New Strategy by Mount Sinai to Serve a Diverse Community

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed a new statistical method, BridgePRS, to improve predictions of disease in non-European populations, particularly people of African descent. This method addresses the limitations of current polygenic risk scores, which are less accurate for non-European ancestry, and represents an important step toward personalized medicine and reducing healthcare disparities. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Statistical methods enhance prediction of genetic diseases in non-European populations and address health care equity.

A team of scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed BridgePRS, a groundbreaking statistical method to better predict disease in people of non-European descent, particularly people of African descent. This development represents an important step towards reducing healthcare disparities and a future of more personalized and precise medical interventions based on genetic information. Details of their research can be found today (December 20, 2023). natural genetics.

Addressing healthcare inequalities with enhanced polygenic risk scores

Current polygenic risk scores (PRS) are essential tools for predicting disease risk; DNA, based on genetic data from individuals of primarily European descent. This bias makes statistics less accurate for people of African and Asian descent and exacerbates health care inequalities between different ethnic groups.

The researchers undertook this study to improve disease prediction from genetics in non-European populations. Although the main goal of personalized medicine is disease prevention, the current PRS is a weak predictor, especially in non-European populations.

BridgePRS improves prediction for individuals of African descent in the New York BioMe cohort.Credit: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Closing the gap in genetic disease prediction

“More genetic data from diverse ancestry is needed, but our method can help combine existing data to maximize disease prediction for all people,” says Genetics and Genome Sciences. Dr. Clive Hoggart, assistant professor and lead author of the paper, explained. “This progress is possible because the biology that causes disease is strikingly similar across ancestry.”

“We hope our method opens the door to scientific investigation of disease risk in diverse populations around the world,” said lead author Dr. Paul O’Reilly, associate professor of genetics and genomic sciences. “The prevalence of diseases and the importance of different biological pathways vary globally. Understanding these differences is critical to advancing disease prediction and treatment.”

The field of optimizing disease prediction using PRS is highly competitive and is driving rapid progress. Dr O’Reilly said: “Our BridgePRS method is particularly promising for predicting disease in people of African descent, a population with rich genetic diversity that can provide new insights into human disease. ” states.

While recognizing the potential of genetics and DNA in predicting future disease and the role of PRS in precision medicine, it is important to understand that the biology that causes disease does not differ significantly by ancestry group or race. It is important.

Reference: “BridgePRS exploits shared genetic effects between ancestors to improve portability of polygenic risk scores,” December 20, 2023, Nature Genetics.
DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01583-9

All remaining authors are Icahn Mount Sinai and Dr. Shing Wan Choi, except where noted. (Regeneron Genetics Center), Judit García-González, Ph.D., Tade Souaiaia, Ph.D. (Suny Downstate Health Sciences), and Michael Prouss, Ph.D.

This research was funded by grant number R01MH122866 from the National Institute of Mental Health and grant number R01HG012773 from the National Human Genome Research Institute.

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Solar Phenomena Cast a Spell on Canadian Skies

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

by
Lindsay Dorman, NASA Earth Observatory
December 20, 2023

December 17, 2023

Increased solar activity has led to widespread aurora borealis across Canada.

A surge in solar activity in mid-December 2023 caused energetic particles to collide with Earth’s magnetosphere, creating rippling auroras across Earth’s northern latitudes. VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite)
NOAA–
NASA
The Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of light from the aurora borealis over western Canada in the early morning hours of December 17, 2023. VIIRS’s day/night band detects nighttime light at wavelengths ranging from green to near-infrared, using filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, moonlight reflections, and the aurora borealis.

Origin of the aurora borealis

These auroras may have resulted from several coronal mass ejections.
observed December 14th and 15th.mild to moderate
Magnetic storm situation Weather forecasts were expected within days, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
coronal mass ejection contains large amounts of
plasma It is emitted from the sun’s corona and carries an embedded magnetic field.Interactions between these emissions from the Sun and Earth’s upper atmosphere
produce light Produces a colorful aurora.

Increased solar activity

Solar activity is increasing as we approach the peak of solar cycle 25, which is predicted to occur on or around the year 25.
July 2025. The Sun’s magnetic field reverses at the peak of these cycles, and each cycle lasts about 11 years. Scientists track fluctuations in solar activity by monitoring the number and location of sunspots, the dark spots on the sun’s surface that are the main cause of solar eruptions.

Relationship between aurora and solar flares

The aurora seen here occurred several days after the aurora borealis.
strongest solar flare How has this solar cycle been so far? While coronal mass ejections take days to reach Earth, solar flares can reach Earth in minutes and disrupt radio communications. Coronal mass ejections often, but not always, occur in parallel with solar flares.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin using VIIRS day/night data from the Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership.

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Solar Activity Brings NASA’s NEOWISE 10-Year Mission to a Close

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

NEOWISE Mission

This artist’s concept shows the Wide Field Infrared Surveyor (WISE) spacecraft orbiting the Earth. The NEOWISE mission will find and characterize asteroids.
Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology

Infrared space telescopes searching for asteroids and comets have collected vast amounts of observations, but are now at the mercy of the sun, which is accelerating their demise.

NASA’s Neowise It’s been a busy 10 years. Since its resumed mission began on December 13, 2013, the space telescope has discovered once-in-a-lifetime comets, observed more than 3,000 near-Earth objects, strengthened international planetary defense strategies, and It has helped other NASA missions rendezvous with distant space. asteroid. This is just a partial list of achievements.

But all good things must come to an end. Solar activity is pushing NEOWISE (short for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) out of orbit. By early 2025, the spacecraft is expected to have fallen far enough into Earth’s atmosphere that it will become unusable. Eventually it will re-enter the atmosphere and burn up completely.

Approximately every 11 years, the Sun goes through a cycle of increasing activity, peaking during a period called solar maximum. Explosive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections will become more frequent, heating the Earth’s atmosphere and causing it to expand. Atmospheric gases increase the drag on satellites as they orbit the Earth, slowing them down. Now, as the Sun approaches its next maximum, NEOWISE will no longer be able to maintain its orbit above the atmosphere.

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE is a composite of several heat-sensitive infrared images taken by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission on March 27, 2020. Appears as a blurry red dot.
Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology

“The mission has been planning for this day for a long time. After several years of lull, the sun is waking up again,” said NEOWISE co-principal investigator and researcher at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. said Joseph Masiello, a scientist with the organization IPAC. “With us at the mercy of solar activity and no means of staying in orbit, NEOWISE is now slowly spiraling back to Earth.”

wise beginnings

The past decade has meant a second life for the spacecraft. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NEOWISE is part of another mission launched in 2009, the Wide-Field Infrared Surveyor (wise). Data from WISE and NEOWISE is used to study distant galaxies, cold stars, and explosions. white dwarf Stars, gas-emitting comets, near-Earth asteroids, etc.

In 2010, WISE achieved its scientific goal of conducting an all-sky infrared survey with far greater sensitivity than previous surveys. WISE mission also discovered tens of millions of actively feeding supermassive black holes across the sky.through disc detective In this project, citizen scientists used WISE data to find circumstellar disks, which are clouds of gas, dust, and debris that rotate around stars.

Infrared wavelengths, which are invisible to the naked eye, are emitted by warm objects. To ensure that the heat generated by WISE itself does not interfere with observations in infrared wavelengths, the spacecraft relied on cryogenic coolant. NASA put the spacecraft into hibernation in February 2011 after it ran out of coolant and WISE mapped the sky twice.

Without the coolant, space telescopes could no longer observe the coldest objects in the universe, but they could still see near-Earth asteroids and comets heated by the sun. So NASA restarted the spacecraft in 2013 with a more specialized role in mind. The goal is to support planetary defense efforts by investigating and studying objects that may wander into Earth’s orbit and pose a potential collision hazard.

In addition to relying on missions to explore these objects, astronomers use that data to understand the object’s size, albedo, or how much sunlight its surface reflects, and the composition of its structure. You can also collect clues about the minerals and rocks you find.

“NEOWISE demonstrates the importance of deploying infrared space exploration telescopes as part of NASA’s planetary defense strategy while also monitoring objects in our solar system and beyond,” said lead researcher Amy, from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Mainzer said. .

Mainzer also leads NASA’s future plans. NEO surveyor, built on the NEOWISE tradition. The next generation of infrared space telescopes will search for celestial objects close to the Earth, such as dark asteroids and comets that do not reflect much visible light, or objects that approach the Earth from the direction of the sun. Sun. The launch is scheduled for 2027. JPL-Managed missions will also explore objects known as Earth Trojans – asteroids that lead or follow our planet’s orbit. The first one is wise discovery In 2011.

Comet NEOWISE and beyond

Since becoming NEOWISE, the mission has scanned the entire sky more than 20 times and made 1.45 million infrared measurements on more than 44,000 Solar System objects. This includes over 3,000 near-Earth objects, 215 of which were discovered by his NEOWISE. Data from the mission helped refine the orbits of these objects, while also measuring their sizes.

Its strength is in revealing the characteristics of asteroids near the Earth. In 2021, NEOWISE became a key component of an international planetary defense exercise focused on the dangerous asteroid Apophis.

The mission also discovered 25 comets, including long-period comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE). The comet was a dazzling object visible in the Northern Hemisphere for several weeks in 2020, making it the first comet to be visible to the naked eye since 2007, when Comet McNaught was primarily visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

Future researchers will use WISE in 2010, long after observations were made to characterize the asteroid Dinkinesh, in support of NASA’s Lucy mission before the October 2023 encounter. Just as we used the data, we will continue to rely on the vast archive of NEOWISE observations to make new discoveries.

“This is a bittersweet moment. We are sad to see this pioneering mission come to an end, but we know there are even more treasures hidden in the survey data,” Masiello said. “NEOWISE has a vast archive that covers a very long period of time and will inevitably advance the science of the infrared universe long after the spacecraft leaves.”

Mission details
NEOWISE and NEO Surveyor are part of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 directs NASA to discover and characterize at least 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (460 feet) in diameter that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of Earth’s orbit. did. An object of this size could cause significant damage to the region, and it would be even worse if it crashed into Earth.
JPL manages and operates PDCO’s NEOWISE mission within the Science Mission Directorate. The Astrodynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the scientific instrument. Ball Aerospace & Technologies of Boulder, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Scientific data processing will take place at IPAC at the California Institute of Technology. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Decoding Earth’s magnetosphere: A simplified understanding

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Earth’s magnetosphere, essential for protecting us from solar radiation, is in sharp contrast to Mars, which has lost its protective field. Studying this shield, especially through NASA missions such as the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, is important for understanding space weather and its effects on Earth.

What is Earth’s magnetosphere?

Enveloping our planet and protecting us from the wrath of the sun is a giant magnetic bubble called the magnetosphere. It deflects most of the solar material that rushes toward us from our star at more than 1 million miles per hour. Without the magnetosphere, the relentless activity of these solar particles could strip Earth of the protective layer that protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. It is clear that this magnetic bubble was the key to the development of Earth into a habitable planet.

The magnetosphere envelops our planet and protects us from the brunt of the sun, and is key to Earth’s development into a habitable planet. credit: NASA

Earth vs. Mars: The role of the magnetosphere

compare with earth Mars – A planet that lost its magnetosphere about 4.2 billion years ago. It is thought that solar winds stripped away most of Mars’ atmosphere, probably after the Red Planet’s magnetic field disappeared. As a result, Mars is the desolate, barren world we see today through the “eyes” of NASA’s orbiters and probes. In contrast, Earth’s magnetosphere appears to continue to protect the atmosphere.

“If we didn’t have the magnetic field, we might be left with a completely different atmosphere, devoid of life as we know it,” said Eftihir Zesta of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Geospace Physics Laboratory. states.

The magnetosphere is the result of the Earth’s internal magnetic field, generated by the rotation and convection of electrically conductive material within its central core. This magnetic field spreads out into space and acts as a shield against the solar wind, forming the magnetosphere.

Understanding and researching the magnetosphere

Understanding the magnetosphere is a key element in helping scientists predict space weather that could one day impact technology on Earth. Extreme space weather events can disrupt communication networks. GPS Navigation and power grids.

The magnetosphere is a permeable shield. The solar wind periodically connects to the magnetosphere and forces its reconfiguration. This can cause cracks and allow energy to flow into our safe haven. These cracks open and close many times a day, sometimes even an hour. Most of them are small and short-lived. Others are vast and persistent. When the sun’s magnetic field connects with the Earth’s magnetic field, fireworks begin.

“Earth’s magnetosphere absorbs incoming energy from the solar wind and releases it in bursts in the form of magnetic storms and substorms,” Zesta said.

Illustration of four MMS spacecraft in orbit in the Earth’s magnetic field. Credit: NASA

Magnetic Reconnection and MMS Mission

How does this happen? Magnetic field lines converge and rearrange, resulting in magnetic energy and charged particles flying around at breakneck speeds. Scientists have been trying to understand why this crossing of magnetic field lines, called magnetic reconnection, causes such violent explosions and opens cracks in the magnetosphere.

NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) launched in March 2015 to make the first observations of the electronic physics of magnetic reconnection. Four of her MMS spacecraft, packed with high-energy particle detectors and magnetic sensors, flew close to the region on the surface of Earth’s magnetosphere where magnetic reconnection occurs. Since then, MMS has conducted similar searches in the magnetotail.

MMS complements the missions of NASA and partner agencies such as THEMIS, Cluster, and Geotail, and will provide important new details for ongoing studies of Earth’s magnetosphere. The data obtained from these surveys not only helps us understand the fundamental physics of the universe, but also helps improve space weather forecasting.

Source: scitechdaily.com

New Research Uncovers the Secrets of Sarcomeres

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Diagram of interacting thick and thin filaments within cardiac sarcomeres based on structural cryo-electron tomography data. Credit: MPI of Molecular Physiology

Scientists have captured the first true-to-life 3D images of the thick filaments of a mammal’s heart muscle.

Atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke are among the serious health conditions that can result from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and are important factors in sudden cardiac death in people under 35 years of age.

“The heart muscle is the central engine of the human body. Of course, if you know how engines are made and how they work, it’s easy to repair a broken engine,” says Stefan Lunser. say. “At the beginning of our study of muscle, we were able to use cryo-electron microscopy to visualize the structure of key muscle components and how they interact.”

“But these were still images of proteins taken from living cells. We just don’t teach them much,” Rounser said.

through thick and thin

Skeletal and cardiac muscles contract through the interaction of two types of parallel protein filaments (thin and thick) within the sarcomere. Sarcomeres are subdivided into several regions called zones and bands, and these filaments are arranged in different ways.

Thin filaments are composed of F-actin, troponin, tropomyosin, and nebulin. Thick filaments are formed by myosin, titin, and myosin-binding protein C (MyBP-C). The latter can form bonds between filaments, while the so-called motor protein myosin interacts with thin filaments to generate force and muscle contraction.

Thick filament structures within relaxed cardiac sarcomeres. The image above shows a tomographic slice of a cardiac sarcomere. Thin filaments are marked with green marks, thick filaments with purple arrows. The middle image shows reconstructed thick filaments (purple) and thin filaments (green). The image below shows the structure of thin filaments spanning several sarcomere regions. Scale bar indicates 50 nm. credit:
Molecular Physiology MPI

Muscle research milestones

“If we want to fully understand how muscles work at the molecular level, we need to delineate their components in their natural environment. This is one of the biggest challenges in biological research today. and cannot be addressed using traditional experimental approaches,” says Rounser.

To overcome this obstacle, his team developed an electron cryo-tomography workflow specifically for examining muscle samples. The scientists flash-frozen mammalian heart muscle samples produced by his Gautel group in London at very low temperatures (-175°C). ).

3D structure of a sarcomere showing thick filaments (purple) and thin filaments (green). Credit: MPI of Molecular Physiology

This maintains moisture and microstructure, keeping it pristine. Next, a focused ion beam (FIB milling) is applied to thin the sample to a thickness of approximately 100 nanometers, ideal for transmission electron microscopy, and multiple images are acquired while tilting the sample along its axis. Masu. Finally, computational methods reconstruct his three-dimensional image in high resolution.

In recent years, Raunser’s group has successfully applied customized workflows and recently published two groundbreaking publications. They created the first high-resolution images of sarcomeres and, so far, a misty muscle protein called nebulin. Both studies investigated the 3D organization of muscle proteins in sarcomeres, such as how myosin binds to actin to control muscle contraction, and how nebulin binds to actin to stabilize it and its We provide unprecedented insight into the 3D organization of muscle proteins in sarcomeres, including what determines their length.

complete the picture

In the current study, scientists have created, for the first time, high-resolution images of the heart’s thick filaments spanning several regions of the sarcomere. “With a length of 500 nm, this makes it the longest and largest structure ever resolved by cryo-ET,” said Davide Tamborini of MPI Dortmund, lead author of the study. Masu.

Even more impressive is the new insight gained into the molecular organization of the thick filaments and, by extension, their function. The arrangement of myosin molecules depends on their position within the filament.

Scientists believe that this allows the thick filaments to sense and process a large number of muscle-regulating signals and adjust the strength of muscle contractions depending on the sarcomere area. They also revealed how titin chains run along the filament. Titin chains intertwine with myosin and serve as a scaffold for its assembly, likely regulating length-dependent sarcomere activation.

“Our goal is to one day paint a complete picture of sarcomeres. The images of thick filaments in this study are ‘only’ snapshots of the muscle in its relaxed state. “We want to analyze sarcomeres in different states, such as during contraction, to fully understand how they function and how they are regulated,” says Rounser.

Comparisons with samples from patients with muscle diseases will ultimately contribute to a better understanding of diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the development of innovative treatments.

Reference: “Structure of native myosin filaments in relaxed cardiac sarcomeres” Davide Tamborrini, Zhexin Wang, Thorsten Wagner, Sebastian Tacke, Markus Stabrin, Michael Grange, Ay Lin Kho, Martin Rees, Pauline Bennett, Mathias Gautel, Stefan Raunser, 2023 October 32nd Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06690-5

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Secrets of Mesopotamian Bricks Uncovered

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Based on the interpretation of the inscription, the bricks date back to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 604-562 BC). The item was plundered from its original situation before being acquired by the Slemani Museum and was kept at the museum with the consent of the central government. Image courtesy of Slemani Museum.Credit: Slemani Museum

In a new study, researchers used bricks from ancient Mesopotamia to gain insight into changes in Earth’s magnetic field 3,000 years ago. This archaeomagnetic approach provides a more accurate way to date ancient artifacts and understand historical magnetic field fluctuations.

Ancient bricks inscribed with the names of Mesopotamian kings have provided important insights into mysterious anomalies in Earth’s magnetic field 3,000 years ago, according to a new study by UCL researchers.

This study was published on December 18th. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)So, how were changes in the Earth’s magnetic field imprinted on the iron oxide particles in ancient clay bricks, and how could scientists reproduce these changes from the names of kings carved into the bricks? It explains about Tanaka.

Archaeomagnetic dating: a new dating tool

The researchers believe that by using this technique, “archaeological magnetism,” which looks for traces of the Earth’s magnetic field in archaeological items, they can improve the history of the Earth’s magnetic field and date artifacts more precisely than was previously possible. I hope it will be possible to identify it.

Co-author Professor Mark Altaweel (UCL Institute of Archeology) said: “To figure out the age of ancient Mesopotamia, we often rely on dating methods such as radiocarbon dating. However, some of the most common cultural remains, such as bricks and pottery, Because it does not contain organic material, it typically cannot be easily dated. This research is now an important study that will allow others to benefit from absolute dating using archaeomagnetics. It helps create a baseline for dating.”

The Earth’s magnetic field weakens and strengthens over time, and these changes leave distinct imprints on hot minerals that are sensitive to the magnetic field. The research team analyzed magnetic signatures hidden in iron oxide mineral particles embedded in 32 clay bricks excavated from archaeological sites across Mesopotamia, which overlaps with present-day Iraq. The strength of the planet’s magnetic field was etched into minerals when they were first burned by bricklayers thousands of years ago.

At the time the bricks were made, each brick was engraved with the name of the reigning king, and archaeologists have dated the names to various eras. Combining the engraved names with measurements of the iron oxide particle’s magnetic strength yielded a historical map of changes in the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field.

Uncovering geomagnetic anomalies during the Iron Age in the Levant

Researchers were able to confirm the existence of a “Levantine Iron Age geomagnetic anomaly.” This occurred between approximately 1050 and 550 BC, a period when the Earth’s magnetic field was unusually strong for unknown reasons around modern-day Iraq. Evidence of anomalies has been detected as far away as China, Bulgaria and the Azores, but data from the southern Middle East itself has been sparse.

“We can estimate the age of ancient heated artifacts by comparing them to what we know about ancient magnetic field conditions,” said lead author Professor Matthew Howland of Wichita State University. We can do that.”

Advanced technology and historical significance

To measure the iron oxide particles, the team carefully scraped off small pieces from the damaged surface of the brick and used a magnetometer to precisely measure the pieces.

By mapping changes in the Earth’s magnetic field over time, this data also provides archaeologists with new tools to help date some ancient artifacts. The magnetic strength of the iron oxide particles embedded within the fired product can be measured and matched against the known strength of the Earth’s historical magnetic field. The reigns of kings lasted anywhere from a few years to several decades, providing higher resolution than radiocarbon dating, which can only date artifacts to within a few hundred years.

A further benefit of archaeomagnetic dating of artifacts is that it can help historians more precisely pinpoint the reigns of somewhat obscure ancient kings. Although the length and sequence of their reigns are well known, there has been disagreement within the archaeological community as to the exact year they ascended the throne, as the historical record is incomplete. The researchers found that their technique is consistent with an understanding of the king’s reign known to archaeologists as “subchronology.”

The researchers also found that the Earth’s magnetic field appears to have changed dramatically over a relatively short period of time, from five samples taken during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, from 604 BC to 562 BC. and added evidence to the hypothesis that the intensity increased rapidly. Is possible.

Reference: “Exploring geomagnetic variation in ancient Mesopotamia: an archaeomagnetic study of carved bricks from the 3rd to 1st millennium BC” by Matthew D. Howland, Lisa Tokes, Shai Godin, Mark Altaweel, Brendan Syke, and Erez Ben-Yosef, 2023 December 18th, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313361120

Co-author Professor Lisa Tax of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (USA) said: Well-dated archaeological remains of the rich Mesopotamian culture, especially bricks inscribed with the names of particular kings, allow researchers to study changes in magnetic field strength with high temporal resolution over periods of decades or even shorter periods. provides an unprecedented opportunity to track changes that have occurred over time. ”

This research was conducted with funding from the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation.

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Corrosion Reimagined: A Revolutionary Approach

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists have used environmental TEM to uncover atomic-level secrets about how water vapor interacts with metals, causing corrosion and passivation. Their research provides insights into improved corrosion management and clean energy solutions, with broad economic and environmental benefits. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Groundbreaking research reveals new details about water vapor and metal interactions at the atomic level, with implications for corrosion control and clean energy development.

When water vapor comes into contact with metal, corrosion can occur and cause mechanical problems that negatively impact the performance of the machine. Through a process called passivation, a thin inert layer can also be formed that acts as a barrier against further degradation.

In any case, the exact chemical reactions are not well understood at the atomic level, but a technique called environmental transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allows researchers to directly observe interacting molecules on the smallest possible scale. Thanks to you, things are changing.

Innovative research in atomic reactions

Professor Guangwen Zhou, a faculty member in Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been studying the secrets of atomic reactions since joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2007. The national lab, along with collaborators at the University of Pittsburgh and Brookhaven University, has been studying the structural and functional properties of metals and the manufacturing process for “green” steels.

Their latest research, “Atomic Mechanism of Water Vapor-Induced Surface Passivation,” was recently published in a journal. scientific progress. Co-authors include his Binghamton doctoral students Xiaobo Chen, Dongxiang Wu, Chaoran Li, Shuonan Ye, and Shyam Bharatkumar Patel, MS ’21. Dr. Na Kai, 12 years. Dr. Zhao Liu, 2020. At the University of Pittsburgh, he is Weitao Shan, MS ’16, and Guofeng Wang. Sooyeon Hwang, Dmitri N. Zakharov, and Jorge Anibal Boscoboinik of Brookhaven National Laboratory;

Transmission electron microscopy images of aluminum oxide surfaces show that the passive oxide film formed in water vapor consists of an inner amorphous aluminum oxide layer and an outer crystalline aluminum hydroxide layer.Credit: Provided

In their paper, Chou and his team introduced water vapor to cleaned aluminum samples and observed the surface reactions.

“This phenomenon is well known because it occurs in our daily lives,” he says. “But how do water molecules react with aluminum to form this passive layer? [research] In the literature, how this happens at the atomic scale has not been well studied. If you want to use it for good, there is some way to control it and you need to know it. ”

They discovered something that had never been observed before. In addition to the aluminum hydroxide layer formed on the surface, a second amorphous layer developed underneath. This indicates that there is a transport mechanism that allows oxygen to diffuse into the substrate.

“Most corrosion research focuses on the growth of the passive layer and how it slows down the corrosion process,” Zhou says. “We feel that if we look at the atomic scale, we can fill in the gaps in knowledge.”

Guangwen Zhou is a professor of mechanical engineering in the Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.Credit: Jonathan Cohen

Economic and Environmental Impact of Corrosion Research Economic and Environmental Impact of Corrosion Research

The cost of remediating corrosion worldwide is estimated at $2.5 trillion annually, which is more than 3% of global GDP. Therefore, developing better ways to manage oxidation would be an economic boon.

Additionally, understanding how the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water molecules break down and interact with metals could lead to clean energy solutions, and the U.S. Department of Energy is excited about this research and Zhou’s past work. That’s why we funded a similar project.

“If you split water into oxygen and hydrogen, when they recombine, it’s just water again,” he says. “There is no fossil fuel pollution and no carbon dioxide production.”

Because of its impact on clean energy, the Department of Energy has periodically renewed Chou’s grant over the past 15 years.

“We are very grateful for the long-term support for this research,” said Zhou. “This is a very important issue for energy devices and systems because of the large amount of metal alloys used as structural materials.”

Reference: “Atomic mechanism of water vapor-induced surface passivation” Xiaobo Chen, Weitao Shan, Dongxiang Wu, Shyam Bharatkumar Patel, Na Cai, Chaoran Li, Shuonan Ye, Zhao Liu, Sooyeon Hwang, Dmitri N. Zakharov, Jorge Anibal Boscoboinik Written by Wang Feng and Zhou Guangwen, November 1, 2023, scientific progress.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh5565

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High-profile ocean models accelerated by custom software

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

This figure shows surface currents simulated by MPAS-Ocean.Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory, E3SM, U.S. Department of Energy

A new solver algorithm for the MPAS-Ocean model will significantly enhance climate research by reducing and improving computational time. Accuracy. This breakthrough in integrating Fortran and C++ programming is a step forward in efficient and reliable climate modeling.

On the beach, ocean waves provide soothing white noise. However, in scientific laboratories, they play an important role in weather forecasting and climate research. The ocean, along with the atmosphere, is typically one of the largest and most computationally intensive components of Earth system models, such as the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM).

A breakthrough in ocean modeling

Most modern ocean models focus on two categories of waves: barotropic systems, where the wave propagation speed is fast, and baroclinic systems, where the wave propagation speed is slow. To address the challenge of simulating these two modes simultaneously, a team from DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories has We have developed a new solver algorithm to shorten it. -Ocean, E3SM ocean circulation model, increased by 45%.

The researchers tested the software on the Summit supercomputer at ORNL’s Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility, and the Compy supercomputer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. They ran the main simulations on the Cori and Perlmutter supercomputers at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and their results were International Journal of High Performance Computing Applicationss.

Computing innovations for climate modeling

because TrilinosBecause open source software databases ideal for solving scientific problems on supercomputers are written in the C++ programming language, and Earth system models like E3SM are typically written in Fortran, the team took advantage of the advantages of For Trilinois an associated software library that incorporates Fortran interfaces into existing C++ packages to design and customize new solvers focused on barotropic waves.

“A nice feature of this interface is that you can use all the components of the C++ package in the Fortran language, so you don’t have to translate anything, which is very convenient,” said lead author Hyun, a computational earth systems scientist. Kang said. ORNL.

Improvements to MPAS-Ocean

This work is built on Research results announced before Journal of Advances in Earth System Modeling In this paper, researchers at ORNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory handcrafted code to improve MPAS-Ocean. This time, the ForTrilinos-enabled solver overcomes the remaining shortcomings of the solver obtained in previous studies, especially when the user runs his MPAS-Ocean using a small number of computing cores for a given problem size. Did.

MPAS-Ocean’s default solver is an explicit sub-solver, a technique that uses a large number of small time intervals or time steps to compute barotropic wave properties in conjunction with baroclinic calculations without destabilizing the model. Cycle dependent. If the barotropic and barotropic waves can be advanced with time step sizes of 300 and 15 seconds, respectively, then to maintain the same speed the barotropic calculation would need to complete over 20 times more iterations, a huge amount requires computational power.

In contrast, the new solver for barotropic systems is semi-implicit. That is, it is unconditionally stable, allowing researchers to use the same number of large time steps without sacrificing accuracy, saving significant time and computational power.

The community of software developers has spent years optimizing Trillinos and Fort Lilinos’ various climate applications. As such, a modern MPAS-Ocean solver that leverages this resource will outperform hand-crafted solvers and enable other scientists to accelerate their climate research efforts.

“If we had to code every algorithm individually, it would require much more effort and expertise,” Kang said. “But with this software, you can run simulations quickly and quickly by incorporating optimized algorithms into your programs.”

Future enhancements and impact

Current solvers still have scalability limitations for high-performance computing systems, but they perform very well up to a certain number of processors. This drawback exists because the semi-implicit method requires all processors to communicate with each other at least 10 times per time step, which can reduce model performance. To overcome this obstacle, researchers are currently optimizing processor communication and porting solvers to GPUs.

In addition, the team updated the time-stepping method of the pressure clinic system to further improve the efficiency of MPAS-Ocean. Through these advances, researchers are making climate predictions faster and more reliable, an essential upgrade to ensure climate security and enable timely decision-making and high-resolution forecasting, aims to be more accurate.

“This barotropic mode solver enables faster calculations and more stable integration of models, especially for MPAS-Ocean,” said Kang. “Extensive use of computational resources requires enormous amounts of power and energy, but by accelerating this model we can reduce energy usage, improve simulations, and improve performance over decades and even beyond.” It will be easier to predict the effects of climate change thousands of years into the future.”

Reference: “MPAS-ocean implicit pressure mode solver using a modern Fortran solver interface” by Hyun-Gyu Kang, Raymond S Tuminaro, Andrey Prokopenko, Seth R Johnson, Andrew G Salinger, Katherine J Evans, 2023. November 17th, International Journal of High Performance Computing Applications.
DOI: 10.1177/10943420231205601

This research was supported by E3SM and the Exascale Computing Project (ECP). E3SM is sponsored by the DOE Office of Science’s Biological and Environmental Research Program, and ECP is managed by DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The DOE Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program funds OLCF and NERSC.

Source: scitechdaily.com

The Consequences of a Fat Cat: The Perspectives of Scientists

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

by University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences December 19, 2023

A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign revealed the effects of overfeeding on cats’ digestive systems and gut microbiota. The study involved 11 cats and showed that an unrestricted diet led to significant weight gain, changes in gastrointestinal transit time, and changes in fecal microbiota and acidity. These findings contribute to the understanding of obesity in pets and inform weight management strategies such as feeding restriction and promotion of physical activity.

Cat owners want their pets to be happy, but overfeeding can have unintended consequences. The prevalence of obesity in cats is increasing, impacting their health, lifespan, and overall well-being. A new study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign looks at what happens to cats’ digestive systems and gut microbiota when they overeat.

“About 60% of cats in the United States are overweight, which can lead to health problems such as diabetes and chronic inflammation. A lot of research has been done on weight loss in cats; “There has been little focus on the reverse process. In this study, we wanted to learn more about the metabolic and gastrointestinal changes that occur as a result of overeating and weight gain in cats,” said study co-author and author of Animal Science said Kelly Swanson, professor and interim director of the department. The Department of Nutritional Sciences (DNS), part of the U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES).

Methodology and initial findings

The study included 11 spayed adult cats. They were fed standard dry cat food and allowed to eat as much as they wanted after 2 weeks of baseline measurements. Researchers regularly took blood and fecal samples and monitored physical activity.

Once the cat was able to overeat, her food intake immediately increased significantly and she began to gain weight. The mean body condition score (BCS) at the start of the study was 5.41 on a 9-point scale. After 18 weeks of overeating, the weight increases to 8.27, which corresponds to 30% overweight. According to Swanson, BCS corresponds to a person’s body mass index (BMI), and anything above 6 is considered overweight.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered that when cats overeat and gain weight, it affects their digestive systems and gut microbiota.Credit: Lauren Quinn, University of Illinois

Source: scitechdaily.com

The use of oral contraceptives correlates with decreased rates of depression

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

One study found that women who currently use oral contraceptives have lower rates of depression than women who previously used them. The study, which included 6,239 American women, suggests that reduced pregnancy concerns and potential “survivor bias” may explain this difference.

Researchers analyzed data from 6,239 women in the United States in the new study.

A recent study revealed that women who use oral contraceptive pills (OCP) are less likely to experience depression.

The study analyzed data from 6,239 U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 55. They found that current OCP users had a significantly lower rate of major depression at 4.6%, compared to 11.4% for women who had previously used OCPs.

The study was led by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), along with experts from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the University of California, Davis.

Possible explanations and observations

The researchers suggest two possible explanations for the study results that run counter to the commonly held belief that OCPs can cause depression.

One is that taking the pill relieves anxiety about unwanted pregnancies and helps OCP users improve their mental health. The results may also have been influenced by “survivor bias,” where women who experienced signs of depression while using OCPs stopped taking them and were placed in the category of former users.

This cross-sectional study used data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and controlled for demographic characteristics, chronic conditions, and antidepressant use.

Among both users and former users, women who were widowed, divorced or separated, obese, or had a history of cancer were more likely to report depression. Additionally, among former users, depression was more commonly reported among women who were black or Hispanic, smoked, had lower education, or experienced poverty.

Meaning and comments

Dr Julia Gawronska, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “Contraception is an important component of preventive health care. Most women tolerate oral contraceptives without experiencing symptoms of depression, but some women experience unpleasant side effects and even depression. It is possible to develop a disease, and the reasons for this are not entirely clear.

“Unlike some previous studies, we found that women currently taking oral contraceptives reported more clinically relevant depression than women who previously took oral contraceptives. Turns out it’s much less likely.

“Taking the pill may have positive mental health effects for some women simply by relieving them of anxiety about pregnancy. A ‘survivor effect’ may also be at play. Women who experience symptoms of depression are more likely to stop taking the drug, placing them in a group of former users.

“However, stopping the pill without a suitable alternative increases the risk of unplanned pregnancy. Make sure women are well supported, well informed and provided with alternative contraceptive methods if necessary.” It is important that it be done.”

References: “The Association between Oral Contraceptive Use and Depression in U.S. Women” by Julia Gawronska, Katherine Meese, Lee Smith, Chao Cao, Nan Wang, and Susan Walker, October 11, 2023. Affective Disorders Journal.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.041

Source: scitechdaily.com

NASA’s Laser Technology Beams Ultra-HD Cat Video from 19 Million Miles Away

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

NASA has made a significant advancement in deep space communications by successfully transmitting high-definition video from 19 million miles away. This breakthrough paves the way for advanced data transmission in space exploration. The video was transmitted from a cat named Taters and marked a historic milestone for NASA’s laser communications demonstration.

The Deep Space Optical Communications Experiment on December 11 transmitted ultra-high-resolution streaming video from a record-setting distance of 19 million miles. This milestone is part of a NASA technology demonstration aimed at streaming extremely high-bandwidth video and other data from deep space to enable future crewed missions beyond Earth orbit.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy stated, “This achievement confirms our commitment to advancing optical communications as a key element in meeting future data transmission needs. Increasing bandwidth is essential to achieving future exploration and science goals, and we look forward to continued advances in this technology and the transformation of how we communicate during future interplanetary missions.”

The 15-second test video was transmitted using a Flight Laser Transceiver at a maximum bit rate of 267 Mbps and took 101 seconds to reach Earth. The instrument transmitted a coded near-infrared laser to the Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory, where it was downloaded. Each frame of the video was transmitted “live” to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in real time.

The video was sent via a Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration flight laser transceiver that was installed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Center in April 2021 and later integrated with NASA’s Psyche spacecraft. The technology aims to transmit data from deep space 10 to 100 times faster than the most advanced radio frequency systems used in today’s deep space missions.

The ultra-high-definition video features a cat named Taters and was transmitted from deep space on December 11, 2023. The video was part of a technology demonstration known as Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) as the Psyche spacecraft heads towards the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The system has demonstrated faster data downlink speeds and increased pointing accuracy during weekly checkouts. The project demonstrated downlink bit rates of 62.5 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 267 Mbps, comparable to broadband Internet download speeds. The team was able to download a total of 1.3 terabits of data during that time, marking a significant technological achievement.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Becoming a Fluid Mechanics Expert: Crafting Four Classic Cocktails

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Proteins come together to create the foam in gin fizz.

alex oberheiser

You may think that complex equations and alcohol don’t or shouldn’t mix. But when you make your favorite cocktail, you’ll unknowingly encounter one of the most complex processes in fluid mechanics, the study of how liquids flow.

When researchers try to predict how fluids move, bubble, and wave, they often encounter complex equations. The starting point for solving almost all of these problems is the Navier-Stokes equation, named after Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes. They invented it in the 1800s, which was also the golden age of mixology.

So what better way to learn about fluid mechanics than with a cocktail? From how to make bubbles to unusual cloud formations to supersonic jets of liquid, there are some great surprises hidden inside your drinks! . Roll up your sleeves and get out your cocktail shaker!

gin fizz

Experience the wonders of bubble miniatures

First, something squishy. Made with two parts gin, one part lemon juice, a splash of syrup, and a splash of soda water, gin fizz is easy to make without a layer of foam.

Bubbles challenge physicists. Sometimes they behave like solids. Sometimes it behaves like a liquid. When washing dishes, soap bubbles flow like water, but the hard foam from beer can be cut off in one go.

This difference is due to the bubbles. Bubbles form when bubbles gather. But how…

Source: www.newscientist.com

An alarming increase in unnoticed deaths in England

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Research in England and Wales shows an alarming increase in the number of decomposing bodies found, which is linked to social isolation and indicates a breakdown in social support systems, particularly among men.

Exploratory research has revealed worrying trends in England and Wales. This means that an increasing number of people are being found dead or decomposed.

This study Journal of the Royal Society of Medicinesuggesting an association between increased social isolation and these deaths; COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) Pandemic.

The study was authored by a team led by Dr. Lucinda Hiam. oxford university and Dr. Theodore Estrin-Cerluis, Registrar of Histopathology at Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust.

Researchers analyzed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to identify deaths where bodies were found decomposed. They used new proxies with deaths coded as R98 (“neglected death”) and R99 (“other unclear causes of death”) according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and previous versions. did. “Unspecified death.”

amazing discovery

The study found that between 1979 and 2020, there was a steady increase in ‘unspecified deaths’, or deaths of people found decomposed, for both men and women. Male deaths exceed those of females, and male deaths increased significantly from the 1990s to the 2000s, when overall mortality rates were rapidly improving. The authors said the increase in deaths found in decomposing conditions, especially in men, was a worrying trend.

“Many people would be shocked to find out that someone could lie dead in their home for days, weeks, or even longer, without anyone in their community raising the alarm,” Estrin said. Dr. Serrui says: “The increase in people found dead and in decomposing conditions suggests that there was a broader societal breakdown in both formal and informal social support networks even before the pandemic. and warrants urgent further investigation.”

The study’s authors call on national and international authorities to consider measures to make it easier to identify deaths when people’s corruption is more easily detected in routine data.

Reference: ‘Deadly Silence: Why are the number of people found decomposing in England and Wales increasing?’ Lucinda Higham, Theodore Estrin-Cerlouis, Danny Doring, Martin Mackie , by John Minton, November 20, 2023, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
DOI: 10.1177/01410768231209001

Source: scitechdaily.com

One hundred elephants die in drought-stricken park in Zimbabwe

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Zimbabwe’s largest national park has seen the death of at least 100 elephants in recent weeks due to drought, a grim indication of the impact of climate change and the El Niño phenomenon.

Wildlife officials and conservation groups fear more deaths as parts of southern Africa, including Hwange National Park, anticipate decreased rainfall and warmer temperatures. The International Fund for Animal Welfare has labeled this a crisis for elephants and other wildlife.

Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, stated, “El Niño conditions are exacerbating an already dire situation.”

El Niño is a natural weather event that warms parts of the Pacific Ocean and affects global weather patterns. This year’s El Niño has also brought about deadly flooding. Forecasters expect below-average rainfall across southern Africa into East Africa.

Zimbabwe has already experienced a delayed start to the rainy season, with below-average rainfall predicted for the summer. Experts believe climate change has strengthened the El Niño phenomenon, resulting in more severe consequences.

Authorities are worried about a repeat of 2019 when over 200 elephants died in Hwange due to severe drought.

Philippe Kwawoga, program director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, alerted authorities to the situation in Hwange in a recent report.

According to research, longer and more severe dry periods have become more frequent in Zimbabwe in recent years. Trevor Lane of the B-Jane Trust, a conservation organization, stated, “El Niño could soon bring back sunshine as rainfall in our region has significantly reduced.”

The B-Jane Trust has been working to help by pumping 1.5 million liters of water per day to the Hwange waterhole from more than 50 wells it manages in partnership with the Parks Department.

Conservationists emphasize that saving elephants is not only about the animals themselves. They play a crucial role in forest regeneration and are key allies in the fight against climate change through their impact on ecosystems.

“They play a much bigger role in forest regeneration than humans,” Lane says, “That’s one of the reasons we fight to keep elephants alive.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Exploring the Future of Materials Science: A Innovative Twist

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

When a strong laser pulse hits a steel alloy, the material briefly melts where it is irradiated, forming a small magnetic region.Credit: HZDR / Sander Munster

The research team has shown that ultrashort laser pulses can magnetize iron alloys. This discovery has great potential for applications in magnetic sensor technology, data storage, and spintronics.

To magnetize a steel nail, simply stroke its surface several times with a bar magnet. But there is a more unusual method. it is, Helmholtz – Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR) Some time ago, a certain iron was discovered. alloy It can be magnetized with ultrashort laser pulses. The researchers are currently working with the Laser Institute of Mitweida University (LHM) to further investigate this process. They found that this phenomenon also occurs in different classes of materials. This greatly expands the range of potential applications.The working group will publish its results in a scientific journal Advanced functional materials.

Groundbreaking discovery in magnetization

An unexpected discovery was made in 2018. When the HZDR team bombarded a thin layer of iron and aluminum alloy with ultrashort laser pulses, the nonmagnetic material suddenly became magnetic. Explanation: Laser pulses rearrange the atoms in the crystal so that the iron atoms are closer to each other, forming a magnet. The researchers were then able to demagnetize the layer again using a series of weaker laser pulses. This allowed them to discover how to create and erase tiny “magnetic spots” on surfaces.

However, the pilot experiment still left some questions unanswered. “It was unclear whether the effect only occurs in iron-aluminum alloys or in other materials,” explains HZDR physicist Dr. Rantei Bali. “We also wanted to track the process over time.” For further investigation, he collaborated with his Dr. Theo Pflug at LHM and colleagues at the University of Zaragoza in Spain.

Flipbook using laser pulse

Experts especially focused on iron-vanadium alloys. Unlike iron-aluminum alloys, which have a regular crystal lattice, the atoms in iron-vanadium alloys are more randomly arranged, forming an amorphous glass-like structure. To observe what happens during laser irradiation, physicists used a special method called the pump-probe method.

“First, we bombard the alloy with powerful laser pulses to magnetize the material,” explains Theo Pflug. “At the same time, he uses a second, weaker pulse that is reflected off the material surface.”

Analysis of reflected laser pulses reveals the physical properties of the material. This process is repeated several times to continually lengthen the time interval between the first “pump” pulse and subsequent “probe” pulses.

As a result, time-series reflection data are obtained, which can characterize the processes induced by laser excitation. “The whole procedure is similar to creating a flipbook,” he says Pflug. “Similarly, a series of individual images that animate when viewed in succession.”

rapid dissolution

Results: Although they have a different atomic structure than iron-aluminum compounds, iron-vanadium alloys can also be magnetized by lasers. “In both cases, the material melts for a short time at the point of irradiation,” he explains Rantej Bali. “This causes the laser to erase the previous structure and create small magnetic regions in both alloys.”

Promising results: Apparently, this phenomenon is not limited to a particular material structure and can be observed in a variety of atomic arrangements.

The team also tracks the temporal dynamics of the process. “At least we know on what time scale something will happen,” explains Theo Pflug. “Within femtoseconds, a laser pulse excites electrons in the material. After a few picoseconds, the excited electrons transfer their energy to the nucleus.”

Consequently, this energy transfer causes a rearrangement into a magnetic structure, which is then stabilized by rapid cooling. In follow-up experiments, the researchers aim to observe exactly how the atoms rearrange by examining the magnetization process with powerful X-rays.

Perspectives towards applications

Although still in its early stages, this research already provides a first idea of possible applications. For example, one could place small magnets on the chip surface via a laser. “This could be useful in producing highly sensitive magnetic sensors such as those used in vehicles,” he speculates Rantej Bali. “It could also have applications in magnetic data storage.”

Moreover, this phenomenon seems to be related to a new type of electronics: spintronics. Here, instead of electrons passing through transistors as usual, magnetic signals must be used for digital computing processes, providing a possible approach to future computer technology.

Reference: “Laser-Induced Positional and Chemical Lattice Reordering Generating Ferromagnetism” by Theo Pflug, Javier Pablo-Navarro, Md. Chabad Anwar, Markus Olbrich, César Magén, Manuel Ricardo Ibarra, Kay Potzger, Jürgen Faßbender, Jürgen Lindner, Alexander Horn. Lantei Bali, November 21, 2023, Advanced functional materials.
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202311951

Source: scitechdaily.com

Groundbreaking Model Opens Doors to Remarkable Drug Discoveries

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers have made significant progress in understanding neuromuscular diseases by developing a two-dimensional neuromuscular junction model using pluripotent stem cells. This model enables high-throughput drug screening and complements previously developed three-dimensional organoids. (Artist’s concept) Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Scientists have developed a groundbreaking two-dimensional model to study neuromuscular diseases. This has enabled efficient drug testing and improved our understanding of diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Researchers have so far identified about 800 different neuromuscular diseases. These conditions are caused by problems with how muscle cells, motor neurons, and peripheral cells interact. These diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy, can cause muscle weakness, paralysis, and even death.

“These diseases are very complex and the causes of dysfunction are diverse,” said Dr. Mina Gouti, head of the Max Delbrück Center’s Developmental Stem Cell Modeling and Disease Laboratory. The problem could be in the neurons, the muscle cells, or the connections between the two. “To better understand the causes and find effective treatments, we need human-specific cell culture models that allow us to study how motor neurons in the spinal cord interact with muscle cells.”

Innovative research using organoids

Researchers working with Gouti had already developed a three-dimensional neuromuscular organoid (NMO) system. “One of our goals is to use our cultures for large-scale drug testing,” Gouti says. “Three-dimensional organoids are so large that they cannot be cultured for long periods of time in the 96-well culture dishes we use to conduct high-throughput drug screening studies.”

Human self-assembling 2D neuromuscular junction model. Immunofluorescence analysis of the whole dish shows myocytes (magenta) organized into bundles surrounded by spinal neurons (cyan). Credit: Alessia Urzi, Max Delbrück Center

For this type of screening, an international team led by Gouti has now developed a self-organizing neuromuscular junction model using pluripotent stem cells. The model includes neurons, muscle cells, and chemicals. synapse It is called the neuromuscular junction, which is necessary for two types of cells to interact. The researchers have now published their findings in the journal. nature communications.

“The 2D self-assembled neuromuscular junction model allows us to perform high-throughput drug screening for various neuromuscular diseases and study the most promising candidates in patient-specific organoids,” says Gouti. .

2D neuromuscular model development

To establish a 2D self-organizing neuromuscular junction model, the researchers first needed to understand how motor neurons and muscle cells develop in the embryo. Although Minas’ team does not conduct embryo research themselves, they use a variety of human stem cell lines and induced pluripotent stem cell lines (iPSCs), which are allowed for research purposes under strict guidelines.

“We tested several hypotheses. We found that the cell type required for functional neuromuscular connections is derived from neuromesodermal progenitor cells,” says doctoral student and author of the paper. says lead author Alessia Urzi.

Urji discovered the right combination of signaling molecules that allow human stem cells to mature into functional motor neurons and muscle cells, and the necessary connections between them. “It was very exciting to see muscle cells contracting under the microscope,” Urji says. “That was a clear sign that we were on the right path.”

Another observation was that upon differentiation, cells organized into regions containing muscle cells and nerve cells, rather like a mosaic.

Optogenetic advances in neuromuscular research

Myocytes grown in culture dishes contract spontaneously as a result of their connections with neurons, but without any meaningful rhythm. Urji and Guti wanted to solve it. In collaboration with researchers at the Charité University of Berlin, they used optogenetics to activate motor neurons. Neurons activated by the flash of light fire and contract muscle cells in synchrony, causing them to move in a way that mimics the physiological conditions of an organism.

Modeling and testing for spinal muscular atrophy

To test the effectiveness of the model, Professor Urji used human iPSCs taken from patients with spinal muscular atrophy. Spinal muscular atrophy is a serious neuromuscular disease that affects children during their first year of life. Neuromuscular cultures generated from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells showed severe problems with muscle contraction similar to the patient’s disease state.

For Gooty, 2D and 3D cultures are important tools to study neuromuscular diseases in more detail and test more efficient and personalized treatment options. As a next step, Gouti and her team hope to conduct high-throughput drug screens to identify new treatments for patients with spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. “We want to start by using new drug combinations to see if we can achieve more successful outcomes to improve the lives of patients with complex neuromuscular diseases. ” says Gooty.

Reference: “Efficient Generation of Self-Assembling Neuromuscular Junction Models from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells,” Alessia Urzi et al., December 19, 2023. Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43781-3

Source: scitechdaily.com

Health and Biology Experiments Conducted by ISS Crew during Dragon’s Countdown

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Loral O’Hara, NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 aeronautical engineer, proudly displays the research hardware that supports the UMAMI (Understanding Microgravity for Animal-Microbial Interactions) astrobiology experiment. Dr. O’Hara has in her possession an Advanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP) fluid processing cassette (FPC) that facilitates observations of the effects of spaceflight on the molecular and chemical interactions between beneficial microorganisms and their animal hosts. Credit goes to NASA for this image.

The top research goals for the Expedition 70 crew earlier in the week included crew health and astrobiology. The crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) were occupied with various standard laboratory maintenance tasks. In the meantime, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart as early as Wednesday.

Studying the effects of weightlessness is a priority for doctors and scientists, as they observe how various life forms, including humans, adapt and survive in the harsh environment of microgravity. NASA and its international partners are planning further long-term missions into space in order to learn more about the biology of aging and its impact on disease mechanisms. NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 flight engineer Jasmine Moghbeli was seen wearing a BioMonitor vest and headband to test her ability to comfortably monitor the health of astronauts throughout the day. She also spent time processing cell samples in the Kibo experimental module’s life science glovebox.

Today, a pair of CubeSats were deployed outside the orbital outpost for exploration. Flight engineer Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) photographed the deployment of two small satellites and then maintained and supported optical hardware regenerative medicine experiment. In the end, Furukawa prepared: Sapphire-VI Fire safety experiments conducted remotely on board a ship Cygnus space cargo ship After leaving the space station.

Astronauts Loral O’Hara and Andreas Mogensen were stowing their spacewalk gear in Quest’s airlock. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen used the Advanced Space Experiment Processor 2 (ADSEP-2) to store and process samples for a variety of biological and physical science experiments.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Konstantin Borisov inspected and photographed eggs packed inside a centrifuge in the Nauka scientific module. Flight engineer Nikolai Chubut spent the day developing the life support systems inside the Zarya and Zvezda modules.

The Dragon supply mission’s departure was targeted for 5:05 p.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 20, with coverage beginning at 4:45 p.m. on the NASA+ streaming service and NASA Television. As the departure was being organized, joint teams continued to work to assess optimal autonomous ports of entry and return weather conditions.

Source: scitechdaily.com

NASA schedules live coverage of SpaceX Dragon departure from space station on Wednesday

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

The SpaceX Dragon Cargo Mission

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 461 miles above Indonesia’s sub-sea coastline on the company’s 29th commercial resupply mission to NASA. Credit: NASA

After a series of delays due to bad weather, NASA and SpaceX are currently targeting until 5:05 p.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 20, for the company’s 29th Dragon Commercial Supply Service Mission undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). The integrated team continues to assess weather conditions as the cold front passes through the splashdown zone off the coast of Florida to determine optimal opportunities for autonomous shore departure. Coverage of Wednesday’s Dragon departure begins at 4:45 p.m. on the NASA+ streaming service, NASA app, NASA Television, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through various platforms including social media. After re-entering the atmosphere, the spacecraft will fly off the coast of Florida, but the event will not be broadcast on NASA TV.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, developed by SpaceX, represents a major advancement in commercial spaceflight. The spacecraft is designed to transport cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and return cargo to Earth. The Dragon spaceship has two versions: Cargo Dragon and Crew Dragon (Dragon 2). Cargo Dragon, in particular, is an unmanned vehicle that plays a key role in resupply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is known for its ability to carry critical payloads, with a pressurized capsule for sensitive scientific experiments and an unpressurized “trunk” for additional cargo. It is one of the few spacecraft capable of returning to Earth large amounts of cargo essential for ISS research and experiments. Due to Dragon’s versatility and reusability, it plays a critical role in maintaining a continuous flow of supplies and scientific research within the ISS.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a marvel of modern space technology and international cooperation. As the Space Environment Research Institute, scientific research is conducted in areas such as astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, and physics. The ISS is a joint project with NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ISS, which orbits the Earth approximately every 90 minutes, serves as a microgravity and space environment laboratory where crew members conduct experiments in fields such as biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, and meteorology. The space station is also suitable for testing spacecraft systems and equipment needed for long-term missions to and from the moon and Mars. The ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and represents the pinnacle of human achievement, both in terms of international cooperation and humanity’s continued presence in space.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Reintroduction Plan to Release Five Wolves in Colorado

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — Somewhere on a remote mountainside in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, a wolf was released into the wild and headed towards the treeline on a voter-approved plan. Wildlife officials have released five gray wolves into a remote area of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to begin the reintroduction program. The plan was well received in urban areas and opposed in rural areas where ranchers feared attacks on their livestock.

The wolf was released from a crate in Grand County, and the project marks the most ambitious wolf reintroduction effort in the United States in nearly 30 years. The release of wolves has been temporarily postponed due to opposition from the state’s livestock industry.

The wolves were captured in Oregon and released in Colorado. After the releases, the crowd watched in silence as the wolves disappeared into the forest. Colorado officials expect to release 30 to 50 wolves within the next five years as part of the program.

The release of wolves in Colorado has become a political issue, deepening the divide between rural and urban residents. While urban and suburban areas largely vote in favor of reintroducing apex predators, rural residents are worried about the impact on livestock and big game animals.

To allay concerns in the livestock industry, ranchers whose livestock is preyed upon by wolves will be compensated with fair market value. Hunting groups are also expressing concerns about the impact of wolves on elk herds and other large game animals.

While some have celebrated the reintroduction of wolves, others are concerned about the potential conflicts that may arise due to the presence of wolves in the area. Joanna Lambert, a professor of wildlife ecology and conservation biology, described the release of the wolves as a “rewilding moment” to avoid the extinction of biodiversity.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Rivers’ Inability to Preserve Coastal Wetlands: A Problematic Situation

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Salt marshes in Barnstable, Massachusetts show signs of erosion and submergence as sea levels rise (December 2, 2022).Credit: Erin Peck

Creating wetlands, which are being submerged by rising sea levels, remains a challenge, but scientists are now one step closer to identifying a solution.

Amid climate change, large-scale dam removal projects are gaining traction as a solution to the loss of coastal wetlands that reduce flooding, filter water, and provide habitat for wildlife. However, in a recently published paper, scienceresearchers concluded that this strategy does not work in most rivers in the United States.

Limited sediment supply hinders wetland recovery

The reason is that there is not enough sediment. Of the nearly 5,000 rivers analyzed, nearly three out of four were unable to transport enough sediment to keep up with sea level rise in the coastal regions they connect to. Nearly half were at least 10 times short of the required amount of sediment.

This is the first national study to examine how much watershed sediment can be deposited in coastal areas by rivers. So far, research has focused on a few very large rivers. mississippi,and, Elfa In Washington, they are not representative of most other areas of the continental United States.

Most watersheds in the United States are small and are not major sources of sediment buildup in wetlands, researchers said. It is on these small rivers that most dams are located.

Expert insights on dam removal and sediment supply

The study was led by Dr. Scott Ensign, a research scientist at the Stroud Water Research Center, a nonprofit organization that studies freshwater streams and rivers around the world. He said: “Elfa is the poster child for dam removal projects that restore coastal sediment, and for good reason: it liberated vast amounts of sediment and sand.

“However, rivers along the East and Gulf coasts are not as steep as the West Coast and there is less sediment that can reach the wetlands, so the wetlands are wider and require more sediment to keep them above the rising ocean.” is required.Basically, the numbers don’t add up.”

Dr. Christopher Craft, an Indiana University professor who focuses on wetland restoration and climate change, said, “The extensive and comprehensive spatial analysis conducted by the authors shows that sediment supply in most coastal basins is This strongly suggests that this is insufficient.” As sea levels rise, tidal wetlands appear. In other words, sediment cannot save them. ”

Methodology and findings

Ensign and her co-authors, Joanne Halls of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Erin Peck of the University of Massachusetts, used publicly available data from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to map watersheds to coastal wetlands. Sediment supply was modeled. Uses Esri’s ArcGIS Pro technology. They then compared their projections to previously reported rates of change for tidal wetlands across the United States.

“By and large, the sediment that saves most wetlands from drowning doesn’t come from upstream rivers. In many places on the East Coast, removing dams won’t help. You’ll have to look elsewhere.” explained the lieutenant.

Impact on wetland conservation

Dr. James Pizzuto, a professor of geological sciences who specializes in river science at the University of Delaware, said the researchers deftly addressed a complex problem. “These results, and the local variations documented by mapping the entire U.S. coastline, provide important guidance to managers and scientists, and future efforts to investigate other processes beyond basin sediments. “We are documenting where we should focus our efforts,” he said.

Such efforts include finding ways to retain more mineral deposits, plant material and organic carbon in wetland soils, said Donald F. Boesch, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. He explained that it was possible. “This is true both where sediment is being depleted and where it is being diverted to construct and maintain wetlands with relatively high rates of sea level rise, such as the Mississippi Delta,” he said. ” he said.

Future research and conservation strategies

Future research is needed to measure how much sediment is trapped behind a particular dam and accurately predict the impact on downstream tidal wetlands.

“In general, the most important action to protect tidal wetlands is to allow them to move up slopes. In some areas, we need to restore natural hydrology and protect lowlands,” said Ensign. Direct application of deposits and other engineering approaches may also be helpful at very local scales.”

References: Scott H. Ensign, Joanne N. Halls, and Erin K. Peck, “Catchment Sediments Cannot Offset Sea Level Rise in Most U.S. Tidal Wetlands,” December 7, 2023. science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adj0513

The National Science Foundation funded the research.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Algorithm Successfully Deciphers Rogue Wave Pattern

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists used artificial intelligence to analyze more than 1 billion waves over 700 years and developed a breakthrough formula for predicting rogue waves. This groundbreaking research, which converts vast amounts of oceanographic data into equations for the probability of adverse waves, raises questions about previous theories and has significant implications for maritime safety. This research represents a major step forward in this field in terms of the accessibility of findings and the role of AI in enhancing human understanding.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Victoria used over 700 years of ocean wave data, including more than a billion wave observations, and advanced artificial intelligence techniques to predict the occurrence of these threatening sea giants. Previously thought to be a myth, these unusually large and rough waves can cause serious damage to ships and oil rigs. The research team leveraged AI to analyze the vast amounts of data and create a mathematical model that provides a way to predict the occurrence of rogue waves. This new knowledge contributes to making shipping safer, and has paradigm-shifting implications for the maritime industry.

Rogue waves, perceived as a part of sailor folklore for centuries, became scientifically documented when a 26-meter high wave hit the Norwegian oil platform His Draupner in 1995. Since then, research on these extreme waves has been ongoing, culminating in the breakthrough reached by the University of Copenhagen and the University of Victoria. The research team leveraged big data on ocean movements and AI techniques to map the causal variables that lead to rogue waves, ultimately developing a model which usess artificial intelligence to calculate the probability of rogue wave formation.

Incorporating data collection from buoys at 158 locations on U.S. coasts and overseas territories and over a billion waves across 700 years, the researchers were able to use AI to analyze the vast amount of data and predict the likelihood of being hit by a huge wave at sea. The AI techniques also helped the researchers discover the causes of rogue waves and translate them into an equation that describes the recipe for rogue waves. This study also challenged common perceptions about the causes of rogue waves, establishing the dominance of a phenomenon known as “linear superposition.” This new knowledge can help the shipping industry to plan routes in advance and mitigate the risk of encountering dangerous rogue waves.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Scientists Develop New “Cooling Glass” to Combat Climate Change by Channeling Heat from Buildings into Space

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Innovative “cooling glass” developed by researchers at the University of Maryland provides a groundbreaking, non-electrical solution for reducing indoor heat and carbon emissions, and significantly advances sustainable building technology. It shows great progress.

Applying new coatings to exterior surfaces can reduce air conditioning usage and help fight climate change.

Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed an innovative “cooling glass” designed to reduce indoor temperatures without using electricity. This revolutionary material works by harnessing the cold air of outer space.

New technology, microporous glass coating, described in paper published in the journal sciencecan lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees. Celsius According to a research team led by distinguished professor Liangbing Hu of the university’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, it has the potential to reduce the annual carbon dioxide emissions of mid-rise apartments by 10%.

Cooling mechanism with two functions

This coating works in two ways. For one, it reflects up to 99% of solar radiation, preventing buildings from absorbing heat. Even more interestingly, this universe emits heat in the form of long-wave infrared radiation into the icy universe, whose temperature is typically -270 degrees Celsius, or just a few degrees warmer. absolute temperature.

In a phenomenon known as “radiative cooling,” spaces effectively act as heat sinks for buildings. They use new cooling glass designs and so-called atmospheric transparency windows (the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that passes through the atmosphere without increasing its temperature) to dump large amounts of heat into the infinitely colder sky beyond. Masu. (Although the emissions are much stronger than those from the new glass developed at UMD, the same phenomenon causes the Earth to cool itself, especially on clear nights.)

State-of-the-art durable materials

“This is an innovative technology that simplifies the way we keep buildings cool and energy efficient,” said research assistant Xinpeng Zhao, lead author of the study. “This could help us change the way we live and take better care of our homes and the planet.”

Unlike previous attempts at cooling coatings, the new glass developed by UMD is environmentally stable, withstanding exposure to water, UV light, dirt, and even flame, and withstands temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. can withstand. Because glass can be applied to a variety of surfaces such as tile, brick, and metal, the technology is highly scalable and can be adopted for a wide range of applications.

The research team could use finely ground glass particles as a binder, bypassing polymers and increasing long-term durability outdoors, Zhao said. We then selected a particle size that maximizes the release of infrared heat while reflecting sunlight.

Climate change solutions and global impacts

The development of cooling glass is in line with global efforts to reduce energy consumption and combat climate change, Hu said, adding that this year’s Independence Day could have been the world’s hottest day in 125,000 years. He pointed out recent reports that it was a day of sex.

“This ‘cooling glass’ is not just a new material, it’s an important part of the solution to climate change,” he said. “By reducing the use of air conditioners, we have taken a big step towards reducing energy usage and reducing our carbon footprint. This is because new technology is helping us build a cooler, greener world. It shows how it can help.”

In addition to Hu and Zhao, Jelena Srebric and Zongfu Yu, professors of mechanical engineering in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are co-authors of the study, each contributing expertise in CO2 reduction and structural design. There is. .

The team is now focused on further testing and practical application of the cooled glass. They are optimistic about its commercialization prospects and have formed a startup company, CeraCool, to scale and commercialize it.

Reference: “Solution-processed radiatively cooled glass” Xinpeng Zhao, Tangyuan Li, Hua Xie, He Liu, Lingzhe Wang, Yurui Qu, Stephanie C. Li, Shufeng Liu, Alexandra H. Brozena, Zongfu Yu, Jelena Srebric, Liangbing Written by Hu, November 9, 2023, science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adi2224

Source: scitechdaily.com

The Absence of Flightless Bats: Unraveling the Mystery of Evolution

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Vampire bats are not only masters of flight, but also skillful walkers

Joel Sartor/Photo Arc/naturepl.com

Something begins to stir in the undergrowth of a New Zealand forest. Small furry animals run around on tree roots and in fallen leaves, looking for insects and fruit. He runs with a strange gait, as if he were on stilts. Is it a rat? bird? No, it’s a bat. The New Zealand brown bat, or more precisely, the Pekapeka toupoto.

Bats first took to the skies about 52 million years ago and have remained there ever since. There are approximately 1,300 species in the world, but not one of them is flightless. Most bats can’t even walk well. That’s why many of us are surprised by the behavior of Pekapekatupoto, a bat that is comfortable both in the air and on the ground.

However, why flightless bats do not exist is an evolutionary mystery. Birds, another great group of flying vertebrates, have evolved into flightless animals many times around the world. They frequent remote islands such as New Zealand, where there is little danger from ground-based predation (at least until humans show up, anyone else grilling dodos?). In such situations, flightlessness is a good adaptation because flight is energetically costly.

The world’s most land-dwelling bat, the pekapekatoupoto, has long been thought to hold the key to explaining the strange absence of flightless bats. But research over the past two decades has revealed the surprising fact that many other species of bats can walk, too. Inside…

Source: www.newscientist.com

JWST Captures Spectacular Image of Uranus Revealing 13 Rings and 9 Moons

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Uranus showing all its rings and 9 of the planet’s 27 moons

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

This amazing shot of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) gives us the most complete view of Uranus yet, revealing its rings and turbulent atmosphere in stunning detail .

In April, JWST used infrared sensors to image Uranus, revealing more of the ice giant’s rock and dust rings, which have only been directly imaged twice before, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and by Earth’s Keck Observatory. Now it can be observed clearly. Eleven of Uranus’s 13 known rings were visible in this image, but the last two were too dark to see.

JWST has now followed up on these observations using a wider field of view and more wavelengths of infrared light, revealing the rings in even more detail and showing us the elusive final two rings.

The diagram above also shows nine of Uranus’ 27 moons. These are all tilted away from the Sun at her 98 degree angle, the same as the planet itself. Another new image from JWST below shows five more moons (Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania) shining like blue stars, bringing the total shown to 14.

This JWST photo of Uranus shows five more moons, shining like blue stars around the planet. They are (clockwise from top) Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, and Titania.

STScI Copyright: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

The planet’s tilt causes long stretches of sunlight and darkness on different sides of Uranus, with each season lasting 21 Earth years and producing polar caps and atmospheric storms. Both can be seen more clearly in this picture. The storm lies just below the southern edge of the broad white polar cap, appearing as a white wisp against a blue background.

Although it takes Uranus 84 years to orbit the Sun, it only takes 17 hours to complete its rotation, allowing its atmosphere and moons to travel faster than standard telescopic exposures. Astronomers created the image above by combining long and short exposure times with JWST to smooth out the changing features.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Chimpanzees can remember and recognize photos of long-lost friends

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Chimpanzees at a zoo were shown photos of old group members to test their memory.

Johns Hopkins University

Bonobos and chimpanzees appear to be able to recognize photos of former group members, even animals they haven’t seen in over 20 years. This means that these apes have the longest social memory of any non-human animal.

Great apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos are known to have impressive memories. For example, some chimpanzees The exact location of a particular fruit tree In the forest, predict what will happen next in a previously seen movie. The researchers also found hints that great apes have long-term memories of individuals.

“When we went back to great ape populations that we had studied in the past, we noticed that they seemed to recognize and remember us,” he says. laura lewis at the University of California, Berkeley.

To investigate how long this social memory lasts in great apes, Lewis and her colleagues tested 12 bonobos and 15 chimpanzees living in zoos in the UK, Japan, and Belgium.

For each animal, the researchers flashed side-by-side photos of two different great apes on a screen for three seconds. One of the photos was of a monkey that had been living with them for at least a year, and the other was of a stranger.

Using eye-tracking technology, the researchers found that all participants looked on average about a quarter of a second longer at images of former group members than at images of strangers. As zookeepers say, former co-workers with whom they had a good relationship stay in the picture even longer.

This finding shows that these apes remember their acquaintances even after long periods of time. “It’s not that different from walking down the street in a big city and unexpectedly running into someone you went to school with and doing a double take,” team members say. Christopher Krupenier at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

In the most extreme case, a bonobo called Louise appeared to recognize her sister Loretta and nephew Erin after being separated for more than 26 years.

“This is the longest long-term social memory ever recorded in a non-human animal,” Lewis said.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Possibly the First Crater Found on Jupiter’s Moon Io

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

This could be the first impact crater discovered on Io

NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/Kevin M. Gill, CC BY 2.0

Amateur astronomers may have discovered the first crater ever discovered on Jupiter’s moon Io. Io has never seen an impact crater before because it is very volcanically active and eruptions tend to erase impact craters.

Swedish amateur astronomer Jesper Sandberg discovered the apparent crater while examining archival images from the Galileo spacecraft, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. It is relatively small, only about 100 meters in diameter, and is located on a large, flat area.

Source: www.newscientist.com

AI trained on extensive life stories has the ability to forecast the likelihood of early mortality

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Data covering Denmark’s entire population was used to train an AI that predicts people’s life outcomes

Francis Joseph Dean/Dean Photography/Alamy Stock Photo

Artificial intelligence trained on personal data covering Denmark’s entire population can predict people’s likelihood of dying more accurately than existing models used in the insurance industry. Researchers behind the technology say it has the potential to have a positive impact on early prediction of social and health problems, but must be kept out of the hands of large corporations. There is.

Sune Lehmann Jorgensen The researchers used a rich Danish dataset covering the education, doctor and hospital visits, resulting diagnoses, income, and occupation of 6 million people from 2008 to 2020.

They converted this dataset into words that can be used to train large-scale language models, the same technology that powers AI apps like ChatGPT. These models work by looking at a set of words and statistically determining which word is most likely to come next based on a large number of examples. In a similar way, the researcher’s Life2vec model can look at the sequence of life events that form an individual’s history and determine what is most likely to happen next.

In the experiment, Life2vec was trained on all data except for the last four years of data, which was kept for testing. Researchers took data on a group of people aged 35 to 65, half of whom died between 2016 and 2020, and asked Life2vec to predict who lived and who died. This was 11% more accurate than existing AI models and life actuarial tables used in the financial industry to price life insurance policies.

The model was also able to predict personality test results for a portion of the population more accurately than AI models trained specifically to do the job.

Jorgensen believes the model has consumed enough data that it has a good chance of shedding light on a wide range of topics in health and society. This means it can be used to predict and detect health problems early, or by governments to reduce inequalities. But he stresses that it can also be used by companies in harmful ways.

“Obviously, our model should not be used by insurance companies, because the whole idea of insurance is that if some unlucky person suffers some kind of incident, dies, loses their backpack, etc. ‘Because we share the lack of knowledge about what to do, we can share this burden to some extent,’ says Jorgensen.

But such technology already exists, he says. “Big tech companies that have large amounts of data about us are likely already using this information against us, and they are using it to make predictions about us. It is.”

Matthew Edwards Researchers from UK professional institutes the Institute of Actuaries and the Faculty of Actuaries say that while insurers are certainly interested in new forecasting techniques, the bulk of decision-making is based on a type of model called a generalized linear model. The research is done using AI, which he says is rudimentary compared to this research. .

“If you look at what insurance companies have been doing for years, decades, centuries, they’ve taken the data they have and tried to predict life expectancy from that,” Edwards said. “But we are deliberately conservative in adopting new methodologies, because when we are creating policies that are likely to be in place for the next 20 or 30 years, the last thing we want is to make any significant mistakes. . Everything can change, but slowly because no one wants to make mistakes.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Targeting the brain with Ozempic and Wegovy may lead to reduced inflammation

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Ozempic is a diabetes drug, but it is also often used for weight loss.

fcm82/shutterstock

Weight loss and diabetes injections such as Wigovy and Ozempic (both semaglutide) are more widely used than initially thought after studies in mice suggest they act on the brain and reduce inflammation throughout the body. Possible medical benefits.

This finding may explain why this class of drugs appears to reduce heart attacks more than would be expected from weight loss effects alone.

It also supports their use in combating a wide range of health conditions that involve inflammation, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, which is being studied in clinical trials.

Semaglutide works by mimicking a gut hormone called GLP-1. Normally released after a meal, GLP-1 reduces appetite, makes you feel full, and triggers the release of insulin, a hormone involved in blood sugar regulation.

Some studies suggest that semaglutide not only reduces weight, but also reduces inflammation, and is a mild increase in certain types of immune system activity.Lowers levels of a compound in the blood called C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-established sign of inflammation. Daniel Drucker At the University of Toronto, Canada.

A growing body of research suggests that inflammation is involved in many conditions not previously associated with the immune system, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease, but this does not yet lead to new treatments available in the clinic. has not been applied.

Because obesity is also associated with inflammation, semaglutide’s effect on CRP may simply be a side effect of weight loss, rather than the drug itself reducing inflammation.

To find out, Drucker and his colleagues investigated how several GLP-1 mimics affect inflammation in mice. First, they injected bacteria from the mice’s intestines into other parts of their abdomens, causing bacterial infections in their blood. This triggers a strong immune response and causes inflammation.

Some mice were also injected with GLP-1 mimics, either semaglutide or another member of this drug class called exenatide.

GLP-1 mimics reduced the animals’ inflammatory response to infection, but this did not occur when the researchers used mice genetically modified so that their brain cells lacked receptors for GLP-1. Ta.

The researchers also found no reduction in inflammation when they tested genetically normal mice whose brains were injected with compounds that block GLP-1 receptors.

Taken together, these results show that GLP-1 mimetics such as Ozempic act on brain cells to reduce inflammation, and that this is not just a side effect of weight loss.

“Losing weight is good, but you don’t need to lose weight to be effective,” Drucker says. For example, in Wegovy’s recent randomized trial, he says, the drug started preventing heart attacks within the first few months, before people lost significant weight.

“It was known that these drugs acted on inflammation,” he says. Ivan Koichev at Oxford University. “This paper is helpful because it reveals the underlying mechanism.”

In theory, anti-inflammatory drugs could cause people to develop additional infections, but this has so far not been observed in people who received the shots for weight loss or diabetes, Koychev says. .

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Harvard University Researchers Decipher Enigmas of the Brain

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A new study led by Harvard Medical School has revealed the neurological foundation of daydreaming. Conducted in mice, the study found that neurons in the visual cortex fired in patterns similar to those seen during the viewing of images, indicating daydreaming. This was especially pronounced during early daydreams and could predict future brain responses to visual stimuli, implying a role in brain plasticity. The study suggests that daydreaming may play a role in learning and memory processes in mice and potentially in humans. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

However, most neuroscientists do not understand what happens in the brain during daydreaming. A team of researchers at Harvard Medical School used mice to investigate the activity of neurons in the visual cortex of the brain during quiet wakefulness and found that these neurons fire in patterns similar to when the mouse views images, indicating that the mouse was daydreaming about the image. Furthermore, the brain showed the same firing pattern during daydreams as when it was seeing an image, suggesting that the mouse was imagining the image. These daydreams occurred only when the mouse was relaxed and had a calm behavior and small pupils.

The researchers found that mice were biased towards daydreaming about recently viewed images, and this daydreaming was more prominent at the beginning of the day. The daydreams influenced the brain’s future responses to images, indicating a role in brain plasticity. The two regions of the brain, the visual cortex and the hippocampus, were also found to communicate during daydreaming. Subsequent research with imaging tools will examine how these connections change when the brain sees an image.

While it remains an open question whether human daydreams involve similar patterns in the visual cortex, preliminary evidence suggests that a similar process occurs during the recall of visual images. The findings suggest that giving the mind waking downtime is crucial for daydreams, which is important for brain plasticity. This research was published on December 13th in Nature.

Source: scitechdaily.com

The Potential of Acupuncture for Managing Chronic Urticaria

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A recent study of more than 300 chronic spontaneous attack urticaria (CSU) patients found that acupuncture may provide limited symptom relief, but the clinical significance remains unclear. . An accompanying editorial highlights the potential of acupuncture in the treatment of non-painful conditions and the need for widespread clinical openness to its use.

A randomized controlled study of more than 300 participants diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), or hives, suggests that acupuncture may provide some symptom relief. However, the clinical significance of these results remains unclear. This study was recently published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

CSU is the most common form of chronic urticaria and is characterized by recurrent itching, skin lesions, or swelling that lasts for more than 6 weeks in the absence of a specific provoking factor. More than 90 percent of CSU patients require urgent treatment to relieve itching. Therefore, itch management is one of the main goals in the treatment of CSU.

Effect of acupuncture on CSU

Researchers at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine randomly assigned 330 people diagnosed with CSU to either 4 weeks of acupuncture, 4 weeks of sham acupuncture, or a waiting list (control), and 4 weeks after treatment. Patients were followed for weeks to see if the acupuncture treatment improved. It leads to the improvement of CSU symptoms. Symptom changes were measured using the Weekly Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7).

Patients in the acupuncture group reported improved UAS7 compared to sham acupuncture and waitlist management. However, the clinical significance of the observed reduction in itch severity scores is unclear, as the difference between intervention and control did not meet the minimum clinical difference (MCID) threshold. The incidence of adverse events was highest in the acupuncture group, but the adverse events were mild and transient.

Editorial insights and broader implications

An accompanying editorial by Mike Cummings of the British Medical Acupuncture Society highlights that these trial results are interesting because they illustrate the effectiveness of acupuncture in conditions not characterized by pain.

Although the clinical significance of this finding was not clear, the authors believe that clinicians may use acupuncture as an adjunct to influence outcomes, even in more severe disease states. This suggests that you should always keep this in mind. The editorial suggests that acupuncture is often ignored as a treatment because it lacks commercial support compared to other modern interventions.

Reference: “Efficacy of acupuncture treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria” Hui Zheng, Xian-Jun Xiao, Yun-Zhou Shi, Lei-Xiao Zhang, Wei Cao, Qian-Hua Zheng, Feng Zhong, Ping-Sheng Hao, Ying Written by Huang, Ming – Ling Chen, Wei Zhang, Si-Yuan Zhou, Yan-Jun Wang, Chuan Wang, Li Zhou, Xiao-Qin Chen, Zuo-Qin Yang, Zi-Hao Zou, Ling Zhao, Fan-Rong Liang, Ying Li, 14 November 2023 Annual report of internal medicine.
DOI: 10.7326/M23-1043

“Acupuncture for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria” by Mike Cummings, November 14, 2023, Annual report of internal medicine.
DOI: 10.7326/M23-2713

Source: scitechdaily.com

Moving Beyond the Authority of the Doctor: Highlighting the Importance of Patient Input in Diagnosis

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A comprehensive study highlights the importance of assessing patient experience with medical diagnosis, especially in complex diseases such as neuropsychiatric lupus. This suggests a shift to a more collaborative approach between patients and clinicians to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient satisfaction.

Research highlights the need to incorporate patients’ lived experiences into medical diagnosis and advocates for a more collaborative relationship between patients and clinicians to enhance diagnosis. Accuracy and patient satisfaction.

Experts today called for more value to be given to patients’ “lived experiences” after a study of more than 1,000 patients and clinicians found multiple instances of patient underreporting. There is.

The study, led by a team from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, found that clinicians ranked patients’ self-assessment as the least important in making diagnostic decisions, and patients were more likely to overestimate or underestimate their symptoms. It was found that patients were evaluated more frequently than patients reported doing so.

One patient shared a common sentiment that disbelief is “degrading and dehumanizing,” adding: As if I don’t have authority over it and what I’m feeling isn’t valid, in which case it’s a very dangerous environment…When I tell them the symptoms, they think the symptoms are I would say wrong, otherwise I could not feel the pain there or in that way. ”

Diagnostic issues of neuropsychiatric lupus

In a study published today (December 18th), RheumatologyUsing the example of lupus neuropsychiatric, an incurable autoimmune disease that is particularly difficult to diagnose, researchers examined the different values clinicians place on 13 different types of evidence used in diagnosis. . This includes evidence such as brain scans, patient views, and observations of family and friends.

Less than 4% of clinicians ranked patient self-assessment among the top three types of evidence. Clinicians ranked themselves among the highest despite admitting that they often lack confidence in diagnoses that involve less visible symptoms such as headaches, hallucinations, and depression. It has been reported that such “neuropsychiatric” symptoms can lead to poor quality of life and early death, and are more often misdiagnosed and therefore not treated correctly than more visible symptoms such as rashes. It has been.

Aiming for a collaborative relationship between patients and clinicians

Sue Farrington, co-chair of the Rare Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Alliance, said: “We are moving away from the paternalistic and often dangerous ‘doctor knows best’ mentality and towards patients with lived experience. “The time has come for experienced physicians to move towards a more equal relationship.” The learned experience works more collaboratively. ”

Almost half (46%) of the 676 patients reported never or rarely being asked about their self-assessment of their illness, while others were very positive. I talked about my experiences. Some clinicians, particularly psychiatrists and nurses, value patient views, with a Welsh psychiatrist explaining: “Patients often arrive at the clinic having undergone multiple evaluations, researched their condition to a very high level, and worked hard to understand what’s going on with their body. …They are often expert diagnosticians in their own right.”

Lead author Dr Melanie Sloan, from the University of Cambridge’s School of Public Health and Primary Care, said: After all, these are people who know what it’s like to live with their condition. However, we also need to ensure that clinicians have time to fully investigate each patient’s symptoms, which is difficult within the constraints of our current healthcare system. ”

Gender and ethnicity in diagnosis

It was felt that the personal characteristics of patients and clinicians, such as ethnicity and gender, could influence the diagnosis, and there was a recognition that women in particular were more likely to be told that their symptoms were psychosomatic. The data showed that male clinicians were statistically more likely to state that patients were exaggerating their symptoms. Patients were more likely than clinicians to say that their symptoms were directly caused by the disease.

Conclusion: Emphasize patient contribution in diagnosis

While the study authors acknowledge that patients’ reasoning is sometimes inaccurate, there are many potential benefits to incorporating patients’ “attributional insights” and experiences into decision-making (diagnostic accuracy, They concluded that there is a high likelihood that this will result in a reduction in misdiagnosis, an increase in patient satisfaction, etc. diagnosis. This comes at a time when it is widely known that diagnostic tests for neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus, like many other autoimmune diseases and long-term COVID-19 infections, are “not enlightening,” according to one neurologist. Especially important.

Lead study author Dr Tom Pollack, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, said: mistaken. However, especially when diagnostic tests are not advanced enough to consistently detect these diseases, evaluating both perspectives in combination can reduce misdiagnosis, improve clinician-patient relationships, and improve symptom reporting. There could be more trust and openness. ”

Reference: “Attribution of neuropsychiatric symptoms and prioritization of evidence in the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric lupus: A mixed methods analysis of patient and clinician perspectives from the international INSPIRE study” Melanie Sloan, Laura Andreoli, Michael S. Zandi, Rupert Harwood, Melvi Pitkanen, Sloan by Sam, Colette Barea, Eftalia Massu, Chris Whincup, Michael Bosley, Felix Norton, Mandeep Ubi, David Jayne, Guy Leszziner, James Brimicombe, Wendy Dement, Kate Middleton, Caroline Gordon, David D’Cruz, Thomas A. Pollack, December 18, 2023, Rheumatology.
DOI: 10.1093/Rheumatology/kead685

This research was funded by The Lupus Trust and LUPUS UK.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Dragonfly: NASA’s Drone Mission Set for 2028

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

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Dragonfly Mission

An artist’s impression of a dragonfly flying over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA has cleared the mission team to proceed with development for a July 2028 launch.Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

The Dragonfly mission is moving toward building nuclear-powered drones. SaturnThe satellite Titan is aiming to be launched in 2028. The mission, which will involve extensive collaboration and technological advances, aims to investigate Titan’s organic matter and its potential links to life.

NASA’s Dragonfly mission team is moving forward with the next stage of development of an innovative car-sized nuclear-powered drone that plans to fly and land over the organic-rich sands of Saturn’s large moon Titan.

NASA has cleared Dragonfly to proceed with design and manufacturing work on its final mission, known as Phase C. The launch preparation date was revised to July 2028.

Artist’s impression of a dragonfly on the surface of Titan. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Overcome challenges and prepare for Titan: “The Dragonfly team successfully overcame many technical and programmatic challenges in this bold attempt to collect new science on Titan,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Dragonfly, NASA’s only mission to the surface of another oceanic world, is designed to probe the complex chemistry that is the precursor to life. It will be equipped with cameras, sensors and samplers to survey the area. The water froze on the surface of the ice.

Artist’s impression of a dragonfly flying over Titan. Credit: Johns Hopkins University/APL

Teamwork and technical milestones: “Dragonfly is a very bold experiment that has never been done before,” said Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle, Dragonfly principal investigator at APL.

Saturn’s largest satellite that will collect data in 2028. Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Collaborative initiatives and future expectations: “The dedication of the Dragonfly team was nothing short of heroic,” said Bobby Brown, APL Director of Space Exploration.

APL manages NASA’s Dragonfly mission. The team includes key partners from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado; Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin Corporation. NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Marine Space Science Systems (San Diego, California); Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, California; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. French Space Agency (CNES) in Paris. German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany. and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Tokyo.

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Source: scitechdaily.com

Fra Mauro: Transforming Cartography into a Science with the Epic Medieval Map

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Fra Mauro’s beautiful and intricate world map

History_docu_photo/Alamy

When I was in Venice a few years ago, I visited the Corer Museum to absorb the history of the city. Located in St. Mark’s Square, this museum features imposing statues and paintings of naval battles and ancient weapons. However, as I passed the last exhibition room, another artifact caught my eye, hanging alone in an alcove. It was a map of the world, or “mappa mundi” in Latin, and it was unlike any other map I had ever come across.

The world depicted here in an 8-foot-diameter gold frame is a combination of lapping blue ocean and off-white land, all covered in handwritten notes. It was one of the most beautiful, beautifully intricate things I’ve ever seen.

Created 550 years ago by a monk called Fra Mauro, the map was largely ignored for centuries, but it shows a level of accuracy not present in previous maps. Considering this, it is a deplorable situation. If you turn it upside down, you can recognize it as a map of Africa and Eurasia, with Mauro placed south at the top.

After visiting Venice, I decided to find out more about this map. This project culminated in my book. The dark sea begins here. I spent over a year researching his literature on world maps, poring over Mauro’s creations, and trying to understand what he was trying to say. It turned out to be part of the inflection point from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Can animals dream? And if they do, what do they think about?

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

One day in the fall of 2020, Daniella Ressler I drove home with a car full of jumping spiders. Her lab was closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, so Rosler had no choice but to take the specimens home after spending the day corralling them in a dry field. That night, when she happened to check on them, the spiders hanging and not moving “I’ve never seen this before,” says Rosler, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Konstanz in Germany. She immediately returned to the scene with her colleagues. “We started photographing them just out of curiosity,” she says.

They observed the same behavior, but only at night. Even stranger, a few months later, close monitoring of the lab using a night vision camera revealed that there wasn’t just a spider present. He was twitching slightly, but his eyes were moving.. This is similar to what happens when humans dream, and creates an irresistible expectation that spiders are dreaming too.

Jumping spiders aren’t the only non-human animal in which evidence of dream states has recently been discovered. Signs of dreams, and even nightmares, can be found in every species of the animal kingdom, from pigeons to octopuses. “Once you understand the functions involved in dreaming, it makes perfect sense that animals dream,” Ressler says. But still, questions remain. Do other animals dream like us, and if so, what are they dreaming about? This is not easy to understand, but it is worth doing, as it may help us understand the purpose of human dreams.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Spiral Galaxies Emitting “Forbidden” Emissions

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows MCG-01-24-014. It is a spiral galaxy with an active galactic nucleus located 275 million light-years away and is classified as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies are often closer to Earth than quasars and are distinguished by their unique spectra, especially the “forbidden” emission of type 2 Seyferts.Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick

this swirl hubble space telescope This image shows a bright spiral galaxy known as MCG-01-24-014, located about 275 million light-years from Earth. MCG-01-24-014 is called an active galaxy because, in addition to being a well-defined spiral galaxy, it has a very energetic core known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN) .

More specifically, it is classified as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies are home to one of the most common subclasses of AGNs, along with quasars. The exact classification of AGNs is nuanced, but Seyfert galaxies tend to be relatively nearby where the host galaxy can be clearly detected alongside the central AGN, whereas quasars are always very distant AGNs and their Its incredible brightness exceeds that of its host galaxy.

Understanding Seyfert galaxies and their spectra

Both Seyfert galaxies and quasars have further subclasses. For Seyfert galaxies, the main subcategories are type 1 and type 2. They are distinguished from each other by their spectra (the pattern created when light is split into its constituent wavelengths). The spectral lines emitted by Type 2 Seyfert galaxies are particularly associated with certain so-called “forbidden” emissions.

To understand why synchrotron radiation from galaxies is thought to be forbidden, it helps to understand why the spectrum exists in the first place. Spectra look the way they do because certain atoms and molecules absorb and emit light very reliably at very specific wavelengths.

The reason is quantum physics. Electrons (tiny particles orbiting the nucleus of atoms and molecules) can only exist at very specific energies, so electrons can only lose or gain very specific amounts of energy. These very specific amounts of energy correspond to specific wavelengths of light that are absorbed or emitted.

Discharge prohibition phenomenon

Forbidden emission lines are therefore spectral emission lines that should not exist according to certain rules of quantum physics. However, quantum physics is complex, and some of the rules used to predict quantum physics use assumptions that are appropriate for laboratory conditions on Earth.

Under these rules, this release is “prohibited” and ignored because it is unlikely. But in space, in the midst of incredibly energetic galactic nuclei, those assumptions no longer apply, and “forbidden” light has a chance to shine towards us.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Discovery of a direct correlation between elevated insulin levels and pancreatic cancer by scientists

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

A new study has proven a direct link between high insulin levels and increased risk of pancreatic cancer in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. This landmark study shows how excess insulin overstimulates pancreatic acinar cells, leading to inflammation and precancerous cells, particularly in the case of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). These findings highlight the importance of maintaining healthy insulin levels and may lead to new strategies for cancer prevention and treatment, including lifestyle interventions and targeted therapies.

For the first time, we explain in detail why people with obesity and type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine revealed a direct relationship between high blood pressure and high blood pressure. insulin This level is frequently observed in patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and pancreatic cancer.

This study cell metabolismprovides the first detailed explanation of why people with obesity and type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of pancreatic cancer. This study shows that excessive insulin levels overstimulate pancreatic acinar cells, which produce digestive juices. This excessive stimulation causes inflammation and transforms these cells into precancerous cells.

“In addition to rapid increases in both obesity and type 2 diabetes, we are also seeing an alarming increase in the incidence of pancreatic cancer,” said co-senior author and professor in the Department of Cellular Physiology Sciences and co-senior author of the study. said Dr. James Johnson, interim director of the agency. UBC’s Institute of Life Sciences. “These findings help us understand how this is happening and highlight the importance of keeping insulin levels within a healthy range. can be achieved through medication.”

Dr. James Johnson is a professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences and interim director of the UBC Life Sciences Institute. credit:
UBC Faculty of Medicine

The study focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of pancreatic cancer and a highly aggressive disease with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent. The incidence of pancreatic cancer is on the rise. By 2030, PDAC is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

Role of insulin in pancreatic cancer

Although obesity and type 2 diabetes were previously established as risk factors for pancreatic cancer, the exact mechanisms by which this occurs remained unclear. This new study sheds light on the role of insulin and its receptor in this process.

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Reference: “Hyperinsulinemia causes pancreatic cancer through acinar insulin receptors by increasing digestive enzyme production and inflammation” (Anni MY Zhang, Yi Han Xia, Jeffrey SH Lin, Ken H Chu, Wei Chuan K. Wang, Titine JJ Ruiter, Jenny) CC Yang, Nan Chen, Justin Choa, Shilpa Patil, Haoning Howard Sen, Elizabeth J. Rideout, Vincent R. Richard, David・F. Shafer, Rene P. Zahedi, Christoph H. Borchers, James D. Johnson, Janelle L. Kopp, October 31, 2023. cell metabolism.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.10.003

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Lustgarten Foundation.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Webb finds small, free-floating brown dwarf in star-forming cluster IC 348

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

The newly discovered brown dwarf is estimated to have a mass three to four times that of Jupiter, making it a strong candidate for the lowest mass free-floating brown dwarf ever directly imaged.

This image from Webb’s NIRCam instrument shows the central portion of star cluster IC 348. Image credits: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / K. Luhman, Pennsylvania State University / C. Alves de Oliveira, ESA.

Brown dwarfs are cold, dark objects that are between the size of gas giant planets and Sun-like stars.

These objects, also known as failed stars, have star-like properties even though they are too small to sustain hydrogen fusion reactions in their cores.

Typically, their masses are between 11 and 16 Jupiter (the approximate mass that can sustain deuterium fusion) and 75 and 80 Jupiter (the approximate mass that can sustain hydrogen fusion).

“One of the basic questions you’ll find in any astronomy textbook is: What is the smallest star? That’s what we’re trying to answer,” said Kevin, an astronomer at Penn State University.・Dr. Luman said.

The newly discovered brown dwarf resides in IC 348, a star cluster 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Perseus.

The cluster, also known as Collinder 41, Gingrich 1, and Theia 17, contains nearly 400 stars and is about 5 million years old.

IC 348 is part of the larger Perseus star-forming region, and although it is normally invisible to the naked eye, it shines brightly when viewed at infrared wavelengths.

Dr. Luhmann and his colleagues used the following method to image the center of the star cluster. Webb’s NIRCam device Identify brown dwarf candidates based on their brightness and color.

They followed up on the most promising targets using: Webb’s NIRSpec microshutter array.

This process created three interesting targets with masses between three and eight Jupiters and surface temperatures between 830 and 1,500 degrees Celsius.

Computer models suggest that the smallest of these weighs just three to four times as much as Jupiter.

ESA astronomer Dr Catalina Alves de Oliveira said: “With current models, it is very easy to create a giant planet in a disk around a star.”

“But in this cluster, the object is unlikely to form as a disc, but instead as a star, with three Jupiters having a mass 300 times less than the Sun.”

“Then we have to ask how the star formation process takes place at such a very small mass.”

Two of the brown dwarfs identified by the research team exhibit spectral signatures of unidentified hydrocarbons, molecules that contain both hydrogen and carbon atoms.

The same infrared signature was detected in the atmospheres of Saturn and its moon Titan by NASA’s Cassini mission.

It has also been observed in the interstellar medium, the gas between stars.

“This is the first time this molecule has been detected in the atmosphere of an object outside our solar system,” Dr de Oliveira said.

“Models for brown dwarf atmospheres do not predict their existence. We are observing objects that are younger and have lower masses than ever before, and we are seeing something new and unexpected.” .”

a paper Regarding the survey results, astronomy magazine.

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KL Luman other. 2023. JWST survey of planetary mass brown dwarfs in IC 348. A.J. 167, 19; doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ad00b7

Source: www.sci.news

Artificial Intelligence will bring about a revolution in the realm of complex problem-solving within logistics and beyond.

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Researchers at MIT and ETH Zurich have developed a machine learning-based technique that speeds up the optimization process used by companies like FedEx to deliver packages. This approach simplifies key steps in mixed integer linear programming (MILP) solvers and uses company-specific data to tune the process, resulting in 30-70% speedups without sacrificing accuracy. This has potential applications in a variety of industries facing complex resource allocation problems.

The research conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ETH Zurich aims to address complex logistics challenges, including delivering packages, distributing vaccines, and managing power grids. The traditional software used by companies like FedEx to find optimal delivery solutions is called a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) solver, but it can be time-consuming and may not always produce ideal solutions.

The newly developed technique employs machine learning to identify important intermediate steps in the MILP solver, resulting in a significant reduction of time required to unravel potential solutions. By using company-specific data, this approach allows for custom tailoring of the MILP solver. This new technique results in speeding up the MILP solver by 30-70% without sacrificing accuracy.

Lead author Kathy Wu, along with co-lead authors Sirui Li, Wenbin Ouyang, and Max Paulus, highlights the potential of combining machine learning and classical methods to address optimization problems. The research will be presented at the Neural Information Processing Systems Conference. The team hopes to further apply this approach to solve complex MILP problems and interpret the effectiveness of different separation algorithms.

Source: scitechdaily.com

Research indicates that the canine teeth of marsupial carnivores grow continuously throughout their lives.

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

New research from the University of Tasmania also confirms important and fundamental morphological differences in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) compared to most other animals.

Young Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Image credit: Keres H. / CC BY-SA 4.0.

There has long been interest in comparing the biology of placental and marsupial mammals and how different traits relate to adaptation and converging ecomorphological niches in different regions of the world. I’m here. One interesting feature is the tooth replacement pattern.

“Unlike humans, dogs and many other animals, which have a second set of baby teeth and adult teeth, we now know that the Tasmanian devil only has one tooth that serves them throughout their lives.” said researchers at the University of Tasmania. Professor Mena Jonesstudy author.

“When Tasmanian devil joeys are young, they have very small teeth that fit their small bodies.”

“Tasmanian devils are separated from their mothers when they are just one-third of their adult size, and at this point they must become independent and feed themselves.”

“Instead of spending time erupting into adult teeth like humans, the Tasmanian devil’s teeth simply ‘erupt’ from the jaw and gums, pushing out more and more to fill the Tasmanian devil’s large mouth and head. , they raise animals to hold meat and prey and for protection. ”

“This is a really cool fact about a really cool species, and it points to a completely different evolutionary solution to the formation of teeth in growing animals than we know.”

The same phenomenon is seen in local possums and possums, as well as in some ancient marsupials such as the giant volhyaenids and sabertooths of South America.

“This information will help researchers determine the age of the animals they are studying, including those monitored in the wild for Tasmanian devil facial tumor research,” Professor Jones said.

of study Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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Mena E. Jones. 2023. Overbudding of teeth in marsupial carnivores: compensation for constraints. Procedure R. Soc. B 290 (2013): 20230644; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0644

Source: www.sci.news