New invasive, weedy grasses discovered across Hawaiʻi, some pose major fire risk

Enneapogon cenchroides is the most flammable grass species that Faccenda discovered. It was found in Mākaha.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Hawaiʻi

New species of flammable invasive grasses have been discovered and identified across most Hawaiian islands by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Life Sciences PhD student.

Kevin Faccenda discovered 34 invasive and/or weedy species never before reported in Hawaiʻi during more than 50 days of fieldwork conducted across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island over the past year. Six of these species have never been found outside of their native range before, making Hawaiʻi the first place worldwide to experience naturalizations by these species. Faccenda says controlling the spread of these grass species and others is critical to avoid future wildfires, like the one that devastated Lahaina on August 8.

Neutrons see stress in 3D-printed parts, advancing additive manufacturing

The OpeN-AM experimental platform, installed at the VULCAN instrument at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source, features a robotic arm that prints layers of molten metal to create complex shapes. This allows scientists to study 3D printed welds microscopically.
Photo Credit: Jill Hemman, ORNL/U.S. Dept. Of Energy

Using neutrons to see the additive manufacturing process at the atomic level, scientists have shown that they can measure strain in a material as it evolves and track how atoms move in response to stress.

“The automotive, aerospace, clean energy and tool-and-die industries — any industry that needs complex and high-performance parts — could use additive manufacturing,” said Alex Plotkowski, materials scientist in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division and the lead scientist of the experiment. Plotkowski and his colleagues reported their findings in Nature Communications.

ORNL scientists have developed OpeN-AM, a 3D printing platform that can measure evolving residual stress during manufacturing using the VULCAN beamline at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source, or SNS, a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility. When combined with infrared imaging and computer modeling, this system enables unprecedented insight into material behavior during manufacturing.

Targeting a coronavirus ion channel could yield new Covid-19 drugs

MIT chemists found that the SARS-CoV-2 E protein, which acts as an ion channel, has a broad opening at the bottom when in the closed state and a narrower opening in the open state.
Image Credits: Courtesy of the researchers, MIT News, and iStock
(CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DEED)

The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an inflammatory response that damages tissues and contributes to the symptoms of Covid-19.

MIT chemists have now discovered the structure of the “open” state of this channel, which allows ions to flow through. This structure, combined with the “closed” state structure that was reported by the same lab in 2020, could help scientists figure out what triggers the channel to open and close. These structures could also guide researchers in developing antiviral drugs that block the channel and help prevent inflammation.

“The E channel is an antiviral drug target. If you can stop the channel from sending calcium into the cytoplasm, then you have a way to reduce the cytotoxic effects of the virus,” says Mei Hong, an MIT professor of chemistry and the senior author of the study.

MIT postdoc Joao Medeiros-Silva is the lead author of the study, which appears today in Science Advances. MIT postdocs Aurelio Dregni and Pu Duan and graduate student Noah Somberg are also authors of the paper.

Calorie restriction in humans builds strong muscle and stimulates healthy aging genes

NIH study suggests a small reduction in daily calories is beneficial for wellness.
Photo Credit: rawpixel

Reducing overall calorie intake may rejuvenate your muscles and activate biological pathways important for good health, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues. Decreasing calories without depriving the body of essential vitamins and minerals, known as calorie restriction, has long been known to delay the progression of age-related diseases in animal models. This new study, published in Aging Cell, suggests the same biological mechanisms may also apply to humans.

Researchers analyzed data from participants in the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE), a study supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) that examined whether moderate calorie restriction conveys the same health benefits seen in animal studies. They found that during a two-year span, the goal for participants was to reduce their daily caloric intake by 25%, but the highest the group was able to reach was a 12% reduction. Even so, this slight reduction in calories was enough to activate most of the biological pathways that are important in healthy aging.

Negative attitudes towards breastfeeding in public still an issue

Photo Credit: seeseehundhund

International law supports women’s right to breastfeed in public. However, women report having been subjected to negative responses and judgmental looks when breastfeeding outside the home. This is according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden, based on surveys answered by women living in Sweden, Ireland and Australia.

The researchers behind the study say that societies everywhere need to give clearer, explicit support for breastfeeding in public – and that society needs to welcome breastfeeding, regardless of the setting.

“Women and children lack access to public spaces. This affects opportunities to breastfeed when children need it, which in turn has a negative effect on both women and children,” says Charlotta Dykes, doctoral student and pediatric nurse.

She illustrates that point with one of many similar statements from women in their study: “Just how hungry is my child, will they be okay until I get home? Is there a better spot close by? Can I easily turn to face the other direction?”

Over 40 percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves are smaller

Photo Credit: Derek Oyen

71 of the 162 ice shelves that surround Antarctica have reduced in volume over 25 years from 1997 to 2021, with a net release of 7.5 trillion tons of meltwater into the oceans, say scientists.

They found that almost all the ice shelves on the western side of Antarctica experienced ice loss. In contrast, most of the ice shelves on the eastern side stayed the same or increased in volume. 

Over the 25 years, the scientists calculated almost 67 trillion tons of ice was exported to the ocean, which was offset by 59 trillion tons of ice being added to the ice shelves, giving a net loss of 7.5 trillion tons. 

Dr Benjamin Davison, a research fellow at the University of Leeds who led the study, said: “There is a mixed picture of ice-shelf deterioration, and this is to do with the ocean temperature and ocean currents around Antarctica. 

“The western half is exposed to warm water, which can rapidly erode the ice shelves from below, whereas much of East Antarctica is currently protected from nearby warm water by a band of cold water at the coast.” 

FSU scientists find oxygen levels increased during boom in ancient marine life

Postdoctoral fellow Anders Lindskog examined limestone samples from modern-day Scandinavia to unravel why marine life boomed during the Ordovician Period roughly 487 to 443 million years ago.
 Photo Credit: Seth Young

Florida State University scientists have uncovered answers to a conundrum in Earth’s history: Why did marine life experience an extraordinary boom millions of years ago?

Scientists have long been puzzled about what triggered this explosion of life and a remarkable increase in the diversity of marine species during the Ordovician Period roughly 487 to 443 million years ago. A new study led by FSU Associate Professor of Geology Seth Young and postdoctoral fellow Anders Lindskog has provided insights into this ancient ecological transformation and the role oxygen played in it. Their study was published in Nature Geoscience.

To unravel the ancient mystery, Lindskog and Young embarked on a mission with colleagues at FSU and Lund University in Sweden to understand the environmental conditions, particularly the oxygen levels in the ancient seas, of the Ordovician Period. Oxygen is essential for the development of higher organisms, so it’s a key player in the evolution of marine life.

“By better understanding the backdrop to these changes, we can better understand the mechanisms that drive large-scale and long-term evolution — basically, how life became what it is today,” said Lindskog, who is now at Lund University.

Whaling wiped out far more fin whales than previously thought

The study found current conservation efforts should be enough to help the Eastern North Pacific fin whale population rebound without becoming inbred.
Photo Credit: Aqqa Rosing-Asvid
(CC BY 4.0 DEED)

A new genomic study by UCLA biologists shows that whaling in the 20th century destroyed 99% of the Eastern North Pacific fin whale breeding, or “effective,” population — 29% more than previously thought.

But there is also some good news: Genes among members of this endangered species are still diverse enough that current conservation measures should be be enough to help the population rebound without becoming inbred. The study also found that the health of this group is essential for the survival of highly isolated, genetically distinct fin whales in the Gulf of California.

The study, published in Nature Communications, is among the first to use whole genome information to get a picture of the size and genetic diversity of today’s population. Previous studies had to rely on whaling records or mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only from the mother, providing limited genetic information.

In the 19th century, whaling decimated most whale species around the world but left the largest ones — blue and fin whales — largely untouched. That changed with the advent of industrial whaling in the 20th century. By midcentury, close to a million fin whales worldwide had been slaughtered, at least 75,000 of these in the Eastern North Pacific.

How do caterpillars acquire chubby legs

Prolegs in the body of the world’s largest moth (dark color), the Atlas moth (Atticus atlas), support the caterpillar in hanging upside down on a twig. Meanwhile, the smaller thoracic legs can be used to help in food processing.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of National University of Singapore

Adult insects, including butterflies and moths, typically have only three pairs of legs. But the existence of extra legs in caterpillars – chubby abdominal appendages also known as ‘prolegs’ – has long posed an evolutionary mystery to biologists. A recent study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) linked this novel trait to crustaceans.

Caterpillars use their prolegs to grab on to twigs and leaves, while using their thoracic or ‘true’ legs to hold on to other plant parts for feeding.

“The three main theories regarding prolegs suggested that they might be modified thoracic legs, completely novel traits, or modified lobes (endites) of primitive thoracic legs,” explained Professor Antónia Monteiro, who led the team of researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science. “Our study proposes that prolegs are indeed novel traits unrelated to thoracic legs. However, they are derived from a genetic program that specifies lobes that were originally found in the proximal region of crustacean limbs, but had remained inactive in this limb region for millions of years.”

The NUS team published their findings in the scientific journal Science Advances.

Ultrahigh-sensitivity microprobe optimizes detection of molecular fingerprints

Illustration of a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microprobe scanning across a sample substrate to collect 2D mapping of molecular fingerprints of substances.
Illustration Credit: Yang lab

Being a good detective requires top-notch evidence gathering, going where the clues are and recognizing their meaning. The same holds true in the realm of sensing technology, where the quest for the perfect balance between ultrahigh sensitivity and a large detection area has been an ongoing challenge. These properties are crucial for a wide range of applications, from biomedical monitoring and chemical imaging to magnetic sensing and vibration detection.

Optical whispering-gallery-mode microsensors, characterized by their ability to trap light in tiny spherical cavities, have emerged as a promising platform for various sensing applications. However, they have historically struggled to achieve both ultrahigh sensitivity and a substantial detection area simultaneously.

Breaking new ground in the field, researchers working with Lan Yang, the Edwin H. & Florence G. Skinner Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, have developed a scanning whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microprobe. This novel device represents a shift in the world of microsensors, offering a remarkable solution to the sensitivity-detection area trade-off conundrum. The findings were published in Light: Science & Applications.