Yeast chit-chat: How microorganisms communicate food shortages

To grow and survive, tiny organisms such as yeast must sometimes adapt their nutrient sources in response to changes in the environment. FMI researchers have now found that yeast cells communicate with each other to use less favorable nutrients if they foresee a shortage of their favorite food. This communication is facilitated by secreted molecules that interact with a protein in mitochondria, the cells' energy factories.

The findings reveal a crucial mechanism that allows microorganisms to choose the right menu. The research is published in The EMBO Journal.

Previous research had identified specific molecules called Nitrogen Signaling Factors (NSFs) as essential components of the mechanism that yeast cells use to communicate.

The researchers now found that NSFs interact directly with a mitochondrial protein involved in metabolism, maximizing growth in response to an imminent change in nutrient availability. The findings unveil a key communication mechanism that allows yeast cells to be frugal with food. Strategies for growth and survival are conserved across species, and yeast has served as a tremendous model organism.

The researchers  discovered that increasing NSFs levels lead to changes in the gene expression program of yeast cells, prompting them to switch to alternative nutrient sources.

Shin Ohsawa et al, Nitrogen signaling factor triggers a respiration-like gene expression program in fission yeast, The EMBO Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00224-z

Gut microbiome communities found to have enhanced resilience to drugs

Many human medications can directly inhibit the growth and alter the function of the bacteria that constitute our gut microbiome. Researchers have now discovered that this effect is reduced when bacteria form communities.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers compared a large number of drug-microbiome interactions between bacteria grown in isolation and those part of a complex microbial community. Their findings were recently published in the journal Cell.

For their study, the team investigated how 30 different drugs (including those targeting infectious or noninfectious diseases) affect 32 different bacterial species. These 32 species were chosen as representative of the human gut microbiome based on data available across five continents.

They found that when together, certain drug-resistant bacteria display communal behaviors that protect other bacteria that are sensitive to drugs. This "cross-protection" behavior allows such sensitive bacteria to grow normally when in a community in the presence of drugs that would have killed them if they were isolated.

Up to half of the cases where a bacterial species was affected by the drug when grown alone, it remained unaffected in the community.

The researchers then dug deeper into the molecular mechanisms that underlie this cross-protection. The bacteria help each other by taking up or breaking down the drugs. These strategies are called bioaccumulation and biotransformation respectively.

However, there is also a limit to this community strength. The researchers saw that high drug concentrations cause microbiome communities to collapse and the cross-protection strategies to be replaced by "cross-sensitization." In cross-sensitization, bacteria which would normally be resistant to certain drugs become sensitive to them when in a community—the opposite of what the authors saw happening at lower drug concentrations.

Just like the bacteria they studied, the researchers also took a community strategy for this study, combining their scientific strengths.

Sarela Garcia-Santamarina et al, Emergence of community behaviors in the gut microbiota upon drug treatment, Cell (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.037

Scientists clarify the neuronal basis of the mathematical concept of 'zero'

Despite its importance for mathematics, the neuronal basis of the number zero in the human brain was previously unknown. Researchers  have now discovered that individual nerve cells in the medial temporal lobe recognize zero as a numerical value and not as a separate category "nothing."

The results have now been published in the journal Current Biology.

The concept of the number zero has been central to the development of number systems and mathematics and is widely regarded as one of humanity's most important cultural achievements.

Unlike other numbers such as one, two or three, which represent countable quantities, zero means the absence of something countable and at the same time still has a numerical value.

In contrast to positive natural numbers, the concept of the number zero only emerged late in human history over the last two millennia. This is also reflected in childhood development, as children are typically only able to understand the concept of zero and associated arithmetic rules at around the age of six.

Number zero is a numerical value for neurons

In the experiments conducted , there was a numerical distance effect in which neurons reacted weaker, but measurably, also to the neighboring number one.

So at the neuronal level, the concept of zero is not encoded as a separate category 'nothing,' but as a numerical value integrated with other, countable numerical values at the lower end of the number line.

For Arabic numerals, however, this effect was not found at either the neural or behavioral level. From this, the researchers recognize the importance of symbolic representations, for example through Arabic numerals, for the integration of the number zero on the number line in the human brain.

Esther F. Kutter et al, Single-neuron representation of nonsymbolic and symbolic number zero in the human medial temporal lobe, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.041

Cognitive scientists reveal similarity between social and spatial navigation

How do people navigate social networks to understand and appreciate who knows what and who is connected to whom? With mental maps, according to a new study by researchers.

According to the researchers, the study showed for the first time that people create mental maps of the connections between acquaintances, friends, and friends of friends to navigate their social worlds. Social navigation, the team found, is similar to spatial navigation.

The cognitive process people use to navigate social networks appears to be similar to the cognitive process used by mice navigating a maze.

We know from decades of research that mice, and humans, build mental maps to understand their physical worlds. People seem to use maps to make sense of social environments as well.

Jae-Young Son et al, Replay shapes abstract cognitive maps for efficient social navigation, Nature Human Behaviour (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01990-w

Human and other primate hearts differ genetically, says study

A research  team  has shown how human and non-human primate hearts differ genetically. The study, published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, reveals evolutionary adaptations in human hearts and provides new insights into cardiac disease.

Humans are 98–99% genetically similar to chimpanzees. What then accounts for our differences? Over the years, researchers have shown that the regulation of gene expression—when, where, and by how many genes are switched on—is in large part responsible for our divergent evolutionary trajectories.

Now, researchers in the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences Lab  have unveiled surprising differences in gene expression in the hearts of humans and non-human primates. The research points to adaptations in the way genes are regulated that distinguish our hearts from those of our closest evolutionary relatives. It also serves as a warning against extrapolating research from animal hearts to human hearts.

One of the most surprising findings was how gene regulation in the human heart differs so much from other primates. In terms of anatomy, most mammalian hearts are similar. But we have many unique evolutionary innovations in terms of gene regulation or translation of proteins. 

The researchers found hundreds of genes and microproteins—tiny proteins that have been previously identified in human organs but whose function has mostly been a mystery—present in human hearts but not in the hearts of other primates, rats or mice. Many of these human genes and microproteins are also abnormally expressed in heart failure, which suggests they could play important roles in cardiac function and disease and may present new targets for therapy.

Jorge Ruiz-Orera et al, Evolution of translational control and the emergence of genes and open reading frames in human and non-human primate hearts, Nature Cardiovascular Research (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44161-024-00544-7

Emotion enhances memory for contextual details, research demonstrates

Researchers have demonstrated that emotion enhances memory for contextual details, challenging the view that emotion impairs the ability to remember such information.

Researchers demonstrated that the circumstances where you can prevent forgetting contextual details, which not only disrupts the status quo at the theoretical level, but also has practical implications about what you can do to control, channel and capitalize on the emotions' energy to remember better.

In emotional situations, people often focus more on the main subject—the crashed car, the yelling stranger, the crying child—and less on peripheral information. In three interconnected studies, the  researchers linked behavioural, attentional and brain imaging data to build a complete image of emotion's impact and account for this involuntary attention shift.

They found that emotion enhances the ability to retrieve contextual details.

In emotional situations that participants in the experiments accurately recalled, functional magnetic resonance imaging data showed evidence of crosstalk between emotion-processing and recollection-processing brain regions, boosting recollection of contextual details. This is contrary to the prevalent view that emotion impairs memory for these details by inhibiting recollection-processing brain regions.

Knowing how emotion impacts memories and how to manage them is a major step toward contextualizing memories, increasing well-being and alleviating clinical conditions like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Paul C. Bogdan et al, Reconciling opposing effects of emotion on relational memory: Behavioral, eye-tracking, and brain imaging investigations., Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (2024). DOI: 10.1037/xge0001625

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How painful is it to get an IUD? What to expect when getting an IUD, and how to prepare

Bleeding, intense cramping, even fainting: These are some of the experiences women are sharing across social media about IUDs—especially with the pain they feel during an insertion.

IUDs—short for intrauterine devices—have become an increasingly popular birth control option. But along with the growing use of the small T-shaped devices, there are increasing concerns from women about whether health care professionals are fully addressing patients'pain.

This prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update its guidelines regarding IUDs, advising doctors to tell patients about the possible pain and discuss pain relief options before putting in an IUD.

How painful is it really?

It depends, because everyone's pain tolerance is a bit different.

It's hard to know who's going to have more or less pain when having an IUD inserted.

There are three parts to the procedure that can typically cause pain. They include:

• Straightening the cervix: Your doctor will use a tool called a tenaculum to hold and straighten the cervix. This helps to make sure the IUD is placed correctly inside the uterus.
• Measuring the uterus: Your doctor will measure the length of the uterus with a small device called a sound. This tool goes through the cervix to the top of the uterus to find out its size.
• Placing the IUD: Finally, the IUD is placed at the top of the uterus. The strings are then trimmed, and the instruments are removed.

But experts say the pain shouldn't stop you from considering an IUD.

Hormonal IUDs have a variety of benefits such as shorter menstrual periods, lighter cramping, and not having to worry about an unintended pregnancy. They can also be used to treat endometriosis, anemia, and even prevent endometrial pre-cancer and cancer.

IUDs are as effective as getting your tubes tied in terms of prevention of pregnancy. They're really an investment that can last for up to eight to 10 years. And working with your doctor ahead of time can help make the experience more comfortable for you.

Part 1

Ways you can help limit your pain during the insertion:

Time your IUD insertion procedure to around your period. The cervix is more open when you're on your period, so there's less sensitivity to pain. If the timing does not work out, it is still possible to have an IUD placed at any time in the cycle.
Medications. Take 600–800 mg of ibuprofen before your appointment. Ibuprofen is often recommended because it's a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug that works specifically well on uterine tissue. Other options to ask your doctor about include a lidocaine numbing ointment or a lidocaine injection for the cervix, which can also decrease some of the pain. There are several networks of nerves supplying the uterus and cervix, which makes it difficult to completely numb the entire area with local anesthetics and eliminate all pain during an IUD insertion. But studies have shown that it may help with some of the pain during insertion. And depending on your situation, your doctor might also suggest an anti-anxiety medication before your insertion appointment.
Heat packs. Ask your doctor if a heat pack is available. Place this over your pelvis during the procedure to help ease the pain.
Other tips to prepare for the insertion procedure include:

Eating a meal before you come in.
Making sure you are hydrated.
Wearing comfy clothes.
Bringing a light snack for after the procedure.
Bringing a book or your phone to watch videos or listen to music. "This can take your mind off the process," Kuhn says.
Bringing or ask your doctor for pads for potential spotting afterwards.
Clearing your schedule for the day. The most painful part is during the 30 seconds when the IUD is being placed. But you may have some mild period-like cramping afterward and want to just be on the couch with a heating pack.

Source:  Rush University Medical Center

Part 2

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Octopuses Team Up With Fish to Hunt, And Will Punch Them if They Act Up

'Invisible forest' of phytoplankton thrives as ocean warms, study shows

An "invisible forest" of phytoplankton is thriving in part of our warming ocean, new research shows.

Phytoplankton are tiny drifting organisms that do about half of the planet's primary production (forming living cells by photosynthesis). The new study examined phytoplankton at the ocean surface and the subsurface—a distinct layer of water beneath—to see how climate variability is affecting them.

 The findings show these two communities are reacting differently. The paper is titled "Climate variability shifts the vertical structure of phytoplankton in the Sargasso Sea."

Over the last decade, the total biomass (living material) of subsurface phytoplankton has increased in response to warming.

Meanwhile, surface phytoplankton now has less chlorophyll—making it less green—but in fact, total biomass has remained stable.

Based on 33 years of data from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) in the Sargasso Sea, the findings also suggest the depth of the surface mixed-layer (region of turbulence at the surface of the ocean) has shallowed as the ocean rapidly warmed in the last decade.

It's important to understand these trends because phytoplankton are the foundation of the marine food web, and play a key role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

These findings reveal that deep-living phytoplankton, which thrive in low-light conditions, respond differently to ocean warming and climate variability compared to surface phytoplankton.

We typically rely on satellite observations to monitor phytoplankton, but the subsurface is hidden from satellite view.  But this study highlights the limitations of satellite observations, and underscores the urgent need for improved global monitoring of phytoplankton below what satellites can see. 

Climate variability shifts the vertical structure of phytoplankton in the Sargasso Sea, Nature Climate Change (2024).

How do rare genetic variants affect health? AI provides more accurate predictions

Whether we are predisposed to particular diseases depends to a large extent on the countless variants in our genome. However, particularly in the case of genetic variants that only rarely occur in the population, the influence on the presentation of certain pathological traits has so far been difficult to determine.

Researchers  have introduced an algorithm based on deep learning that can predict the effects of rare genetic variants.

The paper, "Integration of Variant annotations using deep set networks boosts rare variant testing," has been published in Nature Medicine .

The method allows persons with high risk of disease to be distinguished more precisely and facilitates the identification of genes that are involved in the development of diseases.

Every person's genome differs from that of their fellow human beings in millions of individual building blocks. These differences in the genome are known as variants. Many of these variants are associated with particular biological traits and diseases. Such correlations are usually determined using so-called genome-wide association studies.

But the influence of rare variants, which occur with a frequency of only 0.1% or less in the population, is often statistically overlooked in association studies.

Rare variants in particular often have a significantly greater influence on the presentation of a biological trait or a disease.

AI  can therefore help to identify those genes that play a role in the development of a disease and that can then point us in the direction of new therapeutic approaches.

More details can be found here:  Integration of Variant annotations using deep set networks boosts rare variant testing, Nature Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01919-z. www.nature.com/articles/s41588-024-01919-z

Preclinical studies suggest a drug-free nasal spray could ward off respiratory infections

A new study details how a nasal spray formulated by investigators may work to protect against viral and bacterial respiratory infections. Based on their preclinical studies, the researchers say the broad-spectrum nasal spray is long-lasting, safe, and, if validated in humans, could play a key role in reducing respiratory diseases and safeguarding public health against new threats.

The COVID pandemic showed us what respiratory pathogens can do to humanity in a very short time. That threat hasn't gone away. 

Influenza and COVID-19 infections cause thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of cases of severe disease every year. Milder infections cause significant discomfort, resulting in missed work or school.

Vaccines against these viruses can be beneficial, but they're not accepted by some.

 Masks are also helpful but aren't perfect, either—they can leak, and many people wear them improperly or choose not to wear them at all.

So we need new, additional ways to protect ourselves and reduce the transmission of the disease.

Most viruses enter our system through the nose. When we catch an airborne infection like the flu and COVID, we breathe out tiny droplets of fluids that contain the pathogen. Healthy people around us breathe in these pathogen-containing droplets, which attach inside their nose and infect the cells that line the nasal passageways.

The pathogen replicates and can be released back into the air when an individual who is sick, whether they know it or not, sneezes, coughs, laughs, sings, or even just breathes.

The new study details the research team's efforts to create a nasal spray to defend against airborne respiratory illness.

The spray, called Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray (PCANS) in the paper, was developed using ingredients from the FDA's Inactive Ingredient Database (IID), which have been previously used in approved nasal sprays, or from the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list of the FDA

The researchers developed a drug-free formulation using these compounds to block germs in three ways—PCANS forms a gel-like matrix that traps respiratory droplets, immobilizes the germs, and effectively neutralizes them, preventing infection.

The researchers developed the formulation and studied its ability to capture respiratory droplets in a 3D-printed replica of a human nose. They showed that when sprayed in the nasal cavity replica, PCANS captured twice as many droplets as mucus alone.

PCANS forms a gel, increasing its mechanical strength by a hundred times, forming a solid barrier.

It blocked and neutralized almost 100% of all viruses and bacteria the researchers tested, including Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, adenovirus, K Pneumonia and more.

Experiments in mice showed that a single dose of the PCANS nasal spray could effectively block infection from an influenza virus (PR8) at 25 times the lethal dose. Virus levels in the lungs were reduced by >99.99%, and the inflammatory cells and cytokines in the lungs of PCANS-treated animals were normal. "The formulation's ability to inactivate a broad spectrum of pathogens, including the deadly PR8 influenza virus, demonstrates its high effectiveness.

Joseph, J et al. Toward a Radically Simple Multi-Modal Nasal Spray for Preventing Respiratory Infections, Advanced Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202406348

Medicinal tree successfully grown from 1,000-year-old seed found in cave

An international team of botanists, agriculturists and historians has successfully grown a mature tree from an ancient seed found in a cave in Israel. In their paper, published in the journal Communications Biology, the group describes where the seed was found, the work that was done to discover its origins and what they have learned about its history as it has sprouted and grown into a mature tree.

In the 1980s, researchers excavating a cave in the Judean Desert, in Israel, uncovered a seed that was subsequently dated to sometime between 993 and 1202 AD, making it approximately 1,000 years old. Testing of the seed suggested that it was still viable, so the research team planted and tended to it. A little while later, it sprouted. Now, 14 years later, the tree has grown to maturity.

The tree, which the team has named Sheba, is approximately 3 meters in height with green leaves on its limbs. As the tree has grown, the researchers have conducted a study of its wood, resin and leaves. They report that its type is now extinct.
They also found evidence of pentacyclic triterpenoids—compounds that are known to reduce inflammation in human patients. And they found an oil type, a squalene that is known to be an antioxidant and which has also been used as a skin treatment.

Finding the seed in a cave, the team notes, suggests that people living in the region planted such trees, further suggesting they knew of its medicinal qualities. This, they theorize, may be evidence that resin from the tree might be the "tsori" medicinal compound mentioned in the Bible several times.

Sarah Sallon et al, Characterization and analysis of a Commiphora species germinated from an ancient seed suggests a possible connection to a species mentioned in the Bible, Communications Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06721-5

Researchers discover treatment for major cause of recurrent pregnancy loss

Among women who experience recurrent pregnancy loss, around 20% test positive for a specific antibody that targets the mother's own body. A research team has now found a treatment that drastically increases these women's chances of carrying to full-term without complications.

They have published their results in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Recurrent pregnancy loss is a condition of women who have lost two or more pregnancies for non-obvious reasons.

The researchers enlisted the help of obstetricians across five hospitals in Japan and, over the course of two years, analyzed the blood of consenting women suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss for the antibodies. If any of these women got pregnant during this time frame, their doctors would offer treatment options also containing those drugs that are effective against the chemically similar condition, specifically, low-dose aspirin or a drug called "heparin." have previously found that in 20% of these women, they can detect a specific antibody in their blood that targets their own bodies. There is no known treatment for this particular condition till now , but the antibodies have a similar target to those that play a role in a different condition that has an established treatment.

The researchers enlisted the help of obstetricians across five hospitals in Japan and, over the course of two years, analyzed the blood of consenting women suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss for the antibodies. If any of these women got pregnant during this time frame, their doctors would offer treatment options also containing those drugs that are effective against the chemically similar condition, specifically, low-dose aspirin or a drug called "heparin." 

The research team then observed how many of the women who included these drugs in their treatment had full-term live births or pregnancy complications and compared that to the pregnancy outcomes in women who did not take either of the two drugs.

The researchers report that women who received the treatment were much more likely to have live births (87% did) compared to the ones without treatment (of which only 50% had live births). In addition, among the live births, the treatment reduced the likelihood of complications from 50% to 6%.

The sample size was rather small (39 women received the treatment and eight did not), but the results still clearly show that a treatment with low dose aspirin or heparin is very effective in preventing pregnancy loss or complications also in women who have these newly discovered self-targeting antibodies.

Many women who tested positive for the newly discovered self-targeting antibodies also tested positive for the previously known ones. However, the Kobe University-led team found that women who only had the newly discovered antibodies and who received the treatment were even more likely to have a live birth (93%) and, among these, none had pregnancy complications.

Low-dose aspirin and heparin treatment improves pregnancy outcome in recurrent pregnancy loss women with anti-β2-glycoprotein I/HLA-DR autoantibodies: A prospective, multicenter, observational study, Frontiers in Immunology (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1445852

The gut microbiome can influence hormone levels, mouse study shows

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have shown that the balance of bacteria in the gut can influence symptoms of hypopituitarism in mice. They also showed that aspirin was able to improve hormone deficiency symptoms in mice with this condition.

People with mutations in a gene called Sox3 develop hypopituitarism, where the pituitary gland doesn't make enough hormones. It can result in growth problems, infertility and poor responses of the body to stress.

In research published recently in PLOS Genetics, the scientists at the Crick removed Sox3 from mice, causing them to develop hypopituitarism around the time of weaning (starting to eat solid food).

They found that mutations in Sox3 largely affect the hypothalamus in the brain, which instructs the pituitary gland to release hormones. However, the gene is normally active in several brain cell types, so the first task was to ask which specific cells were most affected by its absence.

The scientists observed a reduced number of cells called NG2 glia, suggesting that these play a critical role in inducing the pituitary gland cells to mature around weaning, which was not known previously. This could explain the associated impact on hormone production.

The team then treated the mice with a low dose of aspirin for 21 days. This caused the number of NG2 glia in the hypothalamus to increase and reversed the symptoms of hypopituitarism in the mice.

Although it's not yet clear how aspirin had this effect, the findings suggest that it could be explored as a potential treatment for people with Sox3 mutations or other situations where the NG2 glia are compromised.

Part 1

When the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) merged with the Crick in 2015, mouse embryos were transferred from the former building to the latter, and this included the mice with Sox3 mutations.

When these mice reached the weaning stage at the Crick, the researchers were surprised to find that they no longer had the expected hormonal deficiencies.

After exploring a number of possible causes, researchers compared the microbiome – bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in the gut – in the mice from the Crick and mice from the NIMR, observing several differences in its makeup and diversity. This could have been due to the change in diet, water environment, or other factors that accompanied the relocation.

They also examined the number of NG2 glia in the Crick mice, finding that these were also at normal levels, suggesting that the Crick-fed microbiome was somehow protective against hypopituitarism.

To confirm this theory, the researchers transplanted fecal matter retained from NIMR mice into Crick mice, observing that the Crick mice once again showed symptoms of hypopituitarism and had lower numbers of NG2 glia.

Although the exact mechanism is unknown, the scientists conclude that the make-up of the gut microbiome is an example of an important environmental factor having a significant influence on the consequences of a genetic mutation, in this case influencing the function of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

Galichet, C. et al. Sox3-null hypopituitarism depends on median eminence NG2-glia and is influenced by aspirin and gut microbiota., PLoS Genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011395

Part 2

Scientists discover 'pause button' in human development

Researchers have discovered a potential "pause button" in the earliest stages of human development.

Whether humans can control the timing of their development has long been debated. The new study suggests that this "pause button" can be activated in human cells as well. The findings have significant implications for our understanding of early human life and may improve reproductive technologies.

In some mammals, the timing of the normally continuous embryonic development can be altered to improve the chances of survival for both the embryo and the mother. This mechanism to temporarily slow development, called embryonic diapause, often happens at the blastocyst stage, just before the embryo implants in the uterus.

During diapause, the embryo remains free-floating and pregnancy is extended. This dormant state can be maintained for weeks or months before development is resumed, when conditions are favorable. Although not all mammals use this reproductive strategy, the ability to pause development can be triggered experimentally. Whether human cells can respond to diapause triggers remained an open question.

Now a study has identified that the molecular mechanisms that control embryonic diapause also seem to be actionable in human cells.

In their research, the scientists did not carry out experiments on human embryos and instead used human stem cells and stem cell-based blastocyst models called blastoids. These blastoids are a scientific and ethical alternative to using embryos for research. The researchers discovered that modulation of a specific molecular cascade, the mTOR signaling pathway, in these stem cell models induces a dormant state remarkably akin to diapause.

When the researchers treated human stem cells and blastoids with an mTOR inhibitor they observed a developmental delay, which means that human cells can deploy the molecular machinery to elicit a diapause-like response.

This dormant state is characterized by reduced cell division, slower development and a decreased ability to attach to the uterine lining. Importantly, the capacity to enter this dormant stage seems to be restricted to a brief developmental period.

The developmental timing of blastoids can be stretched around the blastocyst stage, which is exactly the stage where diapause works in most mammals.  Moreover, this dormancy is reversible, and blastoids resume normal development when the mTOR pathway is reactivated.

The researchers  concluded that humans, like other mammals, might possess an inherent mechanism to temporarily slow down their development, even though this mechanism may not be used during pregnancy.

This potential may be a vestige of the evolutionary process that we no longer make use of," say the researchers. "Although we have lost the ability to naturally enter dormancy, these experiments suggest that we have nevertheless retained this inner ability and could eventually unleash it."

 mTOR activity paces human blastocyst stage developmental progression, Cell (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.048. www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00977-2

A faulty iron hormone in the skin may be the root cause of psoriasis

Scientists may have uncovered the root cause of psoriasis, a chronic and sometimes debilitating skin disease that affects 2–3% of the global population. The condition is characterized by red, scaly patches that impact the quality of a patient's life and can sometimes be life-threatening.

New research strongly suggests the hormone hepcidin may trigger the onset of the condition. This marks the first time hepcidin has been considered a potential causal factor. In mammals, hepcidin is responsible for regulating iron levels in the body.

The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers hope their finding will lead to the development of new drugs able to block the action of the hormone.

Those most likely to benefit from such a treatment are patients with pustular psoriasis (PP)—a particularly severe and treatment-resistant form of the disease that can affect a patient's nails and joints as well as skin.

Psoriasis is a life-changing dermatological disease. Patients face a potentially disfiguring and lifelong affliction that profoundly affects their lives, causing them both physical discomfort and emotional distress. The condition can also lead to other serious health conditions.

A new treatment targeting iron hormone imbalance in the skin offers hope. This innovative approach could significantly enhance the quality of life for millions, restoring their confidence and well-being.

Iron is an essential trace metal, not just for transporting oxygen through the body's circulatory system but also for maintaining healthy skin. It's involved in many essential cellular functions, including wound healing, collagen production and immune function. However, iron overload in the skin can be harmful, amplifying the damaging effects of UV sunlight and causing hyperproliferative chronic diseases (where cells grow and multiply more than normal), including psoriasis.

Studies going back 50 years have reported high iron concentrations in the skin cells of psoriatic patients. However, the cause of this excess and its significance to the condition have remained unclear until now.

The new study is the first to name hepcidin as the likely link.

Hepcidin is responsible for controlling how much iron is absorbed from food and later released into the body. In healthy individuals, it's produced exclusively in the liver. However, the new study has found that in people with psoriasis, the hormone is also generated in the skin.

Part 1

In the new study, mice (which have many genetic and physiological similarities to humans) developed a rodent form of psoriasis after being exposed to high levels of skin-produced hepcidin.

This over-abundance of the hormone caused the animals' skin cells to retain far more iron than was required. In turn, this excess iron triggered both a hyperproliferation of skin cells and an abnormally high concentration of inflammation-inducing neutrophils (a type of immune system cell) in the topmost layer of skin.

These two outcomes—an overproduction of skin cells and an abundance of neutrophils—are main features of human psoriasis.

Psoriasis runs in families, though experts believe "environmental" factors such as weight, infections and smoking are also triggers.

Currently there is no cure for psoriasis, though treatments that include topical creams, light therapy and oral drugs can help keep symptoms under control for patients with some forms of the condition. Recent treatments have focused on targeting the immune pathways that contribute to the development of psoriasis.

Elise Abboud et al, Skin hepcidin initiates psoriasiform skin inflammation via Fe-driven hyperproliferation and neutrophil recruitment, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50993-8

Part 2

We found a new shape, say mathematicians

A geometric building block with rounded corners.

Mathematicians have declared a new class of shape – but it’s not like your typical circle, triangle or square. So what is it? The ‘shape’ is one seen throughout nature, which the scientists have named the ‘soft cell’. 

The shape can take different forms, so long as it has rounded edges and fits together in a tessellated grid – known as ‘tiling’ in maths.

In 2D, tessellating fully rounded shapes isn't possible, unless there are ‘cusps’ – the sharp points between curves (like the top of a teardrop). An example of this in 2D is the cross section of an onion.

But the researchers behind the new study have discovered it is possible to tesselate a fully rounded shape in 3D – such as the chambers of a nautilus shell (the spiralling mollusc with orange stripes). These chambers look angular in 2D, but the researchers were amazed to see that, when modelled in 3D, there were no edges at all.

While these shapes have been known for centuries, no-one has formalised the notion of soft cells until now.

The Hungarian team behind the newer paper, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, considered what happens if you give this tile, known as an ‘einstein’, rounded corners. Using algorithms to convert geometric shapes into soft cells, they discovered that in 3D, soft cells can fill all the gaps without having any corners at all.

The team then tried to work out the maximum ‘softness’ a shape can have, and realised that the softest shapes are not compact and simple but actually flare out at the sides like wings (like the shape of a horse saddle).

In nature, the researchers think, corners are points of structural weakness. Bending around corners may also cost energy and build tension at edges, so natural shapes tend to avoid them.

 The discovery could inspire architecture: already, since finishing writing the paper, the researchers have collaborated with architects at the California College of Arts in San Francisco, USA, to design buildings comprised of soft cells.

https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/9/pgae311/7754698?logi...

Changes in risk factors may be contributing to growing number of babies born prematurely

Preterm births have increased by more than 10% over the past decade, with racial and socioeconomic disparities persisting over time, according to a new study analyzing more than five million births.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, also found that some factors that increase the risk for preterm birth—such as diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and mental health conditions—became much more common over the past decade, while other factors that protect against preterm birth declined.

These  findings not only show that preterm births are on the rise, but provide clues as to why this may be the case.

Babies born preterm or prematurely—before the 37th week of pregnancy—are more likely to experience a range of short and longer-term problems, including a higher risk for illness, intellectual and emotional difficulty, and death.

Certain factors are known to increase the risk of preterm birth, including mothers having high BP, diabetes, stress because of social and economical conditions, an infection,  smoking, previously having a preterm birth, having fewer than three prenatal care visits, and even housing insecurity. 

Rates of preterm birth grew across nearly all groups, but varied by racial/ethnic and socioeconomic group.  And researchers noted that the causal  rates of preexisting diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and mental health conditions more than doubled during the decade studied.

The researchers note that their findings underscore the need to improve pregnancy care and promote treatments that address risk factors associated with preterm birth—which are often underutilized during pregnancy.

 Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski et al, Risk and Protective Factors for Preterm Birth Among Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Groups in California, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.35887. jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman … tworkopen.2024.35887

Study finds estrogens play a hidden role in cancers, inhibiting a key immune cell

Estrogens are known to drive tumor growth in breast cancer cells that carry its receptors, but a new study by Duke Cancer Institute researchers unexpectedly finds that estrogens play a role in fueling the growth of breast cancers without the receptors, as well as numerous other cancers.

Appearing Sept. 27 in the journal Science Advances, the researchers describe how estrogens not only decrease the ability of the immune system to attack tumors, but also reduce the effectiveness of immunotherapies that are used to treat many cancers, notably triple-negative breast cancers. Triple-negative breast cancers are an aggressive form of disease that are negative for estrogen, progesterone, and the HER2 receptor proteins

Informed by retrospective analysis of patient data and experiments in mice, the researchers found that anti-estrogen drugs reversed the effects of estrogens, restoring potency to immunotherapies.

The researchers  focused on a type of white blood cell called eosinophils, which are typically activated during allergic reactions and inflammatory diseases.

Eosinophils have recently been identified as important in tumors, and a phenomenon called tumor associated tissue eosinophilia, or TATE, is associated with better outcomes among patients with multiple types of cancer, including colon, esophageal, gastric, oral, melanoma and liver cancers.

In their studies, the Duke team described how estrogens decrease the number of eosinophils and TATE in mice. The hormone contributes to increased tumor growth in estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer tumors and in melanoma tumors, which do not rely on estrogen receptors for tumor growth.

Conversely, anti-estrogen therapies inhibited estrogen receptor signaling and enhanced the efficacy of immunotherapies, slowing tumor growth.

Sandeep Artham et al, Estrogen signaling suppresses tumor associated tissue eosinophilia to promote breast tumor growth., Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp2442. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp2442

As LLMs grow bigger, they're more likely to give wrong answers than admit ignorance

A team of AI researchers  has found that as popular LLMs (Large Language Models) grow larger and more sophisticated, they become less likely to admit to a user that they do not know an answer.

In their study  published in the journal Nature, the group tested the latest version of three of the most popular AI chatbots regarding their responses, accuracy, and how good users are at spotting wrong answers.

As LLMs have become mainstream, users have become accustomed to using them for writing papers, poems or songs and solving math problems and other tasks, and the issue of accuracy has become a bigger issue. In this new study, the researchers wondered if the most popular LLMs are getting more accurate with each new update and what they do when they are wrong.

To test the accuracy of three of the most popular LLMs, BLOOM, LLaMA and GPT, the group prompted them with thousands of questions and compared the answers they received with the responses of earlier versions to the same questions.

They also varied the themes, including math, science, anagrams and geography, and the ability of the LLMs to generate text or perform actions such as ordering a list. For all the questions, they first assigned a degree of difficulty.

They found that with each new iteration of a chatbot, accuracy improved in general. They also found that as the questions grew more difficult, accuracy decreased, as expected. But they also found that as the LLMs grew larger and more sophisticated, they tended to be less open about their own ability to answer a question correctly.

In earlier versions, most of the LLMs would respond by telling users they could not find the answers or needed more information. In the newer versions, the LLMs were more likely to guess, leading to more answers in general, both correct and incorrect. They also found that all the LLMs occasionally produced incorrect responses even to easy questions, suggesting that they are still not reliable.

The research team then asked volunteers to rate the answers from the first part of the study as being either correct or incorrect and found that most had difficulty spotting incorrect answers.

Lexin Zhou et al, Larger and more instructable language models become less reliable, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07930-y

Fruit juice offers a fresh take on kombucha

Kombucha is a fizzy, tangy drink made by fermenting tea. But brewers are now fermenting other plant-based drinks to explore nutritional properties and flavors. Researchers in ACS Agricultural Science & Technology compared the biochemistry and flavor of kombucha with brews made from apple and passion fruit juices. They found that the apple beverage contained high levels of bioactive compounds called flavonoids and ranked highly among taste testers, signaling its promise as a kombucha alternative. 

To make kombucha, brewers ferment sweetened tea with a spongy disk of microbes known as a SCOBY, or symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. The resulting beverage contains beneficial bacteria from the fermentation process and bioactive compounds from the tea, including flavonoids, phenolics and anthocyanins that may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Few studies have investigated whether liquids other than tea could be brewed as kombucha-like beverages with boosted antioxidant levels or unique flavors. So, Socorro Vanesca, Frota Gaban and coworkers fermented antioxidant-rich apple and passion fruit juices with a SCOBY to find out.

After fermenting apple juice, passion fruit juice, and tea in separate jars for 10 days at room temperature, the researchers measured the levels of several bioactive compounds in each brew and found that:

• The apple beverage had the highest level of flavonoids, followed by kombucha and the passion fruit drink.
• The kombucha and apple beverages had comparable levels of phenolic compounds that were higher than those of the passion fruit beverage.
• All three brews had similar amounts of anthocyanin, a red-colored antioxidant.

Because fermented apple juice has more flavonoids and a pleasant taste compared with the other beverages, the researchers say it could be a successful alternative to kombucha made from tea.

https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2024/september/fruit-juice-...

 Soraya Ferreira da Silva et al, Physicochemical Properties, Antioxidant Activity, and Sensory Profiles of Kombucha and Kombucha-Like Beverages Prepared Using Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis) and Apple (Malus pumila), ACS Agricultural Science & Technology (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsagscitech.4c00372

Multiple surgeries could contribute to cognitive decline in older people

Multiple surgeries could lead to cognitive decline, a study has found, using data from the United Kingdom's Biobank to analyze half a million patients aged 40 to 69 and followed over 20 years of brain scans, cognitive tests and medical records.

Many families have stories of how repeated surgeries and hospitalizations worsened the reaction time and memory of elderly relatives. Now, a University of Sydney led study has revealed multiple surgeries have a small effect on memory, reaction time, task-switching and problem-solving for older patients with each additional surgery.

The study also found brain MRIs of people who had surgeries also showed physical differences in areas of the brain responsible for memory.

People who had surgeries were also found to have a smaller hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning. They also had more evidence of brain damage associated with blocked blood vessels, compared to those who did not undergo repeated surgeries.

"The results suggest that the cognitive decline per surgery may seem small, but those changes and losses in neurodegeneration really start to add up after multiple surgeries," say the researchers. They found that surgeries are safe on average but also that the burden of multiple surgeries on the brain health of older patients should not be underestimated.

This is a reminder to medical professionals to consider all treatment options and be cautious in recommending major surgery for older and more vulnerable patients. If surgery is the best or only treatment option, patients should be reassured that the cognitive harm from each surgery is small on average. Nonetheless, careful attention in perioperative care is required to prioritize brain health and recovery."

Jennifer Taylor et al, Association between surgical admissions, cognition, and neurodegeneration in older people: a population-based study from the UK Biobank, The Lancet Healthy Longevity (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanhl.2024.07.006

**Which men may be more likely to commit sexual assault: women take note of this**
Research by Psychologists sheds light on which men might choose to ignore a lack of consent and why. Their research explores how men make decisions in high-risk sexual situations, which could potentially offer insights into prevention.
They found that adherence to cultural myths about what constitutes rape was the strongest predictor of assaultive behaviour, even controlling for other personality factors. We may, therefore, be able to curtail some assaults by dispelling these myths through education.

However, underlying beliefs or the particulars of a situation form only part of the picture. The risk for sexual assault is even more strongly linked to who a man actually is in terms of personality—a factor that may be less amenable to change.
The researchers focused on "emerging adults," a category that ranges from the late teens to the mid-to-late 20s. Individuals in this age range are more likely to find themselves in higher-risk sexual situations, such as hookups, rather than long-term, exclusive sexual relationships. It's also a time when individuals are still developing beliefs and behaviors related to sex, making them more amenable to intervention.
Part 1

A high proportion of men report that they would commit a considerably violent rape if they could be assured that they would not get caught. This may sound surprising, but the men that are likeliest to commit rape also tend to carry traits that make their reporting less surprising, like high levels of impulsivity and adherence to hypermasculine ideologies that see nothing wrong with male sexual dominion.
According to the researchers findings, factors that predispose men to sexual assault include rigid adherence to traditional gender roles, which assume male dominance; personalities that exhibit a callous disregard for others; sexism, whether overtly hostile or benevolent; and low empathy. Other factors include a belief in rape myths and ideologies that promote social dominance, such as right-wing authoritarianism.
There is also a small correlation between a preference for impersonal sexual liaisons and sexual assault. Individuals with psychopathic traits tend to avoid emotional intimacy and favor impersonal sex, as do hyper-masculine men.
They found that men's sexual decisions varied more from man-to-man than for a given man across different scenarios. Stated plainly, their findings suggest that the use of sexual assault tactics appears to be more about who the man is characterologically rather than the particulars of the sexual situation in which he is found.The only aspect of the situation that reliably mattered was the level of sexual intimacy at the time the partner gave her refusal.
While clear, direct communication about sex is important, the findings suggest that the power of no isn't absolute; its influence on men's decision-making wanes as the level of intimacy ramps up.
Not all men pose sexual dangers, Mattson stressed; a sizeable subgroup of study subjects respected a woman's refusal and reported that they wouldn't pressure or coerce her in any way. However, even some of the "nice guys" were susceptible to prevailing rape myths, suggesting that education may play an important role in preventing sexual transgressions.

Unless you know someone well, it may be challenging to figure out whether they believe rape myths or have psychopathic traits. Hypermasculinity, however, tends to be performative and may be easier to spot.
Part 2

Many troubling characteristics have a common theme: a need for self-serving hierarchical relationships, so pay attention to how he treats his friends and other people around him. People with psychopathic traits sometimes present as charming and have no reservations about lying to gain trust, making them trickier to weed out.

On the law enforcement and policy front, it's important to know that a subset of men is likely to be sexually transgressive regardless of the situation.
Sex education campaigns that focus on the need for affirmative consent are unlikely to sway these individuals, who often aren't held accountable due to roadblocks in reporting and prosecuting sexual assault.

What can help is outreach to victims, lessening their feelings of shame and self-blame while encouraging reporting and training third parties who are likely to interact with victims, such as emergency room staff.
While the study focused on heterosexual sex and casual hookups, sexual violence spans both the gender spectrum and relationship type.

 Allison M. McKinnon et al, Does No Mean No? Situational and Dispositional Factors Influence Emerging Adult Men's Intentions to Use Assault Tactics in Response to Women's Sexual Refusal During Hookups, Sexual Abuse (2024). DOI: 10.1177/10790632241268527

Part 3

**

Diabetes reversed with stem cells
A woman with type 1 diabetes started producing her own insulin less than three months after a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells. This case represents the first successful treatment for the disease using stem cells from the recipient’s own body, which could avoid the need for immunosuppressants. She was injected with the equivalent of 1.5 million stem-cell-derived islets in June 2023. While promising, the woman’s cells must continue to produce insulin for up to five years before considering her ‘cured'.

The studies are among a handful of pioneering trials using stem cells to treat diabetes, which affects close to half a billion people worldwide. 

https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(24)01022-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867424010225%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03129-3?utm_source=Live+...

One-electron bond 

Scientists have observed a single-electron covalent bond between two carbon atoms for the fi.... Researchers synthesized a molecule with a stable ‘shell’ of fused carbon rings that stretched out a carbon–carbon bond in its centre. The pull makes it susceptible to losing one electron in an oxidation reaction, leaving the elusive one-electron bond. With the new finding, the team hopes to better understand what defines a chemical bond in the first place. “The covalent bond is one of the most important concepts in chemistry,” says chemist Takuya Shimajiri. “At what point does a bond qualify as covalent, and at what point does it not?”

Nature | 5 min read
 Nature paper

Can a virus reverse antibiotic resistance?

Bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria — are being used alongside antibiotics in a two-pronged attack to treat bacterial infections. Some phages target the ‘efflux pumps’ that bacteria use to expel unwanted molecules from inside their cells. Bacteria treated with phages face a dilemma: if they remove the efflux pumps to evade the phages, then antibiotics will kill them. If they evolve to modify the efflux pumps to expel the antibiotics, the phages will kill them instead. In the lab and in the clinic, researchers are having some success using phages to reverse antibiotic resistance, but it remains very case specific.

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2024/ph...

Scientists Just Discovered a New Cell

Researchers  have found a whole new type of cell that fills a major hole in our understanding of how the mammal body heals.

For over a century, scientists have hypothesized that a cell like this existed – and now, an adult version has been found at last, hiding in the aorta of grown mice.

The discovery was nine years in the making. Researchers have named the cells 'EndoMac progenitors', and the team is now searching for similar players in the human body.

Myelin fatty acid metabolism could serve as an energy reserve for the central nervous system

The brains of mammals expend a significant amount of energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the molecule that cells use to transfer energy, ultimately fueling several biological processes.

Unlike other organs that have fat cells, neurons and other cells in the central nervous system (CNS) have so far not been known to possess obvious local energy reserves. While astrocytes can use stored glycogen to temporarily protect neurons in the event of low blood sugar levels (i.e., hypoglycemia), a persistent lack of glucose has been found to contribute to neurodegeneration in the long-term.

Researchers   worldwide recently carried out a study investigating the contribution of glial fatty acid metabolism to the storage of energy that can also be used by other cells in the CNS.

Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that the oligodendroglial lipid metabolism can serve as an energy reserve, helping to overcome glucose deprivation and associated neurodegeneration.

Their experiments showed that lack of glucose was surprisingly well tolerated by oligodendrocytes, but only if they could degrade fatty acids from myelin and generate ATP by oxidizing the breakdown products in mitochondria.

When conducting further experiments, the researchers found that the energy generated by oligodendrocytes from lipids could also support the electrical spiking activity of myelinated axons in the optic nerve. Using cell-specific mouse mutants, they showed that oligodendroglial peroxisomes, small organelles found within oligodendrocytes and myelin, also play a role in the turnover of fatty acids.

The findings gathered by them suggest that the myelinated brain of adult mammals could possess a significant reserve of energy that can help to transiently make up for shortages in energy. These findings could have important implications for the study of disorders associated with the loss of brain white matter as a result of starvation, such as anorexia nervosa.

Neurodegenerative diseases that are associated with gradual myelin loss may also reflect this mechanism of metabolizing fatty acids from the myelin sheath.

Ebrahim Asadollahi et al, Oligodendroglial fatty acid metabolism as a central nervous system energy reserve, Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01749-6.

Researchers witness nanoscale water formation in real time

For the first time ever, researchers have witnessed—in real time and at the molecular-scale—hydrogen and oxygen atoms merge to form tiny, nano-sized bubbles of water.

The event occurred as part of a new  study, during which scientists sought to understand how palladium, a rare metallic element, catalyzes the gaseous reaction to generate water. By witnessing the reaction at the nanoscale, the  team unraveled how the process occurs and even uncovered new strategies to accelerate it.

Because the reaction does not require extreme conditions, the researchers say it could be harnessed as a practical solution for rapidly generating water in arid environments, including on other planets.

The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Yukun Liu et al, Unraveling the adsorption-limited hydrogen oxidation reaction at palladium surface via in situ electron microscopy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2408277121

Why is Mount Everest so high? Because a river is pushing up Mount Everest's peak!

Mount Everest is about 15 to 50 meters taller than it would otherwise be because of uplift caused by a nearby eroding river gorge, and continues to grow because of it, finds a new study.

The study, published in Nature Geoscience, found that erosion from a river network about 75 kilometers from Mount Everest is carving away a substantial gorge. The loss of this landmass is causing the mountain to spring upwards by as much as 2 millimeters a year and has already increased its height by between 15 and 50 meters over the past 89,000 years.

At 8,849 meters high Mount Everest  is the tallest mountain on Earth, and rises about 250 meters above the next tallest peak in the Himalayas. Everest is considered anomalously high for the mountain range, as the next three tallest peaks—K2, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse—all only differ by about 120 meters from each other.

A significant portion of this anomaly can be explained by an uplifting force caused by pressure from below Earth's crust after a nearby river eroded away a sizable amount of rocks and soil. It's an effect called isostatic rebound, where a section of the Earth's crust that loses mass flexes and "floats" upwards because the intense pressure of the liquid mantle below is greater than the downward force of gravity after the loss of mass.

It's a gradual process, usually only a few millimeters a year, but over geological timeframes can make a significant difference to the Earth's surface.

The researchers found that, because of this process, Mount Everest has grown by about 15 to 50 meters over the last 89,000 years, since the nearby Arun river merged with the adjacent Kosi river network.

Part 1

Mount Everest is a remarkable mountain of myth and legend and it's still growing. Our research shows that as the nearby river system cuts deeper, the loss of material is causing the mountain to spring further upwards.

Today, the Arun river runs to the east of Mount Everest and merges downstream with the larger Kosi river system. Over millennia, the Arun has carved out a substantial gorge along its banks, washing away billions of tons of earth and sediment.
An interesting river system exists in the Everest region. The upstream Arun river flows east at high altitude with a flat valley. It then abruptly turns south as the Kosi river, dropping in elevation and becoming steeper. This unique topography, indicative of an unsteady state, likely relates to Everest's extreme height.
The uplift is not limited to Mount Everest, and affects neighboring peaks including Lhotse and Makalu, the world's fourth and fifth highest peaks respectively. The isostatic rebound boosts the heights of these peaks by a similar amount as it does Everest, though Makalu, located closest to the Arun river, would experience a slightly higher rate of uplift.
Mount Everest and its neighboring peaks are growing because the isostatic rebound is raising them up faster than erosion is wearing them down. We can see them growing by about two millimeters a year using GPS instruments and now we have a better understanding of what's driving it.
By looking at the erosion rates of the Arun, the Kosi and other rivers in the region, the researchers were able to determine that about 89,000 years ago the Arun river joined and merged with the Kosi river network, a process called drainage piracy.

In doing so, more water was funneled through the Kosi river, increasing its erosive power and taking more of the landscape's soils and sediments with it. With more of the land washed away, it triggered an increased rate of uplift, pushing the mountains' peaks higher and higher.
The interaction between the erosion of the Arun river and the upward pressure of the Earth's mantle gives Mount Everest a boost, pushing it up higher than it would otherwise be.

Jin-Gen Dai, Recent uplift of Chomolungma enhanced by river drainage piracy, Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01535-w. www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01535-w

Part 2

New mission to create total solar eclipses in space

A  team of researchers  are working on the launch of a spacecraft mission that will allow us to view the sun's atmosphere in more detail than ever before.

The proposed MESOM mission will enable researchers to study the conditions that create solar storms, leading to improvements in forecasts of space weather on Earth. The MESOM spacecraft will fly on a peculiar trajectory enabled by the gravitational attraction of the Earth, the sun and the moon, and will use the shadow of the moon to re-create a total solar eclipse in space once every lunar month lasting almost 50 minutes.

Total solar eclipses seen from Earth are much shorter and only last between 10 seconds and 7.5 minutes, with the annular solar eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere this Wednesday 2 October expected to last around seven minutes. Creating a longer eclipse in space will enable the MESOM team to take high-quality images and measurements of the sun's corona, filling gaps in existing understanding of the physical processes taking place in the solar atmosphere that lead to space weather.

Space weather is not a danger to people or animals on Earth, but solar flares and eruptions from the sun known as coronal mass ejections can cause severe disruption to power grids, satellites and other communication technologies on which modern society depends.

MESOM will offer scientists a unique opportunity to study and understand how the sun creates and controls weather in space.

But MESOM also offers the general public an opportunity to engage with the beauty and spectacle of a total solar eclipse as all their images will be readily available. They aim to reveal the secrets of the sun while inspiring a new generation of space scientists and engineers.

MESOM is an incredibly exciting mission which will advance our scientific understanding of the solar atmosphere and space weather to new levels, enabling us to provide more accurate forecasts and take mitigating action.

By creating eclipses that last up to 48 minutes in space, rather than the maximum 7.5 minutes we manage to see on Earth, we stand a much better chance of unlocking their secrets.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/sep/new-mission-create-total-solar-...

A cooling system that works on gravity instead of electricity

This device needs no electricity, as it extracts water from the air using nothing more than gravity and relies on cheap, readily available materials.

Along with keeping the solar cells and other semiconductor technologies cool, the water can be repurposed for irrigation, washing, cooling buildings on which the solar cells are placed, and other applications.

Scientists estimate that the atmosphere contains six times more water than all the fresh water in the rivers combined. This water can be collected by atmospheric water harvesting technologies.

While these technologies work reasonably well, in arid environments they require electricity to harvest practical amounts of water. This demand risks deterring the adoption of solar cells in rural regions , where electricity infrastructure is costly.

One reason for the low efficiency is that the water adheres to the surface of the harvesting device.

Researchers found that by adding a lubricant coating that is a mix of a commercial polymer and silicon oil, they could collect more water by relying on only gravity.

The system doesn't consume any electricity, leading to energy savings. Moreover, it doesn't rely on any mechanical parts like compressors or fans, reducing the maintenance over traditional systems, leading to further savings.

Shakeel Ahmad et al, Lubricated Surface in a Vertical Double‐Sided Architecture for Radiative Cooling and Atmospheric Water Harvesting, Advanced Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202404037

Well-designed AI tools can help clean toxic comments up

Imagine scrolling through social media  only to be interrupted by insulting and harassing comments. What if an artificial intelligence (AI) tool stepped in to remove the abuse before you even saw it?

This isn't science fiction. Commercial AI tools like ToxMod and Bodyguard.ai are already used to monitor interactions in real time across social media and gaming platforms. They can detect and respond to toxic behavior.

The idea of an all-seeing AI monitoring our every move might sound Orwellian, but these tools could be key to making the internet a safer place.

However, for AI moderation to succeed, it needs to prioritize values like privacy, transparency, explainability and fairness. So can we ensure AI can be trusted to make our online spaces better? Two recent research projects into AI-driven moderation show this can be done—with more work ahead. 

https://www.ai-ally.org/

https://jigsaw.google.com/harassment-manager/

https://hateandhope.righttobe.org/pages/about-page

https://theconversation.com/online-spaces-are-rife-with-toxicity-we...

Patient with type 1 diabetes functionally cured using stem cell injections

A team of medical researchers affiliated with a large number of institutions in China has functionally cured a female patient with type 1 diabetes by injecting her with programmed stem cells.

For their study published in the journal Cell, the group extracted cells from the patient, reverted them to a pluripotent state, programmed them to grow into pancreatic islets, and then injected them back into her abdomen.

For unknown reasons, some people experience an immune attack that results in the destruction of islets in the pancreas that are responsible for making insulin. These incidents typically happen during the teen years, which is why the disease is also known as juvenile diabetes.

Because the islets are destroyed, any cure for the disease must involve replacing the islets somehow, either through transplantation from a donor, or in this new example, by using the person's own cells as the basis for creating pluripotent stem cells, which can be programmed to grow into replacement islets.

In this new effort, the researchers collected cells from three type 1 diabetes patients—all the cells were reverted to a pluripotent state and then programmed to grow into pancreatic islets. The researchers note that they modified the standard approach by exposing the cells to certain molecules rather than introducing proteins. The treatment process for the patients was staggered over time so that findings from the first patient could be applied to the second and then the third.

In a procedure lasting approximately 30 minutes, the researchers injected 1.5 million of the islets they had grown into the abdomen of the first patient, a 25-year-old woman. Placing them in the abdomen allowed for easy monitoring and removal if necessary. Two and a half months later, testing showed the patient was producing enough of her own insulin to stop injections.

After a year, she was still producing her own insulin. The research team notes that the patient was already receiving immunosuppressant drugs due to a prior liver transplant; thus, it is still not known if her immune system will replicate the type of attack that led her to have type 1 diabetes in the first place.

Shusen Wang et al, Transplantation of chemically induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived islets under abdominal anterior rectus sheath in a type 1 diabetes patient, Cell (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.09.004

 Rare human death from rabies

A Minnesota resident who came into contact with a bat in July died of rabies, the state's department of health announced Friday.

The person's death marks a rare occurrence, as fewer than 10 people in the the U.S. die from rabies each year, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The person is over the age of 65 and was exposed to a bat in western Minnesota in July, the Minnesota Department of Health said.

CDC officials confirmed the rabies diagnosis at its lab in Atlanta on Sept. 20. In a news release, the state health department said it was working to evaluate whether more people were exposed to the disease, but said there was no ongoing risk to the public

Officials said the fatal case advised the public to avoid contact with bats, whose teeth are so tiny that a bite may not be felt or even leave a noticeable mark.

Rabies is caused by a virus that invades the central nervous system and is usually fatal in animals and humans. If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal. But rabies treatment has proven to be nearly highly effective at preventing the disease after an exposure, state health officials said. Treatment must be started before symptoms of rabies appear, they added.

The number of rabies-related human deaths in the U.S. has declined from more than 100 annually in the early 1900s to less than five cases annually in recent years, the health department. About 70% of infections acquired in the country are attributed to bat exposures.

Source: The Associated Press

**

Six dead from Marburg viral disease in Rwanda

Six people have been killed in Rwanda in an outbreak of Marburg virus, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, the country's health ministry said recently.

The highly virulent microbe causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

Marburg is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes Ebola, which has wreaked havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa.

Neighboring Tanzania reported cases of the disease in 2023, while Uganda experienced its last outbreak in 2017. The three countries share porous borders.

The suspected natural source of the Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, which carries the pathogen but does not fall sick from it.

The animals can pass the virus to primates in close proximity, including humans, and human-to-human transmission then occurs through contact with blood or other body fluids.

Fatality rates in confirmed cases have ranged from 24 percent to 88 percent in previous outbreaks, depending on the virus strain and case management, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There are currently no vaccines or antiviral treatments, but potential treatments, including blood products, immune and drug therapies, as well as early candidate vaccines, are being evaluated.

Source: AFP

**

The fungal infection valley fever

Some areas of the U.S. are experiencing a recent uptick in cases of a fungal lung infection called valley fever. 

Valley fever is a fungus. It lives in the soil, and it's endemic, or known to be in regions in the Southwest, such as Arizona, lower California, New Mexico and parts of Mexico.

Valley fever is transmitted via inhalation of spores from the soil, especially during dusty months or high-dust exposure, such as in construction zones.

"Initial symptoms of valley fever can be cough, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, sometimes a rash and joint aches, and also associated fatigue.

Most people with a healthy immune system can fight off valley fever naturally, but those with immune problems or on certain medications may be at higher risk.

The people getting really significant illness are those that have immune problems, or if you have diabetes or if you're on immune-suppressing medications can really put you at risk.

The best way to prevent valley fever is to avoid high-dust exposure.

If at all possible, if it's really dusty outside and you can really see the dust in the air, try to stay indoors and try to avoid that inhalation of that high-dust exposure.

Source: Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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There arethree main types of blood cancers:

• Leukemias are cancers of the white blood cells in the bone marrow and blood and, rarely, the lymphatic system. The abnormal production of white blood cells can interfere with the body's ability to fight infections. There are several types of leukemia, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
• Lymphomas are cancers of immune cells called lymphocytes. The two main types of lymphoma are Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These cancers can be slow-growing or fast-growing, and can be found in various parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, spleen and bone marrow.
• Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a cancer of the plasma cells, immune cells that are found in the bone marrow. When myeloma cells multiply, this can lead to bone damage, anemia, kidney problems, high blood calcium levels and a weakened immune system.

Common symptoms include: Fever, Drenching night sweats, Persistent fatigue, Weakness Bone/joint pain, Unexplained weight loss, Swollen lymph nodes, liver or spleen ,Anemia.

Deep brain stimulation shows immediate improvement in arm and hand function post-brain injury

Deep brain stimulation may provide immediate improvement in arm and hand strength and function weakened by traumatic brain injury or stroke, researchers reported recently in Nature Communications.

Encouraging results from extensive tests in monkeys and humans open a path for a new clinical application of an already widely used brain stimulation technology and offer insights into neural mechanisms underlying movement deficits caused by brain injury.

Brain lesions caused by serious brain trauma or stroke can disrupt neural connections between the motor cortex, a key brain region essential for controlling voluntary movement, and the muscles. Weakening of these connections prevents effective activation of muscles and results in movement deficits, including partial or complete arm and hand paralysis.

To boost the activation of existing but weakened connections, researchers proposed using deep brain stimulation (DBS), a surgical procedure that involves placing tiny electrodes in specific areas of the brain to deliver electrical impulses that regulate abnormal brain activity. Over the past several decades, DBS has revolutionized the treatment of neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease by providing a way to control symptoms that were once difficult to manage with medication alone.

DBS has been life-changing for many patients. Now, thanks to ongoing advancements in the safety and precision of these devices, DBS is being explored as a promising option for helping stroke survivors recover their motor functions.

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Taking cues from another successful Pitt project that used electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to restore arm function in individuals affected by stroke, scientists hypothesized that stimulating the motor thalamus—a structure nested deep in the brain that acts as a key relay hub of movement control—using DBS could help restore movements that are essential for tasks of daily living, such as object grasping.

However, because the theory has not been tested before, they first had to test it in monkeys, which are the only animals that have the same organization of the connections between the motor cortex and the muscles as humans.
To understand the mechanism of how DBS of the motor thalamus helps improve voluntary arm movement and to finesse the specific location of the implant and the optimal stimulation frequency, researchers implanted the FDA-approved stimulation device into monkeys that had brain lesions affecting how effectively they could use their hands.

As soon as the stimulation was turned on, it significantly improved activation of muscles and grip force. Importantly, no involuntary movement was observed.

To verify that the procedure could benefit humans, the same stimulation parameters were used in a patient who was set to undergo DBS implantation into the motor thalamus to help with arm tremors caused by brain injury from a serious motor vehicle accident that resulted in severe paralysis in both arms.

As soon as the stimulation was turned on again, the range and strength of arm motion was immediately improved. The participant was able to lift a moderately heavy weight and reach, grasp and lift a drinking cup more efficiently and smoothly than without the stimulation.

To help bring this technology to more patients in the clinic, researchers are now working to test the long-term effects of DBS and determine whether chronic stimulation could further improve arm and hand function in individuals affected by traumatic brain injury or stroke.

Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52477-1. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52477-1

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Pathogens are thriving in the plastisphere

Plastic pollution is creating a ‘plastisphere’: a widespread habitat that includes pathogenic viruses and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, a group of environmental researchers highlights. The problem has no easy fix, but the ecosystems of the plastisphere must be thoroughly studied, with..., if we’re to mitigate the risks posed by the pathogens lurking within.

Nature | 

Five-mile asteroid impact crater below Atlantic captured in 'exquisite' detail by seismic data

New images of an asteroid impact crater buried deep below the floor of the Atlantic Ocean have been published recently by researchers.

 The images confirm the 9km Nadir Crater, located 300m under the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, was caused by an asteroid smashing into Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period around 66 million years ago. That's the same age as the dinosaur-killing 200 km wide, Chicxulub impact crater in Mexico.

The images have helped the researchers determine what happened in the minutes following impact: The formation of an initial bowl-shaped crater, rocks turned to a fluid-like state and flowing upwards to the crater floor, the creation of a damage zone covering thousands of square kilometers beyond the crater, and an 800-meter-plus high tsunami that would have traveled across the Atlantic ocean.

The data revealed a depression more than 8.5km wide, which could be an asteroid impact crater. The data suggested it was from an asteroid hundreds of meters wide hitting the planet around 66 million years ago.

High-resolution, 3D seismic data was captured by TGS, a global geophysical company and shared with geologists. The data proves that an asteroid caused the Nadir Crater.

Craters on the surface are usually heavily eroded and we can only see what is exposed, whereas craters on other planetary bodies usually only show the surface expression.

These data allow us to image this fully in three dimensions and peel back the layers of sedimentary rock to look at the crater at all levels.

The new images paint a picture of the catastrophic event.

 The asteroid  was 450–500m wide, because of the larger crater size as shown by the 3D data.

Researchers can also tell it came from about 20–40 degrees to the northeast, because of spiraling thrust-generated ridges surrounding the crater's central peak—those are only formed following a low-angle oblique impact.

It would have hit Earth at about 20 km per second, or 72,000 km per hour.

Part 1

Using the data, the scientists created a timeline of what happened in the seconds and minutes after impact.
After the impact and the central uplift forming, the soft sediments surrounding the crater flowed inwards towards the evacuated crater floor, creating a visible 'brim.'
The earthquake shaking caused by the impact appears to have liquefied the sediments below the seabed across the entire plateau, causing faults to form below the seabed.
The impact was also associated with large landslides as the plateau margin collapsed below the ocean.

As well as this, there is evidence for a train of tsunami waves going away from, then back towards the crater, with large resurge scars preserving evidence of this catastrophic event.
Humans have never witnessed an asteroid of this size crashing into Earth.

 Uisdean Nicholson et al, 3D anatomy of the Cretaceous–Paleogene age Nadir Crater, Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01700-4

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Microbiome-directed food speeds recovery in children with severe acute malnutrition, trial finds

A team of biologists, nutritionists and gut biome specialists has found via a trial run at several hospitals  that giving children suffering from severe malnutrition a microbiome-based food helps them recover faster than giving them ready-to-use therapeutic or supplementary foods (RUFs).

For many years, the standard of care for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition has been feeding them RUFs, which are generally made by mixing peanuts, oil, butter, and sugar into a quantity of powdered milk. Such a mix provides a lot of calories in a hurry, helping children who are starving recover as quickly as possible.

In this new study, published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers have found that a different kind of food might be a better option.

Several years ago, researchers discovered that when children experience a severe lack of food, in addition to losing weight and an ability to ward off diseases, their intestinal biome becomes less diverse—without food to process, gut bacteria levels dwindle. Experiments with mice showed that those who were malnourished who were given food designed to ramp up the biome gained weight faster than those who were placed on just a high-calorie diet.

Part 1