This Week In Science

I like hoe nelsom mandela is almost inexplicably floating near the bottom. And jupiter's vastness was already pretty incomprehensible. But a planet 11 times its size? I would think it would have enough mass and gravitaty to have ignited into a star. Maybe one day....

Organs and tissues can become decullularized after exposure to ordinary detergents over the course of a few days because the soaps disrupt the cellular membranes, which can then be rinsed clear of the supportive tissue. A series of chemicals are then used to make sure that all cells have been eliminated, leaving only a scaffold of cartilage and collagen. A patient’s stem cells are then coated over the structure and are given growth factors to help them grow and differentiate into the desired cells and the organ is complete for transplant, with no fear of rejection.

This technique is still emerging and has plenty of obstacles, but it holds a great deal of promise. Researchers and physicians hope that in the future this will alleviate strain on those in need of a new organ. In the US, there are currently over 114,000 people waiting on a transplant list, and about 18 of them die every day while waiting for the lifesaving call. Only about 10% of the organs needed are donated each year.

In the meantime, there are other options. Portions of pig organs, particularly hearts, have been used in transplants. Rejection can be high due to a sugar molecule that is not welcomed by our immune systems. This is getting better due to genetic modification of the pigs and medications that suppress the immune response.

It typically takes about 65 million years to convert plant material into crude oil - but now a new process has dramatically reduced the amount of time necessary and can get the job done in about an hour. This is accomplished at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which is run by the Department of Energy. The results were published in Algal Research.

The process begins with a slurry of algae and water. It looks a lot like pea soup and has a similar consistency as well. The slurry is dumped into the reactor which exposes it to high levels of heat, reaching up to 662 degrees F (350 degrees C) and pressure up to 3000 PSI. These parameters are used in order to simulate conditions of being beneath the Earth’s surface for millions of years. Less than an hour later, the algae has been completely changed into a dark mixture of crude oil, water, and byproducts that can be recycled back into the manufacturing process.

Once the crude oil has been isolated, the team can use traditional refining techniques to make gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The byproducts are mostly potassium and nitrogen, which are turned back to the earliest parts of the process by feeding more algae.

Algae has been the focus of a source for biofuel for a long time, but the success from PNNL comes from their ability to streamline the operation and use wet algae, instead of incurring the expense of having to dry the algae first. Drying algae is expensive and time consuming, so eliminating that step is one of the biggest marks of success of this technique. Additionally, creating useful byproducts of water and fertilizer allows the team to recycle as much material as possible, which both minimizes waste and reduces costs of materials on the front end.

While this process certainly streamlines the traditional process of having to drill for oil in the ground, it is more expensive and currently less efficient than regular methods. This isn’t too surprising, given that most new technologies begin the same way. In order to try to cut costs, this technique has been licensed out to a biofuel company named Genifuel Corporation in the hopes that they will build a plant to make the biocrude on a much larger scale.
- See more at: http://www.iflscience.com/chemistry/new-process-converts-algae-crude-oil-less-hour#sthash.8bilvuTc.dpuf



http://www.iflscience.com/chemistry/new-process-converts-algae-crude-oil-less-hour

Things like Botox, hand creams, and hair dye exist to prolong the appearance of youth - but what if it could actually be achieved at the cellular level? A collaboration of researchers from the United States and Australia might have done just that. A regular metabolic compound that has been administered to mice has been shown to not just boost muscle function, but actually reverse the affects of aging. The research was led by David Sinclair of the University of New South Wales and the results have been published in the journal Cell.

A normal part of human aging involves senescence, which is a general wearing out of the body over time. Muscles begin to lose tone and become inflamed over time, and they also can develop insulin resistance. Without being able to use insulin, the cells aren’t able to uptake the glucose needed for activity. These problems contribute to why many elderly people have trouble getting around and athletes aren’t able to sustain certain levels of activity as they age.

A regular metabolic coenzyme known as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) was administered to mice in hopes that it would slow the aging of skeletal muscle. The researchers were shocked to find that it didn’t slow aging; it dramatically reversed it. In under a week, the mice who had previously been suffering from a variety of age-related impairments experienced an increase in muscle tone, as if they had been exercising and following a healthy diet. In some regards, the compound acted like the proverbial fountain of youth.

The secret to reversing aging, as it turns out, is hidden in the mitochondria. In humans and most other species, mitochondrial DNA is passed down only by the mother. These genes are responsible for becoming the cellular powerhouse and generating ATP, which cells use for energy. The team discovered that, over time, genes from the mitochondrial genome stop interacting with genes from the nuclear genome. Administering NAD+ reverses this trend and encourages communication.

NAD+ is involved in redox reactions, which regulate electron transfer in metabolic processes. As the mice grew older and less active, their levels of NAD+ had basically been cut in half. By replenishing this critical compound in the mice, their muscles had been rejuvenated. The natural process that deteriorates skeletal muscle is the same one that affects the heart.

Human trials of NAD+ treatments will begin in 2014. If the results are anything like what was experienced by the mice, it will be the equivalent of a 60 year old having the fitness of a 20 year old. However, the treatments will not be cheap. In order to gather enough patients to do the study properly, millions of dollars will need to be raised. Though there is no telling how long it will be before this treatment hits the market, Dr. Sinclair has established a company to expedite the process if and when it is granted approval.
- See more at: http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/anti-aging-formula-slated-begin-human-trials#sthash.dOBmhOlH.dpuf

I actually have my apprentices do a couple of lessons on mitochondria...

Researchers have shot out and arranged two types of neurons from the retina of rats using an inkjet printer. The demonstration marks another advance in the march toward custom-made tissues. “Although our results are preliminary and much more work is still required, the aim is to develop this technology for use in retinal repair in the future,” co-authors Keith Martin and Barbara Lorber from the University of Cambridge said in a press release.

Printing the cells allows tight control over the arrangement of the neurons, an important step in developing a tissue graft. The research team showed that after printing, the cells remained in good shape. For instance, printed retinal ganglion cells and glia were just as likely to survive as non-printed cells, the authors reported in Biofabrication this month (December 17).

Jim Bainbridge of London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital told the BBC: “The finding that eye cells can survive the printing process suggests the exciting possibility that this technique could be used in the future to create organised tissues for regeneration of the eye and restoration of sight.”

The authors said they’d like to explore the possibility of printing photoreceptors and other types of cells. “In addition, we would like to further develop our printing process to be suitable for commercial, multi-nozzle print heads,” said Martin.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/38736/title/Retinal-Cells-Printed-by-Inkjet/

I really like this thread! I have spent time looking in to each thing I can and have seen some pretty cool stuff. I just wanted to say thank you for starting it.

What can your building do? This latticework exterior on a surgery building in Mexico City has the ability to react with smog, breaking it down into smaller, safer substances. Intense traffic there is putting the new facade to the test.

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Berlin-based design firm Elegant Establishments developed the facade for the Torre de Especialidades building at the Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González. The designers created the facade using tiles called Prosolve370e that contain titanium dioxide, better known as a key ingredient in sunscreen.

When sunlight hits the building tiles, the smog reacts with the material. That reaction causes pollutants to break down into substances that are less noxious such as calcium nitrate, carbon dioxide and water, FastCoExist.com’s Zak Stone reported earlier this year. Curving open-weave tiles help spread those reactions over about 27,000 square feet. The building, which opened in April, is expected to continue breaking down smog well into the future.

“The design is inspired by natural shapes. It’s similar in appearance to corals,” Elegant Establishments co-director Daniel Schwaag told CNN’s Nick Parker recently. The designers say their building can neutralize the impact of the roughly 1,000 vehicles that pass by it daily. It also helps with climate control and light filtration, keeping the hospital’s expenses down.

Pollution in Mexico City was at its most horrifying in 1986, when scores of dead birds dropped out of the sky. Although the air has improved somewhat since then, currently more than 4.5 million cars are registered there and that number keeps growing. Government officials are keen to see how this experimental building facade does since it’s part of a $20 billion investment in Mexico’s health infrastructure.

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One building in a city with so many vehicles — and other sources of air pollution — strikes me as a ridiculously small drop in a very dirty bucket. It also can’t make greenhouse gases magically disappear. But more facades like this, especially around parking garages, could be enough to change the air. And maybe even prevent a few trips to that hospital.

Photo: The exterior of the Torre de Especialidades in Mexico City. Credit: Elegant

THE GIST

- Without any formal training from humans, certain bottlenose dolphins in Brazil are helping fishermen with their catches.

- The dolphins round up the fish and alert fishermen with signals as to when and where nets should be thrown.

- The dolphins that help the fishermen have high cooperation and social skills.

Certain bottlenose dolphins in Laguna, southern Brazil, have apparently taught themselves to work as a team with artisanal fishermen, creating a win-win for both the marine mammals and humans.

A study on the dolphins, published in the latest Royal Society Biology Letters, has found that the most helpful ones also turn out to be particularly cooperative and social with each other, perhaps explaining why some wild dolphins decide of their own free will to work with humans, while others do not.

"Through highly synchronized behavior with humans, cooperative dolphins in Laguna drive mullet schools towards a line of fishermen and 'signal,' via stereotyped head slaps or tail slaps, when and where fishermen should throw their nets," wrote lead author Fabio Daura-Jorge of the Federal University of Santa Catarina.with colleagues.
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The effort is not entirely charitable on the part of the dolphins. Fish that escape the nets often swim right into the mouths of the dolphins, which have learned to wait for that fulfilling moment.

Daura-Jorge and his team conducted boat surveys over a two-year period, collecting photo identification data and other information on the dolphins. Any that teamed up with humans for fishing was classified as "cooperative." The others were classified as "non-cooperative."

The researchers next used computer modeling to identify social relationships among the dolphins. "Cooperative" dolphins turned out to spend more time together, even when not assisting humans. They appeared to have their own social network within the larger local population of bottlenose dolphins.

The scientists suspect that "ecology, genetics and social learning" could be driving and maintaining the wild dolphin subset's unique relationship with humans. Interestingly, the phenomenon seems to mirror how the Brazilian fishermen learn their trade.

"The human side of this dolphin-fishermen interaction is maintained through inter-generational information transfer, that is, teaching by elders, and it is likely that a similar process is used to transmit complex behavioral traits between generations of dolphins, as found in other localized behaviors, such as 'sponging' in Shark Bay, Western Australia," they wrote.