Nat

Nerd. I tell dad jokes. And pointless stories. 0/4 obvs.

[nature @Nature]

There’s a revolution brewing in batteries for electric cars

Researchers are experimenting with different designs that could lower costs, extend vehicle ranges and offer other improvements https://t.co/i3HLS4ibbA

[nature @Nature]

“Mind blowing, boggling, outstanding”

After decades of frustration and failed attempts, scientists might finally be on the cusp of developing therapies to restore immune ‘tolerance’ in conditions such as diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis https://t.co/8shJTyHGxe

[Dr. Buzz Aldrin @TheRealBuzz]

A noteworthy event … NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration and ESA - European Space Agency have discovered six planets all moving in synch together 100 light years away (but still within the Milky Way). The vastness and complexities of space still astonish me. Be inquisitive. Never stop learning. Never stop discovering.

https://t.co/MMtFD31PDh

[Nature Microbiology @NatureMicrobiol]

Check out this new study in @Nature:

Fungal infections pose a huge health threat and there are very few specific antifungal drugs. Here, the rational improvement of amphotericin B led to a drug that kills fungi but has low toxicity towards kidney cells🎯

https://t.co/jgbIJtFmEO

[The Nobel Prize @NobelPrize]

Interested in learning more about the science behind mRNA vaccines?

Check out this story from @WIRED about the work of 2023 medicine laureates Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman and how this technology could impact future vaccine development: https://t.co/NMI0z5MvYK

#NobelPrize

[nature @Nature]

Babies born during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic have a different composition of gut microbes compared with those born before the introduction of lockdowns in March 2020 https://t.co/ECdu2a24n7

[Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine]

Oral microbiota form distinct biofilms in different regions of the mouth that protect host tissues. When these biofilms become unbalanced, they may contribute to various diseases, including #Alzheimers.

Learn more: https://t.co/dinLXThfDA

[Cystic Fibrosis Foundation @CF_Foundation]

We are investing up to $9M in additional funds in Arcturus Therapeutics to test an mRNA therapy that could treat the underlying cause of #cysticfibrosis in all people with CF. An early-stage clinical trial in people with CF is planned for Q4 2023. https://t.co/Way8ctsv8m

[Claire Edmondson @claireedmo1]

Excited to share the most recent paper from my PhD CLIMB-CF. Again massive thanks to all the sites&families who were involved & @cftrust @CFCanada and @janedaviescf
#climbcf #nhli #imperialcollegelondon #WomenInSTEM #phdlife #cftrust #cfremotemonitoring

https://t.co/it9CnBFEyW

[David Wallace-Wells @dwallacewells]

“A new type of vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Chicago has shown in a lab setting that it can completely reverse autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes—all without shutting down the rest of the immune system.” https://t.co/BO4B3pV837

[nature @Nature]

Researchers are seeking approval for the first human clinical trials of an artificial womb, which could increase survival and improve outcomes for extremely premature babies. https://t.co/rr6VwyaNa0

[nature @Nature]

Trio of chemists who developed a life-changing cystic fibrosis treatment are among the winners of five major awards in life sciences, physics and mathematics. https://t.co/pI6vNFCMHk

[Nat @NatAkroyd]

@phaldred @OctopusEnergy Just make sure your final British Gas bill is correct. We’ve had a nightmare with them chasing us for money we don’t owe for a year 🙄

[British Heart Foundation @TheBHF]

Groundbreaking new research funded by us from @OfficialUoM has uncovered a potential route to developing the first ever drug treatments for vascular dementia that directly target a cause of the condition.

https://t.co/AYC4IQgrvq

[nature @Nature]

Earlier this week, the biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific reached a settlement with the family of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman who had cells taken from her without consent more than 70 years ago https://t.co/bf4ds9OVa6

[Dr Dan Goyal @danielgoyal]

Monday was another damning day for the government at the Covid Inquiry.

It is becoming clearer what the recommendations from the Inquiry are likely to be…

But there is also a bigger question raised about criminality…
1/n

[Thread Reader App @threadreaderapp]

@DynomotHall @danielgoyal @DynomotHall Hello, you can read it here: https://t.co/wuanf7acCo Talk to you soon. 🤖

[Veera Rajagopal  @doctorveera]

A mind-blowing paper has come out today in @Nature

In 2016, JC Venter Institute scientists trimmed a bacterial genome to its barest minimum required for life to synthesize what they called a "minimal genome" (https://t.co/Rk8oZJ0bUj).

Today, a group of scientists from Indiana University reports how that minimal genome evolved over 2000 generations in comparison to the non-minimal genome.

The authors found that even when you reduce a bacterial genome to its absolute minimum where every nucleotide matters, the genome undergoes mutational events generation after generation as much as the non-minimal genome. One simply cannot stop the evolution.

Just over 300 days of evolution (equivalent to 40,000 years in humans) the minimal cell has gained everything it lacked in fitness on day one in comparison to the non-minimal cell.

When comparing the evolved traits between the minimal and non-minimal cells, the scientists found something striking. The evolutionary process increased the cell size of non-minimal cells but not that of the minimal cell. But that is not the striking part.

The scientists were able to identify the key mutation that resulted in cell size evolution. And it turned out that the mutation that helped the non-minimal cells to grow bigger is the same that helped the minimal cells to stay smaller. Growing bigger had a survival advantage for non-minimal cells and not growing bigger had a survival advantage for minimal cells. So, the mutation had a context-dependent effect. This just demonstrates that the evolutionary effects on traits have no absolute direction. All that matter is what is beneficial for the organism's survival.

The conclusion of the paper is metaphorically a quote from the Jurassic Park movie:

“Listen, if there’s one thing the history of evolution has taught us is that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. It expands to new territories, and it crashes through barriers painfully, maybe even dangerously, but . . . life finds a way". (https://t.co/UlxRlb86CT)

https://t.co/zA9OAqSoAu

[Dr Dan Goyal @danielgoyal]

This should be on every front page…

NHS activity has doubled over ten years!

Try and grasp the fact that the amount of activity staff are doing for patients has more than doubled in ten years!

Beds haven’t. Staff numbers haven’t. Time hasn’t.

https://t.co/frq2JxRlWh

[Rach Norcott @racheyrooney]

This is what having CF looks like daily. It may be mostly invisible to other people (until you hear/see us cough 😳) but it’s a tough full time battle. This is also what CF combined with a heart attack and stroke looks like, thank goodness for pill organisers! #CFWeek @cftrust 💜