Helping farmers, boosting biofuels

Doug Collins and Teal Potter, co-authors on the new paper, stand in a field of triticale. The cover crop was grown to study its viability as a biofuel source.
Photo Credit: Chad Kruger/WSU

New research has found cover crops that are viable in Washington’s normal “off season” don’t hurt the soil and can be sold as a biofuel source.

After harvest, farmland often sits fallow and unused until growers seed in the next crop. Soil can erode, weeds can take root, and farmers don’t make any money during that time. Cover crops can eliminate or reduce some of those issues, but many farmers have concerns about their effects on soil quality, a reduced growing window for their primary crop, and the inability to sell the cover crop.

In a paper recently published in the journal Biomass and Bioenergy, a team led by Washington State University scientists looked at four cover crops grown for multiple years in western and central Washington fields. Two showed promising results.

“Molecular bodyguard” helps infections persist

Joram Waititu and Kemal Avican working together in the Avican Lab at the Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University.
Photo Credit: Gabrielle Beans

Researchers at Umeå University have identified a key molecular player that helps bacteria survive the hostile environment inside the body. Their study reveals how the protein RfaH acts as a protective shield for bacterial genes — and points to new strategies for fighting persistent infections.

“The human body is a very stressful place for bacteria,” says Kemal Avican research group leader at Department of Molecular Biology and Icelab at Umeå University and leader of the study. “During infection, the immune system attacks, nutrients are scarce, and microbes are exposed to bile salts, acids and heat. We looked at how RfaH helps bacteria deal with that stress by turning on the right survival genes at the right time.”

Persistent bacterial infections pose a major challenge in medicine: bacteria can linger in the body long after acute symptoms fade, evading immune defenses and surviving antibiotic treatment. In diseases like tuberculosis, this leads to relapse and makes treatment difficult.

Combination of pre- and probiotics offers superior anti-inflammatory benefits compared with omega-3 or prebiotic alone

Photo Credit: Cosmin Ursea

A new study, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has found that combining certain types of dietary supplements is more effective than single prebiotics or omega-3 in supporting immune and metabolic health, which could lower the risk of conditions linked to chronic inflammation.

The findings of the study, which are published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, show that a synbiotic - a combination of naturally fermented kefir and a diverse prebiotic fiber mix - produces the most powerful anti-inflammatory effects among the three common dietary supplements tested.

The kefir and prebiotic mix were provided by Chuckling Goat Ltd. It contains a mx of naturally occurring probiotic bacteria and yeasts, which form during the traditional fermentation of goat’s milk with live kefir grains. These grains are living cultures that house dozens of beneficial microbial species.

Why women's brains face higher risk: scientists pinpoint X-chromosome gene behind MS and Alzheimer's

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated

New research by UCLA Health has identified a sex-chromosome linked gene that drives inflammation in the female brain, offering insight into why women are disproportionately affected by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis as well as offering a potential target for intervention. 

The study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, used a mouse model of multiple sclerosis to identify a gene on the X chromosome that drives inflammation in brain immune cells, known as microglia. Because females have two X chromosomes, as opposed to only one in males, they get a “double dose” of inflammation, which plays a major role in aging, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis.  

When the gene, known as Kdm6a, and its associated protein were deactivated, the multiple sclerosis-like disease and neuropathology were both ameliorated with high significance in female mice.  

Locking carbon in trees and soils could ‘stabilize climate for centuries’ – but only if combined with underground storage

Photo Credit: Veronica Lorine

Research on a ‘portfolio approach’ to carbon removal enables firms to mix expensive tech-based solutions that inject carbon deep underground with lower-cost and currently more available nature-based options, such as forests and biochar. 

A team of researchers, led by Cambridge University, has now formulated a method to assess whether carbon removal portfolios can help limit global warming over centuries.

The approach also distinguishes between buying credits to offset risk versus claiming net-negative emissions.

The study paves the way for nature-based carbon removal projects – such as planting new forests or restoring existing ones – to become effective climate change solutions when balanced with a portfolio of other removal techniques, according to researchers.

They say the findings, published in the journal Joule, show how nature-based and technology-based carbon storage solutions can work together through the transition to net zero, challenging the notion that only permanent tech-based “geological storage” can effectively tackle climate change.

Did Lead Limit Brain and Language Development in Neanderthals and Other Extinct Hominids?

UC San Diego researchers have found high levels of lead in the teeth of both Neanderthals (left) and modern humans (right). However, a gene mutation may have protected modern human brains, allowing language to flourish.
Photo Credit: Kyle Dykes/UC San Diego Health Sciences

Ancient human relatives were exposed to lead up to two million years ago, according to a new study. However, a gene mutation may have protected modern human brains, allowing language to flourish.

What set the modern human brain apart from our now extinct relatives like Neanderthals? A new study by University of California San Diego School of Medicine and an international team of researchers reveals that ancient hominids — including early humans and great apes — were exposed to lead earlier than previously thought, up to two million years before modern humans began mining the metal. This exposure may have shaped the evolution of hominid brains, limiting language and social development in all but modern humans due to a protective genetic variant that only we carry. The study was published in Science Advances.

The researchers analyzed fossilized teeth from 51 hominids across Africa, Asia and Europe, including modern and archaic humans such as Neanderthals, ancient human ancestors like Australopithecus africanus, and extinct great apes such as Gigantopithecus blacki.

Researchers uncover possible new treatment to target a devastating childhood brain cancer

Professor Peter Lewis
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Wisconsin–Madison

Using fruit flies, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed a new model for investigating the genetic drivers of a rare but aggressive brain tumor in children. The work has already identified potential treatment targets for the deadly cancer that has previously had few therapeutic options.

“Right now, these tumors are incurable, and the standard of care hasn’t changed for 30 years,” says Peter Lewis, a professor in the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry.

The cancer is called pediatric diffuse midline glioma. As its name suggests, the malignancy arises along the midline of the brain or spinal cord and infiltrates surrounding tissue in a way that makes it impossible to remove with surgery. Instead, typical treatment revolves around radiation therapy, and that extends a patient’s life by just months or at most a few years.

Professor Peter Lewis: “What we found might extend well beyond these very rare childhood tumors into more common ones.”

The limited treatment options have driven researchers to more closely examine the genetic mutations that cause the cancer to develop in the first place, with an eye on finding ways to disrupt that process. 

In the case of diffuse midline glioma, previous research identified mutations in certain DNA-packaging proteins as a likely culprit.

African Wildlife Poop Sheds Light on What Shapes the Gut Ecosystem

Photo Credit: James C. Beasley

A study of elephants, giraffes and other wildlife in Namibia’s Etosha National Park underscores the ways in which the environment, biological sex, and anatomical distinctions can drive variation in the gut microbiomes across plant-eating species. Because the gut microbiome plays a critical role in animal health, the work can be used to inform conservation efforts.

“This study is valuable because Etosha gave us the opportunity to sample such a large number of species under different environmental conditions,” says Erin McKenney, co-author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State University. “That gives us meaningful insight into the role the environment plays in shaping the gut microbiome of herbivores.

“Unfortunately, this study may also be important for a second reason,” McKenney says. “Etosha is experiencing devastating wildfires affecting a huge section of the park. Because our samples were taken before the wildfires, these findings could inform recovery efforts by helping us understand how species’ microbiomes are adjusting to changes in diet that stem from the fire’s impact on the landscape.”

Major new study discovers diet and migratory behavior shape neophobia

Flamingos were one of the species to exhibit the highest neophobia.
Photo Credit: Jeffrey Hamilton

The largest-ever study on neophobia, or fear of novelty, has discovered the key reasons why some bird species are more fearful of new things than others.

Published in the journal PLOS Biology, the global multi-species study was led by the University of Exeter’s Dr Rachael Miller while at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), and the University of Cambridge – with ARU funding the publication of the research – alongside a core leadership team from the ManyBirds Project.

Neophobia plays a crucial role in how animals balance risk and opportunity. While caution can protect individuals from potential threats, it can also limit their ability to adapt to new nesting sites, foods or changes in the environment.

The research involved 129 collaborators from 82 institutions. Testing, and other associated research tasks, took place in 24 countries across six continents – including lab, field and zoo sites – and investigated why some birds are more cautious than others when encountering unfamiliar objects when feeding.

Checkpoint Inhibitor Promotes Tissue Repair

The illustration shows the mechanism of action of immune checkpoint inhibitors: antibodies (yellow) activate T cells (blue) enabling them to recognize and attack tumor cells (purple) more effectively. At the same time, checkpoint inhibitors accelerate tissue healing.
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated

The body employs a protective mechanism that curbs overzealous immune responses. Known as checkpoint inhibitors, this natural braking system is located on the surface of certain immune cells. Cancer therapy often disables these inhibitors so that the immune system can fight tumor cells more effectively.

Previous observations showed that one of these inhibitors, known as TIGIT, provides a certain level of protection against tissue damage in mice infected with viruses. “We suspected that TIGIT also has something to do with tissue repair. However, the underlying mechanisms were completely unknown until now,” says Nicole Joller, Professor of Immunology at the Department of Quantitative Biomedicine at the University of Zurich (UZH). Joller’s team recently identified the signaling pathway that TIGIT uses to promote tissue repair.