Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in tree rings

Artist illustration of events on the sun changing the conditions in Near-Earth space. Suggested imagery from NASA, as recommended by our researchers.
Illustration Credit: NASA

An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps.

The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified.  A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society – potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions of pounds.  

The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future. 

Superconducting niobium waveguide achieves high-precision communications for B5G/6G networks

Researchers fabricated 20mm length waveguides made of the superconducting metal niobium (right).  It shows improved conductivity compared with normal metal materials such as a gold-plated tellurium copper (middle)  and aluminum alloy (left), and can transmit radio waves that are necessary for B5G/6G communications. 
Photo Credit: Taku Nakajima

A team of researchers has made a breakthrough discovery in the world of Beyond 5G/6G (B5G/6G) signal transmission. Taku Nakajima and Kazuji Suzuki of Nagoya University in Japan, along with their collaborators, created a waveguide made of niobium that speeds up the transition of B5G/6G signals.  

The frequency of data waves has continued to increase as B5G/6G technologies have been introduced. Although the currently used metal transmission lines can handle B5G/6G, research has focused on superconducting metals, such as niobium, that have lower transmission loss and can handle higher frequencies.  

Nakajima and his collaborators evaluated the use of niobium in a waveguide, a three-dimensional transmission line consisting of a metal tube that guides and confines waves along a specific path, minimizing losses due to radiation and absorption. However, working with the metal proved to be difficult as it was susceptible to deformation and damage during fabrication and handling.  

Scientists identify new pathway activated by interferon-gamma that leads to tumor cell death

Ameya Champhekar, first author of the study.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of UCLA Health

Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a new role for a protein called extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in a pathway activated by interferon-gamma that can trigger cells to self-destruct.

Researchers found that interferon-gamma signaling caused hyperactivation of ERK in human melanoma cell lines. The ERK protein, when hyperactive, causes stress in the cell, and this stress ultimately leads to cell death through specific proteins called DR5 and NOXA. Cell death could be prevented in 74% of these lines when ERK signaling was blocked.

“ERK signaling is always active at a low level in melanoma cells and is important for tumor cell survival,” said Ameya Champhekar, an adjunct assistant professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and first author of the study. “However, our data show that interferon-gamma causes overactivation of the ERK pathway, which triggers cell death. This establishes a new paradigm in the field that the overactivation of a pathway involved in oncogenic signaling is detrimental to cancer cells. This discovery sheds light on how interferon-gamma stops tumor cell growth and why it might not always work, helping us better understand how to overcome resistance.”

How plant-derived nutrients can affect the gut and brain

PD Dr. Veronica Witte
Photo Credit: Leipzig University/Antje Gildemeister

Can plant-derived nutrients alter gut bacteria to affect brain function? Scientists from the University of Leipzig Medical Center, the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research investigated this question in a study of overweight adults. Their findings, published in the journal Gut, suggest that dietary fiber can exert influence on both the composition of gut bacteria and the reward signals in the brain and associated food decision-making.

Prebiotics are used to foster the colonization of beneficial bacteria in the gut. These indigestible dietary fibers are found in plant-derived foods such as onions, leeks, artichokes, wheat, bananas, and in high concentrations in chicory root. They support gut health by promoting the growth and activity of beneficial gut bacteria. Researchers have now investigated whether certain prebiotics can also influence brain function by improving communication between the gut microbiome and the brain.

Red Algae Could Be Used to Create a Drug for Coronavirus

Chemical research on Laurencia red algae began in 1965.
Photo Credit: 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič

Laurencia red algae can be used as a basis for new drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, biochemists have found. A team of scientists from the Ural Federal University, the Institute of Organic Synthesis of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with colleagues from Australia and Germany, carried out molecular docking of 300 bioactive components (ligands) of red algae and found seven compounds with the required activity. The scientists published a description of the experiments and results in the journal Microbiology Research. 

"Laurencia belongs to the family Rhodomelaceae, which is considered one of the largest families of marine red algae, with an estimated 125 genera and 700 species worldwide. Laurencia has recently been the subject of active research. Since 2015, a total of 1,047 secondary metabolites with various useful properties have been isolated from Laurencia species alone," explains Grigory Zyryanov, Chief Researcher of the UrFU Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Green Methods and Biotechnology.

Predicting prostate cancer recurrence 15 months faster

Hector Gomez, a professor in Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering, and his international collaborators have developed a patent-pending method and algorithm to predict the recurrence of prostate cancer in patients treated by radiation therapy.
Photo Credit: Purdue University/Vincent Walter

A Purdue University mechanical engineer and his international collaborators have developed a patent-pending method and algorithm to predict the recurrence of prostate cancer in patients treated by radiation therapy.­

Hector Gomez, a professor in Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering, said data indicates the model-based predictors can identify relapsing patients a median of 14.8 months earlier than the current clinical practice.

Gomez said radiation is an effective treatment for patients of all ages to treat tumors ranging in risk from low to very high. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, between 20% to 30% of patients will experience a recurrence after the five-year period, post-therapy.

“The detection of prostate cancer recurrence after radiation relies on the measurement of a sustained rise of the serum levels of a substance called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA,” Gomez said. “However, the recurrence may take years to occur, which delays the delivery of a secondary treatment to patients with recurring tumors.”

Study identifies biomarker that could lead to better treatment for autoimmune disease

Emily Vance and Ruth Napier, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, arthritis and rheumatic disease in the OHSU School of Medicine, a principal investigator with VA Portland, look through some of their microscope work.
Photo Credit: OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks

New research that helps explain the molecular processes involved in the painful autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis, or AS, may reduce the guessing game that health care providers currently play while attempting to treat the condition.

A team from Oregon Health & Science University and the VA Portland Health Care System has found a specific kind of AS treatment that is effective when used by patients who have a particular genetic mutation. Their study was published today in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, and its findings could lead to more targeted, timely and patient-specific treatment recommendations.

“This is the first-time research has shown that we might be able to use genetic markers to determine which therapy ankylosing spondylitis patients should receive,” said the study’s senior researcher, Ruth Napier, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, arthritis and rheumatic disease in the OHSU School of Medicine, and principal investigator with VA Portland. “These promising findings are encouraging. This is the first time I can say that I’m on the cusp of making a difference for patients with ankylosing spondylitis who seek relief.”

Mushroom-derived materials could offer benefits for developing nations in Africa

Mycelium composites are a class of materials based on mycelium – the roots of mushrooms.
Photo Credit: Heidi-Ann Fourkiller | Scientific Frontline

A research team from the University of Bristol has suggested that mycelium composites could offer a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials and help address socio-economic and environmental challenges in Africa.

In a new paper published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems, Lead Author Stefania Akromah, a PhD student in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites Science, Engineering, and Manufacturing, suggests that while holding a lot of potential benefits, mycelium composite technology has yet to become established in the African continent.

Mycelium composites are a class of materials based on mycelium – the roots of mushrooms. These versatile materials, which have gained popularity in Europe and the US in the past decade, are produced by harnessing the ability of fungi to grow by feeding on organic biomass – eliminating the need for high-end manufacturing processes.  In fact, mycelium composites can be grown almost anywhere - even at home - without the need for extensive expertise or advanced equipment.

New Model Explains Precious Metals in Earth’s Mantle

Video Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Simone Marchi collaborated on a new study finding the first geophysically plausible scenario to explain the abundance of certain precious metals — including gold and platinum — in the Earth’s mantle. Based on the simulations, or model, scientists found that impact-driven mixing of mantle materials scenario that could prevent the metals from completely sinking into the Earth’s core.

Early in its evolution, about 4.5 billion years ago, Earth sustained an impact with a Mars-sized planet, and the Moon formed from the resulting debris ejected into an Earth-orbiting disk. A long period of bombardment followed, the so-called “late accretion,” when planetesimals as large as our Moon impacted the Earth delivering materials including highly “siderophile” elements (HSEs) — metals with a strong affinity for iron — that were integrated into the young Earth.

“Previous simulations of impacts penetrating Earth’s mantle showed that only small fractions of a metallic core of planetesimals are available to be assimilated by Earth’s mantle, while most of these metals — including HSEs — quickly drain down to the Earth’s core,” said Marchi, who coauthored a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) paper outlining the new findings. “This brings us to the question: How did Earth get some of its precious metals? We developed new simulations to try to explain the metal and rock mix of materials in the present-day mantle.”

Space weather disrupts nocturnal bird migration

A Baltimore oriole in flight. Orioles are nocturnal migratory birds.
Photo Credit: Andrew Dreelin

It’s well-known that birds and other animals rely on Earth’s magnetic field for long-distance navigation during seasonal migrations.

But how do periodic disruptions of the planet’s magnetic field, caused by solar flares and other energetic outbursts, affect the reliability of those biological navigation systems?

University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues used massive, long-term datasets from networks of U.S. Doppler weather radar stations and ground-based magnetometers—devices that measure the intensity of local magnetic fields—to test for a possible link between geomagnetic disturbances and disruptions to nocturnal bird migration.

They found a 9%-17% reduction in the number of migrating birds, in both spring and fall, during severe space weather events. And the birds that chose to migrate during such events seemed to experience more difficulty navigating, especially under overcast conditions in autumn.

The new findings, published online Oct. 9 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide correlational evidence for previously unknown relationships between nocturnal bird migration dynamics and geomagnetic disturbances, according to the researchers.