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Category Archives: Mind Building
Collective dynamics of active matter systems
Flocks of starlings that produce dazzling patterns across the sky are natural examples of active matter — groups of individual agents coming together to create collective dynamics. In a study featured on the cover of the March 6 issue of the journal Science, a team of researchers that includes Brown University physicists reveals new insights into what happens inside active matter systems.
The research describes experiments using a three-dimensional active nematic. Nematic describes a state of matter that emerges in the kind of liquid crystals widely used in smartphone and television displays. The cigar-shaped molecules in liquid crystals are able to move as in a liquid, but tend to stay ordered more or less in the same direction, a little like a crystal.
In a normal liquid crystal, the molecules are passive, meaning they don’t have the ability to self-propel. But the system involved in this new study replaces those passive molecules with tiny bundles of microtubules, each with the ability to consume fuel and propel themselves. The goal of the research was to study how those active elements affect the order of the system.
“These microtubules tend to align, but also continually destroy their own aligning order with their movement,” said study co-author Daniel Beller, an assistant professor of physics at University of California, Merced, who began work on the research while he was a postdoctoral researcher at Brown. “So there are collective motions that create defects in the alignment, and that’s what we study here.”
As the system evolves, the defects appear to come to life in some sense, creating lines, loops and other structures that meander through the system. The researchers studied the structures using topology, a branch of math concerned with how things deform without breaking.
“If your goal is to understand the dynamics of these systems, then one way to do that is to focus on these emerging topological structures as a way to characterize the dynamics,” said Robert Pelcovits, a professor of physics at Brown and a study coauthor. “If we can get guiding principles from this simple system, that might help guide us in understanding more complicated ones.”
Beller, Pelcovits and Thomas Powers, a professor of engineering and physics at Brown, led the theoretical work for the study. The experimental work was performed by researchers from Brandeis University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, the University of Chicago, Brandeis and Eindhoven University of Technology contributed computer modeling expertise.
This kind of work had been done in two-dimensional systems, but this is the first time a 3D system had been studied in this way. The research showed that the dominant topological structures in the system were loop structures that emerge spontaneously, expand and then self-annihilate.
The loops are related to the kinds of defects that emerge in better-studied 2D systems, but they differ in a key way, the researchers say. In 2D, defects arise in pairs of points that have opposing characteristics or “charges,” a bit like particles and antiparticles. Once they form, they exist until they eventually run into a defect with the opposite charge, which causes them to annihilate.
The loops that form in 3D, in contrast, have no charge. As a result, they form and annihilate all on their own. They’re still related to the 2D defects structures, however. In fact, the 3D loops can be thought of as extensions of 2D point defects. Imagine two point defects sitting on a 2D surface. Now connect those two points with an arc that rises up out of the 2D surface, and a second arc on the underside of the surface. The result is a loop that has both charges of the points, but is itself charge neutral. That enables nucleation and annihilation all on their own.
The researchers are hopeful that this new understanding of this system’s dynamics will be applicable in real-world systems like bacterial colonies, structures and systems in the human body, or other systems.
“What we found here is a quite general set of behaviors that we think will be fully present in similar systems that have this tendency to align, but that are also turning stored energy into motion,” Beller said.
The research was supported by the Department of Energy (DE-SC0010432TDD), the National Science Foundation (NSF-DMR-1855914, NSF-MRSEC-1420382, CBET-1437195, MCB090163, MRSEC-1420382), the Army Research Office (W911NF-19-1-0268) and the National Institutes of Health (5R00HD088708-05).
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Discovery points to origin of mysterious ultraviolet radiation
Billions of lightyears away, gigantic clouds of hydrogen gas produce a special kind of radiation, a type of ultraviolet light known as Lyman-alpha emissions. The enormous clouds emitting the light are Lyman-alpha blobs (LABs). LABs are several times larger than our Milky Way galaxy, yet were only discovered 20 years ago. An extremely powerful energy source is necessary to produce this radiation — think the energy output equivalent of billions of our sun — but scientists debate what that energy source could be.
A new study that published on March 9 in Nature Astronomy provides evidence that the energy source is at the center of star-forming galaxies, around which the LABs exist.
The study focuses on Lyman-alpha blob 6 (LAB-6) located more than 18 billion light years away in the direction of constellation Grus. The collaborative team discovered a unique feature of LAB-6 — its hydrogen gas appeared to fall inwards on itself. LAB-6 is the first LAB with strong evidence of this so-called infalling gas signature. The infalling gas was low in abundance of metallic elements, suggesting that the LAB’s infalling hydrogen gas originated in the intergalactic medium, rather than from the star-forming galaxy itself.
The amount of infalling gas is too low to power the observed Lyman-alpha emission. The findings provide evidence that the central star-forming galaxy is the primary energy source responsible for Lyman-alpha emission. They also pose new questions about the structure of the LABs.
“This gives us a mystery. We expect there should be infalling gas around star-forming galaxies — they need gas for materials,” said Zheng Zheng, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Utah and co-author of the study. Zheng joined the effort of analyzing the data and led the theoretical interpretation with U graduate student Shiyu Nie. “But this seems to be the only Lyman-alpha blob with gas infalling. Why is this so rare?”
The authors used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) to obtain the data. Lead author Yiping Ao of Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences first observed the LAB-6 system over a decade ago. He knew there was something special about the system even then, based on the extreme size of its hydrogen gas blob. He jumped at the chance to look more closely.
“Luckily, we were able to obtain the data necessary to capture the molecular makeup from ALMA, pinning down the velocity of the galaxy,” he said. “The optical telescope VLT from ESO gave us the important spectral light profile of Lyman-alpha emission.”
Hydrogen’s light reveals its secret
The universe is filled with hydrogen. The hydrogen electron orbits the atom’s nucleus on different energy levels. When a neutral hydrogen atom gets blasted with energy, the electron can be boosted to a larger orbit with a higher energy level. Then the electron can jump from one orbit level to another, which produces a photon. When the electron moves to the inner-most orbit from the orbit directly adjacent, it emits a photon with a particular wavelength in the ultraviolet spectrum, called a Lyman-alpha emission. A powerful energy source is required to energize hydrogen enough to produce the Lyman-alpha emission.
The authors discovered the infalling gas feature by analyzing the kinematics of the Lyman-alpha emissions. After the Lyman-alpha photon is emitted, it encounters an environment filled with hydrogen atoms. It crashes into these atoms many times, like a ball moving in a pinball machine, before escaping the environment. This exit makes the emission extend outward over great distances.
All of this bouncing around not only changes the light wave’s direction, but also its frequency, as the motion of gas causes a Doppler effect. When gas is outflowing, the Lyman-alpha emission shifts into the longer, redder wavelength. The opposite occurs when gas is inflowing — the Lyman-alpha emission’s wavelength appears to get shorter, shifting it into a bluer spectrum.
The authors of this paper used the ALMA observation to locate the expected wavelength of the Lyman-alpha emission from the Earth’s prospective, if there were no bouncing effect for the Lyman-alpha photons. With the VLT observation, they found that Lyman-alpha emission from this blob shifts into longer wavelength, implying gas inflow. They used models to analyze the spectrum data and study the kinematics of hydrogen gas.
The infalling gas narrows down Lyman-alpha radiation’s origin
LABs are associated with gigantic galaxies that are forming stars at a rate of hundreds to thousands of solar mass per year. Giant halos of Lyman-alpha emissions surround these galaxies, forming the Lyman-alpha gas blobs hundreds of thousands of light years across with power equivalent of about 10 billion suns. The movement within the gas blobs can tell you something about the state of the galaxy.
Infalling gas can originate several different ways. It could be the second stage of a galactic fountain — if massive stars die, they explode and push gas outward, which later falls inwards. Another option is a cold stream — there are filaments of hydrogen floating between celestial objects that can be pulled into the center of potential well, creating the infalling gas feature.
The authors’ model suggests that the infalling gas in this LAB comes from the latter scenario. They analyzed the shape of the Lyman-alpha light profile, which indicates very little metallic dust. In astronomy, metals are anything heavier than helium. Stars produce all of the heavy elements in the universe — when they explode, they produce metallic elements and spread them across intergalactic space.
“If the gas had come from this galaxy, you should see more metals. But this one, there weren’t a lot of metals,” said Zheng. “The indication is that the gas isn’t contaminated with elements from this star formation.”
Additionally, their model indicates that the surrounding gas only produces the energy power equivalent of two solar masses per year, much too low for the amount for the observed Lyman-alpha emission.
The findings provide strong evidence that the star-forming galaxy is the major contributor of the Lyman-alpha emission, while the infalling gas acts to shape its spectral profile. However, it doesn’t completely answer the question.
“There may still be other possibilities,” said Ao. “If the galaxy has a super massive black hole in the center, it can emit energetic photons that could travel far enough to produce the emission.”
In future studies, the authors want to tease apart the complicated gas dynamics to figure out why infalling gas is rare for LABs. The inflowing gas could depend on the orientation of the system, for example. They also want to build more realistic models to understand the movements of the Lyman-alpha emission photons as they crash into atoms.
How a virus forms its symmetric shells
Viruses — small disease-causing parasites that can infect all types of life forms — have been well studied, but many mysteries linger. One such mystery is how a spherical virus circumvents energy barriers to form symmetric shells.
A research team led by physicist Roya Zandi at the University of California, Riverside, has made progress is solving this mystery. The team reports in a paper published in ACS Nano that an interplay of energies at the molecular level makes the formation of a shell possible.
Understanding the factors that contribute to viral assembly could enable biomedical attempts to block viral replication and infection. A better understanding of how viral shells — nature’s nano-containers — form is of vital importance to material scientists and a crucial step in the design of engineered nano-shells that could serve as vehicles for delivering drugs to specific targets in the body.
Zandi’s team explored the role of protein concentration and elastic energy in the self-organization of proteins on the curved shell surface to understand how a virus circumvents many energy barriers.
“Understanding the combined effect of elastic energy, genome-protein interaction, and protein concentration in the viral assembly constitutes the breakthrough of our work,” said Zandi, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Our study shows that if a messy shell forms because of the high protein concentration or strong attractive interaction, then, as the shell grows larger, the cost of elastic energy becomes so high that several bonds can get broken, resulting in the disassembly and subsequent reassembly of a symmetric shell.”
What is a virus?
The simplest physical object in biology, a virus consists of a protein shell called the capsid, which protects its nucleic acid genome — RNA or DNA. Viruses can be thought of as mobile containers of RNA or DNA that insert their genetic material into living cells. They then take over the cells’ reproductive machinery to reproduce their own genome and capsid.
Capsid formation is one of the most crucial steps in the process of viral infection. The capsid can be cylindrical or conical in shape, but more commonly it assumes an icosahedral structure, like a soccer ball.
An icosahedron is a geometrical structure with 12 vertices, 20 faces, and 30 sides. An official soccer ball is a kind of icosahedron called a truncated icosahedron; it has 32 panels cut into the shape of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons, with the pentagons separated from each other by hexagons.
Viral assembly is not well understood because viruses are very small, measuring in nanometers, a nanometer being one-billionth of a meter. The assembly also happens very quickly, typically in milliseconds, a millisecond being one-thousandth of a second. Theoretical work and simulations are necessary to understand how a virus grows.
“A viral shell is highly symmetric,” Zandi said. “If one pentagonal defect forms in the wrong location, it breaks down the symmetry. Despite this sensitivity, viral shells are often assembled into well-defined symmetric structures.”
Nano vehicles
Zandi explained that due to a lack of experimental data, the virus assembly process is not well understood. The new work found the elastic properties of capsid proteins and the attractive interaction between them go hand in hand to form highly symmetric configurations that are energetically very stable.
“By fine-tuning these parameters, we can control the final structure and stability of viral capsids,” she said. “These viral capsids can be used as nano-containers for transporting drugs as cargo to specific targets. What makes them highly promising for drug delivery and gene delivery purposes is that they are stable, have a high uptake efficiency, and have low toxicity.”
Already, some experimental groups are working with pharmaceutical companies to design drugs that interfere or block viral assembly. Her lab is working with international collaborators to design simulations to better understand virus assembly.
“Understanding the factors that affect the stability of the final viral structures can make drug delivery processes more controllable,” she said.
Health24.com | Interest in CBD products keeps soaring, but health experts wary
CBD oil, CBD cookies, even CBD-infused massages: CBD (cannabidiol) seems to be everywhere nowadays, and a new study confirms it’s one the hottest health trends for Americans.
The research found that each month, as many as 6.4 million Americans head to Google to learn about or buy CBD – equalling or surpassing interest in almost all other health products or topics.
“CBD has become insanely popular,” said study co-author Dr John Ayers, vice chief of innovation in the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
“Three years ago, there was essentially no one searching about CBD online, but now there are an estimated 6.4 million unique searches each month,” Ayers said in a university news release.
‘Cure-all’ chemical
But with the boom in consumer interest comes real worry from health experts.
That’s because many vendors claim – and some buyers agree – that CBD is a “cure-all” chemical that can treat a wide range of conditions. Right now, claims are being made for CBD’s curative powers against conditions ranging from acne to anxiety, opioid addiction, pain and menstrual problems.
CBD products include droplets, massage oils, gummies and even ice cream, Ayers’ team noted.
Much of the claims for CBD remain pure speculation, however, and earlier this year the US Food and Drug Administration opened a public hearing on the issue.
Speaking at the hearing in May, FDA Acting Commissioner Dr Ned Sharpless said “critical questions remain about the safety” of the products, CNN reported. “While we have seen an explosion of interest in products containing CBD, there is still much that we don’t know,” he said.
Gauging that “explosion of interest”, Ayers and colleagues tracked data on US-based Google searches that mentioned either “CBD” or “cannabidiol” from January 2004 through April 2019. They then projected the volume of searches through to December 2019.
Google inquiries on CBD rose by 125% during 2017, another 160% in 2018, and are predicted to rise another 180% in 2019, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
The increase in CBD searches was seen in all states, ranging from a 211% increase in Oklahoma to a 605% increase in Alabama.
CBD searches outpaced acupuncture by 749%, apple cider vinegar by 517%, meditation by 338%, vaccination by 63%, exercise by 59%, marijuana by 13%, and veganism by 12%, the study found.
However, CBD’s new popularity is also cause for concern, one expert said.
“You have a flood of CBD products that are coming from hemp that are going out onto the market, and you’ve got all sorts of claims being made about those from people who are trying to sell them,” Timothy Welty said earlier this year. He’s chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences at Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa.
So far the FDA has approved only one CBD-containing product: Epidiolex, sanctioned by the agency to curb the symptoms of rare forms of epilepsy.
And a review of available data on the effectiveness of CBD, published in August in the journal Mayo Clinic, found little hard evidence to back up claims.
“There are many intriguing findings in preclinical studies that suggest CBD and hemp oil have anti-inflammatory effects and may be helpful with improving sleep and anxiety,” said that study’s author, Dr Brent Bauer, director of research for the Mayo Clinic Integrative Medicine programme. “But trials in humans are still limited, so it is too early to be definitive about efficacy and safety.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Dr Davey Smith, a physician and chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UCSD. “At this time there are no known benefits for taking CBD over-the-counter. CBD is this generation’s snake oil, where millions are engaging with the product without evidence of any benefit,” he said in the university news release.
“Moreover, some consumers might forgo seeing a physician or taking medications with known, tested and approved therapeutic benefits in favour of CBD and thereby become sicker or succumb to their illness,” Smith added.
Image credit: iStock
Health24.com | Why exactly does the coronavirus spread so easily among people?
When the first case of the new coronavirus was identified in December 2019, scientists found it to be very similar to the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2003.
Almost four months later, the number of Covid-19 virus cases is surpassing that of SARS. And while a majority of Covid-19 virus cases are mild and treatable, the sheer number of cases is causing concern. Scientists are asking: “Why is this virus spreading so fast?”
Now, experts have identified a couple of genetic and structural characteristics that might explain why this coronavirus is infecting humans so easily.
“Understanding transmission of the virus is key to its containment and future prevention,” stated David Veesler, a structural virologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, who posted his team’s findings about the virus protein on the biomedical preprint server bioRxiv on 20 February.
How does the coronavirus infect human cells?
The name “coronavirus” comes from the Latin word “corona”, meaning “crown”, which refers to the crown-like spikes that can be seen around the virus under a microscope.
The spikes that are a key component of all coronavirus strains are significant as they attach the virus firmly to a cell membrane in your body.
But what makes this new coronavirus different from previous strains is the fact that the protein in the spikes differs from previous strains. The protein has a site which is activated by an enzyme called furin, which is present in our human cells.
Furin can be found in many of our human tissues, including the lungs, liver and small intestines. This is significant, because this means that the virus can latch on and activate in multiple organs, according to Li Hua, a structural biologist at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China.
That is the reason why some of the symptoms in more serious cases also include liver failure, for example. SARS and the other coronaviruses didn’t cause the activation of furin.
This furin activation also enables the virus to spread more efficiently between humans.
Outcome not yet clear
According to an article published in Nature, researchers are still cautious about overstating the role of the activation site as a main reason why the coronavirus is spreading so rapidly and easily.
“We don’t know if this is going to be a big deal or not,” says Jason McLellan, a structural biologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
Some experts also reckon that they shouldn’t jump the gun by comparing furin activation to previous flu outbreaks. The deadly flu pandemic of 1918 didn’t involve furin activation, according to Lijun Rong, a virologist at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Could this help us find a suitable drug?
According to the report, Li’s team are looking at molecules that could block furin as a possible way of preventing coronavirus.
Mclellan’s research group in Texas also found that the spike proteins bind successfully to a receptor on human cells called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).
This receptor could also potentially be involved in a vaccine or treatment – anything that can block the ACE2 receptor could potentially make it harder for the coronavirus to enter cells.
Finding ways to prevent spreading
While scientists are doing their utmost, finding a targeted vaccine or treatment takes time. In the meantime, protect yourself by:
- Washing your hands properly
- Practising caution when travelling abroad
- Keeping your own immune system strong
- Being mindful of those who are immunocompromised and already ill
- Coughing or sneezing into the crook of your arm.
READ | This week in coronavirus – what science is currently saying
WATCH | 6 handwashing mistakes that help coronavirus spread
READ | How an Ebola drug might fight Covid-19 virus
Image credit: Getty
Health24.com | What helps calm agitated dementia patients?
Dealing with the agitation, anxiety and aggression that often come with dementia is one of the most challenging aspects of caring for someone with this brain disorder. But new research suggests that massage and other non-drug treatments may be more effective than medications.
Even just taking people with dementia outdoors can help, said study author Dr Jennifer Watt, a geriatrician and clinical scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital-Unity Health in Toronto.
“The bottom line from our study is that non-medication based therapy and multidimensional care seem to be better than medications for treating the symptoms of aggression and agitation in persons with dementia,” she said.
Dementia, a progressive loss of thinking and memory skills, affects 50 million people worldwide. Up to three-quarters have behavioural and psychological symptoms. People with such symptoms often need institutionalised care sooner.
A variety of dementias
Health care professionals rely on several medications to lessen symptoms of agitation and aggression, but these medications carry significant risks. One, ironically, is worsening memory and thinking, the researchers said.
Some medications – such as anti-psychotics – may do little to control symptoms, according to the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation. Plus, they carry the US Food and Drug Administration’s most serious warning, because they increase the risk of stroke and death in people with dementia.
Given the challenges of using medications, researchers wanted to know more about alternatives, Watt said.
They included 163 studies in their analysis, with a total of more than 23 000 people. Studies included drug and non-drug interventions.
In most of the studies, the patients’ average age was 75 or older. There were a variety of dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, in stages from mild to severe.
Medications studied included antidepressants, antipsychotics, dementia-specific medications, cannabinoids and a combination medication, dextromethorphan-quinidine (Nuedexta), to treat uncontrollable laughing or crying.
Outdoor activities most effective
Non-drug interventions included changes in environment, outdoor activities, recreational therapy, exercise, massage, music therapy and cognitive stimulation as well as caregiver education and support.
Researchers found that outdoor activities were the most effective for reducing agitation and aggression. Outdoor activities, massage and touch therapy ranked highest for treating verbal aggression. Exercise and modifying daily activities seemed best for dealing physical aggression, the study reported.
Nuedexta and medications from cannabis were more effective than a placebo in reducing agitation and aggression. But Watt said these drugs aren’t prescribed much, and there may be side effects.
“It’s important to prioritise the use of non-medication based treatment as much as possible,” she said.
Watt acknowledged that it’s not possible to implement all or even some of these non-drug treatments.
“Caregiving is hard,” Watt said. “People are doing the best they can with the time and resources they have. We need to raise awareness and advocate for more financial resources to support these types of interventions.”
Medication not always best option
That said, she noted that some interventions can be simple. A music player with headphones can soothe, and just getting outdoors can help. If someone is in a nursing home, Watt suggested decorating their room with photos and other objects that bring back pleasant memories.
Keith Fargo, director of scientific programmes and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association, reviewed the analysis and called it an informative look at an important problem.
“Aggression, agitation and other non-cognitive symptoms of dementia are often overlooked, but the reality is, for most people with dementia, the non-cognitive symptoms can be more problematic,” he said. “These behaviours are very disruptive to daily life and family harmony, and the need for effective treatments is great.”
As this study found, Fargo noted, medications are not always the best option.
“Some of this has to do with paying attention to people,” he said. “When people have moderate to severe dementia, they have difficulty communicating. They may be feeling discomfort and can’t communicate that they don’t like a certain chair or that they’re too hot. Then they may act out. So, sometimes, it’s a matter of small things in the environment that can be changed.”
Fargo agreed with Watt that “person-centred care” can be demanding.
“Caregiver burden is a real problem, and some people may be overwhelmed. But you don’t have to do it all. A first-line approach should be trying to understand what may be happening in that person’s world,” he said.
The study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Coronavirus: Man in his 60s becomes third UK death
The man, who had underlying health problems, had recently returned to the UK from Italy, NHS England says.
Health24.com | Why nurses may need suicide-prevention screening
Nurses are at elevated risk for suicide, but the issue gets little attention, researchers report.
Their study of 2005–2016 US government data found the suicide rate among female nurses was significantly higher (10 per 100 000) than that of the general female population (7 per 100 000). The rate among male nurses (33 per 100 000) was also higher than in the general male population (27 per 100 000).
Opioids and benzodiazepines
The findings show “that male and female nurses are at a higher risk for suicide, confirming our previous studies,” said study senior author Judy Davidson, a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego.
“Female nurses have been at greater risk since 2005 and males since 2011. Unexpectedly, the data does not reflect a rise in suicide, but rather that nurse suicide has been unaddressed for years,” Davidson said in a university news release.
Drugs – namely opioids and benzodiazepines – were the most commonly used method of suicide in females. This indicates “a need to further support nurses with pain management and mental health issues,” said study co-author Dr Sidney Zisook, a psychiatry professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
“The use of firearms was most common in male nurses, and rising in female nurses. Given these results, suicide prevention programmes are needed,” Zisook said in the release.
The study was published online in the journal WORLDviews on Evidence Based-Nursing.
Time to take urgent action
Another paper in the same issue outlined the effectiveness of a health care provider suicide prevention programme called the Healer Education Assessment and Referral (HEAR) program, which has been tested at UC San Diego.
The programme provides education about suicide risk factors and offers screening. It is listed as a best practice in suicide prevention by the American Medical Association.
“It is time to take urgent action to protect our nursing workforce. The HEAR program is ready for replication at the national level to address this newly recognised risk among nurses,” said Davidson, co-chair of an American Nurses Association task force on nurse suicide.
Talk-based therapy to build resiliency would complement the programme, she added.
Image credit: iStock
