Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 11, 2020 at 5:36am

Medicine: 

Gulf War illness, chronic fatigue syndrome distinct illnesses, study suggests

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-gulf-war-illness-chronic-fat...

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How to get more cancer-fighting nanoparticles to where they are needed

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-cancer-fighting-nanoparticles.html?ut...

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Nanocatalysts that remotely control chemical reactions inside living cells

The enzymes responsible for catalytic reactions in our body's biological reactions are difficult to use for diagnosis or treatment as they react only to certain molecules or have low stability. Many researchers anticipate that if these issues are ameliorated or if artificial catalysts are developed to create a synergetic effect by meeting the enzymes in the body, there will be new ways to diagnose and treat diseases. In particular, if artificial catalysts that respond to external stimuli such as magnetic fields are developed, new treatment methods that remotely control bioreactions from outside the body can become a reality.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-nanocatalysts-remotely-chemical-react...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 11, 2020 at 5:34am

Biology:

1. Imaging method highlights new role for cellular 'skeleton' protein

While your skeleton helps your body to move, fine skeleton-like filaments within your cells likewise help cellular structures to move. Now,  researchers have developed a new imaging method that lets them monitor a small subset of these filaments, called actin. 

Until now, it's been really hard to tell where individual actin molecules of interest are, because it's difficult to separate the relevant signal from all the background."

With the new imaging technique, the researchers have been able to home in on how actin mediates an important function: helping the cellular "power stations" known as mitochondria divide in two. The work, which appeared in the journal Nature Methods on August 10, 2020, could provide a better understanding of mitochondrial dysfunction, which has been linked to cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Actin chromobody imaging reveals sub-organellar actin dynamics, Nature Methods (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41592-020-0926-5 , www.nature.com/articles/s41592-020-0926-5

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-imaging-method-highlights-role-cellul...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 11, 2020 at 5:27am

Environment:

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Agriculture replaces fossil fuels as largest human source of sulfur to the environment

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-agriculture-fossil-fuels-largest-huma...

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Breakthrough demonstrates photosynthetic hacks can boost yield, conserve water

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-breakthrough-photosynthetic-hacks-boo...

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Researchers use nanocellulose to create materials with new properties

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-nanocellulose-materials-properties.ht...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 11, 2020 at 5:25am

New reports in Physics

1. Time-reversal of an unknown quantum state

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-time-reversal-unknown-quantum-state.h...

2. Robotics

Exploring the interactions between sound, action and vision in robotics

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-08-exploring-interactions-action-v...

3. 

Discovery of massless electrons in phase-change materials provides next step for future electronics

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-discovery-massless-electrons-phase-ch...

4. Understanding vacuum fluctuations in space

An international research team of scientists has created structures in which light fields interact with electrons so strongly that the quantum vacuum itself is significantly altered. Using extremely short bursts of light, they interrupted this coupling much faster than the timescale of a vacuum fluctuation and observed an intriguing ringing of the emitted electromagnetic field, indicating the collapse of the vacuum state. Their key achievement could improve our understanding of the nature of nothingness—the vacuum of space itself, paving a way toward photonics exploiting vacuum fluctuations. The results are published in the current issue of Nature Photonics.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-vacuum-fluctuations-space.html?utm_so...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 10, 2020 at 6:02am

Physicists Demonstrate a Weird Effect Where Heating Particles Causes Them to Freeze!

https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-demonstrated-a-weird-effect...

The idea of freezing particles by warming them is counterintuitive, to say the least. But physicists have shown how specially designed mixtures 'melt' in the dark but crystallise the moment the lights come on, thanks to their unique thermal activity.

Instead of bouncing the particles around and spreading them out, the researchers showed that by using light to heat up the mixture, they were able to lock particles in place and force them to clump together, as if they were frozen. 

Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK carried out their experiments on a colloid made up of water, polystyrene and small droplets of oil coated in DNA to better understand the dynamics taking place between them when warmed by light. 

particles suspended in a temperature gradient flow away from hot spots towards cooler ones. 

So it'd stand to reason that if we heated suspensions of oil, focussing on the boundary with its watery surrounds, you would expect the mix of molecules to jiggle with excitement, bumping and grinding their way towards cooler areas and causing the fluids to move.

There's even a term for this oil and water flow; the Marangoni effect.

Putting it simply, the contrasting surface tension between oil and water makes each susceptible to variations in temperature in slightly different ways, forcing their particles to scatter.

Small particles freezing when warmed by light

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 10, 2020 at 5:47am

Mpemba effect: Why hot water can freeze faster than cold

https://phys.org/news/2010-03-mpemba-effect-hot-faster-cold.html

Theories for the Mpemba effect have included:

• • faster evaporation of hot water, which reduces the volume left to freeze

• • formation of a frost layer on cold water, insulating it

• different concentrations of solutes such as carbon dioxide, which is driven off when the water is heated

The problem is that the effect does not always appear, and cold water often freezes faster than hot water.

 Recent observations show supercooling is involved. water usually supercools at 0°C and only begins freezing below this temperature. The freezing point is governed by impurities in the water that seed ice crystal formation. Impurities such as dust, bacteria, and dissolved salts all have a characteristic nucleation temperature, and when several are present the freezing point is determined by the one with the highest nucleation temperature.

 When researchers took two water samples at the same temperature and placed them in a freezer, they found that one would usually freeze before the other, presumably because of a slightly different mix of impurities. They then removed the samples from the freezer, warmed one to room temperature and the other to 80°C and then froze them again. The results were that if the difference in freezing point was at least 5°C, the one with the highest freezing point always froze before the other if it was heated to 80°C and then re-frozen.

The researchers said the hot water cools faster because of the bigger difference in temperature between the water and the freezer, and this helps it reach its freezing point before the cold water reaches its natural freezing point, which is at least 5°C lower. They also said all the conditions must be controlled, such as the location of the samples in the freezer, and the type of container, which they said other researchers had not done.

The effect now known as the Mpemba effect was first noted in the 4th century BC by Aristotle, and many scientists have noted the same phenomenon in the centuries since Aristotle’s time. It was dubbed the Mpemba effect in the 1960s when schoolboy Erasto Mpemba from Tanzania claimed in his science class that ice cream would freeze faster if it was heated first before being put in the freezer. The laughter ended only when a school inspector tried the experiment himself and vindicated him.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 10, 2020 at 5:31am

The extra hygiene precautions we’re taking for COVID-19 won’t weaken our immune systems

https://theconversation.com/no-the-extra-hygiene-precautions-were-t...

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 Why Are Only 10% of People Left-Handed? Here's What Scientists Know So Far

https://www.sciencealert.com/why-are-only-10-of-people-left-handed-...

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 We May Have 'Recycled' a Key Region of Our Brains as Humans Learned to Read

https://www.sciencealert.com/we-may-have-recycled-parts-of-our-brai...

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 9, 2020 at 9:38am

Sonocytology

How Do Our Cells Produce Sound?

The motion of molecular motors (motor proteins) in transporting cell organelles and setting the stage for cell activities like cell division, muscle contraction, etc. is believed to be root cause for cellular sounds. The study of the sounds of a cell is called sonocytology. 

Well, not really, but your cells do sing and they might be able to give opera singers a run for their money.

Researchers in the year 2004 discovered that cells vibrate; when those vibrations are amplified, they sound like squeals. Also, each individual cell is thought to vibrate uniquely. Scientists argue that decoding these squeals could help us recognize the state of a cell and thus predict the arrival of a disease. This study of the sounds of a cell is called sonocytology (“sonos” ~ sound, “cytology” ~ study of cell structure and function).

https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/how-do-our-cells-produce-s...

https://www.nature.com/articles/423106b

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 9, 2020 at 6:53am

** A titanate nanowire mask that can eliminate pathogens

Researchers are working on a membrane made of titanium oxide nanowires, similar in appearance to filter paper but with antibacterial and antiviral properties. Their material works by using the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide: when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, the fibers convert resident moisture into oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide, which have the ability to destroy pathogens.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200807093800.htm

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 SpaceX Just Launched 57 New Starlink Satellites With Controversial Sun Shades

https://www.sciencealert.com/spacex-just-launched-57-new-satellites...

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** Some Coronavirus Patients Are Getting Rashes, And It May Signal Underlying Issues

Patients with severe coronavirus may experience rashes and lesions indicative of underlying blood clots, a new report suggests.


In the paper, published in JAMA Dermatology Wednesday, researchers described four New York City patients who were intubated with severe coronavirus and had skin complications.  Even though all patients received therapy to help prevent blood clots when they were admitted, all developed clots in their skin and were thought to have pulmonary embolisms, or an artery blockage in the lung. The findings are a lesson to other healthcare professionals to take skin manifestations as a potential sign of abnormal underlying blood clots, which can lead to strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and other potentially fatal complications.


https://www.sciencealert.com/some-coronavirus-patients-are-getting-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 9, 2020 at 6:39am

 Open windows to help stop the spread of coronavirus

COVID is not only spread by touch and droplets sprayed from the mouth and nose but, importantly, via a third route too. The third infection pathway is in very tiny airborne particles of liquid and material, known as aerosols, that stay suspended in the air for a long time. If the virus attaches to these tiny particles, it can float on the air and spread much further. An effective way to reduce this spread is to purge the air containing those aerosols from rooms by simply opening the windows. By  opening a window to let the virus escape, the amount of it in a room can be reduced, leading to a lower risk of infection.

To prevent COVID from spreading:

• Medical experts promote hand washing, protective clothing, cleaning surfaces, spatial distancing, fewer people in lifts, and the wearing of face masks – all practical and effective actions.

• Heating, ventilating and cooling (HVAC) engineers recommend limiting the spread of the virus with expensive, high-efficiency particulate air and ultraviolet filters for climate-control systems in buildings that work well for those who can afford them.

• Architects, when looking at the impacts of COVID on buildings often deal with issues of social and physical distancing within buildings, and toy with the idea of the “end of tall buildings”, or the effect of the shift to home-working on the energy efficiency of our homes.

Simply opening windows have added benefits of the thermal, emotional and sensual delight of a cooling breeze on the skin on a warm day. Or the relief of clean, fresh air pouring into a stuffy room.

https://theconversation.com/open-windows-to-help-stop-the-spread-of...

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