The aging brain: protein mapping furnishes new insights

Stained mouse microvessels under the fluorescence microscope (green: vascular endothelium, red: cell nuclei). 
Image Credit: © Dichgans Lab

For the neurons in the brain to work smoothly and be able to process information, the central nervous system needs a strictly regulated environment. This is maintained by the blood-brain barrier, whereby specialized brain endothelial cells lining the inner walls of blood vessels regulate the exchange of molecules between the circulatory and nervous systems. Earlier studies have shown that various functions that are dependent on these cells, such as the integrity of the blood-brain barrier or the regulation of blood supply to the brain, decline over the course of a person’s life. This dysregulation leads to a dysfunction of the brain vasculature and is therefore a major contributor to medical conditions such as strokes and dementia.

However, the molecular changes that underlie this loss of function have remained largely obscure. To improve our mechanistic understanding, researchers carry out molecular profiling studies to investigate the different components of brain endothelial cells and collect their findings in large databases. “The transcriptome – that is to say, the RNA contained in endothelial cells – has since been quite comprehensively mapped,” says LMU professor Martin Dichgans, Director of the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research at University of Munich Hospital and Principal Investigator at the SyNergy Cluster of Excellence. “What has been lacking is corresponding data on the complete set of proteins in the cells, the proteome.” A study recently published in the journal Nature Aging, which had major contributions by researchers from LMU and SyNergy, has now closed this knowledge gap.

Bees need food up to a month earlier than provided by recommended pollinator plants

Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).
Photo Credit Matthias Becher

New research from the Universities of Oxford and Exeter has revealed that plant species recommended as “pollinator friendly” * in Europe begin flowering up to a month too late in the spring to effectively contribute to bee conservation.

This “hungry gap” results in low colony survival and low production of queens for the following year.

The results showed that pollen and nectar availability during the early colony founding stage is a critical, and previously under-appreciated, factor in bee colony success. **

The study has been published in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity. 

Senior author Dr Tonya Lander (Department of Biology, University of Oxford) said: “The results give us a simple and practical recommendation to help bees: to enhance hedgerows with early blooming species, especially ground ivy, red dead-nettle, maple, cherry, hawthorn, and willow, which improved colony success rate from 35% to 100%. This approach focuses on existing hedgerows in agricultural land and doesn’t reduce farm cropping area, so can appeal to land managers whilst also providing important conservation outcomes for pollinators.” 

These were assessed using the BEE-STEWARD model, which integrates data and runs simulations to predict how changes in different factors may impact bee populations over time.

Rays were more diverse 150 million years ago than previously thought

Aellopobatis bavarica: The newly discovered species, complete fossils are only known from Germany. This species is also the largest species of all and can grow up to 170 cm in size.
Photo Credit: Türtscher et al.

New fossil ray species discovered in Bavarica, Germany: Aellopobatis bavarica from the Late Jurassic

In a new study recently published in the journal Papers in Paleontology, an international team of scientists led by paleobiologist Julia Türtscher from the University of Vienna has explored the puzzling world of rays that lived 150 million years ago and discovered a previously hidden diversity – including a new ray species. This study significantly expands the understanding of these ancient cartilaginous fish and provides further insights into a past marine ecosystem.

In her new study, paleobiologist Julia Türtscher from the Institute of Paleontology at the University of Vienna examined 52 fossil rays from the Late Jurassic period. These rays are 150 million years old, from a time when Europe was largely covered by the sea, except for a few islands, comparable to today's Caribbean. The Late Jurassic specimens are particularly valuable to scientists because they are among the oldest known fully preserved ray specimens. As only the teeth of fossilized rays are usually preserved, such rare skeletal finds provide exciting insights into the early evolution of this group. Although the exceptionally well-preserved fossils (from Germany, France, and the UK) have been known for some time, they have been largely unexplored. Türtscher's study is the first comprehensive analysis of the variation in body shape in these rays.

Product that kills agricultural pests also deadly to native Pacific Northwest snail

Pacific sideband snail.
Photo Credit: William P. Leonard

A product used to control pest slugs on farms in multiple countries is deadly to least one type of native woodland snail endemic to the Pacific Northwest, according to scientists who say more study is needed before the product gains approval in the United States.

Dee Denver of the Oregon State University College of Science led a 10-week laboratory project that showed the effect of a biotool marketed as Nemaslug on the Pacific sideband snail. The study was published today in PLOS One.

Nemaslug is based on the organism Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, a species of tiny, parasitic worm known as a nematode.

The speed of the Pacific sidebands’ demise depended on the concentration of Nemaslug exposure and the size and maturity of the snails, but by the end of the study all 90 were dead, whereas all 30 snails in a control group were still alive.

“This finding is a big deal because there are strong efforts to bring this commercialized nematode to U.S. markets to control invasive pests, such as the gray field slug, that cause damage to a variety of agricultural crops,” said Denver, who heads OSU’s Department of Integrated Biology and directs the university’s School of Life Sciences.

Research offers hope for preventing post-COVID ‘brain fog’ by targeting brain’s blood vessels

Blood vessel endothelial cells (green) and basement membrane (red) in the brain.
Image Credit: Sarah Lutz

Among the many confounding symptoms in patients recovering from a COVID-19 infection are memory loss and difficulty learning. Yet little is known about the mechanisms of cognitive impairments like these, commonly called brain fog. 

In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified a mechanism that causes neurological problems in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19. The researchers also found a treatment that helped prevent these changes. Sarah Lutz, assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology in the College of Medicine, led the research, which was published in the journal Brain.

The team focused on the blood-brain barrier, which plays a role in other neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. Normally, this barrier protects the brain from potentially harmful cells or molecules circulating in the bloodstream. But the infected mice, researchers found, had leaky blood-brain barrier vessels and impaired memory or learning.

To understand why, the researchers looked at blood vessels from the brains of infected mice to see which genes were most altered. They found a significant decrease in a signaling pathway called Wnt/beta-catenin, which helps maintain the health of the blood-brain barrier and protects the brain from damage.

New reactor could save millions when making ingredients for plastics and rubber from natural gas

Illustration Credit: Courtesy of University of Michigan / Department of Chemical Engineering

A new way to make an important ingredient for plastics, adhesives, carpet fibers, household cleaners and more from natural gas could reduce manufacturing costs in a post-petroleum economy by millions of dollars, thanks to a new chemical reactor designed by University of Michigan engineers.

The reactor creates propylene, a workhorse chemical that is also used to make a long list of industrial chemicals, including ingredients for nitrile rubber found in automotive hoses and seals as well as blue protective gloves. Most propylene used today comes from oil refineries, which collect it as a byproduct of refining crude oil into gasoline.

As oil and gasoline fall out of vogue in favor of natural gas, solar, and wind energy, production of propylene and other oil-derived products could fall below the current demand without new ways to make them.

Natural gas extracted from shale holds one potential alternative to propylene sourced from crude oil. It’s rich in propane, which resembles propylene closely enough to be a promising precursor material, but current methods to make propylene from natural gas are still too inefficient to bridge the gap in supply and demand.

“It’s very hard to economically convert propane into propylene,” said Suljo Linic, the Martin Lewis Perl Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering and the corresponding author of the study published in Science.

New vaccine against a highly fatal tropical disease – and potential bioterror weapon – demonstrates efficacy in animal studies

Burkholderia pseudomallei infecting a human cell. The bacteria (red) are polymerizing actin (green).
 Photo Credit: Courtesy of Christopher T. French.

In a mouse study, UCLA researchers tested a vaccine against the bacterium that causes melioidosis and found it was highly protective against the disease, which is endemic in many tropical areas, causing approximately 165,000 cases with 89,000 fatalities around the world each year. 

The bacterium, called Burkholderia pseudomallei, is spread through contact with contaminated soil and water through inhalation, ingestion or broken skin. It is so dangerous that it is categorized as a Tier 1 Select Agent of bioterrorism, and it can cause rapidly fatal pneumonia when inhaled in low doses. If aerosolized and unleashed in a terror attack, it could lead to widespread death.

To date there are no licensed vaccines against the bacterium, said senior author Dr. Marcus Horwitz, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, in the division of infectious diseases, and of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

“A safe and effective vaccine is needed to prevent this disease as melioidosis is often difficult to diagnose, requires very lengthy treatment lasting three to six months, and has a high fatality rate even in high resource settings,” Horwitz said. “Such a vaccine would be of great benefit to people living in endemic regions, travelers, and military personnel stationed in these areas, and it would also reduce the risk from an intentional release of B. pseudomallei in a bioterrorist attack.” 

Scientists uncover evidence that microplastics are contaminating archaeological remains

The study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types across both contemporary and archived samples.
PHoto Credit: York Archaeology

Researchers have for the first-time discovered evidence of microplastic contamination in archaeological soil samples.

The study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types across both contemporary and archived samples. Pic credit: York Archaeology

The team discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than seven meters deep, in samples dating back to the first or early second century and excavated in the late 1980s.

Tiny particles

Preserving archaeology in situ has been the preferred approach to managing historical sites for a generation. However, the research team say the findings could prompt a rethink, with the tiny particles potentially compromising the preserved remains.

Microplastics are small plastic particles, ranging from 1μm (one thousandth of a millimeter) to 5mm. They come from a wide range of sources, from larger plastic pieces that have broken apart, or resin pellets used in plastic manufacturing which were frequently used in beauty products up until around 2020.

Climate change disrupts vital ecosystems in the Alps

Photo Credit: Samuel Walker

Reduced snow cover and shifting vegetation patterns in the Alps, both driven by climate change, are having major combined impacts on biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems in the high mountains, according to new research published today.

Mountain ranges covering vast areas of the world are warming much faster than surrounding lowland areas, triggering huge reductions in snow cover and rapid upward movement of dwarf-shrubs, such as heather.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have found that these changes are disrupting the timing of crucial alpine ecosystem functions performed by plants and soil microorganisms.

The research, published today in the journal Global Change Biology and funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, shows that high mountain ecosystems may be less capable of retaining the important nutrients needed to sustain plant growth and maintain biodiversity in these harsh environments.

Millions are at risk using high arsenic water for cooking

Rice is one of the major cereal crops in the world, contributing to the dietary energy and nutrition of more than half of the world's population.
Photo Credit: Eduardo Prim

The use of water contaminated with higher than recommended levels of arsenic could pose a serious health risk to millions, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.

Around 32 per cent of the world's population live in countries that do not adhere to the World Health Organization's recommendations on safe limits of arsenic in drinking water

Rice is already known to contain more inorganic arsenic than other cereals

Cooking rice with water containing more than 10 µg L-1 (parts per billion) inorganic arsenic amplifies the risk of arsenic exposure

Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic in water can cause serious health problems such as cancers, diabetes and pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases

Rice is one of the major cereal crops in the world, contributing to the dietary energy and nutrition of more than half of the world's population

The use of water contaminated with higher than recommended levels of arsenic could pose a serious health risk to millions, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.