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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 15, 2025 at 10:59am

Solar panels should not be cleaned with dishwashing detergent

A study conducted at the University of Turku, Finland, investigated how household cleaning products affect the ability of solar panel glass to transmit light. The results of the study were presented at the 41st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition and in the conference proceedings.

For solar panels to work optimally, it is essential that they can absorb as much of the incoming solar radiation as possible. Soiling and, on the other hand, damage to the solar panel glass will reduce the panel's ability to absorb radiation.

A research team at the University of Turku in Finland investigated the best way to clean solar panels so that solar radiation would penetrate the panels as well as possible.

Most cleaning agents, such as glass cleaner and isopropanol, proved suitable for cleaning the studied solar panel glass.

The exception was dishwashing detergent and the results suggest that it should not be used when cleaning solar panels. Even dirty glass transmitted more light than glass cleaned with dishwashing detergent.

Solar cell surfaces are usually made of glass, but typically have an anti-reflection coating and it is important to avoid damaging it. 

The study found that the optical properties of the studied anti-reflective coating on solar panel glass did not deteriorate as a result of chemical cleaning—except when dishwashing detergent was used.

It is unlikely that dishwashing detergent damages the glass. However, rinsing does not seem to be sufficient, as the transmittance of the solar panel glass cleaned with detergent did not return to the pre-cleaning level after the rinsing.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 15, 2025 at 9:49am

Beach guardians: How hidden microbes protect coastal waters in a changing climate

A hidden world teeming with life lies below beach sands. New research sheds light on how microbial communities in coastal groundwater respond to infiltrating seawater.

The study, published in Environmental Microbiology, reveals the diversity of microbial life inhabiting these critical ecosystems and what might happen if they are inundated by rising seas.

Beaches can act as a filter between land and sea, processing groundwater and associated chemicals before they reach the ocean. Understanding how these ecosystems function is key to safeguarding their services in the face of sea level rise.

Microbial communities living in groundwater within beach sand play a crucial role in maintaining coastal water quality. These microbes help break down chemicals, including excess nutrients like nitrogen, which can come from natural sources, such as decomposing plant matter, or human sources, like agricultural runoff and wastewater.

The researchers found that the microbial communities remained relatively stable over changing tidal conditions and seasons. However, a wave overtopping event—when seawater surged into the aquifer due to high-energy waves—caused significant changes in the microbial makeup. Such disturbances are expected to become more frequent with rising sea levels and storm surges, making it harder for the microbes to do their water purification work.

These microbes live in complex communities, many with specialized roles that include processing nutrients and even producing or consuming greenhouse gases.

The microbial community's resilience under typical conditions is encouraging, but disturbances like wave overtopping highlight their vulnerability to climate change.

The study's findings establish a critical baseline for understanding how subterranean estuaries function and respond to environmental changes. As sea levels rise, beach sands will be forced inland or erode, altering groundwater hydrology, chemistry, and microbial composition.

The research adds a crucial piece to the puzzle of coastal resilience. By highlighting the interplay between microbial dynamics and physical processes like wave action, the study brings into question impending changes to coastal groundwater. Policymakers and coastal planners should consider the role of these hidden ecosystems when designing strategies to manage sea level rise, according to the researchers.

We rely on these microbial communities for essential biogeochemical cycling at the land-sea interface. If their capacity diminishes due to climate impacts, we could see cascading effects on coastal water quality and marine life.

 Jessica A. Bullington et al, Microbial Community of a Sandy Beach Subterranean Estuary is Spatially Heterogeneous and Impacted by Winter Waves, Environmental Microbiology (2024). DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.70009

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 9:55am

The findings have exciting implications for health and disease. The researchers discovered that boosting BA-MCY levels in mice helped reduce fat accumulation in the liver, suggesting a potential treatment for conditions like fatty liver disease or high cholesterol. Moreover, dietary interventions such as increasing fiber intake enhanced BA-MCY production, hinting at the role of diet in managing this system.
This study reveals there is a dialogue occurring between the gut microbes and the body that is vital for regulating bile acid production.

Tae Hyung Won et al, Host metabolism balances microbial regulation of bile acid signalling, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08379-9

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 9:55am

Your gut bacteria are in a chemical tug-of-war with your body

Our gut is a bustling hub of activity, home to trillions of microbes that work together with our bodies to keep us healthy. A recent study explores one fascinating aspect of this partnership: how gut bacteria team up with the host body to regulate bile acids, essential molecules that control digestion, cholesterol levels, and fat metabolism.

Bile acids are produced in the liver and help digest fats. 

But it now has become clear that they're more than just digestive aids; they act as signaling molecules, regulating cholesterol levels, fat metabolism, and more. They do all this by binding to a receptor called FXR, which acts like a traffic light, controlling cholesterol metabolism and bile acid production to avoid excess buildup.

Here's where the microbes come in: gut bacteria can modify bile acids to completely change their activity. Bacteria can turn bile acids into forms that strongly activate FXR, signaling the body to slow down bile production and modify other aspects of fat metabolism. Scientists have long wondered how the body counteracts this microbial chokehold on metabolism.

In the study, researchers identified a clever trick the body uses to keep the microbial influence in check (the study used mice as a model). They found that in the intestines, the body further modifies the microbial bile acids into a new family of derivatives, called BA-MCYs, using an enzyme named VNN1. Unlike the forms made by gut bacteria, these BA-MCYs act as FXR antagonists—essentially flipping the "off switch" on FXR. This encourages bile production rather than limiting it.

This balancing act is crucial. When gut bacteria produce lots of bile acids that strongly activate FXR, the body pushes back by making BA-MCYs, ensuring the bile acid system stays finely tuned. This interplay highlights how gut microbes interact with the host body in a dynamic, give-and-take relationship. Importantly, BA-MCYs were also detected in human blood samples, indicating that the same mechanism also operates in people.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 8:59am

Microscopic robots that swim towards chemical signals offer precise drug delivery solutions

Imagine microscopic robots that can navigate the body, delivering medicine precisely to damaged tissues while avoiding side effects. Researchers have discovered a new breakthrough that brings this vision closer to reality.

The research, published in the journal Soft Matter, demonstrates how specially designed microscopic robots, known as Janus particles, can detect and navigate towards chemical signals, much like bacteria-sensing food.

When placed near a chemical-releasing patch, the particles can automatically "swim" toward it and maintain a stable hovering position directly above it. Drug-carrying particles could automatically locate and hover over infected or damaged tissue that releases specific chemical signals, delivering medication precisely where needed.

Elongated particles, shaped like microscopic rods, proved more effective at maintaining their position compared to spherical ones, which tended to drift away over time.

This research brings us closer to having 'smart' microscopic devices that can deliver medicine exactly where it's needed in the body, much like having a tiny, precise delivery service at the cellular level. Instead of flooding the whole body with medication, which can cause side effects, these microscopic robots could 'swim' directly to the problem area—whether it's an infection, tumor or injury—and deliver treatment right at that spot.

Viviana Mancuso et al, Chemotactic behavior for a self-phoretic Janus particle near a patch source of fuel, Soft Matter (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00733F

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 8:53am

This is an observational study, and therefore no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. And the researchers acknowledge that the findings may not apply to diverse ethnicities as most of the UK Biobank's participants are white. Nor were they able to assess the risk associated with different types of stroke.
Nevertheless, they conclude, "Given that age and sex are readily available, and retinal parameters can be obtained through routine fundus photography, this model presents a practical and easily implementable approach for incident stroke risk assessment, particularly for primary health care and low-resource settings."

Retinal vascular fingerprints predict incident stroke: findings from the UK Biobank cohort study, Heart (2025). DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2024-324705

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 8:51am

Vascular 'fingerprint' at the back of the eye can accurately predict stroke risk

A vascular 'fingerprint' on the light sensitive tissue layer at the back of the eye—the retina—can predict a person's risk of stroke as accurately as traditional risk factors alone, but without the need for multiple invasive lab tests, finds research published online in the journal Heart.

The fingerprint, comprising 29 indicators of vascular health, is a practical and readily implementable approach that is particularly well suited for primary health care and low-resource settings, conclude the researchers.

Stroke affects around 100 million people around the globe and kills 6.7 million of them every year, point out the researchers. Most cases are caused by modifiable risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor diet, and smoking.

The retina's intricate vascular network is known to share common anatomical and physiological features with the vasculature of the brain, making it an ideal candidate for assessing damage from systemic ill health, such as diabetes, explain the researchers.

Its potential for stroke risk prediction hasn't been fully explored, due to variable study findings and inconsistent use of the specialized imaging technique for the back of the eye—fundus photography—they add.

But machine learning (AI), such as the Retina-based Microvascular Health Assessment System (RMHAS), has opened up the possibilities for the identification of biological markers that can accurately predict stroke risk without the need for invasive lab tests, say the researchers.

To explore this further, they measured 30 indicators across five categories of retinal vascular architecture in fundus images from 68,753 UK Biobank study participants.

The five categories included caliber (length, diameter, ratio) density, twistedness, branching angle and complexity of the veins and arteries.

And they accounted for potentially influential risk factors: background demographic and socioeconomic factors; lifestyle; and health parameters, including blood pressure, cholesterol, HbA1c (blood glucose indicator), and weight (BMI).

The final analysis included 45,161 participants (average age 55). During an average monitoring period of 12.5 years, 749 participants had a stroke.

These people tended to be significantly older, male, current smokers, and to have diabetes. They also weighed more, had higher blood pressure, and lower levels of 'good' cholesterol, all of which are known risk factors for stroke.

In all, 118 retinal vascular measurable indicators were included, of which 29 were significantly associated with first time stroke risk after adjusting for traditional risk factors. Over half (17) were density indicators; eight fell into the complexity category; three were caliber indicators; and one came under the twistedness category.

Each change in density indicators was associated with an increased stroke risk of 10–19%, while similar changes in caliber indicators were associated with an increased risk of 10–14%.

Each decrease in the complexity and twistedness indicators was associated with an increased risk of 10.5-19.5%.

This retinal 'vascular fingerprint,' even when combined with just age and sex, was as good as the use of traditional risk factors alone for predicting future stroke risk, the findings showed.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 8:37am

A mix of quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews was used with 666 participants in the United Kingdom. They were distributed across three age groups (17–25, 26–45, 46 and older) and had varying educational backgrounds.

Quantitative data collection involved a 23-item questionnaire measuring AI tool usage, cognitive offloading tendencies, and critical thinking skills, utilizing scales like the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA). ANOVA, correlation, multiple regression, and random forest regression analyses provided statistical insights. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 50 participants underwent thematic analysis for contextual depth.

Statistical analyses demonstrated a significant negative correlation between AI tool usage and critical thinking scores (r = -0.68, p < 0.001). Frequent AI users exhibited diminished ability to critically evaluate information and engage in reflective problem-solving.

Cognitive offloading was strongly correlated with AI tool usage (r = +0.72) and inversely related to critical thinking (r = -0.75). Mediation analysis revealed that cognitive offloading partially explains the negative relationship between AI reliance and critical thinking performance.

Younger participants (17–25) showed higher dependence on AI tools and lower critical thinking scores compared to older age groups. Advanced educational attainment correlated positively with critical thinking skills, suggesting that education mitigates some cognitive impacts of AI reliance.

Random forest regression (R² = 0.37) and multiple regression analyses highlighted diminishing returns on critical thinking with increasing AI usage, emphasizing a threshold beyond which cognitive engagement significantly declines.

Three themes emerged from the qualitative interviews. Many participants acknowledged heavy reliance on AI for tasks like memory and decision-making, with younger users particularly affected. Respondents expressed concerns about losing critical thinking skills due to the habitual use of AI tools. Issues such as algorithmic bias and lack of transparency in AI recommendations were frequently mentioned.

The study's findings, if replicated, could have significant implications for educational policy and the integration of AI in professional settings. Schools and universities might want to emphasize critical thinking exercises and metacognitive skill development to counterbalance AI reliance and cognitive effects.

Developers of AI systems might consider cognitive implications, ensuring their tools encourage a level of engagement rather than passive reliance.

 Michael Gerlich, AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking, Societies (2025). DOI: 10.3390/soc15010006

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 14, 2025 at 8:34am

Increased AI use linked to eroding critical thinking skills

As it is most people don't think critically. Now the other small percentage of people who do are also under the danger of losing their skills if they use too much of AI. 

A new study has found that increased reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) tools is linked to diminished critical thinking abilities. It points to cognitive offloading as a primary driver of the decline.

AI's influence is growing fast. A quick search of AI-related science stories reveals how fundamental a tool it has become. Thousands of AI-assisted, AI-supported and AI-driven analyses and decision-making tools help scientists improve their research.

AI has also become more integrated into daily activities, from virtual assistants to complex information and decision support. Increased usage is beginning to influence how people think, especially impactful among younger people, who are avid users of the technology in their personal lives.

An attractive aspect of AI tools is cognitive offloading, where individuals rely on the tools to reduce mental effort. As the technology is both very new and rapidly being adopted in unforeseeable ways, questions arise about its potential long-term impacts on cognitive functions like memory, attention, and problem-solving under prolonged periods or volume of cognitive offloading taking place.

In the study "AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking," published in Societies, researchers investigate whether AI tool usage correlates with critical thinking scores and explores how cognitive offloading mediates this relationship.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 13, 2025 at 11:18am

Antarctic ice melt may fuel eruptions of hidden volcanoes

A slow climate feedback loop may be bubbling beneath Antarctica's vast ice sheet. The continent, divided east to west by the Transantarctic Mountains, includes volcanic giants such as Mount Erebus and its iconic lava lake. But at least 100 less conspicuous volcanoes dot Antarctica, with many clustered along its western coast. Some of those volcanoes peak above the surface, but others sit several kilometers beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Climate change is causing the ice sheet to melt, raising global sea levels. The melting is also removing the weight over the rocks below, with more local consequences. Ice sheet melt has been shown to increase volcanic activity in subglacial volcanoes elsewhere on the globe.

Researchers ran 4,000 computer simulations to study how ice sheet loss affects Antarctica's buried volcanoes, and they found that gradual melt could increase the number and size of subglacial eruptions. The findings are published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

The reason is that this unloading of ice sheets reduces pressure on magma chambers below the surface, causing the compressed magma to expand. This expansion increases pressure on magma chamber walls and can lead to eruptions.

Some magma chambers also hold copious amounts of volatile gases, which are normally dissolved into the magma. As the magma cools and when overburden pressure reduces, those gases rush out of solution like carbonation out of a newly opened bottle of soda, increasing the pressure in the magma chamber. This pressure means that melting ice can expedite the onset of an eruption from a subglacial volcano.

Eruptions of subglacial volcanoes may not be visible on the surface, but they can have consequences for the ice sheet. Heat from these eruptions can increase ice melting deep below the surface and weaken the overlying ice sheet—potentially leading to a feedback loop of reduced pressure from the surface and further volcanic eruptions.

The authors stress that this process is slow, taking place over hundreds of years. But that means the theorized feedback could continue even if the world curtails anthropogenic warming.

 A. N. Coonin et al, Magma Chamber Response to Ice Unloading: Applications to Volcanism in the West Antarctic Rift System, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024GC011743

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