The scent of malaria
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host.
A new study has shown that when you are down with malaria, the way you smell also changes, making mosquitoes like you more, contributing to a worsening of the infection and also to the spread of the disease. Researchers identified that certain compounds (aldehydes) were produced in a higher level in individuals with malaria. The study says that these compounds can be used as biomarkers of malaria or can even be used to make chemical lures to trap mosquitoes.
Seven-in-one virus
The Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis or the ‘kissing disease,’ has now been reported to increase the risk of patients developing seven other diseases - systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes. A certain protein produced by the virus binds to different locations in the human DNA which are associated with these diseases, making certain people more vulnerable. The report says that these unrelated diseases share a common set of transcription factors (special proteins in the body) and the protein from the virus can attach to any one of the genetic code and affect the others in the set too.
The sound of light
Image for representational purposes only
Researchers from Switzerland have designed a new nano string that vibrates 1 billion times when plucked. The report says that this can be used as an ultra-sensitive microphone to study the sound of photons flowing inside a laser beam. This string can be used to build new optical interferometers which can help make more precise measurements of factors of light.
One coat to save them all
Published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Now you can protect your phone screens, camera lenses, and even your kitchen counters by using this new 'omniphobic' coating. The newly developed clear coating is smooth, extremely durable and repels water, oils and alcohols. By mixing fluorinated polyurethane with another fluid-repellent molecule, Fluorinated Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (F‐POSS), the researchers were able to create this multi-purpose coating.
Mass suicide
Published in Nature Ecology and Evolution
Microscopic view of bacteria
Researchers are now baffled by a new behaviour displayed by many microbial communities - 'ecological suicide'. In this process, certain bacteria can bring about destruction of their whole population by turning their living environment acidic. Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute studied Paenibacillus tundrae , a soil bacteria, and found that in 24 hours it turned its environment in the test tube acidic (pH 4), killing the whole bacterial colony. The report says that this mass suicide may play an important role in microbial ecology and evolution.
