Finishing | Zhou Shuyi
Alzheimer's disease is contagious, and there have been five cases of iatrogenic transmission
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system of unknown etiology and is the main subtype of Alzheimer's disease. A study published Jan. 29 by Nature Medicine showed that five cases of childhood treatment with cadaver-derived human pituitary growth hormone (c-hGH) developed early-onset progressive cognitive impairment that met diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease, which may be transmitted by iatrogenic transmission.
Between 1959 and 1985, at least 1,848 patients in the UK were treated for c-hGH, of whom 80 developed fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease due to prion contamination with c-hGH. This treatment has led to more than 200 cases of iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease worldwide and has since been halted by many countries. Previous studies have shown that some c-hGH samples have also been contaminated with β amyloid, and in some cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease treated with c-hGH, pathological features of β amyloid have also been detected.
In one of the patients, imaging of the brain showed relevant pathological features Source: John Collinge et al.
The researchers investigated 8 British people who had been treated with c-hGH as children, and they did not have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but 5 of them developed symptoms consistent with early-onset dementia (symptoms appeared at the age of 38~55 years), which met the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease. Genetic testing ruled out genetic causes, and further testing revealed the presence of β amyloid deposition, a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease, in the brain. Experiments in mice have shown that misfolded β amyloid is infectious like a prion and can be used as a "seed" to induce related pathologies in living brains. It is thought that c-hGH is contaminated with β amyloid, triggering a long-term pathogenic cascade that eventually leads to Alzheimer's disease. Experts stressed that the route of transmission found in the study is very rare, and there is currently no evidence that AD is transmitted through daily contact. More caution should be exercised in the preparation of surgical instruments, the handling of tissues, and the use of therapeutic biologics, particularly those of human origin. The new research will also help to understand the early pathogenesis of AD and provide corresponding prevention strategies.
Paper Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02729-2
Musk announced that Neuralink has completed the first human brain chip implantation
American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced on social media X on January 30 that his brain-computer interface company Neuralink carried out the first human transplant of a brain-computer interface device on the 29th, and the subjects are now recovering well; preliminary results show that neuronal activity signal detection is "promising".
Tele others | Related: 2015: 2016: 2016: 2017: 2017: 2017: 2017
Musk said in a follow-up tweet that the first implant was called "Telepathy" and that "just thinking can manipulate your phone or computer and use them to control almost any device." The initial users will be those who have lost the function of their limbs. "The transplant involves opening the skull, and then the surgical robot implants the implant into the brain area. Telepathy records neural activity through 1,024 electrodes distributed across 64 silk threads, which are processed by the chip and wirelessly transmitted to a specialized application that decodes the data stream into actions and intentions. The microneedles are only 10 to 12 microns in diameter, slightly larger than the diameter of red blood cells, to reduce damage to the cerebral cortex.
Founded in 2016, Neuralink focuses on the research and development of implantable brain-computer interface devices. The company said the device, which can read signals of neural activity when implanted in the brain, is expected to be used to treat cervical spinal cord injuries, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurological conditions, and help paralyzed people regain the ability to communicate with the outside world and even walk again. In May last year, Neuralink received approval from the US FDA to initiate human clinical trials of brain implant devices. In September of the same year, the company began recruiting volunteers for clinical trials. Reuters reported in December 2022 that Neuralink's animal experiments had led to the death of about 1,500 animals, including sheep, pigs and monkeys. In July 2023, the head of the USDA said that the company had not been found to have violated animal research regulations. （Neuralink, Reuters）
The frog kicks its legs upwards to scare away competitors
For most male frogs, a croaking can threaten a potential rival, saying "don't touch my girlfriend." But when rushing streams and waterfalls drown out these warnings, they have to look elsewhere. At the recent annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, researchers introduced that more than 40 species of frogs that live in noisy environments will stick their hind legs upwards to warn competitors.
Two small rock frogs (Micrixalus elegans) face each other SOURCE: MATTHEW FUXJAGER [PLEASE GO TO "BACK TO PARK" TO WATCH THE VIDEO]
Researchers speculate that this leg kick is likely mimicking the behavior of predators. In the eyes of frogs, most prey grows horizontally (e.g., worms), while predators attack vertically (e.g., humans reach out to grab them). As a result, frogs tend to attack lateral objects and retreat against vertical objects.
In many vertebrates, high levels of testosterone are associated with more aggressive territorial behavior. For example, toads with higher testosterone levels tend to have louder calls. To test their hypothesis, the researchers injected testosterone into the abdomen of Borneo rock frogs (Staurois parvus), which raised their hind legs higher and more structured. This suggests that "kicking up" is closely related to territorial behavior.
The black-eyed toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) chases the transverse bands, but ignores and avoids the vertical bands SOURCE: EVAN DONNACHIE [PLEASE GO TO "BACK TO PARK" TO WATCH THE VIDEO]
Not all competitors will be scared off by this trick, though. The researchers showed frogs rectangular strips in different orientations on the screen to test their reactions. The results showed that all frogs would attempt to attack the transverse bands. Frogs that don't "kick up" stiffen or move away from the vertical strip as if threatened, while those that learn to kick have a mixed reaction: some freeze and others attack the bar indiscriminately. The researchers pointed out that during the confrontation, some of the males had apparently eaten the marrow and realized that the other was just bluffing.
In addition, as more and more males ignore such warnings, scare tactics are becoming more outrageous: some frogs will raise their legs higher, while others choose to kick out both at the same time. （Science News）
The Japanese lunar probe woke up briefly and then went back to hibernation
On January 19, Beijing time, the small lunar landing probe SLIM launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed on the surface of the moon. However, due to the anomaly of the propulsion system, the probe was in an "upside-down" posture after landing, and the solar panels could not receive enough sunlight, and the system went into hibernation on the 20th through ground commands. Due to the changing direction of sunlight hitting the lunar surface, the probe "woke up" on the evening of the 28th, resumed power generation and established a communication connection with the ground.
On February 1, JAXA announced that after a brief awakening, SLIM was unable to use solar power due to a "sunset" at the landing site, and entered a dormant state again, and is expected to try to restart work in mid-to-late February when the solar panels receive sunlight. It is reported that the team sent a command to the probe to turn on the power on the evening of January 31, but the probe did not respond, thus confirming that it had entered a dormant state.
SLIM'S LAST PHOTO TAKEN BEFORE DARK.| Source: JAXA
According to reports, SLIM needs to survive the long night of 14.5 Earth days, and usher in suitable light and temperature conditions around February 15 before it can start working again. During this period, the surface temperature of the moon will drop to about minus 170 degrees Celsius. The SLIM was not designed with the harsh conditions of the lunar surface at night, and it is unknown whether it will be able to "wake up" the probe in such cold conditions that many electronic devices can be damaged. （JAXA）
Harvard Medical School professor accused of academic misconduct
On February 1, Elisabeth Bik, a well-known academic anti-counterfeiter, published a blog post on the Science Integrity Digest website, exposing 28 papers under the name of Khalid Shah, associate director of neurosurgery research at Baihan and Women's Hospital, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a top neuroscientist, suspected of academic misconduct, with problems of falsified data, image tampering, and misappropriation.
On the left is the PLOS ONE paper published by Elrod et al. at Emory University School of Medicine in 2010, showing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissue, and on the right is Shah's 2022 Nat. Commun. paper, picture shown as glioblastoma tissue. Matching images are marked with red and green boxes, respectively Photo credit: Elisabeth Bik
The papers, which were published between 2001 and 2023, include "Target receptor identification and subsequent treatment of resected brain tumors with encapsulated and engineered allogeneic stem cells," Baker said in the blog post The study was published in Nature Communications on May 19, 2022, with Shah listed as corresponding author. Through AI software comparison, Vick found that many of the images in the paper were very similar to the pictures in the previous paper, with two images each in Figure 1e and Figure 1f, and nine images in Supplementary Figure 4b matching the pictures of other research teams, and these papers were not related to the study. Vick noted that other papers were published earlier, with less cropping and higher resolution, indicating that they were original sources. The image search showed that 3 images matched those provided by the supplier of the lab consumables and reagents. The person in charge confirmed that the pictures were made in-house by the company and were not authorized for Shah's use. In addition, there is also a problem with image reuse in Supplementary Figure 5a, and the number of problematic images in the text is 17 in total. No similar situation was found in the remaining 27 articles, but there were also different degrees of image reuse problems.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Shah declined to comment on the allegations. Paul Anderson, chief academic officer at Mass General Brigham, the health system that is part of Baihan and the Women's Hospital, said any allegations of research integrity would be handled through a "robust and confidential process." A number of journals, including Nature Communications, responded that they had received reports from Bakery and were reviewing them.
Shah is committed to developing novel therapies for malignant brain tumors (glioblastoma) through stem cells and gene editing. According to public information, he is the co-author of more than 100 papers in the field of molecular biology and cancer, founded two biotechnology companies, and holds more than 10 patents, and his research funding mainly comes from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, totaling millions of dollars.
Vick: https://scienceintegritydigest.com/2024/02/01/problems-in-harvard-medical-school-studies-include-images-taken-from-other-researchers-papers-and-vendor-websites/#more-3509
Pregnancy dramatically alters the metabolic processes of the organs
During pregnancy, the pregnant woman's body will undergo a series of adaptive changes such as heart remodeling and liver enlargement. However, the specific changes in tissue and organ metabolism at the molecular level are not clear. In a study published in Cell on February 1, researchers constructed a metabolomic map of 273 samples of 23 tissues and organs of cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) in non-gestation and different stages of pregnancy, revealing the dynamic evolution of metabolic networks, metabolic pathway adaptation and key adaptive metabolites of cynomolgus monkeys during pregnancy.
Non-human primates are highly similar to humans in terms of physiology, reproductive characteristics, and gestation cycles, and are ideal animal models to study the pregnancy adaptation of primate mothers to multiple tissues and organs. The researchers analyzed the non-targeted metabolome of 273 samples from 23 tissues and organs of cynomolgus monkeys in the non-gestation, first-trimester, second-trimester and third-trimester periods, and the correlation analysis of metabolome data showed that compared with the non-gestational period, the metabolome correlation between the 23 tissues and organs decreased with the progression of pregnancy, and reached a highly decoupled state in the third trimester. The researchers identified eight core metabolic pathways (including steroid production, glutamate metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, purine metabolism, porphyrin metabolism, bile acid biosynthesis, pyrimidine metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism) that were significantly altered in a variety of tissues and organs during pregnancy. Multiple-of-difference analysis showed that 91 kinds of differential metabolites were shared by 23 tissues and organs. The above results show that the primate mother undergoes great metabolic disruption and challenge during pregnancy, and metabolic reprogramming occurs in a variety of tissues and organs.
Link to paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.043
Discovery of a new type of solar radio radiation
A recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal has identified a new class of solar radio bursts that are distinctly different from Type II and Type III radio bursts—solar solitary wave radiation. The new study is expected to provide a powerful new means for detecting the "meta-process" of solar atmospheric magnetic plasma activity on the scale of particle dynamics.
Based on the observations of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) at a distance of about 1/6 AU from the Sun, the researchers found that there were a large number of small-scale weak radio radiation sources in an open, low-density magnetic channel. The duration of these small-scale radiation sources is on the order of minutes, the frequency of radiation varies from 10 MHz to 0.1 MHz, and the radiation intensity is relatively weak, which has attenuated to the point of being difficult to detect at 1 AU. The dynamic spectrum shows the characteristics of strong evolution, and the relative frequency drift decreases from greater than 1% per second at the high frequency end to less than 1% per second at the low frequency end. Combined with the Sun-atmosphere model, the researchers analyzed the radiation mechanism and dynamic evolution behavior of this new type of radio burst. The results show that the radiation source region is mainly located in the high coronal region with a solar radius of 1.1 to 6.1 solar radius, which belongs to the transition zone from corona to solar wind, and is a typical acceleration region of solar wind. At the same time, the cyclotron pulses of the dynamic Alvin solitary wave and its captured accelerating electrons in this region can explain the radiation mechanism of such radio bursts and the strong evolution behavior of their kinetic spectra in a self-consistent manner.
Paper Links:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0e65
This article is supported by the Science China Star Program
Producer: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology
Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd
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