Earth

DALLAS, June 10, 2020 -- Current cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked per day are associated with more than twice the risk for all stroke - ischemic and hemorrhagic - among African Americans compared to nonsmokers, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.

In a study investigating the relationship between cigarette smoking and stroke among African Americans, researchers reviewed more than a decade of data from participants in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). JHS is the largest study in the U.S. assessing cardiovascular risk factors among African Americans.

"Smoking increases the risk of developing stroke among African Americans, and that risk becomes higher as the number of cigarettes smoked per day increases. The more you smoke, the more you stroke," said Adebamike Oshunbade, M.D., M.P.H., lead study author and post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, and fellow of the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center.

This study included 5,306 participants ages 21 to 84 who were recruited from the tri-county area surrounding Jackson, Mississippi. They were evaluated at baseline from 2000 to 2004 and completed two subsequent follow-up visits: in 2005 to 2008 and 2009 to 2013. For the final analysis, there were 546 current smokers, 781 past smokers and 3,083 never smokers. During follow-up, 183 participants suffered strokes.

Researchers found:

The risk for stroke was 2.5 times higher for current smokers compared with never smokers. No significant difference was found between past and never smokers.

Dose-dependent increases in the risk of stroke from smoke intensity was reported at 2.3 times and 2.8 times greater for current smokers smoking 1-19 cigarettes per day and more than 20 cigarettes per day, respectively.

"We also assessed the extent of fatty plaque build-up in the carotid arteries of African American smokers by a non-invasive procedure called carotid intima media thickness. We found accelerated build-up of fatty plaques in some of the major blood vessels of the brains of smokers, which could play a role in the development of stroke among African Americans," Oshunbade said.

Oshunbade noted the study results should strengthen calls to action for African Americans, public health officials and the tobacco industry. "Our findings support public health initiatives directed toward smoking cessation, especially among vulnerable groups like African Americans. This is particularly important because these populations have been targeted by tobacco companies.

"More public enlightenment campaigns should be geared toward warning African Americans about the modifiable risk of developing stroke from cigarette smoking," Oshunbade concluded.

Space weather forecasters need to predict the speed of solar eruptions, as much as their size, to protect satellites and the health of astronauts, scientists have found.

Scientists at the University of Reading found that by calculating the speed of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) when they hit Earth, forecasters could provide more useful early warnings. This would help operators of critical infrastructure such as satellites know if they need to take evasive action or switch off systems to protect them, and warn astronauts when they need to shelter inside shielded parts of the International Space Station.

Coronal mass ejections are caused by huge eruptions of material from the sun, travelling through interplanetary space and disturbing the Earth's own magnetic field system. Using solar imagers to measure the speed of CMEs close to the Sun, it is possible to forecast the arrival time of a CME at Earth.

Operators of technological systems, such as satellites, which are vulnerable to space weather then have the opportunity to take action to limit the damage. However, scientists say such warnings could be more useful if combined with more sophisticated information about the severity of a storm when it hits Earth.

Professor Mathew Owens, space scientist at the University of Reading's Department of Meteorology, said: "Not all coronal mass ejections trigger a severe storm, which means just by looking at the sun for activity, we get a lot of `false alarms' where action is taken that isn't needed.

"While it is better to be safe than sorry, especially with the health of astronauts, sometimes the costs of repeatedly taking unnecessary action to protect a satellite network could prove more costly than the potential space-weather damage itself."

Space weather is listed as one of the biggest threats to the UK and many other countries, due to the possibility that computers, communication networks and electricity systems could be disrupted. Billions of dollars are currently being spent on new spacecraft and systems to better forecast and measure eruptions when they occur.

In the new study, published today [Wednesday 10 June] in the scientific journal Space Weather, the researchers outline a new way to quantify the value of knowing CME arrival time. They show that the speed of the CME at Earth is a useful extra piece of information that can be used to reduce the number of false alarms and make forecasts more valuable.

The scientists say their new finding should help to guide future efforts to improve space weather forecasts, helping to protect critical infrastructure and the health of astronauts in the future.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - A new study offers the first evidence that a chemical compound named BAM15 acts as an energy uncoupler and could be an effective drug for treating obesity and related diseases.

Obesity affects more than 650 million people worldwide and drives a number of dangerous health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more than a dozen deadly cancers. Global spending to treat obesity and obesity-related illnesses amounts to well above $150 billion a year.

"Despite this, only a handful of medications are currently FDA-approved for obesity treatment, and the people who take these drugs rarely achieve long-term weight loss," said John Kirwan, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "Halting the obesity epidemic requires new, more effective medications. This research represents a very promising step in the discovery process. We hope that in the not-too-distant future, BAM15 or related compounds will advance to clinical drug development and become a viable treatment option for patients with obesity."

BAM15 differs from the existing weight-management medications, which largely work by reducing the amount of food a person eats or the calories their bodies absorb. BAM15 works by making the mitochondria, the power plants of the cell, less efficient. The result is that the mitochondria burn more energy.

Researchers believe BAM15 could be used to treat a number of health conditions including diabetes, fatty liver disease and some forms of cancer.

In the new study, Pennington Biomedical scientists show for the first time that mice given BAM15 are resistant to weight gain by burning more calories than their untreated counterparts. Other benefits of BAM15 include:

Reducing blood sugar and insulin levels, regardless of weight loss.

Improving sensitivity of skeletal muscle to the effects of insulin. Skeletal muscle insulin resistance is a primary risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes.

Reducing fat accumulation overall by restricting fat from building up in the liver, kidney, and blood. Accumulating too much fat in one's liver, kidneys, or blood can damage the organs and lead to heart disease.

The study "BAM15 Mediated Mitochondrial Uncoupling Protects Against Obesity and Improves Glycemic Control" was published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

Washington, DC (June 8, 2020) - A new study from Boston University published on-line at BMC Nutrition by Lynn L. Moore and colleagues, found that drinking 100% fruit juice early in life was associated with healthier dietary patterns in later childhood without adversely impacting weight gain. The study found that consumption of 100% fruit juice during the preschool years was associated with higher intakes of whole fruit and total fruit as well as better diet quality through childhood and into middle adolescence.

"We know that whole fruit intake as well as diet quality typically decline from early childhood through adolescence," said Dr. Moore. "This research provides important information showing that children who consumed about 1.5 cups of 100% fruit juice per day during the preschool years tended to maintain healthier diets into adolescence than children who drank less than ½ cup per day during preschool. In addition, over 10 years of follow-up, juice consumption within the range typically consumed by these children (1-2 cups per day), was not associated with excess weight gain during childhood."

Preschoolers who consumed more fruit juice in the early years of childhood in this study also consumed more whole fruit at the same time and continued to consume more whole fruit into adolescence.

The study tracked diet records as well as height and weight data, from a group 100 children (age 3-6) enrolled in the Framingham Children's Study and followed them for a decade. Whole and total fruit consumption was assessed using recommendations from Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) at each age.

Among the study's results were the following:

Preschoolers with higher intakes of 100% fruit juice (?1 cups/day) had significantly higher intakes of whole fruit and total fruit at 14-17 years of age than those children who consumed little juice (

Preschoolers who drank more 100% fruit juice were nearly 4 times as likely to meet current Dietary Guideline recommendations for whole and total fruit intake during adolescence than those preschoolers with low intakes.

Those children with higher fruit juice intakes during preschool years had significantly higher diet quality scores than those children with lower juice intakes at all ages.

Fruit juice consumption was not associated with change in Body Mass Index (BMI) during childhood and into middle adolescence.

"Fruit consumption, particularly whole fruit consumption, has many health benefits throughout the lifespan. Avoiding juice during these early formative years may have unintended effects on evolving dietary behaviors," noted Dr. Moore.

"This study confirms findings from several previous studies suggesting juice drinking in young children may promote better diet quality and higher intakes of whole fruit. These benefits, associated with moderate intakes of 100% fruit juice, were not accompanied by any adverse effects on childhood weight."

The physical and chemical properties of intermetallic compounds are governed by the real structure of synthesized materials and are strongly influenced by the structural imperfections, e.g. strain, dislocations, and presence of admixture phases. This leads to inconsistent reports for known and extensively studied materials. Among such compounds is TaGeIr, which crystallizes with the MgAgAs type of structure. To understand the origin of conflicting reports on TaGeIr, scientists from MPI CPfS and Northwestern University investigated the deviation of the crystal structure from the ideal MgAgAs model, possibility of off-stoichiometry (presence of homogeneity range), impact of the synthesis route on the real structure, as well as metallographic features of TaGeIr.

As a result of this comprehensive study, the presence of minority phases (resulting from the phase equilibria in the ternary system and not complete homogenization even by long thermal treatment) in TaGeIr specimens were found to result in extrinsic metallic behavior, as well as in appearance of superconductivity at low temperatures. To study intrinsic properties of TaGeIr, the manufacturing of micro-scale devices was applied (Figure 1), and semiconducting behavior of TaGeIr was conclusively established.

The semiconducting properties of TaGeIr agree with electronic band structure calculations, revealing existence of the band gap only in case of MgAgAs-type structure with iridium atoms in heterocubic site (Figure 2). The latter is consistent with single crystal diffraction studies.

The research at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (MPI CPfS) in Dresden aims to discover and understand new materials with unusual properties.

In close cooperation, chemists and physicists (including chemists working on synthesis, experimentalists and theoreticians) use the most modern tools and methods to examine how the chemical composition and arrangement of atoms, as well as external forces, affect the magnetic, electronic and chemical properties of the compounds.

New quantum materials, physical phenomena and materials for energy conversion are the result of this interdisciplinary collaboration.

A new study shows invasive native species of rushes are spreading across UK upland farms and have the potential to threaten wildlife and the livelihoods of farmers.

Scientists have used a series of Google Earth images to plot the spread of rushes in farm fields in the West Pennine Moor SSSI - an area of the Lancashire uplands between Bolton, Bury and Darwen.

The study is the first to investigate the spread of rushes in areas of the UK uplands. Although the study focused on one area of upland, anecdotal evidence suggests the problem could be happening across many other UK hill farms.

Using more than 200 images from Google Earth taken across a 13-year period between 2005 and 2018, the researchers found that rushes have spread across the surveyed area by between 82 per cent and 174 per cent.

Rushes, which are much taller than typical pasture grasses and tend to grow in tussocks, can be identified on colour aerial photography, such as Google Earth images, because of their different colour and growth form to surrounding grasses.

The spread of rushes in upland farmland is of growing importance because it has the potential to reduce the productivity of land for farmers - as livestock, like sheep, find it unpalatable.

Its spread is also problematic for wildlife as many wading birds, such as lapwing and redshank, do not like to breed in fields dominated by rushes.

The researchers also suspect that rushes, as a combustible material, could potentially increase the risk of moorland wildfires.

Dr Mark Ashby, of Lancaster University and lead author of the study, said: "Our study corroborates the anecdotal reports suggesting that populations of tussock-forming rushes, such as soft rush, hard rush, and compact rush, have been increasing within upland grasslands.

"As they replace palatable grasses, rushes reduce grassland productivity. This can causes considerable losses to upland farm incomes on land where, owing to pooer soils and climate, it is already difficult to make a living. From a wildlife perspective, important upland birds, such as redshank and lapwing, choose not to breed in fields dominated by rushes."

Rushes, which are native to the UK, are spreading perennials that prefer wet, acidic and nutrient-poor environments. They can vigorously reproduce, with each stand producing millions of seeds and seeds can remain dormant in the soil for up to 60 years.

It is not known why rushes are spreading. Researchers think it could be due to a number of possibilities, including:

Inadequate field drainage and localised soil compaction.

Changes in farming practices over recent decades such as reductions in the numbers of people working the land, heavier farm machinery and changes in livestock types and densities.

Climatic reasons such as increasingly wet summers and winters and fewer frosts than in previous decades.

Dr Mark Ashby said: "Determining the drivers of upland grassland rush expansion will help us understand how it can be halted or, in some cases, reversed, which would be of great benefit to hill farmers and upland biodiversity."

As the most effective way of controlling rushes is not known, the researchers believe more research is needed to find out more about the reasons why they are spreading across our uplands so a way can be found to bring them under control.

The search for renewable energy sources, which include wind, solar, hydroelectric dams, geothermal, and biomass, has preoccupied scientists and policymakers alike, due to their enormous potential in the fight against climate change. A new Tel Aviv University study finds that water vapor in the atmosphere may serve as a potential renewable energy source in the future.

The research, led by Prof. Colin Price in collaboration with Prof. Hadas Saaroni and doctoral student Judi Lax, all of TAU's Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, is based on the discovery that electricity materializes in the interaction between water molecules and metal surfaces. It was published in Scientific Reports on May 6, 2020.

"We sought to capitalize on a naturally occurring phenomenon: electricity from water," explains Prof. Price. "Electricity in thunderstorms is generated only by water in its different phases -- water vapor, water droplets, and ice. Twenty minutes of cloud development is how we get from water droplets to huge electric discharges -- lightning -- some half a mile in length."

The researchers set out to try to produce a tiny low-voltage battery that utilizes only humidity in the air, building on the findings of earlier discoveries. In the nineteenth century, for example, English physicist Michael Faraday discovered that water droplets could charge metal surfaces due to friction between the two. A much more recent study showed that certain metals spontaneously build up an electrical charge when exposed to humidity.

The scientists conducted a laboratory experiment to determine the voltage between two different metals exposed to high relative humidity, while one is grounded. "We found that there was no voltage between them when the air was dry," Prof. Price explains. "But once the relative humidity rose above 60%, a voltage began to develop between the two isolated metal surfaces. When we lowered the humidity level to below 60%, the voltage disappeared. When we carried out the experiment outside in natural conditions, we saw the same results.

"Water is a very special molecule. During molecular collisions, it can transfer an electrical charge from one molecule to the other. Through friction, it can build up a kind of static electricity," says Prof. Price. "We tried to reproduce electricity in the lab and found that different isolated metal surfaces will build up different amounts of charge from water vapor in the atmosphere, but only if the air relative humidity is above 60%. This occurs nearly every day in the summer in Israel and every day in most tropical countries."

According to Prof. Price, this study challenges established ideas about humidity and its potential as an energy source. "People know that dry air results in static electricity and you sometimes get 'shocks' you when you touch a metal door handle. Water is normally thought of as a good conductor of electricity, not something that can build up charge on a surface. However, it seems that things are different once the relative humidity exceeds a certain threshold," he says.

The researchers, however, showed that humid air may be a source of charging surfaces to voltages of around one volt. "If a AA battery is 1.5V, there may be a practical application in the future: to develop batteries that can be charged from water vapor in the air," Prof. Price adds.

"The results may be particularly important as a renewable source of energy in developing countries, where many communities still do not have access to electricity, but the humidity is constantly about 60%," Prof. Price concludes.

Once a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, now a tropical depression in the Mississippi Valley, NASA's Aqua satellite is tracking Cristobal as it continues to generate large amounts of rainfall while it heads toward the Great Lakes region.

Infrared Data Reveals Strongest Storms

NASA's Aqua satellite used infrared light to analyze the strength of storms and determine where the strongest storms were within the tropical depression. Strong storms are not evenly distributed within a tropical system, so it helps forecasters to know which side of the storm has the strongest storms and biggest rainmakers. Infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach high into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures.

On June 9 at 3:40 a.m. EDT (0740 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite showed strongest storms in Tropical Depression Cristobal were northeast and north of the elongated center over western Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, where cloud top temperatures were as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 Celsius). NASA research has shown that storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have the ability to generate heavy rainfall.

Watches, Warnings and Rainfall Expected

 On June 9, the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center (WPC) in College Park, Md. has taken over the forecast responsibility for Cristobal, now that it is far inland. WPC issued a Flash Flood Watch for areas in and near the length of the Mississippi Valley. A Gale Warning is in effect for much of Lake Michigan, portions of eastern Lake Superior and portions of Lake Huron.

WPC forecasts "Cristobal will produce storm total rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches with local amounts to 6 inches from Arkansas to the western Great Lakes through Wednesday morning. This rainfall may produce flash flooding, and is forecast to produce new and renewed minor to moderate river flooding across portions of the lower Missouri and mid to upper Mississippi Valleys. Smaller streams and rivers across southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas have already begun to rise."

Cristobal's Status   

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Cristobal was located near latitude 36.8 degrees north and longitude 92.0 degrees west. That puts the center of circulation about 140 miles (225 km) north of Little Rock, Arkansas and about 80 miles (130 km) east-southeast of Springfield, Missouri. The depression is moving toward the north near 25 mph (41 kph) and its motion is expected to accelerate to the north and north-northeast over the next 36 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 995 millibars.

Cristobal Expected to Become Extra-Tropical

Often, a tropical cyclone will transform into an extra-tropical cyclone as it recurves toward the poles (north or south, depending on the hemisphere the storm is located in). Cristobal is expected to become an extra-tropical storm as it moves toward the Great Lakes region. An extra-tropical cyclone is a storm system that primarily gets its energy from the horizontal temperature contrasts that exist in the atmosphere.

Tropical cyclones have their strongest winds near the earth's surface, while extra-tropical cyclones have their strongest winds near the tropopause - about 8 miles (12 km) up. Tropical cyclones, in contrast, typically have little to no temperature differences across the storm at the surface and their winds are derived from the release of energy due to cloud/rain formation from the warm moist air of the tropics.

Cristobal's Path Forward

Some strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours as Cristobal transitions into an extratropical cyclone. WPC said, "Gusty winds are expected Tuesday night and Wednesday [June 10] over portions of the Midwest and western Great Lakes as Cristobal strengthens as an extratropical low."

For updated forecasts, visit: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov

LONDON, ON - A new study from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University suggests that fecal transplants could be used as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The randomized controlled trial published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that fecal transplants in patients with NAFLD result in a reduction in how easily pathogens and other unwanted molecules pass through the human gut and into circulation, known as intestinal permeability. The results could have implications for the treatment of numerous conditions including metabolic syndrome and autoimmune diseases.

"Intestinal permeability plays a role in the development of metabolic syndrome which is a major cause of coronary and cerebrovascular disease. It has also been associated with autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and type 1 diabetes," explains Dr. Michael Silverman, Associate Scientist at Lawson and Professor at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

Many NAFLD patients have increased intestinal permeability which triggers inflammation, increased fat in the liver, insulin resistance and elevated levels of triglycerides in the blood. The human microbiome - the diverse collection of microbes in our body - is thought to play a role. Previous studies have shown differences between the gut microbiome of NAFLD patients compared to healthy individuals.

"Our team wondered whether we could change the gut microbiome of NAFLD patients to reduce intestinal permeability," says Dr. Jeremy Burton, Lawson Scientist and Associate Professor at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.

The trial included 21 NAFLD patients from London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph's Health Care London. Patients were randomized to receive a fecal transplant using stool from a healthy donor or a placebo (the patient's own stool). Fecal material was delivered to the small intestine using endoscopy. Patients were followed for six months to assess changes to their gut microbiome, intestinal permeability, percentage of liver fat and insulin resistance.

While the researchers found no changes in percentage of liver fat or insulin resistance, they observed significant reduction in intestinal permeability in those patients who had elevated intestinal permeability at the study's start (seven patients in total). They also observed changes to the gut microbiome in all patients who received a fecal transplant from a healthy donor.

"Our study demonstrates that intestinal permeability can be improved through fecal transplant from a healthy donor," says Dr. Laura Craven, a recent PhD graduate from Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and first author on the published study. "This suggests that fecal transplant could be used as an early intervention in the treatment of NAFLD to reduce intestinal permeability and prevent inflammation"

"Our findings have implications for other conditions too," adds Dr. Silverman, who is also Chair/Chief of Infectious Diseases at Western, LHSC and St. Joseph's. "Changing the gut microbiome could hold promise in preventing and treating metabolic syndrome and autoimmune diseases associated with increased gut permeability."

The team hopes to next conduct a large multi-centre trial to further investigate FMT as an intervention for NAFLD and as a therapy to reduce intestinal permeability.

NAFLD is an obesity-related disorder and is the second-leading cause of liver transplant in North America. While reversible if treated early, its progression can lead to liver failure or cancer. Current therapies are not overly effective and the prevalence of NAFLD is increasing.

Dr. Silverman is a pioneer in the field of fecal transplants, including their use as a treatment for Clostridioides difficile (C. diff). He is involved in multiple studies examining the potential of fecal transplants as treatments or supportive therapies for numerous conditions including multiple sclerosis (MS) and different types of cancer.

"In order to conduct this research, we need stool donors," notes Dr. Silverman. "By donating your poop, you can help us assess the value of fecal transplants to treat a variety of diseases."

The team is in need of young, healthy stool donors for fecal transplants. All donors are required to go through a screening process. Those interested in becoming a stool donor can contact Dr. Seema Nair Parvathy, Research Coordinator, Fecal Transplant Program, at 519-646-6100 ext. 61726.

Australia's most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the dark than other parrots active during the day.

An international study, co-led by Flinders University's Dr Vera Weisbecker, has revealed the critically endangered parrot's visual system is not as well-adapted to life in the dark as would be expected for a nocturnal bird, raising concerns it might be adversely impacted by fencing in the Australian outback.

"Night Parrots must be able to find their way at night - to find food, avoid obstacles while flying, and escape predators", says Dr Weisbecker.

"We therefore expect their visual system to show adaptations for seeing in the dark, similar to other nocturnal birds - New Zealand's Kakapo parrot and owls with enlarged eyes for example. However, we found that this wasn't the case."

Dr Karine Mardon, from The National Imaging Facility at The University of Queensland Centre for Advanced Imaging, scanned the then only known intact skull of the exceedingly rare species, as well as skulls from related parrots, using computed tomography (CT scanning).

Co-author Aubrey Keirnan then compared 3D reconstructions of the Night Parrot's skull and brain with that of related parrot species.

"We found that the Night Parrot has similar eye size to other parrots, with smaller optic nerves. It also has smaller optic lobes, which are visual processing areas in the brain."

"This suggests that the Night Parrot may not be great at seeing in the dark: its vision is likely sensitive, but with poor resolution, so that it might not be good at distinguishing obstacles like wire fences or even predators in dark conditions."

The findings raise questions about the night parrot's ability to survive with low numbers in remote outback Australia- where fencing is important for stock management and predator exclusion.

Dr Andrew Iwaniuk, from The University of Lethbridge (Canada), says the use of anatomical observations to infer the species' behaviour was an innovative approach to understand a species so rare it was considered extinct for most of the 20th Century.

"The species is so elusive that we do not even know how many individuals are left. To conserve the species, it is critical that we understand its behavioural needs and capabilities, but these are nearly impossible to observe."

"The Queensland Museum bird collection is an important research resource and co-author, collection manager Heather Janetzki, made available the extremely valuable Night Parrot specimen along with several other species for this comparative study."

Dr Weisbecker says the research team were lucky to have this specimen -found in 1990 by Australian Museum bird expert Dr. Walter Boles.

"He spotted its mummified body by accident, lying by the side of the road after apparently being hit by a truck - it is amazing that its skull stayed intact!"

Night Parrot specialist and PhD student Nick Leseberg from UQ's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences was a co-author of the study.

"These results suggest that removal of unused fences should be a priority in areas where night parrots are known to occur. However, we probably can't go entirely without fences - stock needs to be managed with fences, and some forms of predator exclusion could be important for protecting the Night Parrot."

"We therefore need to be very careful with our fencing strategies, at least by increasing the visibility of wire fences, but alternatives such as low-tension electric fencing could be even better."

Background info

Night parrots are one of only two nocturnal parrot species worldwide (the other is New Zealand's famous Kakapo), exceedingly rare, and live well-hidden in remote outback Australia.

So well-hidden in fact that the first physical evidence of the Night Parrot's persistence after 1875 came in 1990, when the then curator of birds at the Australian Museum, Walter Boles, literally bumped into a mummified specimen lying by the side of the road.

It took another 23 years for the first verified live sightings of the species in Queensland. Since then, a team of scientists and conservationists have been working hard to protect the night parrot.

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Pockets of landscape less prone than adjacent areas to disturbances like fire and drought may hold the key for scientists, conservationists and land managers seeking to preserve vulnerable species in a changing climate.

These areas, categorized as "disturbance refugia," are becoming a focal point for ecologists trying to learn why change doesn't occur as quickly in some landscapes as it does in others nearby.

"In the Pacific Northwest, the iconic northern spotted owl relies on refugia in the form of old-growth forests," said Oregon State University forest ecologist Meg Krawchuk. "These forests are refugia from previous stand-replacing disturbances - that's how they got to be old - but they're slowly being nibbled away by recent high-severity fires."

Known informally as the "lifeboats" or "slow lanes" of biodiversity, refugia have spawned the new field of refugia science, which is the theme of the June issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Krawchuk, who contributed to the issue with a study of forest refugia in the combined context of fire, drought and insect outbreaks, says research shows that some locations have inherent characteristics - such as terrain, vegetation, proximity to bodies of water, and slope-face direction - that buffer them from disturbances in a predictable manner.

"Scientists and land managers working together on refugia science and implementation will help to conserve forest landscapes, and biodiversity, here in the Pacific Northwest and around the globe that are dear to our hearts," Krawchuk said. "Some disturbances are important ecosystem processes that support biodiversity; however, there is increasing worry about the erosion of biodiversity due to the increased frequency, severity and/or types of forest disturbances, and how they overlap."

Natural disturbances can create mosaics across a landscape that support biodiversity, but disturbances outside the historical range of frequency and severity can do short- and long-term ecosystem damage.

Recent studies of disturbance refugia in forest ecosystems have focused mainly on fire, Krawchuk said, but the wide range of disturbances in forests necessitates developing a broader understanding of refugia, particularly against the backdrop of climate change.

"With climate change, forest disturbances like wildfire, drought and insect outbreaks are expected to become more frequent or severe, changing the recipe of these natural disturbances that historically contributed important variety and flavor to ecosystems," she said.

The study jointly led by Krawchuk and College of Forestry colleague Garrett Meigs shows how the overlap of disturbances generates a multitude of complex feedbacks, both positive and negative, that affect the structure of refugia and how they work.

"Detecting refugia in multiple places and at different times and understanding what's behind their occurrence, persistence and value in sustaining biodiversity are important frontiers in science and land management," Krawchuk said. "Developing a disturbance refugia framework that recognizes multiple types of forest disturbance under one banner is an important step for research and management of forest ecosystems that are changing as the planet warms."

Thinking in terms of only two types of land categories - refugia and non-refugia - is tempting but an oversimplification that scientists and land managers should avoid, she said.

"The people who study forests and manage them need to recognize there are varying types and qualities of refugia, and the variance will only grow as climate and disturbance regimes continue to change," Krawchuk said. "Considering a broad palette of disturbance refugia together will be critical to management strategies that create and protect refugia. And continued research is necessary to fill out the framework."

Disturbance refugia figure to play an increasingly important role in the ability of climate change refugia to help save species from extinction, she said.

"Identifying disturbance refugia locations within climate change refugia spots would lead to a deeper understanding of refugia," Krawchuk said. "In this era of rapid environmental change, disturbance refugia within mosaics of fire, drought and insect outbreaks will shape the patterns of persistence of forest biodiversity and ecosystem function around the world. There are many iconic and special forest landscapes being confronted with increasing disturbance pressures, including harvest and conversion to agriculture or other uses."

Disturbance refugia science is broadly applicable, she added, because many disturbance processes are global - including pressure from climate change. And the ideas underpinning refugia science go beyond forests and disturbance refugia.

"We're increasingly realizing that refugia science might provide theory and analysis of the critical role of refugia in social and ecological resilience," Krawchuk said. "For example, as resistance to diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, pandemics like COVID-19, political turmoil, violence and land use issues, particularly in the context of extreme events. Refugia are areas of resistance that contribute to system-level resilience."

Leuven researchers have deployed synthetic amyloids to trigger protein misfolding as a strategy to combat the influenza A and Zika virus.

Amyloids are particular protein assemblies with properties similar to silk, that serve numerous functions. They also form upon protein misfolding resulting in protein inactivation.

Frederic Rousseau and Joost Schymkowitz (VIB-KU Leuven) used these properties to invent synthetic amyloid peptides that can be tailored to switch-off the function of desired target proteins. These peptides, termed Pept-ins, already proved to be a valuable approach to tackle bacterial pathogens or slow down tumor growth. Now, Schymkowitz and Rousseau's team wanted to explore whether pept-ins could also be used to inactivate viral proteins and thereby interfere with viral replication.

The researchers designed two Pept-ins encoding virus-specific amyloid sequences identified in influenza A and Zika virus proteins, respectively. In collaboration with Xavier Saelens (VIB-UGent) and Johan Neyts (KU Leuven), they tested the antiviral properties of these molecules.

"We found that each amyloid interferes with the replication of the corresponding virus," explains Emiel Michiels, PhD student in the lab of Schymkowitz and Rousseau. The effects turned out to be specific, adds Michiels: "For influenza A we show that our synthetic amyloid accumulates at the site of infection and interferes with viral replication in mice. The amyloid binds to the viral target protein, forcing the protein into a non-functional conformation. Influenza B is not affected by this Pept-in, highlighting the sequence specificity of this interaction."

The new antiviral applications broaden the therapeutic potential of the Pept-in technology platform, which is explored by Aelin Therapeutics--a spin-off company based on Schymkowitz and Rousseau's research. The researchers hope to investigate whether the same approach also work to target other types of viruses.

Skeletal muscle can be functionally compromised by genetic myopathies, aging, traumatic injuries and tumor ablation. Under some conditions, such as severe traumatic injuries and volumetric muscle loss, the regeneration process is significantly hindered by fibrous scar tissue formation and therefore causing muscle dysfunction.

Even though numerous bioengineering approaches have been explored to construct in vitro skeletal muscle tissues, an in vitro model that is capable of restoring mature muscle, vasculature, and extracellular matrix composition to the damaged tissue has yet to be achieved. Meanwhile, it was found that by incorporating the exogenous factors such as physical, chemical, and electrical cues, tissue engineering scaffolds have achieved remarkable progress in skeletal muscle regeneration.

Researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and their research collaborators from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) developed insightful analyses of these in vitro skeletal muscle tissue models. They also reviewed the state-of-the-art status of these bioengineering approaches in mimicking skeletal muscle tissues. Their paper 'Bioprinting of 3D in vitro skeletal muscle models: A review' was published in Materials & Design.

An in-depth analysis of the design considerations related to skeletal muscle models was also presented and various influential parameters including matrix, cells and structures that are associated with myogenesis were discussed. In addition, effects of topological, mechanical, and electrical stimuli were addressed to provide a deeper understanding of the myogenesis. Major bioengineering strategies including electrospinning, hydrogel-based, fiber/hydrogel based, drug delivery and bioprinting have been comprehensively reviewed and compared (refer to image).

The review paper also notes that despite great strides taken in this field, there are still challenges ahead for replicating the native muscle. Besides materials and the multicellular environment, issues such as how to achieve the proper innervation and vascularization have to be addressed in order to rebuild a fully functional muscle.

However, collaborative research efforts in areas such as microfluidic technology, spheroids, programmed control release and electrospinning will pave the way in realizing the full potential of bioprinting.

"In recent years, with bioprinted skeletal muscle demonstrating great flexibility in constructing functional tissue models, almost every organ of the human body can be bioprinted. While our review paper seeks to maximize the potential in 3D skeletal muscle tissue models, we expect our work to also inspire deeper research in eventually replicating native muscle," said principal investigator Prof Chua Chee Kai from SUTD.

Contrary to common medical guidance, chemotherapy does not appear to be the only culprit in neuropathy, a neurological side effect of cancer treatment, a new study says. Cancer itself contributes heavily, too, and the stresses on neurons appear far worse than the sum of the two causes.

"There was some distress caused by cancer alone and some distress from chemo alone, but when you put the two things together, it was off the charts, seven times the trauma to neurons of the two things added together," said Nick Housley, first author of the study performed in rats at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "It turned out to be the first-ever evidence that there is this exacerbation going on."

Every year in the U.S., there are 1.8 million new cancer diagnoses, and about half of patients receive platinum-based drugs, which are very effective. About 40 percent of patients receiving platinum chemotherapy come down with neuropathy, suffering strange sensations, pain, fatigue, or loss of muscle coordination that impedes day-to-day life. Neuropathy can persist for years after chemotherapy ends.

Hope for treatment

The new study also challenges established medical explanations that neuropathy is caused by structural damage to nerves alone and that it is untreatable.

"The idea of damage has been the standard explanation - that these neurons are dying back and that they are retracting. And we have found time and time again zero evidence of this in the neurons we studied here," Housley said.

"The evidence does not support physical damage as the basis for the disabilities we observe. We find functional problems that might be fixable," said Tim Cope, one of two principal investigators of the study. Functional problems usually refer to neurons not firing properly versus actual tears or shrinkage in neurons.

Cope is a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences and in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Housley is a postdoctoral researcher in his lab.

The researchers published their results in the journal Cancer Research on April 28, 2020. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute. John McDonald, the other principal investigator, is a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences and the director of Georgia Tech's Integrative Cancer Research Center.

Gene expression surprises

To explore neuropathy's causes, the researchers cast a broad net. They examined gene expression in neurons, protein expression, and neuron signaling, and they measured body movements, which were markedly affected.

Gene dysregulation went into overdrive in reaction to chemo and cancer, including boosting inflammatory responses while suppressing some of neurons' protective mechanisms. But despite the plethora of gene regulation red flags, there were also surprising signs of intact neuron health.

"Many things the neuron relies on to live and function were unscathed on the gene expression level. That's potentially good news for patients and for fixing neuropathy because it means there may be just one thing or a few things to fix to restore normal functioning," Cope said. "The downregulation of just a few genes may be responsible for the problems we've seen."

Ion channel mystery

Clues from one downregulated gene took a twist that led to a new scientific discovery in neuronal biology before arriving at what appeared to be a pathology.

The downregulated gene is responsible for creating protein structures called ion channels that appear in a neuron's cell wall and enable the neuron to fire electrical impulses, i.e. action potentials. Ion channels abruptly shuttle potassium ions (K+) and sodium ions (Na+) in and out of cells, flipping the net negative and net positive charges on either side of cell walls, which creates the action potentials.

This particular downregulated gene was for a potassium ion channel called Kv3.3, which was not previously known to exist in muscle spindles - neural receptors embedded in muscles to sense when they are contracting or stretching. The researchers found the channel to be prolific there.

"That was a discovery in its own right in basic neuroscience. Finding its involvement in this sensory-motor problem was also profound," Housley said.

Most Kv3.3 expression disappeared under the combination of chemo and cancer. More research is needed to establish whether the lack of Kv3.3 is indeed an important contributor to neuropathy, but in this study, it strongly correlated with observed neural pathology.

"Despite the neurons still having the ability to fire action potentials, the process of neurons encoding information was really corrupted," Housley said.

It is well known that many strains of Staphylococcus are resistant to antibiotics, and research groups around the world seek new targets in the bacteria to decrease their infectious potential.

Head of KFU research group, Leading Research Associate Konstantin Usachev, comments, "The most popular target for antibiotics is the protein synthesis apparatus of a cell, in particular, ribosomes. One of the promising directions for experiments is regulating the synthesis of proteins in pathogens by affecting specific proteins which regulate ribosome functioning."

The work is supported by Russian Science Foundation's grant program for young research teams.

"The elongation cycle (extension of the protein chain by one amino acid residue) is the most conservative stage of protein synthesis in all living organisms. At the same time, there are areas of proteins that are "difficult" for the synthesis of the ribosome, such as proline-proline (proline is one of the twenty amino acids that make up proteins). In this case, proline-proline sites are very often found in the composition of the proteins of secretory systems, which, in turn, are necessary for the isolation of pathogenicity factors. In order to help the ribosome to synthesize such sites, there is a special protein - the elongation factor P (EF-P). However, some organisms have a special post-translational modification in the structure of the EF-P protein - an additional group of atoms that helps stabilize tRNA inside the ribosome. Whether such a modification was present in Staphylococcus aureus was not known. We managed to detect it and show what type of modification is present in EF-P from Staphylococcus aureus, which, in turn, can be used as a target for disrupting the functioning of this protein in the pathogen. We think creating drugs that disrupt the EF-P modification process will help disable the pathogenic properties of Staphylococcus aureus," elaborates Usachev on the content on this particular paper.