et al, Iridium oxide-modified reference screen-printed electrodes for point-of-care portable electrochemical cortisol detection, Talanta (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.126776

Home stress testing

Modern day life style increases stress. Ignoring these high stress levels can lead to serious health issues like depression and Alzheimer's disease. So what if checking your stress levels at home became the norm? Thanks to nanoparticles, this possibility is drawing closer.

In a new study published in the journal Talanta, a team of researchers have produced a new and improved detector that can accurately measure levels of cortisol—a stress biomarker in the blood.

This is a  cost-effective, easily reproducible, and easy-to-use point-of-care testing device that accurately measures cortisol levels.

The devices currently available generally contain electrodes that have poor stability in different and fluctuating conditions, such as changing pH and temperature. This gives the devices a short shelf life and makes them difficult to produce commercially.

In this study, researchers used iridium oxide nanoparticles to cover the silver layer. This modification improves the stability, sensitivity and reproducibility of cortisol detection in point-of-care devices.

Tong Ji et al, Iridium oxide-modified reference screen-printed electrodes for point-of-care portable electrochemical cortisol detection, Talanta (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.126776

A warming climate can make running deadly

A normal routine of runners can suddenly become deadly because of excess heat.

The body temperatures can cross 105 - sometimes can get as high as 107 degrees (41.6 Celsius).

Heat stroke is a deadly illness associated with extreme heat, and climate change is worsening the risk. 

Exertional heatstroke happens during exercise when the body can't properly cool, rising above 104 degrees (40 Celsius) and triggering a central nervous system problem such as fainting or blacking out. It can be effectively treated by rapidly cooling a victim, but lots of races lack the resources or expertise to do it. And many runners, in a culture that esteems grit and suffering, may ignore conditions that put them at risk.

Muscles can break down, releasing proteins that damage kidneys. The lining of the digestive system may weaken and leak bacteria. Brain cells may die. It can damage organs and, ultimately, kill.

Races are   magnets for heatstroke. At several miles, they are long enough to give the body time to heat up dangerously and short enough that many runners are pushing hard. Odds are good that some who haven't trained to acclimate to hot weather, or show up dehydrated,  become simply more vulnerable.

And  problem is lots of races don't have the equipment or expertise to offer the right lifesaving care.

Getting victims into a tub of ice water is the best way to quickly cool them. And it needs to happen fast, with quick diagnoses to treat runners on the spot. Medical staff need rectal thermometers to gauge temperature when skin can be deceptively cool.

But based on over 3,000 cases researchers have tracked, if someone's temp gets under 104 within 30 minutes of the presentation of heatstroke, no one has ever died.

Racing may slightly increase the chances a runner will suffer a rare event like heatstroke or cardiac arrest.
Runners and athletes are at reduced risk of having not only cardiac arrest, but all forms of heart disease compared to non-runners.
Taking care will reduce these chances of falling into dangerous situations.

Part 2

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I wrote in my article "Intelligence Redefined" that apart from intelligence, other things like  ....  are equally  important for a person's academic success.

Now science has provided evidence for my argument.

 Non-cognitive skills: DNA-based analyses suggest a hidden key to academic success

A new Nature Human Behaviour study , has revealed that non-cognitive skills, such as motivation and self-regulation, are as important as intelligence in determining academic success. These skills become increasingly influential throughout a child's education, with genetic factors playing a significant role.

The research, conducted in collaboration with an international team of experts, suggests that fostering non-cognitive skills alongside cognitive abilities could significantly improve educational outcomes.

This new research challenges the long-held assumption that intelligence is the primary driver of academic achievement. The researchers found compelling evidence that non-cognitive skills—such as grit, perseverance, academic interest, and value attributed to learning—are not only significant predictors of success but that their influence grows stronger over time.
The study, which followed over 10,000 children from age 7 to 16 in England and Wales, employed a combination of twin studies and DNA-based analyses to examine the complex interplay between genes, environment, and academic performance.

One of the most striking findings is the increasing role of genetics in shaping non-cognitive skills and their impact on academic achievement. By analyzing DNA, researchers constructed a "polygenic score" for non-cognitive skills, essentially a genetic snapshot of a child's predisposition towards these skills.

They discovered that genetic effects associated with non-cognitive skills become increasingly predictive of academic achievement over the school years. In fact, their effect nearly doubles between the ages of 7 and 16. 

 By the end of compulsory education, genetic dispositions towards non-cognitive skills were equally as important as those related to cognitive abilities in predicting academic success.

Part 1

This finding challenges the traditional view of educational achievement as determined largely by intelligence. Instead, the study suggests that a child's emotional and behavioral makeup, influenced by both genes and environment, plays a crucial role in their educational journey.

While genetics undoubtedly contributes to non-cognitive skills, the study also emphasizes the importance of environment. By comparing siblings, researchers were able to isolate the impact of shared family environment from genetic factors.

The researchers found that while family-wide processes play a significant role, the increasing influence of non-cognitive genetics on academic achievement remained evident even within families. This suggests that children may actively shape their own learning experiences based on their personality, dispositions, and abilities, creating a feedback loop that reinforces their strengths.

The findings of this study have profound implications for education. By recognizing the critical role of non-cognitive skills, schools can develop targeted interventions to support students' emotional and social development alongside their academic learning.

Education system world wide has traditionally focused on cognitive development. It's time to rebalance that focus and give equal importance to nurturing non-cognitive skills. By doing so, we can create a more inclusive and effective learning environment for all students, say the researchers.

Genetic associations between noncognitive skills and academic achievement over development, Nature Human Behaviour (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01967-9

Part 2

Study finds people are consistently and confidently wrong about those with opposing views

Despite being highly confident that they can understand the minds of people with opposing viewpoints, the assumptions humans make about others are often wrong, according to new research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).

"Poorer representation of minds underpins less accurate mental state inference for out-groups" was published in Scientific Reports. The research explores the psychology behind why people come to the wrong conclusions about others, and suggests how society could start to change that.

Analysis of the data found that, even though participants were prepared to seek out as much—and often more—information about someone they disagreed with, their predictions were consistently incorrect, even after receiving further information about them.

Participants demonstrated a high degree of confidence in their answers, suggesting that participants thought they had a good understanding of the people in their out-group, despite this not being the case. In comparison, participants could consistently make accurate predictions about those in their in-group with less information.

The study shows that people have a good understanding of people who are similar to themselves and their confidence in their understanding is well-placed. However, our understanding of people with different views to our own is demonstrably poor. The more confident we are that we can understand them, the more likely it is that we are wrong. People have poor awareness of their inability to understand people that differ from themselves.

There are clear consequences to this lack of awareness, and we have seen countless real-world examples.

These misconceptions are often fueled by disinformation on social media or echoed back to them by others within their in-group.

While there is no quick fix in a real-world setting, if everyone interacted with a more diverse group of people, talked directly to them and got to know them, it's likely we would understand each other better. Conversations with people who hold different beliefs could help challenge our incorrect assumptions about each other.

Now do you understand why you think scientists are wrong? Because they see and talk about reality, not about your imaginations.

Bryony Payne et al, Poorer representation of minds underpins less accurate mental state inference for out-groups, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67311-3

How hunger influences aversive learning in fruit flies

Internal states that animals experience while they are thirsty, hungry, sleepy or aggressive have been found to be linked with the combined activity of various neuromodulators and neurotransmitters. These chemical messengers can drastically change the excitability and functional connectivity of neurons, which in turn plays a role in shaping the animals' behaviour.

Past studies on Drosophila (small fruit flies) showed that energy homeostasis in these insects is regulated by various neurohormones/modulators, which impact their physiology and behavior in different ways. These include insulin-like peptides (dILPs) and adipokinetic hormone (AKH), hormones with the same functions as insulin and glucagon in mammals, respectively.

Researchers recently carried out a study investigating how these hunger-associated neurohormones influence the learning of associations between stimuli and unpleasant or negative outcomes (i.e., aversive learning) in fruit flies. Their paper, published in Neuron, shows that the hormone AKH plays a key role in modulating aversive reinforcement learning.  

Hungry animals need compensatory mechanisms to maintain flexible brain function, while modulation reconfigures circuits to prioritize resource seeking.

In Drosophila, hunger inhibits aversively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons (DANs) to permit the expression of food-seeking memories. Multitasking the reinforcement system for motivation potentially undermines aversive learning.

Aversive learning is an evolutionary process through which animals start to associate specific stimuli with unpleasant outcomes, after repeated negative experiences following the exposure to these stimuli. This often results in behaviors aimed at trying to avoid the stimulus and the experiences associated with it.

The researchers found that chronic hunger mildly enhances aversive learning and that satiated-baseline and hunger-enhanced learning require endocrine adipokinetic hormone (AKH) signaling.

The researchers' experiments revealed that AKH, the fly equivalent of glucagon, sets baseline and hunger-enhanced levels of aversive learning, acting through specific neurons that release the neurotransmitter octopamine. This neurotransmitter modulates the inputs sent to dopaminergic neurons involved in reinforcement aversive learning.

The findings of this recent study contribute to the understanding of how hunger affects aversive learning in Drosophila, specifically highlighting the key role of the neurohormone AKH. In the future, it could inspire further research aimed at validating the patterns observed by the researchers across other animal models.

Eleonora Meschi et al, Compensatory enhancement of input maintains aversive dopaminergic reinforcement in hungry Drosophila, Neuron (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.035

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Electricity generated by earthquakes might be the secret behind giant gold nuggets

Scientists have long been fascinated by the formation of gold nuggets, often found nestled within quartz veins. New research led by Monash University geologists suggests that the process might be even more electrifying than we previously thought—literally.

Gold nuggets, prized for their rarity and beauty, have been at the heart of gold rushes for centuries.

The standard explanation by Geologists till now is that gold precipitates from hot, water-rich fluids as they flow through cracks in the Earth's crust. As these fluids cool or undergo chemical changes, gold separates out and becomes trapped in quartz veins.

While this theory is widely accepted, it doesn't fully explain the formation of large gold nuggets, especially considering that the concentration of gold in these fluids is extremely low.

The present research team tested a new concept, piezoelectricity. Quartz, the mineral that typically hosts these gold deposits, has a unique property called piezoelectricity—it generates an electric charge when subjected to stress. This phenomenon is already familiar to us in everyday items like quartz watches and BBQ lighters, where a small mechanical force creates a significant voltage. What if the stress from earthquakes could do something similar within the Earth?

To test this hypothesis, researchers conducted an experiment designed to replicate the conditions quartz might experience during an earthquake. They submerged quartz crystals in a gold-rich fluid and applied stress using a motor to simulate the shaking of an earthquake. After the experiment, the quartz samples were examined under a microscope to see if any gold had been deposited.

And the results were stunning!

The stressed quartz not only electrochemically deposited gold onto its surface, but it also formed and accumulated gold nanoparticles. Remarkably, the gold had a tendency to deposit on existing gold grains rather than forming new ones.

This is because, while quartz is an electrical insulator, gold is a conductor.

Once some gold is deposited, it becomes a focal point for further growth, effectively "plating" the gold grains with more gold.

This discovery provides a plausible explanation for the formation of large gold nuggets in quartz veins.

As the quartz is repeatedly stressed by earthquakes, it generates piezoelectric voltages that can reduce dissolved gold from the surrounding fluid, causing it to deposit.

Over time, this process could lead to the formation of significant gold accumulations, ultimately producing the massive nuggets that have captivated treasure hunters and geologists alike.

Part 1

In essence, the quartz acts like a natural battery, with gold as the electrode, slowly accumulating more gold with each seismic event.

This process could explain why large gold nuggets are so often associated with quartz veins formed in earthquake-related deposits.

This new understanding of gold nugget formation not only sheds light on a longstanding geological mystery but also highlights the interrelationship between Earth's physical and chemical processes.

Nature Geoscience (2024). www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01514-1

Part 2

85% of the matter in the universe is missing: But scientists are getting closer to finding it

Most of the matter in the universe is missing. Scientists  think around 85% of the matter in the cosmos is made of invisible dark matter, which has only been detected indirectly by its gravitational effects on its surroundings.

A team of some 250 scientists from around the world working on a dark matter experiment called LUX-ZEPLIN (or LZ)—report our latest findings from the long quest to discover exactly what this dark matter is made of.

 They have not yet found the elusive particles we believe dark matter consists of, but they have set the tightest limits yet on their properties. They have also shown our detector is working as expected—and should produce even better results in the future.

When astronomers look at the universe, they see evidence that the visible matter of stars, gas and galaxies is not all there is. Many phenomena, such as how fast galaxies spin and the pattern of the residual glow of the Big Bang, can only be explained by the presence of large amounts of some invisible substance—dark matter.

So what is this dark matter made of? We currently don't know of any kind of particle that could explain these astronomical observations.

The LZ experiment is located in an old goldmine about 1,500 meters below ground in South Dakota in the US. Placing the experiment deep underground helps to cut out as much background radiation as possible.

The experiment consists of a large double-walled tank filled with seven tons of liquid xenon, a noble gas chilled down to a temperature of 175 kelvin (–98°C).

If a dark matter particle smacks into a xenon nucleus, it should give off a tiny flash of light. Our detector has 494 light sensors to detect these flashes.
Of course, dark matter particles aren't the only things that can create these flashes. There is still some background radiation from the surroundings and even the materials of the tank and detectors themselves.

A big part of figuring out whether we are seeing signs of dark matter is disentangling this background radiation from anything more exotic. To do this, we make detailed simulations of the results we would expect to see with and without dark matter.

These simulations have been the focus of much of my part in the experiment, which began when I started my Ph.D. in 2015. I also developed detector monitoring sensors and was responsible for the integration and commissioning of the central detector underground, which began collecting data in 2021.
Part 2

Our latest results show no signs of dark matter. However, they let us rule out a lot of possibilities.

We found no traces of particles with masses above 1.6 × 10–26 kilograms, which is about 10-times as heavy as a proton.

These results are based on 280 days' worth of observations from the detector. Eventually, we aim to collect 1,000 days' worth—which will let us search for even more elusive potential dark matter particles.

If we're lucky, we might find dark matter turns up in the new data. If not, we have already begun to make plans for a next generation dark matter experiment. The XLZD (XENON-LUX-ZEPLIN-DARWIN) consortium is aiming to build a detector almost 10-times bigger that would allow us to trawl through even more of the space where these ubiquitous yet elusive particles may be hiding.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Part 3

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Curbing toxic metals in spinach and rice crops grown for baby food

Rice and spinach are staples for babies' and young children's diets, but toxic metals and metalloids found in those foods can cause severe health impacts.

In particular, heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, mercury, and metalloid arsenic could delay brain development in babies and young children.

In new research published in the academic journal Environmental Geochemistry and Health,  scientists have found that flooded rice fields tend to contain higher amounts of arsenic and lower amounts of cadmium. The drier those rice fields are, the lower the amounts of arsenic and the higher the amounts of cadmium. However, the higher cadmium is lower than the existing threshold for adverse health effects.

The findings could help establish a course of action for decreasing the levels of these contaminants in foods typically eaten by infants and children.

Crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat are grown in soils that are not very wet. So farmers water them to make sure the plants get the nutrients they need to grow, but never enough to fully flood them.

In contrast, rice is often grown in very wet, flooded soils. Oxygen that would normally reside in tiny pores in the soil gets lost very quickly and is replaced by water. The limited oxygen shifts the microorganisms in the soil, and those microorganisms start breathing with iron oxide minerals that give the soil a rusty orange color.

Arsenic likes to stick really tightly onto those iron oxides.

When the iron oxides are used by these organisms to breathe, they go from a solid mineral to a solution phase. You essentially dissolve them, and when you dissolve them, the arsenic that's stuck onto them goes into the water.  Once the arsenic is in the water, it can easily be absorbed by the rice roots and transported into the grain.

Scientists are trying to find an optimal irrigation management that minimized both arsenic and cadmium simultaneously.

Once they harvested the grain  scientists analyzed the amount of arsenic and cadmium in it and they  found that the more flooded the field, the more arsenic and less cadmium accumulated in the rice. By contrast, the drier the field, the more cadmium and less arsenic accumulated.

But, even under those drier conditions when there was more cadmium, the concentrations of cadmium in the grain were not of concern for human health.

Part 1

When the rice fields were flooded, and arsenic was taken up, the researchers noticed methanogenesis happening, which is when organisms in the soil produce the potent greenhouse gas methane and emit it into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the excess water reduced sulfate in the soil to sulfide, causing cadmium to precipitate out with the sulfide.

When they dried the soil out, the researchers decreased the levels of arsenic and methane. Sulfide in the soil was oxidized and became sulfate, which is no longer a solid phase, allowing cadmium to easily filter through and escape into the plant easily.

By drying out the soil, you can put the brakes on the microorganisms that breathe with iron oxides and with arsenic.

Then we actually increase the amount of cadmium because we oxidize the sulfide to sulfate. When it becomes sulfate, it's no longer a solid phase with the cadmium, and the cadmium can then be free.

Drying the soil out introduced oxygen into the soil pores, which slowed down the microorganisms that dissolve iron oxides and create methane and changed the chemistry.

Once you introduce oxygen, the iron oxides that dissolved are solid again.

What they found—one metal or metalloid increasing with the other decreasing depending on the level of moisture in the soil—presents a bit of a puzzle.

 researchers have also reported, in a review paper they published in the journal GeoHealth, that producers are willing to take any action needed to reduce levels of metals in their crops, but they need incentives, testing and education in order to do so.

Matt A. Limmer et al, Controlling exposure to As and Cd from rice via irrigation management, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s10653-024-02116-x

Angelia L. Seyfferth et al, Mitigating Toxic Metal Exposure Through Leafy Greens: A Comprehensive Review Contrasting Cadmium and Lead in Spinach, GeoHealth (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024GH001081

Part 2

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Researchers built an AI scientist
Machine-learning researchers have developed an ‘AI scientist’ that can perform the full cycle of research, from reading the existing literature on a problem and formulating hypotheses, to trying out solutions, writing a paper, and evaluating its own results. The output is not earth-shattering: the system can only do research in the field of machine learning, and it can’t do laboratory work. But the results feed into a debate amongst researchers about how AI fits into their work, says computational social scientist Jevin West. “It does force us to think [about] what is science in the twenty-first century — what it could be, what it is, what it is not.”

https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.06292?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_c...

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02842-3?utm_source=Live+...

Hydrogel developed for use in slowing or stopping early stages of osteoarthritis

A team of material engineers and orthopedic specialists affiliated with several institutions in China has developed a hydrogel for slowing or stopping the progression of osteoarthritis. Their research is published in the journal Advanced Materials.

Self-healing hydrogel microparticles: A smart solution for advanced wound care

Chronic diabetic wounds are prevalent in patients and are difficult to heal, presenting a significant medical challenge. The development of multifunctional hydrogel dressings with a well-designed morphology and structure can enhance their flexibility and effectiveness in wound management.

Researchers have developed a self-healing hydrogel dressing based on structural color microspheres for wound management. Their research is published in the journal Nano-Micro Letters.

These microspheres are composed of an inverse opal framework with photothermal responsiveness, constructed from methacrylated hyaluronic acid, methacrylated silk fibroin, and black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs), and further embedded in dynamic hydrogels.

The dynamic hydrogel filler is formed through the Knoevenagel condensation reaction between cyanoacetate and benzaldehyde-functionalized dextran (DEX-CA and DEX-BA). Notably, the composite microspheres can be freely applied and, by utilizing the BPQD-mediated photothermal effect and the thermoreversible stiffness change of the dynamic hydrogel, can adhere to each other under near-infrared irradiation.

In addition, the microspheres are co-loaded with melittin and vascular endothelial growth factor, with a release behavior that can be regulated through the same mechanism. Additionally, the drug release process can be effectively monitored through visual color changes. This microsphere system demonstrates ideal capabilities in controlled drug release and efficient wound management.

Researchers also  evaluated the in vivo wound healing efficacy of composite microspheres (CMPs) in a full-thickness chronic diabetic wound infection model.

Statistical analysis of wound closure areas and regenerated epithelial thickness revealed that the group treated with the dual-drug-loaded CMPs combined with near-infrared (NIR) irradiation exhibited superior wound healing outcomes, significantly outperforming other groups. These results suggest that the synergistic effects of NIR-controlled irradiation and the intelligent responsiveness of CMPs play a crucial role in enhancing wound healing.

 Li Wang et al, Self-Healing Dynamic Hydrogel Microparticles with Structural Color for Wound Management, Nano-Micro Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s40820-024-01422-4

Why do typhoons like to cluster? Researchers identify key weather patterns

This August, Japan and South Korea, particularly Japan, have experienced a dramatic surge in typhoon activity. From August 8 to August 13, within just six days, Typhoons Maria, Son-Tinh, Ampil, and Wukong consecutively formed over the waters east of Japan. Among them, Tropical Storm Maria caused record-breaking rainfall in parts of northern Japan, while just a few days later, Typhoon Ampil arrived during Japan's Obon holiday week, causing significant damage in Japan.

This sequence of storms is a striking example of a phenomenon called multiple tropical cyclone (MTC) formation, where several typhoons either occur at the same time or follow one another in quick succession. The region typically sees about five of these clustering events each year, and their combined impact can significantly increase disaster risks and cause extensive damage.

So, why do typhoons seem to group together?

A recent study  by researchers sheds light on this puzzling question. Their research, published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, explores the key weather patterns that contribute to this clustering of tropical cyclones.

Part 1

The researchers have identified several important weather patterns that make it more likely for typhoons to cluster:

Monsoon Trough: This pattern forms when the subtropical high pressure system interacts with the monsoon trough,. Typhoons often develop along the monsoon trough and its surrounding areas.
Confluence Zone: This occurs where different wind currents meet. Here, the southwesterly and southeasterly winds come together. Typhoons can form at this meeting point, influenced by surrounding high-pressure systems.
Easterly Waves: These are large, slow-moving waves of wind that travel from east to west. Typhoons often form along these easterly waves.
Monsoon Gyre: This pattern involves a large, spinning system of winds called a monsoon vortex. Typhoons can form within this spinning system" .

The study also looks into how these patterns create the right conditions for  typhoons to develop. For instance, the Monsoon Trough pattern is driven by certain wind and moisture conditions, while the other patterns rely on different atmospheric factors.

This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the predictability and early warning systems for these complex events.

 Yining Gu et al, Environmental Conditions Conducive to the Formation of Multiple Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific, Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s00376-024-3237-4

Part 2