2.19 Intellectual The Intellectual
Keep up to date with cutting-edge progress
Take control of the week's major tech news in one hand
Written by | Wang Shuo Oil Wheat Vegetable Kanamycin
Editor-in-charge | Yu Qi
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1
Fossil evidence suggests that dinosaurs may have died of a "cold"
Colds are almost everyone's got, so would prehistoric behemoths like dinosaurs suffer from similar respiratory diseases? The study, published Feb. 10 in Science Reports, said they found evidence for the first time of respiratory infections in dinosaurs that lived 150 million years ago. They studied fossils of Dolly, a diplodocus excavated in Montana, and found that they exhibited unusual skeletal protrusions, and that these bulges were located in the location of "air sacs," which in turn were part of the lungs of dinosaurs. And CT images show that this particular bone protrusion is very similar to the bone changes after infection with a respiratory virus. That said, symptoms like our cough, poor breathing, and fever after a cold are also likely to occur in dinosaurs. Although it is not yet possible to confirm the specific cause of the sensation, this is the first fossil evidence of a dinosaur respiratory infection, and it allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the disease that plagues these "big lizards". Images & Article Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05761-3
2
In order to heal their wounds, chimpanzees used insects as plasters
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Do animals also treat themselves? Previous studies have found this phenomenon in animal groups, such as bears, elephants, and great apes. However, it is usually treated with plants, and I have never seen a wound healed with insects. An article published Feb. 7 in Contemporary Biology found for the first time that chimpanzees could use insects to treat their own wounds and those of their kind. Since 2019, when an adult female chimpanzee was first discovered to catch an insect, rub it and crush it on her son's wound, the team continued to make observations for up to 2 years, observing 19 times that different chimpanzees would heal their wounds with insects. Not only that, but they also found that different chimpanzees used insects to help their counterparts treat, which also provided more evidence of prosocial behavior in non-human species. Links to videos and articles:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.12.045
3
China has successfully developed a new type of gene-edited wheat, which is disease-resistant and highly productive
Image source: pixabay wheat as a major food crop, its plant diseases and yields have been a high concern. Wheat powdery mildew is a major wheat disease, which not only seriously affects the quality and yield of wheat, but also endangers world food security.
Recently, a team from the Institute of Microbiology and the Institute of Genetics and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences used gene editing technology to cultivate a new wheat germplasm that is resistant to powdery mildew and has high yields. As early as 2014, the team used gene editing technology to obtain wheat mutants that were resistant to powdery mildew but had negative phenotypes such as premature aging, plant dwarfing, and yield decline. Subsequently, through 8 years of collaborative research, they used CRISPR gene editing technology to screen and breed new wheat that was both disease-resistant and yield-win. The wheat not only has broad-spectrum powdery mildew resistance, but also yield and growth are not affected. At the same time, they analyzed the molecular mechanisms of wheat disease resistance and overcoming various negative phenotypes, which provided new research ideas and directions for gene editing technology to cultivate disease-resistant and high-yield crops.
Article links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04395-9
4
The first "heart fish" was introduced, which can swim automatically for 108 days!
Image credit: Michael Rosnach, Keel Yong Lee, Sung-Jin Park, Kevin Kit Parker
Human cardiomyocytes are able to contract rhythmically and repeatedly, while the tail of a fish can advance in the water by swinging back and forth. A research team from Harvard University in the United States combined it perfectly. Using human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, they developed the first artificial fish that could swim autonomously. The results were recently published in the journal Science. The team assembled two cardiomyocytes on either side of the artificial fish body composed of plastic, paper and gelatin, and installed an autonomous pace pacing node that controls the frequency and rhythm of contraction of the cardiomyocytes on both sides, allowing the artificial fish to swim quickly and autonomously in the nutrient solution for at least 108 days. This achievement not only provides new ideas for the treatment of arrhythmias, but also lays the foundation for the further development of artificial hearts for humans. Article links:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh0474
5
Fudan University has developed a new technology to achieve 4-minute accurate micro-detection of the new crown
Image source: pixabay With the covid-19 pandemic, accurate biometric detection methods are particularly important. In particular, there are still significant challenges in detecting trace amounts of analytes of interest in samples (1 to 10 copies in 100 microliters). Simple, fast and precise nucleic acid testing methods will greatly help slow the rapid spread of the virus. Recently, a research team from Fudan University reported a fast and ultra-sensitive electromechanical detection molecular system. The molecular system can be used for the specific detection of unamplified metal ions, proteins, biological small molecules, and new coronavirus nucleic acids in biological samples, and 1 to 2 copies can be detected in 100 microliters. This method can directly detect SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids that have not been amplified in nasopharyngeal swab samples, especially in CLINICAL SAMPLEs with COVID-19, with a detection time of about 0.1-4 minutes, without the need for RNA extraction and amplification procedures. The team integrated the electromechanical biosensors used to detect SARS-CoV-2 into a portable device that allows it to perform on-site and on-the-spot detection at the airport, outdoors, and even at home. In addition, the detection system can also make rapid and accurate diagnosis of other diseases in a few minutes, which is of great significance for the diagnosis of large-scale epidemics in the current new crown background. Article links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-021-00833-7
6
AI drives a car and easily surpasses the world's top drivers
Despite the growing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI), many potential applications of AI require real-time decisions to be made in physical systems while interacting with humans. Racing is one of the most typical examples of this type of application. Racers need to perform complex tactics to stop or overtake their opponents while also maneuvering the car in extreme conditions.
In a recent paper published in Nature, it was reported that an AI agent called Gran Turismo Sophy (GT Sophy) defeated the world's champion human player in the PlayStation racing game Gran Turismo Sport through deep reinforcement learning. Using deep reinforcement learning, the research team trained GT Sophy to master high-speed control tactics in different scenarios in racing and learn how to overtake or stop opponents without foul play. In the end, GT Sophy won the match against gt Sport's four of the world's top drivers. This finding can not only be used to improve the simulation training of racers, but also provide an important reference for drones and self-driving car systems.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04357-7.
Plate editor| Ginger Duck