Labroots’ virtual events are excellent ways to connect with great people and collaborate on research within your field. These events have attendees from around the world who can promote their research for free with a virtual poster. At this year’s Microbiology Week Virtual Event (now available to view On-Demand), Labroots featured an exceptional study involving the environmental resistance and medical indications regarding the fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus). This distinctive research was conducted by Laura Alguacil Cuéllar, who is a PhD student at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Carlos III Health Institute). (To see the full poster in detail, check out the 2024 Microbiology Week Virtual Event On-Demand) Cuéllar’s poster analyzed air samples across two locations (urban and semiurban) within Madrid-Spain to ascertain the role of how environmental conditions contribute to antifungal resistance, specifically regarding filamentous fungi and A. fumigatus, the latter of which was designated as part of the critical group within the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Fungal Priority Pathogens list in 2022. Annual seasonal variations and environmental conditions were examined for filamentous fungi, while environmental isolates of A. fumigatus were analyzed for antifungal resistance. Cuéllar recently told Labroots the most meaningful results were discovering a public health risk associated with finding strains of resistant fungi within the air samples, which she says emphasizes the ONE Health approach that focuses on the connection between the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. She notes how this research could contribute to the microbiology scientific community at large to focus on environmental observations and antimicrobial resistance. Cuéllar tells Labroots, “These findings align with ongoing themes in microbiology related to the evolution of resistance, the impact of environmental factors on microbial populations, and the necessity for robust surveillance and control strategies to mitigate the spread of resistant pathogens. Additionally, the inclusion of A. fumigatus in the WHO’s list of priority fungal pathogens highlights the global importance of addressing fungal resistance.” To follow Laura Alguacil Cuéllar’s research and career, and to conner with her, check out her LinkedIn page, her director’s LinkedIn page, and her Mycology Reference and Research Laboratory at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

Scientists still have a lot to learn about the numerous and varied consequences of the transatlantic slave trade, which forced an estimated 11 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic and into the Americas, on both individuals and societies. Researchers have now applied techniques in genetics, osteology, and isotope analysis to learn more about three African slaves that lived in the 16th century. The investigation has revealed more about where the individuals were probably captured, the physical abuse and hardships they endured as slaves, and what pathogens they were exposed to before they arrived in the Americas. This work, which has been reported in Current Biology, can help us understand how colonization took a terrible toll on people and promoted the spread of disease. "Using a cross-disciplinary approach, we unravel the life history of three otherwise voiceless individuals who belonged to one of the most oppressed groups in the history of the Americas," said the senior study author Johannes Krause, an archaeogeneticist and professor at the Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. The people studied in this work were recovered from a mass grave in Mexico City, at San José de los Naturales Royal Hospital, which provided services to the indigenous community. "Having Africans in central Mexico so early during the colonial period tells us a lot about the dynamics of that time," said first author Rodrigo Barquera, a graduate student at the Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. "And since they were found in this mass burial site, these individuals likely died in one of the first epidemic events in Mexico City." Using their teeth, the researchers were able to earn more about the individuals' lives. "Their genetics suggest they were born in Africa, where they spent all of their youth. Our evidence points to either a Southern or Western African origin before being transported to the Americas," said Barquera. The skeletons showed that these people had a very hard life after they got to the Americas. There were large muscle insertions indicative of continuous physical labor in one skeleton, another carried copper bullet fragments, and the last had a number of fractures in their legs and skull. This torment was not fatal. "Within our osteobiographies we can tell they survived the maltreatment that they received. Their story is one of difficulty but also strength, because although they suffered a lot, they persevered and were resistant to the changes forced upon them," Barquera explained. Genetic material that was recovered from the individuals showed that they had infections. "We found that one individual was infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), while another was infected with the bacterium that causes yaws--a disease similar to syphilis," said co-senior author Denise Kühnert, a mathematician at the Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. "Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that both individuals contracted their infections before they were likely forcibly brought to Mexico." Since the remains are the earliest samples that carry HBV and yaws, it supports the idea that the slave trade and colonialism introduced these diseases into Latin America. "It is plausible that yaws was not only brought into the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade but may subsequently have had a considerable impact on the disease dynamics in Latin America," said Kühnert. "We want to get insights into how pathogens emerged and spread during the colonial period in the New Spain, but we also want to continue to explore the life stories of the Africans brought here and other parts of the Americas. That way they can take a more visible place in Latin American history," noted Barquera. Get an overview of the transatlantic slave trade from the video. Sources: AAAS/Eurekalert! via Cell Press, Current Biology

Dude…where’s my memory? It sounds funny, but new research on the effects of cannabinoids on the brain warns that memory loss can be the result of using cannabis, but turning off a chemical reaction to pot in the brain could allow the plant to be used more efficiently for certain medical conditions. Scientists have known for centuries that cannabis, (pot, marijuana, weed) changes the brain. If it didn’t it might not be so controversial (and in some places, popular). After the last election the numbers were as follows: 28 states plus the District of Columbia now have laws that allow marijuana for medical use. 4 states allow pot to be used recreationally and other states have decriminalized its use and possession. Like anything else though, the safety of the plant for medical use and recreational use has been the subject of much debate. It comes down to the cellular mechanism of cannabinoids in the brain. In science for every action there is a reaction and that is what scientists in Spain investigated recently. In the brain, cannabinoids attach to CB1 receptors located on the nerve endings of neurons. This pairing up then inhibits signals sent between neurons via neurotransmitters and the result can be memory loss. Research of the last decade has shown that CB1 receptors are also located in another part of nerve cells, the all important mitochondria. Mitochondria is known as “the powerhouse” of the cell, providing energy, so when something interferes with that process, the results can be neurological deficits or disease. A team led by Dr. Giovanni Marsicano of the University of Bordeaux and including neuroscientists Nagore Puente, Leire Reguero, Izaskun Elezgarai and Pedro Grandes from the Department of Neurosciences of the University of the Basque Country Faculty of Medicine and Nursing and of the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience found that memory loss, which is associated with cannabis use, is eliminated when the CB1 cannabinoid receptor reaction in the mitochondria of the hippocampus is shut down. When the researchers were able to genetically eliminate CB1 receptors located in the mitochondria of the hippocampus, memory loss that would normally have occurred was avoided and there was no decrease in cell signaling and neurotransmitter activity. The research was able to illustrate exactly how memory loss is related to the celluar activity of the CB1 receptors in this new location of the hippocampus mitochondria. The result of this process is that cell respiration suffers and that impacts brain function. Similar action occurs in the skeletal and cardiac muscle according to earlier research by this same team, but the connection to the impact of this cellular process to the brain was a first. In a press release Dr. Grandes said, "Mitochondrial malfunctioning could have serious consequences for the brain. For example, chronic mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, strokes or disorders associated with ageing. However, the involvement of the acute variation in mitochondrial activity in higher brain functions, such as memory, was unknown. So this research has revealed that the CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the mitochondria regulate the memory processes by modulating mitochondrial energy metabolism.” Rather than the news being just another warning on marijuana use and cognition, the team hopes that their findings will result in treatments that could shut down the negative impact of the CB1 receptors on memory. If the negative effects of the plant were mitigated, pot could be used medically without patients have to suffer the side effect of significant memory loss. The video below explains more about this new understanding of the results of marijuana use on brain function. Sources: University of the Basque Country Nature UPI R&D Magazine

Albufera Lake in Valencia, Spain is a lagoon that set the stage for a recent study analyzing the ability of moths to tolerate toxins. Scientists found that microbes in insects’ gastrointestinal tracts enabled them to feed on plants that contain chemicals that are normally toxic. This research could have applications in the neutralization and disposal of contaminated waste. Plants use chemicals as a way to defend against insect attack. These alkaloids can be repellent or toxic to herbivores, and some have been shown to have antimicrobial effects as well. The researchers note that this is one of the few studies of the complex relationships of plants and insects and the metabolites and microbes that play roles in the interaction, especially that of butterflies and moths. The limited amount of previous studies have focused primarily on species that are considered pests of agriculture or forests. Investigatorss at the Universitat de València's Cavanilles Institute have published work in Frontiers in Microbiology analyzing the gut microbial community present in two moths, Brithys crini and Hyles euphorbiae that feed exclusively on alkaloid-rich Pancratium maritimum and latex-rich Euphorbia sp., respectively. It was found that yhese insects are able to consume those chemicals because of the microbes in their guts; those bacteria are capable of degrading the poisonous compounds. The study has revealed the mechanism the microbes use to digest the chemicals as well. The bacteria form a biofilm that causes the crystallization of the deadly compounds or just simply degrades them. Another finding reveals that the E. casseliflavus bacterium, common to the digestive tract of many insects, is critical to disposing of toxic latex present in the digestive tract of H. euphorbiae moths. E. casseliflavus is normally considered to be a generalist bacteria, one that can utilize a variety of resources and as such, thrive in challenging environments. Specialists, by contrast, have a stricter set of survival needs. First author of the work, Cristina Vilanova, explained "this work characterizes and reveals a new relationship between an apparently generalist bacteria and a specialist insect. The microbiota analyzed in this study, especially E. casseliflavus, may prove fundamental to understanding the ecology of these specialist insects, as well as being of use in the biotechnology industry. Microorganisms and enzymes that can neutralize alkaloids and latex molecules might find applications in bioremediation, for instance." Latex- and alkaloid-based compounds are commonly found in nature but are toxic. Latex based compounds are a typical component of common products. Alkaloids are important ingredients in drugs such as codeine and morphine. These findings could aid in the removal and disposal of these chemicals. Sources: Science Daily via Asociación RUVID, Frontiers in Microbiology

Many of us are familiar by now with the word CBD otherwise known as cannabidiol, but how did we discover this compound to be marketable and beneficial for our health? We can thank the introduction of analytical testing of cannabis in California for that. Before analytical companies began testing cannabis it was believed that we had bred cannabidiol out of cannabis because it had no psychoactive effect and even went as far as negating the psychoactive effect of THC. But in 2008 with the opening up of an analytics lab in Berkeley California by the name of Steep Hill a strain by the name of stinky pearl was discovered to contain 5% CBD. With the introduction of testing, we began to find breeders with strains that contained CBD. In the same year a man by the name of Wade Lauder was breeding a strain he named harlequin that tested as a 1:1 ratio. Meanwhile, another man by the name of Lawrence Ringo was perfecting a strain called sour tsunami. This is a mix of NYC diesel, sour diesel, and fieri. When this was tested by a cannabis analytics lab in Northern California by the name of Pure Analytics, it was found to have 11% CBD concentration. However, it wasn't just in California CBD strains were being discovered. A breeder from Spain had brought his seeds and a male clone to Northern California, and it was discovered to contain 5% CBD in its profile. THis strain was later named catatonic This was attractive to some as CBD could be used as a loophole in cannabis production and sold as a hemp product. If the levels could be brought low enough it would pass federal regulation and could be sold as hemp. So a breeder in California took on the task of breeding different phenotypes to create just that. This breeder was successful and a phenotype with the ratio of 18:1 was discovered and named ACDC. A famous CBD strain that was made famous by the relief it gave to epilepsy is called Charlotte's web, which is most likely a derivative of ACDC. At this time there was no selling of CBD pounds, nobody wanted to buy it if it couldn’t get you high. However, a group of people believed that once patients got ahold of it they would begin to understand the medicinal value. At this time, a clone was put in the hands of a gentleman working at the Humboldt Patient Resource Center by the name of Kevin Jordey and he began putting ACDC clones in the hands of patients. While Jordey was working at expanding the breeding of ACDC, Lawrence Ringo with the help of the laboratory Pure Analytics stabilized a line called sour tsunami. In the next few years using Pure Analytics invention of predictive leaf analysis, we went from having two varieties of 15%-16% CBD to 80 varieties. The development of CBD strains you could say was a mix between a mishap and the technological advancements of analytical techniques. We can thank the pioneers willing to risk their freedom to develop a product that they inherently knew made them feel better. Sources: Shaping Fire,Pure Relief

The communication on our mobile devices relies on radio waves that operate at a certain frequency. As this technology has improved, it's gotten much faster. The 5G (for 5th generation) network is about to be rolled out, and it's expected to take a huge leap forward in terms of speed and capacity. Companies that stand to profit from the advancement, such as Qualcomm, a producer of phone-networking chips, have described 5G as "transformative." Service providers have said that performing tasks like watching a video or downloading a file will be quicker on a mobile network compared to WiFi. In a city, a 5G phone on a 5G network may be nine to twenty times faster than a 4G phone. Tests by RantCell indicated that a 5G network had an average speed of about 72 megabits per second (Mbps), while 4G had an average speed of about 17 Mbps. Networks can also experience high latency, in which delays in the transmission of information occurs, or there is a decrease in responsiveness for a variety of reasons, such as bottlenecks or geography. The latency of 5G is expected to be dramatically reduced compared to 4G. The Internet of Things will also be able to use the 5G network, which includes connected devices, like a workout monitor or a smart refrigerator. More people will be able to control devices remotely with the 5G network, and it is expected to significantly improve the function of autonomous vehicles, which will be able to communicate with each other and their surroundings much quicker and more reliably. But you may have heard about problems with 5g rollout and airports. So what's going on? A WiFi network relies on 2.4- or 5.8-gigahertz bands, while the 5G technology uses a spectrum of radio waves called millimeter waves, which are 24 gigahertz (GHz) and higher (5G generally uses waves in the 30 GHz to 300 GHz range). The coverage of a 5G network doesn't extend as far, so more millimeter-wave cell towers are being installed. That also means that in rural areas, 5G will be slower than in a city. Not many things tap into millimeter waves. But unfortunately, some older altimeters on planes do. Altimeters are crucial pieces of instrumentation in planes that detect how high a plane is above the ground. They help pilots during various aspects of takeoff and landing, including when to apply the brakes and deploy landing gear, especially in bad weather when visibility is low. The frequency used by some altimeters is close enough to the 5G spectrum (known as the C-band spectrum) to cause concern that interference will disrupt altimeters, making them unreliable or inaccurate. These concerns were raised in a report by RTCA, a not-for-profit private association that was founded in 1935 as the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics. They work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop aviation standards in a "in a consensus-based, collaborative, peer-reviewed environment," according to their website. The FAA does not regulate networks, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does, and the FAA warned the FCC about these problems in 2020, but sufficient action was not taken. The FAA has responded to these concerns on its own now by issuing directives that restrict some airport operations on some aircraft. For example, Embraer E175s are now prohibited from operating when visibility is low at some airports, like Paine Field in Everett, Washington. This week, 24 flights were cancelled for that reason at Paine Field. There have already been delays in the rollout of 5G because of this interference, and now it's plagued by controversy and confusion. An agreement has been reached with Verizon and AT&T to postpone the installation of some 5G network towers near airports. Right now, the FAA has deemed twenty types of radio altimeters to be safe and reliable in 5G environments, so 90 percent of commercial aircraft are currently approved to takeoff and land, even in low visibility, at most airports. Regional airlines will have to continue to contend with problems, delays, and cancellations as the FAA determines how and when certain smaller aircraft like the Embraer E175 are able to operate in low visibility. According to a January 28, 2022 statement from the FAA, they will now be able to map the areas around airports where 5G is used with precision, and interference can be mitigated. There is some dispute that altimeters would be affected at all. In 40 other countries, there has been no issue with 5G rollout, and it has not impacted aircraft safety. Several countries including France, Spain, and Denmark have been using the 5G network, with frequencies in the C-band for several years without issue. Hopefully, the problems are limited to cancellations and inconveniences, and any danger will be avoided. Sources: Wall Street Journal, RTCA, FAA, Scientific American

Most people know that certain foods are better for our health than others. Some types of food can increase, while other types may decrease inflammation, which is known to be involved in many different diseases. Processed and red meats, refined grains, and excess sugars have all been linked to increased inflammation. Diets high in these kinds of foods are known to raise the risk of heart disease and stroke compared to diets that include anti-inflammatory foods. New work reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has confirmed these findings, while another study in the same journal has shown that walnuts, which are anti-inflammatory, can reduce inflammation and the risk of heart disease. "Using an empirically-developed, food-based dietary index to evaluate levels of inflammation associated with dietary intake, we found that dietary patterns with higher inflammatory potential were associated with an increased rate of cardiovascular disease," said Jun Li, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and research scientist in the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "Our study is among the first to link a food-based dietary inflammatory index with long-term risk of cardiovascular disease." There are measurable markers of inflammation in the body, molecules like chemokines and interleukins. This study followed up on whether diets that can promote inflammation also lead to poor heart health outcomes over the long term. In this work, the researchers analyzed data from a study that lasted 32 years and included about 210,000 people that took diet surveys every four years. Researchers controlled for risk factors like physical activity levels and family medical history, and showed that people consuming pro-inflammatory diets increase their risk of heart disease by 46 percent and increase their risk of stroke by 28 percent, compared to people eating anti-inflammatory diets. Diets including foods that are rich in antioxidants, like leafy greens, beans, carrots, pumpkins, whole grains, coffee, tea, and wine can fight inflammation, suggested the researchers. They also noted that limiting refined grains and sugars, fried foods, sugary drinks, red meat, and processed meat can help lower inflammation. "A better knowledge of health protection provided by different foods and dietary patterns, mainly their anti-inflammatory properties, should provide the basis for designing even healthier dietary patterns to protect against heart disease," said Ramon Estruch, M.D., Ph.D., senior consultant in the department of internal medicine at Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain. "When choosing foods in our diet, we should indeed beware of their pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory potential!" The second JACC study has also confirmed previous work, which showed walnuts can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. In a study of 634 people, those that consumed 30 to 60 grams of walnuts every day had lower levels of six of ten biomarkers of inflammation compared to those that did not eat walnuts every day. "The anti-inflammatory effect of long-term consumption of walnuts demonstrated in this study provides novel mechanistic insight for the benefit of walnut consumption on heart disease risk beyond that of cholesterol-lowering," said lead study author Montserrant Cofán, Ph.D., a researcher at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain. Sources: AAAS/Eurekalert! via American College of Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology

In Brazil, it’s known as “Pisadeira,” a creature that lurks on rooftops at night, and then bears down on unsuspecting people while they sleep. In Spain, sufferers call it “Pesanta,” a name for a black animal that also preys on sleeping people. In some Asian cultures, it’s a spirit that weighs down the slumberer. These rich and imaginative folk stories capture a very real and frightening phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. This condition occurs when a person is caught between the dream state and the wakefulness state – the body is in total paralysis mode while the person is conscious and dreaming. "When people have a nightmare, they sleep, have a dream and then wake up. When they're experiencing sleep paralysis, they may have a dream when they are already awake," explained Steven Bender, director of Texas A&M University's Center for Facial Pain and Sleep Medicine. It doesn’t sound so bad until we remember that the body is still completely immobilized because the brain thinks we’re still asleep. This natural inhibition of motor neurons to prevent a person from acting out their dream becomes the factor that makes sleep paralysis so frightening. "People who experience sleep paralysis can have vivid hallucinations because they are dreaming," said Bender. "People have felt like they're levitating or that someone is in their bedroom or a variety of other strange experiences, like alien abductions." Indeed, the experience is surreal. For me, it happens most often when I can’t consciously decide to wake up from a nap or sleep just a little longer. If I linger too long between these states, the weight on the chest sets in, slowly but oppressively. At this point, I’ll want to wake up, but my eyelids feel weighed down with lead bricks. Then comes the wakeful nightmares of intruders in the room – sometimes climbing in the bed, sometimes hovering on top, always dark, featureless, and full of menace. But I can’t even move to scream or lift a finger. It’s like being trapped in a prison of my own nightmare. The variety of cultures in which sleep paralysis is known indicates that this condition is much more common than we imagined. It’s estimated that the disorder affects as much as 25 percent of the population. For some, it may be a singular terror-inducing experience. For others, like myself, the unwanted episodes has happened a few too many times. Luckily, the episodes only last a few minutes in real time. Furthermore, researchers say there are ways to minimize the risk of such experience, one of which is to have a regularly schedule sleep/wake cycle. Of note, reducing the snoozing may be the most effective way to curb my sleep paralysis. Additional sources: Live Science, UPI, Chicago CBS news

There are many bacteria in the world that are, or have the potential to be beneficial to humans. Microbes have found ingenious ways to survive in the world, in part by producing natural chemicals that benefit them in some way. These compounds might kill other, competing microbes or help them tolerate some condition, for example. Scientists have now developed a method that not only reconstructed the genomes of ancient microbes, but also revealed the products that these tiny organisms naturally produced. These natural products could be useful to us in many ways, and could help us solve the antibiotic crisis we are facing. The work has been reported in Science. "In this study, we have reached a major milestone in revealing the vast genetic and chemical diversity of our microbial past," said co-senior study author Christina Warinner, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University, among other appointments. The world is teeming with microbes, and if researchers can grow them in a lab, the stuff these microbial cells generate can be isolated and studied. Finding the proper growth conditions can be challenging, however. But in this work, the investigators analyzed microbial genomes to look for the biochemical pathways leading to natural products, and to identify new molecules that we have never seen before. "Our aim is to chart a path for the discovery of ancient natural products and to inform their potential future applications," noted co-senior study author Professor Pierre Stallforth, Head of the Department of Paleobiotechnology at the Leibniz Institute of Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI), among other appointments. In metagenomics, all the DNA from some sample can be sequenced, and then the resulting sequences (which are often fragmented) can be compared to databases of known genomic sequences, revealing what the sample contains. This is a commonly used tool when researchers are identifying the microbes in a specimen, like scrapings from dental tartar. But when the DNA is from stuff that has never been sequenced before, those sequences will not be in a database; the genomic DNA from ancient or rare organisms is not usually in databases of known organisms. Computational tools have now advanced so that researchers can piece together fragments from unknown genetic sequences, matching them together like pieces of a puzzle to create genomes from previously unknown microbes. DNA from microbes that lives in the Pleistocene era however, is even more fragmented than usual. In this study, the researchers used a new approach to reconstruct bacterial genomes. They used samples from tooth tartar found on a dozen Neanderthals that dated to around 102,000 to 40,000 years ago; as well as 34 archaeological humans that dated to about 30,000 to 150 years ago; and 18 modern humans. Tooth tartar is known to be the only body part that will fossilize during a lifetime, and it does so containing heaps of mineralized bacteria. This method revealed many bacterial species that lived in the mouth microbiomes of these individuals. Tartar from the 19,000-year-old Red Lady of El Mirón, Spain gave the scientists a remarkably well-preserved genome from Chlorobium bacteria, for example. "Having discovered these enigmatic ancient genes, we wanted to take them to the lab to find out what they make," said co-lead study author Anan Ibrahim, a postdoctoral researcher at Leibniz-HKI. A new family of natural products made by microbes was discovered; the researchers called it "paleofurans." With genetic techniques, products that ancient microbes encode for in their genomes can be generated by modern microbes in the lab. Now the researchers will start to look for new antibiotics among these products. Sources: Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knoell Institute, Science

Things are getting KRASy in Spanish science this week as two major papers debut new insight regarding the activity of the cancer-associated mutation KRAS. First, in an article published in Nature, a potential drug interaction site on the KRAS protein was mapped out by a research group from The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. A three-dimensional image showing the human protein KRAS (blue) interacting with RAF1 (yellow), one of its main partners. The blue-to-red colour gradient indicates increasing potential for allosteric effects. Weng, Faure and Escobedo/Centro de Regulación Genómica Second, scientists at the Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia, Spain, have unveiled promising KRAS findings that could revolutionize the treatment landscape for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) and many other cancers. Published in Cell Reports Medicine and first-authored by Laura Hurtado-Navarro and Ernesto Jose Cuenca-Zamora, the Murcia group has uncovered a novel approach to quelling rampant inflammation in CMML patients. The KRAS mutation, a prevalent variant of the RAS gene, is particularly notorious in various cancers, including tumors of the pancreas and colorectum. Research has implicated RAS mutations in 20-30% of all human cancers, with CMML showing RAS mutations in 7-22% of cases. RAS mutations disrupt its protein's convoluted signaling pathway, preventing it from assuming its inactive state. When stuck in the "on" position, the RAS protein propels cell proliferation and survival but also causes the debilitating clinical features of CMML— the failure of blood cells to mature (myelodysplastic syndromes) and the overproduction of red and white blood cells or platelets (myeloproliferative neoplasms). The study delved deep down the out-of-control singling pathway of KRAS to explore the dysfunction it begets. The researchers focused on a key player in the inflammatory landscape, NLRP3. NLRP3 is a member of an inflammasome, a multiprotein complex that signals the presence of pathogens or cellular damage. NLRP3 activity is implicated in diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to diabetes. It turns out that the KRAS mutation activates NLRP3 and triggers the release of proinflammatory cytokines like IL-1beta, causes punctures in the cell membrane and ultimately leads to cell death. Taking a bold step forward, the scientists explored the potential of an IL-1beta inhibitor called anakinra to alleviate the debilitating effects of CMML patients with the KRAS mutation. In a groundbreaking revelation, IL-1beta inhibitor treatment led to significant clinical improvements. Anakinra treatment improved white blood cell production and positively impacted the weight of CMML patients with KRAS mutation, leading to significant clinical improvements. Further experiments using human samples demonstrated that anakinra successfully decreased NLRP3 inflammasome activity, offering a glimmer of hope for CMML patients grappling with mutated KRAS. The study's implications extend beyond CMML, as KRAS mutations are prevalent in various cancers. Anakinra and other IL-1beta blockers emerge as a viable strategy to improve clinical outcomes and control NLRP3 inflammasome activation in a spectrum of cancers with KRAS mutations. Sources: International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Cell Reports Medicine, Nature

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept through various countries with widely discrepant mortality rates. Many theories have been proposed to explain this observation, for example, differences in a country's healthcare infrastructure, the age of the population, or testing rates and problems. Researchers at Northwestern University noticed that in countries with high mortality rates, like the UK, Spain, and Italy, COVID-19 patients tended to have lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients that had not been affected as severely. The work has not yet been subject to peer-review, and has been reported in medRxiv. The study authors noted that people should not start buying supplements. "While I think it is important for people to know that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in mortality, we don't need to push vitamin D on everybody," said the study leader, Northwestern's Vadim Backman, the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. "This needs further study, and I hope our work will stimulate interest in this area. The data also may illuminate the mechanism of mortality, which, if proven, could lead to new therapeutic targets." Backman started this research because he thought there was some other reason besides age, healthcare infrastructure or testing, that explained why mortality rates were varying so much. "None of these factors appears to play a significant role," Backman said. "The healthcare system in northern Italy is one of the best in the world. Differences in mortality exist even if one looks across the same age group. And, while the restrictions on testing do indeed vary, the disparities in mortality still exist even when we looked at countries or populations for which similar testing rates apply. Instead, we saw a significant correlation with vitamin D deficiency." Backman's team has found a connection between vitamin D levels and a major complication of severe COVID-19 cases: cytokine storms, in which an overactive immune system causes hyperinflammtion. Vitamin D was also linked to mortality. "Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients," said the first author of the study, Ali Daneshkhah, a postdoctoral research associate in Backman's laboratory. "This is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. It is the complications from the misdirected fire from the immune system." Backman noted that vitamin D can stop the immune system from becoming overactive, as well as enhancing innate immunity. Proper vitamin D levels may, therefore, be important in preventing COVID-19 complications. "Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half," Backman said. "It will not prevent a patient from contracting the virus, but it may reduce complications and prevent death in those who are infected." In children, the acquired immune system, which is more likely to overreact compared to the innate immune system, is not fully developed. "Children primarily rely on their innate immune system," Backman said. "This may explain why their mortality rate is lower." Backman stressed that high levels of vitamin D can cause health problems, so people should not start ingesting supplements until we know more about how it's working in this situation. "It is hard to say which dose is most beneficial for COVID-19," Backman said. "However, it is clear that vitamin D deficiency is harmful, and it can be easily addressed with appropriate supplementation. This might be another key to helping protect vulnerable populations, such as African-American and elderly patients, who have a prevalence of vitamin D deficiency." Sources: Science Daily via Northwestern University, medRxiv

A new study that looked at fossilized plant leaf waxes may provide new insight into historical climate patterns which we can use for enhanced comprehension of future climate predictions. The study comes from researchers collaborating at the University of Birmingham and was published in Scientific Reports. Dr. Yvette Eley, from the University of Birmingham, explained, "If we want to understand how the Earth would work with a climate substantially warmer than today, we have to study intervals millions of years in the past -- made difficult because these warm climates are much older than our oldest climate records from Antarctic ice cores (less than one million years old)." The difficulties that Dr. Eley mentions are due to the fact that the methods we have to study such historical climate records consist of analyzing proxies, such as the calcium carbonate concretions in soils and the chemistry of fossilized mammal teeth. However, neither of these are common or easy to find, so until now there have been huge gaps in our understanding of ancient atmospheric moisture content. That’s why the addition of these fossilized plant leaf waxes is so helpful, as their chemistry can indicate the amount of moisture in the atmosphere at the time and allow scientists to construct better climate models. Dr. Eley explains the process that the researchers used: "Our new approach to quantifying ancient atmospheric moisture content relies on the fundamental properties of plant leaves, and how they alter their protective waxy coverings in response to water stress. These leaf waxes are tough and resistant, and are regularly found as what we call biomarker compounds in ancient river, lake and even marine sediments." That means they can act as a signal for changes in the atmosphere that occurred millions of years ago. And plant waxes occur relatively frequently in soils throughout time and geography, which means that there is an abundance of information to work with. Focusing on an area in Central Spain from roughly 15 to 17 million years ago, the team of scientists was able to confirm the validity of plant waxes with previous models from research conducted with other atmospheric moisture content proxies. "What we see is that the distribution of organic compounds preserved in soils seems to be strongly related to the difference between how much water is in an air mass, and how much the air mass can hold, or what is known as the vapour pressure deficit," says Dr. Hren from the Center for Integrative Geosciences at the University of Connecticut. They have confidence that this proxy can be used for future research to delve even deeper into our climatic history in future investigations. Sources: Science Daily, Scientific Reports

A new study found that bilingualism- especially from a younger age- is linked to more efficient brain connectivity. The study improves our understanding of how bilingualism influences the brain. The findings were published in Communications Biology. Previous research shows that acquiring a second language may have a positive effect on various aspects of cognition, including working memory, cognitive control, and attention. Research even demonstrates that it may improve prognosis following stroke, possibly by enhancing cognitive reserve. Significant evidence further suggests that bilingualism shapes the brain at the functional and structural level- and that these effects- while most prominent when language acquisition occurs during childhood- are visible when languages are learned later in life too. Increasing amounts of research centers around the role of cortico-cerebellar circuits in bilingual language processing. However, until now, how the cerebellar system is impacted by language acquisition at various ages remains relatively less understood. To understand more about this, the researchers behind the current study examined the brains of bilingual participants who differed in age of language acquisition. To do so, they recruited 151 participants who spoke English, French, or both languages. Altogether, 19 participants were monolingual. The remaining participants were bilingual and varied in the age of language acquisition. For the study, the researchers scanned all participants using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record whole-brain activity. "Our work suggests learning a second language during childhood helps build a more efficient brain organization in terms of functional connectivity," said first author of the study, Zeus Gracia Tabuenca Ph.D., of the Department of Statistical Methods at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, in a press release. "The results indicate that the earlier the second language experience, the broader extent of brain areas involved in neuroplasticity. That's why we are observing higher connectivity of the cerebellum with the cortex in earlier exposures to a second language." The researchers wrote that these findings correspond with an emerging body of research suggesting that brain regions do not work in isolation and that, instead, they interact with one another to achieve complex language comprehension, production, and support functions. They noted, however, that it is not clear how the findings may generalize to other bilingual groups or contexts where bilingual experience may be modulated by factors such as immigrant or socioeconomic status. They added that it remains unknown how the neural pathways observed would be affected by the acquisition of multiple languages and specifics of language pairings. Sources: Science Daily, Communications Biology

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most explosive and energetic celestial events that have been observed by astronomers. Since its first detection back in the 1960s, scientists have been observing at least hundreds of these events every year. Yet still, discoveries behind these mega explosions in the distant galaxies never fail to fascinate us. On January 14th, 2019, a GRB (officially named GRB 190114C) signal was initially detected by two observatories in Earth's orbit — the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Within 22 seconds, telescopes in multiple observatories around the globe started to point toward the origin of the GRB. Among them, was the MAGIC Collaboration, which operates two 17-meter (about 56 feet) diameter Cherenkov telescopes located in La Palma, Spain. Thanks to the twin telescopes, scientists were able to discern some highly unusual characteristics of GRB 190114C. Its peak energy reached the tera-electronvolts (TeV) range, an extraordinary feat considering where the mega explosion originates - a distance of 4.5 billion light-years away. In comparison, the gamma-ray emission from Crab Nebula (the strongest steady source in our galaxy, frequently used as a "standard candle" by TeV astrophysicists) did measure up to 100 TeV. However, the nebula is "nearby", only 6,500 light-years from Earth. While the gamma rays from the GRB 190114C travel towards Earth, they may get absorbed. For this type of flux attenuation (which is stronger), the higher is the energy of the photon and the further is the source. It's due to its interaction with the low energy photons of the extra-galactic background light. The latter is a diffuse, abundant background of infrared, optical, and ultraviolet radiation emitted by all stars and galaxies during the existence of the Universe, which fills in the space. For example, the flux of gamma rays of 1 TeV from GRB 190114C is attenuated by about 300 times. Therefore, we can only speculate how incredible intense the event of GRB 190114C could have benn if it would happen right in our galatic "backyard". LabRoots reached out to the members of the MAGIC collaboration for comments on their work on GRB 190114C. Dr. Razmik Mirzoyan, Senior Astrophysicist at the Max-Planck-Institute for Physics (Munich, Germany), and Oscar Blanch, Senior Astrophysicist at the Institute for High Energy Physics (Barcelona, Spain) kindly responded to our request for email interviews. "We announced our discovery in the night of 14/15th January 2019, in an ATel (the Astronomer's Telegram is an internet-based short notice for disseminating the latest astronomical discovery on the fly) and a GCN (Gamma-ray burst Coordinates Network) circular," said Mirzoyan, who's also the spokesperson of the MAGIC Collaboration. "In May 2019, my colleagues from the H.E.S.S. collaboration announced a marginal signal from other GRB, where they have measured signal in the range up to 400 GeV," he added. GRB 190114C stood out because its emission has the highest energy on the record among all gamma-ray bursts. However, it isn't the most energetic GRB. "The energy of the GRB adds up the energy of all photons of different wavelengths. Other GRB observed before would add up to more energy due to the number of photons of lower energy even if they did not emit gamma-ray photons at the energies seen in GRB 190114C," Blanch explained the difference between the terms "most energetics" and "highest energy" in GRB observations. Through spectral and temporal analyses, MAGIC scientists revealed a new emission component in the afterglow of GRB 190114C. Its power is comparable to that of the synchrotron radiation, which is also known as the brightest light on Earth. A synchrotron is a type particle accelerator whose magnetic field bends the particle beam and synchronizes the kinetic energy of the particles, producing extraordinary synchrotron light with enormous intensity. Synchrotron radiation has been observed from astronomical objects such as the pulsar wind surrounding the Crab nebula, which could be as high as 25 giga-electronvolt (GeV). Before GRB 190114C, the highest energy gamma ray measured from a GRB was a single photon event around 95 GeV. The advent of GRB 190114C changed the astromonical history: within a minute after its first detection, the GRB signal reached the range between 0.2 and 1 TeV, almost 10 folds higher than in intensity than the previous titleholder. Reports on the detection of gravitational waves (GWs, disturbances in the curvature of spacetime) are also making headlines in space news these days. Scientists have confirmed that some of the past GRBs were caused by the merger of neutron stars, which can also cause ripples in the space-time fabric. However, for GRB 190114C there's zero implication on gravitational waves. "Concerning gravitational waves, the link between gravitational waves and GRBs was stablished for short GRBs. There are two different kinds of GRB: short and long. They are believed to be originated by a different process. The GRB 190114c was a long GRB and thought to be originated by the collapse of massive stars, which is not one of the phenomena for which we are currently able to detect gravitational waves," said Blanch, who's also the Outreach Coordinator for the MAGIC group. Besides, even if there was a GW signal that came out of GRB 190114C, we still wouldn't have sensed it, solely for the reason of distance. "Today's GW arrays have a reach of only about 120 parsecs (391 light-years). On the other hand, GRB 190114C belongs to the long burst type (likely driven by very massive stars), and it happened at a distance of 4.5 Giga light-years," said Mirzoyan. The Absurdity of Detecting Gravitational Waves (Veritasium) The unique advantages of the twin MAGIC telescopes put them in a better position in detecting intense GRBs compared to other observatories. "The MAGICs are pointing telescopes. They only see a small fraction of the sky. If we want to observe a particular position in the sky, for instance that of the GRB, we first have to move the telescopes so that they point there. It was a design to be light enough so that each can point to any direction in the sky in less than 25 seconds," said Blanch. "Since the emission from GRB, even for the long ones, is fading very fast in time (every second counts), this is crucial to be able to catch the emission. It is the only of its type to have been designed like that. Other observatories see a big fraction of the sky and they are able to collect data from the position of the GRB just because is in their FoV (field of view). Those telescopes that are sensitive to very high energy gamma-rays need to collect are not very sensitive to short emissions like those of the GRBs. Hence the MAGIC telescopes are the best suited instruments for GRBs among those detecting very high energy gamma-rays." In the featured presentation given at the 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Dr. Mirzoyan reflected on the challenges astrophysicists have been facing in unraveling one of the most mysterious phenomena in the universe: "The frequent question that in the past year we asked ourselves is why it took so long, say 15 years, to measure a gamma-ray signal from a GRB at TeV? The first answer is that these happen not so frequently at relatively low red-shifts (EBL absorption is strong). The second answer is that the probability is higher that these will happen at large zenith angles (i.e. at energies much higher than the threshold of a given ground-based instrument). One needs to correspondingly plan the reaction of instruments to alerts. The third reason is that one needs to observe a GRB at any, even at barely acceptable outdoor lighting conditions, once it is relevant; This further enhances the chance probability. And the last but not least answer is that one needed to show for the first time that in fact, it is possible to measure a (sub)-TeV signal from a GRB and this is just what MAGIC did. The good thing is that the GRBs will become regular observational targets at (sub)-TeVs and the successful measurements will soon provide wealth of data allowing us to find clues to many puzzling questions about these monstrous explosions." This extraordinary discovery was reported in two separate articles in the journal Nature. This Gamma-Ray Burst Was the Most Powerful Energy Event Ever Recorded (Seeker) Source: Eurekalert

While there has been limited evidence that activity and fitness can counter the health impacts of excess body fat, a new study has suggested that exercise cannot overcome the negative effects of obesity. Reporting in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers came to this conclusion after analyzing data on 527,662 working adults that are insured by a large, Spanish occupational risk prevention company. "One cannot be 'fat but healthy'," said study author Dr. Alejandro Lucia of the European University in Madrid, Spain. "This was the first nationwide analysis to show that being regularly active is not likely to eliminate the detrimental health effects of excess body fat. Our findings refute the notion that a physically active lifestyle can completely negate the deleterious effects of overweight and obesity." It has been suggested that overweight adults and children who are fit might have cardiovascular health that is comparable to people who are thin but sedentary. "This has led to controversial proposals for health policies to prioritize physical activity and fitness above weight loss," said Lucia. "Our study sought to clarify the links between activity, body weight, and heart health." The individuals in this research had an average age of 42, and 32 percent were women. The researchers classified the participants as normal weight, overweight, or obese for body mass indexes from 20.0 - 24.9 kg/m2, from 25.0 - 29.9 kg/m2, and 30.0 kg/m2 or above, respectively. (You can calculate your BMI here). About 42 percent of study participants were normal weight, 41 percent were overweight, and 18 percent were obese. They were also grouped according to whether they were regularly active, insufficiently active, or inactive, which corresponded to the minimum level of World Health Organization-recommended activity, some moderate to vigorous exercise in a typical week but less than recommended, and no exercise at all. About 24 percent were in the active group, 12 percent were insufficiently active, and 63 percent were inactive. Their health was assessed based on their risk factors for stroke or heart attack: high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and whether or not they had diabetes. About 30 percent had high cholesterol, 15 percent had high blood pressure and three percent were diabetic. For any BMI and any level of activity, there was an association with lower likelihoods of diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol compared to inactivity. The risk of diabetes and hypertension got lower as the amount of activity increased. "This tells us that everyone, irrespective of their body weight, should be physically active to safeguard their health," noted Lucia. "More activity is better, so walking 30 minutes per day is better than walking 15 minutes a day." But, regardless of how much activity they reported, overweight and obese individuals had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than their normal-weight peers. For example, active but obese people were about twice as likely to have high cholesterol, four times as likely to be diabetic, and five times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to people that were inactive but normal weight. "Exercise does not seem to compensate for the negative effects of excess weight. This finding was also observed overall in both men and women when they were analyzed separately," noted Lucia. "Fighting obesity and inactivity is equally important; it should be a joint battle. Weight loss should remain a primary target for health policies together with promoting active lifestyles." Sources: AAAS/Eurekalert! via European Society of Cardiology, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology

Strawberry season is in full swing, and researchers say the extract of this sweet fruit may stop the spread of breast cancer cells in the lab. "We have shown for the first time that strawberry extract, rich in phenolic compounds, inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells in in vitro and in vivo models," said Maurizio Battino, a professor at the Marche Polytechnic University (Italy) and the European University of the Atlantic in Santander (Spain), and the study’s senior investigator. Strawberries, and berries in general, have shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. So, to understand how compounds in strawberries affect cancer, the research team turned first to a cell model. The team used highly invasive tumor cells and treated them with different concentrations of strawberry extracts (between 0.5 and 5 mg/ml) for up to three days. Exposure to the strawberry extract rich in polyphenols increased cell death and decreased cell division - effects which are highly desirable when trying to kill cancer cells. Of note, polyphenols are considered to be oxygen radical scavengers that can counter the effects of reactive oxygen species in the body. Then, the team turned to mouse models which were injected with breast cancer cells. The mice fed with an enriched diet with 15 percent strawberry extract showed less tumor migration to the surrounding healthy tissue. "We also saw a significant reduction in the weight and volume of the tumor," said Battino. Mice fed with a normal diet didn’t seem to have positive alterations in their tumor growth. The team also explored the effects of strawberry extract on the genetic expression profile of the cancer cells. They showed that the extract decreased the expression of genes involved with invasion and metastasis. This may be a mechanism for the positive results seen in both the cellular and mouse models. But before people get too excited about gorging on strawberries for anti-cancer purposes, the team is quick to note that the results are limited to the cell and mouse models. Specifically, it’s not known if the same results will occur in humans without further experiments. "The majority of diseases, including cancer, are complex," said Battino, "and involve complex interactions between cellular and molecular systems that determine the development of the disease. These results are without a doubt valid for understanding potential effects of strawberries on breast cancer and the molecular mechanisms involved, but they must be complemented with clinical and epidemiological studies to verify whether humans experience the same positive effects as we have observed in mice." Despite this big caveat, they acknowledge that incorporating more fruits like berries as part of a healthy diet may not be such a bad move! Additional sources: Nature Scientific Reports, Science Daily

Cannabis is known to treat nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy. Most recent studies have revealed that THC and other cannabinoids are able to slow the growth of cancer cells and cause cell death in certain types of cells. It also has been found to reduce the spread of certain types of cancer. Studies have shown that people who took marijuana within clinical trials needed less prescribed pain medicine because of the benefits that cannabis provides. Along with treating nausea and vomiting, the inhaled form of cannabis has been found to treat neuropathic pain, which is caused by damaged nerves. The inhaled form is found to be most helpful because of how quick it can act within the body compared to other forms available. Dr. Sanchez is a Microbiologist at the Compultense University in Madrid, Spain and was the first to discover the antitumor effects of cannabinoids, "One of the advantages of cannabinoid-based medicines would be that they target specifically tumor cells. They don't have any toxic effect on normal non-tumoral cells. This is an advantage with respect to standard chemotherapy that targets basically everything." In the video below, she talks about her work and development with cannabis and cancer interactions. Cannabidiol (CBD) has long been known as a potent anti-cancer agent. It has the ability to interfere with cellular communication in tumors and to instigate programmed cell death. "It has also shown to have an effect on the rate of metastasis, including for non-small cell lung cancer. They found that the presence of THC affected metastasis of these cells by reducing the "focal adhesion complex," which plays a vital role in cancer migration," explained a study performed in 2007 by Harvard Medical School. The combined treatment of CBD and THC has been found to be the most effective in multiple forms of cancer. Scientists know that the endocannabinoid system regulates a multitude of biological functions including motor function, appetite, reproduction, and more. "Cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 were designed by the body to be specific targets for THC, while our natural endocannabinoids help to synthesize it. The process of THC-cannabinoid receptor binding and what this does for the body is what researchers have been studying for over two decades." Cannabis has a wide therapeutic potential with treating cancer symptoms, healing cells, and preventing cell growth. More studies are being done to better understand its benefits to those diagnosed with cancer and adding increasing evidence to the fact that cannabinoids have a wide range of medical benefits. Sources: The Truth About Cancer, American Cancer Society

Can you even imagine a world without globalization? The demand and supply of exchanging goods and resources from one corner of the world to another is our reality today. But what is that reality doing to the environment? A new paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution is using a series of maps to convey globalization’s impacts. "Identifying hotspots of species threat has been a successful approach for setting conservation priorities. One important challenge in conservation is that, in many hotspots, export industries continue to drive overexploitation. Conservation measures must consider not just the point of impact, but also the consumer demand that ultimately drives resource use. To understand which species threat hotspots are driven by which consumers, we have developed a new approach to link a set of biodiversity footprint accounts to the hotspots of threatened species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The result is a map connecting consumption to spatially explicit hotspots driven by production on a global scale. Locating biodiversity threat hotspots driven by consumption of goods and services can help to connect conservationists, consumers, companies and governments in order to better target conservation actions,” write Daniel Moran of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Keiichiro Kanemoto of Shinshu University in Japan, the researchers behind the study. Moran and Kanemoto looked at 6,803 vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species around the world, identified the commodities that affect them, then traced those commodities to their final destination using a global trade model. Their maps exhibit the cumulative terrestrial and marine species-threat hot spots linked to legal exports to the United States, the European Union, China, and Japan. The following map, taken from the study in Nature, shows global hotspots of species threat linked to consumption in the United States. Darker areas indicate areas of threat hotspots driven by US consumption, based on the mix of threats exerted in each country and the mix of export goods sent to the United States for final consumption. Terrestrial and marine species colour bars are on log scales showing units of total species-equivalents, which is the sum over all the fraction of species threats allocated to this consumer country. For marine species, southeast Asia is the overwhelmingly dominant global hotspot area, with the United States and European Union both exerting many threats there, primarily owing to fishing, pollution and aquaculture. The United States has additional marine hotspots off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and at the mouth of the Orinoco around Trinidad and Tobago. The European Union drives threat hotspots outside southeast Asia in the islands around Madagascar: Réunion, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Above: Hotspots in Latin America driven by US consumption (a); in Africa driven by European (EU27) consumption (b); and in Asia driven by Japanese consumption (c). Note that some countries (including the Solomon Islands, Guyana, French Guiana, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara) are not covered in the economic database. Maps: Nature Following National Geographic, the study revealed some unexpected relationships between exporting and consuming countries. For example, threats to the Amazon basin receive a fair amount of attention in the United States, but the threat from U.S. consumption in Brazil is strongest in the country’s southern highlands, where agriculture is concentrated. The U.S. map also has an unexpected threat hotspot in southern Spain and Portugal, where several fish and bird species are in trouble. The European Union’s consumption is having a big impact in Africa, particularly in countries like Ethiopia, Morocco, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar. Exports to Japan are driving threat hotspots in Southeast Asia, such as on New Britain island in Papua New Guinea, where palm oil and cocoa plantations are concentrated and a lot of logging occurs. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia’s marine species are facing threats from the U.S. and Europe. Above: Decomposition of threat hotspots linked to consumption in the United States by threat cause. Maps: Nature The scientists determined that biodiversity footprint hotspots for a given country are a function of both underlying species richness and the composition and volume of threatening activity. Aggregated categories are based on 123 detailed threat causes, some of which are listed above to explain the US footprint by threat cause. Moran and Kanemoto suggest that their maps can help conservationists more efficiently prioritize their work. Collaboration between the producing and consuming countries may be daunting but could be possible in some cases, especially in places where the threat is driven by exports to just two or three countries. The scientists are also hopeful that the work could help consumers interested in avoiding unsustainable products. “It is also possible to imagine companies comparing maps of biodiversity footprints against maps showing where their inputs are sourced,” they write. Sources: Nature, National Geographic

If you ask any neurologist they will likely tell you that the blood brain barrier (BBB) has been a major hurdle in designing drugs that are meant to be delivered into the brain. Various brain diseases, including cancer, cannot be treated unless medication can cross this barrier. There have been a variety of attempts to surmount this challenge (e.g. packaging the drug into nanocapsules that can cross the barrier, like a trojan horse, if you will). Well, a recent study has perhaps found a much cheaper and effective way to deliver medication across the border: cannabidiol (CBD). Photo source: UnSplash.com According to a new study recently published in the journal, Molecular Pharmaceutics, researchers discuss a process by which CBDs are used to enhance the ability of these "trojan horse" molecules to pass through the BBB. The study, conducted by Dr. Ana I. Torres-Suárez and colleagues out of the Complutense University in Spain, used specialized lipid nanocapsules (LNCs) attached to CBD molecules, to produce a 6-fold increase in BBB penetration in both in vitro models of the BBB and in mice. This is compared to the process called G-Technology® (aka glutathione PEGylated liposomes) which is currently undergoing clinical trials. In the current study, CBDs "decorate" lipid nanocapsules (LNCs). The researchers are not quite sure why CBDs would help an LNC cross the BBB, but they speculate that it has something to do with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a system thought to maintain the homeostasis of several biological processes. Cannabinoids have no trouble crossing the BBB, and apparently, they can bring their LNC friends along with them. It has been known for about a decade now that the ECS is involved in neuroprotection. Both endocannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) help regulate the integrity of the BBB. They are involved in keeping the BBB tight. Although this has not been tested yet, to the best of our knowledge, the researchers speculate that cannabinoids, whether endo- or phyto-based, may serve as a key to pass the guards and pass through the BBB. By activating these receptors, CBDs may be allowed to slip through. Photo source: UnSplash.com Other than crossing the BBB, cannabinoids have been suggested as a treatment option for many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. They also may be able to treat gliomas, the most common form of malignant brain tumors. Getting much-needed medication to the brain has always been a thorn in modern medicine's side. Attempts to engineer molecules filled with medication have been a tricky and time-consuming business. It may be that the answer is to make use of the BBB's own defense mechanisms (e.g, CB1 and CB2 receptors, potentially) against it through the use of phytocannabinoids like CBD to pass through naturally. The news of this new study was originally published in Apple News. Source: International Journal of Pharmaceuticals, Molecular Pharmaceutics, Journal of Drug Targeting, Neuromolecular Medicine, Recent Patents on CNS Discovery, Parkinson's Disease, Frontiers in Pharmacology, Neuropsychopharmacology, Apple News

If you can climb four flights in under a minute, your heart is probably in good shape, according to new work presented at Best of Imaging 2020, a scientific meeting of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). "The stairs test is an easy way to check your heart health," explained study author Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist at University Hospital A Coruña in Spain. "If it takes you more than one and a half minutes to ascend four flights of stairs, your health is suboptimal, and it would be a good idea to consult a doctor." In this work, the researchers analyzed how daily activities like climbing stairs were connected to exercise tests that are done in a laboratory. Not only can this potentially give researchers a more accurate picture of a person’s abilities, it’s also less costly and less of a chore for the participants. "The idea was to find a simple and inexpensive method of assessing heart health," said Dr. Peteiro. "This can help physicians triage patients for more extensive examinations." There were 165 volunteers in this study that had a variety of symptoms of heart trouble; some had shortness of breath or chest pain when they exerted themselves, for example. The study participants used a treadmill to walk or run while gradually ramping the intensity up until they became exhausted. Their exercise capacity in this part of the test was quantified as metabolic equivalents (METs). They rested for fifteen to twenty minutes and then had to climb 60 stairs at a rapid pace without stopping, but did not run. Next, the scientists assessed the connection between the participants’ MET achievements during exercise and while they climbed stairs; a better performance means the MET is higher. People who could climb the 60 stairs in 40 to 45 seconds had METs of nine to ten. People that needed more than 90 seconds to climb the 60 stairs had METs under eight. Previous work has indicated that mortality rates are about one percent lower in people that achieve a MET of ten during an exercise test. METs that are lower than eight would suggest that those individuals have a two to four percent higher mortality rate annually, or an increase of thirty percent in ten years. Images of the study participants’ hearts were also taken while the treadmill test was performed to learn more about how well they functioned. When compared to the stair climb, the researchers found that about 60 percent of patients that needed over 90 seconds to climb the 60 stairs had abnormally functioning hearts. Only 32 percent of those who climbed the stairs in under 90 seconds were found to have abnormal heart function while exercising on the treadmill. Sources: Science Daily via European Society of Cardiology